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The Match Game was a long-running American television game show, most often hosted by Gene Rayburn. The show featured celebrities and contestants answering fill-in-the-blank questions. The most famous versions of the 1970s and 1980s, starting with Match Game '73, were remembered for their bawdy humor and involved contestants trying to match six celebrities.

Broadcast history

The Match Game premiered December 31, 1962 continuing through September 26, 1969 on NBC for 1,760 episodes. \Hosted by Bill Cullen, this series had two three-person teams, each with one celebrity and two civillian contestants, attempting to match answers to simple audience-survey or fill-in-the-blank questions. In its final season, Cullen was to be replaced by Ron Ely ("Tarzan"), but NBS pulled the plug before the change took place.

In the summer of 1973, Mark Goodson and Bill Todman resurrected the show as Match Game '73 for CBS, with Steve Allen show allum, Gene Rayburn as host. (The title would be updated for the next six calendar years; this is the first and only game show so far to actually use the year in its name.) This version saw two solo contestants attempting to match the answers given by a six-celebrity panel. Former Hogan's Heroes costar (and future host of Family Feud) Richard Dawson was the first regular panelist; within a few months, he was joined by (The New Perry Mason") actress Brett Somers (the wife of Jack Klugman) and Broadway personality Charles Nelson Reilly.

Like Bob Barker when Goodson-Todman and CBS revived The Price Is Right the previous September, Rayburn advised viewers of the first '70s show it was still their same favorite from the 1960s, modernized for the present decade. At the very beginning of the show's revival, some of the questions (in the spirit of the first run) were somewhat bland and perfunctory.

Ratings were unimpressive, and CBS issued a cancellation notice to producers Goodson and Todman. However, it was not then a common network practice to yank failing shows off the air at the same moment their fate had been decided. Thus, Match Game '73 was expected to run out the string on its original commitment of episodes before leaving the schedule. At this point, the creative staff (notably Dick DeBartolo) asked whether the writers could inject some outrageous and suggestive humor into the tame questions, and since the show would soon be off the air anyway, the producers agreed.

The tone of Rayburn's questions changed notably, leaving behind the staid topics of the '60s version for more risqué, shticky, and double-entendre-laden humor. Within little time, Match Game '73 became the highest-rated game show. Eventually, it surpassed records as the most popular daytime program ever, with an astounding record of 11 million daily viewers. Needless to say, CBS "un-cancelled" the program.

In later interviews, Rayburn said the "interaction between the panel" made the "silly" game work - particularly that between Somers and Reilly, who developed a tongue-in-cheek rivalry of putdowns. Five shows would be taped each production day (six when Match Game PM was in production), with a lunch break after the Wednesday episode. Copious consumption of vino on said lunch typically led to even looser, wilder antics for the Thursday and Friday episodes.

In 1975, a weekly nighttime edition, called Match Game PM, was syndicated to local stations. In 1976, the show's success translated into an ABC spin-off, entitled Family Feud, with Dawson emceeing.

In late 1977, CBS briefly moved the show to an earlier time slot; the ratings sagged. Feud soon supplanted MG as TV's highest-rated game show. Dawson left the show in the summer of 1978 after he told producers he wasn't "happy" any longer.

After more time-slot changes and significant ratings drops, CBS aired its 1,445th and final Match Game '79 on April 20, 1979. But enough interest in the show as a daytime program prompted Goodson and Jim Victory Television, syndicator of the still-airing weekly nighttime version, to resume daily production. Match Game -- without a year attached to the title (and with Rayburn eventually referring to the show on-air with the "the" back in the title) -- returned on September 10, 1979. In many cases, they ran on CBS-owned stations that had aired the network edition (including flagship WCBS-TV). Match Game PM ended after the 1980-81 season, and the daytime syndicated show's 525th, final episode aired on September 10, 1982, a full 3 years after it debut.

In 1983, 1990 and 1998, Match Game returned in short-lived revivals with new hosts and slightly altered formats. Today, the 1973-1982 incarnation is shown in reruns daily on Game Show Network, and is the network's "Greatest Game Show of All Time".

Johnny Olson was lead announcer for The Match Game on the 1962-69 and 1973-82 incarnations. Gene Wood announced the 1983 and 1990 revivals. Paul Boland was the announcer on the 1998 version.

Programming history

(run times including commercials, 30 minutes unless noted)

The Match Game

• NBC weekdays at 4:00 p.m. (25 min.): 31 December 1962 – 26 September 1969

Match Game '73-'79

• CBS weekdays at 3:30 p.m.: 2 July 1973 - 8 August 1975
• CBS weekdays at 3:00 p.m.: 11 August 1975 - 28 November 1975
• CBS weekdays at 3:30 p.m.: 1 December 1975 - 4 November 1977
• CBS weekdays at 11:00 a.m.: 7 November 1977 - 16 December 1977
• CBS weekdays at 4:00 p.m.: 19 December 1977 - 20 April 1979

Match Game PM

• Weekly nighttime syndication: 8 Sep 1975 - 13 Sep 1981

Match Game

• Daily daytime syndication: 10 Sep 1979 - 10 Sep 1982
• ABC weekdays at noon: 16 Jul 1990 - 12 Jul 1991
• Daily syndication: 21 Sep 1998 - 10 Sep 1999

Match Game - Hollywood Squares Hour

• NBC weekdays at 3:00 p.m. (60 min.): 31 October 1983 - 27 July 1984

Match Game on Gameshow Marathon

• CBS primetime at 8:00 pm (60 min.): 22 Jun 2006

(all times are Eastern)

Hosts and celebrity panelists

• Hosts: Gene Rayburn (1962–1984 versions), Ross Shafer (1990–1991 version), Michael Burger (1998–1999 version), Ricki Lake (2006 Gameshow Marathon version)

• Early panelists (1962-1964): Carmel Quinn, Peggy Cass, Peter Lind Hayes, Bennett Cerf, Henry Morgan, Robert Q. Lewis, Joan Fontaine, Betty White, Orson Bean and Jayne Mansfield

• Regular panelists (1973–1982): Charles Nelson Reilly, Brett Somers, Richard Dawson (until 1978),McLean Stevenson (1981-1982)

• Regular panelists (1983–1984): Jon "Bowzer" Bauman

• Regular panelists (1990–1991): Charles Nelson Reilly

• Regular panelists (1998-1999): Nell Carter, Vicki Lawrence, Judy Tenuta

• Semi-regulars (1973–1982): Fannie Flagg, Betty White, Patti Deutsch, Bill Daily, Dick Martin, Joyce Bulifant, Gary Burghoff, David Doyle, Elaine Joyce, Debralee Scott, Nipsey Russell, Jo Ann Pflug, Patty Duke Astin, Avery Schreiber, Marcia Wallace, Orson Bean, Mary Ann Mobley, Eva Gabor

• Other Panelists (1973-1982): Clifton Davis, Shecky Greene, Bob Barker, Ed Asner, Bert Convy, Jimmie Walker, Dwayne Hickman, Jack Carter, Louisa Moritz, Rona Barrett, George Kennedy, Leslie Nielsen, Isabel Sanford, Johnny Olson

• Semi-regulars (1983–1984): Charles Nelson Reilly, Fannie Flagg, Bill Daily

• Semi-regulars (1990–1991): Bill Kirchenbauer, Vicki Lawrence, Brad Garrett, Sally Struthers, Ronn Lucas and Scorch

• Semi-regulars (1998–1999): George Hamilton

NOTE: Starting with the top left corner as #1 (which was always the first panelist polled for his/her answer), Somers regularly occupied #2 (top middle), Reilly #3 (top right corner), and Dawson #5 (bottom middle). Fannie Flagg, when she appeared, had #6 (bottom right corner), as did Betty White.

Ratings

NBC Version

The original 1960s version consistently won its 4:00pm time slot on NBC, defeating competitors such as Art Linkletter, The Secret Storm, and Dark Shadows. After the network suddenly cancelled its most popular game shows in 1969 in a major daytime programming overhaul, it was replaced with Letters to Laugh-In at a time when The Match Game was still doing well in the ratings.

Among all network daytime game shows:

• 1962-1963: Not in Top 3
• 1963-1964: #3
• 1964-1965: Not in Top 3
• 1965-1966: Not in Top 3
• 1966-1967: Not in Top 3
• 1967-1968: #3
• 1968-1969: Not in Top 3

CBS Version

When CBS revamped The Match Game in 1973, with more of a focus on risque humor, ratings more than doubled in comparison with the NBC incarnation. It had replaced Hollywood's Talking, a short-lived and unsuccessful game show about the entertainment industry, and within merely six weeks, Match Game '73 was the most watched program on daytime television. By the summer of 1974, it grew into an absolute phenomenon with high school students and housewives, scoring remarkable ratings among the 12-34 year old age demographic. It was at this time when it broke records as the highest-rated daytime television show ever. The best ratings this version of Match Game saw were in the 1975-1976 season when at one point it drew an outstanding 12.5 rating with a 15 share (11 million viewers), higher numbers than that of some primetime series.

Among all network daytime television programs:

• 1973-1974: #1
• 1974-1975: #1
• 1975-1976: #3
• 1976-1977: #3
• 1977-1978: Not in Top 3
• 1978-1979: Not in Top 3

Among all network game shows:

• 1973-1974: #1
• 1974-1975: #1
• 1975-1976: #1
• 1976-1977: #1
• 1977-1978: #2
• 1978-1979: Not in Top 3

Main game

Two contestants, including a returning champion competed. The object was to match the answers as many of the six celebrity panelists as possible on fill-in-the-blank statements.

The main game was played in two rounds. The challenger was given a choice of two statements labeled either "A" or "B." Rayburn then read the statement.

While early questions were similar to the NBC version (e.g., "Name a type of muffin" and "Every morning, John puts _________ on his cereal"), the questions quickly changed, due to Dick DeBartolo, a writer on the show, trying to improve the show's ratings. Frequently, the statements were written with comedic, double-entendre answers in mind. A classic example: "Did you catch a glimpse of that girl on the corner? She has the world's biggest _________."

While the contestant pondered his/her answer, the six celebrities wrote their answers on index cards. After they finished, the contestant was polled for his/her answer. Frequently, the audience responded appropriately as Rayburn critiqued the contestant's answer (for the "world's biggest" question, Rayburn might compliment an answer such as "boobs" or "mouth," while expressing disdain to an answer such as "fingers" or "bag").

Rayburn then asked each celebrity—one at a time—to give his/her response. The contestant earned one point for each celebrity who wrote down the same answer (or reasonably similar as determined by the judges), up to a maximum of six points for matching everyone.

After play was completed on the contestant's question, Rayburn read the statement on the other card for the challenger and play was identical.

The challenger again began Round 2, with two new questions, unless he/she matched everyone in the first round. Only celebrites that a contestant didn't match could play this round. On Match Game PM and the daily sydnicated version from 1979-1982, whoever led after a round got to choose a question first in the next round.

On Match Game PM, a third round was added after the first season, as the games proved to be too short to fill the half-hour. Again, the only celebrities who played were those who did not match that contestant in previous rounds.

Tiebreaker rounds: If the players had the same score at the end of "regulation", the scores were reset to 0-0. On PM (or on the daytime show, if a tie was still not broken after two tiebreaker rounds), a time-saving variant of the tiebreaker was used that reversed the game play. The contestants would write their answers first on a card in secret, then the celebrities were canvassed to give their answers. The first celebrity response to match a contestant's answer gave that contestant the victory; if there were still no match (which was rare), the round was replayed with a new question. On the CBS version, the tiebreaker went on until there was a clear winner.

Popular questions featured "Dumb Dora" (and her male counterpart, "Dumb Donald"). These questions would always begin "Dumb Dora/Donald is/was so dumb…" to which the audience would respond "how dumb is/was he/she?" and Rayburn would finish the question. Another featured "character" was "Old Man Perriwinkle", a favorite character of actor/dancer Fred Astaire; the female counterpart for Old Man Perriwinkle was "Old Lady Perkins". If the question began, "The giant said...", the control booth would switch Rayburn to a speaker that amplified his voice. (Dumb Donald was added after Brett Somers complained about it always being Dumb Dora.)

The CBS daytime version had returning champions and the show "straddled" - that is, episodes often began and ended with games in progress.

On the CBS daytime show, champions could stay until defeated or reached the CBS limit of $25,000. Originally, that was the maximum earning for any champion, but the rule was later changed so that while champions were still retired after exceeding the $25,000 limit, they got to keep everything up to $35,000. During the six year run of Match Game on CBS, this only happened one time, and during the later "Star Wheel" bonus round era of the show.

On the daily '79-82 syndicated version, two contestants would play two matches against each other, and then both were retired. The show was timed out so that two new contestants appeared each Monday; this was necessary as the tapes of the show were shipped between stations, and weeks could not be aired in any discernible order (a common syndication practice at the time, known as "bicycling"). If a Friday show ran short, audience members sometimes got to play the game.

Episodes of Match Game PM were self-contained, with two new contestants each week.

Super Match

The winner of the game went on to play the Super Match, which consisted of the Audience Match and the Head-to-Head Match segments, for additional money. On the CBS version, the winner of the game won $100.

Audience Match

A fill-in-the-blank phrase was given, and it was up to the contestant to choose the most common response based on a studio audience survey. After consulting with three celebrities on the panel for help the contestant had to choose an answer. The answers were revealed after that; the most popular answer in the survey was worth $500, the second-most popular $250, and the third most popular $100. If a contestant failed to match any of the three answers, the bonus round ended.

The very first Audience Match on the very first Match Game 73 was "Brooklyn ___________"

Two Audience Matches were played on Match Game PM.

The Audience Match became the basis for another game show from the Match Game production team of Mark Goodson and Bill Todman—Family Feud. Match Game regular panelist Richard Dawson was chosen to host the show, largely due to the fact that he was the most commonly selected celebrity for the head-to-head match. Elements of the Audience Match were later incorporated in other Goodson-Todman games such as The Better Sex and Card Sharks.

Head-to-Head Match

The contestant then had the opportunity to win 10 times what he or she won in the Audience Match by exactly matching another fill-in-the-blank response with a celebrity panelist of his or her choice (ergo, $5000, $2500 or $1000). On Match Game PM, a jackpot of $10,000 was possible there ($5000 + $5000). If successful, he/she won the money accumulated in both parts of the round. Thus, a maximum of $5,600 ($100 won for winning the match) could be won on the daytime version, or $10,500 when the Star Wheel was instituted. On Match Game PM, a maximum of $11,000 could be won, and $21,000 when the Star Wheel was brought in.

Richard Dawson was the most frequently chosen celebrity in the 1970s version. His knack for matching contestants was so great that producers tried to discourage contestants from repeatedly choosing him, even before the introduction of the Star Wheel; a short-lived rule in 1975 stipulated that a returning champion could not choose the same celebrity again for the Head-to-Head Match.

The Star Wheel

The "Star Wheel" was introduced in 1978 and was used until the show ended in 1982. Contestants spun the wheel to determine which celebrity they played with in the Head-to-Head Match, and could double their potential winnings if the wheel landed on one of the gold stars under each celebrity's name.

When the Star Wheel began, the gold-starred portion was one long section in the middle of each celebrity's section of the wheel, making it relatively easy to land a double. When the daytime show went to syndication in 1979, as a cost-cutting measure, the star section was broken into three smaller areas to make a double more difficult to get. The new star configuration was carried over into Match Game PM at this time. Later in the syndicated run, the wheel's spinning mechanism was altered so even a strong spin would come to a quick end; this was apparently done to not waste airtime waiting for the wheel to stop spinning and/or eliminate any questionable 'double' landings.

Richard Dawson, who was chosen most often for the Head-to-Head Match, was said to not be pleased with the introduction of the Star Wheel; it is believed that this, combined with his newfound fame for hosting Family Feud, contributed to his change in attitude on the Match Game set, which led to him leaving the show in 1978.

Rule changes in other versions

The Match Game (1962–1969)

This is the original series upon which the show described above was based. For most of its life it was aired live from New York, New York on NBC during the late afternoons and was a solid if unspectacular hit for the network at the time.

The gameplay of The Match Game 's first incarnation bore little resemblance to its more famous descendant. Here, two teams of three members each, composed of two contestants and one star team-captain, played against each other. The teams scored points based on how many of them matched answers on a question—if only two matched, the team earned 25 points, but if all three came up with the same answer, it was worth 50 points. The first team to reach 100 points won the game and $100.

Questions on this show were far less risqué than on its 1970s incarnation; most were simple open-ended questions, such as "Name a kind of flower" or "What is the first thing you do when you wake up?" Many of these type questions would have been prime fodder for Family Feud, which in a very real sense was a Match Game spinoff. Also, these types of questions were common during the early weeks of Match Game 73' revival on CBS-TV in 1973. The winning team then played the Audience Match, where each teammate would think of an answer they felt was given most frequently by a polled studio audience. Each match was worth $50 in bonus money for a top possible payout of $450.

On 27 Mar 1967, the show added a "Telephone Match" game, wherein a home viewer and a studio audience member attempted to match a simple fill-in-the-blank question similar to the 70s series' Head-to-Head Match. A successful match won a jackpot which started at $500 and increased by $100 per day until won.

Despite the fact the original Match Game ran for seven seasons, NBC's policy regarding taped daytime series caused almost all of the episodes to be erased, in order to save money on the videotape. It's believed no more than a dozen episodes remain of it today; GSN has aired three black-and-white kinescopes of it in the past. The rest are spread out in various university archives, television museums, and in the possession of the show's previous staff.

The Match Game–Hollywood Squares Hour (1983–1984)

These rules were roughly the same as Match Game PM with both contestants given three chances apiece to match each panelist once. The major difference was in the tiebreaker. Four possible answers to a Super Match-like statement (example: "_____, New Jersey") were secretly shown to the contestants (examples: "Atlantic City," "Hoboken," "Newark," "Trenton"). They each chose one by number. The host then polled the celebrities for verbal responses, just as on the PM tiebreaker. The first panelist to give an answer selected by one of the contestants won the game for that contestant. The winner of the Match Game segment played the returning champion in the Hollywood Squares segment with the eventual winner of Squares playing the Super Match. The Audience Match featured payoffs of $1000, $500 and $250, while non-matching players were given $100. For the Head-to-Head Match, the contestant picked a celebrity, who revealed a hidden number (10, 20, 30); that number was multiplied by the contestant's Audience Match winnings to determine the grand prize ($30,000 was the top possible amount). Champions remained on the program for five days, which meant that a payoff of over $150,000 was possible, but no one ever won the Head-to-Head Match five days in a row on this version.

There were reports of conflicts between Rayburn and the production staff, especially over Bauman, who many viewers believed was not up to the task. The show would be replaced by the soap Santa Barbara after 39 weeks.

Match Game (1990–1991)

On the ABC version, matches were worth money instead of points. Each match during the two Match Game rounds was worth $50. All panelists played both questions for each player, whether or not they matched in the first round.

After each round of questions, contestants were given a chance to build their scores further by playing a new round, Match-Up!, with one panelist of their choice. This was a rapid-fire series of Super Match-style questions, with two possible answers given; the contestant chose one secretly, and the panelist picked the one s/he felt the contestant picked. This process continued until time expired. The first Match-Up! round was played for 30 seconds at $50 per match, while the second lasted 45 seconds for $100 per match. Whomever had the most money at the end of the second Match-Up! round won the game.

The Super Match was played identically to the 1978–82 version of the round (with a green arrow spinning around the Star Wheel instead of the actual wheel spinning and two red dots on each celeb's space replacing the three stars). Originally, the payoffs of $500–$250–$100 for the Audience Match were identical to the CBS version's payoff structure, with 'no match' giving the contestant the right to play for $500 or $1,000 in the Super Match. After a few weeks it changed to $500–$300–$200 for each Audience Match answer, or $1000/$2000 in the Super Match if unsuccessful.

Due to many ABC stations carrying news at noon, the show did not get many clearances in US cities and was cancelled one year after its premiere.

According to reports, Gene Rayburn had expressed interest in hosting this incarnation of Match Game, but network executives considered him to be too old. Bert Convy also hosted a pilot for this version, but couldn't host due an illness.

Match Game (1998–99)

This incarnation of Match Game featured a panel of five celebrities instead of the usual six. Questions in this version were not labelled A or B, but instead, titles with puns were a clue as to the content (à la Win Ben Stein's Money). Each match was worth one point in round one, two points in round two. As on the 1990–91 version, all five panelists played each round regardless of whether they matched a player on the first question. After two rounds, the highest scorer played Super Match, which was played identically to its 1973-78 incarnation, even matching the top prize of $5,000. If no match was made in the Audience Match portion of the Super Match, the contestant played for $500 in the Head-to-Head Match.

Many Match Game fans stayed away from this one because of the sometimes over-the-top risqué humor of the celebrities (a cuckoo would be heard if their answers were politically incorrect), and the fact that neither Brett Somers nor Charles Nelson Reilly, who are sometimes credited for giving the show its "edge," guested. This version only lasted a year and was cancelled in 1999.

Gameshow Marathon: Match Game (2006)

On June 22, 2006, Match Game was the sixth of seven classic game shows featured in CBS's month-long "Gameshow Marathon", hosted by Ricki Lake. The contestants were Kathy Najimy and Lance Bass. The game was played as the second of two "semi-final" games in the tournament, with panelists Betty White, George Foreman, Kathy Griffin, Bruce Vilanch, Adam Carolla, and Adrianne Curry. Lake used the same signature long and skinny Sony ECM-51 microphone Rayburn used during the CBS version. In this episode, Najimy won the game, scoring five matches to Bass' three.

The format was that of Match Game PM, except that the Head-to-Head Match was played for 50 times the amount won in the two Audience Matches.

Music

Match Game has had several theme songs throughout its 35+ years. For the 1962 version (and continuing to 1967), the instrumental "A Swingin' Safari" was used as the theme. (The pilot episode's theme was orchestrated by Billy Vaughn, but the main theme was the original version by Bert Kaempfert, which, possibly as a result, became a hit record.) From 1967 to 1969, a new theme composed by Score Productions was adopted.

With the launch of Match Game '73, Score Productions was once again turned to for a theme. Robert Israel, who would also compose the theme to Family Feud, composed a new Mexican-type theme that grew to become one of the most famous game show themes of the 1970s. There are also alternate versions of the theme -- one shorter and one with bongos. Israel also composed the show's "think cues," i.e. cues used for when the panel wrote down their answer. Five different think cues, plus two separate Super Match cues and music played during the show's ticket plug, were used throughout the run from 1973-82. For a time between 1975 and 1977, the show's music supervisors occasionally used cues from other music packages as think cues; one example of this is the use of the melody portion of a Price is Right cue known as "Tachlen" on a 1976 episode. There were also three unused cues composed by Score Productions; one was a vamp theme of the game show Password.

In keeping with the zany atmosphere, the music supervisors would also use other notable musical works to add to humorous situations. Among the non-Score Productions music heard on occasion was "The Stripper", "There's No Business Like Show Business," "Alexander's Ragtime Band," and "Stars and Stripes Forever." "Auld Lang Syne" was played on every New Year's Eve show from 1973 until 1979.

The music for the Match Game-Hollywood Squares Hour was composed by Edd Kalehoff. None of the music used from the 1970s version was used in this revival; new techno think cues were composed.

For the 1990 revival, Score Productions re-orchestrated the 1970s theme with more modern instruments. The think cues were also re-done, but stayed the same throughout; no "Super Match" cues were penned. A new, simple opening cue was composed, but this cue was not used as a think cue. In addition, there were four different closing themes used.

The 1998 revival used music from Score Productions, but this theme, though retaining the same Mexican style, was more of a spoof of the 1970s theme than a re-recording. Several different opening cues were used, as well as a new "win" cue. Five new think cues were composed; also, the main think cue from the 1973-82 version was recycled for this version, with a new bass tone. This was one of the think cues used during Gameshow Marathon.

Pilots

• The original pilot was produced in 1962 with celebrity guests Peggy Cass and Peter Lind Hayes.

• The pilot for "the 1973 edition of Match Game", as Olson called it on-air, circulates among video tape collectors. The celebrities in that episode were Bert Convy, Arlene Francis, Jack Klugman, Jo Ann Pflug, Richard Dawson and Betty White, all of whom appeared in the series at one time or another. Differences from the series were purely cosmetic.

• A version of Match Game, hosted by Gene Rayburn, had been planned to broadcast in syndication starting in fall 1987. Everything was set to go until (reportedly) an episode of Entertainment Tonight aired before the show started taping had reported Rayburn's true age as 70, instead of the early-to-mid-sixties that the producers had believed. The version was scrapped, as it was believed that Rayburn was "too old."

• Bert Convy was originally selected to host the 1990 ABC version, but he was diagnosed with a brain tumor before the series went into production and was replaced by Ross Shafer. Convy died just three days after the last episode of that version aired. A clip from one of the Convy-hosted pilots aired on VH1's Game Show Moments Gone Bananas in 2005.

• A pilot was shot circa 1996 for a revised version of the show, to be called MG2, with former Dallas star Charlene Tilton to host. It featured gameplay routines unheard of in the history of the show, including the new rule of contestants writing down answers and the introduction of a "Panel Poll."

• Vanity Fair and TVgameshows.net reported in May 2004, a pilot for a remake of Match Game, called What the Blank!, was taped for FOX, hosted by Fred Willard; however, this production is now officially dead. It was said that the game was apparently an incorporation of 21st century elements into the classic game and also, a feature was added that people from along the streets would be able to participate for matching with contestants and celebrities in Street Smarts-style.

Home versions of Match Game

Milton Bradley created all the home versions of the show from the 60s and 70s versions.

Six editions were created for the 60s show, differing from the series in scoring and bonus game format.

The more popular 70s version had three editions, the first two consisting of generally straightforward questions; the third edition better reflected the show's change into a comedy-driven game.

Internet and DVD editions

After success with the online version of Family Feud, Uproar.com released a single-player version of MG. Endless Games currently has plans to release a DVD game.

Versions outside the USA

In the United Kingdom, it was known as Blankety Blank and was presented by Terry Wogan, Les Dawson and Lily Savage.

In Australia, it is known as Blankety Blanks, and has been presented by Graham Kennedy, Daryl Somers and Shane Bourne. (This show is not to be confused with an American show by the same name, appearing on ABC and hosted by Bill Cullen.) The 1977-1978 Kennedy version was remarkably similar to the American show, right down to the set, "spinning box" opening and "Get ready to match the stars!" tagline. The signature music from the American version was not used, however.

The original 60s Match Game also had an Australian spinoff, known as The Match Game, and hosted by Michael McCarthy.

In Germany, Match Game had a 150-episode run as Punkt, Punkt, Punkt (Dot, Dot, Dot - an allusion to an ellipsis) in the early 1990s on satellite and cable network Sat.1. The show was hosted by Mike Krüger.

Match Game, the slot machine

As with many classic television shows, Match Game has now been incorporated into a casino slot machine. This version features five simulated reels and a simulation of Rayburn as the host. It recreates the 1973–1982 version of the show, with Reilly, Somers, Jimmie Walker, Rip Taylor, Vicki Lawrence and Morgan Fairchild as the celebrity players. The slot machine's bonus rounds are faithful to the original game format -- one round is adapted from the main game, the second from the "SuperMatch" bonus round. (Of note: Fairchild never appeared on any version of MG.)

References in pop culture

• In July 2006, it was a mentioned topic in the 1973 episode of VH1's nostalgia miniseries, I Love the '70s Volume II.

• In the 2001 Family Guy episode, "Mr. Saturday Knight", Chris is seen watching reruns of Match Game, with Gene Rayburn reading this question to the panel: "Forgetful Freddy was so forgetful that when ever he tried to remember some one's name, he drew a blank."

• A 1994 episode of The Simpsons, entitled "Bart Gets Famous", implies that the set of Match Game 2034 would be similar to the post-modern atmosphere of The Jetsons.

• Saturday Night Live referenced the show in a parody of Inside the Actor's Studio, featuring Alec Baldwin as Charles Nelson Reilly, in 2001. Will Ferrell as James Lipton raves about the show in flowery terms, making up a word - scrumtrilescent - to descibe its brilliance.

• Match Game is mentioned numerous times in Reilly's 2006 motion picture, The Life of Reilly.

• TV Guide and TV Land created a television special in December 2005 which counted down their list of the 100 most unexpected TV moments. The Match Game '77 School Riot, in which panelists Debralee Scott and Richard Dawson revolt when the judges do not accept "finishing school" as a match for "school", ranked #82 on the list.

• In January 2001, Match Game was listed in the #10 spot on TV Guide's list of the 50 greatest game shows of all-time.

• "Match Game" is a recurring segment on the radio programs The Don and Mike Show and The Dan Patrick Show, as well as on local morning shows across the country.

• A modified Match Game would occasionally be played on MTV's Remote Control. Host Ken Ober's questions would generally be raunchier than MG standards, and the contestant scored points for matching either co-hosts Colin Quinn, Kari Wuhrer or musician Steve Treccase.

• In August 2006, it surpassed the TV Guide ranking, listing as the #1 game show of all time by the Game Show Network.

External links

• Match Game.org - back-up copy stored at The Internet Archive
• Match Game Wallpaper Factory
• The Match Game Homepage
• All Game Show Page : Match Game
• The Match Game Website
• Match Game Fan Planet
• Charles Nelson Reilly's official site
• BigJon's PC Games (A website with a downloadable, fan-made version of "Match Game" which is based on the 90's version)
• A single-player version at Uproar.com (Requires Registration)
• UK Gameshows Page: Blankety Blanks
• Funny Match Game answers
• The Match Game (1962)-Internet Movie Database (IMDB)
• Match Game PM - Internet Movie Database (IMDB)
• Match Game '73 - Internet Movie Database (IMDB)
• Match Game '90 - Internet Movie Database (IMDB)
• Match Game '73 - 1982 and PM Site! - FreeWebs
• The Daily Giz Wiz - A podcast hosted by Dick DeBartolo and Leo Laporte in which many Match Game memories are re-lived.
• JH6's Match Game Channel (clips)

• 1960s TV shows in the United States
• 1970s TV shows in the United States
• 1980s TV shows in the United States
• 1990s TV shows in the United States
• ABC network shows
• CBS network shows
• Game shows
• Gameshow Marathon
• Goodson-Todman game shows
• Match Game
• NBC network shows
• Panel games
• Syndicated television series
• Television series by FremantleMedia