You Don't Say!
Encyclopedia
You Don't Say! is an American television game show that had three separate runs on television. The first version aired on NBC
daytime from April 1, 1963 to September 26, 1969 with revivals on ABC
in 1975 and in syndication from 1978-1979. The last two incarnations were executive produced by Ralph Andrews and produced (with Gary Hunt) and directed by Bill Carruthers
.
NBC broadcasts were produced by Ralph Andrews
-Bill Yagemann Productions in association with Desilu Productions
(later Paramount Television
). Ralph Andrews
Productions produced both of the 1970s versions, with the ABC version produced in association with the Carruthers Company and Warner Bros. Television
.
Similar to the announcer's function on Password, either Stewart or Harlan would whisper the name being guessed, along with a little description.
For example:
Or:
Proper names could not be used as clues, such as "Our president who was married to Jackie Onassis was named John F..." for "Kennedy". Clue-givers were also not allowed to describe a word that is spelled like part of the name.
' Match Game
. The two teams were replaced by two individual players competing with the assistance of four celebrities on a panel.
The celebrities once again tried to convey the identity of a famous person or place to the contestants. One celebrity gave a clue to the controlling contestant, who had five seconds to guess who it was with a correct word guess. If it wasn't guessed, the next celebrity in line gave a clue to the next contestant. This continued until one player guessed the word, with a maximum of four clues. A correct guess on the first clue was worth $200, and decreased in $50 increments for each clue needed afterward. $500 won the game and a chance to win $10,000 more at the Bonus Board.
If the game ended in a tie due to time running out, the player who needed fewer clues during the course of the game was declared the winner.
If the contestant won the front game 3-0, winning the Bonus Board on the first clue awarded the $300 plus a new car, usually a Pontiac
. In this situation, the celebrity was not allowed to help on the first clue.
Home viewers whose Bonus Board clue led to a car win also won a special prize. At one point this was 100,000 Top Value trading stamps, then one million stamps.
Players on the daytime version stayed until losing twice or winning seven times (NBC's limit at the time). On the primetime version, two new players competed for the entire show with a trip awarded to whoever won the most cash.
Players competed until either losing twice or exceeding ABC's winnings limit of $20,000 (but were allowed to keep winnings of up to $25,000).
station KTLA
in November 1962 with Jack Barry, still in exile from the networks in the wake of the 1950s quiz show scandals
, as host.
The Edge of Night
and numerous weak ABC soaps. A nighttime version in 1964 was not as successful, running from January 7 to May 12.
On July 15, 1968, One Life to Live
debuted on ABC
at 3:30/2:30 and found itself with a hit. In what may have been the largest housecleaning of its daytime schedule ever, NBC dropped YDS! and three other games (Personality
, Eye Guess
, and The Match Game
) on September 26, 1969. Replacing YDS! on the lineup was the soap opera Bright Promise
, which ran until 1972
.
However, many affiliates either tape-delayed the network feed until the next morning or preempted the 4:00/3:00 slot entirely, garnering low ratings for the revival despite facing NBC's soap opera Somerset
and two low-rated CBS games, Musical Chairs
and Give-n-Take
.
Meanwhile, CBS' The Edge of Night
had been its lowest-rated soap since a move in 1972 to 2:30/1:30. With As the World Turns
set to expand to a full hour, the network decided to oust the 19-year-old show (which debuted on the same day in 1956
and packaged by the same company). In the first instance of a daytime serial moving to another network, Procter and Gamble Productions agreed to CBS' terms and sold Edge to ABC who, desperate to get some affiliates back on board, banked on the show's instant familiarity and decided that the only viable slot for that show was 4:00/3:00.
On November 28, YDS! ended its five-month run, giving way to Edge the next Monday; as a result, a special Christmas
week of shows with children playing, which Tom had plugged on-air during the last few weeks and would have continued the tradition from the NBC era, was never seen.
, the hosting reins were taken instead by Jim Peck
.
This version did not sell to many markets, and those who ran it tended to do so in non-peak slots (save for WPIX
in New York
, which aired it at 8:30 PM as part of a primetime syndicated game show block with Tic Tac Dough
and To Tell the Truth
, as did KHJ-TV
in Los Angeles
). With little to no promotion, the show folded up at midseason.
, percussion, and harp
. Koury would play appropriate music after each name was guessed, or a generic "win cue" when the game was won.
Stan Worth composed the theme for the 1970s versions, called "Downwind".
NBC
The National Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network and former radio network headquartered in the GE Building in New York City's Rockefeller Center with additional major offices near Los Angeles and in Chicago...
daytime from April 1, 1963 to September 26, 1969 with revivals on 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...
in 1975 and in syndication from 1978-1979. The last two incarnations were executive produced by Ralph Andrews and produced (with Gary Hunt) and directed by Bill Carruthers
Bill Carruthers
Bill Carruthers , born in Detroit, Michigan, was a television executive who gained his first fame as the director of the Ernie Kovacs-helmed game show, Take a Good Look, in the early 1960s. He went on to be the director on The Newlywed Game and The Dating Game before starting his own production...
.
NBC broadcasts were produced 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....
-Bill Yagemann Productions in association with Desilu Productions
Desilu Productions
Desilu Productions was a Los Angeles, California-based company jointly owned by actors Desi Arnaz and Lucille Ball, who were married to each other from 1940 to 1960....
(later Paramount Television
Paramount Television
Paramount Television was an American television production/distribution company that was active from January 1, 1968 to August 27, 2006.Its successor is CBS Television Studios, formerly CBS Paramount Television...
). 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....
Productions produced both of the 1970s versions, with the ABC version produced in association with the Carruthers Company and Warner Bros. Television
Warner Bros. Television
Warner Bros. Television is the television production arm of Warner Bros. Entertainment, itself part of Time Warner. Alongside CBS Television Studios, it serves as a television production arm of The CW Television Network , though it also produces shows for other networks, such as Shameless on...
.
Similar to the announcer's function on Password, either Stewart or Harlan would whisper the name being guessed, along with a little description.
NBC
Two celebrity-contestant teams competed. The object was to convey the name of a famous person by giving clues, leading to words that sounded like part of the person's name (near the end of the run, places were also used as subjects). The contestant then had to sound the words out to figure out the person in question. The celebrities were not allowed to use anything that might give away the answer or to give a clue that would lead to the proper name of the person. They also could not say the clue to the contestant, with the penalty being loss of control for any violation. Each correct guess won a point, with three points winning the game.For example:
- Clue #1: The part of the car that contains fuel is the gas... (Tank)
- Clue #2: The automobile is more commonly called a... (Car)
- Clue #3: George Washington is on the one-dollar... (Bill)
- Tank + Car + Bill = TinkerbellTinkerbellTinker Bell , is a fictional character from J. M. Barrie's 1904 play Peter Pan and its 1911 novelization Peter and Wendy. She has appeared in multiple film and television adaptations of the Peter Pan stories, in particular the 1953 animated Walt Disney picture Peter Pan...
Or:
- Clue #1: A person who can't hear is... (Deaf)
- Clue #2: The fifth letter of the alphabet is... (E)
- Clue #3: When you park your boat, you tie it to the ... (Dock)
- Deaf + E + Dock = Daffy DuckDaffy DuckDaffy Duck is an animated cartoon character in the Warner Bros. Looney Tunes and Merrie Melodies series of cartoons, often running the gamut between being the best friend and sometimes arch-rival of Bugs Bunny...
Proper names could not be used as clues, such as "Our president who was married to Jackie Onassis was named John F..." for "Kennedy". Clue-givers were also not allowed to describe a word that is spelled like part of the name.
ABC
When the show returned in 1975, it also returned with a new format influenced largely by the success of 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...
' Match Game
Match Game
Match Game is an American television game show in which contestants attempted to match celebrities' answers to fill-in-the-blank questions...
. The two teams were replaced by two individual players competing with the assistance of four celebrities on a panel.
The celebrities once again tried to convey the identity of a famous person or place to the contestants. One celebrity gave a clue to the controlling contestant, who had five seconds to guess who it was with a correct word guess. If it wasn't guessed, the next celebrity in line gave a clue to the next contestant. This continued until one player guessed the word, with a maximum of four clues. A correct guess on the first clue was worth $200, and decreased in $50 increments for each clue needed afterward. $500 won the game and a chance to win $10,000 more at the Bonus Board.
Syndicated
Peck's version was played very similar to the ABC version, but with a few changes to accommodate the syndicated series (since the then-standard process of "bicycling" tapes shuffled the airings from city to city and made returning champions impractical). Two contestants played on Monday and Tuesday of a particular week, while two more played on Wednesday and Thursday. In a tournament fashion, the highest scorers from those games played each other on Friday. Instead of cash being awarded on a scale for each correct answer, every answer scored only one point, regardless of the number of clues necessary, with five winning the game. Correct answers were worth $100 on the Monday-Thursday shows and $200 on Fridays, but these payouts were not reflected in the scoring.If the game ended in a tie due to time running out, the player who needed fewer clues during the course of the game was declared the winner.
NBC
The winning contestant played the Bonus Board for a chance at $300. A famous name (sent in by a home viewer) was given to the celebrity, who tried to convey the name to the contestant by way of clues. Guessing the word on the first clue won $300. Each additional clue reduced the value by $100. The celebrity could help on all three clues.If the contestant won the front game 3-0, winning the Bonus Board on the first clue awarded the $300 plus a new car, usually a Pontiac
Pontiac
Pontiac was an automobile brand that was established in 1926 as a companion make for General Motors' Oakland. Quickly overtaking its parent in popularity, it supplanted the Oakland brand entirely by 1933 and, for most of its life, became a companion make for Chevrolet. Pontiac was sold in the...
. In this situation, the celebrity was not allowed to help on the first clue.
Home viewers whose Bonus Board clue led to a car win also won a special prize. At one point this was 100,000 Top Value trading stamps, then one million stamps.
Players on the daytime version stayed until losing twice or winning seven times (NBC's limit at the time). On the primetime version, two new players competed for the entire show with a trip awarded to whoever won the most cash.
ABC
The contestant now had to give a maximum of six (originally five) clues to four famous names or places to the celebrities. If a celebrity guessed one name correctly, the contestant won $500. The contestant won $1,000 if two names were guessed correctly, then $2,000 if three names were guessed correctly. If all four names were guessed correctly, the contestant won $5,000. In the event that each of the celebrities guessed the name after only one clue (four clues in total), the contestant won $10,000; this only occurred twice.Players competed until either losing twice or exceeding ABC's winnings limit of $20,000 (but were allowed to keep winnings of up to $25,000).
Syndicated
The Bonus Board was played exactly the same as the ABC run for $5,000 in cash on Monday-Thursday shows. The Friday game, which was harder than the rest of the week, was played for $10,000 in prizes.KTLA (1962-1963)
YDS! began as a local series on Los AngelesLos Ángeles
Los Ángeles is the capital of the province of Biobío, in the commune of the same name, in Region VIII , in the center-south of Chile. It is located between the Laja and Biobío rivers. The population is 123,445 inhabitants...
station 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...
in November 1962 with Jack Barry, still in exile from the networks in the wake of the 1950s quiz show scandals
Quiz show scandals
The American quiz show scandals of the 1950s were a series of revelations that contestants of several popular television quiz shows were secretly given assistance by the show's producers to arrange the outcome of a supposedly fair competition....
, as host.
NBC (1963-1969)
YDS! moved to NBC's afternoon lineup on April 1, 1963 at 3:30 PM Eastern (2:30 Central) with Tom Kennedy replacing Barry as host. For most of its run, the show placed a solid second against the popular CBS soapSoap opera
A soap opera, sometimes called "soap" for short, is an ongoing, episodic work of dramatic fiction presented in serial format on radio or as television programming. The name soap opera stems from the original dramatic serials broadcast on radio that had soap manufacturers, such as Procter & Gamble,...
The Edge of Night
The Edge of Night
The Edge of Night is an American television mystery series/soap opera produced by Procter & Gamble. It debuted on CBS on April 2, 1956, and ran as a live broadcast on that network until November 28, 1975; the series then moved to ABC, where it aired from December 1, 1975, until December 28, 1984...
and numerous weak ABC soaps. A nighttime version in 1964 was not as successful, running from January 7 to May 12.
On July 15, 1968, One Life to Live
One Life to Live
One Life to Live is an American soap opera which debuted on July 15, 1968 and has been broadcast on the ABC television network. Created by Agnes Nixon, the series was the first daytime drama to primarily feature racially and socioeconomically diverse characters and consistently emphasize social...
debuted on 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...
at 3:30/2:30 and found itself with a hit. In what may have been the largest housecleaning of its daytime schedule ever, NBC dropped YDS! and three other games (Personality
Personality (TV series)
Personality is an American game show produced by Bob Stewart and hosted by Larry Blyden which ran on NBC from July 3, 1967 to September 26, 1969 at 11:00 AM, EST.-Gameplay:...
, Eye Guess
Eye Guess
Eye Guess is an American game show that ran from January 3, 1966 to September 26, 1969 on NBC in which two contestants tried to answer questions by remembering the answers hidden on a board , with the winner playing for various prizes including a new car.This was the first game show by Bob Stewart...
, and The Match Game
Match Game
Match Game is an American television game show in which contestants attempted to match celebrities' answers to fill-in-the-blank questions...
) on September 26, 1969. Replacing YDS! on the lineup was the soap opera Bright Promise
Bright Promise
Bright Promise is an American daytime soap opera that ran on NBC from September 29, 1969 to March 31, 1972. It aired weekdays at 3:30 PM Eastern/2:30 PM Central.-Synopsis:...
, which ran until 1972
1972 in television
The year 1972 in television involved some significant events.Below is a list of television-related events in 1972.For the American TV schedule, see: 1972-73 American network television schedule.-Events:...
.
KTLA (1975)
The 1975 revival was also given a trial run on KTLA, airing on Sunday nights from April to June 1975. Originally hosted by local radio personality Clark Race with Kennedy as a regular panelist, these roles were reversed later in the show's brief run.ABC (1975)
With CBS' revival of Match Game bringing celebrity games back into popularity, Andrews managed to interest ABC in a similar revival of YDS! Kennedy, ten days after ending a three-year stint on ABC's Split Second, once again stepped up to the podium on July 7 at 4:00 PM (3:00 Central), replacing The Money Maze.However, many affiliates either tape-delayed the network feed until the next morning or preempted the 4:00/3:00 slot entirely, garnering low ratings for the revival despite facing NBC's soap opera Somerset
Somerset (TV series)
Somerset is an American television soap opera which ran on NBC from March 30, 1970 until December 31, 1976. The show was a spinoff of another NBC serial, Another World.-Overview :...
and two low-rated CBS games, Musical Chairs
Musical Chairs (game show)
Musical Chairs was a game show that aired from June 16 to October 31, 1975 on CBS. Singer Adam Wade hosted, making him the first African-American game show host. Wade was pedigreed, having had three Billboard top ten hits in 1961...
and Give-n-Take
Give-n-Take
Give-n-Take is an American television game show which ran on CBS from September 8 to November 28, 1975. Jim Lange hosted, with Johnny Jacobs announcing...
.
Meanwhile, CBS' The Edge of Night
The Edge of Night
The Edge of Night is an American television mystery series/soap opera produced by Procter & Gamble. It debuted on CBS on April 2, 1956, and ran as a live broadcast on that network until November 28, 1975; the series then moved to ABC, where it aired from December 1, 1975, until December 28, 1984...
had been its lowest-rated soap since a move in 1972 to 2:30/1:30. With As the World Turns
As the World Turns
As the World Turns is an American television soap opera that aired on CBS from April 2, 1956 to September 17, 2010. Irna Phillips created As the World Turns as a sister show to her other soap opera Guiding Light...
set to expand to a full hour, the network decided to oust the 19-year-old show (which debuted on the same day in 1956
1956 in television
The year 1956 in television involved some significant events.Below is a list of television-related events in 1956.-Events:*January 28 – Elvis Presley makes his national television debut on CBS on Stage Show, the first of six appearances on the series....
and packaged by the same company). In the first instance of a daytime serial moving to another network, Procter and Gamble Productions agreed to CBS' terms and sold Edge to ABC who, desperate to get some affiliates back on board, banked on the show's instant familiarity and decided that the only viable slot for that show was 4:00/3:00.
On November 28, YDS! ended its five-month run, giving way to Edge the next Monday; as a result, a special Christmas
Christmas
Christmas or Christmas Day is an annual holiday generally celebrated on December 25 by billions of people around the world. It is a Christian feast that commemorates the birth of Jesus Christ, liturgically closing the Advent season and initiating the season of Christmastide, which lasts twelve days...
week of shows with children playing, which Tom had plugged on-air during the last few weeks and would have continued the tradition from the NBC era, was never seen.
Syndicated (1978-1979)
YDS! returned on September 18, 1978 as a daily syndicated series. However, due to Tom Kennedy hosting Name That TuneName That Tune
Name That Tune is a television game show that put two contestants against each other to test their knowledge of songs. Premiering in the United States on NBC Radio in 1952, the show was created and produced by Harry Salter and his wife Roberta....
, the hosting reins were taken instead by Jim Peck
Jim Peck
James Edward "Jim" Peck is an American television and radio personality based in Milwaukee and is perhaps best known for his time as a game show host.-Early career:...
.
This version did not sell to many markets, and those who ran it tended to do so in non-peak slots (save for WPIX
WPIX
WPIX, channel 11, is a television station in New York City built, signed on, and owned by the Tribune Company. WPIX also serves as the flagship station of The CW Television Network...
in New York
New York
New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
, which aired it at 8:30 PM as part of a primetime syndicated game show block with Tic Tac Dough
Tic-Tac-Dough
Tic-Tac-Dough is an American television game show based on the pen-and-paper game of tic-tac-toe. Contestants answer questions in various categories to put up their respective symbol, X or O, on the board. Three versions were produced: the initial 1956–59 run on NBC, a 1978–1986 run initially on...
and To Tell the Truth
To Tell the Truth
To Tell the Truth is an American television panel game show created by Bob Stewart and produced by Goodson-Todman Productions that has aired in various forms since 1956 both on networks and in syndication...
, as did KHJ-TV
KCAL-TV
KCAL-TV, channel 9, is an independent television station in Los Angeles, California, USA, owned by the CBS Corporation. KCAL-TV shares its studio facilities with KCBS-TV inside CBS Studio Center in the Studio City section of Los Angeles, and its transmitter is located atop Mount Wilson.-Digital...
in Los Angeles
Los Ángeles
Los Ángeles is the capital of the province of Biobío, in the commune of the same name, in Region VIII , in the center-south of Chile. It is located between the Laja and Biobío rivers. The population is 123,445 inhabitants...
). With little to no promotion, the show folded up at midseason.
Music
Composer Rex Koury was the musical director for the 1960s version, leading a small combo in the studio consisting of organOrgan (music)
The organ , is a keyboard instrument of one or more divisions, each played with its own keyboard operated either with the hands or with the feet. The organ is a relatively old musical instrument in the Western musical tradition, dating from the time of Ctesibius of Alexandria who is credited with...
, percussion, and harp
Harp
The harp is a multi-stringed instrument which has the plane of its strings positioned perpendicularly to the soundboard. Organologically, it is in the general category of chordophones and has its own sub category . All harps have a neck, resonator and strings...
. Koury would play appropriate music after each name was guessed, or a generic "win cue" when the game was won.
Stan Worth composed the theme for the 1970s versions, called "Downwind".
Episode status
- KTLA: Unknown, but likely destroyedWipingWiping 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...
. A few color photographs are known to exist of the 1975 run. - NBC: Rumored to be destroyed, as the master tapes were reused to record new programming in the 1970s when videotape was expensive. A monochrome kinescopeKinescopeKinescope , shortened to kine , also known as telerecording in Britain, is a recording of a television program made by filming the picture from a video monitor...
of the 5th daytime episode, and a handful of color episodes, are all that is known to exist. - ABC: More than likely suffered the same fate as its predecessor, with only three episodes known to exist.
- Syndicated: Intact (it had been presumed lost), and held by television producer Mark Phillips' company Mark Phillips Philms and Telephision.