Can't Find a Date? Let a Celeb Be Your Matchmaker

Celebrities entertain and enlighten us about life and love on a collective basis, and now, in some special cases, they're helping their fans find love.

That's the premise of "The Fix-Up Show," a weekly stage show in Los Angeles in which singles get a chance to be paired up with their potential future mates by two of their friends and a random celebrity.

According to host/creator J. Keith van Straaten, "The Fix-Up Show" started up in New York last summer and moved to Los Angeles. Celebrities who've helped make matches include comedian Margaret Cho, former "Brady Bunch" cast member Eve Plumb, comedy writer Bruce Vilanch and "Price Is Right" host Drew Carey.

Mark W. Johnson

At "The Fix-Up Show," a weekly stage show in Los Angeles, celebrities help set their fans up on dates.

"The thing to remember is these celebs do this show knowing that there is no pay and it's not on TV," van Straaten told AOL News. "It's just fun and helpful."

The panelists ask questions before making their choices, giving some celebrities the chance to show a different side of themselves to the audience.

"I am always surprised at what celebrities make the biggest impact," van Straaten said. "They're playing themselves, not the characters they might be known for, so their answers surprise people."

Case in point: When Cho appeared recently, it was to help a woman who liked adventure find a man who fit the bill.

"So Margaret asked the woman if she had ever had a bad adventure date and then related how she had gone on a hot air balloon date and that the balloon had crashed hard, dragging her and her date face first through cow patties," van Straaten said. "Then she asked the woman, 'Has this ever happened to you?' "

M.C. Valada

Comedian Margaret Cho, with the show's host and creator J. Keith van Straaten, recently helped a woman who liked adventure find a compatible date.

Some questions are more self-serving, such as the time playwright David Lindsay-Abaire -- author of "Rabbit Hole," which has been turned into an Oscar-nominated movie starring Nicole Kidman -- asked: "What is your favorite project by Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright David Lindsay-Abaire?"

"We now actually include 'What is your favorite project of the celebrity panelist?' as one of our suggested questions," van Straaten said.

At the end of each show, the panel picks a date for the contestant and they get "whisked away" to a dream date at Amalfi's restaurant, which just happens to be next door.

Although the show is meant to be entertainment first, van Straaten takes great pride at how well his celebrities have done at making matches.

"So far, about 60 percent of the dates led to second dates, which dating experts will tell you is pretty good," he said. "What's really great is that the celebrities take it seriously. You'd think they'd be glib, but they are serious about making a good match. Drew Carey was warm and genuine and had a real affection for the couple."

"In fact, when I run into the celebrities later, they always ask how the couple is doing."

Wil Wheaton, who is famous for playing Wesley Crusher on "Star Trek: The Next Generation," says the opportunity to fix up people on stage is better than trying to do it real life.

"Trying to fix friends up is really sketchy," he told AOL News. "What if it goes very badly, and now you're stuck between two mutual friends who aren't comfortable around each other? It's much better to let a live comedy game show in a theater do it for you."

However, he says being a panelist wasn't a walk in the park.

"I had to remember that my job was to be entertaining, not to tell the contestants all the reasons they weren't good enough for her, and to get off my lawn," he said.

"The Fix-Up Show" plays every Wednesday in Hollywood, and future celeb matchmakers include pot comic Doug Benson and Henry Winkler. Van Straaten hopes the show catches on with the tourist crowd.

"I am really surprised this isn't more popular with tourists because for $15, you get to see a family-friendly show and you're guaranteed to see a celebrity," he said.

And, he adds, you may also get your heart touched.

"When Dick Cavett was a panelist, one of the potential dates had a device in his ears and Dick asked about it. Turns out, the guy had been completely deaf until he had an operation when he was a teenager," van Straaten said. "We didn't expect this emotional story and, yes, he was chosen."

But while the celebrities are happy to do their part to help their fans find love, most, like Vilanch, don't expect to be invited to the wedding.

"I don't want an invitation to the wedding, but I know I would enjoy the consummation," he said.

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