Showoffs
Encyclopedia
Showoffs is an American
game show
which ran on ABC
from June 30 to December 26, 1975. Bobby Van was host, with Gene Wood
as announcer. The Mark Goodson
-Bill Todman
production involved two teams competing in a game of charades
.
If the game ended in a tie, then a tie-breaker round was played in which both teams had 30 seconds to act out three words. The team doing that in the fastest time won.
Extra rounds were played if the goal had not been reached by the end of a full round. The tie-breaker was cut to two words in 30 seconds.
In either case, the civilian contestant on the winning team won a $1,000 prize package plus a chance to play the bonus round.
Each word added a zero to the winning player's round one winnings - guessing one word correctly was worth 10 times the money, two words 100 times, and all three 1,000 times the money earned in the first phase. More than $10,000 could be won in this format.
The winning player could choose to stop after either of the two were guessed or risk his/her earnings to that point and continue. On the third and final word, the player acted it out for 15 seconds and if the celebrity partner guessed it, the civilian player earned $3,000 more, for a total of $5,000.
If at any point the celebrity partners failed to guess a word correctly when time ran out, the contestant lost half of his or her money earned up to that point.
– the bell which sounded whenever a teammate guessed the word correctly became the clang for revealing answers. The dings for winning a game also was later heard on the show. The time's-up buzzer was later used as the strike buzzer.
Additionally, when a player lost the bonus round, the "Losing Horns" fanfare from The Price is Right
was played.
hosted a pilot for Showoffs. Elaine Joyce
, Ron Masak
, Linda Kaye Henning
, and Dick Gautier were the celebrities, and the format was the same as that used in the first half of the series' run.
Shortly after the pilot finished taping, Blyden went on a short vacation to Morocco
. While driving to Tan-Tan
, his rental car went off the road and overturned, knocking him unconscious. Doctors in an Agadir
hospital were unable to contact Blyden's family for several days as Blyden had been carrying no identification.
Blyden died on June 6, just twenty-four days before the series was to premiere.
. Promos that had been made prior to Blyden's death (using clips from the pilot, as was common with soon-to-debut games) had to be cut down so neither his voice or face could be seen or heard.
Showoffs debuted on June 30, 1975 at 12:00 Noon (11:00 AM Central), replacing Password and inheriting its predecessor's ratings problems. Despite facing the simultaneously over-the-top and weak Magnificent Marble Machine
on NBC
, Showoffs could not make any sort of dent in CBS
' Young and the Restless, which that year became a top-ten show.
The game finished its six-month run on the day after Christmas
and bowed out in favor of the ailing Let's Make a Deal
, which left its 1:30 PM (12:30 Central) slot after over 11 years on two different networks. A scheduling shuffle involving Rhyme and Reason
made way for Regis Philbin
's first shot as a game show host, The Neighbors
.
from 1984-1986 as Body Language
with Tom Kennedy as host. Johnny Olson announced from the debut through his death in October 1985, after which Gene Wood and Bob Hilton announced through the end of the run.
and Mike Farrell
were the other two celebrities that day.
Blyden's pilot is held by the UCLA Film and Television Archive; a clip was shown in VH-1's 2005 series Game Show Moments Gone Bananas
.
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...
which ran 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...
from June 30 to December 26, 1975. Bobby Van was host, with 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...
as announcer. The Mark Goodson
Mark Goodson
Mark Goodson was an American television producer who specialized in game shows.-Life and early career:...
-Bill Todman
Bill Todman
William S. "Bill" Todman was an American television producer born in New York City. He produced many of television's longest running shows with business partner Mark Goodson.-Early life:...
production involved two teams competing in a game of charades
Charades
Charades or charade is a word guessing game. In the form most played today, it is an acting game in which one player acts out a word or phrase, often by pantomiming similar-sounding words, and the other players guess the word or phrase. The idea is to use physical rather than verbal language to...
.
Gameplay
Two teams (the red and blue) of three players (consisting of two celebrities and one civilian contestant, with each member wearing a sweater of the corresponding team color) competed. Because the team colors were indistinguishable on monochrome-only television sets (which were still somewhat common in 1975), the words "REDS" and "BLUES" were later placed on the front of each team member's sweater for the benefit of home viewers.Format #1
One team was isolated while two members of the other team acted out a series of words to their partner for sixty seconds. The actors could alternate in acting, and the guessing partner could pass on a word if he/she were stuck, but the team could do that only once per game. When time ran out, the isolated team returned to the stage, and acted out the same words as the first team. The team that guessed the most words in two minutes (60 seconds per team) won the round. The first team to win two rounds won the game.If the game ended in a tie, then a tie-breaker round was played in which both teams had 30 seconds to act out three words. The team doing that in the fastest time won.
Format #2
About halfway into the run (possibly in September), the method to win the game had changed. Now to win the game, the team had to correctly convey and guess a set number of words or more (usually seven).Extra rounds were played if the goal had not been reached by the end of a full round. The tie-breaker was cut to two words in 30 seconds.
In either case, the civilian contestant on the winning team won a $1,000 prize package plus a chance to play the bonus round.
Format #1
All four celebrities alternated turns acting out a series of words for the winning contestant to guess during the next 60 seconds, with each correct answer worth $1. When time ran out, one celebrity chosen by the contestant had 30 seconds to act out three words.Each word added a zero to the winning player's round one winnings - guessing one word correctly was worth 10 times the money, two words 100 times, and all three 1,000 times the money earned in the first phase. More than $10,000 could be won in this format.
Format #2
Around the point in which the front game changed, the bonus round was also revised. Now the winning contestant acted out a maximum of three words to one of his/her two celebrity partners. He/she acted out the first two words for 10 seconds each with those words worth $1,000 each.The winning player could choose to stop after either of the two were guessed or risk his/her earnings to that point and continue. On the third and final word, the player acted it out for 15 seconds and if the celebrity partner guessed it, the civilian player earned $3,000 more, for a total of $5,000.
If at any point the celebrity partners failed to guess a word correctly when time ran out, the contestant lost half of his or her money earned up to that point.
Sounds
The sounds used on Showoffs would later be used on Family FeudFamily Feud
Family Feud is an American television game show created by Mark Goodson and Bill Todman. Two families compete against each other in a contest to name the most popular responses to a survey question posed to 100 people...
– the bell which sounded whenever a teammate guessed the word correctly became the clang for revealing answers. The dings for winning a game also was later heard on the show. The time's-up buzzer was later used as the strike buzzer.
Additionally, when a player lost the bonus round, the "Losing Horns" fanfare from The Price is Right
The Price Is Right (U.S. game show)
The Price Is Right is an American game show which was created by Mark Goodson and Bill Todman. Contestants compete to identify the pricing of merchandise to win cash and prizes. The show is well-known for its signature line of "Come on down!" when the announcer directs newly selected contestants to...
was played.
Pilot
On May 24, 1975 Larry BlydenLarry Blyden
Larry Blyden was an American actor and game show host, best known for his appearances on Broadway and as the host of the game show What's My Line?-Personal life:...
hosted a pilot for Showoffs. Elaine Joyce
Elaine Joyce
Elaine Joyce is an American actress.Joyce was born in Kansas City, Missouri. She made her film debut in 1961 as an extra in West Side Story and made uncredited appearances in several musical films, including The Music Man, Bye Bye Birdie, and Funny Girl before being cast in Such Good Friends in 1971...
, Ron Masak
Ron Masak
Ron Masak is an American actor. He began on stage and much of his work is in theater. His first screen role was as the Harmonica Man in "The Purple Testament," an episode of The Twilight Zone in 1960...
, Linda Kaye Henning
Linda Kaye Henning
Linda Kaye Henning is an American actress who starred on the 1960s sitcom Petticoat Junction.-Early life:Henning was born in Los Angeles, California. The television producer Paul Henning, is her father, and her mother is Ruth Henning. In her youth, Linda Kaye Henning was a student of the ballet...
, and Dick Gautier were the celebrities, and the format was the same as that used in the first half of the series' run.
Shortly after the pilot finished taping, Blyden went on a short vacation to Morocco
Morocco
Morocco , officially the Kingdom of Morocco , is a country located in North Africa. It has a population of more than 32 million and an area of 710,850 km², and also primarily administers the disputed region of the Western Sahara...
. While driving to Tan-Tan
Tan-Tan
Tan-Tan is a city in Tan-Tan Province in southern Morocco. It is a desert town with a small population, with only few claims to fame:*The nearby port, Tan-Tan Plage, or Port of Tan-Tan, about 25 kilometres away from Tan-Tan itself...
, his rental car went off the road and overturned, knocking him unconscious. Doctors in an Agadir
Agadir
Agadir is a major city in southwest Morocco, capital of the Agadir province and the Sous-Massa-Draa economic region .-Etymology:...
hospital were unable to contact Blyden's family for several days as Blyden had been carrying no identification.
Blyden died on June 6, just twenty-four days before the series was to premiere.
Series
ABC had very little time to react to Blyden's death (the first tapings for the series were only a few days away) and substituted Bobby Van into the hosting role. This last-minute change may have deterred potential viewers, although Van had proved himself quite popular as a panelist on Goodson-Todman's Match GameMatch Game
Match Game is an American television game show in which contestants attempted to match celebrities' answers to fill-in-the-blank questions...
. Promos that had been made prior to Blyden's death (using clips from the pilot, as was common with soon-to-debut games) had to be cut down so neither his voice or face could be seen or heard.
Showoffs debuted on June 30, 1975 at 12:00 Noon (11:00 AM Central), replacing Password and inheriting its predecessor's ratings problems. Despite facing the simultaneously over-the-top and weak Magnificent Marble Machine
The Magnificent Marble Machine
The Magnificent Marble Machine is an American television game show hosted by Art James and based on pinball. The show ran on NBC from July 7, 1975 to March 12, 1976, but was interrupted for two weeks in January due to scheduling changes on the network and aired repeats from March 15 to June 11...
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...
, Showoffs could not make any sort of dent in 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...
' Young and the Restless, which that year became a top-ten show.
The game finished its six-month run on the day after 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...
and bowed out in favor of the ailing Let's Make a Deal
Let's Make a Deal
Let's Make a Deal is a television game show which originated in the United States and has since been produced in many countries throughout the world. The show is based around deals offered to members of the audience by the host. The traders usually have to weigh the possibility of an offer being...
, which left its 1:30 PM (12:30 Central) slot after over 11 years on two different networks. A scheduling shuffle involving Rhyme and Reason
Rhyme and Reason
Rhyme and Reason is an American television game show that aired on ABC from July 7, 1975 through July 9, 1976. Bob Eubanks hosted the show, with Johnny Jacobs serving as announcer.-Gameplay:...
made way for Regis Philbin
Regis Philbin
Regis Francis Xavier Philbin is an American media personality, actor and singer, known for hosting talk and game shows since the 1960s. Philbin is often called "the hardest working man in show business" and holds the Guinness World Record for the most time spent in front of a television camera...
's first shot as a game show host, The Neighbors
The Neighbors (game show)
The Neighbors is an American game show. It aired on ABC from December 29, 1975 to April 9, 1976. It included five female neighbors as contestants, who were asked gossip questions about each other. Regis Philbin co-hosted the show with Jane Nelson, and Joe Seiter was the announcer...
.
Revival
Showoffs was later revived on 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...
from 1984-1986 as Body Language
Body Language (game show)
Body Language is an American game show produced by Mark Goodson Productions. The show aired on CBS from June 4, 1984 until January 3, 1986, and was hosted by Tom Kennedy...
with Tom Kennedy as host. Johnny Olson announced from the debut through his death in October 1985, after which Gene Wood and Bob Hilton announced through the end of the run.
Episode status
Reportedly, only one episode is known to exist and is among tape traders in varied quality. Originally broadcast on November 28, guest celebrity Dr. Joyce Brothers injured herself on that episode, requiring celebrity partner Dick Gautier to do her portion of the charades for the final round. Karen MorrowKaren Morrow
Karen Morrow is an American singer – actress best known for her work in musical theater. Her honors include an Emmy Award and a Theatre World Award, and an Ovation Award and five Drama-Logue Award nominations....
and Mike Farrell
Mike Farrell
Michael Joseph "Mike" Farrell is an American actor, best known for his role as Captain B.J. Hunnicutt on the television series M*A*S*H . He is an activist for politically liberal causes....
were the other two celebrities that day.
Blyden's pilot is held by the UCLA Film and Television Archive; a clip was shown in VH-1's 2005 series Game Show Moments Gone Bananas
Game Show Moments Gone Bananas
Game Show Moments Gone Bananas is a television series on VH1. The first of five hour-long episodes aired on May 21, 2005 with the last first-run episode airing on June 18. Each episode aired for the first time on Saturday mornings at 11:30 ET, but "officially" premiered at 10:00 PM that night.The...
.