Honorable Mentions
These are all game shows that I enjoyed or found interesting that didn't make my Top Ten. If one of them is your favorite let me know in the comments.
Tattetales hosted by Bert Convy. The first version that ran from 1974 - 1978 is the one I remember fondly. I just loved that the celebrity couples would have one person in an isolation booth and then would appear in a box.
Tattletales closing credits 1975
Concentration hosted by Jack Narz. I believe this version ran from 1973 - 1978. It definitely ran at 6PM on my local ABC station in 1976. I would stay at a babysitter's house every weeknight until my mother picked me up around midnight and the old widow lady, Mrs. Green, who kept me usually only tuned her station to channel 4 WSM which was the NBC affiliate. She made an exception for The Waltons on CBS and for Concentration on ABC. She would also let me watch the Donny and Marie Show.
Concentration intro 1974
Tic Tac Dough hosted by Wink Martindale. I guess this was technically called The New Tic Tac Dough, but it ran after the local news for many years. Wink was a great host and it was cool that he was originally from Tennessee. My father and I enjoyed this very simple game. Watch out for that dragon! Thom McKee sure did winning $312,700 in money and prizes.
The Magnificent Marble Machine hosted by Art James. This short lived game show had a giant pinball machine. I love pinball. If the show had lasted more than a season it would have been in the top ten.
The Magnificent Marble Machine opening
Now on to my Top Ten game shows I loved from 1970-1986.
10. High Rollers hosted by Alex Trebek. The late, great Alex Trebek was already super cool in my book when he hosted this awesome show which used giant dice. The tagline was tantalizing, "every decision is a gamble and every move can be your last." You give me any show which used supersized props and I was probably going to watch it back then.
High Rollers opening July 4, 1975
9. To Tell The Truth hosted by Garry Moore. This show ran for the longest time in the 6:30PM Central slot on our local CBS affiliate channel 5 WLAC later to be WTVF. When I was really young I didn't enjoy that my father would always watch the show. I didn't realize it was a game. I figured it out around the age of 6 or 7 though and I would try to guess who was telling the truth too. It was always a blast if I figured it out and my father couldn't. If I was judging by what I like today this very well would probably make the top 3, but I've devised this list to reflect my tastes during my younger days.
8. The Joker's Wild hosted by Jack Barry. Giant slot machine with devils. Need I say more? I loved this show that always seemed to bounce around our local television schedules. I so wanted to pull the lever and answer the very easy questions offered. I was cognizant at an early age that game shows had once been pulled from television due to a fixing scandal which made me wonder about this show. Was the giant slot machine on the up and up? I'm sure it was, but my young mind wasn't convinced.
Knowledge is king and Lady Luck is queen.
7. Family Feud hosted by Richard Dawson. Dawson was one of the most popular panelists on CBS's Match Game so ABC selected him to be host of the Feud. The show got off to a slow start, but soon became the most popular game show on daytime television. I know my mother and I loved it during the first few years. The game play became very formulaic and I know I became a little bummed that it didn't really matter how well each team did for the first few questions. What mattered was when the money values were tripled later on. Dawson's constant kissing of each lady contestant was a little strange too. The best part of the game was the last part where 2 family members competed for the big money. "Survey says!"
Richard Dawson laughing
6. Sale of the Century hosted by Jim Perry. This version of the show was a huge favorite of mine during high school. I liked the fast pace, the fact that the questions weren't super easy, and that the contestant had to make a decision to take their money, perhaps spend some of it on prizes, or go for everything.
Clip from Sale of the Century 1984
5. The Price is Right hosted by Bob Barker. Really, you can jumble this amazing show in with the next 2 shows as I like them all just about the same. I remember when the show was only a half hour and then when it went to an hour. The best thing about this show is that you could play along from your home and it felt so great when you'd do a better job than the contestants. There was also the variety of the games and the famous exhortation from announcer Johnny Olson to "Come on down!" Bob Barker and his beauties will be in reruns forever.
A new car!
4. The Newlywed Game hosted by Bob Eubanks. I remember my mother watching this one in the early 70's and I thought it was funny when the couples would bicker. I didn't really get the sly humor or what "making whoopee" meant, but it was a cool show. I liked the layout and set design....are those the same thing? Then when it came back later on in the decade I understood the humor and enjoyed it even more. Eubanks, for me, was unflappable and the key component of the show.
Some funny moments from The Newlywed Game
3. The $10,000 Pyramid hosted by Dick Clark. This word guessing game was a blast and it was one my mother and I always watched when she was working nights and I was out of school. It was very interesting to see which celebrity was good at the game. Dick Clark was brilliant too. All of these top 5's on my list owed much of their success to their hosts. It was also neat to see the prize money go up ever so often and the name of the show reflected that change.
1975 $10,000 Pyramid opening
2. Jeopardy! hosted by Alex Trebek. This reboot in 1984 could not have come at a better time for me. I was starting my senior year of high school and a couple of teachers decided to sponsor a quiz bowl team. I decided to try my luck and I made the team. I think everyone made the team. Our yearbook photo has about 30 people in it, but only 10 or so of us stuck with it and went to all of the meets. I loved it since I was a trivia mad person. The revived Jeopardy! came on right after school let out too so it was perfect to help hone my trivia skills. I would get a piece of notebook paper and keep up a running tab of the answers I got right before the contestants and I always wrote out my final jeopardy answer too. I did the online test for Jeopardy! many times over the years, but I never got the call so either I wasn't that smart or it could be that, even I if had aced the test, my name didn't get randomly pulled. I would have loved to have met Alex Trebek just so I could ask him about his High Rollers days.
Incorrect answers
Match Game funniest moments
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