http://www.afterelton.com/2013/01/tribute-to-password-game-show

from AlfterElton.com:
Every year I find myself searching for ways to cope with awful January
grimness, and luckily I've found us a kicka** anniversary to celebrate:
''Password'' debuted in primetime 50 years ago this week, and remains
one of the definitive entertainments in the wide, mysterious
under-respected world of game shows.Like with most great game shows
including ''To Tell The Truth'', ''The Price Is Right'', and ''Pyramid'',
gaming genius ''Bob Stewart'' (who passed away this year at age 91)
was a critical part of Password's inception. It's a Parlor activity of
hints and responses, but somehow the suspense of coming up with
just the right clue is telegenic enough to endure decades of relevance.

Happy 50th Birthday Password (1961-2008)

AfterElton is a couple years late there. The daytime show premiered in October 1961, and the primetime show in January 1962.

AfterElton is a couple years late there. The daytime show premiered in October 1961, and the primetime show in January 1962.

well Snowpeck, I do have to agree with you
but let me see what your saying here and if I'm wrong about this let me know.

the daytime version ran from October 2, 1961 to September 15, 1967 while
the Primetime version ran from January 2, 1962 to September 9, 1955 and
December 25, 1966 to May 22, 1967, both on CBS of course right?

"Every year I find myself searching for ways to cope with awful January grimness and luckily we have found anniversary to celebrate, Password debuted in primetime 50 years ago this week and it remains one of the definitive entertainments in the wide, mysteriously under-respected world of game shows".

that is so true my friend.

It's sad that we don't get to watch the original "'Password" from its earliest days. It was a simple, thoughtfully produced show that I loved to watch (and learned more than a few words from!) when I was in grade school. (And in the later years, it was cool to see Elizabeth Montgomery "zap" up successful answers. She was beautiful and brainy to boot!)

With each revision, however, the show moved further away from its simple roots. I could NOT stand the "Million Dollar Password" shows with Drew Carey and Regis Philbin. And if you watch closely, NBC took the original game in 1969, made a few tweaks to the classic format, and aired it as "Snap Judgment" with Ed McMahon for a couple of years.)

We miss you, Allen Ludden, and may you and Betty White continue to entertain us for years to come....

I thought that Password was one of the best word games ever created. It was a simple game that also pioneered the concept of contestants playing on the same team with a celebrity. Allen Ludden was an outstanding host who brought class to the show and didn't dominate the game.

I liked the numerous versions of the show except Million Dollar Password. Though Regis Philbin did an outstanding job as host, it was too glitzy and not like the game that would later spawn numerous incarnations of another Bob Stewart game Pyramid. As I have told people over the years, without Password there would be no Pyramid. Both games are classics.

Of all the Passwords, Password Plus was my favorite. Super Password was pretty much nothing more than a knockoff of Plus, with an added mini bonus game (Speedword). I loved Allen Ludden. Bill Cullen & Tom Kennedy also did a superb job of hosting Password Plus. Bert Convy, although likeable, never felt like quite the right fit for a Password type show. It would irritate me to no end that he would blurt out puzzle answers so often when trying to give other clues for words after the fact.

Million Dollar Password on the other hand, I watched the first episode, and about 20 minutes into it I turned it off. To me it was too much like Pyramid. The main game and bonus game played against time. While I know Password & Plus, etc. did have time limits during the main game, it wasn't as rushed. Password is a type of game, not unlike Wheel of Fortune, that it's designed to be more leisurely. A bonus game against time for Password was awesome and most fitting, first w/the Lightning Round, then later w/Alphabetics, but to have the main game also be like that, just did not hold my interest for very long, only 20 of the 60 minutes of the debut episode.

Of all the Passwords, Password Plus was my favorite. Super Password was pretty much nothing more than a knockoff of Plus, with an added mini bonus game (Speedword). I loved Allen Ludden. Bill Cullen & Tom Kennedy also did a superb job of hosting Password Plus. Bert Convy, although likeable, never felt like quite the right fit for a Password type show. It would irritate me to no end that he would blurt out puzzle answers so often when trying to give other clues for words after the fact.

Actually the bonus game was called "Alphabetics" for Password Plus and simply "Super Password" (or as Bert Convy usually called it, "The End Game") for Super Password. Speedword was the name of the bonus game (for the first day only) for the last game show Tom Kennedy hosted, Wordplay, which ran on NBC Dec. 1986 - Sep. 1987 in the timeslot following Super Password. The only game changes between the last weeks of Password Plus and Super Password were the change in dollar amounts round to round and the addition of the "Cashword" for the player leading at the end of 2 rounds (always simply the winner of the $200 puzzle).
Bert Convy wasn't the only host to blow a Password puzzle. This past weekend GSN reran a Password Plus episode from late in that show's run where Tom Kennedy blew a puzzle by discussing the solution to the puzzle (I've forgotten what it was now.) in trying to figure out how to give a good clue for one of the words in the puzzle. Tom acted embarrassed about it the same way Bert did later, though apparently he didn't do it as often as Bert, who eventually wore tape over his mouth for his frequency of blowing puzzles. :lol:

Of all the Passwords, Password Plus was my favorite. Super Password was pretty much nothing more than a knockoff of Plus, with an added mini bonus game (Speedword). I loved Allen Ludden. Bill Cullen & Tom Kennedy also did a superb job of hosting Password Plus. Bert Convy, although likeable, never felt like quite the right fit for a Password type show. It would irritate me to no end that he would blurt out puzzle answers so often when trying to give other clues for words after the fact.

Million Dollar Password on the other hand, I watched the first episode, and about 20 minutes into it I turned it off. To me it was too much like Pyramid. The main game and bonus game played against time. While I know Password & Plus, etc. did have time limits during the main game, it wasn't as rushed. Password is a type of game, not unlike Wheel of Fortune, that it's designed to be more leisurely. A bonus game against time for Password was awesome and most fitting, first w/the Lightning Round, then later w/Alphabetics, but to have the main game also be like that, just did not hold my interest for very long, only 20 of the 60 minutes of the debut episode.

Also the set wasn't like it's other incarnations, in other words no podium with the two desks on its sides...and of course MDP ran only for two seasons on CBS which if I'm not mistaken makes this one of the first if not the first shortest0lived Password incarnations ever in the history of the franchise.

and this just to prove that Fremantle can never, ever be trusted when it comes to reviving Goodson-Todman classics.

Awesome Game Show Bar None! The quintessential word association game! Will always be timeless forever!

- Chris