September 26, 1969. A sad day for game show fans as NBC cancelled four long running game shows in a major daytime schedule overhaul. Here's a look back at what was axed and the shows that replaced them.
The first was Tom Kennedy's breakout hit as host, You Don't Say. It began as a local game show on KTLA in Los Angeles with Jack Barry, in exile due to the quiz show scandals as host. But when NBC picked up the show to debut in April, 1963, Barry was still damaged goods so Kennedy, the brother of Jack Narz would become host. The game of famous names and places became one of two afternoon games popular with kids coming home from school. Though its ratings were still high, NBC cancelled the show and replaced it with the soap opera Bright Promise that would run two and a half seasons.
The other show that was popular with kids was the original version of Match Game, hosted by Gene Rayburn. The game was a lot different that what viewers would see when CBS revived the show in 1973. There were two teams consisting of two contestants and a celebrity and the questions were a lot tamer back then such as ""Name a kind of muffin." The show survived cancellation in 1963 and would run for seven years. It would be replaced by the comedy game show Letters to Laugh-In, a spinoff of the groundbreaking sketch comedy show. Hosted by announcer Gary Owens. It was no laughing matter in the ratings and it was let go after 13 weeks.
Two other shows also departed that day, both produced by Bob Stewart. The first would be his inaugural show as an independent packager after he left Goodson-Todman Eye Guess. Hosted by Bill Cullen, the show began in a morning time period before it was moved to the post Jeopardy time period of 12:30 PM and it thrived for over three and a half years. It would be replaced by the Heatter-Quigley game show Name Droppers, hosted by the Los Angeles radio duo of Al Lohman and Roger Barkley. A panel of three celebrities had a connection to a "name dropper" and two contestants, comprising a group of 20 would determine the celebrity connection. After 13 weeks, it was moved to 4 PM ET to replace Letters to Laugh-In and it also tanked in the ratings. Thirteen weeks later, it would be replaced by a soap opera, the Another World spinoff Somerset.
The other Stewart game show that got cancelled was a show that was Stewart's favorite creation Personality. Debuting in July, 1967 with Larry Blyden as host, a panel of three celebrities who played for home viewers would guess how celebrities would respond to a question. In Adam Nedeff's book, TV Game Shows FAQ, Stewart brainstormed about 2000 questions and conducted the interviews himself. It would have the shortest run of the four departed shows, running a little over two years.
On the brighter side of things, the show would replace Personality would have the most success for the replacements. Monday, September 29 would mark the debut of the original Sale of the Century. Taped in New York, the show was hosted by former Maverick star Jack Kelly but he would leave in 1971 and would be replaced by former major league catcher turned sportscaster Joe Garagiola. The game of questions, answers and instant bargains would run until July, 1973 where it was one of several long running shows axed by then daytime head Lin Bolen to make room for more flashier shows. It's replacement. The Wizard of Odds, the first game show hosted by current Jeopardy host Alex Trebek.
Also on the 29th, Sale of the Century's lead in, the long running Concentration would bring back Bob Clayton as host following a ratings decline that resulted from NBC hiring Ed McMahon as host.
It was all part of a mass change in NBC's daytime game show lineup that occurred 50 years ago.
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