J.D. Roth

J.D. Roth Headshot

Writer • Actor • Game Show Host • Personality

Birth Date: April 20, 1968

Age: 55 years old

Birth Place: Cherry Hill, New Jersey

J.D. Roth enjoyed extensive success in front of and behind the camera during a career which started when he was ten years old. He was the youngest game show host in history at the age of 19 on the kids quiz "Fun House," produced and hosted the short-lived game show "Double Up" in his early 20s and briefly provided the lead voice talent on the series "The Real Adventures of Jonny Quest.." With his production company 3Ball Productions, he was involved in the creation of numerous prime-time light entertainment shows, the most successful of which were "Endurance" and "The Biggest Loser," which he also narrated.

Born James David Weinroth in Cherry Hill, NJ to a lawyer father and interior decorator mother, Roth's interest in television performance emerged at a young age. He started working at the age of ten, and has recalled how he booked himself into a nightclub children's show audition at the age of eleven while recovering from a bout of pneumonia, eventually winning the part in a show which also featured a young Sarah Jessica Parker, Ricki Lake and Ricky Schroder. In his first year in the business he performed in twenty-two commercials, going on to appear in around two hundred and fifty during his teenage years. In an attempt to keep him grounded, his father insisted he always take out the garbage and funded him with one thousand dollars with which he could pursue his ambitions, and after it ran out the implication was that Roth was expected to give up show business and follow a more down to earth career pattern. Yet his entrepreneurial skills were sharp from a young age, and the money never did dry up. Before he left high school and in addition to the commercial work, Roth had also appeared in low-budget crime movie "Death Mask" (1984) and the television series "The Equalizer" (CBS 1985-89), the revival of "The Twilight Zone" (CBS 1985-89) and the syndicated horror anthology "Tales from the Darkside" (1984-88). His first major job following graduation was "Fun House" (Syndicated 1988-1990 / Fox 1990-91) at the age of 19, which went on to run for four hundred episodes and become the number one children's show in America, making Roth a recognisable face to a generation. He created his own production company first to take a live version of "Fun House" around the country, playing in seventy cities and to more than one million viewers. Although "Double Up" (NBC 1992) wasn't a success with viewers, this career milestone saw its creator, host and executive producer become the youngest executive producer of any NBC show in history at that point. Prior to 3Ball's formation by Roth and business partner Todd Nelson in March 2001, Roth's onscreen career continued with a couple of guest appearances in soap opera "Melrose Place" (Fox 1992-99), his voice role on "The Real Adventures of Jonny Quest" (Cartoon 1996-99) and kids shows such as Animal Planet's "ZooVenture" (1997-2000), which spun off a huge live tour to seven countries and a hundred and twenty-five US cities. Among 3Ball's successes were kids "Survivor" equivalent "Endurance" (Discovery Kids 2002-08), which he also presented, "Beauty and the Geek" (The CW 2005-08) and "Extreme Weight Loss" (ABC 2011- ), although "The Biggest Loser" (NBC 2004- ) remained his greatest success as a producer.

Credits

Unidentified With Demi LovatoStream

Executive Producer
Reality
2021

The Demi Lovato ShowStream

Executive Producer
Talk
2021

Backyard TakeoverStream

Executive Producer
Reality
2020

Karma

Creator
Show
2020

Karma

Executive Producer
Show
2020

&Music

Executive Producer
Show
2020

Sweat Inc.Stream

Executive Producer
Reality
2015

Kingin' With Tyga

Executive Producer
Show
2015

Paw Star Game

Executive Producer
Show
2015

Outback Nation

Executive Producer
Show
2015

Funniest Wins

Executive Producer
Show
2014

Hungry Investors

Executive Producer
Show
2014

Catch a Contractor

Executive Producer
Show
2014

Opposite Worlds

Executive Producer
Show
2014

My Big Fat Revenge

Executive Producer
Show
2013

Forever Young

Executive Producer
Show
2013

Splash

Executive Producer
Show
2013

The Revolution

Executive Producer
Show
2012

Bar RescueStream

Executive Producer
Reality
2011

Texas Women

Executive Producer
Show
2011

Roseanne's Nuts

Executive Producer
Show
2011

Extreme Weight LossStream

Executive Producer
Reality
2011

My Cat From HellStream

Executive Producer
Reality
2011

Flying Wild AlaskaStream

Executive Producer
Reality
2011

Dad Camp

Executive Producer
Show
2010

The OCD Project

Executive Producer
Show
2010

Opportunity Knocks

Executive Producer
Show
2008

Opportunity Knocks

Host
Show
2008

The Biggest Loser: Families

Executive Producer
Show
2008

The Biggest Loser: Couples

Executive Producer
Show
2008

Age of Love

Executive Producer
Show
2007

Unan1mous

Host
Show
2006

The Biggest Loser

Executive Producer
Show
2004

For Love or Money 2

Executive Producer
Show
2003

For Love or Money

Executive Producer
Show
2003

A Toda Prueba

Host
Show
2002

The Life and Adventures of Santa Claus

Voice
Young Claus
Show
1985

The Twilight Zone

Actor
Series
1985

The Equalizer

Guest Star
Larry Kelly
Series
1985

Charles in ChargeStream

Guest Star
Brad
Series
1984

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