| CONCENTRATION |
| packagers: Jack Barry/Dan Enright Productions ('58), NBC Productions ('58-'73), Mark Goodson/Bill Todman Productions ('73-'78) & Mark Goodson Productions ('87-'91) air dates: 8/25/58-3/23/73 on NBC, syndicated 9/10/73-9/78 by Jim Victory Television, 5/4/87-9/20/91 (Classic Concentration) on NBC daytime hosts: Hugh Downs ('58-'69), Jack Barry ('58 primetime), Ed McMahon ('69), Bob Clayton ('69-'73), Jack Narz (syndie) & Alex Trebek (CC) announcers: Art James ('58-'60, also subbed for Gene on CC), Jim Lucas ('60-'63), Bob Clayton ('63-'69), Wayne Howell ('69-'73), Johnny Olson (syndie), Gene Wood (CC) models: Paola Diva ('58-'73), Diana Taylor ('87), Marjorie Goodson-Cutt ('87-'91) "THE NBC TELEVISION NETWORK PRESENTS...CONCENTRATION!" NBC ('58-'73): On NBC's longest running game show to date, two players faced a board of 30 numbered spaces. Behind the spaces were matching pairs of prizes, "wild cards", and other extras. One player called off two numbers. If there was a match, that prize was added to that player's stash. Those spaces then revealed parts of a rebus puzzle. The player could either try to solve it or pick two more spaces. If the two spaces called didn't match, they were turned back over and the other player took a stab at it. There were also pairs of spaces which hid "take one gift" which allowed that player to take a prize from their opponent's stash, and "forfeit one gift" which forced a player to give one of his/her prizes to the other player, which was why they also had some gag prizes on the board! The "wild cards" counted as instant matches. In the later years, finding two "wild cards" in one turn won that player a car, whether (s)he won the game or not. The first player to solve the puzzle won the game and kept all the prizes in their stash (or $100 if no prizes). A champ was retired after 20 wins. Other extras included the Cash Wheel, The Envelope and Its Mysterious Contents, and the annual Challenge of Champions in which the year's four top winners competed in a best-of-7 tournament and the winner won a trip around the world, $1,000, and a trophy named "Connie" which resembled "The Thinker". "FROM HOLLYWOOD, IT'S THE GAME OF PUZZLES AND PRIZES, CONCENTRATION! On the syndicated version, two players played two games against each other, with no returning champs. At the start of each game, four different prizes were revealed and then turned back. At first each player in turn called two numbers in each game. Later, in the first game, each player picked three. The "forfeits" and gag prizes were ditched. Calling two "wild cards" in one turn won that player $250 no matter who won. Other new extras included "free look" spaces which, when revealed, instantly revealed that particular portion of the puzzle and allowed the player to take a guess at the puzzle. In the second round, matching "bonus number" allowed that player 3 picks on each turn until (s)he found a match. If time was running short, the entire puzzle was revealed and the first player to buzz in and solve it won their stash (or $250 if no prizes) and played Double Play. The object of Double Play was to solve two fully revealed puzzles in 10 seconds. The player won $100 for solving the first puzzle and a new car for solving the second puzzle. During the final season, the contestant played a matching game to determine which prize the contestant would play for, with the car being a possibility. Facing a board of 9 spaces, the player called off numbers 1-9, one at a time, until either finding a match or finding the card that allows the player to play for all prizes revealed up to that point. After the second Double Play, if there was any time left, the players tried to match foreign money but played for American money. "BEHIND THESE NUMBERS IS A PUZZLE. CAN YOU SOLVE IT? (Then Gene would explain the revealed puzzle.) IF YOU CAN DO THAT, YOU'LL HAVE A CHANCE TO WIN A BRAND NEW CAR AS WE PLAY... (audience would then shout "CLASSIC CONCENTRATION!") This time the puzzle would be hidden behind 25 spaces instead of 30. Among them were three "wild cards". Two of them in the same turn added $500 to that stash, $1,000 for all 3. There were also two pairs of "takes", one red and one green. Finding two "takes" of the same color gave that player a "take" token to be used at any time to take one of their opponent's prizes. One prize on the board was a cash prize that started at $500 + $100/day until won. Another goody allowed for 5 extra seconds in the bonus round. The winner would be given an opportunity to win one of EIGHT brand new cars! In the bonus round, the player faced a board of 15 spaces. Behind them were 7 matching pairs of cars. If the two #s called matched, they were removed. If not, they turned back. If the player found all 7 matches in time, (s)he won the last car matched. New champs started with a base time of 35 seconds. If they failed but made it back to the bonus round, they were given 5 more seconds. At first, one loss meant bye-bye. Later, the bonus round was played after winning a best-of-3 match. Then it was changed to playing for a car after each front game, but players left after two front-game losses. At first, champions played up to 5 games. Later champs retired after winning a car. If there was enough time, an audience member would play the Audience Game similar to the bonus round, except that (s)he was given a full minute to match cash amounts from $5-$100 and won all cash matched, or $500 if (s)he cleared the board. OTHER TIDBITS: Hugh Downs served as Jack Paar's sidekick on The Tonight Show and also one of the early hosts of NBC's Today and ABC's 20/20. He was once listed in the Guinness Book as having logged the most hours on network TV before being surpassed by Regis in '04. After Concentration was cancelled, Bob Clayton resurfaced as the announcer on Pyramid the following Monday. He remained there until his death from a cardiac arrest on 11/1/79. Jack Narz (1922-2008) and his brother Tom Kennedy, another former game show host, both hail from Louisville, Kentucky. During the first month on CC, Diana Taylor modeled the prizes. She was then replaced by Mark Goodson's daughter Marjorie, who soon became associate director Tim Cutt's better half. She would be accompanied on occasion by their chihuahua, Pokey. Back to my game show joint. Back to my homepage. |