Card Sharks
Encyclopedia
Card Sharks is an American television game show
created by Chester Feldman
for Mark Goodson
-Bill Todman
Productions. Two contestants compete for control of a row of oversized playing cards by answering questions posed by the host and then guessing if the next card is higher or lower in value than the previous one. The concept has been made into a series four separate times since its debut in 1978, and also appeared as part of CBS's Gameshow Marathon. The primary announcer for the first three series was Gene Wood
.
The CBS and syndicated versions from 1986–1989 featured two new varieties of questions in addition to the traditional survey questions:
If neither contestant had guessed all the cards in his or her row correctly, or if one had frozen his or her position, play continued with another toss-up question. The first two rounds consisted of a maximum of four questions each, and the third tie-breaker round contained a maximum of three questions. If the contestants still had not cleared their row of cards prior to the last question of the round, that question was played as "sudden death." The winner of the sudden death question could either play their cards and change their base card if they desired or pass to their opponent, who had to play without changing. If either contestant guessed incorrectly, their opponent won by default.
The 1970s and 1980s Card Sharks matches were best two-out-of-three, with the third match being played with three cards per contestant and three high-low questions until 1988, when it was replaced with a tiebreaker round which consisted of a single sudden death question. The controlling contestant was shown both base cards before being given the option to play the cards and change their base card if desired or pass to the opponent, who had to play without changing.
Initially $100 was awarded for each game won, and the match's winner advanced to play the Money Cards bonus game. Beginning on September 29, 1986 on the syndicated version, several cards with tangible prizes such as cash amounts, trips and electronics were introduced. Each prize revealed during the course of play was placed in a holding area for that contestant, each prize card was replaced with the next card off that contestant's deck, and the match's winner received the prizes he or she revealed. The CBS version still airing at this time continued to award $100 for a win and did not feature prize cards. On both 1980s versions, there was no bonus for running the board.
Contestants were also given "Clip Chips," which allowed them to replace a card if they correctly guessed the outcome of a video.
The championship match consisted of one game with seven cards, played as before. The winner of the championship match won $1,100 and played the Money Cards and the losing contestant won a trip to Las Vegas
in addition to their prior winnings.
$200 ($700 in 2001) was given to the contestant at the beginning of the first level, and they would use that money to wager on whether or not the next card was higher or lower. Making a correct guess added the value of the wager to the contestant's bank, while an incorrect guess cost the contestant the wager.
When the contestant cleared the first level or ran out of money ("busted"), the last played card was moved up to the second level and the contestant received additional money ($200 on the NBC series, $400 on the 1986–1989 editions, and $700 in 2001) to bet with. Minimum bets on the first two levels were $50 and had to be made in increments of $50 ($100 on the 2001 edition). If a contestant still had money left after clearing the second level, the last card was moved to the top line for the "Big Bet" ("Major Wager" on the 2001 version, and reaching this level also added another $700). There, the contestant had to wager at least half of their remaining bank on one last call. However, if a contestant busted on the second or third row, the game ended. The most a contestant could win on the NBC version was $28,800, which was accomplished only once by contestant Norma Brown. Contestants could win up to $32,000 on the 1980s series; the highest amount won was $29,000. Contestants on the 2001 edition could win up to $51,800.
Originally, if a contestant turned over a duplicate card (i.e., two consecutive Aces), it was counted as a loss. Beginning on October 20, 1980, a contestant was no longer penalized in the Money Cards for duplicate cards. After that, the hosts encouraged contestants to bet all their money on Aces and twos as they were guaranteed not to lose any money. This rule was abolished partway through the 2001 version.
and the other the audience poll group.
Beginning on September 29, 1986 in syndication and October 27, 1986 on CBS, a winning contestant received one Joker for winning the match. Three more were added to the Money Cards deck, and if a contestant uncovered them they received an additional chance to win the car. After the Money Cards round was over, a row of seven numbered cards was wheeled out and the contestant placed whatever Jokers they'd earned over the cards in the hopes that behind one of them was the word "CAR". During the special weeks when children played, the top prize was usually a trip to Hawaii (with either "WIN" or "HAWAII" displayed on one of the cards) and the children were given two Jokers to start. On the last episode of the 1986 syndicated version, all four Jokers were given to the final champion at the outset. This bonus round was played until July 1, 1988.
Beginning on July 4, 1988, the winning contestant had to correctly predict one final audience poll question. To record their guess, the contestant used a special prop with a dial and the numbers 0 through 10 on it. The contestant moved the dial to the number they thought was correct, and if it was they won the car. Missing by one in either direction won the contestant $500 as a consolation prize, while any other incorrect guess won nothing.
The 2001 version was self-contained, with no returning champions.
, Gene Rayburn
, Bill Cullen
, Wink Martindale
, Tom Kennedy, Alex Trebek
, Jack Clark
and Jim Lange
.
for ESPN in 1994 and 1995 and is currently a news anchor for KWGN
, hosted and actress Dee Dee Weathers was the dealer. Two contestants competed in a version of Card Sharks that was unlike any of the other series.
In order to gain control of the cards, the contestants had to guess survey questions that were asked to a group of ten Playboy Playmates. They then faced ten cards dealt into a pyramid shape and had to correctly call higher or lower. The contestant who turned over the final card in the pyramid won $250 and the game, and an extra $250 if they correctly called every card.
The Money Cards round was not used on this pilot- instead, four cards were dealt which included an Ace and the winning contestant was then shown three video clips where celebrities were asked questions. The winning contestant had to correctly predict the outcome of the clip, and if successful was given one of the cards. After all three video clips were played the contestant's cards were turned over. If they kept the Ace, they won $5,000. Otherwise, the value of the cards was added up and the contestant won the sum multiplied by $100.
Round one was played similar to blackjack
. Each time a contestant took control they earned a card and could stand upon reaching 12 or above. The opponent then kept receiving cards until they either beat the standing contestant or busted. $200 was given to the winner of the round
Round two saw contestants play a game similar to the original series' sudden death rounds. Upon obtaining control of the cards a contestant was shown the first card in the row and could either elect to play or pass. If either contestant failed to complete the row, money was awarded to their opponent. Three sets of cards were played, with three, four, and five in each row. The first row was worth $300, the second $400, and the third $500.
Other than a lack of surveys, the third round was played the same as the front game on the original Card Sharks series, with each contestant playing a row of five cards. Completing the row won a contestant $1,000, and the first contestant to reach $1,500 won the game and advanced to the Money Cards.
The Money Cards game from the pilot was eventually carried over to the 2001 syndicated series, with the contestant's main game winnings divided evenly among three tiers.
from April 24, 1978 to October 23, 1981. From its debut until June 20, 1980, Card Sharks aired at 10:00 AM (ET
)/9:00 AM(CT
/MT
/PT
). The series was one of the few respectable daytime performers on NBC under Fred Silverman
's tenure as network president, which at the time was struggling to gain ratings in both daytime and primetime. After a scheduling shuffle necessitated by the debut of The David Letterman Show
on June 23, 1980, Card Sharks moved to Noon/11:00 AM, a timeslot where it faced the top-rated game show in daytime, Family Feud
on ABC; the first half of The Young and the Restless
in certain markets on CBS; and pre-emptions on local affiliates due to many stations electing to air local newscasts, talk shows, or other syndicated programming in the Noon hour. Card Sharks remained in the Noon/11:00 slot until its cancellation.
The CBS revival of Card Sharks debuted at 10:30/9:30 AM on January 6, 1986, in place of Press Your Luck
, and stayed in that timeslot for its entire run; Press Your Luck relocated to Body Language
s old 4:00/3:00 PM slot. Until January 1987, Card Sharks faced off against its original host Jim Perry's game show Sale of the Century
on NBC in the time slot. Blockbusters
(with the then-host of the syndicated Card Sharks, Bill Rafferty) and then Alex Trebek's Classic Concentration followed as competition for Card Sharks. The revival ended its run on March 31, 1989, and was replaced by a short-lived revival of Now You See It
.
The 1986 Bill Rafferty-hosted syndicated series debuted on September 8, 1986. For the first half of the season this syndicated Card Sharks series had fairly decent clearances, but this changed due to the show's ratings struggles in an overcrowded syndicated game show market. At the midseason point the syndication Card Sharks disappeared from quite a few of its markets, and many of the stations that continued to air the series moved it to a very undesirable timeslot such as the late-night or early morning hours. The series continued to air until June 7, 1987, in the markets that kept it, with reruns airing until September 4, 1987.
The most recent regular Card Sharks series, the Pat Bullard-hosted 2001 series, debuted on September 17, 2001 and aired new episodes until December 14, 2001. Four weeks of reruns aired following that, and the series was cancelled altogether on January 11, 2002. In most of its markets the 2001 Card Sharks was either paired with or aired on the same station as one or both of the Pearson Television
-produced shows that were airing at the time, To Tell the Truth
or Family Feud
.
On June 15, 2006 the series was the fifth of seven game shows used in the CBS series Gameshow Marathon hosted by Ricki Lake
. The set was modeled after the Perry version and also used its theme, opening sequence and logo; the use of "audience poll" questions and the car game were taken from the Eubanks/Rafferty versions.
Gene Wood
was the primary announcer on both the original and 1980s Card Sharks versions. Bob Hilton
filled in for him on occasion on all three versions, Johnny Olson
(also announcing the pilots), Jack Narz
, Jay Stewart
, and Charlie O'Donnell
also filled in for him on the NBC version, and O'Donnell, Johnny Gilbert
, and Rod Roddy
also filled in for him on the CBS version. Gary Kroeger
was the announcer for the 2001 version, and the Gameshow Marathon episode was announced by Rich Fields
.
with host Alex Trebek
that aired in 1976 on CBS. Edd Kalehoff
wrote that theme and the theme for the 1980s version of Card Sharks, both through Score Productions
. Composer Alan Ett was responsible for the 2001 series theme.
in Burbank, California
in the same studio which housed Perry's next game, Sale of the Century. Both 1980s versions were taped at Studio 33 (known as the Bob Barker Studio since 1998) at CBS Television City
in Hollywood, California
. The 2001 version was taped at Tribune Studios, now known as the Sunset Bronson Studios, which are part of KTLA
. The Gameshow Marathon version of Card Sharks was also taped at CBS Television City in Studio 46.
.
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...
created by Chester Feldman
Chester Feldman
Chester Feldman was an American producer of game shows; most frequently for Mark Goodson Productions.-Biography:...
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. Two contestants compete for control of a row of oversized playing cards by answering questions posed by the host and then guessing if the next card is higher or lower in value than the previous one. The concept has been made into a series four separate times since its debut in 1978, and also appeared as part of CBS's Gameshow Marathon. The primary announcer for the first three series was Gene Wood
Gene Wood
Eugene Edward "Gene" Wood was an American television personality, known primarily for his work as an announcer on various game shows. From the 1960s to the 1990s, he announced many game shows, primarily Mark Goodson–Bill Todman productions such as Family Feud, Card Sharks, Password, and Beat the...
.
Gameplay
Two contestants, one of which was typically the returning champion, were assigned an oversized deck of 52 playing cards and were dealt the first five cards for their row. The champion (or champion-designate if there were two new contestants) played the red cards on top while the challenger played the blue cards on the bottom. Each contestant's row of cards had a bracket atop it, which was used to mark their "base cards."Questions
Contestants alternated responding to questions to gain control of the cards. Survey questions were posed to groups of 100 people, all of whom were typically in a common demographic group (e.g., of the same profession, all male, all over the age of 50, etc.). Contestants were asked to predict how many of those 100 people responded in a specific manner. Their opponent was then asked whether the actual number was higher or lower than the previous contestant's response. The actual number was then revealed, and if the opponent was correct, they played their cards first; otherwise the contestant to whom the question was posed played first. Later, a $500 bonus was awarded to any contestant who provided the exact number of people responding to a specific question.The CBS and syndicated versions from 1986–1989 featured two new varieties of questions in addition to the traditional survey questions:
- The audience poll was a question asked of a group of studio audience members (usually 10 members) selected for a shared characteristic such as gender or occupation. If a contestant guessed the exact number of audience members who made a certain response to one of these questions, he or she won a $100 bonus and the poll group was given $100 to share. The same poll group was used for a week's worth of episodes.
- The educated guess questions were general knowledge trivia questions which had numerical answers. Exact guesses won a $500 bonus for the contestant. Guesses and responses were originally registered on the displays; this later changed to the guesses and responses superimposed on the displays, as they could be more than 99, which was the highest number the displays could register.
Playing the cards
The contestant in control was shown the first card in the row of five, the so-called "base card," and could either keep it or replace it with the next card off the top of the deck, which they had to play. The contestant then guessed whether the next card in the row was higher or lower, and continued to do so as long as he or she guessed correctly. If two duplicate cards appeared (i.e., two consecutive Aces) or the contestant made an incorrect guess, that contestant lost of control and whatever cards they had played were discarded and replaced. The opposing contestant then had a chance to play from his or her base card, but without the opportunity to exchange first. Either contestant could also elect to "freeze" their position if they were unsure of the next card; this would both prevent the opponent from playing and reset the contestant's base card to the frozen card and whatever cards that were turned in that instance were not discarded. In the final few months of the NBC Card Sharks, if a contestant was able to complete their row without freezing, he or she won a $500 bonus.If neither contestant had guessed all the cards in his or her row correctly, or if one had frozen his or her position, play continued with another toss-up question. The first two rounds consisted of a maximum of four questions each, and the third tie-breaker round contained a maximum of three questions. If the contestants still had not cleared their row of cards prior to the last question of the round, that question was played as "sudden death." The winner of the sudden death question could either play their cards and change their base card if they desired or pass to their opponent, who had to play without changing. If either contestant guessed incorrectly, their opponent won by default.
The 1970s and 1980s Card Sharks matches were best two-out-of-three, with the third match being played with three cards per contestant and three high-low questions until 1988, when it was replaced with a tiebreaker round which consisted of a single sudden death question. The controlling contestant was shown both base cards before being given the option to play the cards and change their base card if desired or pass to the opponent, who had to play without changing.
Initially $100 was awarded for each game won, and the match's winner advanced to play the Money Cards bonus game. Beginning on September 29, 1986 on the syndicated version, several cards with tangible prizes such as cash amounts, trips and electronics were introduced. Each prize revealed during the course of play was placed in a holding area for that contestant, each prize card was replaced with the next card off that contestant's deck, and the match's winner received the prizes he or she revealed. The CBS version still airing at this time continued to award $100 for a win and did not feature prize cards. On both 1980s versions, there was no bonus for running the board.
2001 version
In 2001, both contestants played the same row of seven cards. Each incorrect call gave the other contestant control of the remaining cards. A contestant won the game and $500 by guessing the last card correctly or by an opponent calling the last card incorrectly. The first contestant to win two games competed against the winner of the second match. Both contestants kept their winnings if they won a game. If both contestants were tied with one game each, a three-card tiebreaker round was played to determine the winner.Contestants were also given "Clip Chips," which allowed them to replace a card if they correctly guessed the outcome of a video.
The championship match consisted of one game with seven cards, played as before. The winner of the championship match won $1,100 and played the Money Cards and the losing contestant won a trip to Las Vegas
Las Vegas metropolitan area
The Las Vegas Valley is the heart of the Las Vegas-Paradise, NV MSA also known as the Las Vegas–Paradise–Henderson MSA which includes all of Clark County, Nevada, and is a metropolitan area in the southern part of the U.S. state of Nevada. The Valley is defined by the Las Vegas Valley landform, a ...
in addition to their prior winnings.
Bonus rounds
Two types of bonus rounds were used during the evolution of the program: the Money Cards and a round with a car as the prize.Money Cards
The winner of the main game played the Money Cards bonus game for a chance to win additional money. The Money Cards board consisted of a series of eight cards on three levels. On the 1970s Card Sharks, a contestant was able to change the base card on each of the three levels (originally only the base card at the beginning of the game). The 1980s series gave the contestant a choice of three pre-dealt cards to use for changes. Contestants were originally allowed to change cards at will (even three times on one card), but the rules were changed to one card per line in early 1986.$200 ($700 in 2001) was given to the contestant at the beginning of the first level, and they would use that money to wager on whether or not the next card was higher or lower. Making a correct guess added the value of the wager to the contestant's bank, while an incorrect guess cost the contestant the wager.
When the contestant cleared the first level or ran out of money ("busted"), the last played card was moved up to the second level and the contestant received additional money ($200 on the NBC series, $400 on the 1986–1989 editions, and $700 in 2001) to bet with. Minimum bets on the first two levels were $50 and had to be made in increments of $50 ($100 on the 2001 edition). If a contestant still had money left after clearing the second level, the last card was moved to the top line for the "Big Bet" ("Major Wager" on the 2001 version, and reaching this level also added another $700). There, the contestant had to wager at least half of their remaining bank on one last call. However, if a contestant busted on the second or third row, the game ended. The most a contestant could win on the NBC version was $28,800, which was accomplished only once by contestant Norma Brown. Contestants could win up to $32,000 on the 1980s series; the highest amount won was $29,000. Contestants on the 2001 edition could win up to $51,800.
Originally, if a contestant turned over a duplicate card (i.e., two consecutive Aces), it was counted as a loss. Beginning on October 20, 1980, a contestant was no longer penalized in the Money Cards for duplicate cards. After that, the hosts encouraged contestants to bet all their money on Aces and twos as they were guaranteed not to lose any money. This rule was abolished partway through the 2001 version.
Car games
A secondary bonus game was introduced on both 1980s Card Sharks series which gave a winning contestant a chance to win a new car. During these series' runs there were two different car games, one involving JokersJoker (playing card)
Joker is a special type of playing card found in most modern decks, or else a type of tile in some Mahjong game sets.-Name:It is believed that the term "Joker" comes from a mispronunciation of Jucker, the German/Alsatian name for the game Euchre. The card was originally introduced in about 1860 for...
and the other the audience poll group.
Beginning on September 29, 1986 in syndication and October 27, 1986 on CBS, a winning contestant received one Joker for winning the match. Three more were added to the Money Cards deck, and if a contestant uncovered them they received an additional chance to win the car. After the Money Cards round was over, a row of seven numbered cards was wheeled out and the contestant placed whatever Jokers they'd earned over the cards in the hopes that behind one of them was the word "CAR". During the special weeks when children played, the top prize was usually a trip to Hawaii (with either "WIN" or "HAWAII" displayed on one of the cards) and the children were given two Jokers to start. On the last episode of the 1986 syndicated version, all four Jokers were given to the final champion at the outset. This bonus round was played until July 1, 1988.
Beginning on July 4, 1988, the winning contestant had to correctly predict one final audience poll question. To record their guess, the contestant used a special prop with a dial and the numbers 0 through 10 on it. The contestant moved the dial to the number they thought was correct, and if it was they won the car. Missing by one in either direction won the contestant $500 as a consolation prize, while any other incorrect guess won nothing.
Gameshow Marathon version
On Gameshow Marathon, a contestant started with $1,000 in betting money for the first two rows and had to wager at least half the money on the Big Bet. Minimum bets were still $50 and contestants could change one card per line by using one of the three pre-dealt cards in the numbered slots. The rule of not penalizing contestants when duplicate cards appeared was also used. The maximum payoff was $144,000.Returning champions
On the original series, contestants could return until they either lost a game or won seven consecutive matches. On the CBS version, contestants played until they either won five consecutive matches or reached the network's winnings limit, which was originally $50,000 when the series debuted and extended to $75,000 in the fall of 1986. An unspecified winnings limit existed on the 1986 syndicated series, as well as a rule that limited the amount of cars a champion could win. A contestant was originally retired after winning a car, but this was later changed to three cars and later two. These changes corresponded with changes in the types of cars given away- the first several weeks of the car game saw luxury cars given away, but was changed to mid-price sports cars and later to base model cars.The 2001 version was self-contained, with no returning champions.
Tournaments
Card Sharks held many themed tournament weeks, including competitions for children, celebrities, and game show hosts. The hosts who participated in that event were Allen LuddenAllen Ludden
Allen Ludden was an American television personality, emcee and game show host, perhaps most well known for hosting various incarnations of the game show Password between 1961 and 1980.-Early years:...
, Gene Rayburn
Gene Rayburn
Gene Rayburn was an American radio and television personality. He is best known as the host of various editions of the popular American television game show Match Game for over two decades....
, Bill Cullen
Bill Cullen
William Lawrence Francis "Bill" Cullen was an American radio and television personality whose career spanned five decades...
, Wink Martindale
Wink Martindale
Winston Conrad Martindale , known professionally as Wink Martindale, is an American disc jockey and television game show host.-Radio:...
, Tom Kennedy, 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...
, Jack Clark
Jack Clark (television)
Jack Clark was an American television game show host and announcer. He is best known for hosting The Cross-Wits, and as an offstage announcer for Wheel of Fortune...
and Jim Lange
Jim Lange
Jim Lange is a former American game show host and disc jockey. He was particularly well known to listeners in the San Francisco and Los Angeles radio markets with stints at several stations in both markets, racking up over 45 years on the air...
.
1978
Card Sharks recorded two pilots on March 17, 1978; the only difference in gameplay was that the tiebreaker rounds used four cards instead of three.1996
In 1996, All-American Television, who had just purchased the Mark Goodson Productions library, shot a pilot for an attempted revival that did not sell. Denver-area sportscaster Tom Green, who previously hosted Sports on TapSports 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"...
for ESPN in 1994 and 1995 and is currently a news anchor for KWGN
KWGN-TV
KWGN-TV, virtual channel 2 , is a television station in Denver, Colorado, owned by the Tribune Company and affiliated with the CW Television Network...
, hosted and actress Dee Dee Weathers was the dealer. Two contestants competed in a version of Card Sharks that was unlike any of the other series.
In order to gain control of the cards, the contestants had to guess survey questions that were asked to a group of ten Playboy Playmates. They then faced ten cards dealt into a pyramid shape and had to correctly call higher or lower. The contestant who turned over the final card in the pyramid won $250 and the game, and an extra $250 if they correctly called every card.
The Money Cards round was not used on this pilot- instead, four cards were dealt which included an Ace and the winning contestant was then shown three video clips where celebrities were asked questions. The winning contestant had to correctly predict the outcome of the clip, and if successful was given one of the cards. After all three video clips were played the contestant's cards were turned over. If they kept the Ace, they won $5,000. Otherwise, the value of the cards was added up and the contestant won the sum multiplied by $100.
2000
Another pilot was shot on November 17, 2000. Pat Bullard was the host and the dealer was Daphnee Lynn Duplaix. While many elements of the eventual aired series came from this pilot, this pilot also contained elements that were not used in the subsequent series. All rounds used the "Hidden Camera" question format, where contestants predicted the outcome of a situation to win control.Round one was played similar to blackjack
Blackjack
Blackjack, also known as Twenty-one or Vingt-et-un , is the most widely played casino banking game in the world...
. Each time a contestant took control they earned a card and could stand upon reaching 12 or above. The opponent then kept receiving cards until they either beat the standing contestant or busted. $200 was given to the winner of the round
Round two saw contestants play a game similar to the original series' sudden death rounds. Upon obtaining control of the cards a contestant was shown the first card in the row and could either elect to play or pass. If either contestant failed to complete the row, money was awarded to their opponent. Three sets of cards were played, with three, four, and five in each row. The first row was worth $300, the second $400, and the third $500.
Other than a lack of surveys, the third round was played the same as the front game on the original Card Sharks series, with each contestant playing a row of five cards. Completing the row won a contestant $1,000, and the first contestant to reach $1,500 won the game and advanced to the Money Cards.
The Money Cards game from the pilot was eventually carried over to the 2001 syndicated series, with the contestant's main game winnings divided evenly among three tiers.
Broadcast history
The original Card Sharks aired on NBCNBC
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...
from April 24, 1978 to October 23, 1981. From its debut until June 20, 1980, Card Sharks aired at 10:00 AM (ET
Eastern Time Zone
The Eastern Time Zone of the United States and Canada is a time zone that falls mostly along the east coast of North America. Its UTC time offset is −5 hrs during standard time and −4 hrs during daylight saving time...
)/9:00 AM(CT
Central Time zone
In North America, the Central Time Zone refers to national time zones which observe standard time by subtracting six hours from UTC , and daylight saving, or summer time by subtracting five hours...
/MT
Mountain Time Zone
The Mountain Time Zone of North America keeps time by subtracting seven hours from Coordinated Universal Time, also known as Greenwich Mean Time, during the shortest days of autumn and winter , and by subtracting six hours during daylight saving time in the spring, summer, and early autumn...
/PT
Pacific Time Zone
The Pacific Time Zone observes standard time by subtracting eight hours from Coordinated Universal Time . The clock time in this zone is based on the mean solar time of the 120th meridian west of the Greenwich Observatory. During daylight saving time, its time offset is UTC-7.In the United States...
). The series was one of the few respectable daytime performers on NBC under Fred Silverman
Fred Silverman
Fred Silverman is an American television executive and producer. He worked as an executive at the CBS, ABC and NBC networks, and was responsible for bringing to television such programs as the series Scooby-Doo , All in the Family , The Waltons , and Charlie's Angels , as well as the...
's tenure as network president, which at the time was struggling to gain ratings in both daytime and primetime. After a scheduling shuffle necessitated by the debut of The David Letterman Show
The David Letterman Show
The David Letterman Show was a live morning NBC talk show hosted by David Letterman from June 23 to October 24, 1980. The show originally ran for 90 minutes, then 60 minutes from August 4 onward.-Background:...
on June 23, 1980, Card Sharks moved to Noon/11:00 AM, a timeslot where it faced the top-rated game show in daytime, Family Feud
Family Feud
Family Feud is an American television game show created by Mark Goodson and Bill Todman. Two families compete against each other in a contest to name the most popular responses to a survey question posed to 100 people...
on ABC; the first half of The Young and the Restless
The Young and the Restless
The Young and the Restless is an American television soap opera created by William J. Bell and Lee Phillip Bell for CBS. The show is set in a fictional Wisconsin town called Genoa City, which is unlike and unrelated to the real life village of the same name, Genoa City, Wisconsin...
in certain markets on CBS; and pre-emptions on local affiliates due to many stations electing to air local newscasts, talk shows, or other syndicated programming in the Noon hour. Card Sharks remained in the Noon/11:00 slot until its cancellation.
The CBS revival of Card Sharks debuted at 10:30/9:30 AM on January 6, 1986, in place of Press Your Luck
Press Your Luck
Press Your Luck is an American television daytime game show created by Bill Carruthers and Jan McCormack. It premiered on September 19, 1983 on CBS and ended on September 26, 1986. In the show, contestants collected "spins" by answering trivia questions and then used the spins on an 18-space game...
, and stayed in that timeslot for its entire run; Press Your Luck relocated to Body Language
Body Language (game show)
Body Language is an American game show produced by Mark Goodson Productions. The show aired on CBS from June 4, 1984 until January 3, 1986, and was hosted by Tom Kennedy...
s old 4:00/3:00 PM slot. Until January 1987, Card Sharks faced off against its original host Jim Perry's game show Sale of the Century
Sale of the Century (US game show)
Sale of the Century is an American television game show which debuted in the United States on September 29, 1969, on NBC daytime. It was one of three NBC game shows to premiere on that date, the other two being the short-lived Letters to Laugh-In and Name Droppers. The series aired until July 13,...
on NBC in the time slot. Blockbusters
Blockbusters (US game show)
Blockbusters is an American game show which had two separate runs in the 1980s. Created by Steve Ryan for Mark Goodson Productions, the first series debuted on NBC on October 27, 1980 and aired until April 23, 1982. In the first series, a team of two family members competed against a solo contestant...
(with the then-host of the syndicated Card Sharks, Bill Rafferty) and then Alex Trebek's Classic Concentration followed as competition for Card Sharks. The revival ended its run on March 31, 1989, and was replaced by a short-lived revival of Now You See It
Now You See It
Now You See It is an American television game show created by Frank Wayne for Mark Goodson-Bill Todman Productions. Two Now You See It series were produced, and both aired on CBS. The first series ran from April 1, 1974 until June 13, 1975, and was hosted by Jack Narz...
.
The 1986 Bill Rafferty-hosted syndicated series debuted on September 8, 1986. For the first half of the season this syndicated Card Sharks series had fairly decent clearances, but this changed due to the show's ratings struggles in an overcrowded syndicated game show market. At the midseason point the syndication Card Sharks disappeared from quite a few of its markets, and many of the stations that continued to air the series moved it to a very undesirable timeslot such as the late-night or early morning hours. The series continued to air until June 7, 1987, in the markets that kept it, with reruns airing until September 4, 1987.
The most recent regular Card Sharks series, the Pat Bullard-hosted 2001 series, debuted on September 17, 2001 and aired new episodes until December 14, 2001. Four weeks of reruns aired following that, and the series was cancelled altogether on January 11, 2002. In most of its markets the 2001 Card Sharks was either paired with or aired on the same station as one or both of the Pearson Television
FremantleMedia
FremantleMedia, Ltd. is the content and production division of Bertelsmann's RTL Group, Europe's second largest TV, radio, and production company...
-produced shows that were airing at the time, 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...
or Family Feud
Family Feud
Family Feud is an American television game show created by Mark Goodson and Bill Todman. Two families compete against each other in a contest to name the most popular responses to a survey question posed to 100 people...
.
On June 15, 2006 the series was the fifth of seven game shows used in the CBS series Gameshow Marathon hosted by Ricki Lake
Ricki Lake
Ricki Pamela Lake is an American actress, producer, and television host. She is best known for her starring role as Tracy Turnblad in the original Hairspray, her ground-breaking documentary film The Business of Being Born, and her talk show which was broadcasted internationally from...
. The set was modeled after the Perry version and also used its theme, opening sequence and logo; the use of "audience poll" questions and the car game were taken from the Eubanks/Rafferty versions.
Gene Wood
Gene Wood
Eugene Edward "Gene" Wood was an American television personality, known primarily for his work as an announcer on various game shows. From the 1960s to the 1990s, he announced many game shows, primarily Mark Goodson–Bill Todman productions such as Family Feud, Card Sharks, Password, and Beat the...
was the primary announcer on both the original and 1980s Card Sharks versions. Bob Hilton
Bob Hilton
Robert "Bob" Wesley Hilton is an American television game show personality. He hosted The Guinness Game, a revival of Truth or Consequences and the 1990 revival of Let's Make a Deal, and announced on several other shows....
filled in for him on occasion on all three versions, Johnny Olson
Johnny Olson
John Leonard "Johnny" Olson was an American radio personality and television announcer. His work spanned 32 game shows produced by Mark Goodson and Bill Todman from the late 1950s through the mid 1980s...
(also announcing the pilots), Jack Narz
Jack Narz
Jack Narz was an American television announcer and game show host. Narz was the elder brother of Tom Kennedy and the former brother-in-law of Bill Cullen...
, Jay Stewart
Jay Stewart
Jay Fix , known professionally as Jay Stewart, was an American television and radio announcer known primarily for his work on game shows. One of his longest-lasting roles was as the announcer on the game show Let's Make a Deal, which he announced throughout the 1960s and 1970s...
, and Charlie O'Donnell
Charlie O'Donnell
Charles John "Charlie" O'Donnell was an American radio and television announcer, primarily known for his work on game shows...
also filled in for him on the NBC version, and O'Donnell, Johnny Gilbert
Johnny Gilbert
John L. "Johnny" Gilbert III is an American show business personality who has worked mainly on television game shows. Originally a nightclub singer and entertainer, he has hosted and announced a number of game shows from various eras, dating as far back as the 1950s...
, and Rod Roddy
Rod Roddy
Robert Ray "Rod" Roddy was an American radio and television announcer. He is primarily known for his role as an offstage announcer on game shows. Among the shows that he announced are the CBS game shows Whew!, Press Your Luck and The Price Is Right. On the latter two, Roddy appeared on camera on...
also filled in for him on the CBS version. Gary Kroeger
Gary Kroeger
Gary Kroeger is an American actor best known for his work on Saturday Night Live from 1982 to 1985.Born in Cedar Falls, Iowa, Kroeger attended Northern University High School and graduated from Northwestern University in 1981. He joined the cast of Saturday Night Live during Lorne Michaels' hiatus...
was the announcer for the 2001 version, and the Gameshow Marathon episode was announced by Rich Fields
Rich Fields
Richard Wayne "Rich" Fields is an American broadcaster, spokesman, announcer and meteorologist, best known for being the announcer of the American version of The Price Is Right from 2004–2010....
.
Music
The theme for the NBC version was previously used on the Goodson-Todman series Double DareDouble Dare (1976 game show)
Double Dare is an American television game show, produced by Mark Goodson—Bill Todman Productions, that ran from 1976 to 1977 on CBS. Alex Trebek was the host, with Johnny Olson and later Gene Wood announcing...
with host 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...
that aired in 1976 on CBS. Edd Kalehoff
Edd Kalehoff
Edward Woodley "Edd" Kalehoff is a music composer who specializes in compositions for television.-Notable pieces:Composer of about 1,000 pieces, mainly for television, his credits include the majority of cues used on The Price is Right as well as the Nickelodeon game show Double Dare, a music...
wrote that theme and the theme for the 1980s version of Card Sharks, both through Score Productions
Score Productions
Score Productions is an American musical production company specializing in background music and themes for television programs. Started in 1963 by music producer Robert A...
. Composer Alan Ett was responsible for the 2001 series theme.
Recording locations
The NBC version was taped at NBC StudiosNBC Studios
The NBC Studios in New York, New York is located at 30 Rockefeller Plaza in Manhattan, the historic GE Building houses the headquarters of the NBC television network, its parent General Electric, and NBC's flagship station WNBC , as well as cable news channel MSNBC.When NBC Universal relocated,...
in Burbank, California
Burbank, California
Burbank is a city in Los Angeles County in Southern California, United States, north of downtown Los Angeles. The estimated population in 2010 was 103,340....
in the same studio which housed Perry's next game, Sale of the Century. Both 1980s versions were taped at Studio 33 (known as the Bob Barker Studio since 1998) at CBS Television City
CBS Television City
CBS Television City is a television studio complex located in the Fairfax District of Los Angeles at 7800 Beverly Boulevard, at the corner of North Fairfax Avenue...
in Hollywood, California
Hollywood, Los Angeles, California
Hollywood is a famous district in Los Angeles, California, United States situated west-northwest of downtown Los Angeles. Due to its fame and cultural identity as the historical center of movie studios and movie stars, the word Hollywood is often used as a metonym of American cinema...
. The 2001 version was taped at Tribune Studios, now known as the Sunset Bronson Studios, which are part of KTLA
KTLA
KTLA, virtual channel 5, is a television station in Los Angeles, California, USA. Owned by the Tribune Company, KTLA is an affiliate of the CW Television Network. KTLA's studios are on Sunset Boulevard in Hollywood, and its transmitter is located atop Mount Wilson...
. The Gameshow Marathon version of Card Sharks was also taped at CBS Television City in Studio 46.
Home game versions
- The first Card Sharks home game was a computer-based video game released by Sharedata, Inc. and Softie, Inc. in 1988 for the Apple IIApple II seriesThe Apple II series is a set of 8-bit home computers, one of the first highly successful mass-produced microcomputer products, designed primarily by Steve Wozniak, manufactured by Apple Computer and introduced in 1977 with the original Apple II...
and Commodore 64Commodore 64The Commodore 64 is an 8-bit home computer introduced by Commodore International in January 1982.Volume production started in the spring of 1982, with machines being released on to the market in August at a price of US$595...
units and all IBM compatibleIBM PC compatibleIBM PC compatible computers are those generally similar to the original IBM PC, XT, and AT. Such computers used to be referred to as PC clones, or IBM clones since they almost exactly duplicated all the significant features of the PC architecture, facilitated by various manufacturers' ability to...
computers. Although the host was based on Jim Perry, the game's logo and gameplay were based on the CBS version of the 1980s Card Sharks series, using the single sudden-death question tiebreaker in the main game and the Joker car game following the Money Cards. If a contestant got an exact guess on a question in the main game, he or she won a $100 bonus, instead of the $500 bonus on the show. Also, unlike the show, the game did not use the educated guess or audience poll questions.
- Endless GamesEndless GamesEndless Games is a games manufacturer based in South Amboy, New Jersey and founded in 1996 by industry veterans Mike Gasser, Kevin McNulty and game inventor Brian Turtle....
released a board gameBoard gameA board game is a game which involves counters or pieces being moved on a pre-marked surface or "board", according to a set of rules. Games may be based on pure strategy, chance or a mixture of the two, and usually have a goal which a player aims to achieve...
adaptation in 2002. Again, a mixing of elements from different versions occurred, as the game logo/fonts from the 2001 version was used on the majority of the game elements but employed the Perry-era front-end gameplay (awarding $500 for a main game win) and the Eubanks/Rafferty-era "Money Cards" format.
- A version for mobile phones was released on June 1, 2005 by Telescope Inc., which also used the logo, music, and rules from a variety of television variants. More survey questions were also available for download.
Foreign versions
The most significant difference to foreign versions of the television game was the use of contestant couples instead of individuals. They were produced by Reg GrundyReg Grundy
Reginald Roy "Reg" Grundy, AC, OBE is one of the most successful Australian entrepreneurs, and media and television moguls of his generation.He was the only child born to Roy Grundy and Lillian Lees...
.
- United Kingdom: The BritishUnited KingdomThe United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
version was known as Play Your Cards RightPlay Your Cards RightPlay Your Cards Right is a British television game show based on the American show known as Card Sharks. The gameplay was basically the same as in the American version.-Broadcast History:...
and was hosted by Bruce ForsythBruce ForsythSir Bruce Joseph Forsyth-Johnson, CBE , commonly known as Bruce Forsyth, or Brucie, is an English TV personality...
. The series ran from 1980–1987, 1994–1999, and 2002–2003 on ITVITVITV is the major commercial public service TV network in the United Kingdom. Launched in 1955 under the auspices of the Independent Television Authority to provide competition to the BBC, it is also the oldest commercial network in the UK...
. Reruns of Bob Eubanks' Card Sharks series aired on satellite channel Sky OneSky OneSky1 is the flagship BSkyB entertainment channel available in the United Kingdom and Ireland.The channel first launched on 26 April 1982 as Satellite Television, and is the fourth-oldest TV channel in the United Kingdom, behind BBC One , ITV and BBC Two...
in the 1990s. - Germany: Hosted by Elmar Hörig, Bube Dame Hörig ("Jack, Queen, King") aired on Sat.1Sat.1Sat.1 is a privately owned German television broadcasting station. Sat.1 was the first privately owned television broadcasting station in Germany, having started one day before RTL Television....
from 1996–1999. - Sweden: Lagt kort ligger aired on SVT.
- Belgium: A Dutch-language version called Hoger, Lager ("Higher, Lower") aired on the national television BRT (now called VRTVlaamse Radio- en TelevisieomroepThe Vlaamse Radio- en Televisieomroeporganisatie , or VRT, is a publicly-funded broadcaster of radio and television in Flanders ....
) with Walter Capiau (of the Belgian Wheel of Fortune) as host. - Australia: Play Your Cards Right was hosted by comedian Ugly Dave GrayUgly Dave GrayUgly Dave Gray is an Australian television personality.-Career:Gray was a regular panellist on Graham Kennedy's Blankety Blanks in 1977-1978. He had earlier taken a straight dramatic role as publican Bunny Howard in the early episodes of soap opera The Young Doctors in 1976...
for Seven NetworkSeven NetworkThe Seven Network is an Australian television network owned by Seven West Media Limited. It dates back to 4 November 1956, when the first stations on the VHF7 frequency were established in Melbourne and Sydney.It is currently the second largest network in the country in terms of population reach...
for a brief time in 1984. - Turkey: Aşağı Yukarı aired aTVATV Turkeyatv is a nationwide TV channel in Turkey, founded in 1993. atv is one of the most widely watched TV channels in Turkey. atv is an acronym of Actual Television.Since 2007 atv is owned by Çalık Holding.- Shows :News Programming* atv Ana Haber...
with Meltem CumbulMeltem CumbulMeltem Cumbul is a Turkish actress and TV personality.- Biography :At 21, Meltem graduated from a university with a major in drama. She then worked as an actress for the Shakespeare Company in London...
as host. - Indonesia: Super Rejeki 1 Milyar aired antvAntvantv is an Indonesian television network based in South Jakarta. It is owned by PT Visi Media Asia,Tbk.-History:antv was launched on 1 March 1993 as a local television station in Lampung province. In the same month it was awarded a government license for nationwide broadcasting, and moved its...
with Dave Hendrik in 2007.