Chain Letter (U.S. Game Show)
Encyclopedia
Chain Letter is an American
game show
produced by Stefan Hatos-Monty Hall Productions
that aired on NBC
during the summer and early-fall of 1966. Comedian Jan Murray
hosted this game show, while Wendell Niles
did the announcing.
A category was stated such as "Items you might find in a lady's handbag" or "Gifts for the boss's birthday". The first player would have ten seconds to give a word pertaining to the category. Then, the next player would have ten seconds to give another word in the same category using the last letter of the previous word as the first letter of the new word. Each player alternated giving answers until a bad answer was given or their guessing time ran out causing the chain to be broken. The team earned one point for each acceptable answer with the opposing team earning one bonus point when the chain was broken and control of the next category.
At the end of a three-minute game, the team with the most points wins the game, a $100 bonus, and the right to play the bonus round.
Jack Whitaker as emcee and co-creator/producer Monty Hall
as announcer. The game was played similarly but with three players, one celebrity and two "occupationally themed" contestants, competing against each other in a two round format.
The first round featured three categories and the opposing team's choice of category for the controlling team. The last category was not played. Each acceptable response was worth $10 and each team member alternated giving responses, with no last letter-first letter restriction, until they could not give any more.
The second round played with the eventual "Chain Letter" rules but with $20 for each acceptable word. There was no bonus game.
as emcee. This game was played with four civilian contestants alternating. Each player naming items pertaining to a category at $5 per acceptable item. Each player who gave the most acceptable responses in a round also earned $25-$100 bonuses per round. Five rounds were played, each with a different category.
due to network practices. Only the December 1964 pilot and the premiere exist, the latter of which is in color.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
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...
produced by Stefan Hatos-Monty Hall Productions
Stefan Hatos-Monty Hall Productions
Stefan Hatos-Monty Hall Productions was a television production company responsible for producing several American game shows in the 1970s and 1980s...
that 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...
during the summer and early-fall of 1966. Comedian Jan Murray
Jan Murray
Jan Murray was an American stand-up comedian, actor, and game show host who made his name on the Borscht Belt.-Early life:Murray was born Murray Janofsky in The Bronx, New York City...
hosted this game show, while Wendell Niles
Wendell Niles
Wendell Niles was one of the great announcers of the American golden age of radio. He was an announcer on such shows as The Bob Hope Show, The Burns & Allen Show, The Milton Berle Show and The Chase and Sanborn Hour ...
did the announcing.
Main round
Two teams, each with one celebrity (team captain), and a studio contestant, competed against each other.A category was stated such as "Items you might find in a lady's handbag" or "Gifts for the boss's birthday". The first player would have ten seconds to give a word pertaining to the category. Then, the next player would have ten seconds to give another word in the same category using the last letter of the previous word as the first letter of the new word. Each player alternated giving answers until a bad answer was given or their guessing time ran out causing the chain to be broken. The team earned one point for each acceptable answer with the opposing team earning one bonus point when the chain was broken and control of the next category.
At the end of a three-minute game, the team with the most points wins the game, a $100 bonus, and the right to play the bonus round.
Bonus round
The championship team was given a chain word and the players alternated forming words in a similar manner from that word. The contestant player earned $20 for each acceptable word until the chain was broken.Three of a Kind
The first pilot was developed under the title "Three of a Kind" and taped in January, 1964; with CBS SportsCBS Sports
CBS Sports is a division of CBS Broadcasting which airs sporting events on the American television network. Its headquarters are in the CBS Building on West 52nd Street in midtown Manhattan, New York City, with programs produced out of Studio 43 at the CBS Broadcast Center on West 57th Street.CBS...
Jack Whitaker as emcee and co-creator/producer 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:...
as announcer. The game was played similarly but with three players, one celebrity and two "occupationally themed" contestants, competing against each other in a two round format.
The first round featured three categories and the opposing team's choice of category for the controlling team. The last category was not played. Each acceptable response was worth $10 and each team member alternated giving responses, with no last letter-first letter restriction, until they could not give any more.
The second round played with the eventual "Chain Letter" rules but with $20 for each acceptable word. There was no bonus game.
1964 pilot
The second pilot and the first with the "Chain Letter" name was taped in December 1964; with Dennis JamesDennis James
Dennis James was an American television personality, actor, and announcer. He is credited as the host of television's first network game show, the DuMont Network's Cash and Carry in 1946...
as emcee. This game was played with four civilian contestants alternating. Each player naming items pertaining to a category at $5 per acceptable item. Each player who gave the most acceptable responses in a round also earned $25-$100 bonuses per round. Five rounds were played, each with a different category.
Episode status
The series is presumed to be destroyedWiping
Wiping or junking is a colloquial term for action taken by radio and television production and broadcasting companies, in which old audiotapes, videotapes, and telerecordings , are erased, reused, or destroyed after several uses...
due to network practices. Only the December 1964 pilot and the premiere exist, the latter of which is in color.