Monday, April 5 marks the exact day and date 50 years ago in 1971 when ABC brought back the classic word game Password to daytime TV.
But Password really never left the airwaves. In 1967, Fred Silverman, who was president of CBS and not a fan of game shows, wielded the ax on long running prime time game shows What's My Line, I've Got a Secret and To Tell the Truth. They were all produced by the duo of Mark Goodson and Bill Todman. Another Goodson-Todman game also was canceled the same year, the daytime hit show Password, which was falling in the ratings due to the emergence of ABC's new hit The Newlywed Game. But in the fall of 1967, local stations began rerunning the final season of Password. In New York, WPIX-TV ran the show in prime time, and like many other markets around the country, it got good ratings.
Now fast forward four years later to 1971. ABC had a problem with a long running soap opera that drew a large teenage audience Dark Shadows. The ratings plummeted from 11th among soaps the previous season to 16th in 1970-71. Marshall Karp, who was daytime vice president for ABC d noecided to cancel Dark Shadows and replace it with Password. Goodson agreed to bring back the show on the condition that the show would be taped in Hollywood instead of New York.
At that time, Goodson-Todman aired three shows in syndication. The first two, reboots of What's My Line and To Tell the Truth were taped in New York. The third, another revival, Beat the Clock was taped in Montreal, Canada. It would be the only Goodson-Todman game to be produced north of the border.
Allen Ludden, who guided the original Password with ease, would return as host. The basic game would remain the same with 25 points needed for a win and a chance at The Lightning Round to guess five words in 60 seconds. What was new for the 70s version? A new brighter set with flashing lights, a new theme song that sounded like it was meant for a talk show and a new feature The Betting Word. Following The Lightning Round, a contestant could bet any of their winnings on the ability to identify one more word in 15 seconds. Also there was a new announcer in John Harlan. It would be the only Goodson-Todman game he would announce.
The Password revival would pay off for ABC and the network moved the show later that year to 12:30 ET and by March to noon, opposite NBC's hit quiz show, the original version of Jeopardy with Art Fleming. It would help solidify the network's afternoon lineup which included the new game show Split Second, hosted by Tom Kennedy.
Though Password would finish a solid second to Jeopardy going into 1973, the ratings would take a nosedive for the next year due to the emergence of a CBS soap opera aimed at a younger audience that's still going strong today, The Young and the Restless. The soap would drain a lot of Password's audience. Goodson-Todman tried to boost the word game's declining ratings with all celebrity weeks, celebrities playing the game with their children and a tournament of champions. Even Ludden would get a chance to play the game with Monty Hall of Let's Make a Deal filling in as host.
No matter how hard they tried to up the ratings, nothing worked. On November 18, 1974, Password would switch to an all celebrity format with a new title Password All Stars. There would be a new set, a new theme song that was more uptempo and a new way of presenting the passwords. Instead of the announcer intoning softly "The password is..." a computer that Ludden nicknamed "Murphy" would spell out the word, followed by quotation marks. The once simple game that became a hit would become more complicated.
Viewers by the droves were unhappy. ABC, GoodsonTodman and even Ludden were besieged with negative letters and phone calls. Ludden was uncomfortable with all the changes, that included an elimination round before what he called "The Big Game." Still played to 25 points, the winner would play a modified Lightning Round called "20-20 Password" for an additional 20 points.
On February 24, 1975, Password would bring back civilian contestants. Thee set would remain the same but the format would change from the original version. The elimination round in the All Stars format would continue with the first contestant to solve three passwords getting to play the main game. The scoring would change in the main game. Instead of needed 25 points to win, the game was played until a team amassed 50. A new feature was added to the pass or play option that would earn the team double points if the password was identified on one clue. The Lightning Round was played in three steps, with the money earned in the first two, would become ten times the amount if three passwords were guessed within 30 seconds.
Unfortunately the return to the celebrity civilian format didn't help the ratings and on June 27, 1975, Password would air for the final time. In one of the few surviving episodes found on youtube.com, four Password staffers, including producers Frank Wayne and Howard Felsher would try their hand at the game, followed by an appearance by Goodson, who mentioned that Password was used in many schools as a way to improve a student's vocabulary. He then presented Ludden with a gold watch and declared him "Mr. Password." After Ludden and his wife Betty White who guest hosted for a week in 1975) would say goodbye and that was the end of the 70s incarnation of Password.
There was a bright spot. In 1974, Password would win the first Daytime Emmy Award for a game show. Unfortunately, many of the ABC Password episodes were erased, except for a few that survive on youtube.com. There was also an Odd Couple episode where Felix and Oscar appeared on Password. If you haven't seen it, do so. It was a very funny episode. But despite all the changes for the last two seasons, the password for ABC was success.
