Wednesday, December 30, 2009

Old TV -- Quiz Shows (Part 4)

In the mid 1950s quiz shows moved to prime time and the jackpots got bigger. Big money shows like the $64,000 Question, Tic Tac Dough, and Twenty-One garnered huge ratings. The format changed a bit with contestants choosing questions on a specific topic and returned each week to answer progressively more difficult questions. Here are videos of these shows:

Here's the intro to The $64,000 question with handsome Hal March:



This segment of Twenty-0ne, hosted by Jack Barry, figured prominently in the scandals that brought the demise of big cash game shows.



In August of 1958, the cheating in these game shows was exposed and a scandal that even reached the halls of Congress swept the nation. Careers and reputations were ruined. Here's a video of a news report on the Congressional hearings and court case in New York that ended these shows.



I think the scandals were the beginning of the loss of our innocence in this country.

Happy Blogging!!!!!!

Kay

6 comments:

  1. I knew nothing of the scandals until I saw Game Show

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  2. What was that quiz show with Groucho Marx? The one where the duck dropped down from the ceiling? That was a hilarious show.

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  3. Anonymous11:34 AM

    My daughter used to watch Tic Tack Dough when she was 3 years old and I'd be lying in bed, pregnant and resting.

    "Mommy, Tic Tack Dough is next," she'd say...

    ReplyDelete
  4. Groucho Marx's program was "You Bet Your Life!"

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  5. We've always had greed and corruption it just started getting all the publicity at that time.

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  6. Kay
    I was wondering how much money $64,000 would be today and found out the following:

    $1,000 then is $7,953.31 today
    $2,000 then is $15,906.62 today
    $4,000 then is $31,813.21 today
    $8,000 then is $63,626.47 today
    $16,000 then is $127,252.94 today
    $32,000 then is $254,505.88 today
    $64,000 then is $509,011.76 today

    Now I understand why so many people went along with the deception. That's a lot of money to make!

    ReplyDelete

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