Saturday, January 16 marked the 50th anniversary of the debut of one of the longest running first run syndicated game shows Celebrity Bowling.
Hosted by actor Jed Allan, who best known for his later run on the soap opera Days of Our Lives, the show featured two teams of two celebrities who played in a regulation 10 frame game. The difference was that it used the "best ball" format that was utilized on the later run of Championship Bowling.
The first team member bowled first. If he/she bowled a strike, the second team member didn't have to bowl. If there was no strike, the second player would bowl and if there were still pins left, one celebrity would take lane with the easiest spare possibility.
But the celebrities did not play for their favorite charities. Instead, a couple of members of the studio audience would play for prizes. The prize depended on the winning team's final score. The prize range started at scores less than 120 and leading toward a score higher 210 which earned the audience member a new car or a trip to Mexico. There would also be a bonus prize for the team that scored the most strikes and in later shows, a team bowling a turkey (three strikes in a row) would also receive a bonus prize.
Among the many celebrities who appeared on Celebrity Bowling were Bob Newhart, Greg Morris, Jan Murray, The Lennon Sisters and Rosemary Clooney. Several game show hosts also bowled, including Tom Kennedy, Peter Marshall and Alex Trebek.
The key to Celebrity Bowling's success was that it was a fun show to watch as well as the banter between the celebrities. Allan proved to be a outstanding host and got excellent support from his bowling sidekicks such as Dave Davis and Cheryl Kaminsky.
Celebrity Bowling was known for it's rigorous taping schedule. Over its eight year run, 26 episodes were taped in a three to five day period. It would also be the first hit for producers Joe Siegman and Don Gregory under their production banner Seven-Ten Productions. The pair also produced the show Celebrity Tennis, also hosted by Allan and joined by tennis greats Tony Trabert and Bobby Riggs. But the show double faulted in the ratings and was canceled after one season.
The only negative about the show was that one or two of the frames were bowled off camera because of the time used to describe the prizes. Other than that, Celebrity Bowling turned out to be a successful syndicated game show and if you haven't seen it yet, the first three seasons are on the streaming service Tubi. It will be right up your alley.
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