TV's Longest-Running Game Shows, 4-7
Secrets have played a big role in television's game shows over the years, as seen in this segment of the list.
4. Truth or Consequences
This show originally aired as a radio quiz show starting in 1940, then crossed over to television in 1950. The show asked contestants to answer obscure, often trick, questions, then, if they couldn't answer, made them suffer the "consequences" -- often embarrassing or silly stunts. Bob Barker hosted the show from 1956 to 1975, but the show never quite recovered after his departure. The show ran off and on for about 20 seasons from 1950 to 1978 and had a short-lived revival in the late '80s.
5. What's My Line?
In What's My Line?, four celebrity panelists tried to guess the occupation (or "line" of work) of a fifth, secret contestant by asking only "yes" or "no" questions. During the third round, panelists were blindfolded and challenged to guess the identity of a "Mystery Guest." The original run of the show (which paid players for appearances, since prize money never exceeded $50) ran from 1950 to 1967, but since then several revivals have been launched. Celebrity guests have included author Gore Vidal, actor Jane Fonda, and singer Bobby Darin.
6. I've Got a Secret
The old parlor game "Secret, Secret, Who's Got the Secret?" was the inspiration for this classic quiz show that originally aired from 1952 to 1967. The host introduced the contestant and asked them to whisper their "secret" into his ear. The secret was shown on-screen for at-home viewers, but celebrity panelists had to try to guess the secret by asking questions. Each time the panelist guessed incorrectly, the player was paid $20 with a whopping $80 maximum payout. In recent years, the show was revived on the Game Show Network with secrets that are much racier than they were in the 1950s.
7. Hollywood Squares
Mere mortals got a chance to play with celebrities in this game show based on tic-tac-toe. Nine Hollywood stars sit in separate, open-faced cubes that make up the board. The stars are asked questions by the host, and contestants judge whether or not their answers are true or false in order to put an X or O in the square. Prize winnings got larger and larger over the years, with one jackpot reaching $100,000. But the game was really a vehicle for the comedic banter between the host and the celebrities.
Between the original version, which aired from 1966 to 1981, and its many reincarnations, Squares has featured celebrities such as Vincent Price, Joan Rivers, Whoopi Goldberg, Paul Lynde, Martin Mull, and Alf.
Finish the list of television's 11 longest-running game shows on the next page.
