Seven Keys (game show)
Encyclopedia
Seven Keys is an American
game show
hosted by Jack Narz
and based on Chutes & Ladders
that aired from September 12, 1960 to January 15, 1965 on KTLA
and ABC
.
The first KTLA series is one of the few non-syndicated
television game shows to air daily in nighttime. The ABC version aired in daytime.
The content of the boards varied. Some had pictures of celebrities and others had word puzzles. One board required the contestant to determine which celebrity in a pair was missing, while another dealt with the United States and their capitals.
Each stop took one turn, and contestants had 15 turns to get to the last square, kept track of by a counter on top of the board. If they answered a question incorrectly, they went back to the last safe square reached. If a question was landed on more than once, it was treated as a free move.
Reaching the final space earned one of the "Seven Keys", each of which corresponded to a particular lock that a prize was behind. Six of the keys unlocked various smaller prizes while one unlocked a large prize package that changed with each new contestant. Unlike Chutes & Ladders, contestants were not required to reach the final space by exact count.
Contestants could stop at any point and take any keys accumulated and whatever prizes they opened (including the grand prize, if that key was collected). If the contestant failed to reach the final square within fifteen turns they lost all of their earned keys.
Once a properly-filled postcard was selected, host Narz moved over to a board showing, much like the main game, seven keys and their respective locks. Narz would show the card to the camera, then select the key specified by the home viewer and try to unlock the stole. If unlocked, the stole would be sent to the home viewer; otherwise, Narz would continue trying to open locks until the one associated with the key was found, with that prize being sent to the home viewer. After the prize was described, Narz would show the audience which key was the correct one and unlock the mink stole as proof.
) from September 12, 1960 to April 28, 1961. The show proved to be very popular, and caught the attention of ABC.
's mega-popular House Party
on CBS
and local programming on NBC
(which had not programmed at 2:30 since August 1959, following the disastrous Court of Human Relations), the two shows divided the audience over the next eighteen months.
On October 1, 1962 Keys was struck a large blow when NBC began a new 55-minute series at 2:00 PM (followed by a five-minute newscast) – The Merv Griffin Show
. However, despite this new challenge, it was Linkletter who would have the last laugh – Griffin ended on March 29, 1963 and Keys was shifted away to a morning slot on April 1. ABC ceased programming at 2:30/1:30 for five months.
Keys went to 11:30 AM (10:30 Central), replacing the Bert Parks
game Yours for a Song
. Now facing the five-year-old Concentration
on NBC and daytime repeats of The Millionaire on CBS, Keys managed to cease the Millionaire repeats on August 30 and send Concentration packing to 11:00/10:00 on September 6.
While CBS stopped programming at 11:30/10:30 for nearly a year, NBC introduced its new Ed McMahon
-hosted game Missing Links
in the slot. Within the next three months, the new word-association game from Goodson-Todman wore down Keys in the ratings.
On December 30, 1963 Keys was moved one last time to 12:00 Noon (11:00 AM, Central). The show was now up against the long-running soap Love of Life
on CBS and the popular game Your First Impression
on NBC, and was beaten soundly in the ratings until it finally admitted defeat on March 27, 1964.
. Although the status of the KTLA versions remain unknown, the ABC tapes are believed to have been either destroyed or reused as per network practices at the time.
Only three episodes are known to exist among collectors – Episode #9 of the original KTLA version (September 22, 1960), an ABC episode from July 12, 1962, and a second episode from KTLA. A complete ABC episode from May 24, 1963 was discovered on audio tape in March 2010.
The UCLA Film and Television Archive
holds two episodes along with a clip from a KTLA blooper reel (described as "a box is stuck from the game show Seven Keys").
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
game show
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...
hosted by Jack Narz
Jack Narz
Jack Narz was an American television announcer and game show host. Narz was the elder brother of Tom Kennedy and the former brother-in-law of Bill Cullen...
and based on Chutes & Ladders
Snakes and ladders
Snakes and Ladders is an ancient Indian board game regarded today as a worldwide classic. It is played between two or more players on a game board having numbered, gridded squares. A number of "ladders" and "snakes" are pictured on the board, each connecting two specific board squares...
that aired from September 12, 1960 to January 15, 1965 on 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...
and 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...
.
The first KTLA series is one of the few non-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...
television game shows to air daily in nighttime. The ABC version aired in daytime.
Gameplay
One contestant attempted to advance along a 70-square board by identifying the pictures on certain squares. The contestant hit a button to stop a spinning dial and moved the number of spaces shown, from 1 to 10.The content of the boards varied. Some had pictures of celebrities and others had word puzzles. One board required the contestant to determine which celebrity in a pair was missing, while another dealt with the United States and their capitals.
Each stop took one turn, and contestants had 15 turns to get to the last square, kept track of by a counter on top of the board. If they answered a question incorrectly, they went back to the last safe square reached. If a question was landed on more than once, it was treated as a free move.
Reaching the final space earned one of the "Seven Keys", each of which corresponded to a particular lock that a prize was behind. Six of the keys unlocked various smaller prizes while one unlocked a large prize package that changed with each new contestant. Unlike Chutes & Ladders, contestants were not required to reach the final space by exact count.
Contestants could stop at any point and take any keys accumulated and whatever prizes they opened (including the grand prize, if that key was collected). If the contestant failed to reach the final square within fifteen turns they lost all of their earned keys.
Special spaces
- Bonus: The contestant stopped a spinning dial marked "Bonus", and moved that many steps on the same turn the bonus was landed on.
- Penalty: The contestant stopped a spinning dial marked "Penalty", and moved back that many spaces.
- Safety: The contestant simply took his/her next turn, with a subsequent miss taking them back to the last Safety space reached.
- Keys: The final space, which awarded a key of the contestant's choosing if passed.
Home game
Between the first and second games of the day, home viewers had the chance to play for a $1,000 mink stole. Viewers sent in postcards with their name, address, and the key they would like to use, from 1 to 7. If any of these three elements were missing, the card was rendered void and another was picked.Once a properly-filled postcard was selected, host Narz moved over to a board showing, much like the main game, seven keys and their respective locks. Narz would show the card to the camera, then select the key specified by the home viewer and try to unlock the stole. If unlocked, the stole would be sent to the home viewer; otherwise, Narz would continue trying to open locks until the one associated with the key was found, with that prize being sent to the home viewer. After the prize was described, Narz would show the audience which key was the correct one and unlock the mink stole as proof.
KTLA (1960-1961)
Seven Keys originally aired locally in Los Angeles on KTLA Channel 5 (now an affiliate of The CWThe CW Television Network
The CW Television Network is a television network in the United States launched at the beginning of the 2006–2007 television season. It is a joint venture between CBS Corporation, the former owners of United Paramount Network , and Time Warner's Warner Bros., former majority owner of The WB...
) from September 12, 1960 to April 28, 1961. The show proved to be very popular, and caught the attention of ABC.
ABC (1961-1964)
On April 3, 1961 the series began airing on ABC at 2:30 PM Eastern (1:30 Central), replacing the short-lived Road to Reality. Despite facing Art LinkletterArt Linkletter
Arthur Gordon "Art" Linkletter was a Canadian-born American radio and television personality. He was the host of House Party, which ran on CBS radio and television for 25 years, and People Are Funny, on NBC radio-TV for 19 years...
's mega-popular House Party
Art Linkletter's House Party
House Party is an American radio daytime variety/talk show that aired on CBS Radio and on ABC Radio from January 15, 1945 to October 13, 1967...
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...
and local programming 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...
(which had not programmed at 2:30 since August 1959, following the disastrous Court of Human Relations), the two shows divided the audience over the next eighteen months.
On October 1, 1962 Keys was struck a large blow when NBC began a new 55-minute series at 2:00 PM (followed by a five-minute newscast) – The Merv Griffin Show
The Merv Griffin Show
The Merv Griffin Show is an American television talk show, starring Merv Griffin. The series ran from October 1, 1962 to March 29, 1963 on NBC, September 20, 1965 to September 26, 1969 in first-run syndication, from August 18, 1969 to February 11, 1972 at 11:30 PM ET weeknights on CBS and again in...
. However, despite this new challenge, it was Linkletter who would have the last laugh – Griffin ended on March 29, 1963 and Keys was shifted away to a morning slot on April 1. ABC ceased programming at 2:30/1:30 for five months.
Keys went to 11:30 AM (10:30 Central), replacing the Bert Parks
Bert Parks
Bert Parks, born Bertram Jacobson , was an American actor, singer, and radio and television announcer, best known for hosting the annual Miss America telecast from 1955 to 1979....
game Yours for a Song
Yours for a Song
Yours for a Song is an American game show, created by Bob Russell, that aired on ABC from 1961-1963 with Bert Parks as host and Johnny Gilbert as announcer...
. Now facing the five-year-old Concentration
Concentration (game show)
Concentration was an American TV game show based on the children's memory game of the same name. Matching cards represented prizes that contestants could win...
on NBC and daytime repeats of The Millionaire on CBS, Keys managed to cease the Millionaire repeats on August 30 and send Concentration packing to 11:00/10:00 on September 6.
While CBS stopped programming at 11:30/10:30 for nearly a year, NBC introduced its new Ed McMahon
Ed McMahon
Edward Peter "Ed" McMahon, Jr. was an American comedian, game show host and announcer. He is most famous for his work on television as Johnny Carson's sidekick and announcer on The Tonight Show from 1962 to 1992. He also hosted the original version of the talent show Star Search from 1983 to 1995...
-hosted game Missing Links
Missing Links (game show)
Missing Links is a Goodson-Todman game show hosted by Ed McMahon which originally ran on NBC from September 9, 1963 to March 27, 1964.Nipsey Russell was a panelist on this series, and whenever he appeared the host asked him to give a poem...
in the slot. Within the next three months, the new word-association game from Goodson-Todman wore down Keys in the ratings.
On December 30, 1963 Keys was moved one last time to 12:00 Noon (11:00 AM, Central). The show was now up against the long-running soap Love of Life
Love of Life
Love of Life is an American soap opera which aired on CBS Daytime from September 24, 1951 to February 1, 1980. It was created by Roy Winsor, whose previous creation Search for Tomorrow had premiered three weeks before Love of Life, and who would go on to create The Secret Storm two and a half years...
on CBS and the popular game Your First Impression
Your First Impression
Your First Impression is a NBC daytime game show which aired from January 2, 1962, to June 26, 1964. A panel of three celebrities tried to guess the identity of mystery guests from clues supplied by the host. Bill Leyden was the MC of the program, with Dennis James as a regular panelist or...
on NBC, and was beaten soundly in the ratings until it finally admitted defeat on March 27, 1964.
KTLA (1964-1965)
Having spent a turbulent three years on the national schedule, Keys returned to KTLA on April 6. After another nine months, the series took its last bow on January 15, 1965.Episode status
Despite running for five seasons, the series is believed to be 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...
. Although the status of the KTLA versions remain unknown, the ABC tapes are believed to have been either destroyed or reused as per network practices at the time.
Only three episodes are known to exist among collectors – Episode #9 of the original KTLA version (September 22, 1960), an ABC episode from July 12, 1962, and a second episode from KTLA. A complete ABC episode from May 24, 1963 was discovered on audio tape in March 2010.
The UCLA Film and Television Archive
UCLA Film and Television Archive
The UCLA Film and Television Archive is an internationally renowned visual arts organization focused on the preservation, study, and appreciation of film and television, based at the University of California, Los Angeles. It holds more than 220,000 film and television titles and 27 million feet of...
holds two episodes along with a clip from a KTLA blooper reel (described as "a box is stuck from the game show Seven Keys").