The Californians is a half-hour American Western television series , set during the California Gold Rush of the 1850s, which was broadcast by NBC from September 24, 1957, through August 27, 1959.
55-651: The Californians may refer to: The Californians (TV series) , American NBC 1950s western "The Californians" ( Dynasty ) , episode of TV show, Dynasty "The Californians" ( Saturday Night Live ) , soap opera parody of lifestyles and accents that first aired in 2012 The Californians (film) , 2005 American independent drama adapted from Henry James' novel The Bostonians See also [ edit ] The Californian (disambiguation) , including several periodicals The Californias Californian (disambiguation) California (disambiguation) Topics referred to by
110-571: A consolation prize of a new Cadillac . Starting with the $ 8,000 question, the contestant was placed in the Revlon " isolation booth ", where they could hear nothing but the host's words. As long as the contestant kept answering correctly, they stayed on the show until they had won $ 64,000. Almost immediately, The $ 64,000 Question beat every other program on Tuesday nights in ratings. Broadcast historian Robert Metz, in CBS: Reflections in
165-418: A Bloodshot Eye , claimed U.S. President Dwight D. Eisenhower himself did not want to be disturbed while the show was on and that the nation's crime rate, movie theater, and restaurant patronage dropped dramatically when the show aired. It earned the #1 rating spot for the 1955–56 season, holding the distinction of being the only television show to knock I Love Lucy out of the #1 spot, and finished at #4 in
220-518: A contestant in an October 20, 1957 spoof with Benny asking the questions. As a gag, Benny actually appeared as a contestant on The $ 64,000 Question on October 8, 1957, but insisted on walking away with $ 64 after answering the first question. Hal March finally gave him $ 64 out of his own pocket. At the height of its popularity, The $ 64,000 Question was referenced in the scripts of other CBS shows, usually but not exclusively through punch lines that included references to "the isolation booth" or "reaching
275-492: A job for the United States Census Bureau . Producers eventually acknowledged he had been shown questions beforehand but not answers, noting that he already knew the answers beforehand; he was exonerated of wrongdoing. The most prominent victim may have been the man who initially launched the franchise. Louis Cowan, made CBS Television president as a result of Question' s fast success, was forced out of
330-428: A member of a group of vigilantes headed by storekeeper Jack McGivern. Because the program's sponsors "were uneasy about glorifying vigilantes", the producers changed the characters and cast. In March 1958 Matthew Wayne came to San Francisco. He bought a saloon and soon was elected as the city's sheriff. Wayne became the main character, with McGivern and Patrick being phased out. The second season began with Wayne as
385-547: A subject category (such as "Boxing", "Lincoln", "Jazz" or "Football") from the Category Board. Although this board was a large part of the set, it was seen only briefly, evidently to conceal the fact that categories were sometimes hastily added to match a new contestant's subject. The contestant was then asked questions only in the chosen category, earning money which doubled ($ 64, $ 128, $ 256, $ 512; then $ 1,000, $ 2,000, $ 4,000, $ 8,000, $ 16,000, $ 32,000, and finally $ 64,000) as
440-484: A whirlwind of publicity tours, awards, endorsements and meetings with dignitaries. Cobbler Gino Prato, whose category was opera, was brought to Italy for a special performance at la Scala and honored by an audience with the Pope. After winning $ 64,000, spelling whiz Gloria Lockerman, an African American , became a guest speaker at the 1956 Democratic National Convention ... Eleven-year-old stock market expert Lenny Ross
495-428: Is an American game show broadcast in primetime on CBS-TV from 1955 to 1958, which became embroiled in the 1950s quiz show scandals . Contestants answered general knowledge questions, earning money which doubled as the questions became more difficult. The final question had a top prize of $ 64,000 (equivalent to $ 730,000 in 2023), hence the "$ 64,000 Question" in the show's title. The $ 64,000 Challenge (1956–1958)
550-490: Is different from Wikidata All article disambiguation pages All disambiguation pages The Californians (TV series) The series was set in San Francisco , with episodes focusing on "honest men trying to clean up a wild city overrun by criminals and con men". When episodes began, Sam Brennan owned a newspaper for which Dion Patrick worked as a reporter. Patrick also sought to maintain law and order as
605-683: The Library of Congress contains one kinescoped episode featuring Capt. Richard McCutchen as a contestant, broadcast July 1, 1956. Question contestants sometimes became celebrities themselves for a short while, including 11-year-old Robert Strom (who won $ 192,000, worth $ 2.2 million today) and Teddy Nadler ($ 252,000 across both shows, worth $ 2.9 million today), the two biggest winners in the show's history. Other such newly made celebrities included Italian-born Bronx shoemaker Gino Prato, who won $ 32,000 ($ 363,100 today) for his encyclopedic knowledge of opera . The longest enduring of these newly made celebrities
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#1732787454791660-420: The "Aggravation" category. In Hello, Mom Norton tells Ralph that his mother-in-law's category on the show would be "Nasty". In The Worry Wart , Ralph advises Alice to become a contestant because she's an expert in the "Everything" category. Another episode of The Honeymooners , delivered one of the best known Question references – a parody of the show itself, in one of the so-called "Original 39" episodes of
715-400: The $ 64,000 Question" (1956), which used the show's theme music by Norman F. Leyden with added Fred Ebb lyrics, was recorded by Hal March (Columbia 40684), Karen Chandler (Decca 29881), Jim Lowe (Dot 15456), and Tony Travis (RCA Victor 47-6476). When the show was revived in 1976 as The $ 128,000 Question , its theme music and cues were performed (albeit with a new disco-style arrangement for
770-517: The 1956–57 season and #20 in 1957–58. Among its imitators or inspirations were The Big Surprise , Tic-Tac-Dough , and Twenty-One . Not only did Charles Revson not exercise his withdrawal right, but he wanted another way to take advantage of Question' s swollen audience. April 8, 1956 saw the debut of The $ 64,000 Challenge (initially co-sponsored by Revlon and Lorillard Tobacco Company 's Kent cigarettes), hosted through August 26 by future children's television star Sonny Fox and then, for
825-452: The 1960 Communications Act) coming. Over the course of the early 1960s, the networks wound down their five-figure jackpot game shows; Jackpot Bowling (1959–1961) and Make That Spare (1960–1964), a period on Beat the Clock (1960) when its Bonus Stunt grew in $ 100 increments past the $ 10,000 mark until finally being won for $ 20,100 on September 23, You Bet Your Life (ended 1961) and
880-592: The British game show Who Wants to Be a Millionaire? . Millionaire has a format very similar to The $ 64,000 Question – 15 questions in which the contestant's money roughly doubles with each correct question until reaching the top prize. However, the questions in Millionaire are of a broader variety than Question' s one-category line of questioning and have a different category for each question, all questions are multiple choice , contestants are allowed to leave
935-527: The Fi" (Buck Clayton), "I'm Comin', Virginia" (Eddie Condon), "A Fine Romance" (Dave Brubeck, Paul Desmond), "I Let A Song Go Out of My Heart" (Duke Ellington), and "Ain't Misbehavin'" (Louis Armstrong). Other musical tie-ins included the 1955 song "The $ 64,000 Question (Do You Love Me)", recorded by Bobby Tuggle (Checker 823), Jackie Brooks (Decca 29684), and the Burton Sisters (RCA Victor 47-6265). "Love Is
990-432: The allegation that a Dotto contestant had been given answers in advance. The probe soon included NBC's Twenty-One , and was expected to expand further. In the first week of September, a contestant of Challenge , Rev. Charles Jackson, came forward to say he had been given answers in advance. On September 13, Lorillard Tobacco Company pulled its sponsorship of the show; this made the previous airing on September 7
1045-430: The city marshal, whose efforts were supported by a police department of 50 people. New characters in that season were Wilma Fansler, a widowed young operator of a gambling establishment, and Jeremy Pitt, an attorney who was "friend and foil to the marshal". Producer Louis F. Edelman initially offered The Californians to ABC-TV. After that network was unable to obtain sponsors, Edelman offered it to NBC. Robert Bassler
1100-535: The elimination rounds. After 1975, the game had the following rounds: Although the show was cancelled due to low viewership, the cancellation was controversial because of how highly regarded it was by many people, especially those who were still watching it, and because some games that were planned or already in progress were not completed. There were plans to revive the show in 2016 as Większa gra ("The Greater Game") in an altered format, but eventually those plans were cancelled. The Swedish version of this quiz
1155-551: The end of November 1956 ($ 11.2 million today). The American Experience (PBS) episode probing the scandal noted: All the big winners became instant celebrities and household names. For the first time, America's heroes were intellectuals or experts–jockey Billy Pearson on art, Marine Captain McCutchen on cooking–every subject from the Bible to baseball. Not only had the contestants become rich overnight, but they were also treated to
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#17327874547911210-419: The fictitious $ 99,000 Answer was one Herb Norris, played by former Twenty Questions emcee and future Tic-Tac-Dough host Jay Jackson . The show has been referenced on other game shows. On the U.S. version of Deal or No Deal , an episode aired January 15, 2007, in which the banker's offer was $ 64,000. Host Howie Mandel said, "This is the $ 64,000 question". In many money trees of most variations of
1265-612: The figure to $ 64,000 for the new television program. Finally, Cowan convinced Revlon . The key: Revlon founder and chieftain Charles Revson knew top competitor Hazel Bishop had fattened its sales through sponsoring the popular This Is Your Life , and he wanted a piece of that action if he could have it. Revlon first signed a deal to sponsor Cowan's brainchild for 13 weeks with the right to withdraw when they expired. The $ 64,000 Question premiered June 7, 1955 on CBS-TV, sponsored by cosmetics maker Revlon and originating from
1320-426: The first plateau". Typical of these was spoken by The Honeymooners ' Ed Norton ( Art Carney ), who identified three times in a man's life when he wants to be alone, with the third being "when he's in the isolation booth of The $ 64,000 Question ". At least three other Honeymooners episodes referenced Question : In A Woman's Work Is Never Done Ralph proposes to Alice that he go on the show because he's an expert in
1375-587: The game with their money after a question is revealed but before it is answered, and Millionaire offers three chances for help (called "lifelines"), which were not present in Question . In 2000, responding to the success of Millionaire , CBS bought the rights to the property in a reported effort to produce another revival attempt, The $ 64,000 Question (with a top prize of $ 1,024,000), to be hosted by sportscaster Greg Gumbel . Because of format issues similar to those encountered by Davies for ABC , this version
1430-468: The last for Challenge . The $ 64,000 Challenge was replaced on CBS with "a special news program" on September 14. The $ 64,000 Question , which had not yet begun airing for the new season, assumed Challenge 's Sunday time slot on September 21. After the federal probe of quiz shows surfaced, quiz shows suffered badly in the Fall 1958 Nielsen ratings. In late October, strong rumors had surfaced that Question
1485-460: The late 20th century, as the isolation booth was abandoned and a large turntable was added in the center of the studio floor, displaying the prize amount for each round, upon which the envelopes containing the questions were placed. The categories became more specific (e.g., Mozart—life and compositions, Muslim conquests in the 7th–8th centuries), were limited to art, history (most categories), geography, and zoology, and were now chosen by players during
1540-424: The more lavish prize offerings on The Nighttime Price Is Right (1957–1964) were the few remaining shows offering large prizes. Only one traditional big-money quiz show, the short-lived ABC quiz 100 Grand (1963), was attempted in the subsequent years; the networks stayed away from awarding five-figure cash jackpots until the premiere of The $ 10,000 Pyramid and Match Game 73 in 1973. The disappearance of
1595-562: The network as the quiz scandal ramped up, even though it was NBC 's quiz shows bearing most of the brunt of the scandal – and even though CBS itself, with a little help from sponsor Colgate-Palmolive , had moved fast in cancelling the popular Dotto at almost the moment it was confirmed that that show had been rigged. Cowan had never been suspected of taking part in any attempt to rig either Question or Challenge ; later CBS historians suggested his reputation as an administrative bottleneck may have had as much to do with his firing as his tie to
1650-795: The original Question in Summer 1976, as a run-up to a new version of the show called The $ 128,000 Question , which ran for two years. The first season was hosted by Mike Darrow and produced at the Ed Sullivan Theater in New York City, while the second was produced at Global Television Network in Toronto, Ontario , Canada and hosted by Alex Trebek . In 1999, television producer Michael Davies attempted to revive Question as The $ 640,000 Question for ABC , before abandoning that project in favor of producing an American version of
1705-587: The people directly involved in rigging any of the quiz shows faced any penalty more severe than suspended sentences for perjury before the federal grand jury that probed the scandal, even if many hosts and producers found themselves frozen out of television for many years. One Question contestant, Doll Goostree, sued both CBS and the producers in a bid to recoup $ 4,000 she said she might have won if her match of Question had not been rigged. Neither Goostree nor any other quiz contestant who similarly sued won their cases. Selected PBS outlets showed surviving kinescopes of
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1760-484: The program. The Californians had competition from The West Point Story , which was broadcast by the American Broadcasting Company , and The $ 64,000 Question by CBS. In its second season, the western competed with The Garry Moore Show on CBS and the crime/police reality show Confession , hosted by Jack Wyatt , on ABC. The $ 64,000 Question The $ 64,000 Question
1815-419: The questions became more difficult. At the $ 4,000 level, a contestant returned each week for only one question per week. The contestant could quit at any time and retire with their money, but until they won $ 512, they lost all winnings for answering a question incorrectly. Missing a $ 1,000, $ 2,000, or $ 4,000 question left the contestant with $ 512. If a contestant missed a question after winning $ 4,000 they received
1870-406: The quiz show's host, and Lynn Dollar stood nearby as his assistant. Author and TV panelist Dr. Bergen Evans was the show's expert authority, and actress Wendy Barrie did the "Living Lipstick" commercials. To capitalize on the initial television success, the show was also simulcast for two months on CBS Radio where it was heard from October 4, 1955, to November 29, 1955. Contestants first chose
1925-415: The quiz shows gave rise to television's next big phenomenon– Westerns . The scandals also resulted in a shift of the balance of power between networks and sponsors. The networks used the scandals to justify taking control of their programs away from sponsors, thereby eliminating any potential future manipulation in prime-time broadcasting, and giving the networks full autonomy over program content. None of
1980-432: The remainder of the show's life, Ralph Story . It pitted contestants against winners of at least $ 8,000 on The $ 64,000 Question in a new, continuing game where they could win another $ 64,000. The contestants took turns answering questions from the same category starting at the $ 1,000 level. If they each answered a question correctly, they advanced to the $ 2,000 level. Starting at the $ 4,000 level, both contestants answered
2035-533: The same question while each standing in their own isolation booth. If, at any given level, a contestant answered correctly with the other contestant missing a question, the winning contestant either kept the money and faced a new player, or continued playing against the same opponent at the next money level. In time, the sister show came to include various celebrities, including bandleader Xavier Cugat and child star Patty Duke , as well as former Question champions. The J. Fred & Leslie W. MacDonald Collection of
2090-429: The same term [REDACTED] This disambiguation page lists articles associated with the title The Californians . If an internal link led you here, you may wish to change the link to point directly to the intended article. Retrieved from " https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=The_Californians&oldid=1218873320 " Category : Disambiguation pages Hidden categories: Short description
2145-496: The same through its 12-year run; a contestant was asked a series of progressively more difficult questions which began at $ 1 and ended at a top prize of $ 64. The $ 64,000 Question was created by Louis G. Cowan , formerly known for radio's Quiz Kids and the television series Stop the Music and Down You Go . Cowan drew the inspiration for the name from Take It or Leave It , and its $ 64 top prize offering. He decided to expand
2200-456: The show became The $ 7000 Question . It was hosted by Malcolm Searle (1960–1963) and Roland Strong (1963–1971). A Danish version of the show called Kvit eller dobbelt [ da ] was made in Denmark . The show originally aired from 1957 to 1959, with a top prize of 10,000 Danish kroner . It was revived in 1984, then again in 1990 and again in 1999. The latest revival in 2013
2255-553: The start live from CBS-TV Studio 52 in New York (later the disco-theater Studio 54 ). To increase the show's drama and suspense, and because radio host Phil Baker had bombed earlier in the decade with his lone television effort Who's Whose , it was decided to use an actor rather than a broadcaster as the host. Television and film actor Hal March , familiar to TV viewers as a supporting regular on The George Burns and Gracie Allen Show and My Friend Irma , found instant fame as
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2310-451: The tainted shows. Cowan may have been a textbook sacrificial lamb, in a bid to preempt any further scandal while the network scrambled to recover, and while president Frank Stanton accepted complete responsibility for any wrongdoing committed under his watch. By the end of 1959, all first generation big-money quizzes were gone, with single-sponsorship television following and a federal law against fixing television game shows (an amendment to
2365-416: The television series Who Wants to Be a Millionaire? , the amount of $ 64,000 is often included as the prize money awarded for correctly answering the 11th question. In mid-August 1958, while both Question and Challenge had already been announced as part of CBS's fall lineup , the network's quiz show Dotto was cancelled without explanation. A federal investigation was launched by the end of August on
2420-687: The theme) by Charles Randolph Grean , who released a three-and-a-half-minute single, "The $ 128,000 Question" (the show's music and cues as an instrumental), with the B-side ("Sentimentale") on the Ranwood label (45rpm release R-1064). For the show's second season, Grean's music package was re-recorded by Guido Basso. There were numerous parodies of the program, including in the Foghorn Leghorn cartoon " Fox-Terror ", Bob and Ray 's The 64-Cent Question . The Jack Benny Program featured Hal March as
2475-526: The timeless situation comedy. In that episode, blustery bus driver Ralph Kramden becomes a contestant on the fictitious $ 99,000 Answer . Regarded as one of the Golden Age of Television 's best quiz show parodies, the Honeymooners episode depicted Kramden spending a week intensively studying popular songs, only to blow the first question on the subject when he returned to play on the show. The host of
2530-452: Was Kvitt eller dubbelt (1957–1994). There were three derived versions in the UK: earlier, The 64,000 Question , The $ 64,000 Challenge (both with no dollar sign), and later, The $ 64,000 Question . The phrase the $ 64,000 question is an idiom and is routinely used as a way of saying the most important question . It is derived from the fact that the ultimate question on the show
2585-409: Was aimed at kids and also included kids as participants. The Italian version of this quiz was Lascia o raddoppia? (1955–1959). The prize money doubled from 2,560,000 lire to 5,120,000 lire. The Mexican version, El Gran Premio de los 64,000 pesos , lasted from 1956 to 1994 with some interruptions, changes of name to compensate peso devaluation, and changes of TV network. Most of the time it
2640-636: Was asked to open up the New York Stock Exchange. One category on the Revlon Category Board was "Jazz", and within months of the premiere Columbia Records issued a 1955 album of various jazz artists under the tie-in title $ 64,000 Jazz (CL 777, also EP B-777), with the following tracks: "The Shrike" (Pete Rugolo), "Perdido" (J.J. Johnson, Kai Winding), "Laura" (Erroll Garner), " Honeysuckle Rose " (Benny Goodman), "Tawny" (Woody Herman), "One O'Clock Jump" (Harry James), "How Hi
2695-418: Was assigned to oversee production, including heavy discussions of feedback the show received. According to Question producer Joe Cates, an IBM sorting machine was used to present lower dollar value questions, to give the illusion that the questions were randomly selected – in fact, all of the cards were identical. Nadler's victory was called into question when he failed a civil service exam in 1960 applying
2750-483: Was hosted by Pedro Ferriz. A movie was made in which Ferriz asks questions to a character played by Sara García, known then as "Mexican Cinema's Granny". The Polish version of this quiz was Wielka gra ("The Great Game", 1962–2006). Initially the rules and the studio set-up matched the original's, but in 1975 both were changed by Wojciech Pijanowski, creator, producer, writer, and/or host of many quiz shows in Poland in
2805-405: Was its spin-off show, where contestants played against winners of at least $ 8,000 on The $ 64,000 Question . The $ 64,000 Question was largely inspired by the earlier CBS and NBC radio program Take It or Leave It , which ran on CBS radio from 1940 to 1947, and then on NBC radio from 1947 to 1952. After 1950, the radio show was renamed The $ 64 Question . The format of the show remained largely
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#17327874547912860-459: Was never broadcast. A similar version of The $ 64,000 Question was successful in Australia from 1960 to 1971 on Seven Network . Initially called Coles £3000 Question , the show changed its name to Coles $ 6000 Question on February 14, 1966 (the date Australia converted to decimal currency) and was sponsored for most of its run by Coles Stores . In July 1971, Coles dropped its sponsorship and
2915-430: Was psychologist Joyce Brothers . Answering questions about boxing , she became, after McCutchen, the second top winner, and went on to a career providing psychological advice in newspaper columns and TV shows for the next four decades. Another winner, Pennsylvania typist Catherine Kreitzer, read Shakespeare on The Ed Sullivan Show . TV Guide kept a running tally of the money won on the show, which hit $ 1 million by
2970-465: Was slated for movement to a less desirable time slot, or cancellation. Cancellation was made official after Question 's November 2 airing. The game show ceased operations for good on November 21, 1958. The $ 64,000 Question was closely monitored by its sponsor's CEO, Revlon 's Charles Revson , who often interfered with production, especially attempting to bump contestants he himself disliked, regardless of audience reaction. Revson's brother, Martin,
3025-600: Was the show's first producer. Felix Feist replaced him in January 1958. The Californians initially was broadcast on Tuesdays from 10 to 10:30 p.m. Eastern Time. In April 1959 it was moved to 9 - 9:30 p.m. E. T. on Tuesdays, and in July 1959 it was moved to Thursdays from 7:30 to 8 p.m. E. T. The Californians theme song , "I've Come to California", was sung by the Ken Darby Singers . Darby also scored
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