Category is: Game Shows. From the moment a New York television station aired a test broadcast of Truth or Consequences in July 1941, American audiences have been amused, challenged, entertained and united by series as varied as Jeopardy! and Floor is Lava. Experts, along with producers and hosts from today’s top shows, look back at the genre’s innovators, leading figures, past scandals, and celebrity contestants, and tell us how shows are made and where they are headed in the future. The 10 best game shows of all time get their moment to shine, and, of course, there’s also a quiz-show quiz!
80 Years Of TV GAME SHOWS • The classics, the memories, and the hosts we love
Introduction
the BEGINNING • From the moment WNBC aired Truth or Consequences on July 1, 1941, interactive television was born.
the CLASSICS • These 10 series weren’t just popular in their day. They influenced the genre for generations, some still broadcast in updated iterations.
The Price Is Right
Jeopardy!
Wheel of Fortune
Family Feud
To Tell the Truth
The Dating Game
Who Wants to Be a Millionaire
Let’s Make a Deal
Pyramid
Hollywood Squares
the INNOVATORS • A handful of pioneers rolled the dice on game shows and won big in ratings, fans and pop culture.
MERV GRIFFIN • Jeopardy! Wheel of Fortune
MARK GOODSON & BILL TODMAN • The Price Is Right, Family Feud, Match Game, Password, Beat the Clock, To Tell the Truth, I’ve Got a Secret, What’s My Line?, Card Sharks, Tattletales
CHUCK BARRIS • The $1.98 Beauty Show, The Dating Game, The Newlywed Game, The Gong Show
JACK BARRY & DAN ENRIGHT • Twenty-One, Tic-Tac-Dough, Concentration
BOB STEWART • To Tell the Truth, Password, The Price Is Right, Pyramid
the HOSTS with the MOST • The combination of impeccable timing and considerable charm make these ringleaders the 10 best hosts in game-show history.
ALEX TREBEK • Jeopardy!
BOB BARKER • The Price Is Right
PAT SAJAK • Wheel of Fortune
REGIS PHILBIN • Who Wants to Be a Millionaire
STEVE HARVEY • Family Feud, Celebrity Family Feud
GENE RAYBURN • Match Game
JANE LYNCH • Hollywood Game Night
DICK CLARK • The $10,000 Pyramid
MONTY HALL • Let’s Make a Deal
RICHARD DAWSON • Family Feud
SCANDALS and SCOUNDRELS • Whether the game was rigged against them or in their favor, some contestants became protagonists in the genre’s more notorious chapters
The Herb Stempel/Charles Van Doren TWENTY-ONE SCANDAL
Coughing Up CONTROVERSY
Studying On CHEATING?
The SERIAL KILLER And The Scam Artist
gabe Okoye, Brittany mayti and THE MONEY DROP
GAMING The Gamers
A vary craft CASTAWAY
the SECRETS of SUCCESS • What are the highest earnings ever? How much do contestants pay in taxes? And what is Turtle Wax? All your questions about “winning” game shows answered!
BEFORE THEY WERE STARS • Sure, they may be famous actors, artists and personalities now. But behind the buzzer early in their careers, they wanted to win big just like all of us.
TODAY and BEYON • They are back in primetime and on our mobile devices, streaming services and a dedicated cable network. What does the future hold for the “classic” TV game show format?
the QUIZ SHOW QUIZ • Make game shows your expert subject by answering these 40 questions!
80 Years Of TV Game Shows
PHOTO CREDITS
LET’S MAKE A DEAN
