  | |
| Aired | |
| Pilot, December 5, 1962 NBC Daytime, December 31, 1962 – September 26, 1969 | |
| Run time | |
| 25 Minutes | |
| Host | |
| Gene Rayburn | |
| Announcer | |
| Johnny Olson | |
| Origination | |
| NBC Studio 8H, New York City, New York | |
The Match Game (stylized as The MATCH GamE) is a game of judgment before the 1970s classic comedy version we all know & love.
Game Format
Two teams of three players (consisting of two civilian contestants & one celebrity team captain), competed in this early version which is a game of judgment. Host Rayburn read a question in which the possibilities are endless, plus they weren't restricted to fill-in-the-blank types. All six team members write down their answers on their cards and raised their hands to indicate that they're finished. Each player revealed their answers one player at a time and their objective is to match their teammates. For each match the team's answer, they scored 25 points (10 pts. early in the run). If no match isn't created whatsoever, Gene reads the question again and the players rewrite their answers (they can be the same or can be different). The first team to reach 100 points (this make 4 Matches and before that there's 10 Matches) wins the game, collects $100 and go on to play the Audience Match.
The Audience Match
In the Audience Match, the winning team attempted to match members of the previous studio audience. Host Rayburn asked 3 Secret Survey Questions and on each question, the team gives their own individual verbal answers to what they think is the number one answer "THE BEST ANSWER" (they can agree or disagree on each other's answers). The contestants divide $50 for each player on the team that gives the #1 answer (the best answer) for a maximum of $150, so with three questions, they can win up to $450. Beginning with the January 2, 1964 broadcast, The 3 Secret Survey Questions were polled with 100 people or less.
The Telephone MATCH
On February 27-March 3, 1967 the show introduced a "The Telephone MATCH" game powered by AT&T, in which a home viewer and a studio audience member attempted to match a simple fill-in-the-blank question similar to the 70s' "Head-To-Head Match". A successful match win the share of the cash jackpot which started at $500 and increased by $100 per day until it's a exact match. The contestants received a consolation prize if they didn't match.
Pilot
The pilot was exactly the same as the series except that the scoring format was different. In the main game, each match was worth 10 points with 50 needed to win. The contestants on the winning team split $100. Each match made in the Audience Match was worth $25 for maximum of $75 on each question. Four questions were asked, so the maximum total was $300.
Personnel
- Host: Gene Rayburn (1962-69)
- Sub-Hosts: Art James (April Fools Day 1963-69) & Ed McMahon (September 16-20, 1968)
- Announcer: Johnny Olson
- Substitute Announcers: Wayne Howell (1963), Don Pardo (1964-65), Mel Brandt (1966-67), Roger Tuttle (1968-69) & Bill Hallaran & Howard Reig (both in 1969)
- Executive Producer: Robert Noah (1962-67) & Jean Kopelman (1967-69)
- Producer: Jean Kopelman (1962-67)
- Directors: Jim Elson (1962-63 as James Elson), Mike Garguilo, Rodger Wolf (both alternatives in 1963 as Michael Garguilo & Rodger Wolf) & Ira Skutch (1963-69)
- Set Designer: Otis Riggs Jr. & Ted Cooper (as Otis Riggs & Theodore Cooper)
Trivia
- The original theme song is “Swingin’ Safari” by Bert Kaempfert (1962-1967). The second theme song shares its title with the show. It was written and performed by Score Productions (1967-1969).
- This was the first version to be taped in New York City, the second version was for ABC (simply known as Match Game) hosted by Alec Baldwin since 2016.
Merchandise
Nine home versions of The Match Game were made by Milton Bradley (six standard boxed editions, including a "Fine Edition", "Collector's Edition" and a "Briefcase Edition").
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Regular Editions
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Special Editions
Photos
Press
TV Week
Tickets
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Screen Caps
1962 Pilot
1962-1969 Series
Episode Status
See Also: The Match Game/Episode Guide
Only 11 episodes are known to survive: the pilot and ten kinescope recordings, all of which are archived at the Paley Center for Media. Nine of these are black-and-white kinescopes and one is a color episode (from 1969, and presumably also a kinescope).
Video
The Match Game (1962)
The Match Game - 1964 All-Stars Special
"The Match Game" 10 September 1965
See Also
Match Game 1973-1982
Match Game Hollywood Squares Hour
Match Game (1985 Proposed Revival)
Match Game (1987 Proposed Revival)
Match Game (1990)
Match Game (1996 pilot)
Match Game (1998)
What the Blank!
Match Game (2008 pilot)
Match Game (2016)