Dialing for Dollars
Encyclopedia
Dialing for Dollars was a franchised format
local television
program in the United States
and Canada
, popular in the 1950s, 1960s, and 1970s.
Dialing for Dollars originated as a radio program in 1939 on WCBM
in Baltimore, Maryland, hosted by Homer Todd. With the rapid development of commercial television broadcasting in the U.S. in the late 1940s and 1950s, the format switched to television and was franchised nationally as a popular, low-budget way to fill local market airtime, especially in the late mornings.
On some stations, the Dialing for Dollars format would be used during the local telecasting of a morning
or afternoon movie
. Every so often, rather than going to a commercial break, the film would be interrupted by a dialing for dollars segment, after which the program either went to a commercial or directly back to the film.
By the mid-1970s, the popularity of the Dialing for Dollars format faded as competition from daytime talk show
s developed and more sophisticated game shows were syndicated
. Another factor in the show's decline was the trend of fewer households having stay-at-home members available to answer the phone during the day. Although still seen in a few markets, Dialing for Dollars left the Baltimore airwaves in 1977, after giving away $800,000 locally in its 38-year run there on radio and television.
Broadway producer Lee Guber attempted to resurrect the concept on a national basis in 1987, meeting with Canadian broadcaster Peter Emmerson with regards to hosting what would have emanated from the former GFG Productions facilities in Brooklyn. The project was never completed due to Mr. Guber's soon-to-be-diagnosed illness, passing away of a brain tumor on March 27, 1988.
Janis Joplin
sings about the show in the song "Mercedes Benz":
The program has also been satirized on Second City TV.
Live with Kelly carries on the tradition with its daily Travel Trivia contest, and a few local shows directly trace their lineage to Dialing for Dollars (an example is AM Buffalo
).
A similar format, The Money Man, was used on WLOS-TV Asheville, North Carolina, in the late 1960s. Host Bob Caldwell would call viewers and ask them to tell how much money was in the jackpot and name the show or star of the day. This aired in late afternoons, during reruns of Perry Mason
and the station's 5:30 PM newscast.
Media franchise
A media franchise is an intellectual property involving the characters, setting and trademarks of an original work of media , such as a film, a work of literature, a television program or a video game. Generally, a whole series is made in a particular medium, along with merchandising and endorsements...
local television
Television
Television is a telecommunication medium for transmitting and receiving moving images that can be monochrome or colored, with accompanying sound...
program in the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
and Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
, popular in the 1950s, 1960s, and 1970s.
Format
The program's usual format had the host, a local television personality, announce a certain password (on most stations, "the count and the amount") to the audience at the beginning of the program and then randomly select a phone number from a bowl or drum (either from those that had been previously submitted by viewers, or by scraps of paper cut from residential telephone directories) and call it. If the viewer was watching the show, they would know that they were being called, answer the phone with the correct password, and would win a monetary prize. If the number did not answer, the prize money would continue to increase. The term "the count" comes from cities where, at the beginning of the show (and after a jackpot is won, if it was not the last call of that show), a number from 1 to 9 and either "top" or "bottom" was selected randomly; the numbers called were selected by taking slips of 9 to 18 numbers cut from pages of phone books and selecting the appropriate phone number. (For example, the count could be "up six", in which case the sixth number from the top of each selected slip was the phone number called.) "The amount" simply referred to the dollar amount that was being offered to the person being called.Dialing for Dollars originated as a radio program in 1939 on WCBM
WCBM
WCBM is a Talk formatted broadcast radio station in Baltimore, Maryland. The station is owned by WCBM Maryland, Inc., which also owns WVIE, 1370 AM...
in Baltimore, Maryland, hosted by Homer Todd. With the rapid development of commercial television broadcasting in the U.S. in the late 1940s and 1950s, the format switched to television and was franchised nationally as a popular, low-budget way to fill local market airtime, especially in the late mornings.
On some stations, the Dialing for Dollars format would be used during the local telecasting of a morning
Morning movie
The morning movie was once a daily staple of many local television stations from the 1950s to the late 1960s, before the rise of the many morning talk shows that are now seen nationally. A local affiliate would be given a certain amount of time to fill television screens with their own shows, and...
or afternoon movie
Afternoon movie
The afternoon movie was a popular practice of local television stations from the 1950s through the 1970s. It consisted of the daily weekday showing of old films usually between 12:30 and 2:00 P.M; if the film ran two hours or more, it was split into two parts. Atlanta local station WSB-TV, for...
. Every so often, rather than going to a commercial break, the film would be interrupted by a dialing for dollars segment, after which the program either went to a commercial or directly back to the film.
By the mid-1970s, the popularity of the Dialing for Dollars format faded as competition from daytime talk show
Talk show
A talk show or chat show is a television program or radio program where one person discuss various topics put forth by a talk show host....
s developed and more sophisticated game shows were syndicated
Television syndication
In broadcasting, syndication is the sale of the right to broadcast radio shows and television shows by multiple radio stations and television stations, without going through a broadcast network, though the process of syndication may conjure up structures like those of a network itself, by its very...
. Another factor in the show's decline was the trend of fewer households having stay-at-home members available to answer the phone during the day. Although still seen in a few markets, Dialing for Dollars left the Baltimore airwaves in 1977, after giving away $800,000 locally in its 38-year run there on radio and television.
Broadway producer Lee Guber attempted to resurrect the concept on a national basis in 1987, meeting with Canadian broadcaster Peter Emmerson with regards to hosting what would have emanated from the former GFG Productions facilities in Brooklyn. The project was never completed due to Mr. Guber's soon-to-be-diagnosed illness, passing away of a brain tumor on March 27, 1988.
Janis Joplin
Janis Joplin
Janis Lyn Joplin was an American singer, songwriter, painter, dancer and music arranger. She rose to prominence in the late 1960s as the lead singer of Big Brother and the Holding Company and later as a solo artist with her backing groups, The Kozmic Blues Band and The Full Tilt Boogie Band...
sings about the show in the song "Mercedes Benz":
- "Oh Lord, won’t you buy me a color TV?
- Dialing for Dollars is trying to find me.
- I wait for delivery each day until three,
- So oh Lord, won’t you buy me a color TV?"
The program has also been satirized on Second City TV.
Live with Kelly carries on the tradition with its daily Travel Trivia contest, and a few local shows directly trace their lineage to Dialing for Dollars (an example is AM Buffalo
AM Buffalo
AM Buffalo is an American television talk show based in Buffalo, New York. The program has aired on WKBW-TV since its founding in 1978 and is hosted by Linda Pellegrino...
).
List of stations that carried Dialing for Dollars
- CICT-TVCICT-TVCICT-DT is a Canadian television station, licensed to and serving Calgary, Alberta. It is owned by Shaw Media, and is an owned-and-operated station of the Global Television Network...
(formerly CFAC) – Calgary, Alberta, CanadaCanadaCanada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean... - KARK-TVKARK-TVKARK, virtual channel 4, is the NBC-affiliated television station for Central Arkansas that is licensed to Little Rock. Owned by the Nexstar Broadcasting Group, the station is sister to MyNetworkTV affiliate KARZ-TV and the two share studios on West Capitol Avenue in Downtown Little Rock one block...
– Little Rock, ArkansasLittle Rock, ArkansasLittle Rock is the capital and the largest city of the U.S. state of Arkansas. The Metropolitan Statistical Area had a population of 699,757 people in the 2010 census... - KPAC-TVKBTV-TVKBTV-TV, channel 4, is the Fox affiliated television station serving the Beaumont/Port Arthur, Texas designated market area, and is licensed to Port Arthur. The station is owned by Nexstar Broadcasting Group, Inc., and its studios are located at Parkdale Mall in Beaumont...
– Port Arthur, TexasPort Arthur, Texas-Demographics:As of the 2000 census, there were 57,755 people, 21,839 households, and 14,675 families residing in the city. The population density was 696.5 people per square mile . There were 24,713 housing units at an average density of 298.0 per square mile... - KCOP – Los Angeles, CaliforniaLos Angeles, CaliforniaLos Angeles , with a population at the 2010 United States Census of 3,792,621, is the most populous city in California, USA and the second most populous in the United States, after New York City. It has an area of , and is located in Southern California...
, Johnny GilbertJohnny GilbertJohn 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...
hosted the show - KCPQKCPQKCPQ, channel 13, is the Fox television affiliate licensed to Tacoma, Washington serving the Seattle/Tacoma television market, owned by the Tribune Company...
– Seattle, WashingtonSeattle, WashingtonSeattle is the county seat of King County, Washington. With 608,660 residents as of the 2010 Census, Seattle is the largest city in the Northwestern United States. The Seattle metropolitan area of about 3.4 million inhabitants is the 15th largest metropolitan area in the country... - KCRG-TVKCRG-TVKCRG-TV, channel 9, is a television station, operating as the ABC affiliate for the Cedar Rapids, Iowa metropolitan area, and the nearby cities of Waterloo, Iowa City and Dubuque....
– Cedar Rapids, IowaCedar Rapids, IowaCedar Rapids is the second largest city in Iowa and is the county seat of Linn County. The city lies on both banks of the Cedar River, north of Iowa City and east of Des Moines, the state's capital and largest city... - KJEO-TVKGPEKGPE, virtual channel 47, is the CBS affiliated television station for the Fresno, California market. KGPE's digital signal is on UHF channel 34 from Auberry, California. It's currently owned by High Plains Broadcasting and operated by Newport Television, LLC....
– Fresno, CaliforniaFresno, CaliforniaFresno is a city in central California, United States, the county seat of Fresno County. As of the 2010 census, the city's population was 510,365, making it the fifth largest city in California, the largest inland city in California, and the 34th largest in the nation... - KODE-TVKODE-TVKODE-TV, virtual channel 12, is the ABC network affiliated television station serving all of Joplin, Missouri and its surrounding areas and Pittsburg, Kansas and its rural communities. Its transmitter is located in Joplin...
– Joplin, MissouriJoplin, MissouriJoplin is a city in southern Jasper County and northern Newton County in the southwestern corner of the US state of Missouri. Joplin is the largest city in Jasper County, though it is not the county seat. As of the 2010 census, the city population was 50,150... - KOAT-TVKOAT-TVKOAT-TV, channel 7, is an ABC network affiliated television station serving Albuquerque, New Mexico. Its transmitter is located on Sandia Crest, northeast of Albuquerque. Syndicated programming on KOAT includes: Entertainment Tonight, Ellen, The Dr...
– Albuquerque, New MexicoAlbuquerque, New MexicoAlbuquerque is the largest city in the state of New Mexico, United States. It is the county seat of Bernalillo County and is situated in the central part of the state, straddling the Rio Grande. The city population was 545,852 as of the 2010 Census and ranks as the 32nd-largest city in the U.S. As... - KPHO – Phoenix, ArizonaPhoenix, ArizonaPhoenix is the capital, and largest city, of the U.S. state of Arizona, as well as the sixth most populated city in the United States. Phoenix is home to 1,445,632 people according to the official 2010 U.S. Census Bureau data...
- KPTVKPTVKPTV is the Fox-affiliated television station serving the Portland, Oregon market, which includes most of the state of Oregon and portions of Southwest Washington. KPTV is owned by the Meredith Corporation in a duopoly with MyNetworkTV affiliate KPDX , with its studios located in Beaverton and...
– Portland, OregonPortland, OregonPortland is a city located in the Pacific Northwest, near the confluence of the Willamette and Columbia rivers in the U.S. state of Oregon. As of the 2010 Census, it had a population of 583,776, making it the 29th most populous city in the United States... - KSL-TVKSL-TVKSL-TV, virtual channel 5, is an NBC-affiliated television station located in Salt Lake City, Utah, USA. KSL-TV is owned by Bonneville International Corporation, which is in turn owned by The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints...
– Salt Lake City, UtahSalt Lake City, UtahSalt Lake City is the capital and the most populous city of the U.S. state of Utah. The name of the city is often shortened to Salt Lake or SLC. With a population of 186,440 as of the 2010 Census, the city lies in the Salt Lake City metropolitan area, which has a total population of 1,124,197... - KTHVKTHVKTHV , is the CBS network affiliate television station serving the Little Rock/Pine Bluff television market and central Arkansas. The station is owned by Gannett Company, which purchased the station in 1994...
– Little Rock, ArkansasLittle Rock, ArkansasLittle Rock is the capital and the largest city of the U.S. state of Arkansas. The Metropolitan Statistical Area had a population of 699,757 people in the 2010 census...
, under a different title, to compete with KARK - KTRK-TVKTRK-TVKTRK-TV, channel 13, is an owned-and-operated television station of the Walt Disney Company-owned American Broadcasting Company, located in Houston, Texas...
– Houston, TexasHouston, TexasHouston is the fourth-largest city in the United States, and the largest city in the state of Texas. According to the 2010 U.S. Census, the city had a population of 2.1 million people within an area of . Houston is the seat of Harris County and the economic center of , which is the ... - KIII-TV – Corpus Christi, TexasCorpus Christi, TexasCorpus Christi is a coastal city in the South Texas region of the U.S. state of Texas. The county seat of Nueces County, it also extends into Aransas, Kleberg, and San Patricio counties. The MSA population in 2008 was 416,376. The population was 305,215 at the 2010 census making it the...
- KSTP-TVKSTP-TVKSTP-TV, channel 5, is the ABC affiliate for the Twin Cities. Its transmitter is located at the Shoreview Telefarm. It is the flagship station of Hubbard Broadcasting, which also owns several other broadcasting properties across the United States....
- Minneapolis/St. Paul, Minnesota - KTSM-TVKTSM-TVKTSM-TV, also known as NewsChannel 9, is an NBC affiliated television station based in El Paso, Texas. It broadcasts its digital signal on VHF channel 9...
– El Paso, TexasEl Paso, TexasEl Paso, is a city in and the county seat of El Paso County, Texas, United States, and lies in far West Texas. In the 2010 census, the city had a population of 649,121. It is the sixth largest city in Texas and the 19th largest city in the United States... - KTVI-TV – Saint Louis, Missouri
- KTVUKTVUKTVU, virtual channel 2 , is the Fox-affiliated television station serving the San Francisco Bay Area. Licensed to Oakland, California, the station has been owned by Atlanta-based Cox Enterprises since 1964, making it the largest Fox affiliate by market size that is not owned and operated by the...
– Oakland, CaliforniaOakland, CaliforniaOakland is a major West Coast port city on San Francisco Bay in the U.S. state of California. It is the eighth-largest city in the state with a 2010 population of 390,724...
, Pat McCormickPat McCormick (television personality)Pat McCormick is a retired local television personality in San Francisco, California's KGO-TV, and Oakland's, KTVU channel 2 in the San Francisco Bay Area, where among many jobs he was the nightly news' weatherman, hosted the midday movie Dialing for Dollars program, and co-hosted the local...
hosted the show - KUSAKusaKusa or KUSA may refer to:* Kusa, Russia, a town in Chelyabinsk Oblast, Russia* Kusa, Latvia, a village in Madona District, Latvia* Kusa, Afghanistan* KUSA-TV, a television station licensed to Denver, Colorado, United States...
– Denver, ColoradoDenver, ColoradoThe City and County of Denver is the capital and the most populous city of the U.S. state of Colorado. Denver is a consolidated city-county, located in the South Platte River Valley on the western edge of the High Plains just east of the Front Range of the Rocky Mountains...
, also as KBTV, Stormy RottmanStormy RottmanLeon "Stormy" Rottman was an American weather forecaster and television host. After his experience with reporting weather conditions for the U.S. Air Force during World War II and the Korean War, Rottman began a civilian career as a weather presenter on both television and radio...
hosted the segments - KXLY-TVKXLY-TVKXLY-TV, virtual channel 4, is an ABC-affiliated television station in Spokane, Washington, USA. KXLY-TV is owned by Spokane Television Group, a subsidiary of Morgan Murphy Media, it is one of five local Spokane TV stations seen in Canada on the Shaw Direct satellite provider.-History:Although KHQ...
– Spokane, WashingtonSpokane, WashingtonSpokane is a city located in the Northwestern United States in the state of Washington. It is the largest city of Spokane County of which it is also the county seat, and the metropolitan center of the Inland Northwest region... - KXMB-TVKXMB-TVKXMB-TV, channel 12, is the CBS affiliated television station for Bismarck, North Dakota. The station serves the southern half of the Western North Dakota television market....
– Bismarck, North DakotaBismarck, North DakotaBismarck is the capital of the U.S. state of North Dakota and the county seat of Burleigh County. It is the second most populous city in North Dakota after Fargo. The city's population was 61,272 at the 2010 census, while its metropolitan population was 108,779...
(during the 1970s) - WAAY-TVWAAY-TVWAAY-TV is the ABC-affiliated television station for the Tennessee Valley area of North Alabama that is licensed to Huntsville. It broadcasts a high definition digital signal on UHF channel 32 from a transmitter at its Monte Sano Boulevard studios on top of Monte Sano Mountain. Calkins Media owns...
– Huntsville, AlabamaHuntsville, AlabamaHuntsville is a city located primarily in Madison County in the central part of the far northern region of the U.S. state of Alabama. Huntsville is the county seat of Madison County. The city extends west into neighboring Limestone County. Huntsville's population was 180,105 as of the 2010 Census.... - WAVY-TVWAVY-TVWAVY-TV, channel 10, is a television station licensed to Portsmouth, Virginia, serving as the NBC affiliate for the Hampton Roads area . WAVY is owned by LIN Television Corporation, and is a sister station to Fox affiliate WVBT...
– Norfolk, VirginiaNorfolk, VirginiaNorfolk is an independent city in the Commonwealth of Virginia in the United States. With a population of 242,803 as of the 2010 Census, it is Virginia's second-largest city behind neighboring Virginia Beach.... - WBRC-TV – Birmingham, AlabamaBirmingham, AlabamaBirmingham is the largest city in Alabama. The city is the county seat of Jefferson County. According to the 2010 United States Census, Birmingham had a population of 212,237. The Birmingham-Hoover Metropolitan Area, in estimate by the U.S...
- WJKS-TVWCWJWCWJ is the CW-affiliate in Jacksonville, Florida and Brunswick, Georgia. The station is owned by Nexstar Broadcasting Group, Inc.. Its transmitter is located in Jacksonville.-History:...
– Jacksonville, FloridaJacksonville, FloridaJacksonville is the largest city in the U.S. state of Florida in terms of both population and land area, and the largest city by area in the contiguous United States. It is the county seat of Duval County, with which the city government consolidated in 1968... - WDSU-TV – New Orleans, LouisianaNew Orleans, LouisianaNew Orleans is a major United States port and the largest city and metropolitan area in the state of Louisiana. The New Orleans metropolitan area has a population of 1,235,650 as of 2009, the 46th largest in the USA. The New Orleans – Metairie – Bogalusa combined statistical area has a population...
- WFAA-TVWFAA-TVWFAA, channel 8, is an ABC-affiliated television station serving the Dallas–Fort Worth Metroplex, one of the top ten media markets in North America. The station is the flagship of Belo Corporation and the largest ABC affiliate not owned and operated by the network...
– Dallas, TexasDallas, TexasDallas is the third-largest city in Texas and the ninth-largest in the United States. The Dallas-Fort Worth Metroplex is the largest metropolitan area in the South and fourth-largest metropolitan area in the United States... - WFTVWFTVWFTV, channel 9, is the ABC-affiliated television station for Central Florida that is licensed to Orlando. It broadcasts a high definition digital signal on UHF channel 39 from a transmitter between Bithlo and Christmas. Owned by Cox Enterprises, WFTV is sister to Independent WRDQ. The two stations...
– Orlando, FloridaOrlando, FloridaOrlando is a city in the central region of the U.S. state of Florida. It is the county seat of Orange County, and the center of the Greater Orlando metropolitan area. According to the 2010 US Census, the city had a population of 238,300, making Orlando the 79th largest city in the United States...
, hosted by Pete Forgione - WGHP-TV – High Point, North CarolinaHigh Point, North CarolinaHigh Point is a city located in the Piedmont Triad region of North Carolina. As of 2010 the city had a total population of 104,371, according to the US Census Bureau. High Point is currently the eighth-largest municipality in North Carolina....
, hosted by Dick BennickCreature Feature (WTOG)For the wrestling manager, see Paul Bearer.Creature Feature was a TV horror movie series on WTOG in St. Petersburg, Florida, from 1971 to 1995. The films were hosted by Dick Bennick Sr. as Dr. Paul Bearer, who hosted a different cheap horror film every Saturday afternoon...
, later Jo Nelson. - WHBQ-TVWHBQ-TVWHBQ-TV, channel 13, is an owned-and-operated television station of the News Corporation-owned Fox Broadcasting Company, located in Memphis, Tennessee. Its studios and transmitter are located in Memphis.-Under RKO General:...
– Memphis, TennesseeMemphis, TennesseeMemphis is a city in the southwestern corner of the U.S. state of Tennessee, and the county seat of Shelby County. The city is located on the 4th Chickasaw Bluff, south of the confluence of the Wolf and Mississippi rivers....
(1960s - September 1, 1978) - WHO-TVWHO-TVWHO-DT is a television station that broadcasts on Channel 13 in Des Moines, Iowa. It is affiliated with the NBC television network and serves most of central Iowa. The station transmits from the WOI Tower in Alleman, Iowa, which is actually owned by WHO-DT's owners. WHO-DT brands itself as WHO-HD...
– Des Moines, IowaDes Moines, IowaDes Moines is the capital and the most populous city in the US state of Iowa. It is also the county seat of Polk County. A small portion of the city extends into Warren County. It was incorporated on September 22, 1851, as Fort Des Moines which was shortened to "Des Moines" in 1857... - WISN-TVWISN-TVWISN-TV, virtual channel 12.1 , is a television station located in Milwaukee, Wisconsin serving as an affiliate of the ABC television network. Its signal covers most of southeastern Wisconsin and parts of northeastern Illinois, including Racine, Kenosha, Sheboygan and Waukesha...
– Milwaukee, WisconsinMilwaukee, WisconsinMilwaukee is the largest city in the U.S. state of Wisconsin, the 28th most populous city in the United States and 39th most populous region in the United States. It is the county seat of Milwaukee County and is located on the southwestern shore of Lake Michigan. According to 2010 census data, the...
. Dialing for Dollars began at the station in December 1967. A hybrid/news/talk/contest show, the program is noted for its long-stand husband-and-wife hosting team of Howard and Rosemary Gernette. The Dialing contest remained when the show was rechristened At Twelve in 1980. - WJZ-TVWJZ-TVWJZ-TV, channel 13, is an owned and operated television station of the CBS Television Network, located in Baltimore, Maryland. WJZ-TV's studios and offices are located on Television Hill in the Woodberry section of Baltimore, adjacent to the transmission tower it shares with four other Baltimore...
– Baltimore, Maryland, used The HustleHustle (dance)The Hustle is a catchall name for several disco dances which were extremely popular in the 1970s. Today it mostly refers to the unique partner dance done in ballrooms and nightclubs to disco music. It has some features in common with swing dance. Its basic steps are somewhat similar to the...
as the theme music and at one point in the 1970s, Oprah WinfreyOprah WinfreyOprah Winfrey is an American media proprietor, talk show host, actress, producer and philanthropist. Winfrey is best known for her self-titled, multi-award-winning talk show, which has become the highest-rated program of its kind in history and was nationally syndicated from 1986 to 2011...
hosted the show. - WKBW-TVWKBW-TVWKBW-TV, channel 7, is the ABC affiliate for the Buffalo, New York television market, and is one of many local Buffalo TV stations seen over-the-air and on cable in Canada. Its transmitter is located at 8909 Center Street in Colden. The station is owned by the Granite Broadcasting Corporation, who...
– Buffalo, New YorkBuffalo, New YorkBuffalo is the second most populous city in the state of New York, after New York City. Located in Western New York on the eastern shores of Lake Erie and at the head of the Niagara River across from Fort Erie, Ontario, Buffalo is the seat of Erie County and the principal city of the...
, practically, this show was never canceled. Its name was changed when Dave Thomas/Dave RobertsDave Roberts (David Thomas Boreanaz)David Thomas Boreanaz is a retired American television broadcaster who broadcast under the stage names Dave Thomas in Buffalo, New York, and Dave Roberts in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. He was the main weatherman for WPVI-TV in Philadelphia from 1983 until his retirement in 2009...
left the station for WPVI in 1978, and the show was renamed without the Dialing for Dollars franchise to AM BuffaloAM BuffaloAM Buffalo is an American television talk show based in Buffalo, New York. The program has aired on WKBW-TV since its founding in 1978 and is hosted by Linda Pellegrino...
, which still airs today. - WLBZWLBZWLBZ is the NBC-affiliated television station for Central and Eastern Maine licensed to Bangor. It broadcasts a high definition digital signal on VHF channel 2 from a transmitter on Rider Bluff in Holden. The station can also be seen on Time Warner Cable channel 3 and in high definition on digital...
– Bangor, MaineBangor, MaineBangor is a city in and the county seat of Penobscot County, Maine, United States, and the major commercial and cultural center for eastern and northern Maine... - WLNE-TVWLNE-TVWLNE-TV is the ABC-affiliated television station for Rhode Island and the South Coast of Massachusetts. It is licensed to New Bedford, Massachusetts, but is headquartered in and operates from studios at 10 Orms Street in downtown Providence, Rhode Island. It is one of two major Rhode Island...
– New Bedford, MassachusettsNew Bedford, MassachusettsNew Bedford is a city in Bristol County, Massachusetts, United States, located south of Boston, southeast of Providence, Rhode Island, and about east of Fall River. As of the 2010 census, the city had a total population of 95,072, making it the sixth-largest city in Massachusetts...
, George Allen hosted the show - WMAR-TVWMAR-TVWMAR-TV, channel 2, is the ABC affiliate television station in Baltimore, Maryland, owned by the broadcasting division of the E.W. Scripps Company...
– Baltimore, Maryland (1948 - 1977), hosted by George Rogers and then Stu KerrStu KerrThomas Stewart Kerr, more familiarly known to audiences as Stu Kerr , was a Baltimore, Maryland, television personality who developed and hosted a number of programs on Baltimore television from 1952 through the 1980s... - WNAC-TVWHDH-TVWHDH, digital channel 42 , is an NBC-affiliated television station in Boston, Massachusetts. It is the largest NBC station not owned by the network. Owned by Sunbeam Television, WHDH is a sister station to CW affiliate WLVI...
– Boston, Massachusetts - WNEP-TVWNEP-TVWNEP-TV is the ABC-affiliated television station for northeastern Pennsylvania licensed to Scranton. It broadcasts a high definition digital signal on UHF channel 50 from a transmitter on Penobscot Knob in Mountain Top...
– Scranton, PennsylvaniaScranton, PennsylvaniaScranton is a city in the northeastern part of Pennsylvania, United States. It is the county seat of Lackawanna County and the largest principal city in the Scranton/Wilkes-Barre metropolitan area. Scranton had a population of 76,089 in 2010, according to the U.S... - WNEW-TVWNYWWNYW, virtual channel 5 , is the flagship television station of the News Corporation-owned Fox Broadcasting Company, located in New York City. The station's transmitter is atop the Empire State Building and its studio facilities are located in the Yorkville section of Manhattan...
– New York CityNew York CityNew York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
(mid-1960s) - WPLG-TV – Miami, FloridaMiami, FloridaMiami is a city located on the Atlantic coast in southeastern Florida and the county seat of Miami-Dade County, the most populous county in Florida and the eighth-most populous county in the United States with a population of 2,500,625...
- WPTV-TV – West Palm Beach, FloridaWest Palm Beach, FloridaWest Palm Beach, is a city located on the Atlantic coast in southeastern Florida and is the most populous city in and county seat of Palm Beach County, the third most populous county in Florida with a 2010 population of 1,320,134. The city is also the oldest incorporated municipality in South Florida...
, Dave Davis hosted the show - WPVI-TVWPVI-TVWPVI-TV, channel 6, is an owned-and-operated television station of the Walt Disney Company-owned American Broadcasting Company, located in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA. WPVI has its studios located on the border between Philadelphia and Bala Cynwyd, and its transmitter is located in the...
– Philadelphia, PA, first hosted by Bob McLean in 1973, who would later host a talk show in Canada on CBC TelevisionCBC TelevisionCBC Television is a Canadian television network owned by the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, the national public broadcaster.Although the CBC is supported by public funding, the television network supplements this funding with commercial advertising revenue, in contrast to CBC Radio which are... - WXEX-TVWRIC-TVWRIC-TV, virtual channel 8 , is the ABC-affiliated television station for the Richmond, Virginia market. It is owned by Young Broadcasting. The station is licensed to nearby Petersburg, while its studios are just off the Powhite Parkway extension in the Arboretum office park in western...
(now WRIC-TVWRIC-TVWRIC-TV, virtual channel 8 , is the ABC-affiliated television station for the Richmond, Virginia market. It is owned by Young Broadcasting. The station is licensed to nearby Petersburg, while its studios are just off the Powhite Parkway extension in the Arboretum office park in western...
) – Richmond, VirginiaRichmond, VirginiaRichmond is the capital of the Commonwealth of Virginia, in the United States. It is an independent city and not part of any county. Richmond is the center of the Richmond Metropolitan Statistical Area and the Greater Richmond area... - WROC-TVWROC-TVWROC-TV, virtual channel 8, is a CBS affiliate based in Rochester, New York, USA, owned and operated by Nexstar Broadcasting Group. WROC-TV operates Fox affiliate WUHF through a shared services agreement. The two share studios on Humboldt Street in Rochester...
– Rochester, New YorkRochester, New YorkRochester is a city in Monroe County, New York, south of Lake Ontario in the United States. Known as The World's Image Centre, it was also once known as The Flour City, and more recently as The Flower City...
, hosted by Ann Keefe - WREX-TVWREX-TVWREX, channel 13, is the NBC television affiliate serving the Rockford, Illinois area. It is the market's only full-powered VHF station and is Rockford's second oldest television station. Its studios and transmitter are located at Auburn and Winnebago Roads, west of Rockford and north of...
– Rockford, IllinoisRockford, IllinoisRockford is a mid-sized city located on both banks of the Rock River in far northern Illinois. Often referred to as "The Forest City", Rockford is the county seat of Winnebago County, Illinois, USA. As reported in the 2010 U.S. census, the city was home to 152,871 people, the third most populated... - WSTM-TVWSTM-TVWSTM-TV is the NBC-affiliated television station for Central New York State licensed to Syracuse. It broadcasts a high definition digital signal on UHF channel 24 from a transmitter on Sentinel Heights Road in LaFayette. The station can also be seen on Verizon FiOS channel 3 and Time Warner channel 4...
(formerly WSYR-TV) – Syracuse, New YorkSyracuse, New YorkSyracuse is a city in and the county seat of Onondaga County, New York, United States, the largest U.S. city with the name "Syracuse", and the fifth most populous city in the state. At the 2010 census, the city population was 145,170, and its metropolitan area had a population of 742,603...
, hosted by Ed Murphy - WTCN-TVKAREKARE, digital channel 11, is an NBC-affiliated television station licensed to Minneapolis, Minnesota, and serving the Minneapolis-St. Paul area of Minnesota and portions of western Wisconsin. It also operates KARE WX NOW, formerly known as NBC Weather Plus on its second digital subchannel...
- Minneapolis/St. Paul, Minnesota; Mel Jass hosted Dialing for Dollars as a segment incorporated into his Mel's Matinee Movie program in the early 1970s. - WTAE-TVWTAE-TVWTAE-TV is the ABC affiliated television station for Western Pennsylvania that is licensed to Pittsburgh, broadcasting on UHF channel 51 and identifying via PSIP as channel 4 . It also serves as an ABC affiliate for the Wheeling/Steubenville and Clarksburg/Weston, West Virginia market areas...
– Pittsburgh, PennsylvaniaPittsburgh, PennsylvaniaPittsburgh is the second-largest city in the US Commonwealth of Pennsylvania and the county seat of Allegheny County. Regionally, it anchors the largest urban area of Appalachia and the Ohio River Valley, and nationally, it is the 22nd-largest urban area in the United States... - WLCY-TV / WTSPWTSPWTSP is a CBS-affiliated television station in St. Petersburg, Florida . It broadcasts its digital signal on VHF channel 10....
– St. Petersburg, FloridaSt. Petersburg, FloridaSt. Petersburg is a city in Pinellas County, Florida, United States. It is known as a vacation destination for both American and foreign tourists. As of 2008, the population estimate by the U.S. Census Bureau is 245,314, making St... - WTVC-TV – Chattanooga, TennesseeChattanooga, TennesseeChattanooga is the fourth-largest city in the US state of Tennessee , with a population of 169,887. It is the seat of Hamilton County...
- WXIA-TVWXIA-TVWXIA-TV, virtual channel 11.1 , is the NBC-affiliated television station in Atlanta, Georgia. Popularly known by its 11 Alive moniker, WXIA is owned by the Gannett Company in a duopoly with MyNetworkTV affiliate WATL...
– Atlanta, GeorgiaAtlanta, GeorgiaAtlanta is the capital and most populous city in the U.S. state of Georgia. According to the 2010 census, Atlanta's population is 420,003. Atlanta is the cultural and economic center of the Atlanta metropolitan area, which is home to 5,268,860 people and is the ninth largest metropolitan area in...
, Linda Faye Carson and Don Barber hosted the show
A similar format, The Money Man, was used on WLOS-TV Asheville, North Carolina, in the late 1960s. Host Bob Caldwell would call viewers and ask them to tell how much money was in the jackpot and name the show or star of the day. This aired in late afternoons, during reruns of Perry Mason
Perry Mason (TV series)
Perry Mason is an American legal drama produced by Paisano Productions that ran from September 1957 to May 1966 on CBS. The title character, portrayed by Raymond Burr, is a fictional Los Angeles defense attorney who originally appeared in detective fiction by Erle Stanley Gardner...
and the station's 5:30 PM newscast.
External links
- http://www.desmoinesbroadcasting.com/who-tv/dialing-for-dollars-bobwilliams-ad.htmlAd for Dialing for Dollars in Des Moines, IowaDes Moines, IowaDes Moines is the capital and the most populous city in the US state of Iowa. It is also the county seat of Polk County. A small portion of the city extends into Warren County. It was incorporated on September 22, 1851, as Fort Des Moines which was shortened to "Des Moines" in 1857...
] - Broadcast Pioneers of Philadelphia: Dialing for Dollars on WPVI