1970's Game Shows: 1950's Game Shows: What's My Line / Kay Kyser's Kollege of Musical Knowledge
|
Kay Kyser's Kollege of Musical Knowledge
Before there was
'Jeopardy' (1964-present) and 'Name That Tune' (1953-77), there was
this wild NBC show (sponsored by Chrysler) that ran from December 1949
- December 1950 that combined similar elements of both.
Popular bandleader
Kay Kyser, clad in cap and gown and calling himself 'The Old Perfesser',
presided over the madness each week. On hand was a full band along with
singers Ish Kabbible (who had several hits as a vocalist for Kyser's
band in the Forties) and Mike Douglas (who went on to host his own daytime
show two decades later).
In the game, contestants
listen to a selection played by Kyser's band and then answer a true/false
question incorrectly to win - then Kyser would yell: "That's
right, you're wrong!". If the contestants were stumped, the audience
(student body) yelled the correct answer in unison. Players would progress
from "mid-terms" to the "final exam" to get the big money payoff at
the end of the show. The series was very popular, but ended when Kyser
quit show business, and sponsor conflicts kept the show from simply
being re-cast.
'The Kollege of
Musical Knowledge' was eventually revived for a short time in 1954 with
host Tennessee Ernie Ford and a compliment of cheerleaders, but the
new format failed.
A duo of fifteen-minute
'mysteries' are presented by host H. Allen Smith, then two studio contestants
(and viewers at home) are asked to guess the answer to the riddle when
the action stops, based on clues given throughout the stories. This
low-budget series ran on CBS in the summer of 1949.
Check
out the idiotic plot twist in this
bizarre clip from 'Armchair Detective' - the cardboard characters
have been talking casually for five minutes, when suddenly the cop fires
into the closet. Good thing he did, there was a guy in there with a
gun! Even the secretary has a gun and she finishes the guy off, then
gets hysterical that she didn't shoot him when he first came in!
If you believe this
scene, working in an office in the Forties must have been quite exciting,
with everybody packing heat. |
|
|
Everything
you're looking for is right here: Save money! |