Games - Beat the Clock

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	Games - Beat the Clock

Beat the Clock was a Goodson-Todman Productions game show which originally ran on CBS from 1950 to 1958 and ABC from 1958 to 1961, with later revivals. The show was hosted by Bud Collyer, and was one of the primary forerunners for stunt shows such as the modern Fear Factor
and Dog Eat Dog
.

Beat the Clock ran again from 1969 to 1974 with Jack Narz and later Gene Wood (as The New Beat the Clock), from 1979 to 1980 (as The All-New Beat the Clock), with Narz again at first, then replaced by Monty Hall, and most recently, in 2002 with Gary Kroeger and Julielinh Parker as co-hosts.

In 2006 the show will be among the seven classic game shows being used in Game Show Marathon, which will air on CBS. Ricki Lake will serve as host for this seven-week program in which she'll also provide emcee duties for this portion of the shows' run .

1950–1961 format

Contestants were required to perform tasks (called stunts) within a certain time frame denoted on a large 60-second clock on the wall that would count down a time limit. If they succeeded, they were said to have “Beat the Clock.” If they failed, the clock beat them. The prizes were always secondary to the competition itself, until such big-money shows as The Big Surprise forced Beat the Clock to start offering larger prizes worth several thousand dollars.

The show began on CBS Thursday nights on March 23, 1950, running 45 minutes with no commercials. In March 1951 the show moved to Saturday nights at 7:30 p.m. Eastern time, under sponsor Sylvania. This is the most famous era of the program. Several sponsors come after Sylvania beginning in 1956, and in 1958 the show moved to ABC. The show was telecast from the Maxine Elliott Theater (Studio 51) from 1950–58, and the Ritz Theater from 1958–1961, both in New York City. The original theme song was Lights of Broadway, which was changed to a melody of Hickory Dickory Dock (see quotes below). The themes changed later, when the show changed sponsors (see production changes below).

On-air personalities

The host of the show was Bud Collyer. He was one of the first stars of TV game shows. He was the main speaking personality on the show. Trademarks of his performance on Beat the Clock included his wearing a bow tie, his cheery attitude, and his personable rapport with contestants and their children. As opposed to being an impartial observer, he was often supportive of the contestants in assisting and egging them on; though he was always the first to enjoy a bit of harmless embarrassment on their parts. Substitute hosts included Bill Hart(1951), John Reed King(1952), Frank Wayne (1953), Bob Kennedy (1954), Win Elliott (1955), and Sonny Fox, who from 1956–1960 became Mr. Collyer's “designated” substitute host (as they were also good friends). Collyer had a few assistants at any point during the show's run. Normally there was one assistant that was a sort of co-host that would introduce the contestants to Collyer, take photos for messy stunts, pose with the prizes, and bring “gifts” to the contestants and families. Then there were additional assistants that would mainly help with stunts such as putting a shower cap or blindfold on, or bringing the contestants additional balls or dishes or other props.

The most famous of the Beat the Clock assistants was original co-host/assistant Roxanne (nee Delores Evelyn Rosedale), who only used her first name as her professional name. (She is not to be confused with the actress Roxanne Arlen.) Roxanne was replaced by Beverly Bentley in August 1955 (she stayed on until 1956, and became one of the original models on The Price Is Right
that year). Beverly's departure coincided with Hazel Bishop's sponsorship and a period of having no main assistant (see production changes below).

The additional assistants as of the beginning of 1956 were Betty Calvin (the brunette) and Madeline Tyler (the blonde). Madeline left in the spring of 1956 and was replaced by another blonde, Eileen. Madeline took her role back from Eileen late in the year. In December of 1956, Betty was replaced until the end of March 1957 by Sandra while she had her second child.

The announcer for the show was Bernard (“Bern”) Bennett until 1958. In October 1957, Beat the Clock ran a contest inviting viewers to submit drawings of what Bennett (who was never shown on camera) might look like. Over 20,000 viewers participated, and the winner (Edward Darnell of Columbus, Indiana) was flown in to appear on the show (along with Bennett) on December 2, 1957. After Bern left in 1958, Dirk Fredericks became the announcer. Subsitute Announcers included Lee Vines, Bob Shepard, Hal Simms, and Dick Noel.

[ Visit the complete Wikipedia entry for Beat the Clock ]

Games - Beat the Clock

1950–1961 format

On-air personalities

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