Your Number's Up
Encyclopedia
Your Number's Up is a game show
that aired on NBC
from September 23 to December 20, 1985. The show was hosted by Nipsey Russell
with Lee Menning
as co-host. Announcing duties were handled by Gene Wood
for the first month and John Harlan
for the rest of the run, with Johnny Haymer
and Johnny Gilbert
as substitutes.
This show was the first series produced by Sande Stewart, son of game show producer Bob Stewart
. Your Number's Up was put up against the elder Stewart's The $25,000 Pyramid
on CBS
at 10:00 AM Eastern. Most of the staff from Bob Stewart Productions
also worked in the production of this series.
"When T.O. speaks..."
"As predicted, the I.O.M...."
After selecting one of the two phrases, the host read the rest of the selected phrase (example: after selecting the first phrase above, the host read "...all of the House listens." Answer: Tip O'Neill). The first player to buzz-in and fill in the acronym correctly scored one point, and incorrect guesses subtracted one point. If neither opponent guessed correctly, the player who selected the riddle won $50. The first to score 6 points won the game & $500.
If the car symbol appeared under a contestant's pointer, that contestant attempted to guess which number was hidden under a question mark on the car's license plate (the first three weeks of the series had a separate plate used for each attempt; later, previously incorrect numbers were automatically eliminated from each subsequent attempt). Guessing correctly won the player the car regardless of the game's outcome (and because of the format, a win at the car game was guaranteed on at least every ninth attempt).
). The player then had one minute to reveal the last four digits of that home viewer's phone number. The contestant selected a digit 0-9 from a board which resembled a touch-tone phone keypad. An acronym was shown and a clue was read. If the contestant was correct and that digit was in the phone number, that digit was revealed as many times it appeared in the home viewer's phone number. Each correct answer won $100 to the studio winner, and revealing all 4 digits within 60 seconds won the contestant $5,000 and the at-home viewer $1,000, except on Fridays, on which the home viewer won $5,000 as well. Fifteen players won $1,000 in a random drawing held after the series was canceled.
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...
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...
from September 23 to December 20, 1985. The show was hosted by Nipsey Russell
Nipsey 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...
with Lee Menning
Lee Menning
Lee Menning is an American actress who appeared as a card dealer on NBC game show Las Vegas Gambit, and then as the co-host of NBC's Sale of the Century from 1983 to 1984....
as co-host. Announcing duties were handled by 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...
for the first month and 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....
for the rest of the run, with Johnny Haymer
Johnny Haymer
Johnny Haymer was an American actor who played Staff Sergeant Zelmo Zale, a recurring character in the television series M*A*S*H. Another high-profile role was that of the painfully unfunny stand-up comedian in the Woody Allen film Annie Hall...
and 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...
as substitutes.
This show was the first series produced by Sande Stewart, son of game show producer Bob Stewart
Bob Stewart (television)
Bob Stewart is a former American television game show producer. He was active in the TV industry from 1956 until his retirement in 1992....
. Your Number's Up was put up against the elder Stewart's The $25,000 Pyramid
Pyramid (game show)
Pyramid is an American television game show which has aired several versions. The original series, The $10,000 Pyramid, debuted March 26, 1973 and spawned seven subsequent Pyramid series...
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...
at 10:00 AM Eastern. Most of the staff from 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:...
also worked in the production of this series.
Rules
Three on-stage contestants, one a returning champion, were each given one point at the outset of the game, indicated by diamonds on the front of their podiums. Also in front of the contestants' podiums was an electronic wheel with numbers 0-9, blank spaces and a car symbol. The symbols on the wheel were spaced so that each spin had two contestants with numbers or the car symbol and a third with a blank space. Players spun the wheel by pulling a lever. After each spin, the player whose space was blank was shown the first halves of two riddle-type phrases, each with an acronym to be filled in. An example of these would be as follows:"When T.O. speaks..."
"As predicted, the I.O.M...."
After selecting one of the two phrases, the host read the rest of the selected phrase (example: after selecting the first phrase above, the host read "...all of the House listens." Answer: Tip O'Neill). The first player to buzz-in and fill in the acronym correctly scored one point, and incorrect guesses subtracted one point. If neither opponent guessed correctly, the player who selected the riddle won $50. The first to score 6 points won the game & $500.
If the car symbol appeared under a contestant's pointer, that contestant attempted to guess which number was hidden under a question mark on the car's license plate (the first three weeks of the series had a separate plate used for each attempt; later, previously incorrect numbers were automatically eliminated from each subsequent attempt). Guessing correctly won the player the car regardless of the game's outcome (and because of the format, a win at the car game was guaranteed on at least every ninth attempt).
Audience game
Each correct answer of a riddle puts the number which was under that player's pointer on a board. At any point during the game, if the last four digits of any studio audience member's phone number matched any numbers on the board (in any order), that audience member came up on stage to predict which contestant would win the game. If the audience member correctly guessed, they won a trip. If a number was duplicated in an audience member's phone number, they had to wait until all instances of that number were placed on the board.Bonus round
The winner drew a postcard sent in by a home viewer (for the first weeks of tapings, post cards were obtained via an ad in TV GuideTV Guide
TV Guide is a weekly American magazine with listings of TV shows.In addition to TV listings, the publication features television-related news, celebrity interviews, gossip and film reviews and crossword puzzles...
). The player then had one minute to reveal the last four digits of that home viewer's phone number. The contestant selected a digit 0-9 from a board which resembled a touch-tone phone keypad. An acronym was shown and a clue was read. If the contestant was correct and that digit was in the phone number, that digit was revealed as many times it appeared in the home viewer's phone number. Each correct answer won $100 to the studio winner, and revealing all 4 digits within 60 seconds won the contestant $5,000 and the at-home viewer $1,000, except on Fridays, on which the home viewer won $5,000 as well. Fifteen players won $1,000 in a random drawing held after the series was canceled.