air dates: CBS primetime (The $64,000 Question) 6/7/55-6/24/58 & 9/14-11/2/58, syndicated (The $128,000 Question) 9/18/76-9/78 by Viacom
hosts: Hal March ('55-'58), Mike Darrow ('76-'77), Alex Trebek ('77-'78)
announcers: Bill Rogers ('55-'58), Alan Kalter ('76-'77), Sandy Hoyt ('77-'78)
On this quiz show "where knowledge is king and the reward is king size", each player answered questions from a category which (s)he selected from a category board. The first question was worth $1 and the values doubled with each question up to $512. After $512 came $1,000 and then the doubling resumed. As the values increased, so did the difficulty. Starting with the $4k query, the player was asked one multi-part question per show and was given 30 seconds to think it over. Starting with the $8k question, the player also stood in an isolation booth.
The player could stop at any time, protecting his/her winnings. Missing a question sent the player home with no dough, but missing a question worth $8,000 or more sent that player home in a brand new Cadillac. Some parting gift!
On The $128,000 Question, the questions started at $64 and doubled up to $512 and then $1,000 doubling up to $64,000. Missing a question worth $4k or less meant the player left with $1. Missing the $8k or $16k question would award the player a new car. Any player winning $16k would be guaranteed to leave with at least that much money. Winners of $64k returned at the end of the season to compete in a tournament for an additional $64,000.
Four contestants won $64,000 in the first season. For the end of the first season, each round consisted of four questions to each player, plus a fifth question if all of the previous four were answerwed correctly. Correct answers scored 1 point in round one, 2 points in round two, and 3 points in round three. The two semifinalists with the highest scores advanced to the finals, in which the players alternated in answering questions, with the first player to answer six questions winning another $64,000!
The second season yielded 2 $64,000 winners. In each of the first four rounds, each player was given four questiions. Each correct answer scored one point in the first round, two points in the second round, 4 points in the third round, and 8 points in the fourth round. After the fourth round, both polayers took turns answering 16-point questions until one player reached 128 points, and thereby won another $64,000!
OTHER TIDBITS:
The Revlon-sponsored $64,000 Question turned out to be one of several quiz shows to have been rigged, and was cancelled despite high ratings.
Before becoming a world-renowned psychologist, Dr. Joyce Brothers answered questions about boxing and became the second $64k winner on The $64,000 Question.
Several hosts have subbed for Hal March on the original run, including Ed Sullivan, Gene Kelly, and Charlton Heston to name a few.
The show was based on the radio quiz show Take It or Leave It, which offered a top prize of $64.
Contestants who won $8k+ on The $64,000 Question competed on The $64,000 Challenge, hosted by Bill "Sonny" Fox, later by Ralph Story.
Alan Kalter, who announced during the first season of the $128,000 revival, can be heard today as the voice of CBS' Late Show with David Letterman which, ironically, is taped at the Ed Sullivan Theater in NYC, where season 1 of The $128,000 Question was filmed.