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You Bet Your Life
Ybylife.jpg
Format Quiz show
Created by John Guedel
Starring Groucho Marx
George Fenneman
Country of origin Flag of the United States United States
No. George Watt Fenneman ( November 10, 1919 – May 29, 1997) was a radio and television announcer who died aged 78 The United States of America —commonly referred to as the  of episodes 429
Production
Running time 30 minutes
Broadcast
Original channel NBC
Original run October 5, 1950 – September 21, 1961

You Bet Your Life is an American radio and television quiz show. The National Broadcasting Company ( NBC) is an American Television network headquartered in the GE Building in New York City's Events 869 - The Fourth Council of Constantinople is convened to decide about what to do about Patriarch Photius of Constantinople Year 1950 ( MCML) was a Common year starting on Sunday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar. Events 1217 - The Estonian tribal leader Lembitu of Lehola was killed in a battle against Teutonic Knights. Year 1961 ( MCMLXI) was a Common year starting on Sunday (link will display full calendar of the Gregorian calendar. The United States of America —commonly referred to as the Radio is the transmission of signals by Modulation of electromagnetic waves with frequencies below those of visible Light. Television ( TV) is a widely used Telecommunication medium for sending ( Broadcasting) and receiving moving Images, either monochromatic The first and most famous version was hosted by Groucho Marx, of Marx Brothers fame, with the unflappable announcer and assistant George Fenneman. The Marx Brothers were a popular team of sibling Comedians who appeared in Vaudeville, stage plays film and television George Watt Fenneman ( November 10, 1919 – May 29, 1997) was a radio and television announcer who died aged 78 The show debuted on radio in 1947, then made the transition to the NBC television network in 1950. Year 1947 ( MCMXLVII) was a Common year starting on Wednesday (link will display full 1947 calendar of the Gregorian calendar. The National Broadcasting Company ( NBC) is an American Television network headquartered in the GE Building in New York City's A television network is a distribution network for Television content whereby a central operation provides programming for many Television stations The year 1950 in television involved some significant eventsBelow is a list of Television -related events in 1950. The television version was changed very little from the radio version. It was filmed before a studio audience, then slightly edited for television broadcast. In 1960 it was renamed The Groucho Show and ran a further year. The year 1960 in television involved some significant eventsBelow is a list of Television -related events in 1960.

Reruns most recently aired on America One Television weekly; many of its episodes are in the public domain. America One is an over-the-air Television network in the United States. The public domain is a range of abstract materials &ndash commonly referred to as Intellectual property &ndash which are not owned or controlled by anyone

Contents

Show format

Groucho would be introduced to the music of "Hooray for Captain Spaulding", his signature song introduced in the 1928 Broadway musical Animal Crackers. Captain Spaulding is the signature character played by actor Groucho Marx for the stage play and film Animal Crackers. Year 1928 ( MCMXXVIII) was a Leap year starting on Sunday (link will display full calendar of the Gregorian calendar. Broadway theater, commonly called simply Broadway, refers to theatrical performances presented in one of the 39 large professional theaters with 500 seats or more located Animal Crackers is a 1930 Comedy film, in which mayhem and zaniness ensue when a valuable painting goes missing during a party in honor of famed African explorer Captain Fenneman would say, "Here he is, the one, the ONLY. . . " and the audience would finish with a thunderous "GROUCHO!" In the early years Groucho would feign surprise: "Oh that's ME, Groucho Marx!"

The secret word

Much of the tension of the show revolved around whether any of the contestants, in pre-contest conversation with Groucho, would say the "secret word", a common word seemingly selected at random and revealed to the audience at the show's outset. If a contestant uttered the word, a toy duck made to resemble Groucho with a mustache, eyeglasses and with a cigar in its bill, would descend from the ceiling to bring the contestant-pair $100. For duck as a food see Duck (food; for other meanings see Duck (disambiguation. Glasses, also called eyeglasses or spectacles, are frames bearing lenses worn in front of the Eyes normally for vision correction, A cigar is a tightly rolled bundle of dried and fermented Tobacco which is ignited so that its smoke may be drawn into the smoker's mouth A cartoon of a duck with a cigar was also used in the show's opening title sequence. In one special episode, Groucho's brother, Harpo came down instead of the duck. Arthur Marx (previously Adolph Marx) popularly known as Harpo Marx ( November 23, 1893 &ndash September 28, 1964 Marx would sometimes slyly direct their conversation in such a way as to encourage the secret word to come up.

The contestants were paired individuals, usually of the opposite sex. Sometimes celebrities would be paired with "ordinary" people, and it was not uncommon for the contestants to have some sort of newsworthiness about them. For example, one episode aired soon after the end of the Korean War featured Janet Wang, a Korean-American contestant who had been a prisoner of war. The Korean War refers to a period of military conflict between North Korean and South Korean regimes with major hostilities lasting from June 25 1950 until the Korean Americans ( Korean: ko 한국계 미국인 Hanja: ko 韓國系美國人 hangukgye migugin) are Americans of Korean origin

In the contest itself, contestants would choose among available categories and then try to answer a series of questions dealing with the chosen category. One popular category involved attempting to name a U.S. state after being given a number of cities and towns within the state. A US state is any one of the fifty subnational entities of the United States of America that share Sovereignty with the federal government

At first, each couple started with $20. They were asked four questions in their given category. For each question, they bet up to all of their money. According to co-director Robert Dwan in his book, As Long As They're Laughing, producer John Guedel changed this because too many couples were betting--and losing--all their money. He changed the format to having couples start with $100, then pick four questions worth from $10 to $100. A correct answer added the value of the question; an incorrect answer cut the previous grand total in half, so that a couple that answered the $70, $80, $90, and $100 questions would end up with $440; missing all four questions would reduce their total to $6. 25 (augmented to $25 with a question such as 'Who's buried in Grant's Tomb?').

Later, this was changed to couples answering questions either until they got 2 consecutive questions wrong or answered 4 consecutive questions correctly for a prize of $1,000. Toward the end (1959-61), contestants picked four questions worth $100, $200, or $300; they could win up to $1,200 but needed only $500 to qualify for the jackpot question. The two contestants worked together ("Remember, only one answer between you. "). If the couple bet all of their money at any point and lost (or if they ended up below $25), they were asked a consolation question for $25. Consolation questions were made easy, in hopes that no one would miss them, although some people did. The questions were in the style of "Who was buried in Grant's tomb?" "When did the War of 1812 start?" "How long do you cook a three-minute egg?" and "What color is an orange?" although it should be noted that the Grant's tomb question was sometimes answered incorrectly (the correct answer is no one, but Grant was accepted even though people are not buried in tombs). In addition to the quiz prizes was the famous secret-word duck. Eventually, the prize was $100 for saying the secret word. The famous "secret-word duck" was replaced from time to time with a wooden Indian figure. The cigar store Indian or wooden Indian is an old advertisement figure made to represent Cigar shops much like Barber poles advertise Barber

In all formats, a final question was asked for a jackpot amount for the couple who had gotten the highest total amount during the game.

In the early years (1947-56), the prize for the jackpot question started at $1,000, with $500 added each week until someone correctly answered the question.

With the coming of the big-money quizzes, contestants faced a wheel with numbers from one to ten; one contestant picked a number for $10,000; later on, they picked another number for $5,000. The wheel was spun; if either number came up, a correct answer to the question augmented the couple's total to that amount of money, otherwise the question was worth a total of $2,000. From 1956-59, contestants risked half their $1,000 won in the quiz on a shot at the wheel, one of the two players in a couple could keep their half of the money while the other risked their half; from 1959-61 they risked nothing. Groucho always reminded contestants that "I'll give you fifteen seconds to decide on a single answer. Think carefully and please, no help from the audience. " Then a bit of "Captain Spaulding" was used as "think" music.

The play of the game, however, was secondary to the interplay between Groucho, the contestants, and occasionally Fenneman. The program was hugely successful and was rerun into the 1970s, and later in syndication as The Best of Groucho. This article is about the Decade 1970-1979 For the Year 1970 see 1970. As such, it was the first game show to have its reruns syndicated.

The radio program was sponsored by Elgin American watches and compacts. The Elgin National Watch Company was founded in August 1864 as the National Watch Company. Early seasons of the television show were sponsored by Chrysler, with advertisements for DeSoto automobiles incorporated into the opening credits and the show itself. Chrysler LLC is an American Automobile manufacturer that has been producing Automobiles since 1925 The DeSoto (sometimes De Soto) was a brand of Automobile based in the United States, manufactured and marketed by the Chrysler Corporation Each show would end with Groucho sticking his head through a hole in the DeSoto logo and saying, "Friends…go in to see your DeSoto Plymouth dealer tomorrow. And when you do, tell them Groucho sent you. "

Since most of the series was filmed (as well as aired weekly in prime time, thus saving it from wiping), many episodes have survived and have been available in television syndication for years; reruns continue to this day. Prime Time is the major News analysis current affairs and Politics programme broadcast on Radio Telefís Éireann in Ireland Wiping or junking is an economic move by Radio and Television companies in which old Audiotapes Videotapes and Telerecordings In Broadcasting, syndication is the sale of the right to broadcast Radio shows and Television shows to multiple individual stations without going through A number of episodes have also been released to DVD as "dollar DVDs" of public domain episodes. DVD (also known as " Digital Versatile Disc " or " Digital Video Disc " - see Etymology)is The public domain is a range of abstract materials &ndash commonly referred to as Intellectual property &ndash which are not owned or controlled by anyone The pilot episode for the TV version which was originally by CBS is also intact. CBS Broadcasting Inc ( CBS) is an American radio and Television network.

Seven months after You Bet Your Life ended its 11-season run at NBC, Groucho had another game show in prime-time. It was titled Tell It to Groucho which aired on CBS during the winter and spring months of 1962. CBS Broadcasting Inc ( CBS) is an American radio and Television network. The year 1962 in television involved some significant eventsBelow is a list of Television -related events in 1962.

There was a parody of this show on the Jack Benny Show, in which Jack pretends to be someone else to get on Groucho's show, and continually blabs in an effort to say the secret word ("telephone"). Jack Benny (born Benjamin Kubelsky February 14, 1894 - December 26, 1974) was an American Comedian, vaudevillian He gets it by accident when he says he can "tell a phony". However, he is unable to answer the final question, which ironically is about Jack Benny, simply because it asks his real age, which Jack would never give voluntarily. This episode, after its original screening, could only be watched at Groucho's home on film, and even then only if you were invited to see it. After Groucho's death the film eventually appeared in the Unknown Marx Brothers documentary on DVD.

Contestants

The program staff was always on the lookout for contestants with unusual occupations or lifestyles. These usually gave Groucho enough material for a lively, funny interview session. The interviews were sometimes so memorable that the contestants became celebrities: "nature boy" health advocate Robert Bootzin; hapless Mexican laborer Pedro Gonzales-Gonzales and his offhandedly comic remarks; a witty housewife named Phyllis Diller; author Ray Bradbury; blues singer and pianist Gladys Bentley; strongman Paul Anderson. Robert Bootzin ( August 19, 1914 - August 8, 2004) was an American fitness pioneer Pedro Gonzalez-Gonzalez ( May 24, 1925 – February 6, 2006) was an American Character actor best known for his appearances Bold text Phyllis Diller (born Phyllis Driver, July 17, 1917) is a Golden Globe -nominated American comedienne Ray Douglas Bradbury (born August 22 1920 is an American mainstream, Fantasy, horror, Science fiction and mystery Gladys Bentley ( 12 August 1907 - 18 January 1960) was an American blues singer during the Harlem Renaissance. Paul Edward Anderson ( October 17, 1932 &ndash August 15, 1994) was an Olympic Weightlifter, strongman, and professional John Barbour and Ronnie Schell appeared as contestants while working on the fringes of the entertainment industry. John Barbour (born 24 April 1933 in Toronto, Canada) is an actor and television host known as one of the hosts of the Reality television Ronald Ralph Schell (born December 23 1931 in Richmond California) is an American Actor, stand-up Comedian and Cartoon

A courtly Southern gentleman, Harlan Sanders, talked about his "finger-lickin'" recipe for fried chicken, which he parlayed into the very successful "Kentucky Fried Chicken" chain of restaurants. Harland David Sanders, better known as Colonel Sanders ( September 9, 1890 &ndash December 16, 1980) was an American entrepreneur Kentucky Fried Chicken, usually known as KFC, is a chain of Fast food restaurants based in Louisville Kentucky. An exotic guest purporting to be a wealthy nobleman was really a young writer named Bill Blatty; Groucho saw through the disguise ("You're no more a prince than I am"). William Peter Blatty won $10,000 and used the leave of absence the money afforded him to write The Exorcist. William Peter Blatty (born January 7, 1928) is an American Writer and Filmmaker. This article is about the novel published in 1971 For information about the 1973 film please see The Exorcist (film. No one in the audience knew who contestant Daws Butler was until he began speaking in Huckleberry Hound's voice; he and his partner went on to win the top prize of $10,000. Daws Butler ( Charles Dawson Butler; November 16, 1916 – May 18, 1988) was a Voice actor born in Toledo, Huckleberry "Huck" Hound is a fictional cartoon character created and produced by Hanna-Barbera, and the star of the 1958 syndicated animated series Cajun politician Dudley J. LeBlanc, a Louisiana state senator, demonstrated his winning style at giving campaign speeches in French. Dudley Joseph "Cousin Dud" LeBlanc ( August 16, 1894 &ndash October 22, 1971) was a colorful and popular Democratic and

Arthur Godfrey's mother Kathryn was a contestant and held her own with Groucho. Arthur Morton Leo Godfrey ( August 31 1903 &ndash March 16 1983) was an American Radio and Television broadcaster Ventriloquist Edgar Bergen and his 11-year-old daughter Candice Bergen teamed up with Groucho and his daughter Melinda to win $1,000 for the Girl Scouts. Candice Patricia Bergen (born May 9, 1946) is an Academy Award -nominated and Golden Globe - and Emmy Award -winning American George Fenneman got to play quizmaster for this segment. General Omar Bradley was teamed with an army private, and Groucho goaded the private into telling Bradley everything that was wrong with the army. Omar Nelson Bradley KCB ( February 12, 1893 &ndash April 8, 1981) was one of the main U Professional wrestler Wild Red Berry admitted that the outcomes of matches were determined in advance, but that the injuries were real; he revealed a long list of injuries he'd sustained in his career. Ralph Berry aka "Wild" Red Berry was an American Professional wrestler.

Other contestants were established names from entertainment, literature, and sports: Ernie Kovacs, Hoot Gibson, Ray Corrigan, John Charles Thomas, Max Shulman, Joe Louis, Bob Mathias, Johnny Weissmuller, Sam Coslow, Harry Ruby, Liberace, Don Drysdale, Tor Johnson and Frankie Avalon, among many others. Ernie Kovacs ( January 23, 1919 — January 13, 1962) was an American comedian whose For the astronaut see Robert L Gibson. Hoot Gibson ( August 6, 1892 – August 23, 1962) was a Rodeo champion Ray "Crash" Corrigan ( 14 February 1902 - 10 August 1976) born Raymond Benard was an American Actor John Charles Thomas ( Meyersdale, Pennsylvania, September 6, 1891 - Apple Valley, California, December 13, Max Shulman ( March 14, 1919 &ndash August 28, 1988) was a 20th century American Writer and Humorist best known Joseph Louis Barrow ( May 13, 1914 – April 12, 1981) better known as Joe Louis, was a heavyweight boxing champion. Robert Bruce Mathias ( November 17 1930 - September 2 2006) was an American decathlete, two-time Olympic gold Johnny Weissmuller (June 2 1904 &ndash January 20 1984 was an American swimmer and Actor who was one of the world's best swimmers in the 1920s winning Sam Coslow ( December 27, 1902 - April 2, 1982) was an American songwriter singer and film producer Harry Ruby ( October 29 1895 – February 23 1974) was an American Songwriter and Screenwriter. Wladziu Valentino Liberace He had a twin who died at birth and he was born with a Caul, which in his family as in many societies was taken as a sign of genius and an exceptional Donald Scott Drysdale ( July 23, 1936 – July 3, 1993) was an American Right-handed Pitcher in Major League Tor Johnson, born Tor Johansson, ( October 19, 1903 &ndash May 12, 1971) was a Professional wrestler known as Frankie Avalon (born Francis Thomas Avallone September 18 1939 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania) is an American Actor Even Groucho's brother Harpo Marx showed up to promote his just-published autobiography. Arthur Marx (previously Adolph Marx) popularly known as Harpo Marx ( November 23, 1893 &ndash September 28, 1964

The "Grant's Tomb" Question

The "easy" consolation prize question "Who's buried in Grant's Tomb?" actually is quite tricky. First, since Grant's Tomb is above ground, no one is technically "buried" in it at all. Secondly, it contains the sarcophagi of both President Grant and his wife, who presumably would both have to be mentioned for an accurate answer. Ulysses S Grant, born Hiram Ulysses Grant (April 27 1822 &ndash July 23 1885 was an American general and the eighteenth President of the United States

This question was later referred to on the TV series The Golden Girls, where two of the characters have to answer the question not on YBYL, but as the final "question" on Jeopardy!. The Golden Girls is an American sitcom that originally aired on NBC from September 14, 1985, to May 9,

The cigar incident

One often-told story recounts the appearance of a woman contestant, Mrs. Story, who mentioned she had nineteen children. Groucho asked, "Why so many children?" The woman said, "Well, I just love my husband. " Groucho replied, "I love my cigar, but I take it out of my mouth once in a while. " The story goes that the remark was judged too risqué to be aired at the time, and was edited out before the radio broadcast, but the audio of the audience reaction was used by NBC for many years whenever bring-down-the house laughter was called for in laugh tracks. No copy is thought to survive. [1]

The story has taken on the trappings of an urban legend over the years. An urban legend or urban myth is a form of modern Folklore consisting of stories thought to be factual by those circulating them Both Groucho and Fenneman denied the incident ever took place. Groucho was interviewed for Esquire magazine in 1972 and said "I never said that. Esquire is a Men's magazine by the Hearst Corporation with a strong literary tradition " Hector Arce, Groucho's ghost writer for his autobiography The Secret Word Is Groucho inserted the claim that it happened, but Arce compiled the 1976 book from many sources, not solely Groucho himself. A ghostwriter is a professional Writer who is paid to write books articles stories reports or other content which are officially credited to another person He probably was unaware Groucho had gone on record denying the claim a few years previously. [2]

Nielsen ratings

Seasonal Nielsen ratings covered the period between October and April of the following year. A rating number represents the percentage of homes tuned into a program.

October 1950- April 1951: 36. 0 (17th overall)
1951-52: 42. 1 (10th)
1952-53: 41. 6 (9th)
1953-54: 43. 6 (3rd)
1954-55: 41. 0 (4th)
1955-56: 35. 4 (7th)
1956-57: 31. 1 (17th)
1957-58: 30. 6 (10th)
1958-59: N/A (below the top 25)
1959-60: N/A (below the top 25)
1960-61: N/A (below the top 25)

Later incarnations of the show

1980 Buddy Hackett version

In 1980, Buddy Hackett hosted a similar show with the same title which failed to run a single full season. The year 1980 in television involved some significant eventsBelow is a list of Television -related events in 1980. Buddy Hackett ( August 31, 1924 &ndash June 30, 2003) was an American Comedian and Actor. The show was produced by Hill-Eubanks Productions, and syndicated by MCA. MCA Inc (or Music Corporation of America) was an American Corporation in the music and television businesses

Three individual contestants appeared on the show, one at a time, to be interviewed by Hackett, and then played a True or False quiz of five questions in a particular category. The first correct answer to a question earned $25, and the amount would double with each subsequent correct answer. After the fifth question, the contestant could opt to try to correctly answer a sixth question. If correct, his/her earnings were tripled; incorrect, the earnings were cut in half. Maximum winnings were $1,200.

The secret word was still worth $100.

The contestant with the most money won, came back on stage at the end of the show, to meet "Leonard," the prize duck, where they would stop a rotating device, causing a plastic egg to drop out, which concealed the name of a nice bonus prize to go with their cash winnings.

Original YBYL announcer George Fenneman appeared one time as a guest, and played the game for a member of the audience.

1988 Richard Dawson Pilot

Richard Dawson hosted a pilot for a potential revival in 1988, but NBC declined to pick up the show. Richard Dawson aka 'The Kissing Bandit'(born November 20, 1932) is a British - American Actor, Comedian, Game show A television pilot is a test episode of an intended Television series. The year 1988 in television involved some significant eventsBelow is a list of Television -related events in 1988.

Two teams of two unrelated players came out one team at a time and were asked three questions, either $100, $150 or $200. Later, both teams came out and played four questions each at either $200, $300 or $400. The team with the most money at the end of this round went onto a bonus game. The secret word was around, but since it was never guessed, it's unknown whether the duck survived for this pilot, but Richard told one couple one the pilot "if you say the secret word you'll win $100 each" so based on that it's assumed the secret word was worth $200.

In the bonus game, sidekick Steve Carlson read questions with either true or false answers. The players locked in their answers over a 30 second period. If the players match on 5 answers and their matched answer is correct, the team won $5,000. If they don't reach five, they earn $200 per correct match.

1992 Bill Cosby version

Marx had suggested to Bill Cosby that he could do the show, when Cosby was still a struggling young comic. William Henry Cosby Jr (born July 12 1937 is an American Comedian, Actor, Author, Television producer and Activist. Marx died in 1977, but it was not until 1992 that Cosby pursued his suggestion and taped a season of the program for the syndication market. The year 1992 in television involved some significant eventsBelow is a list of Television -related events in 1992. In Broadcasting, syndication is the sale of the right to broadcast Radio shows and Television shows to multiple individual stations without going through Carsey-Werner syndicated the series, the first show they distributed themselves (all product at that point went through what is now CBS Television Distribution). Carsey-Werner Productions (in some incarnations Carsey-Werner-Mandabach Productions is an independent production company founded in 1981 by former ABC writer/producer duo Marcy Carsey CBS Television Distribution (CTD is a United States and Global Television Distribution company, a merger of CBS Corporation 's three

The game

In this version three couples competed, each one played the game individually. When each one came out, they usually spend some time talking with Cosby. When the interview was done, the game began. Each couple started at $750, and host Cosby gave a category & asked three questions under that category. Before each question, the couple in play made a bet based on how much they know about the category. A correct answer adds the wager, but an incorrect answer deducts the wager. The Secret Word in this version was worth $500. Maximum winnings, therefore, were $6,500 (including the Secret Word).

The $10,000 bonus game

The couple with the most money goes on to play for $10,000 in cash. In this game, the winning couple got to answer one last question on any given subject. An incorrect answer ends the game, but a correct answer won a choice of three envelopes (which are all attached to the blackbird, this version's duck who wore a Temple University [Cosby's alma mater] sweater). Temple University is a state-related public research University in Philadelphia. Alma mater is Latin for "nourishing mother" It was used in Ancient Rome as a title for the mother Goddess, and in Medieval Two of the envelopes had the bird's head on it, choosing one of them doubles the couple's money (up to $12,000); while only one adds $10,000 to the winning couple's total, for a possible grand total of $16,500.

The show's results were so unsatisfactory that most of the stations who initially bought it soon either stopped showing it entirely or moved it to a time slot in the middle of the night, and it was canceled after one season. Bill Cosby won a Kid's Choice Award while he was doing the show. The Nickelodeon Kids' Choice Awards, also known as the KCAs, is an annual awards show which always aired live and usually is held in late March or early April that honors

References

  1. ^ Adams, Cecil (1986-07-25). Year 1986 ( MCMLXXXVI) was a Common year starting on Wednesday (link displays 1986 Gregorian calendar) Events 285 - Diocletian appoints Maximian as Caesar, co-ruler Did Groucho Marx utter a famous double entendre ad lib on the air?. The Straight Dope. Retrieved on 2007-04-05. Year 2007 ( MMVII) was a Common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar in the 21st century. Events 456 - St Patrick returns to Ireland as a missionary bishop
  2. ^ The Secret Words. Snopes. Snopes. com (2007-01-06). Year 2007 ( MMVII) was a Common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar in the 21st century. Events 1066 - Harold Godwinson is crowned King of England. 1205 - Philip of Swabia becomes King Retrieved on 2007-04-05. Year 2007 ( MMVII) was a Common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar in the 21st century. Events 456 - St Patrick returns to Ireland as a missionary bishop

External links


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