The Face Is Familiar
Encyclopedia
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
.
The series was primarily sponsored by Philip Morris
' Parliament
and Marlboro cigarettes, and their American Safety Razor
(Personna razor blades) and Clark Gum
subsidiaries. The show was produced by Bob Stewart Productions
in association with Filmways Television
. Its theme song was Brasilia
, performed by Herb Alpert
& the Tijuana Brass.
Each round centered around a board which contained the face of a celebrity, cut into seven horizontal strips and jumbled vertically. At the beginning of each round, only one strip was revealed. Then, alternating between the celebrities and the contestants, the pairs were asked trivia question in the form of an incomplete sentence (for example, "The last king of France was...").
After each question, more of the face was revealed (still in jumbled order). The first two questions revealed one part each, while the next two revealed two parts each. The player who correctly answered the question had the opportunity to guess the identity of the celebrity after the new parts were revealed. An incorrect answer gave the opponent the right to guess.
If the identity was not guessed after all seven parts were revealed, play continued with each question offering a chance to switch two of the parts. Incorrect answers moved on to the next question and did not give the opponent control. The player who answered correctly choose one part of the face and their partner choose another part; the two were then switched. The first partner could then guess the answer.
The team which correctly identified the celebrity won $150 for the contestant.
This was repeated for three mouths and noses, with the partners alternating. The second correct answer added another $50, and the third correct answer earned another $250 for a total of $500.
Each correct answer was worth $100, two games won the match.
The bonus round was also changed so that the team could always see either the eyes, nose, or mouth and have to guess which celebrity that body part belonged to. However, there was now a 60-second time limit. $50 was awarded for each correct guess, with $500 awarded if all four were correctly guessed. If a celebrity was not guessed within 10 seconds of the body part being shown, the full face is revealed, and play continues with another body part.
and Bill Cullen
were the celebrities. As Clark closed the episode, he mentioned that the "following week's guests" would be Eydie Gorme
and Alan King, implying that a second pilot would be filmed. Clark became the show's announcer after it was sold to CBS.
The set and format were slightly different; winning the main game was worth $200 instead of $150. Also, winning the end game was worth $500 in addition to the $200 from the main game, instead of a $500 total.
The second format's bonus round used a 60-second timer. For the viewers, a 7x4 electronic lighted scoreboard was superimposed on the bottom of the screen.
due to network practices of the era. Only four episodes are known to exist - the pilot, the premiere with Lockhart and Crane, the June 24 episode with Florence Henderson
and Ray Milland
, and the July 22 episode with Pearl Bailey
and Mel Brooks
. Of these, only the June 24 and July 22 episodes are in color, with the latter being reran by GSN
several times.
The premiere has since appeared on the Internet Archive
, possibly indicating that the series has become part of the public domain
.
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...
which aired in color 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...
from May 7 to September 3, 1966. The show was hosted by Jack Whitaker and featured celebrity guests including Bob Crane
Bob Crane
Robert Edward "Bob" Crane was an American actor and disc jockey, best known for his performance as Colonel Robert E...
, Dick Van Patten
Dick Van Patten
Richard Vincent "Dick" Van Patten is an American actor, best known for his role as patriarch Tom Bradford on the television sitcom Eight is Enough. He began work as a child actor and was successful on the [New York] stage, appearing in more than a dozen plays as a teenager...
, Mel Brooks
Mel Brooks
Mel Brooks is an American film director, screenwriter, composer, lyricist, comedian, actor and producer. He is best known as a creator of broad film farces and comic parodies. He began his career as a stand-up comic and as a writer for the early TV variety show Your Show of Shows...
and June Lockhart
June Lockhart
June Lockhart is an American actress, primarily in 1950s and 1960s television, but with memorable performances on stage and in film too. She is remembered as the mother in two TV series, Lassie and Lost in Space. She also portrayed Dr...
.
The series was primarily sponsored by Philip Morris
Philip Morris USA
Philip Morris USA is the United States tobacco division of Altria Group, Inc. Philip Morris USA brands include Marlboro, Virginia Slims, Benson and Hedges, Merit, Parliament, Alpine, Basic, Cambridge, Bucks, Dave's, Chesterfield, Collector's Choice, Commander, English Ovals, Lark, L&M, Players and...
' Parliament
Parliament (cigarette)
Parliament is a brand of cigarettes marketed by the company Philip Morris. The brand was introduced in 1931 and is distinctive for its recessed paper filters. In the 1940s and '50s, the brand was marketed for its unique filters, with advertisements reading, "Only the flavor touches your lips", and...
and Marlboro cigarettes, and their American Safety Razor
Jordan Company
The Jordan Company is a private equity firm focused on leveraged buyout and management buyout investments in smaller middle-market companies across a range of industries....
(Personna razor blades) and Clark Gum
Clark's Teaberry
Clark's Teaberry is a brand of chewing gum. It was developed by the D. L. Clark Company and is currently a product of Clark Gum Company in Buffalo, New York and made in Mexico. The gum dates to 1900. It was featured in some of author Dean Davis' mystery novels....
subsidiaries. The show was produced by Bob Stewart Productions
Stewart Tele Enterprises
Stewart Tele Enterprises was an American major game show production company formed by Bob Stewart in 1964 originally based in New York City.-History:...
in association with Filmways Television
Filmways
Filmways, Inc. was a television and film production company founded by American film executive Martin Ransohoff in 1958...
. Its theme song was Brasilia
Brasília
Brasília is the capital city of Brazil. The name is commonly spelled Brasilia in English. The city and its District are located in the Central-West region of the country, along a plateau known as Planalto Central. It has a population of about 2,557,000 as of the 2008 IBGE estimate, making it the...
, performed by Herb Alpert
Herb Alpert
Herbert "Herb" Alpert is an American musician most associated with the group variously known as Herb Alpert & the Tijuana Brass, Herb Alpert's Tijuana Brass, or TJB. He is also a recording industry executive — he is the "A" of A&M Records...
& the Tijuana Brass.
Gameplay
Each game featured two contestants, each partnered with a celebrity guest. The celebrities each stayed on for the entire program while contestants played only one game, win or lose.Each round centered around a board which contained the face of a celebrity, cut into seven horizontal strips and jumbled vertically. At the beginning of each round, only one strip was revealed. Then, alternating between the celebrities and the contestants, the pairs were asked trivia question in the form of an incomplete sentence (for example, "The last king of France was...").
After each question, more of the face was revealed (still in jumbled order). The first two questions revealed one part each, while the next two revealed two parts each. The player who correctly answered the question had the opportunity to guess the identity of the celebrity after the new parts were revealed. An incorrect answer gave the opponent the right to guess.
If the identity was not guessed after all seven parts were revealed, play continued with each question offering a chance to switch two of the parts. Incorrect answers moved on to the next question and did not give the opponent control. The player who answered correctly choose one part of the face and their partner choose another part; the two were then switched. The first partner could then guess the answer.
The team which correctly identified the celebrity won $150 for the contestant.
"Three of a Kind" Bonus Game
In the bonus game, one partner was asked to find the eyes of a given celebrity, and three strips containing of eyes were shown very briefly, one at a time. If the player could choose the correct eyes, they added $50 to the contestant's winnings.This was repeated for three mouths and noses, with the partners alternating. The second correct answer added another $50, and the third correct answer earned another $250 for a total of $500.
Changes
By June 24, the format had changed so that the teams would alternate picking numbers from 1 to 7 to reveal a strip of a celebrity's scrambled face for their opponents until either the entire picture was revealed or one team correctly guessed the face. If the entire picture was revealed, the teams would them begin switching two strips of the face around to try to figure out who was in the picture.Each correct answer was worth $100, two games won the match.
The bonus round was also changed so that the team could always see either the eyes, nose, or mouth and have to guess which celebrity that body part belonged to. However, there was now a 60-second time limit. $50 was awarded for each correct guess, with $500 awarded if all four were correctly guessed. If a celebrity was not guessed within 10 seconds of the body part being shown, the full face is revealed, and play continues with another body part.
Pilot
The series' pilot was filmed early in 1966 with Jack Clark as host; Betsy PalmerBetsy Palmer
Betsy Palmer is an American actress, best known as a regular panelist on the game show I've Got a Secret, and later for playing Pamela Voorhees in the notorious slasher film Friday the 13th.-Life and career:...
and Bill Cullen
Bill Cullen
William Lawrence Francis "Bill" Cullen was an American radio and television personality whose career spanned five decades...
were the celebrities. As Clark closed the episode, he mentioned that the "following week's guests" would be Eydie Gorme
Eydie Gormé
Eydie Gormé is an American singer, specializing, with her husband, Steve Lawrence, in traditional pop music, in the form of ballads and breezy swing. She has earned numerous awards, including the Grammy and the Emmy...
and Alan King, implying that a second pilot would be filmed. Clark became the show's announcer after it was sold to CBS.
The set and format were slightly different; winning the main game was worth $200 instead of $150. Also, winning the end game was worth $500 in addition to the $200 from the main game, instead of a $500 total.
Technology
The series was notable for its use of technology. Besides the screen which showed the faces and could switch any two pieces instantly, the show also used a split-screen shot when the contestants (who sat outside of the two celebrities) were answering a question. When one contestant rang in, the split wiped to the side to show both partners of that team.The second format's bonus round used a 60-second timer. For the viewers, a 7x4 electronic lighted scoreboard was superimposed on the bottom of the screen.
Episode status
The series is believed to have been 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 of the era. Only four episodes are known to exist - the pilot, the premiere with Lockhart and Crane, the June 24 episode with Florence Henderson
Florence Henderson
Florence Agnes Henderson is an American actress and singer. She is perhaps best known for her role of Carol Brady on the ABC sitcom The Brady Bunch from 1969 to 1974...
and Ray Milland
Ray Milland
Ray Milland was a Welsh actor and director. His screen career ran from 1929 to 1985, and he is best remembered for his Academy Award–winning portrayal of an alcoholic writer in The Lost Weekend , a sophisticated leading man opposite a corrupt John Wayne in Reap the Wild Wind , the murder-plotting...
, and the July 22 episode with Pearl Bailey
Pearl Bailey
Pearl Mae Bailey was an American actress and singer. After appearing in vaudeville, she made her Broadway debut in St. Louis Woman in 1946. She won a Tony Award for the title role in the all-black production of Hello, Dolly! in 1968...
and Mel Brooks
Mel Brooks
Mel Brooks is an American film director, screenwriter, composer, lyricist, comedian, actor and producer. He is best known as a creator of broad film farces and comic parodies. He began his career as a stand-up comic and as a writer for the early TV variety show Your Show of Shows...
. Of these, only the June 24 and July 22 episodes are in color, with the latter being reran by 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"...
several times.
The premiere has since appeared on the Internet Archive
Internet Archive
The Internet Archive is a non-profit digital library with the stated mission of "universal access to all knowledge". It offers permanent storage and access to collections of digitized materials, including websites, music, moving images, and nearly 3 million public domain books. The Internet Archive...
, possibly indicating that the series has become part of the public domain
Public domain
Works are in the public domain if the intellectual property rights have expired, if the intellectual property rights are forfeited, or if they are not covered by intellectual property rights at all...
.