Memories of a 1970s Game Show Addict....
Oct. 14th, 2020 09:49 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
poltr1The recent death of game show host Tom Kennedy, and thinking of the shows he hosted, reminded me that I used to watch a LOT of game shows when I was growing up in the 1970s. I even tape-recorded some of the theme songs and gameplay from some of the shows. I still have them in my audio archives.
What did I find fascinating about the game shows? The elaborate sets, with fancy, eye-catching lighting, moving stages, and early digit counters and electronic displays. Some featured favorite celebrities, and sharp-dressed, quick witted hosts or emcees (short for "Master of Ceremonies").
Most of the shows aired in either the morning (10am-noon) or afternoon (12:30pm-5:00pm) time slots. The evening game shows aired between 7pm-8pm. Nearly all were a half hour in length.
Which ones do I remember from that decade (1970-79)? I may be fuzzy on the details; some shows I've completely forgotten about, and some I can't remember the host.
Here's a list, broken out by network. Some may have episodes on YouTube or have been aired on the Game Show Network.
NBC:
Concentration (Hugh Downs) - The classic memory-match game
Hollywood Squares (Peter Marshall) - Tic-Tac-Toe with 9 celebrities
Jeopardy! (Art Fleming) -
Three On A Match (Bill Cullen) - The board had 4 rows of colors and 3 columns of amounts
Baffle (host unknown) - word game; guess the word from the letters posted
The Magnificent Marble Machine (host unknown) - oversized pinball machine
The Who What Or Where Game (host unknown) -
Celebrity Sweepstakes (host unknown) - patterned after a horse race
Jackpot! (Geoff Edwards) - 15 contestants, 1 big prize
The Wizard Of Odds (Alex Trebek) -
High Rollers (Alex Trebek) - oversized dice game
Card Sharks (host unknown) - Over/Under with oversized playing cards
Wheel of Fortune (Chuck Woolery) - Hangman with money amounts. And shopping sprees after each round.
Name That Tune (Dennis James) -
CBS:
Gambit (Wink Martindale) - Blackjack with oversized playing cards "dealt" by the lovely Elaine Stewart
The Price Is Right (Bob Barker) - Still going strong after nearly 50 years on TV (1972)
The $25,000 Pyramid (Dick Clark) -
Match Game '7x (Gene Rayburn) - Get ready to match the stars!
The Joker's Wild (Jack Barry) - Oversized slot machine. Joker, joker, joker! Watch out for devils!
Musical Chairs (Bert Convy) - The last round, contestants would "disappear" by being pulled or moved upstage
Spin-Off (host unknown) - An electronic version of Yahtzee, with electronic digit counters instead of dice
Whew! (Tom Kennedy) - Chargers, blockers, and the Gauntlet of Villains
Tattle Tales (Bert Convy) - (I remember little about this game.)
ABC:
Let's Make A Deal (Monty Hall) - Don't get zonked! What's behind door #2? What's inside the box, Carol Merrill?
Split Second (Tom Kennedy) - Fast-paced quiz show; the winner would choose a car at the end; if it started, they won the car
Password (Alan Ludden) - Guess the word from the clues.
Nighttime/Weekend:
Name That Tune (Dennis James) -
The Price Is Right (Dennis James) -
To Tell The Truth (Gary Moore) - Guess the real person from two impostors. Will the real [person] please stand up?
Storybook Squares (Peter Marshall) - A children's version of the Hollywood Squares game, with celebrities playing storybook characters
CHCH (an independent TV station in Hamilton, ON):
I Saw That! (R.O. Horning Jr) - movie scene memory game
Party Game (Billy Van) - Charades, with a twist
Supermarket (host unknown) - grocery products quiz show
Syndicated:
Treasure Hunt (Geoff Edwards) - grand prize of $25,000 or a Mercedes-Benz
Beat The Clock (Jack Narz) - You have 60 seconds.... Featured an oversized clock and organ music by Dick Hyman
What's My Line? (host unknown) -
What did I find fascinating about the game shows? The elaborate sets, with fancy, eye-catching lighting, moving stages, and early digit counters and electronic displays. Some featured favorite celebrities, and sharp-dressed, quick witted hosts or emcees (short for "Master of Ceremonies").
Most of the shows aired in either the morning (10am-noon) or afternoon (12:30pm-5:00pm) time slots. The evening game shows aired between 7pm-8pm. Nearly all were a half hour in length.
Which ones do I remember from that decade (1970-79)? I may be fuzzy on the details; some shows I've completely forgotten about, and some I can't remember the host.
Here's a list, broken out by network. Some may have episodes on YouTube or have been aired on the Game Show Network.
NBC:
Concentration (Hugh Downs) - The classic memory-match game
Hollywood Squares (Peter Marshall) - Tic-Tac-Toe with 9 celebrities
Jeopardy! (Art Fleming) -
Three On A Match (Bill Cullen) - The board had 4 rows of colors and 3 columns of amounts
Baffle (host unknown) - word game; guess the word from the letters posted
The Magnificent Marble Machine (host unknown) - oversized pinball machine
The Who What Or Where Game (host unknown) -
Celebrity Sweepstakes (host unknown) - patterned after a horse race
Jackpot! (Geoff Edwards) - 15 contestants, 1 big prize
The Wizard Of Odds (Alex Trebek) -
High Rollers (Alex Trebek) - oversized dice game
Card Sharks (host unknown) - Over/Under with oversized playing cards
Wheel of Fortune (Chuck Woolery) - Hangman with money amounts. And shopping sprees after each round.
Name That Tune (Dennis James) -
CBS:
Gambit (Wink Martindale) - Blackjack with oversized playing cards "dealt" by the lovely Elaine Stewart
The Price Is Right (Bob Barker) - Still going strong after nearly 50 years on TV (1972)
The $25,000 Pyramid (Dick Clark) -
Match Game '7x (Gene Rayburn) - Get ready to match the stars!
The Joker's Wild (Jack Barry) - Oversized slot machine. Joker, joker, joker! Watch out for devils!
Musical Chairs (Bert Convy) - The last round, contestants would "disappear" by being pulled or moved upstage
Spin-Off (host unknown) - An electronic version of Yahtzee, with electronic digit counters instead of dice
Whew! (Tom Kennedy) - Chargers, blockers, and the Gauntlet of Villains
Tattle Tales (Bert Convy) - (I remember little about this game.)
ABC:
Let's Make A Deal (Monty Hall) - Don't get zonked! What's behind door #2? What's inside the box, Carol Merrill?
Split Second (Tom Kennedy) - Fast-paced quiz show; the winner would choose a car at the end; if it started, they won the car
Password (Alan Ludden) - Guess the word from the clues.
Nighttime/Weekend:
Name That Tune (Dennis James) -
The Price Is Right (Dennis James) -
To Tell The Truth (Gary Moore) - Guess the real person from two impostors. Will the real [person] please stand up?
Storybook Squares (Peter Marshall) - A children's version of the Hollywood Squares game, with celebrities playing storybook characters
CHCH (an independent TV station in Hamilton, ON):
I Saw That! (R.O. Horning Jr) - movie scene memory game
Party Game (Billy Van) - Charades, with a twist
Supermarket (host unknown) - grocery products quiz show
Syndicated:
Treasure Hunt (Geoff Edwards) - grand prize of $25,000 or a Mercedes-Benz
Beat The Clock (Jack Narz) - You have 60 seconds.... Featured an oversized clock and organ music by Dick Hyman
What's My Line? (host unknown) -
