Bob Stewart (television)
Encyclopedia
Bob Stewart is a former American
television
game show
producer. He was active in the TV industry from 1956 until his retirement in 1992.
Stewart is known for creating some of the most popular game shows for Mark Goodson
-Bill Todman
Productions. These shows include To Tell the Truth
, Password, and The Price Is Right
. His biggest success as an independent producer was the Pyramid series, starting with The $10,000 Pyramid
in 1973.
The Price Is Right
and To Tell the Truth
, both created by Stewart, are the only two game shows to be seen nationally in either first-run network or syndication airings in the US in every decade from the 1950s onward, although the version of The Price Is Right that has been seen since 1972 on CBS
features a retooled format in which Stewart was not involved.
, and then at NBC
's flagship TV and radio stations, WNBC-TV and AM, also in New York. In the book The Box, the native New Yorker said he got the first spark for The Price Is Right during his tenure as a staff producer at WRCA-TV (now WNBC-TV
) when he happened to observe an auction taking place on 50th Street on his lunch hour. He developed the idea into the working title of The Auctionaire.
Stewart joined Goodson-Todman Productions in 1956, after he bumped into broadcaster (and future game show producer-host) Monty Hall
on the street and Hall told him he knew Goodson-Todman's attorney. "You got any ideas?" Stewart quoted Hall as asking.
The Price Is Right, using some of the Auctionaire concept, premiered on NBC November 26, 1956, with Bill Cullen
as host. It lasted seven years on NBC before being bumped in favor of Hall's Let's Make a Deal
in 1963; after that, Price moved to ABC
, where it lasted another two years. Seven years later, after Stewart had left Goodson-Todman, Mark Goodson retooled the show, mixing Stewart's original bidding format with elements from Let's Make a Deal to create The New Price Is Right
, which debuted in syndication and on CBS' daytime lineup in September 1972.
CBS
' To Tell the Truth
, emceed by Bud Collyer
, hit the air less than one month after the original Price debuted, in December 1956. Stewart said he auditioned the concept to Goodson and his producers by trying to have them guess which one of three men had been in the infantry in World War II and was now managing a grocery store. (The original pilot, hosted by Mike Wallace
and existing as a kinescope, was titled Nothing but the Truth.)
Five years later, in 1961, Stewart scored again with Password, a word-association guessing game. The show, the first game to pair celebrities and civilian contestants, became the top-rated program on daytime TV and popularized the concept of an end-game bonus round (the popular "Lightning Round") for additional money. (In June 2008, CBS and FremantleMedia revived the game in an updated big-money format titled Million Dollar Password
based on the Lightning Round as well as Stewart's Pyramid
game formats. His son, Sande Stewart, served as a creative consultant.)
Stewart was one of a coterie of Goodson staff producers who came up with ideas for game shows and segments. Producers such as Stewart, Frank Wayne
, Chester Feldman
, and Gil Fates
earned Goodson's respect not only for their concepts but for their skill in executing them.
Bob Stewart Productions
Before Prices cancellation in 1965 (the current CBS version did not premiere until 1972), Stewart left Goodson-Todman to set out on his own in 1964 and formed Bob Stewart Productions the same year. His first network game as an independent producer, the memory game Eye Guess
, aired on NBC
daytime from January 3, 1966 to September 26, 1969, and featured close friend Bill Cullen
, who emceed Price, as host.
Stewart's next entry, the CBS
primetime celebrity game show The Face Is Familiar
with host Jack Whitaker, ran from May 7 to September 3, 1966. Another Stewart celebrity game, Personality
(hosted by Larry Blyden
), aired on NBC from 1967-1969. Completing the decade for the packager was the short-lived You're Putting Me On
, hosted first by Bill Leyden and later by Blyden, which ran from September-December 1969.
Other than Eye Guess, Stewart's other moderate early success was Three on a Match, hosted by Cullen, which aired on NBC from August 2, 1971 to June 28, 1974.
Stewart's biggest success with his own production company along with its pet name Basada, Inc. (named after his sons Barry, Sande, and David), and one of TV's most honored and popular game shows, was Pyramid
, hosted by Dick Clark
, which, like Password, was a word-association game. Its March 26, 1973 premiere on CBS marked the first time a quiz show mounted a five-figure or higher possible cash payoff since the short-lived 100 Grand
in September 1963.
Pyramids network run would span 15 years, off and on, with escalating dollar amounts in the title reflecting raises in the payoff amount over the years. It has proven to be one of the most enduring game shows, airing almost continuously between first-run network/syndicated
airings and cable
reruns since 1982, when the second CBS version began. Its nine Emmy awards for best game show rank it second to the current Alex Trebek
version of Jeopardy!
, which has 11.
The network version of Pyramid (hosted by Clark) ran from 1973-1980 (moving to ABC for its final six years, after CBS cancelled it during a ratings panic in March 1974) and from 1982-1988 on CBS (with a three-month break from January-April 1988 for Blackout
). It was also popular in syndication, running once a week on weeknights in many markets from 1974-1979 (with Bill Cullen as emcee), daily from January-September 1981 (the tournament-format $50,000 version, Clark emceed this version), daily from 1985-1988 (hosted by Clark and running concurrently with the CBS version), and again from January 7 to December 6, 1991 (with John Davidson). The latter two sported potential cash payoffs of $100,000, which champion contestants could qualify to play for monthly.
Another version of Pyramid, not packaged by Stewart but by Sony
, which possesses the rights to most of the shows he created, aired in syndication from 2002-2004 hosted by Donny Osmond
.
Pyramid nearly led to Stewart's one significant foray outside the world of TV games. Occasional panelist David Letterman
, who appeared on the ABC version from 1978 onward (alternately amusing and annoying Clark) and emceed a game show pilot The Riddlers for Stewart, actually hired him to produce the daytime NBC show Letterman would host in 1980. However, due to creative disagreements, Stewart left the staff four days before the show's premiere.
Bob Stewart Productions was the last major game show production company to relocate from New York to Los Angeles
, with its first show there in full-time production being The Love Experts
for syndication. This had occurred by Fall 1978, but Pyramid actually continued first-run production in New York until its last $50,000 tapings in Spring 1981. As an odd incident of programming irony, during the first half of 1980 the company's New York-based Pyramid on ABC was competing in the same 12:00 Noon (Eastern) time slot against its Los Angeles-based Chain Reaction
on NBC.
By 1982, almost all of the Bob Stewart games were originating exclusively from Hollywood. The exception was that the updated versions of Jackpot! and Chain Reaction that were produced for the USA Network
on cable during the mid-1980s were videotaped in the Canadian cities of Toronto
and Montreal
, respectively. The updated version of "Jackpot!" was co-produced with the Canadian television network Global
. Stewart, a native New Yorker, had resisted the move because he appreciated the intelligence and energy contestants from the Big Apple brought to Pyramid, as well to his other shows. Luckily for Stewart, the show's energetic format was familiar enough to potential contestants nationwide that it endured through the 1980s and beyond.
Other game shows from Bob Stewart Productions (mostly employing a word or puzzle format) included Jackpot!
(1974-75), Winning Streak
(1974-75), Blankety Blanks
(1975), Shoot for the Stars
(1977), Pass the Buck
(1978), Chain Reaction
(1980), Go
(1983-84), and Double Talk
(1986).
Jackpot! and Chain Reaction were moderate successes for Stewart in their 1980s runs on USA Network
(1985-88 and 1986-91, respectively) after having relatively brief runs on NBC
. A revived Chain hosted by Dylan Lane and produced in New York by Michael Davies
ran on GSN
for two brief seasons.
, which went up against the elder Bob Stewart's Pyramid, Remember This?
, Sports on Tap
, Inquizition
, Hollywood Showdown
, Missouri Lottery
Fun & Fortune
, and Powerball Instant Millionaire
.
Stewart Tele Enterprises was sold to Sony Pictures Entertainment
in 1994, and many of Bob Stewart's creations air frequently on GSN
. Bob Stewart himself has participated in panels and special events related to quiz shows, including the annual Game Show Congress gatherings in the Los Angeles metropolitan area.
While Bob Stewart has not been an active producer since 1992, he serves as a Creative Consultant in his son's new production company, Stewart Television, and is listed on the official website as Stewart Television's founder.
Up until 2006, Bob Stewart held a record for the most Daytime Emmy Awards in game show production. The record was broken by Harry Friedman, who serves as Executive Producer of Wheel of Fortune
and Jeopardy!
.
In 2009 Bob was inducted into the Academy of Television Arts and Sciences Hall of Fame for his contributions to television and its evolution.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
television
Television
Television is a telecommunication medium for transmitting and receiving moving images that can be monochrome or colored, with accompanying sound...
game show
Game show
A game show is a type of radio or television program in which members of the public, television personalities or celebrities, sometimes as part of a team, play a game which involves answering questions or solving puzzles usually for money and/or prizes...
producer. He was active in the TV industry from 1956 until his retirement in 1992.
Stewart is known for creating some of the most popular game shows for Mark Goodson
Mark Goodson
Mark Goodson was an American television producer who specialized in game shows.-Life and early career:...
-Bill Todman
Bill Todman
William S. "Bill" Todman was an American television producer born in New York City. He produced many of television's longest running shows with business partner Mark Goodson.-Early life:...
Productions. These shows include To Tell the Truth
To Tell the Truth
To Tell the Truth is an American television panel game show created by Bob Stewart and produced by Goodson-Todman Productions that has aired in various forms since 1956 both on networks and in syndication...
, Password, and The Price Is Right
The Price Is Right (U.S. game show)
The Price Is Right is an American game show which was created by Mark Goodson and Bill Todman. Contestants compete to identify the pricing of merchandise to win cash and prizes. The show is well-known for its signature line of "Come on down!" when the announcer directs newly selected contestants to...
. His biggest success as an independent producer was the Pyramid series, starting with The $10,000 Pyramid
Pyramid (game show)
Pyramid is an American television game show which has aired several versions. The original series, The $10,000 Pyramid, debuted March 26, 1973 and spawned seven subsequent Pyramid series...
in 1973.
The Price Is Right
The Price Is Right (U.S. game show)
The Price Is Right is an American game show which was created by Mark Goodson and Bill Todman. Contestants compete to identify the pricing of merchandise to win cash and prizes. The show is well-known for its signature line of "Come on down!" when the announcer directs newly selected contestants to...
and To Tell the Truth
To Tell the Truth
To Tell the Truth is an American television panel game show created by Bob Stewart and produced by Goodson-Todman Productions that has aired in various forms since 1956 both on networks and in syndication...
, both created by Stewart, are the only two game shows to be seen nationally in either first-run network or syndication airings in the US in every decade from the 1950s onward, although the version of The Price Is Right that has been seen since 1972 on CBS
CBS
CBS Broadcasting Inc. is a major US commercial broadcasting television network, which started as a radio network. The name is derived from the initials of the network's former name, Columbia Broadcasting System. The network is sometimes referred to as the "Eye Network" in reference to the shape of...
features a retooled format in which Stewart was not involved.
Stewart with Goodson-Todman
Stewart's early broadcasting career included stints first at WNEW-AM in New York CityNew York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
, and then at NBC
NBC
The National Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network and former radio network headquartered in the GE Building in New York City's Rockefeller Center with additional major offices near Los Angeles and in Chicago...
's flagship TV and radio stations, WNBC-TV and AM, also in New York. In the book The Box, the native New Yorker said he got the first spark for The Price Is Right during his tenure as a staff producer at WRCA-TV (now WNBC-TV
WNBC
WNBC, virtual channel 4 , is the flagship station of the NBC television network, located in New York City. WNBC's studios are co-located with NBC corporate headquarters at 30 Rockefeller Plaza in midtown Manhattan...
) when he happened to observe an auction taking place on 50th Street on his lunch hour. He developed the idea into the working title of The Auctionaire.
Stewart joined Goodson-Todman Productions in 1956, after he bumped into broadcaster (and future game show producer-host) Monty Hall
Monty Hall
Monte Halperin, OC, OM , better known by the stage name Monty Hall, is a Canadian-born MC, producer, actor, singer and sportscaster, best known as host of the television game show Let's Make a Deal.-Early life:...
on the street and Hall told him he knew Goodson-Todman's attorney. "You got any ideas?" Stewart quoted Hall as asking.
The Price Is Right, using some of the Auctionaire concept, premiered on NBC November 26, 1956, with Bill Cullen
Bill Cullen
William Lawrence Francis "Bill" Cullen was an American radio and television personality whose career spanned five decades...
as host. It lasted seven years on NBC before being bumped in favor of Hall's Let's Make a Deal
Let's Make a Deal
Let's Make a Deal is a television game show which originated in the United States and has since been produced in many countries throughout the world. The show is based around deals offered to members of the audience by the host. The traders usually have to weigh the possibility of an offer being...
in 1963; after that, Price moved to ABC
American Broadcasting Company
The American Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network. Created in 1943 from the former NBC Blue radio network, ABC is owned by The Walt Disney Company and is part of Disney-ABC Television Group. Its first broadcast on television was in 1948...
, where it lasted another two years. Seven years later, after Stewart had left Goodson-Todman, Mark Goodson retooled the show, mixing Stewart's original bidding format with elements from Let's Make a Deal to create The New Price Is Right
The Price Is Right (U.S. game show)
The Price Is Right is an American game show which was created by Mark Goodson and Bill Todman. Contestants compete to identify the pricing of merchandise to win cash and prizes. The show is well-known for its signature line of "Come on down!" when the announcer directs newly selected contestants to...
, which debuted in syndication and on CBS' daytime lineup in September 1972.
CBS
CBS
CBS Broadcasting Inc. is a major US commercial broadcasting television network, which started as a radio network. The name is derived from the initials of the network's former name, Columbia Broadcasting System. The network is sometimes referred to as the "Eye Network" in reference to the shape of...
' To Tell the Truth
To Tell the Truth
To Tell the Truth is an American television panel game show created by Bob Stewart and produced by Goodson-Todman Productions that has aired in various forms since 1956 both on networks and in syndication...
, emceed by Bud Collyer
Bud Collyer
Bud Collyer was an American radio actor/announcer who became one of the nation's first major television game show stars...
, hit the air less than one month after the original Price debuted, in December 1956. Stewart said he auditioned the concept to Goodson and his producers by trying to have them guess which one of three men had been in the infantry in World War II and was now managing a grocery store. (The original pilot, hosted by Mike Wallace
Mike Wallace
Michael Wallace may refer to:*Mike Wallace , television correspondent**The Mike Wallace Interview, his TV series*Mike Wallace , American historian...
and existing as a kinescope, was titled Nothing but the Truth.)
Five years later, in 1961, Stewart scored again with Password, a word-association guessing game. The show, the first game to pair celebrities and civilian contestants, became the top-rated program on daytime TV and popularized the concept of an end-game bonus round (the popular "Lightning Round") for additional money. (In June 2008, CBS and FremantleMedia revived the game in an updated big-money format titled Million Dollar Password
Million Dollar Password
Million Dollar Password is an updated version of the game show Password on CBS, which was hosted by Regis Philbin and ran from June 1, 2008 to June 14, 2009. Based upon a format created by Bob Stewart for Goodson-Todman, FremantleMedia produced the program.-Production and broadcast history:Million...
based on the Lightning Round as well as Stewart's Pyramid
Pyramid (game show)
Pyramid is an American television game show which has aired several versions. The original series, The $10,000 Pyramid, debuted March 26, 1973 and spawned seven subsequent Pyramid series...
game formats. His son, Sande Stewart, served as a creative consultant.)
Stewart was one of a coterie of Goodson staff producers who came up with ideas for game shows and segments. Producers such as Stewart, Frank Wayne
Frank Wayne
Frank Wayne was an American game show producer and host.Wayne was the original executive producer of the 1972 revival of The Price Is Right until his death in 1988. He created the show's most popular game, Plinko, and many others...
, Chester Feldman
Chester Feldman
Chester Feldman was an American producer of game shows; most frequently for Mark Goodson Productions.-Biography:...
, and Gil Fates
Gil Fates
Joseph Gilbert Fates was an American television producer.Nicknamed "Gil", Fates was the executive producer of What's My Line?. Fates produced the game show its entire quarter-century span of CBS and syndicated runs...
earned Goodson's respect not only for their concepts but for their skill in executing them.
Bob Stewart ProductionsStewart Tele EnterprisesStewart Tele Enterprises was an American major game show production company formed by Bob Stewart in 1964 originally based in New York City.-History:...
Before Prices cancellation in 1965 (the current CBS version did not premiere until 1972), Stewart left Goodson-Todman to set out on his own in 1964 and formed Bob Stewart Productions the same year. His first network game as an independent producer, the memory game Eye GuessEye Guess
Eye Guess is an American game show that ran from January 3, 1966 to September 26, 1969 on NBC in which two contestants tried to answer questions by remembering the answers hidden on a board , with the winner playing for various prizes including a new car.This was the first game show by Bob Stewart...
, aired on NBC
NBC
The National Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network and former radio network headquartered in the GE Building in New York City's Rockefeller Center with additional major offices near Los Angeles and in Chicago...
daytime from January 3, 1966 to September 26, 1969, and featured close friend Bill Cullen
Bill Cullen
William Lawrence Francis "Bill" Cullen was an American radio and television personality whose career spanned five decades...
, who emceed Price, as host.
Stewart's next entry, the CBS
CBS
CBS Broadcasting Inc. is a major US commercial broadcasting television network, which started as a radio network. The name is derived from the initials of the network's former name, Columbia Broadcasting System. The network is sometimes referred to as the "Eye Network" in reference to the shape of...
primetime celebrity game show The Face Is Familiar
The Face Is Familiar
The Face Is Familiar is an American game show which aired in color on CBS from May 7 to September 3, 1966. The show was hosted by Jack Whitaker and featured celebrity guests including Bob Crane, Dick Van Patten, Mel Brooks and June Lockhart....
with host Jack Whitaker, ran from May 7 to September 3, 1966. Another Stewart celebrity game, Personality
Personality (TV series)
Personality is an American game show produced by Bob Stewart and hosted by Larry Blyden which ran on NBC from July 3, 1967 to September 26, 1969 at 11:00 AM, EST.-Gameplay:...
(hosted by Larry Blyden
Larry Blyden
Larry Blyden was an American actor and game show host, best known for his appearances on Broadway and as the host of the game show What's My Line?-Personal life:...
), aired on NBC from 1967-1969. Completing the decade for the packager was the short-lived You're Putting Me On
You're Putting Me On
You're Putting Me On! was a short-lived Bob Stewart NBC game show in which celebrities tried to communicate the identities of famous people through odd and interesting clues...
, hosted first by Bill Leyden and later by Blyden, which ran from September-December 1969.
Other than Eye Guess, Stewart's other moderate early success was Three on a Match, hosted by Cullen, which aired on NBC from August 2, 1971 to June 28, 1974.
Stewart's biggest success with his own production company along with its pet name Basada, Inc. (named after his sons Barry, Sande, and David), and one of TV's most honored and popular game shows, was Pyramid
Pyramid (game show)
Pyramid is an American television game show which has aired several versions. The original series, The $10,000 Pyramid, debuted March 26, 1973 and spawned seven subsequent Pyramid series...
, hosted by Dick Clark
Dick Clark (entertainer)
Richard Wagstaff "Dick" Clark is an American businessman; game-show host; and radio and television personality. He served as chairman and chief executive officer of Dick Clark Productions, which he has sold part of in recent years...
, which, like Password, was a word-association game. Its March 26, 1973 premiere on CBS marked the first time a quiz show mounted a five-figure or higher possible cash payoff since the short-lived 100 Grand
100 Grand (game show)
100 Grand was an American game show hosted by Jack Clark, with Bill Wendell announcing. The series ran for three episodes, weekly on Sunday nights from September 15 to 29, 1963 on the highly-touted "New ABC" as the network's attempt to bring back high-stakes game shows after the quiz show scandals...
in September 1963.
Pyramids network run would span 15 years, off and on, with escalating dollar amounts in the title reflecting raises in the payoff amount over the years. It has proven to be one of the most enduring game shows, airing almost continuously between first-run network/syndicated
Television syndication
In broadcasting, syndication is the sale of the right to broadcast radio shows and television shows by multiple radio stations and television stations, without going through a broadcast network, though the process of syndication may conjure up structures like those of a network itself, by its very...
airings and cable
Cable television
Cable television is a system of providing television programs to consumers via radio frequency signals transmitted to televisions through coaxial cables or digital light pulses through fixed optical fibers located on the subscriber's property, much like the over-the-air method used in traditional...
reruns since 1982, when the second CBS version began. Its nine Emmy awards for best game show rank it second to the current Alex Trebek
Alex Trebek
George Alexander "Alex" Trebek is a Canadian American game show host who has been the host of the game show Jeopardy! since 1984, and prior to that, he hosted game shows such as Pitfall and High Rollers. He has appeared in numerous television series, usually as himself...
version of Jeopardy!
Jeopardy!
Griffin's first conception of the game used a board comprising ten categories with ten clues each, but after finding that this board could not be shown on camera easily, he reduced it to two rounds of thirty clues each, with five clues in each of six categories...
, which has 11.
The network version of Pyramid (hosted by Clark) ran from 1973-1980 (moving to ABC for its final six years, after CBS cancelled it during a ratings panic in March 1974) and from 1982-1988 on CBS (with a three-month break from January-April 1988 for Blackout
Blackout (game show)
Blackout is an American game show that aired on CBS from January 4 to April 1, 1988. The pilot was hosted by former Entertainment Tonight anchor Robb Weller, but he was replaced for the series by Bob Goen...
). It was also popular in syndication, running once a week on weeknights in many markets from 1974-1979 (with Bill Cullen as emcee), daily from January-September 1981 (the tournament-format $50,000 version, Clark emceed this version), daily from 1985-1988 (hosted by Clark and running concurrently with the CBS version), and again from January 7 to December 6, 1991 (with John Davidson). The latter two sported potential cash payoffs of $100,000, which champion contestants could qualify to play for monthly.
Another version of Pyramid, not packaged by Stewart but by Sony
Sony
, commonly referred to as Sony, is a Japanese multinational conglomerate corporation headquartered in Minato, Tokyo, Japan and the world's fifth largest media conglomerate measured by revenues....
, which possesses the rights to most of the shows he created, aired in syndication from 2002-2004 hosted by Donny Osmond
Donny Osmond
Donald Clark "Donny" Osmond is an American singer, musician, actor, dancer, radio personality, and former teen idol. Osmond has also been a talk and game show host, record producer and author. In the mid 1960s, he and four of his elder brothers gained fame as the Osmond Brothers on the long...
.
Pyramid nearly led to Stewart's one significant foray outside the world of TV games. Occasional panelist David Letterman
David Letterman
David Michael Letterman is an American television host and comedian. He hosts the late night television talk show, Late Show with David Letterman, broadcast on CBS. Letterman has been a fixture on late night television since the 1982 debut of Late Night with David Letterman on NBC...
, who appeared on the ABC version from 1978 onward (alternately amusing and annoying Clark) and emceed a game show pilot The Riddlers for Stewart, actually hired him to produce the daytime NBC show Letterman would host in 1980. However, due to creative disagreements, Stewart left the staff four days before the show's premiere.
Bob Stewart Productions was the last major game show production company to relocate from New York to Los Angeles
Los Ángeles
Los Ángeles is the capital of the province of Biobío, in the commune of the same name, in Region VIII , in the center-south of Chile. It is located between the Laja and Biobío rivers. The population is 123,445 inhabitants...
, with its first show there in full-time production being The Love Experts
The Love Experts
The Love Experts was a show that was part talk show and part game show that ran from September 11, 1978 to September 7, 1979. It was hosted by Bill Cullen and Jack Clark was the announcer. The show was created by Bob Stewart...
for syndication. This had occurred by Fall 1978, but Pyramid actually continued first-run production in New York until its last $50,000 tapings in Spring 1981. As an odd incident of programming irony, during the first half of 1980 the company's New York-based Pyramid on ABC was competing in the same 12:00 Noon (Eastern) time slot against its Los Angeles-based Chain Reaction
Chain Reaction (game show)
Chain Reaction is an American game show created by Bob Stewart, in which players compete to form chains composed of two-word phrases.The show aired three separate runs: Bill Cullen hosted the original series on NBC from January 14 to June 20, 1980...
on NBC.
By 1982, almost all of the Bob Stewart games were originating exclusively from Hollywood. The exception was that the updated versions of Jackpot! and Chain Reaction that were produced for the USA Network
USA Network
USA Network is an American cable television channel launched in 1971. Once a minor player in basic cable, the network has steadily gained popularity because of breakout hits like Monk, Psych, Burn Notice, Royal Pains, Covert Affairs, White Collar, Monday Night RAW, Suits, and reruns of the various...
on cable during the mid-1980s were videotaped in the Canadian cities of Toronto
Toronto
Toronto is the provincial capital of Ontario and the largest city in Canada. It is located in Southern Ontario on the northwestern shore of Lake Ontario. A relatively modern city, Toronto's history dates back to the late-18th century, when its land was first purchased by the British monarchy from...
and Montreal
Montreal
Montreal is a city in Canada. It is the largest city in the province of Quebec, the second-largest city in Canada and the seventh largest in North America...
, respectively. The updated version of "Jackpot!" was co-produced with the Canadian television network Global
Global Television Network
Global Television Network is an English language privately owned television network in Canada, owned by Calgary-based Shaw Communications, as part of its Shaw Media division...
. Stewart, a native New Yorker, had resisted the move because he appreciated the intelligence and energy contestants from the Big Apple brought to Pyramid, as well to his other shows. Luckily for Stewart, the show's energetic format was familiar enough to potential contestants nationwide that it endured through the 1980s and beyond.
Other game shows from Bob Stewart Productions (mostly employing a word or puzzle format) included Jackpot!
Jackpot (game show)
Jackpot! is a television game show seen in three different runs between 1974 and 1990. Geoff Edwards hosted the original version of this Bob Stewart production from January 7, 1974 until September 26, 1975 on NBC. A second version, produced in Canada, aired from September 30, 1985 to December 30,...
(1974-75), Winning Streak
Winning Streak (US game show)
Winning Streak is an American television game show hosted by Bill Cullen and announced by Don Pardo. It aired daily on NBC from July 1, 1974 to January 3, 1975 and was produced at the NBC Studios in New York's Rockefeller Plaza.-Gameplay:...
(1974-75), Blankety Blanks
Blankety Blanks (US game show)
Blankety Blanks is an American game show that aired on ABC from April 21 to June 27, 1975. This Bob Stewart Production starred Bill Cullen as its host with Bob Clayton announcing.-Gameplay:...
(1975), Shoot for the Stars
Shoot For The Stars
Shoot for the Stars is a game show created and produced by Bob Stewart, and aired on the NBC television network. The show aired from January 3 to September 30, 1977, and was produced in New York City...
(1977), Pass the Buck
Pass the Buck (game show)
Pass the Buck is a game show that aired on CBS television's daytime lineup from April 3 to June 30, 1978. The series was hosted by Bill Cullen and was created by Bob Stewart. Bob Clayton was the announcer.-Gameplay:...
(1978), Chain Reaction
Chain Reaction (game show)
Chain Reaction is an American game show created by Bob Stewart, in which players compete to form chains composed of two-word phrases.The show aired three separate runs: Bill Cullen hosted the original series on NBC from January 14 to June 20, 1980...
(1980), Go
Go (game show)
Go is an American television game show created by Bob Stewart and aired on NBC from October 3, 1983 to January 20, 1984. The show featured two teams, each composed of four contestants and a celebrity. The teams had to construct questions one word at a time to convey a word or phrase to their...
(1983-84), and Double Talk
Double Talk
Double Talk is an American game show that aired on the ABC network in 1986. Henry Polic II hosted this word game created by Bob Stewart, which contained elements of the previous Stewart-produced game show Shoot For the Stars...
(1986).
Jackpot! and Chain Reaction were moderate successes for Stewart in their 1980s runs on USA Network
USA Network
USA Network is an American cable television channel launched in 1971. Once a minor player in basic cable, the network has steadily gained popularity because of breakout hits like Monk, Psych, Burn Notice, Royal Pains, Covert Affairs, White Collar, Monday Night RAW, Suits, and reruns of the various...
(1985-88 and 1986-91, respectively) after having relatively brief runs on NBC
NBC
The National Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network and former radio network headquartered in the GE Building in New York City's Rockefeller Center with additional major offices near Los Angeles and in Chicago...
. A revived Chain hosted by Dylan Lane and produced in New York by Michael Davies
Michael Davies
Michael Davies may refer to:* Michael Davies , Traditionalist Catholic writer* Michael Davies , Clerk of the Parliaments 1997-2003* Michael Davies , cricketer...
ran on GSN
Game Show Network
The Game Show Network is an American cable television and direct broadcast satellite channel dedicated to game shows and casino game shows. The channel was launched on December 1, 1994. Its current slogan is "The World Needs More Winners"...
for two brief seasons.
Retirement
In the mid 1980s, Bob Stewart began winding down his career, and his son, Sande, gradually took over operations, with all shows after 1987 being known under Bob Stewart & Sande Stewart Productions. In 1990, the company was renamed Stewart Tele Enterprises. Bob Stewart would fully retire in 1992 after the second run of The $100,000 Pyramid was cancelled, with Sande taking over full operations. Sande later produced some game shows on his own, including Your Number's UpYour Number's Up
Your Number's Up is a game show that aired on NBC from September 23 to December 20, 1985. The show was hosted by Nipsey Russell with Lee Menning as co-host...
, which went up against the elder Bob Stewart's Pyramid, Remember This?
Remember This?
Remember This? was a game show that tested contestants' knowledge of facts behind NBC News headlines. The series aired on MSNBC on Fridays, Saturdays, and Sundays from October 25, 1996 to October 5, 1997....
, Sports on Tap
Sports on Tap
Sports on Tap was a short-lived American sports trivia game show from Sande Stewart Television that aired on ESPN from April 5 to September 30, 1994 and then from January 3 to March 29, 1995. The game was set in a fictional sports bar named "Sports on Tap"...
, Inquizition
Inquizition
Inquizition is an American game show created by Game Show Network and Sande Stewart Television that ran on the network's schedule from October 5, 1998 to October 19, 2001.-Gameplay:...
, Hollywood Showdown
Hollywood Showdown
Hollywood Showdown is an American game show that aired on both PAX and Game Show Network from January to November 2000, then again until April 2002. Reruns aired on GSN again from September 2004 to April 2005 plus June 2006 and June 2007 on TV Guide Network...
, Missouri Lottery
Missouri Lottery
The Missouri Lottery is run by the government of Missouri. It is a charter member of the Multi-State Lottery Association , whose first drawing was held in 1988.-History:...
Fun & Fortune
Fun & Fortune
Fun & Fortune was a game show that was part of the Missouri Lottery. The show was broadcast from the 1990s until late 2002. ....
, and Powerball Instant Millionaire
Powerball Instant Millionaire
Powerball Instant Millionaire is a lottery-based game show that aired from October 5, 2002 to September 2004 in some of the jurisdictions that offered the Powerball game. Todd Newton was the host....
.
Stewart Tele Enterprises was sold to Sony Pictures Entertainment
Sony Pictures Entertainment
Sony Pictures Entertainment, Inc. is the television and film production/distribution unit of Japanese multinational technology and media conglomerate Sony...
in 1994, and many of Bob Stewart's creations air frequently on GSN
Game Show Network
The Game Show Network is an American cable television and direct broadcast satellite channel dedicated to game shows and casino game shows. The channel was launched on December 1, 1994. Its current slogan is "The World Needs More Winners"...
. Bob Stewart himself has participated in panels and special events related to quiz shows, including the annual Game Show Congress gatherings in the Los Angeles metropolitan area.
While Bob Stewart has not been an active producer since 1992, he serves as a Creative Consultant in his son's new production company, Stewart Television, and is listed on the official website as Stewart Television's founder.
Up until 2006, Bob Stewart held a record for the most Daytime Emmy Awards in game show production. The record was broken by Harry Friedman, who serves as Executive Producer of Wheel of Fortune
Wheel of Fortune (U.S. game show)
Wheel of Fortune is an American television game show created by Merv Griffin, which premiered in 1975. Contestants compete to solve word puzzles, similar to those used in Hangman, to win cash and prizes determined by spinning a large wheel. The title refers to the show's giant carnival wheel that...
and Jeopardy!
Jeopardy!
Griffin's first conception of the game used a board comprising ten categories with ten clues each, but after finding that this board could not be shown on camera easily, he reduced it to two rounds of thirty clues each, with five clues in each of six categories...
.
In 2009 Bob was inducted into the Academy of Television Arts and Sciences Hall of Fame for his contributions to television and its evolution.
Bob Stewart shows
- Eye GuessEye GuessEye Guess is an American game show that ran from January 3, 1966 to September 26, 1969 on NBC in which two contestants tried to answer questions by remembering the answers hidden on a board , with the winner playing for various prizes including a new car.This was the first game show by Bob Stewart...
(1966-1969, NBC) - The Face Is FamiliarThe Face Is FamiliarThe Face Is Familiar is an American game show which aired in color on CBS from May 7 to September 3, 1966. The show was hosted by Jack Whitaker and featured celebrity guests including Bob Crane, Dick Van Patten, Mel Brooks and June Lockhart....
(1966, CBS prime time) - PersonalityPersonality (TV series)Personality is an American game show produced by Bob Stewart and hosted by Larry Blyden which ran on NBC from July 3, 1967 to September 26, 1969 at 11:00 AM, EST.-Gameplay:...
(1967-1969, NBC) - You're Putting Me OnYou're Putting Me OnYou're Putting Me On! was a short-lived Bob Stewart NBC game show in which celebrities tried to communicate the identities of famous people through odd and interesting clues...
(1969, NBC) - Three on a Match (1971-1974, NBC)
- PyramidPyramid (game show)Pyramid is an American television game show which has aired several versions. The original series, The $10,000 Pyramid, debuted March 26, 1973 and spawned seven subsequent Pyramid series...
-
- The $10,000 Pyramid (1973-1974, CBS; 1974-1976, ABC)
- The $20,000 Pyramid (1976-1980, ABC)
- The $25,000 Pyramid (1974-1979, weekly syndication)
- The $50,000 Pyramid (1981, daily syndication)
- The (New) $25,000 Pyramid (1982-1988, CBS)
- The $100,000 Pyramid (1985-1988, daily syndication)
- The $100,000 Pyramid (1991, daily syndication)
- Jackpot!Jackpot (game show)Jackpot! is a television game show seen in three different runs between 1974 and 1990. Geoff Edwards hosted the original version of this Bob Stewart production from January 7, 1974 until September 26, 1975 on NBC. A second version, produced in Canada, aired from September 30, 1985 to December 30,...
- Jackpot!
- 1974-1975, NBC
- 1985-1988, USA Network
- 1989-1990, daily syndication
- Winning StreakWinning Streak (US game show)Winning Streak is an American television game show hosted by Bill Cullen and announced by Don Pardo. It aired daily on NBC from July 1, 1974 to January 3, 1975 and was produced at the NBC Studios in New York's Rockefeller Plaza.-Gameplay:...
(1974-1975, NBC) - Blankety BlanksBlankety Blanks (US game show)Blankety Blanks is an American game show that aired on ABC from April 21 to June 27, 1975. This Bob Stewart Production starred Bill Cullen as its host with Bob Clayton announcing.-Gameplay:...
(1975, ABC) - Pass the BuckPass the Buck (game show)Pass the Buck is a game show that aired on CBS television's daytime lineup from April 3 to June 30, 1978. The series was hosted by Bill Cullen and was created by Bob Stewart. Bob Clayton was the announcer.-Gameplay:...
(1978, CBS daytime) - The Love ExpertsThe Love ExpertsThe Love Experts was a show that was part talk show and part game show that ran from September 11, 1978 to September 7, 1979. It was hosted by Bill Cullen and Jack Clark was the announcer. The show was created by Bob Stewart...
(1978-1979, daily syndication) - Chain ReactionChain Reaction (game show)Chain Reaction is an American game show created by Bob Stewart, in which players compete to form chains composed of two-word phrases.The show aired three separate runs: Bill Cullen hosted the original series on NBC from January 14 to June 20, 1980...
(1980, NBC daytime, 1986-1991 USA Network) - Double TalkDouble TalkDouble Talk is an American game show that aired on the ABC network in 1986. Henry Polic II hosted this word game created by Bob Stewart, which contained elements of the previous Stewart-produced game show Shoot For the Stars...
(1986, ABC; revival of Shoot for the Stars)
- Winning Streak