Celebrity Sweepstakes
Encyclopedia
Celebrity Sweepstakes is an American television game show that aired on NBC
's daytime schedule from April 1, 1974 to October 1, 1976. The show also had two separate weekly syndicated
runs from September 9, 1974 to September 1975 and September 20, 1976 to September 1977.
Jim McKrell
hosted the show. Bill Armstrong
was the main announcer, with Dick Tufeld
& John Harlan
substituting. Joey Bishop
& Carol Wayne
were the regulars that appeared most often. Other regular panelists included Clifton Davis
, Buddy Hackett
, George Hamilton
, and Freddie Prinze
. CS was produced jointly by Ralph Andrews
and Burt Sugarman
. The first theme song was composed by Stan Worth, and the second by Alan Thicke
. This show also marked the last national TV appearance of Mama Cass Elliott before her death on 7/29/74.
motif as its premise. Two contestants (originally three in the early weeks) competed for the entire show, and started the game with $20 (sometimes $50) each, trying to predict which of six celebrities could correctly answer questions posed by the host. As stated by McKrell at the beginning of the show, the celebrities did not receive the questions in advance of the taping. However, the questions were based on biographical information that had been taken from the celebrities. This information (strengths and weaknesses) was provided to the audience and contestants via tip sheet
s, akin to actual horse racing forms
.
".
In the show's last 13 weeks, the audience was told the category of the question before selecting celebrities.
Contestants could bet $2, $5, or $10 (unless he or she had $10 or less, at which point the bet defaulted automatically to $2) or up to $100, if he or she bet on the favorite out of the panel (near the end of the run, the contestant could not bet more than what they had minus $10 when doing this).
A correct answer added the value of the bet multiplied by that celebrity's odds to the contestant's score (a $10 bet on a celebrity with the right answer and his/her odds are at 5:1 would win $50). A wrong answer lost the value of the bet and the opponent could then make a bet of his or her own on that same question. If no celebrity had the correct answer, the question would be thrown out (known as a "scratch" and indicated by a loud horn) and replaced. If either player dropped down to less than the minimum $2 bet, both players were given $2 (or $1 if that player already had $1). The first round lasted for an unspecified time limit.
Near the end of the show's run, the celebrities no longer wrote down answers. This made the game run quicker, and made it more likely that a question would be answered, since if the current player's celebrity got the answer wrong the other celebrities now knew that it was a wrong answer.
There was a significant prize, usually worth around $1,000, for anyone who bet "All" and lost. Both players kept any cash won on the show. The player with the greatest cash total won the game. Originally, if the game ended in a tie both players came back, but this changed to both players leaving if they both lost everything on the last question. Originally, players could stay on defeated, and won a car for every three wins. The limit later became three days, then five (with five wins needed for the car, but it was then changed back to only needing three wins for the car, although the five-game limit remained).
On the syndicated versions, two different contestants (no returning champions) played each week. The winner of the game received a bonus prize.
Later in the syndicated version, a "fanfare" played during the game meant that the contestants also had a chance to predict how many celebrities had the correct answer. If either prediction, or both, were correct, the player(s) won a bonus prize package called the "exacta". This was also added to the NBC version in the last 13 weeks of its run, although they added a rule where the two players had to choose different numbers.
's first cross-game promotion, held on St. Patrick's Day in 1975 and called "Shamrock Sweepstakes". Players from NBC's six daytime game shows at the time (Sweepstakes, High Rollers
, Wheel of Fortune
, Hollywood Squares
, Jackpot!
, and Blank Check
) answered a set of questions dealing with Ireland and Irish/Irish-American people; the one who got the most correct won $100,000.
A later promotion involved home contestants; over a week, celebrities played the game (mainly from NBC soap operas, although Chuck Woolery
and Susan Stafford
of Wheel of Fortune appeared on the last day), each playing for someone at home, but in order to win, the home player had to be able to answer the phone when called. (One contestant would have had the lead, but her phone was busy; fortunately, she was drawn by another celebrity, who ended up with the highest score.) The top three celebrities (whose home contestants answered the phone) won their game amounts for their home contestants, plus an extra $75,000 to the winner, $20,000 for second, and $5,000 for third.
' Search for Tomorrow
, and the ABC
hard quiz Split Second.
But on January 6, 1975, NBC relocated it to 10:00 AM (9:00 Central) where it finally found a large audience, besting CBS' The Joker's Wild
soundly, which led to the latter show's cancellation that summer. CS served as the lead-in for Wheel of Fortune during the latter show's first year.
However, on November 3, CBS expanded The Price is Right
to a full hour, that network's first regular hour-long daytime program. CS began to decline after that point, with NBC moving the show on June 14, 1976, when the network gave the 10/9 slot over to reruns of the prime-time sitcom Sanford and Son
. NBC later on decided to knock it down a half-hour, against the second half of Price where it did no better than opposite the first. CS aired its final NBC episode on October 1, clocking in exactly a 30-month run to the day. Hollywood Squares
would take over the 10:30/9:30 slot.
Andrews and Sugarman syndicated CS originally in September 1974 as a concurrent companion to the NBC version; it was a weekly offering that appeared mainly in medium-to-large-sized markets during local stations' Prime Time Access
slots of 7 to 8 p.m. Eastern or 6:30 to 7 p.m. Central. 20th Century Fox Television
did not renew CS for the next season.
In the late Spring 1976, Andrews and Sugarman tried it again. CS met with no greater success in 1976–1977 than it had two years earlier, and the program ended production at the end of that season.
collection is held by The Paley Center for Media in New York, as well as two other episodes.
In addition, the last 30 seconds of the January 6, 1975 show exist on audio tape; this clip features Chuck Woolery promoting the show airing immediately after Sweepstakes that day – the first episode of Wheel Of Fortune.
The status of the syndicated versions is unknown, but possibly destroyed or otherwise deteriorated into an unviewable condition.
as host, ran for 13 weeks on LWT from July 3 to September 25, 1976. A fourteenth episode later aired as a Christmas special.
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 daytime schedule from April 1, 1974 to October 1, 1976. The show also had two separate weekly 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...
runs from September 9, 1974 to September 1975 and September 20, 1976 to September 1977.
Jim McKrell
Jim McKrell
James "Jim" MacKrell is an television personality, best known for emceeing television game shows such as Celebrity Sweepstakes and The Game Game. He was born in Little Rock, Arkansas...
hosted the show. Bill Armstrong
Bill Armstrong (announcer)
Bill Armstrong is an American television producer and announcer whose work is in the field of game shows. Armstrong was the producer of The Hollywood Squares for several years, and worked with Squares host Peter Marshall in their own production company.Armstrong also co-produced and announced on...
was the main announcer, with Dick Tufeld
Dick Tufeld
Dick Tufeld is an American actor, announcer, narrator, and voice actor from the 1950s onward.He is perhaps best known as the voice of the Robot in the TV series Lost in Space, a role he reprised for the 1998 feature film...
& John Harlan
John Harlan (announcer)
John Harlan is an American television announcer who has worked on numerous television projects for over 40 years, particularly game and variety shows....
substituting. Joey Bishop
Joey Bishop
Joey Bishop was an American entertainer who was perhaps best known for being a member of the "Rat Pack" with Frank Sinatra, Peter Lawford, Sammy Davis, Jr., and Dean Martin...
& Carol Wayne
Carol Wayne
Carol Wayne was an American television and film actress. She was best known for her many appearances on The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson as the Matinée Lady.-Early life:...
were the regulars that appeared most often. Other regular panelists included Clifton Davis
Clifton Davis
Clifton Duncan Davis is an American actor, songwriter and minister. He has appeared on the television shows as A World Apart, That's My Mama and Amen...
, Buddy Hackett
Buddy Hackett
Buddy Hackett was an American comedian and actor.-Early life:Hackett was born in Brooklyn, New York, New York, the son of a Jewish upholsterer. He grew up on 54th and 14th Ave in Borough Park, Brooklyn, across from Public School 103...
, George Hamilton
George Hamilton (actor)
George Stevens Hamilton is an American film and television actor.-Early life:Hamilton was the youngest son of bandleader George "Spike" Hamilton and his first wife, Ann Stevens . He was born in Memphis, Tennessee, and lived in Blytheville, Arkansas...
, and Freddie Prinze
Freddie Prinze
Freddie Prinze was an American actor and stand-up comedian. He was known as the star of Chico and the Man. He is the father of actor Freddie Prinze, Jr.-Early life:...
. CS was produced jointly by Ralph Andrews
Ralph Andrews
Ralph Andrews is an American television producer best known for producing the hit 1960s game show You Don't Say!, the 1970s game show Celebrity Sweepstakes, and the original 1987 version of Lingo....
and Burt Sugarman
Burt Sugarman
Burt Sugarman is an American television producer best known for producing the 1970s game show Celebrity Sweepstakes, and The Richard Pryor Show.He also produced The Midnight Special and The Wizard of Odds in the 1970s....
. The first theme song was composed by Stan Worth, and the second by Alan Thicke
Alan Thicke
Alan Thicke is a Canadian actor, songwriter, and game and talk show host. He is best known for his role as Jason Seaver, the patriarch on the ABC television series Growing Pains.- Early life :...
. This show also marked the last national TV appearance of Mama Cass Elliott before her death on 7/29/74.
Gameplay
The game used a horse racingHorse racing
Horse racing is an equestrian sport that has a long history. Archaeological records indicate that horse racing occurred in ancient Babylon, Syria, and Egypt. Both chariot and mounted horse racing were events in the ancient Greek Olympics by 648 BC...
motif as its premise. Two contestants (originally three in the early weeks) competed for the entire show, and started the game with $20 (sometimes $50) each, trying to predict which of six celebrities could correctly answer questions posed by the host. As stated by McKrell at the beginning of the show, the celebrities did not receive the questions in advance of the taping. However, the questions were based on biographical information that had been taken from the celebrities. This information (strengths and weaknesses) was provided to the audience and contestants via tip sheet
Tip sheet
A tip sheet is a publication containing the latest information, tips or predictions for a particular industry. Tip sheets are commonly published to impart business or stock market information, music industry songwriter leads, and tips on horse racing results....
s, akin to actual horse racing forms
Form (horse racing)
----In horse racing, the form of a horse is a record of significant events including its performance in previous races. The form may identify the horse's sire, dam and wider pedigree...
.
Round 1
McKrell read a question and people in the studio audience then voted for the celebrity they thought could answer the question correctly. After the voting took place, a totalizator set odds on each celebrity. The celebrities that had the greatest vote of confidence from the audience was dubbed the "Favorite" and had the lowest odds, frequently 1:1 (even money) or 2:1. A celebrity that had few or no audience votes was dubbed the "Longshot" and had the highest odds, up to 99:1. The contestant in control that round then placed a bet on who he or she thought would answer correctly, as in "$10 on Nipsey RussellNipsey Russell
Julius "Nipsey" Russell was an American comedian, best known today for his appearances as a guest panelist on game shows from the 1960s through the 1990s, especially Match Game, Password, Hollywood Squares, To Tell the Truth and Pyramid...
".
In the show's last 13 weeks, the audience was told the category of the question before selecting celebrities.
Contestants could bet $2, $5, or $10 (unless he or she had $10 or less, at which point the bet defaulted automatically to $2) or up to $100, if he or she bet on the favorite out of the panel (near the end of the run, the contestant could not bet more than what they had minus $10 when doing this).
A correct answer added the value of the bet multiplied by that celebrity's odds to the contestant's score (a $10 bet on a celebrity with the right answer and his/her odds are at 5:1 would win $50). A wrong answer lost the value of the bet and the opponent could then make a bet of his or her own on that same question. If no celebrity had the correct answer, the question would be thrown out (known as a "scratch" and indicated by a loud horn) and replaced. If either player dropped down to less than the minimum $2 bet, both players were given $2 (or $1 if that player already had $1). The first round lasted for an unspecified time limit.
Near the end of the show's run, the celebrities no longer wrote down answers. This made the game run quicker, and made it more likely that a question would be answered, since if the current player's celebrity got the answer wrong the other celebrities now knew that it was a wrong answer.
Homestretch
In round two, called the Homestretch round, contestants had the opportunity to double his or her bet by picking a second celebrity with the correct answer. In the earliest and latest parts of the run, the contestant would lose any money won on the first celebrity if the second celebrity got it wrong, but the contestant had the option of not choosing a second celebrity in this case. If only one celebrity had the correct answer, a bell dubbed the "ice cream bell" (as it sounded like something an old-fashioned ice cream salesman would ring when going around the neighborhood) would ring; selecting the correct celebrity would automatically double the payout.The All or Nothing Question
The odds for each celebrity were determined by how well they had performed during the show for the final question of the game. The odds were calculated according to the number of wrong answers given by a celebrity, so that a celebrity missing two questions was given 2:1 odds, four misses resulted in 3:1 odds, and so on; odds for celebrities who didn't miss any questions were given at even money (1:1). Later in the run, the audience set the odds one more time; at first, the maximum odds were 8:1, but by the end of the run this changed to 5:1. The two players secretly and simultaneously selected their celebrities, as well as whether to bet everything they had ("All") or none of it ("Nothing").There was a significant prize, usually worth around $1,000, for anyone who bet "All" and lost. Both players kept any cash won on the show. The player with the greatest cash total won the game. Originally, if the game ended in a tie both players came back, but this changed to both players leaving if they both lost everything on the last question. Originally, players could stay on defeated, and won a car for every three wins. The limit later became three days, then five (with five wins needed for the car, but it was then changed back to only needing three wins for the car, although the five-game limit remained).
On the syndicated versions, two different contestants (no returning champions) played each week. The winner of the game received a bonus prize.
Later in the syndicated version, a "fanfare" played during the game meant that the contestants also had a chance to predict how many celebrities had the correct answer. If either prediction, or both, were correct, the player(s) won a bonus prize package called the "exacta". This was also added to the NBC version in the last 13 weeks of its run, although they added a rule where the two players had to choose different numbers.
Promotions
The program was involved in 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...
's first cross-game promotion, held on St. Patrick's Day in 1975 and called "Shamrock Sweepstakes". Players from NBC's six daytime game shows at the time (Sweepstakes, High Rollers
High Rollers
High Rollers is an American television game show based on the dice game Shut the Box. The show aired on NBC from July 1, 1974 to June 11, 1976 and again from April 24, 1978 to June 20, 1980. Two different syndicated versions were also produced, a weekly series in the 1975–1976 season which ran...
, 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...
, Hollywood Squares
Hollywood Squares
Hollywood Squares is an American panel game show in which two contestants play tic-tac-toe to win cash and prizes. The "board" for the game is a 3 × 3 vertical stack of open-faced cubes, each occupied by a celebrity seated at a desk and facing the contestants...
, 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,...
, and Blank Check
Blank Check (game show)
Blank Check is an American game show that aired on NBC from January 6 to July 4, 1975. It was promoted as "television's first ESP game". Art James was host, with Johnny Jacobs as announcer....
) answered a set of questions dealing with Ireland and Irish/Irish-American people; the one who got the most correct won $100,000.
A later promotion involved home contestants; over a week, celebrities played the game (mainly from NBC soap operas, although Chuck Woolery
Chuck Woolery
Charles Herbert "Chuck" Woolery is an American game show host. He has had long-running tenures hosting several different game shows. He was the original host of Wheel of Fortune from 1975–81, the original incarnation of Love Connection from 1983–94, and Scrabble from 1984–90...
and Susan Stafford
Susan Stafford
Susan Stafford was the original hostess of the game show Wheel of Fortune from January 6, 1975 until she left on October 22, 1982...
of Wheel of Fortune appeared on the last day), each playing for someone at home, but in order to win, the home player had to be able to answer the phone when called. (One contestant would have had the lead, but her phone was busy; fortunately, she was drawn by another celebrity, who ended up with the highest score.) The top three celebrities (whose home contestants answered the phone) won their game amounts for their home contestants, plus an extra $75,000 to the winner, $20,000 for second, and $5,000 for third.
Broadcast history
CS joined the NBC daytime lineup on April Fools Day, replacing the year-old Heatter-Quigley word game Baffle. Running its first nine months at 12:30 PM (11:30 AM, Central), the show struggled at first against television's oldest daytime serial, CBSCBS
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...
' Search for Tomorrow
Search for Tomorrow
Search for Tomorrow is an American soap opera which premiered on September 3, 1951 on CBS. The show was moved from CBS to NBC on March 29, 1982. It continued on NBC until the final episode aired on December 26, 1986, a run of thirty-five years. At the time of its final broadcast it was the...
, and the 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...
hard quiz Split Second.
But on January 6, 1975, NBC relocated it to 10:00 AM (9:00 Central) where it finally found a large audience, besting CBS' The Joker's Wild
The Joker's Wild
The Joker's Wild is an American television game show that aired at different times during the 1970s through the 1990s. Contestants answered questions based on categories that were determined randomly by a mechanism resembling a slot machine....
soundly, which led to the latter show's cancellation that summer. CS served as the lead-in for Wheel of Fortune during the latter show's first year.
However, on November 3, CBS expanded 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...
to a full hour, that network's first regular hour-long daytime program. CS began to decline after that point, with NBC moving the show on June 14, 1976, when the network gave the 10/9 slot over to reruns of the prime-time sitcom Sanford and Son
Sanford and Son
Sanford and Son is an American sitcom, based on the BBC's Steptoe and Son, that ran on the NBC television network from January 14, 1972, to March 25, 1977....
. NBC later on decided to knock it down a half-hour, against the second half of Price where it did no better than opposite the first. CS aired its final NBC episode on October 1, clocking in exactly a 30-month run to the day. Hollywood Squares
Hollywood Squares
Hollywood Squares is an American panel game show in which two contestants play tic-tac-toe to win cash and prizes. The "board" for the game is a 3 × 3 vertical stack of open-faced cubes, each occupied by a celebrity seated at a desk and facing the contestants...
would take over the 10:30/9:30 slot.
Andrews and Sugarman syndicated CS originally in September 1974 as a concurrent companion to the NBC version; it was a weekly offering that appeared mainly in medium-to-large-sized markets during local stations' Prime Time Access
Prime Time Access Rule
The Prime Time Access Rule was instituted by the Federal Communications Commission in 1970 to restrict the amount of network broadcast programming that a local television station, Owned-and-operated station by or affiliated with a television network may air during "prime time"...
slots of 7 to 8 p.m. Eastern or 6:30 to 7 p.m. Central. 20th Century Fox Television
20th Century Fox Television
20th Century Fox Television is the television production division of 20th Century Fox Film Corporation, and a production arm of the Fox Broadcasting Company...
did not renew CS for the next season.
In the late Spring 1976, Andrews and Sugarman tried it again. CS met with no greater success in 1976–1977 than it had two years earlier, and the program ended production at the end of that season.
Episode status
As per NBC policy at the time, most episodes of the daytime version were destroyed. The pilot and finale both circulate among collectors, and a 1975 episode from the WarholAndy Warhol
Andrew Warhola , known as Andy Warhol, was an American painter, printmaker, and filmmaker who was a leading figure in the visual art movement known as pop art...
collection is held by The Paley Center for Media in New York, as well as two other episodes.
In addition, the last 30 seconds of the January 6, 1975 show exist on audio tape; this clip features Chuck Woolery promoting the show airing immediately after Sweepstakes that day – the first episode of Wheel Of Fortune.
The status of the syndicated versions is unknown, but possibly destroyed or otherwise deteriorated into an unviewable condition.
United Kingdom
The Sweepstakes Game, using a similar format with Bernard BradenBernard Braden
Bernard Chastey Braden was a Canadian-born English actor and comedian.Braden was born in Vancouver, British Columbia and educated at Magee Secondary School, Kerrisdale, Vancouver. He produced plays on CJOR Vancouver in the late 1930s and early 1940s. He married Barbara Kelly in 1942 and they moved...
as host, ran for 13 weeks on LWT from July 3 to September 25, 1976. A fourteenth episode later aired as a Christmas special.