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80-456: Thomas Raymond Bergeron (born May 6, 1955) is an American television personality, comedian, and game show host, best known for hosting Breakfast Time from 1994 to 1997, Hollywood Squares from 1998 to 2004, America's Funniest Home Videos from 2001 to 2015, and Dancing with the Stars from 2005 to 2019 as well as being an anchor on Good Morning America from 1997 to 1998 and a cohost on

160-780: A 60-minute hybrid series with Match Game , featuring Jon Bauman hosting the Hollywood Squares portion of that show. Following Marshall's retirement, the show has since been revived twice in syndication: a version hosted by John Davidson from 1986 to 1989, and another hosted by Tom Bergeron from 1998 to 2004. Three revivals were run in the 2010's with a different title all on Paramount cable channels; in 2012, Hip Hop Squares on MTV2 with Peter Rosenberg, and from 2017–19 on VH1 with DeRay Davis , in 2019, Nashville Squares on CMT with Bob Saget , and in 2023, Celebrity Squares on VH1 with John "DC Young Fly" Whitfield . In 2013, TV Guide ranked it at No. 7 in its list of

240-460: A Botany 500 wardrobe, a 50-day cruise on Delta Line , the first Apple II computer system, the original Sony Betamax , a camper trailer, a motorhome and $ 20,000 in cash. Many celebrities became recognized as regulars on the show. Some regulars were frequently asked questions pertaining to a certain topic or category. For instance, Paul Lynde was frequently asked questions related to history or relationships, to which he would first respond with

320-697: A Secret Square, with each game offering different prize packages, usually worth between $ 2,000 and $ 7,000. From 1978 to 1980, the Secret Square games were cut to game numbers two and three (the first two games early on). The Secret Square was not used during the 1980–1981 daily syndicated version. Hosted by Peter Marshall and announced by Kenny Williams , Storybook Squares , a children's version of Hollywood Squares , aired briefly on Saturday mornings on NBC from January 4 to August 30, 1969, and featured stars dressed as various fictional characters from television and fairy tales as well as historical figures from

400-588: A car or were defeated. In 1991, as part of Orion Pictures' bankruptcy, its intellectual properties were auctioned off. King World Productions bid for and won the rights to the Hollywood Squares format; six years later, a revival series began development. Whoopi Goldberg was brought in to be the executive producer, with John Moffitt and Pat Tourk Lee as producers. The venture was to be a co-production of Moffitt-Lee Productions and Goldberg's One Ho Productions, in association with Columbia TriStar Television and King World, who would also be responsible for distributing

480-459: A celebrity whose square gave the other player a completed row or five-square win. On all other versions of Squares , the player had to earn the winning celebrity's square on their own. The winner played the Super Match from Match Game for a cash prize. The Match Game segment featured six panelists, as it had from 1973 to 1982; for the Hollywood Squares portion, a third tier was added to

560-431: A clever zinger to get a laugh (usually a wrong answer but funny joke/punch line) before providing his answer. Cliff Arquette (in character as "Charley Weaver"), a history buff, excelled at American history questions; Rich Little almost always received questions about other celebrities, which allowed him to do an impression of that individual; Wally Cox was also given a lot of celebrity questions for which he usually gave

640-399: A distributor (Century Towers was a subdivision of Orion formed to produce game shows, specifically this series and the 1987–88 syndicated revival of High Rollers ; the name was in reference to the street that Orion was headquartered at the time). John Davidson , who was a semi-regular panelist on the original Hollywood Squares , hosted the series. Shadoe Stevens was the announcer for

720-422: A game could be completed, the prize went to the player with the most squares on the board. Additionally, eight of the season's winning contestants were invited back to play in a Grand Championship tournament at the end of the season. The final $ 100,000 Grand Championship Tournament was played in 1980 and won by Eric Lloyd Scott of Denver , Colorado . Prizes that year included a Geodesic Dome Home from Domes America,

800-442: A general knowledge trivia round with their choice of any of the nine celebrities. Again, each of the celebrities held envelopes with varying dollar amounts hidden inside, ranging from $ 1,000 to $ 5,000 (increments of $ 500). If the champion picked a square that contained more than one person, the champion selected only one person from that square. The champion was given 60 seconds to answer as many multiple-choice questions as possible and

880-484: A job he held for 15 years. Marshall agreed to host because he did not want rival Dan Rowan to host. Hollywood Squares was the final addition to a short-lived game show powerhouse block on NBC, which for the next two years also included Concentration , Jeopardy! , You Don't Say! , Let's Make a Deal , Match Game and others. During most of its daytime run, NBC broadcast The Hollywood Squares at 11:30 a.m. Eastern /10:30 a.m. Central ; it dominated

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960-612: A new logo that referred to the show as "H2". The set was given a new makeover where the contestant desks were replaced with podiums with LED screens inside and a rewritten version of the Teena Marie song "Square Biz" became the theme song. After Goldberg's departure, at first, the show did not feature a traditional permanent center square. Instead, a new celebrity was in the center square each week. Ellen DeGeneres , Alec Baldwin and Simon Cowell were among those who played center square, as well as Peter Marshall , who appeared during

1040-403: A prize (usually a trip). The prize did not increase in value from one show to the next if it was not collected. The first two seasons of this version of the series employed a bonus round that was similar to the one used on the 1970s game show Split Second . Five cars, each of the same brand/make, were displayed on the stage for the entire week. The champion chose one of five keys and then chose

1120-482: A special theme week in 2002. Martin Mull was eventually chosen as the permanent center square for the 2003–2004 season (though some guests continued to appear as center square during a few theme weeks of that season). For most of the first five seasons of this Hollywood Squares series, the first and second games were worth $ 1,000 to the winner. The third game was worth $ 2,000, and every subsequent game until time ran out

1200-527: A statement about them. The champion had to either agree or disagree with the statement. Outstanding Game Show Host The Daytime Emmy Award for Outstanding Game Show Host was an award presented annually by the National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences (NATAS) and Academy of Television Arts & Sciences (ATAS). It was given to honor the outstanding work of a game show host who has appeared in at least 19% of total episodes for

1280-418: A three-by-three grid game board. Taking turns, each contestant selects a square. The celebrity in that square is asked a question and gives an answer, typically preceded by a comedic response known as a "zinger". The contestant may then choose to agree or disagree with the answer given by the celebrity. Correctly agreeing or disagreeing awards the contestant's respective letter, while doing so incorrectly awards

1360-615: The 60th Primetime Emmy Awards in 2008. Bergeron was born in Haverhill, Massachusetts , the son of Adrian Raymond "Ray" Bergeron Jr. (1934–2015) and Mary Catherine “Kay” Costello (1933–2016). Bergeron is of French Canadian and Irish descent. While being interviewed on the Howard Stern Show , Bergeron revealed when he was 17 years old he interviewed Larry Fine and Moe Howard of the Three Stooges after contacting

1440-489: The Peter Marshall -hosted series Fantasy . Jon Bauman (appearing as himself without his "Bowzer" persona from Sha Na Na ) hosted the Hollywood Squares portion of the show. The only regular panelist on this version was Gene Rayburn , who reprised his role as host of Match Game ; he always occupied the lower left square during Hollywood Squares , which Bauman also occupied during Match Game segments. Most of

1520-480: The gameplay was not. In any case, as original host Peter Marshall explained at the beginning of the Secret Square game, "the celebrities were briefed before the show to help them with bluff answers, but they are hearing the actual questions for the first time." Marshall hosted the original version of Hollywood Squares that aired on NBC from 1966 to 1980, as well as a nighttime syndicated version that ran from 1971 to 1981. It then returned to NBC in 1983 as part of

1600-435: The 2001–2002 season, Goldberg left the series and Moffitt and Lee were fired. Vilanch also left his writing position and Rhea moved to New York to host The Caroline Rhea Show , a daytime variety series launched to replace The Rosie O'Donnell Show ; O'Donnell had decided to leave her namesake show before the end of the 2001–02 season and Rhea, who was chosen by O'Donnell to be her replacement, served as guest host for most of

1680-446: The 60 greatest game shows ever. Internationally, there have been multiple versions produced under a variety of names (see International versions below). When combined with two spinoffs of the franchise, the show has been produced for seven different decades. In May 2024, it was announced that the show would be revived by CBS (which owns the program since 2000, when it acquired format owner King World), with Drew Barrymore serving as

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1760-418: The Secret Square prize package went unclaimed. During the first two seasons of the syndicated series (1971–1973), the first two games were Secret Square games, with the prize packages generally worth about $ 2,500. If no one claimed the prizes offered in the first round, they were carried over to the second round, and if still not won went unclaimed. Beginning in 1973 and ending in 1978, the first three games had

1840-514: The Stars , he received nine Primetime Emmy Award nominations for Outstanding Host for a Reality or Competition Program , winning the award once in 2012 . On July 13, 2020, Bergeron announced he had been let go from the series ahead of its 29th season in a message posted on Twitter . On September 20, 2008, Bergeron co-hosted the 60th Primetime Emmy Awards alongside Heidi Klum , Jeff Probst , Ryan Seacrest , and Howie Mandel . The five were selected to host in recognition of their nominations in

1920-457: The board. Bert Parks hosted the 1965 pilot of Hollywood Squares, which was taped at CBS Television City . A second pilot was taped with comedian Sandy Baron as host. Neither Parks nor Baron were considered to host the series, partly because NBC was “looking for a complete non-entity”, and partly because Baron was considered “too New Yorky”. NBC acquired the rights to the show, which debuted on October 17, 1966, with Peter Marshall as host,

2000-475: The calendar year. The 1st Daytime Emmy Awards ceremony was held in 1974 with Peter Marshall receiving the award for his hosting duty on the panel game show Hollywood Squares . The award category was originally called Outstanding Host or Hostess in a Game or Audience Participation Show before changing to its current title in 1985. The awards ceremony was not aired on television in 1983 and 1984, having been criticized for voting integrity. The Emmy

2080-433: The cancellation of The Match Game-Hollywood Squares Hour , a new Hollywood Squares series was put into production. Referred to throughout its run as The New Hollywood Squares , the program debuted on September 15, 1986, and was produced by Century Towers Productions with Rick Rosner serving as executive producer, Ernie De Massa as producer, Paul Ruffino as Location Manager for remote productions, and Orion Television as

2160-417: The car they thought the key would start. The contestant also chose at least one celebrity to stand beside the car or sit in it with them for good luck; at times the entire panel congregated near the car, especially on Friday shows or when a champion reached a fifth win and automatically retired with the car. If the chosen key started the car, the contestant won it and retired; otherwise, the contestant returned

2240-416: The category given to the contestant before he/she decided to play on. As part of the overhaul done for the 5th season of Hollywood Squares , a new bonus round was conceived. Taking a cue from the 1980s syndicated series, the round involved contestants using keys to try to win prizes. To start the round, a 30-second speed round was played. One at a time, the champion chose a celebrity and Bergeron would read

2320-470: The category when he won a fifth time, surpassing Marshall's previous record of four; Barker went on to win in nine additional years, ultimately receiving fourteen wins. Trebek has since received five additional wins. Trebek last won the award at the 2021 ceremony , which was accepted posthumously due to his death in November 2020. Trebek also has been nominated on 32 occasions, more than any other host. At

2400-448: The center square, and Nate Burleson as host. The show is slated to air on January 9, 2025. Though there have been variations in the rules and prizes of the game, certain aspects have still remained consistent throughout the series. Two contestants compete in every match, with one representing the letter X and another the letter O in a game of tic-tac-toe . The tic-tac-toe board features nine celebrities, each seated behind one square of

2480-410: The earliest episodes of the series, two Secret Square games were played on each show with a different prize offered for each game. The Secret Square was played in both the second and third games of the day, but after two weeks the Secret Square prize only carried over to the third game if neither contestant had claimed in the second game. From the second season forward, the Secret Square was only played in

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2560-415: The final season, the champion first chose a car, then one of the nine celebrities. Each held a key; five of them had the correct keys, while the other four had keys that would not start any car. If the champion failed to win the chosen car, it remained available after subsequent victories instead of being eliminated. The five-day limit was removed, allowing champions to remain on this show until they either won

2640-471: The first season, each game was worth $ 500 with a bonus of $ 100 per square if time ran out in the middle of a game. Beginning in season two, the third and subsequent games were worth $ 1,000 (or $ 200 per square). If time had run out with the contestants tied, one more question was asked to one celebrity; if the contestant agreed or disagreed correctly, they won the money for one square and the match. If not, their opponent automatically won. The single-question format

2720-515: The first season; this award was dropped once returning champions were reinstated in the second season. However, during theme weeks in which contestants only played once, the $ 2,500 was given for a miss. Beginning approximately two months into season four and continuing until the end of that season in June 2002, Hollywood Squares instituted a new high-stakes round in response to the recent trend of quiz shows offering big cash prizes. The champion faced

2800-462: The first woman to win the award and eventually was joined by Meredith Vieira 22 years later as the only two females to have garnered the award. Steve Harvey and Wayne Brady are the only African American game show hosts to have won the Emmy. In 1990, Bob Barker and Alex Trebek tied for the award, which was the first tie in this category. Also in 1990, Barker became the host with the most wins in

2880-406: The game won a bonus prize package if they correctly agreed or disagreed with the star. Secret Square prize packages added cash on the daytime edition, which started at around $ 1,000 for the 1966 episodes; the base amount increased in the later years from 1967 to 1980, by which time a new Secret Square package was worth around $ 3,500 to $ 4,500. The package grew daily until won. The question for the star

2960-644: The hosting spot on Lottery Live , the nightly drawings of the Massachusetts State Lottery games. By January 1987, while still working in these roles, Bergeron added People Are Talking to his duties. He replaced outgoing host Buzz Luttrell on the early afternoon talk show, where he gained even more popularity. While Ron Cantera took over as host of 4 Today (until its cancellation in 1988), Bergeron remained lottery host until drawings moved to WNEV-TV in August 1987. Bergeron additionally served as

3040-526: The inaugural category of Outstanding Host for a Reality or Competition Program. In 2020, Bergeron competed in the third season of The Masked Singer as "Taco". Bergeron has been married to Lois since 1982 and has two daughters. In 2009, Bergeron published his autobiography I'm Hosting as Fast as I Can!: Zen and the Art of Staying Sane in Hollywood . Hollywood Squares Though Hollywood Squares

3120-410: The last season. Stevens also left his role as announcer. The 2002–2003 season launched with Henry Winkler and his production partner Michael Levitt as the new executive producers and Jeffrey Tambor as the announcer (in addition to retaining his semi-regular appearance). Winkler guest announced for several weeks during the season. Some changes were made to the overall production with the show adopting

3200-428: The match that totaled $ 500). Originally, a five-match champion retired with an additional $ 2,500, the Secret Square prize package (if not yet won), and a new car; the cash bonus was increased through the years. By 1976, the prize for a five-day champion included additional cash ($ 5,000 or $ 10,000), two new cars, and a luxury vacation, with a total value of somewhere between $ 20,000 and $ 25,000. In September 1976, an endgame

3280-468: The morning show Breakfast Time on FX and later re-titled Fox After Breakfast when the show moved to the Fox Network . In 1997, Bergeron joined ABC , where he served as a guest host for Good Morning America . Bergeron was the host of Hollywood Squares from 1998 to 2004, a role for which he won a Daytime Emmy Award for Outstanding Game Show Host in 2000. In February 2001, he became

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3360-483: The new host of the ABC series America's Funniest Home Videos . In March 2014, Bergeron announced on Twitter that he would not be hosting America's Funniest Home Videos after season 25. Bergeron's final episode of America's Funniest Home Videos aired May 17, 2015. He was replaced by Alfonso Ribeiro . In June 2005, he began hosting the reality series Dancing with the Stars , also on ABC. For his work on Dancing with

3440-411: The next day with that car eliminated should he or she return to the bonus game. After a fifth victory, the contestant automatically won the only car still in play at that point and retired. Every broadcast week started with a new set of five cars; if a champion's reign carried over from the preceding week, one car was eliminated for each of his/her victories to that point, in ascending order of price. For

3520-509: The nursing home Larry was living in. His first job in broadcasting was as a disc jockey at local radio station WHAV , in his home town of Haverhill, Massachusetts. He became a popular radio DJ in the Seacoast area of New Hampshire in the early 1980s on Portsmouth's WHEB , where he played comedy records along with music and offbeat interviews. His popularity led to additional TV and radio auditions. One of his first jobs on television

3600-404: The opponent's letter, unless doing so would result in an automatic win for the opponent. As in the regular game of tic-tac-toe, the objective is to create three in a row of the same symbol vertically, horizontally, or diagonally. Should a game end in such a way that it is impossible to achieve three in a row, the round is won by whichever contestant is able to place more of their respective letter on

3680-548: The opponent. The nighttime syndicated version's episodes were self-contained, unlike the daytime version where games could straddle. For the final (1980–1981) season, the syndicated series left NBC's Burbank, California studio and moved to the Riviera Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas , Nevada . During the final season, games were no longer scored. Instead, the winner of each game won a prize, and if time ran out before

3760-534: The original host of WBZ's weekend morning teenage discussion series Rap-Around from 1987 to 1989. By the early 1990s, Bergeron was seen as a solid figure in Boston television, and WBZ continued to capitalize on his talents by featuring him on WBZ Radio . It was there he had an early-morning radio show called The Tom Bergeron Show . When People Are Talking ended a successful 13-year run in June 1993, Bergeron remained on WBZ-TV as commentator and lifestyle reporter for

3840-446: The panel seating area, with three more celebrities being introduced to the proceedings at the show's midpoint. All nine celebrities could play the Super Match. The Match Game-Hollywood Squares Hour was not a success and NBC announced its cancellation in the spring of 1984, with the final episode airing on July 27, 1984. It was replaced the following Monday with the soap opera Santa Barbara , which ran for nine years. Two years after

3920-403: The past. NBC later brought the concept back to the daytime series in the 1976–1977 season with a slight retooling, where instead of children playing entire families played. In an interview with E! 's True Hollywood Story on March 30, 2003 (episode 7.21), Marshall lauded the concept, but lamented that by the time each of the characters was introduced, very little of the show's half-hour format

4000-405: The permanent center square, with series head writer Bruce Vilanch , Gilbert Gottfried , Martin Mull and Caroline Rhea as regular panelists and Brad Garrett , Bobcat Goldthwait , Jeffrey Tambor , George Wallace , Kathy Griffin and various others as semi-regular panelists. Shadoe Stevens returned as an announcer but unlike the previous series, he was not a panelist on this version. After

4080-432: The questions followed either a multiple-choice or true/false format. Third, for each square a contestant claimed $ 25 was added to his/her score with each game win starting at $ 100 for the first and increasing by that amount for subsequent games until time ran out and a winner was declared. In contrast to the original version of the show, players could win games by default if the opposing player incorrectly agreed/disagreed with

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4160-413: The ratings until 1976 when it made the first of several time slot moves. The daytime show aired its 3,536th and last episode on June 20, 1980, when it was canceled to make way for a talk show with David Letterman that would become a precursor to his Late Night and Late Show programs. The show also ran at night, first on NBC from January 12 to September 13, 1968, as a mid-season replacement for

4240-447: The revival; this differed from Columbia-TriStar and King World’s other collaborations, Wheel of Fortune and Jeopardy! , where King World had no stake in production. On September 14, 1998, the revival debuted with Tom Bergeron , who was also starring on Good Morning America as an anchor at the time, as its host; former Nickelodeon host Marc Summers was also considered. In addition to her production duties, Whoopi Goldberg served as

4320-416: The second game. Beginning in the second season and continuing until the end of the fifth season, the Secret Square game was played for an accumulating jackpot of prizes that Bergeron referred to as the "Secret Square stash". A new prize was added to the jackpot each day until someone claimed it. The Bergeron Hollywood Squares employed three different bonus games during its six seasons on air. Originally,

4400-400: The semi-regulars were previously better known for Match Game (only on two weeks of episodes did a regular from the previous Hollywood Squares , George Gobel, appear on the panel). The announcer for this version was Gene Wood but was also sub-announced by either Rich Jefferies or Johnny Olson . Hollywood Squares was always played as the second (middle) segment of the show, and featured

4480-459: The series and, beginning late in the first season, he also became a regular panelist occupying the bottom center square. Starting with episode #100, Stevens temporarily left the show to film the movie Traxx , and his brother Richard took over as announcer; Stevens returned for the final two weeks of the first season and remained until the series' end. After one season of rotating center squares, former Hollywood Squares panelist Joan Rivers joined

4560-443: The series as the permanent center square. Comic actor Jim J. Bullock also became the series' third regular panelist, usually in the upper-left square. All three took turns as guest hosts for Davidson; Howard Stern replaced Stevens as announcer/panelist during his week as host. All music for the program was composed by Stormy Sacks. The game used the original version's rule that games could not be won due to an opponent's error. For

4640-402: The series relocated to Las Vegas for the 1980–1981 season. The Secret Square game is played as the first game on a given broadcast (or the first complete game, if a show began with a game already in progress) during the daytime series. In this game, a randomly selected Secret Square is shown only to the home audience by the shot of the television camera. A contestant who picked that square during

4720-555: The short-lived sitcom Accidental Family . A nighttime syndicated program ran from November 1, 1971, until May 22, 1981. Initially airing once weekly, the syndicated Squares added a second airing in 1972 and began airing daily or nightly in September 1980, the show's final season. The daytime series was played as a best two-out-of-three match between a returning champion and an opponent, with each game worth $ 200/$ 400 per match (originally $ 100 for each game and an additional $ 300 for

4800-458: The show used the same "pick a star, win a prize" format the Marshall version had used during its last few years on the air. Each of the nine squares hid a different prize, with $ 10,000 cash ($ 15,000 in season 3) and a car being the two most expensive. The day's winner simply picked the celebrity they wanted and won whatever prize was in an envelope that the star was holding. As noted by Bergeron at

4880-405: The squares illuminated, and the credits sequence ended on a freeze frame of balloons being showered onto the stage. The second game of each show was a Secret Square game. As with the original version, the Secret Square was revealed to the home audience at the start of this game; if a contestant chose that square, a school bell sounded and if the contestant agreed or disagreed correctly, he/she won

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4960-412: The start of the bonus round for each episode, the prizes totaled over $ 100,000. Beginning partway through the first season and continuing until partway through season four, the champion could only win the prize by correctly agreeing/disagreeing with the response that the chosen celebrity gave to a Secret Square-style question. A champion who failed to do so was awarded a consolation prize of $ 2,500 cash in

5040-557: The station's expanded hour-long noon newscast. In early 1994, Bergeron briefly surfaced as a morning host on Boston's soft-rock station WMJX ("Magic 106.7"), which was only a short commute to WBZ's studios for his work on the noon news. Bergeron credits a portion of his success as a television personality to his more than 35 years of regularly practicing Transcendental Meditation . He discussed his meditation practice on 10 Percent Happier with Dan Harris and The Fifth Dimension: A Mindfulness Podcast . From 1994 to 1997, Bergeron co-hosted

5120-405: The syndicated series was a car. From 1978 to 1980, the endgame described above was used with each prize worth at least $ 5,000 including a new car; cash prizes of $ 5,000 and $ 10,000 were also available. If the match ended in a tie, one final question was played with the star of one contestant's choosing; if the contestant agreed or disagreed correctly, he/she won the match; otherwise, the match went to

5200-403: The syndicated version, if time ran out with a game still in progress (interrupted by a loud horn that the host called "the tacky buzzer"), each X or O on the board at that point was worth an additional $ 50 to the contestants, with each contestant guaranteed at least $ 100 in total winnings. The contestant with the most money at the end of the show won a bonus prize, which for the first seven years of

5280-496: The win by default. For the first season of this Hollywood Squares series, two new contestants competed on each episode. A coin toss determined who would begin the first game during this time. Beginning in the second season, the returning champion rule was reinstated; a contestant could stay on for a maximum of five days. With this change, the incoming challenger began the first game of a match. The show ended on June 4, 2004. The first season also saw up to two Secret Square games. In

5360-472: The winner of the Match Game match played in the first half of the program playing O and the show's returning champion playing X, regardless of the player's genders (all other versions had women playing O and men playing X with exceptions, as noted above). This version of Hollywood Squares saw several different variations on the gameplay. First, the panelists were not given bluff answers or briefed. Second,

5440-792: The wrong answer; Roddy McDowall usually gave correct answers about the plays of Shakespeare ; Rose Marie often received questions on dating and relationships, playing off her lovelorn comic persona; and Demond Wilson often responded with mock anger to questions that were carefully worded to play upon African-American stereotypes. Other regulars and semi-regulars over the years included Nanette Fabray , Kaye Ballard , Morey Amsterdam , Florence Henderson , Buddy Hackett , Marty Allen , Wayland Flowers and Madame , Barbara Eden , George Gobel , Vincent Price , Weird Al Yankovic , Charo , Sandy Duncan , Carol Wayne , Jonathan Winters , Foster Brooks , The Lennon Sisters , Garrett Morris , Karen Valentine , John Davidson and Joan Rivers . Paul Lynde

5520-401: Was a legitimate game show, the game largely acted as the background for the show's comedy in the form of joke answers (commonly called "zingers" by the production staff), often given by the stars prior to their real answer. The show's writers usually supplied the jokes. In addition, the stars were given the questions' subjects and bluffs prior to the show. The show was scripted in this sense, but

5600-406: Was added after each match with the champion simply selecting a star, each of whom held an envelope with a prize; the top prize was $ 5,000, with additional prizes ranging from small kitchen appliances to items worth up to about $ 2,000. The nighttime versions featured the same two contestants playing for the entire half-hour with each completed game worth $ 300 (NBC prime time) or $ 250 (syndicated). On

5680-399: Was allowed to consult their celebrity partner for help; however, only the champion's answers were accepted. Each correct answer was worth the amount in the envelope, which was revealed at the start of the round. At the end of the 60 seconds, the champion was given a choice to either quit with the money earned in the round or attempt to go double-or-nothing on an open-ended final question, with

5760-409: Was also used on occasions where there was not enough time remaining for a proper third round. The contestant who finished with the most money won the match and went on to the bonus round. Contestants wore name tags on all episodes of this version except for the premiere. This version lasted three seasons, ending on June 16, 1989. At the end of the final episode, a video clip from the first week of shows

5840-553: Was as host of a local game show, Granite State Challenge , on New Hampshire Public Television (produced at NHPTV flagship station WENH-TV ). He moved to the Boston market in February 1982, joining WBZ-TV as a general on-air personality. His early roles at the station included being a contributor on Evening Magazine (1982–1987), and hosting brief informational and show preview segments known as 4 Today , every 30 minutes during WBZ's daytime lineup (1983–1987). In 1984, he landed

5920-404: Was featured in the tactically important center square throughout most of the show's original run. In 1968, after two years on the show, Lynde became the regular center square. Lynde's outrageous jokes earned him three daytime Emmy Award nominations in 1972, 1973 and 1974. He left the series after taping the August 20–24, 1979, week of shows and was replaced by Wayland Flowers ; Lynde returned when

6000-598: Was left for actual gameplay. In 1983, several years after Orion Pictures acquired Hollywood Squares rights owner Filmways , NBC decided to attempt a revival of the series. What resulted was an effort produced by Mark Goodson Productions that combined the Hollywood Squares program, under license from Orion, with a revival of the Goodson-produced Match Game . The 60-minute program was dubbed The Match Game-Hollywood Squares Hour and debuted on October 31, 1983, at 3 p.m. Eastern, replacing

6080-413: Was named after an "Immy", an affectionate term used to refer to the image orthicon camera tube. The statuette was designed by Louis McManus , who modeled the award after his wife, Dorothy. The Emmy statuette is fifteen inches tall from base to tip, weighing five pounds and is composed of iron, pewter, zinc and gold. Since its inception, the award has been given to 18 hosts. In 1983, Betty White became

6160-408: Was run, introducing the celebrities who had appeared that week. Davidson, the panelists, the audience, and the crew then sang " Happy Trails " under the credits, with the crew members sitting in the squares and holding up signs that displayed their names and titles. The song continued under a montage of audio clips from the show's run as everyone faded away and the lights gradually went out, leaving only

6240-399: Was sealed in a special envelope and was almost always multiple-choice. For the 1968 NBC primetime series, the first two games were the Secret Square games. One Secret Square offered a trip and the other Secret Square offered a car or occasionally a boat. If not won, the prize offered in the first round carried over to the second round, with a second prize added. If not won in the second round,

6320-447: Was used for each contestant's square if time ran out during a game and was counted towards their cash total to determine the day's champion. The tiebreaker was the same as the previous versions except that the contestant who had won the most games, most squares overall, or won the last game played (whichever came first) had the option to play the question or pass it to his/her opponent, with a miss by either contestant giving their opponent

6400-418: Was worth $ 4,000. If a contestant did not win anything in the main game, $ 500 was given to them as a consolation prize. In the early episodes of the first season, contestants only played for half the money; $ 500 was won for each of the first two games, with $ 1,000 for the third and $ 2,000 for all subsequent games, and $ 250 was given as a consolation prize for failing to win a game. The consolation prize amount also

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