Jeopardy: A Complete History - Sitcoms Online Message Boards

grundoontv · 12-08-2010, 04:22 PM

Once upon a time, in 1963, there was a successful 37-year-old talk-show host named Mervyn Edward Griffin, Jr., who was born on July 6, 1925.

5 years earlier, a number of game shows a la "Twenty-One" were kicked off the air due to being rigged.

One day in 1963, Merv said to himself on a flight to New York, "I'd give anything to do a game show." His wife, Julann, the mother of his 3-year-old son Tony, encouraged him to do a show where the answers were given in the form of a question. His initial response, "Isn't that what kicked the game shows off the air?"

Later that year, Merv came up with a game show he called "What's the Question?," the pilot of which Merv hosted and taped himself in 1963, just before the Kennedy assassination.

NBC, the network Merv pitched the show to, asked him, "Where's the Jeopardy?" He then rechristened the show "Jeopardy!"

After NBC told him to give up his ambition to hosting his own game show like Monty Hall did successfully with "Let's Make a Deal," Merv hired an actor named Art Fleming in early 1964 to tape a 2nd pilot--which sold.

With Art Fleming as host, "Jeopardy!" debuted March 30, 1964 on NBC.

Within a few years, the game show was watched by college-age students during their lunch hour and aired weekday mornings on NBC for 11 years.

One such contestant, Hutton Gibson, a lifelong New Yorker, after winning 5 times in a row on "Jeopardy!" undefeated, moved his family (including 12-year-old son Mel, who would become an eventual movie star with "Lethal Weapon" and several others) to Australia from Peekskill, New York.

Here's a little trivia I bet you didn't know--announcer Don Pardo, who announced the show's entire 11-year NBC run, missed only one taping; substituting for Don was Wayne Morris. Also, at least once, nobody at the end of "Double Jeopardy!" earned enough money to play "Final Jeopardy!," so the time spent normally playing that round was spent with Art chatting with the players before the show ended taping.

By 1973, Lin Bolen was hired as NBC's Vice President--and proceeded to destroy the show, and did successfully, earning "Jeopardy!" a cancellation after 11 years and 2,753 shows, with the last NBC airing on January 3, 1975.

2 years earlier, however, Merv conceived an idea for a game show he called "Shopper's Bazaar," hosted by an aspiring country songwriter named Chuck Woolery--who had written songs for Tammy Wynette & George Jones.

"Shopper's Bazaar" was a game based on Hangman. In 1974, Merv rechristened the show "Wheel of Fortune" and hired Edd Byrnes of "77 Sunset Strip" to host the show--which Edd admitted in later interviews that during taping he was as drunk as a sailor.

NBC liked that pilot--but not Kookie, and insisted Merv rehire Chuck, the original pilot host, for the series.

The Monday after NBC's last "Jeopardy!" broadcast, "Wheel of Fortune" debuted with Chuck Woolery as host and Susan Stafford as letter-turner.

3 years later, on October 2, 1978, "Jeopardy!" was revived for less than 6 months on NBC, with Art returning as host but John Harlan as announcer.

The last NBC "Jeopardy!" broadcast occurred on March 2, 1979.

Flash forward to late 1981--after a contract dispute with Merv, Chuck Woolery quit "Wheel of Fortune" (some ersatz biographies say he was fired).

Chuck bid a fond adieu to NBC and "Wheel of Fortune" on Christmas Day, 1981--replaced the following Monday by Pat Sajak (who STILL has the job after nearly 3 decades), while Chuck returned to NBC in 1984 with a game-show adaptation of "Scrabble," created as a board game by Alfred Butts in 1948 and distributed by the Milton Bradley Company.

In Fall 1983, Merv launched a syndicated "Wheel of Fortune," but in 1984, after 5 years off the air, "Jeopardy!" was revived as a syndicated entry, paired with the syndicated "Wheel."

This time, Alex Trebek became host--a job he still holds today.

Since then, a number of memorable contestants have appeared on "Jeopardy!"--among them Ken Jennings, a Utah software engineer from Salt Lake City who earned $2,500,000 in 15 weeks in 2004 just by answering trivia questions on "Jeopardy!" in 74 games--a feat still undefeated.

On August 12, 2007, Merv Griffin, age 82, died after an 11-year battle with prostate cancer, but his memory lives on.

Zoneboy · 12-08-2010, 04:45 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by grundoontv

Chuck bid a fond adieu to NBC and "Wheel of Fortune" on Christmas Day, 1981--replaced the following Monday by Pat Sajak (who STILL has the job after nearly 3 decades), while Chuck returned to NBC in 1984 with a game-show adaptation of "Scrabble," created as a board game by Alfred Butts in 1948 and distributed by the Milton Bradley Company.

Scrabble was created in 1938, not 1948 and distributed by Selchow & Righter, not Milton Bradley.

KurtfromPitts · 12-15-2010, 12:35 PM

Interesting history. I'm old enough to remember when "Jeopardy" was on at 11:30 following "Concentration" from March '64 to September '65.

12-08-2010, 04:22 PM	#1
grundoontv Member Occasional Poster Join Date: Aug 12, 2007 Location: Long Island, New York Posts: 83	Jeopardy: A Complete History Once upon a time, in 1963, there was a successful 37-year-old talk-show host named Mervyn Edward Griffin, Jr., who was born on July 6, 1925. 5 years earlier, a number of game shows a la "Twenty-One" were kicked off the air due to being rigged. One day in 1963, Merv said to himself on a flight to New York, "I'd give anything to do a game show." His wife, Julann, the mother of his 3-year-old son Tony, encouraged him to do a show where the answers were given in the form of a question. His initial response, "Isn't that what kicked the game shows off the air?" Later that year, Merv came up with a game show he called "What's the Question?," the pilot of which Merv hosted and taped himself in 1963, just before the Kennedy assassination. NBC, the network Merv pitched the show to, asked him, "Where's the Jeopardy?" He then rechristened the show "Jeopardy!" After NBC told him to give up his ambition to hosting his own game show like Monty Hall did successfully with "Let's Make a Deal," Merv hired an actor named Art Fleming in early 1964 to tape a 2nd pilot--which sold. With Art Fleming as host, "Jeopardy!" debuted March 30, 1964 on NBC. Within a few years, the game show was watched by college-age students during their lunch hour and aired weekday mornings on NBC for 11 years. One such contestant, Hutton Gibson, a lifelong New Yorker, after winning 5 times in a row on "Jeopardy!" undefeated, moved his family (including 12-year-old son Mel, who would become an eventual movie star with "Lethal Weapon" and several others) to Australia from Peekskill, New York. Here's a little trivia I bet you didn't know--announcer Don Pardo, who announced the show's entire 11-year NBC run, missed only one taping; substituting for Don was Wayne Morris. Also, at least once, nobody at the end of "Double Jeopardy!" earned enough money to play "Final Jeopardy!," so the time spent normally playing that round was spent with Art chatting with the players before the show ended taping. By 1973, Lin Bolen was hired as NBC's Vice President--and proceeded to destroy the show, and did successfully, earning "Jeopardy!" a cancellation after 11 years and 2,753 shows, with the last NBC airing on January 3, 1975. 2 years earlier, however, Merv conceived an idea for a game show he called "Shopper's Bazaar," hosted by an aspiring country songwriter named Chuck Woolery--who had written songs for Tammy Wynette & George Jones. "Shopper's Bazaar" was a game based on Hangman. In 1974, Merv rechristened the show "Wheel of Fortune" and hired Edd Byrnes of "77 Sunset Strip" to host the show--which Edd admitted in later interviews that during taping he was as drunk as a sailor. NBC liked that pilot--but not Kookie, and insisted Merv rehire Chuck, the original pilot host, for the series. The Monday after NBC's last "Jeopardy!" broadcast, "Wheel of Fortune" debuted with Chuck Woolery as host and Susan Stafford as letter-turner. 3 years later, on October 2, 1978, "Jeopardy!" was revived for less than 6 months on NBC, with Art returning as host but John Harlan as announcer. The last NBC "Jeopardy!" broadcast occurred on March 2, 1979. Flash forward to late 1981--after a contract dispute with Merv, Chuck Woolery quit "Wheel of Fortune" (some ersatz biographies say he was fired). Chuck bid a fond adieu to NBC and "Wheel of Fortune" on Christmas Day, 1981--replaced the following Monday by Pat Sajak (who STILL has the job after nearly 3 decades), while Chuck returned to NBC in 1984 with a game-show adaptation of "Scrabble," created as a board game by Alfred Butts in 1948 and distributed by the Milton Bradley Company. In Fall 1983, Merv launched a syndicated "Wheel of Fortune," but in 1984, after 5 years off the air, "Jeopardy!" was revived as a syndicated entry, paired with the syndicated "Wheel." This time, Alex Trebek became host--a job he still holds today. Since then, a number of memorable contestants have appeared on "Jeopardy!"--among them Ken Jennings, a Utah software engineer from Salt Lake City who earned $2,500,000 in 15 weeks in 2004 just by answering trivia questions on "Jeopardy!" in 74 games--a feat still undefeated. On August 12, 2007, Merv Griffin, age 82, died after an 11-year battle with prostate cancer, but his memory lives on.

12-15-2010, 12:35 PM	#3
KurtfromPitts Member Senior Member Join Date: Feb 10, 2006 Location: Carnegie PA Posts: 1,534	Interesting history. I'm old enough to remember when "Jeopardy" was on at 11:30 following "Concentration" from March '64 to September '65.