The Who, What, Or Where Game
Encyclopedia
The Who, What, or Where Game was an American
television game show
that was broadcast weekdays on NBC
from December 29, 1969 to January 4, 1974. The host was Art James
, and the announcer was Mike Darrow
; Ron Greenberg
packaged the show, which was recorded at the NBC studios 6A and 8H in Rockefeller Plaza in New York City
.
Each player was spotted $125 at the start of the game and used that money to wager on his/her knowledge of the questions presented. Each category (which dealt in various subjects, with one category per game usually "Pot Luck," with random questions) had three question choices: a who question (dealing with people), a what question (dealing with things), and a where question (dealing with places). Each question had odds attached to it depending on the difficulty of the question. Easy questions paid off at even (1:1) odds, noted by an E under the question. Depending on the difficulty, other questions could be given odds of 2:1, 3:1, 4:1, or 5:1. Each question was read only once.
Originally players could bet up to $25 for first round questions and $50 for second round questions, but this was later changed to $50 for the entire game. The contestant who made the highest wager for any given question was given the right to answer it. If two or more contestants picked the same category and wagered the same amount, James put the question up for auction with the tied contestants now being able to wager up to their entire score if they desired. Bidding continued until one player elected to let the opposing player answer. In the rare case that the auction failed to break the deadlock, both contestants would write their answers down. Answering correctly won the amount of the wager multiplied by the odds while only the amount of the wager was taken away for a wrong answer. If a player's score dropped to zero during any point in the game, that player was automatically eliminated from further play.
Later in the show's run, a "lightning round" category was played (known as the "3 W's Quick Round"), in which players buzzed in on rapid-fire questions for 60 seconds. This was the only time when any buzz-in technique was used in the game.
After all rounds had been played, the three players played the "Pot Limit" round with one final category. Once again, the category and question odds would be displayed for the contestants. This time, however, players could bet any or all of their scores. Whoever was ahead at the end of the game was declared champion and returned the next day, with each player leaving with the money he had earned. A champion could return for a maximum of five days.
Later in its run, The Who, What, or Where Game instituted a monthly car giveaway contest for its players, in which the champion with the highest winnings took home a new automobile.
, which began with Concentration
at 10:30 a.m. Eastern Time and continued to Three on a Match at 1:30 p.m. Most of these games were known for emphasizing game play over prizes, which were intentionally small due to memories of the quiz show scandals
of the 1950s. 3 W's ran at 12:30 p.m./11:30 a.m. Central, opposite Search for Tomorrow
on CBS
, and sitcom
reruns, soap operas, and the games Password and Split Second on ABC
. Because NBC ran a five-minute newscast anchored by either Floyd Kalber
or Edwin Newman
at 12:55 p.m. (before a 30-minute affiliate break), 3 W's only ran 25 minutes each day, instead of the customary 30. Similar to Jeopardy!
, which preceded it at 12 Noon/11 a.m. Central, 3 W's proved to be an effective stablemate to its lead-in.
3 W's succeeded a short-lived show called Name Droppers, hosted by Los Angeles
-area disc jockeys Al Lohman
and Roger Barkley
; it was succeeded in turn by Jackpot!
. Coincidentally, 3 W's announcer Darrow would later host a Canadian-produced revival of Jackpot! that aired between 1985 and 1988 on the USA Network
.
After unsuccessfully attempting to revive the series in 1988 with a failed pilot called The New Who, What or Where Game, Ron Greenberg later debuted a 1990 follow-up, The Challengers
. Hosted by Dick Clark, the series incorporated elements from 3 W's alongside a mix of topical questions in categories dealing with current events.
, co-writer of the classic song What a Wonderful World
.
produced two home editions of The Who, What or Where Game. The home game format was almost identical to that of the show. On the cover art, the contestants' names are Amy, Dan, and Janet, the names of Ron Greenberg's children.
.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
television 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...
that was broadcast weekdays 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 December 29, 1969 to January 4, 1974. The host was Art James
Art James
Art James was an American game show host, best known for shows such as The Who, What, or Where Game and Pay Cards!. He was also the announcer on the game show Concentration....
, and the announcer was Mike Darrow
Mike Darrow
Darow Myhowich , January 8, 1933 – December 7, 1996) was a Canadian-American television game show host best known for hosting the 1968-1970 ABC run of Dream House, the 1985-1988 Canadian-produced run of the Bob Stewart game show, Jackpot Darow Myhowich (stage name: Mike Darow), January 8,...
; Ron Greenberg
Ron Greenberg
Ron Greenberg is an American television game show producer who worked on numerous successful network and syndicated programs of that genre from the 1960s through the 1990s...
packaged the show, which was recorded at the NBC studios 6A and 8H in Rockefeller Plaza in New York City
New York City
New 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...
.
Rules
Three contestants, one usually a returning champion, competed.Each player was spotted $125 at the start of the game and used that money to wager on his/her knowledge of the questions presented. Each category (which dealt in various subjects, with one category per game usually "Pot Luck," with random questions) had three question choices: a who question (dealing with people), a what question (dealing with things), and a where question (dealing with places). Each question had odds attached to it depending on the difficulty of the question. Easy questions paid off at even (1:1) odds, noted by an E under the question. Depending on the difficulty, other questions could be given odds of 2:1, 3:1, 4:1, or 5:1. Each question was read only once.
Originally players could bet up to $25 for first round questions and $50 for second round questions, but this was later changed to $50 for the entire game. The contestant who made the highest wager for any given question was given the right to answer it. If two or more contestants picked the same category and wagered the same amount, James put the question up for auction with the tied contestants now being able to wager up to their entire score if they desired. Bidding continued until one player elected to let the opposing player answer. In the rare case that the auction failed to break the deadlock, both contestants would write their answers down. Answering correctly won the amount of the wager multiplied by the odds while only the amount of the wager was taken away for a wrong answer. If a player's score dropped to zero during any point in the game, that player was automatically eliminated from further play.
Later in the show's run, a "lightning round" category was played (known as the "3 W's Quick Round"), in which players buzzed in on rapid-fire questions for 60 seconds. This was the only time when any buzz-in technique was used in the game.
After all rounds had been played, the three players played the "Pot Limit" round with one final category. Once again, the category and question odds would be displayed for the contestants. This time, however, players could bet any or all of their scores. Whoever was ahead at the end of the game was declared champion and returned the next day, with each player leaving with the money he had earned. A champion could return for a maximum of five days.
Later in its run, The Who, What, or Where Game instituted a monthly car giveaway contest for its players, in which the champion with the highest winnings took home a new automobile.
Broadcast history
The show was part of a block of daytime games on NBC during the early 1970s1970s in television
The decade of the 1970s saw significant changes in television programming in both the United Kingdom and the United States. The trends included the decline of the "family sitcoms" and rural-oriented programs to more socially contemporary shows and "young, hip and urban" sitcoms in the United States...
, which began with 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...
at 10:30 a.m. Eastern Time and continued to Three on a Match at 1:30 p.m. Most of these games were known for emphasizing game play over prizes, which were intentionally small due to memories of the quiz show scandals
Quiz show scandals
The American quiz show scandals of the 1950s were a series of revelations that contestants of several popular television quiz shows were secretly given assistance by the show's producers to arrange the outcome of a supposedly fair competition....
of the 1950s. 3 W's ran at 12:30 p.m./11:30 a.m. Central, opposite Search for Tomorrow
Search for Tomorrow
Search for Tomorrow is an American soap opera which premiered on September 3, 1951 on CBS. The show was moved from CBS to NBC on March 29, 1982. It continued on NBC until the final episode aired on December 26, 1986, a run of thirty-five years. At the time of its final broadcast it was the...
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 sitcom
Situation comedy
A situation comedy, often shortened to sitcom, is a genre of comedy that features characters sharing the same common environment, such as a home or workplace, accompanied with jokes as part of the dialogue...
reruns, soap operas, and the games Password and Split Second 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...
. Because NBC ran a five-minute newscast anchored by either Floyd Kalber
Floyd Kalber
Floyd Kalber was a noted American television journalist and anchorman, nicknamed "The Big Tuna."Born in Omaha, Nebraska, he spent two years in the army during World War II and began his television career as KMTV-Omaha's first newscaster...
or Edwin Newman
Edwin Newman
Edwin Harold Newman was an American newscaster, journalist and author.-Early life and education:Newman was born on January 25, 1919 in New York City to Myron and Rose Newman. His older brother was M. W. Newman, a longtime reporter for the Chicago Daily News. Newman married Rigel Grell on August...
at 12:55 p.m. (before a 30-minute affiliate break), 3 W's only ran 25 minutes each day, instead of the customary 30. Similar to Jeopardy!
Jeopardy!
Griffin's first conception of the game used a board comprising ten categories with ten clues each, but after finding that this board could not be shown on camera easily, he reduced it to two rounds of thirty clues each, with five clues in each of six categories...
, which preceded it at 12 Noon/11 a.m. Central, 3 W's proved to be an effective stablemate to its lead-in.
3 W's succeeded a short-lived show called Name Droppers, hosted by Los Angeles
Los Ángeles
Los Ángeles is the capital of the province of Biobío, in the commune of the same name, in Region VIII , in the center-south of Chile. It is located between the Laja and Biobío rivers. The population is 123,445 inhabitants...
-area disc jockeys Al Lohman
Al Lohman
Al Lohman was a personality and comedian with a long career in American radio from the 1950s through the 1980s and into the 1990s. Among his early career stops was a stint as morning man at New York City top-40 station WABC when it first adopted a pop music format in 1960...
and Roger Barkley
Roger Barkley
Roger Barkley was an American radio personality, based in Los Angeles, California, best remembered for his work with Al Lohman as part of The Lohman and Barkley Show on KFI....
; it was succeeded in turn by Jackpot!
Jackpot (game show)
Jackpot! is a television game show seen in three different runs between 1974 and 1990. Geoff Edwards hosted the original version of this Bob Stewart production from January 7, 1974 until September 26, 1975 on NBC. A second version, produced in Canada, aired from September 30, 1985 to December 30,...
. Coincidentally, 3 W's announcer Darrow would later host a Canadian-produced revival of Jackpot! that aired between 1985 and 1988 on the USA Network
USA Network
USA Network is an American cable television channel launched in 1971. Once a minor player in basic cable, the network has steadily gained popularity because of breakout hits like Monk, Psych, Burn Notice, Royal Pains, Covert Affairs, White Collar, Monday Night RAW, Suits, and reruns of the various...
.
After unsuccessfully attempting to revive the series in 1988 with a failed pilot called The New Who, What or Where Game, Ron Greenberg later debuted a 1990 follow-up, The Challengers
The Challengers (game show)
The Challengers was an American syndicated game show from Ron Greenberg Productions, Dick Clark Productions, and Buena Vista Television. The show was hosted by Dick Clark. The show premiered on September 3, 1990 and ended on August 30, 1991...
. Hosted by Dick Clark, the series incorporated elements from 3 W's alongside a mix of topical questions in categories dealing with current events.
Music
The music for 3 W's was written by George David WeissGeorge David Weiss
George David Weiss was an American songwriter and former President of the Songwriters Guild of America.-Career:...
, co-writer of the classic song What a Wonderful World
What a Wonderful World
"What a Wonderful World" is a song written by Bob Thiele and George David Weiss. It was first recorded by Louis Armstrong and released as a single in 1968. Thiele and Weiss were both prominent in the music world . Armstrong's recording was inducted in the Grammy Hall of Fame in 1999...
.
Episode status
Although this series is believed to be mostly destroyed, a few episodes have turned up in the trading circuit. As with all other daytime shows of that era, NBC reused the 3 W's tapes as much as possible, erasing previous recordings in the process. At least one episode, from December 1970, has turned up on YouTube where it may be viewed.Home editions
Milton BradleyMilton Bradley
Milton Bradley , an American game pioneer, was credited by many with launching the board game industry in North America with Milton Bradley Company....
produced two home editions of The Who, What or Where Game. The home game format was almost identical to that of the show. On the cover art, the contestants' names are Amy, Dan, and Janet, the names of Ron Greenberg's children.
Other versions
In 1973, a short-lived British version aired on BBC1 hosted by David JacobsDavid Jacobs (disc jockey)
David Lewis Jacobs CBE is a British actor and broadcaster who gained prominence as presenter of the peak-time BBC Television show Juke Box Jury and the BBC Radio 4 political forum, Any Questions?-Early career:...
.