Will the Third Time Be the Charm for a You Bet Your Life Revival?

Starting September 13, You Bet Your Life will be returning to TV in syndication for the third revival of the classic comedy quiz show that was hosted by Groucho Marx and featured George Fenneman as his announcer and sidekick.  

This time, it will be former Tonight Show host Jay Leno taking over the hosting duties and his former bandleader Kevin Eubanks will be the show's announcer/sidekick.  

Since the original You Bet Your Life was canceled in 1961, there have been two other attempts to revive the show.  The first was in the fall of 1980 with Buddy Hackett as the host and Ron Hussman taking the same role Fenneman had on the original.  Bob Eubanks and his production partner Michael Hill were behind this version but it didn't survive in a crowded syndicated game show market, lasting only one season.  

In 1992, the show returned to syndication with Bill Cosby hosting and Robbi (Renfield) Chong as his sidekick.  There were some differences from the previous incarnations.  Instead of a duck showing the secret word, a black goose would come down, wearing a Temple University shirt.  Temple was Cosby's alma mater.  Also, it would be the first incarnation taped outside of Hollywood.  The show was produced in Philadelphia at the studios of PBS station WHYY.  Unfortunately, Cosby's popularity didn't help this version and it was also gone after one season.  

Before Cosby's version went into production, NBC, which aired the original from 1950 to 1961, shot a pilot for its daytime lineup in 1988 with Richard Dawson hosting.  But it wasn't picked up by the network.  The pilot can be found on youtube,com.  

So what will the new You Bet Your Life be like?  Will it be just like the original with couples with unusual names or occupations trying to win money or will it include features from Leno's stint on The Tonight Show such as Headlines.  

In the Twin Cities, the show airs on Fox owned KMSP weekdays at 3 & 3:30 PM.  Can the third time be the charm for a show that was a classic comedy quiz that was hosted by the one, the only Groucho?