Quiz Shows

The famous and infamous quiz programs from the past.

'Do You Trust Your Wife' with Johnny Carson - Apr. 1958
Carson's middle period, starting all over again was JC's first theme song. Bill Nimmo was JC's first announcer after his early success on local TV and his failure in prime time for CBS in Hollywood; JC moved to New York to start over again. This quiz show in the late afternoon proved to be a ratings winner and set the stage for his great run on the Tonight Show.

'Queen for a Day' - An Episode from 1960, Host Jack Bailey
One of the few surviving episodes of "Queen for a Day", from 1960. One of the strangest shows ever to air on TV. Veteran television writer Mark Evanier has called the program "one of the most ghastly shows ever produced." He further described it as "tasteless, demeaning to women, demeaning to anyone who watched it, cheap, insulting and utterly degrading to the human spirit."

The $64,000 Question - September 18, 1956
An episode of the infamous rigged 1950s game show "The $64,000 Question". When the scandal broke that several very popular quiz shows were "fixed", the ratings of several non-rigged quiz shows (such as "You Bet Your Life" and others) declined as well. This episode is complete with commercials for Revlon Lipstick.

'Twenty One' - July 8, 1957
There were plenty of non-rigged 1950s game shows, but this was one of the infamous rigged ones. Which is a shame, since the format is pretty decent. Around 30 or so episodes survive of this series, curiously enough.

'Take a Good Look' with Ernie Kovacs
A parody of panel game shows, hosted by Ernie Kovacs. Panel consists of Edie Adams, Jack Carson, and Cesar Romero.