Judge for Yourself, at first subtitled The Fred Allen Show, is a Mark Goodson and Bill Todman nontraditional court show/quiz show, with comedian Fred Allen as the emcee. It aired on NBC from August 18, 1953 to May 11, 1954. Dennis James was the series announcer but took over as host in January 1954.
Each week three performers – singers, dancers, musicians, or comedians – were judged by two panels, one of professional entertainers and the other from the studio audience. If one of the amateur judges rated the acts 1, 2, or 3 in the same order as the celebrities, that individual would win a $1,000 prize. Two instrumental jazz groups that appeared on Judge for Yourself had considerable success thereafter, vibraphonist Terry Gibbs and the Marian McPartland Trio.
The original intent of the series was to allow Allen to interact with guests, much as Groucho Marx did on his own NBC series, You Bet Your Life. The complicated format first employed, however, was revamped in the middle of the season. On the episod
Leave It to the Girls is an American radio and television talk show, created by Martha Rountree, and broadcast, in various forms, from the 1940s through the 1980s.
Gambit is an American television game show based on the card game blackjack, created by Wayne Cruseturner and produced by Heatter-Quigley Productions. The show originally ran on CBS from September 4, 1972 to December 10, 1976. A slightly retooled version, Las Vegas Gambit, aired on NBC from October 27, 1980 to November 27, 1981, originating from the Tropicana Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas. The 1972–1976 version changed taping locations at CBS Television City, taping episodes in Studios 31, 33, 41 and 43 at various times.
Both versions were hosted by Wink Martindale and announced by Kenny Williams. Elaine Stewart was the card dealer for the CBS version, while Beverly Malden filled this role for the first half of Las Vegas Gambit, and was later replaced by Lee Menning.
The program was retooled as Catch 21, which began airing on GSN in 2008.
The Krofft Superstar Hour is a Saturday morning children's variety show, produced by Sid and Marty Krofft. After eight episodes, the show was renamed The Bay City Rollers Show. It aired for one season from September 9, 1978 to November 28, 1979 on NBC.
The Winner Is is an American vocal game show that airs on NBC. Hosted by Nick Lachey, the seven-episode series features singers of all ages who will compete for a chance to win $1,000,000. The show premiered on June 10, 2013.
The winner of the series was Katie Ohh, a nurse who won by a 57-44 decision from the 101 expert judges. For her final song, she sang "The Climb". The runner-up was Sharde Bivans, a teacher, who performed "It's a Man's Man's Man's World". The other four finalists in the Final 6 were the performers Amy Showalter, Leah Grace, and the vocal groups Senior Sounds of Touch and The LaFontaines.
With a dismal 1.0 rating/3 share among adults 18-49, NBC announced its immediate cancellation on August 6, 2013, with two episodes remaining.
The Paul Winchell Show, or The Paul Winchell and Jerry Mahoney Show, was a variety program which aired on NBC prime time from 1950 to 1954, starring ventriloquist Paul Winchell and his dummy, Jerry Mahoney.
Time Machine is an American game show where contestants compete to answer trivia questions about popular culture and recent history to win prizes. The show aired on NBC from January 7 through April 26, 1985 and was hosted by John Davidson. Charlie Tuna was the announcer, with Rich Jeffries as his substitute. Reg Grundy Productions produced the series, and upon its premiere Time Machine was one of three Grundy series airing on NBC.
Most of the questions used focused on nostalgia, popular culture, and recent history, and more specifically what year a particular event occurred.
Future Card Sharks model Suzanna Williams appeared as one of the prize models in this series.
The World's Most Dangerous Magic was the title of two American television specials showcasing illusion and escapology acts, which were made for the NBC network. The first was originally broadcast on 27 April 1998 and the second, titled The World's Most Dangerous Magic 2, was initially aired on 2 May 1999.
The shows were the brainchild of producer Gary Ouellet and were made by the Gary L Pudney Company. They featured a combination of famous performers and lesser-known magicians, each performing stunts or illusions that were claimed to involve the risk of death or serious injury. While some stunts clearly involved genuine life-threatening danger should anything have gone wrong, the risk of injury in others was open to question. In the first show, The Pendragons performed the illusion Impaled, which was described as a "balancing feat" in which Charlotte Pendragon risked fatal impalement should it go wrong. However this is a well known illusion in the general repertoire of stage magic in which the performer is not act
Harris Against the World is one of three NBC sitcoms set in a California apartment complex located at 90 Bristol Court. It stars Jack Klugman as Alan Harris, a resident of the apartment and the superintendent of a large Hollywood movie studio.
Sally is an American situation comedy which aired on NBC from September 15, 1957 to March 30, 1958. The series is the first filmed television series produced by Paramount Studios.
Gulf Playhouse is an NBC anthology series that aired on Friday nights. It was a live show that was seen through the "eye" of the camera. The actors in each episode would talk to the camera as if it were a person. The show's sponsor was Gulf Oil, and it was produced and directed by Frank Telford.
Dotto is an American television quiz show which aired on CBS from January 6 to August 15, 1958 and was hosted by Jack Narz. Although it quickly became the highest-rated daytime game show on television, its end came when it became the unexpected first casualty – and ignition – of the quiz show scandals that rocked American broadcasting as the 1950s closed.
What's This Song? is an American game show that ran on NBC from October 26, 1964 to September 24, 1965 and was the first national game show hosted by Wink Martindale. Monty Hall filled-in for one week.
Jackpot Bowling was a professional bowling show on NBC from January 9, 1959 to June 24, 1960 and again from September 19, 1960 to March 13, 1961.
Jackpot Bowling was the first national TV bowling show since Bowling Headliners aired in the early days of television. Jackpot Bowling aired on Fridays at 10:45 PM following the Cavalcade of Sports Friday Night Fight.
Leo Durocher was the show's first host, but bowed out after only two shows and was replaced by Mel Allen. Allen's lack of bowling knowledge made him an unpopular host, however. On April 10, 1959 Bud Palmer became the show's third host.
Allen returned in October 1959 and remained with the show until April 1960, after which Palmer returned and hosted through June.
The show was put on a brief hiatus after the June 24, 1960 episode, as its Cavalcade of Sports lead-in had ended its run on NBC. When it returned on September 19, 1960, a retooled version hit the airwaves; the series not only moved to Monday nights at 10:30, but Bayuk Cigars replaced Phillies Cig
Without Breasts There Is No Paradise was the working title of an NBC drama series produced by Universal Media Studios which was to be adapted from a 2006 Colombian telenovela called Sin Tetas No Hay Paraíso. However, with the departure of NBC Entertainment chairman Ben Silverman in 2009, it never came to air or even went beyond having a pilot filmed.
Name Your Adventure is an American reality series that aired on Saturday mornings during NBC's TNBC line-up. Hosted by Mario Lopez, Jordan Brady, and Tatyana Ali, the series ran from September 1992 to September 1995.
Treasure Hunt is an American television game show that ran in the 1950s, 1970s, and 1980s. The show featured contestants selecting a treasure chest or box with surprises inside, in the hope of winning large prizes or a cash jackpot.