Hollywood Squares

The Hollywood Squares is a American television comedy and game show in which two contestants play tic-tac-toe to win money and prizes. The "board" for the game is actually a 3 × 3 vertical stack of open-faced cubes, each occupied by a celebrity seated at a desk and facing the contestants. The celebrities are asked questions and the contestants judge the veracity of their answers in order to win the game.

Revivals

There have been several revivals, each with variations in the prize-winning rules but still based on the core premise.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

1983-84

For nine months starting in October 1983, Jon ?Bowser? Bauman of Sha-Na-Na hosted a version packaged back-to-back with Match Game. The Match Game - Hollywood Squares Hour, as it was called, featured not only celebrties of the day (many of whom had appeared on Match Game or Hollywood Squares, or both, in the past), but also up-and-coming new stars (such as comedian Bruce Baum, John de Lancie, and Mary Page Keller) who would become famous years later.

Related Topics:
October 1983 - Jon ?Bowser? Bauman - Sha-Na-Na - Match Game - Bruce Baum - John de Lancie - Mary Page Keller

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

This version of Squares featured a returning champion playing against a challenger (the winner of the previous Match Game segment; for more information, see the appropriate section of Wikipedia's Match Game entry). Here, the champion always played X and the challenger O, regardless of the gender of the players; to date, this has been the only version of Squares not to use the traditional "Mr. X" or "M(r)s. Circle" distinction. Each individual square earned was worth $25, with $100 going to the winner of the first game, $200 for the second game, and so on. No "Secret Square" was played in this version. Additionally, most questions asked were of the true/false or multiple choice variety (this is generally believed to be the result of the show's writers not providing the same pre-show briefings to the celebrities as on other versions). Finally, on this incarnation of Squares it was possible to win a game "by default"; that is, on an opponent's mistake, something not possible on any other version of the program.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

The contestants played as many games as time allowed. When time was called, the contestant in the lead won the game and the championship, and advanced to the "Super Match" endgame; again, the reader is directed to the Match Game entry for more information.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

1986-89

John Davidson hosted a version called The New Hollywood Squares, produced between 1986 and 1989 by Orion Television (which by then had acquired the Filmways production company). Shadoe Stevens was the announcer, and from midway through the second season onward was also a regular panelist (he always occupied the bottom-center square). Most seasons featured Joan Rivers as the center square. Jim J. Bullock was another regular, usually occupying the upper-left square. The lower left square would feature a "special guest star", usually a musical or comedy group, or sometimes even a regular from the original Peter Marshall version.

Related Topics:
John Davidson - 1986 - 1989 - Orion Television - Filmways - Shadoe Stevens - Joan Rivers - Jim J. Bullock

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

For the first season, each game was worth $500, with a $100/square bonus if time ran out in the middle of a game in progress. Beginning with the second season, the third and subsequent games were worth $1,000 apiece, and the bonus also increased to $200/square. The second game on every show was a "Secret Square" game, usually worth a trip (instead of an accruing prize package as on the Marshall version).

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

The day's winner would choose one of five keys, which would start one of five cars (borrowed from an earlier 1970s game show, Split Second.) If the key selected started the car selected, he or she won it and retired; otherwise, he or she held on to the key and returned on the next show, with that car being eliminated from the choices should he or she retain the championship. (Each week saw a different set of five cars; in the event a champion crossed over to a new set of cars, he or she picked a new key, with the lowest-value cars on offer already eliminated, up to as many as that champion was already entitled to.)

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

The Davidson version was one of the first game shows to go "on the road" and tape episodes from remote locations, including Hollywood, Florida and Radio City Music Hall.

Related Topics:
Hollywood, Florida - Radio City Music Hall

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

This version of Squares became noted for gimmickry, such as musical questions (with one or more panelists singing along), questions involving props in a panelist's square, questions presented as skits involving outside actors and "surprise" special guests, and so on. On one occassion, when noted chef Wolfgang Puck was a guest, his square was outfitted with a complete kitchen. On another, the Solid Gold Dancers managed to squeeze into a special elongated square (lower left corner). Fitness guru Richard Simmons would sometimes lead the audience in exercise routines. TV alien puppet ALF, supposedly on a dare from host Davidson, actually guest hosted one episode. And on a memorable April Fool's Day episode in 1987, the two contestants were actually actors hired by the producers to play a joke on the host and panel. (The climax of this gag, featuring one "contestant" shoving the other off of the set's raised contestant daís, is a popular staple of game show blooper specials.) Although such gimmicks made the show a popular favorite early on, its momentum could not be maintained long term, and it folded after just three years.

Related Topics:
Wolfgang Puck - Solid Gold - Richard Simmons - ALF - April Fool's Day - Blooper

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

1998-2004

In 1998, King World bought the format rights to the show from MGM (successor-in-interest to Orion Pictures and Filmways, who produced the respective previous incarnations of the series) and relaunched the final version of the show to date, hosted by Tom Bergeron. It starred Whoopi Goldberg in the center square (she also co-produced it for its first four years).

Related Topics:
1998 - King World - MGM - Tom Bergeron - Whoopi Goldberg

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

For the first several weeks, the scoring format worked like this:

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

• First and second games: $500 apiece.
• Third game: $1,000.
• Fourth and subsequent games: $2,000.
• $250 for each square if time ran out during a game.

These figures were doubled in short order, and would continue for most of the rest of the run.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

• First and second games: $1,000 apiece.
• Third game: $2,000.
• Fourth and subsequent games: $4,000.
• $500 for each square if time ran out during a game.

In the last season, each game was worth $1,000. The first player to win two games played the bonus round.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

The first season also saw up to two "Secret Square" games. The first one was in its customary position as the second game played on each episode, with its prize package carrying over to the third game if it wasn't won. From the second season onwards, the "Secret Square" reverted to essentially its old Marshall-era format: played as the second game on each show, worth an accruing prize package. In the last season, the "Secret Square" was played in the second game of each match, with a different prize offered each time.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

The end game underwent numerous changes throughout the run of the Bergeron version. Originally, it was the same "pick a star, win a prize" format the Marshall version had used during its last few years on the air. Within several weeks, this had been slightly adjusted to where the day's winner had to correctly agree or disagree with a "Secret Square"-style question to win that prize. In November 2001, in the wake of shows such as Who Wants to be a Millionaire raising the bar in terms of prize money, Squares adopted an entirely new endgame; the champion selected one of the nine panelists, each of whom concealed a different dollar amount from $1,000-$5,000. The contestant was then asked a series of ten questions, each worth that much money, with sixty seconds to get through them all. At the end of time, if the player so desired, he or she could risk the total money earned on one final double-or-nothing question. In this fashion, this game could earn a player as much as $100,000. This round, however, was generally disliked by fans, who felt it was needlessly complicated.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

In its fifth season it underwent an update after Henry Winkler and Michael Levitt took over as executive producers, taking on the nickname H2 and switching to a rotating series of center square occupants. The set and theme were also upgraded at this time. Also effective with this season, the unpopular "ten questions" endgame was dropped and replaced with yet another bonus round, this one a variation of the "car keys" game from the '80s Squares. This time, the player selected from up to nine keys, only one of which would open or start a given grand prize. Before choosing a key, however, he or she would play a game to eliminate incorrect keys from the selection process; he or she had 30 seconds to answer as many true/false questions about celebrities on that week's panel as possible, and with each correct answer one false key was taken off the board. Also, in the fifth season, for each returning champion, an incorrect key was eliminated for every time the contestant failed to win the prize previously. If the contestant won the grand prize and repeated as champion the next day, he/she played for a new prize, starting again with nine keys. If not, he/she won $500 for each correct answer. Shortly thereafter, that was upped to $1,000. The prize structure is as follows:

Related Topics:
Henry Winkler - Michael Levitt

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

1st: Car

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

2nd: $25,000 (In safe)

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

3rd: Trip Around the World or Trip of a Lifetime (In Steamer Trunk)

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

4th: $50,000 (In Safe)

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

5th: Unknown

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

No one got to the fifth grand prize that season, but it was rumored to have been $100,000 cash. In the final season, champions always had nine keys to work with each time they played the bonus round, and the amount for each correct answer went back to $500. The prize structure was also changed as follows:

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

1st: Trip (Steamer Trunk)

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

2nd: $10,000 (Safe)

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

3rd: Car

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

4th: $25,000 (Safe)

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

5th: Trip Around the World (Steamer Trunk)

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Only one person got to the fifth prize in the final season, but did not win it.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

The Winkler-Levitt era of Squares was notable for its reliance on "theme weeks." One of the most well-known among genre fans was a November 2002 "Game Show Week" which featured, as that week's guest Center Square, none other than Peter Marshall himself, marking the first time the "Master of The Hollywood Squares" had appeared on any version of the program since 1981 (although in 1993 and 1994 he appeared as host of a parody version in several episodes of the sketch comedy program In Living Color). On the Thursday show of that week, Marshall and Bergeron traded places, with Bergeron in the center square and Marshall hosting. In regards to that Thursday broadcast, Marshall would later agree that the experience felt to him like being home again.

Related Topics:
Peter Marshall - Parody - Sketch comedy - In Living Color

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

This most recent series ended in September 2004.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~