air dates: NBC daytime 12/31/62-9/26/69 as The Match Game, CBS daytime 7/2/73-4/20/79 as Match Game '73-'79, ABC daytime 7/16/90-7/12/91, syndicated weekly 9/8/75-9/81 as Match Game PM & daily 9/79-9/82 by Jim Victory Television & 8/98-8/99 by Pearson Television
hosts: Gene Rayburn ('62-'82), Ross Shafer (ABC), Michael Burger ('98-'99)
announcers: Johnny Olson ('62-'82), Gene Wood ('90-'91), Paul Boland ('98-'99)
On the '60s version, two teams competed. Each team was made up of two contestants and a celeb. A question was read with no right or wrong answer. All six players wrote the answers they felt would match their teammates' answers. If two players on the team matched answers, the team scored 25 points. If all 3 matched, they scored 50 points. The first team to score 100 points won the game. The two non-celebs on that team split $1/point.
The winning team played the Audience Match. A question was posed to the players that was asked of a recent studio audience. Each player gave what (s)he felt was the most common answer amongst that audience. Each player who gave that answer netted the contestants $50. Up to $150 could be won on each question. Three such queries were played, which meant up to $450 could be won.
"GET READY TO MATCH THE STARS...(stars were announced one name at a time) AS WE PLAY THE STAR-STUDDED, BIG MONEY MATCH GAME!"
On the CBS version, two players faced a panel of six stars. Two questions were labeled A & B. The champ selected the first question. The other question went to the other player. The question, which had a blank to fill in, was read to the celebs, who then wrote down their answers. The question was then read to the player, who then gave an answer. The player scored a point each time a celeb matched that player's answer. The round ended after each player has taken a turn. In the second round, two more questions were presented. Each player was given a second chance to match those celebs (s)he failed to match in the first round. Those celebs matched by that player sat out for that player's turn. The player who matched the most celebs after two rounds won $100 and played the Super Match. If there was a tie after two rounds, another round was played.
In the Super Match, the Audience Match was played for the first part. A statement, which had been posed to a recent studio audience, was shown with a blank to fill in. The three top answers were hidden on the Super Match board. The player got help from three of the stars and then gave the answer (s)he felt was that audience's top answer. Matching either of the top 3 answers won the player money, $500 for the top answer, $250 for the second, or $100 for the third. Giving an answer that wasn't among the three ended that round. If the player won any money, (s)he was given a chance to 10X that amount. The player selected a star to play with, usually Richard Dawson. A blank statement was read and the star then secretly wrote down an answer. If the player gave the answer that matched the celeb's answer, (s)he won 10x the amount won in the audience match ($5k, $2,500, or $1k). Win or lose, (s)he played against another player. Champions retired after winning $25,000.
On the weekly syndicated Match Game PM, two players competed for one show. Each player was given THREE (two in the first season) chances to match all six celebs. The player matching the most stars after the third round won the game. If there was a tie after three rounds, and if they had time, they played the same tie breaker as on the daytime show. If there wasn't enough time, both players wrote down answers to a blank statement. Then, each celeb one at a time gave an answer. The first celeb to say one of the written answers won that player the game. In the Super match, two Audience Matches were played and the player played for 10x the total won in those Audience Matches.
From '78-'82, on both the CBS and syndie shows, after the Audience Match(es), the player spun the Star Wheel. The celeb whose name the wheel stopped on would be that player's partner for the Head-to-Head part. If the wheel also landed on a gold star, (s)he played for 20x the Audience Match winnings.
When the CBS version was cancelled in '79, the syndie show aired 5/week starting on 9/10/79. Two players played two games against each other. The winner of each game, of course, played the Super Match. After two games and two Super Matches, both players left and two new players were brought in.
On the "all-new, star-studded" ABC version, all six celebs played in both rounds. The contestants scored $50 per match. After both questions were played, each player in turn picked a star with whom to play Match-Up. Each player had a secret screen in front of them with buttons on one side. The player was shown a blank to fill in with one of two answers. Each time the celeb matched the player's answer, the player scored $50. The player was allowed 30 seconds to make as many matches as (s)he could. After each player played Match-Up, round two started. After the round 2 questions, each player played Match-Up for 45 seconds and scored $100/match. The highest scorer after that kept their money and played the Big Money Super Match.
In case of a tie, the players were shown a Match-Up with 3 answers. The champ decided which star played and also locked in the first answer, leaving the other two for the other player. The star then said one of the selected answers, which decided who won the game. At first, the champ decided which player played. That player picked one of the remaining two stars and selected one of the three answers. If the star said that answer, (s)he won. Either of the other two answers gave the other player the game.
At first, the top 3 Audience Match answers were worth $500, $250, and $100. Shortly thereafter, they were upped to $500, $300, and $200. Failure to match either of those answers still gave the player a chance to win a grand or $2k. The player then spun the green pointer on the Star Wheel. Landing on one of 12 red circles (2 on each celeb space) doubled the Head-to-Head pot. Therefore, up to $10k could be won here. Each champion was limited to a 5-day reign.
On the '98-'99 version, two players played with FIVE stars this time. In each round the players selected from 2 punned categories (a la Pyramid and Win Ben Stein's Money). Each match in round one scored one point, 2 points in round two. All five stars played both rounds. The highest scorer after the second round played the Super Match with the same payoffs as CBS' pre-Star-Wheel format. A $5k top prize in '98? YEAH, RIGHT!
OTHER TIDBITS:
Gene Rayburn, who began his career in his teens as a page at NBC, also hosted Make the Connection, Tic Tac Dough, and the mid-'80s version of Break the Bank, as well as The Match Game/Hollywood Squares Hour with co-host Jon Bauman. He was 81 when he died on 11/29/99 from heart failure.
Bert Convy hosted the pilot for the ABC version but was forced off the show by brain cancer, which eventually took his life on 7/15/91.
Each day during the last 2 years of the NBC version, an audience member would be given a chance to match answers with a home viewer by phone. If successful, the players split a jackpot which started at $500 + $100/day until won.
Regular celebs on the '70s edition included Charles Nelson Reilly, Brett Somers and Richard Dawson. Charles was also a regular on the ABC run. The '98 edition featured one guest panelist and four regulars (Vicki Lawrence, Nell Carter, Judy Tenuta, and George Hamilton).