| THE MAGNIFICENT MARBLE MACHINE |
| A Merrill Heatter/Bob Quigley Production air dates: 7/7/75-6/11/76 on NBC daytime host: Art James announcer: Johnny Gilbert HOW TO PLAY: Two contestants, each partnered with a celebrity guest, would be shown a series of blank spaces on a marquee-type readout while a clue would scroll across the top row. The answer would reveal itself one letter at a time until one player buzzed in with an answer. The first team to score five correct answers played a giant pinball machine for thousands of bucks in loot. No, the machine and balls weren't made of marble (LOL). Each team member would be assigned to one of two flippers while racking up points and prizes. Each of the 7 bumpers scored 500 points each time it was hit, while each noisemaker hit scored 200 points. 5 of the bumpers would each have a prize attached to it, while bumpers 2 and 3 must each be hit to win a bigger prize like a car or trip. If a ball remained in play for one minute, the flippers would go out. The goal score started at 15,000 points, minus 1,000 each time it wasn't reached. If the team reached the goal score after playing 2 balls, they would play the gold Money Ball worth $200 every time it hit a bumper or noisemaker. Later in the run, the goal started with 26 bumper hits, minus 2 each time until that goal was reached. As for the Money Ball, each bumper scored $500 with the other noisemakers being useless. A later change involved the goal being ditched, and the player with the highest score after a set period of time playing the Money Ball. The final change involved the Machine being played only for prizes, with a bonus prize won for hitting all 7 bumpers. OTHER TIDBITS: Art James hosted Blank Check during the first half of 1975. When that show was canceled on Friday, July 4, Art resurfaced the following Monday as "the man who runs the Magnificent Marble Machine." The MMM became one of only two Heatter/Quigley shows which did not feature Kenny Williams (1913-1984) as its announcer, with the other show being Temptation, also hosted by Art James Back to my game show joint or my homepage. |