| "ONLY ONE OF THESE PEOPLE IS THE REAL (name), AND HAS SWORN..." TO TELL THE TRUTH |
| packagers: Mark Goodson/Bill Todman Prod. ('56-'81), Mark Goodson Productions ('90-'02) air dates: 12/18/56-9/25/66 & 12/12/66-5/22/67 on CBS primetime, 6/18/62-9/6/68 on CBS daytime, 9/3/90-5/31/91 on NBC daytime, syndicated 9/8/69-9/78 by Firestone Television Sales, 9/8/80-9/4/81 by Viacom & 9/19/00-9/02 by Pearson Television hosts: Clayton "Bud" Collyer ('56-'68), Garry Moore ('69-'77), Joe Garagiola ('77-'78), Robin Ward ('80-'81), Gordon Elliott (9/90-11/90), Lynn Swann (11/90-2/1/91), Alex Trebek (2/4-5/31/91), John O'Hurley (9/2000-2002) announcers: Bern Bennett ('56-'60), Roger Forster ('60), Johnny Olson, ('60-'72), Bill Wendell ('72-'81), Don Pardo, Alan Kalter ('77-'81), Burton Richardson ('90-'02), Charlie O'Donnell ('91) |
| HOW TO PLAY: Four celebrity panelists faced three challengers claiming to be the same person who was the central subject of a fascinating story. The central subject's unique story was read in the form of an affadavit signed by the real McCoy. Then each panelist was allowed 30 seconds to question (cross-examine) the team of challengers. After each panelist took a turn at cross-examination, they each voted for whom they thought was telling the truth (No. 1, 2, or 3). On the CBS daytime and 2000-02 versions, the studio audience also voted, but it was their majority vote that counted. The three challengers split money according to how many panelists they fooled. The payoffs for each wrong guess over the years were as follows: CBS primetime: $250/wrong vote, $150 if all votes were right. CBS daytime: $100/vote, $500 for fooling the entire panel as well as most of the audience. '69-'78: $50/vote, $500 for a complete stump. '80-'81: $100/vote, $500/stump. NBC: $3k for a stump, $1,500 for 3 wrong votes, $1k for 2 or less. 2000-'02: $1k/vote. Early in the first season, $10k was awarded for a complete stump. On the '80-'81 version, two games were played. The four imposters played One On One with the panel. A unique fact was revealed about one of the imposters. Each celeb was given 20 seconds to question the challenger seated across from him/her. After that, (s)he decided if the challenger was telling the truth. After all four challengers were questioned, the person telling the truth stood up. The challengers split $500 for fooling the entire panel or $100 for each wrong guess from the panel. On the '90-'91 version, after two games were played, an audience member played against a person with two stories, one of which was true. Each panelist asked ONE question concerning each story. After that, the audience member guessed which of the challenger's two stories was true. If (s)he was right, (s)he won $500. If not, (s)he received a fine gift and the guest pocketed $1k. A panelist may recuse (disqualify) him/herself from voting for any good reason, and that would count as an incorrect vote. On CBS daytime and the 2000 run, a tie for highest vote from the audience also counted as a wrong vote. OTHER TIDBITS: The pilot for the original version was called Nothing But The Truth and was hosted by Mike Wallace. The audience vote was also used in this pilot. The most notable TTTT panelist was New Orleans native Kitty Carlisle (1910-2007). In 2000, she made TV history by appearing on the same show in six different decades! On the '70s version, Bill Cullen would often sub for Garry Moore. Mark Goodson never was an official game show host but he did fill in as host on occasion during the '60s while Bud Collyer was on leave. He also took over as host for two shows in '91 when Alex Trebek rushed his preggie wife to the delivery room. NFL star Lynn Swann was a panelist on the '90s version before and after his hosting gig. When the '90s version premiered, a boo-boo occurred. In the Eastern & Central time zones, we saw the pilot hosted by Three's Company co-star Richard Kline. John O'Hurley is better known for his role as catalog mogul J. Peterman on Seinfeld. In 2005, John and his dancing partner Charlotte Jorgenson emerged triumphant after a grudge match on ABC's Dancing with the Stars. In 2006, he repaced Richard Karn as the host of Family Feud. Back to my game show joint or my homepage. |