Pioneers of Television Game Shows (Season 1, Episode 4)
TV Episode | 55 min | Documentary, History

Pioneers of Television

Game Shows (Season 1, Episode 4)

TV Episode | 55 min | Documentary, History

Game shows existed long before TV and were popular on radio. Producer Mark Goodson created a national sensation with Stop the Music which offered a huge prize to a randomly selected contestant. Ralph Edwards created Truth or Consequences ...See moreGame shows existed long before TV and were popular on radio. Producer Mark Goodson created a national sensation with Stop the Music which offered a huge prize to a randomly selected contestant. Ralph Edwards created Truth or Consequences and later on TV passed it on to Bob Barker to act as host. Early TV needed programming to fill the schedule and game shows were easy to produce. Edwards later created the popular This Is Your Life and Groucho Marx had You Bet Your Life. It all came crashing down with the now infamous game show scandals where contestants were given the answers to questions to add to the drama. The first was Dotto, then Twenty-One where its most successful contestant Charles Van Doren, had become nationally known. Password from Mark Goodson was the first post-scandal hit show followed by Let's Make a Deal. Merv Griffin, a game show emcee early on, had been trying to develop his own concept for a show and a suggestion from his wife - that he provide the answer and have the contestants provide the question - lead to the creation of Jeopardy! which is still on the air today. His fond memories of playing hangman with his sister on long family car trips lead to the creation of the most popular game show ever, Wheel of Fortune. Chuck Barris, described as one of the most unusual people in America, had the idea that the funniest people would be just ordinary folks and developed The Dating Game and the The Newlywed Game. Written by garykmcd See less

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Cast	+ Add Cast
48 cast members

Name	Known for
Steve Allen Self (archive footage) Self (archive footage) See fewer	Casino (1995)
Bob Barker Self Self See fewer	The Price is Right (1972)
Jack Barry Self (archive footage) Self (archive footage) See fewer	Everything You Always Wanted to Know About Sex * But Were Afraid to Ask (1972)
Pat Carroll Self (archive footage) Self (archive footage) See fewer	The Little Mermaid (1989)
Johnny Carson Self (archive footage) Self (archive footage) See fewer	The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson (1962)
Dick Cavett Self (archive footage) Self (archive footage) See fewer	Forrest Gump (1994)
Bill Cullen Self (archive footage) Self (archive footage) See fewer	Three on a Match (1971)
John Daly Self (archive footage) Self (archive footage) See fewer	The Front Page (1949)
Phyllis Diller Self Self See fewer	A Bug's Life (1998)
Hugh Downs Self Self See fewer	Live from Lincoln Center (1976)
Ralph Edwards Self (archive footage) Self (archive footage) See fewer	The People's Court (1981)
Bob Eubanks Self Self See fewer	Home Alone 2: Lost in New York (1992)
Nanette Fabray Self (archive footage) Self (archive footage) See fewer	The Band Wagon (1953)
George Fenneman Self (archive footage) Self (archive footage) See fewer	How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying (1967)
Redd Foxx Self (archive footage) Self (archive footage) See fewer	Sanford and Son (1972)
Arlene Francis Self (archive footage) Self (archive footage) See fewer	The Thrill of It All (1963)
Merv Griffin Self Self See fewer	Jeopardy! (1983)
Monty Hall Self Self See fewer	Let's Make a Deal (1963)
Florence Henderson Self Self See fewer	The Brady Bunch (1969)
Dennis James Self (archive footage) Self (archive footage) See fewer	Rocky III (1982)
Tom Kennedy Self Self See fewer	Witness (1985)
Dorothy Kilgallen Self (archive footage) Self (archive footage) See fewer	Fly Away Baby (1937)
Peter Lawford Self (archive footage) Self (archive footage) See fewer	The Longest Day (1962)
Vicki Lawrence Self Self See fewer	The Carol Burnett Show (1967)
Gypsy Rose Lee Self (archive footage) Self (archive footage) See fewer	Belle of the Yukon (1944)
Oscar Levant Self (archive footage) Self (archive footage) See fewer	An American in Paris (1951)
Allen Ludden Self (archive footage) Self (archive footage) See fewer	Password (1961)
Paul Lynde Self (archive footage) Self (archive footage) See fewer	Bye Bye Birdie (1963)
Robert Macnamara Self (archive footage) Self (archive footage) See fewer
Peter Marshall Self Self See fewer	The Hollywood Squares (Daytime) (1965)
Wink Martindale Self Self See fewer	Second Honeymoon (1987)
Lee Marvin Self (archive footage) Self (archive footage) See fewer	The Dirty Dozen (1967)
Groucho Marx Self (archive footage) Self (archive footage) See fewer	A Night at the Opera (1935)
Sal Mineo Self (archive footage) Self (archive footage) See fewer	Exodus (1960)
Jack Narz Self Self See fewer	Dotto (1958)
Louis Nye Self (archive footage) Self (archive footage) See fewer	Curb Your Enthusiasm (2000)
Betsy Palmer Self (archive footage) Self (archive footage) See fewer	Friday the 13th (1980)
Bert Parks Self (archive footage) Self (archive footage) See fewer	The Freshman (1990)
Mickey Rooney Self (archive footage) Self (archive footage) See fewer	It's a Mad Mad Mad Mad World (1963)
Harlan Saperstein Narrator Narrator See fewer	Biography (1987)
Bob Stewart Self Self See fewer	The $10,000 Pyramid (1973)
Grant Tinker Self (archive footage) Self (archive footage) See fewer	Going Places (1973)
Mel Tormé Self (archive footage) Self (archive footage) See fewer	Gangster Squad (2013)
Karen Valentine Self (archive footage) Self (archive footage) See fewer	Room 222 (1969)
Charles Van Doren Self (archive footage) Self (archive footage) See fewer	Frontiers of Faith (1951)
Dick Van Dyke Self Self See fewer	Mary Poppins (1964)
Betty White Self Self See fewer	The Proposal (I) (2009)
Chuck Woolery Self Self See fewer	Six Pack (1982)