Humanitarian of the Week: Mark Summers

Mark Summers

His name may not spring immediately to mind, but you know his face. We’ve all welcomed Mark Summers into our homes at some point. He’s been a television staple for nearly a quarter of a century. With credits such as Double Dare, Home, Unwrapped, Biggers & Summers, Couch Potatoes, Great Day America and Our Home to his name, Mark Summers has proven to be a daytime and reality television superstar as both a host and producer.


Those of us who grew up in the 1980’s (and our parents) may remember Nickelodeon’s sloppy kid-series, Double Dare, which frequently involved Summers—as the host—being doused in slime, food and general yuckiness. Despite his good-natured smile, Summers was seething internally. You see, Mark Summers had always considered himself a “perfectionist,” an extreme perfectionist, but one nonetheless. His strong need for order and tidiness had dominated his early life and only worsened as he got older. Mark soon realized that he suffered from Obsessive Compulsive Disorder. Instead of letting this rule his life, Mark did something about it, getting professional help, writing a book about his experiences, and most importantly helping to educate others about this serious disorder by appearances on television programs and by working as a national spokesperson for the Obsessive Compulsive Foundation. His work with this foundation as well as with the group Freedom From Fear, Summers has worked tirelessly to educate the public about anxiety disorders and other related behavior disorders.

For triumphing in his own life, and for helping others to achieve similar success, Mark Summers is our Humanitarian of the Week.