Match Game

The Match Game was an American television game show where contestants tried to match a panel of six celebrities in answering fill-in-the-blank questions.

Match Game (1998-99)

As already mentioned above, this incarnation of Match Game featured a panel of only five celebrities instead of the usual six. Questions in this version were not labelled A or B, but instead, titles with puns were a clue as to the content. Each match was worth one point in round one, two points in round two. As on the 1990-91 version, all five panelists played each round regardless of whether they matched a player on the first question. After two rounds, the highest scorer played Super Match.

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The Super Match was played identically to its 1973-78 incarnation (pre-Star Wheel), even down to its payoffs. The low payoffs ($5,000 as a top prize was not as impressive in 1998 as it was in 1973), along with questionable content led to this revival's short run.

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Pilots

The unaired pilot for "the 1973 edition of Match Game" circulates among video tape collectors. The celebrities in that episode were Bert Convy, Arlene Francis, Jack Klugman, Jo Ann Pflug, Richard Dawson and Betty White, all of whom appeared in the series at one time or another. There were only a few minor differences between the pilot and the series; parts of the set had a slightly different look, and the Super Match was called the "Jackpot Match" instead.

Related Topics:
Pilot - Bert Convy - Arlene Francis - Jack Klugman - Jo Ann Pflug - Richard Dawson - Betty White

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A version of Match Game, hosted by Gene Rayburn, had been planned to broadcast in syndication starting in fall 1987. Everything was set to go until an episode of Entertainment Tonight aired before the show started taping had reported Rayburn's true age as 70, instead of the early-to-mid-sixties that the producers had believed. The version was scrapped, as it was believed that Rayburn was "too old."

Related Topics:
1987 - Entertainment Tonight

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Bert Convy was originally selected to host the 1990 ABC version, but he was diagnosed with a brain tumor before the series went into production and was replaced by Ross Shafer. Convy died just three days after the last episode of that version aired. A clip from one of the Convy-hosted pilots aired on VH1's Game Show Moments Gone Bananas in 2005.

Related Topics:
Brain tumor - VH1 - Game Show Moments Gone Bananas - 2005

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In summer 2004, a pilot for a remake of Match Game, called What the Blank!, was taped for Fox, hosted by Fred Willard; however, this production is now officially dead.

Related Topics:
2004 - Fox - Fred Willard

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Versions outside the USA

In the United Kingdom, it was known as Blankety Blank and was presented by Terry Wogan, Les Dawson and Lily Savage.

Related Topics:
United Kingdom - Terry Wogan - Les Dawson - Lily Savage

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In Australia, it is known as Blankety Blanks, and has been presented by Graham Kennedy, Daryl Somers and Shane Bourne. (This show is not to be confused with an American show by the same name, appearing on ABC and hosted by Bill Cullen.)

Related Topics:
Australia - Blankety Blanks - Graham Kennedy - Daryl Somers - Shane Bourne - ABC - Bill Cullen

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In Germany, Match Game had a 150-episode run as Punkt, Punkt, Punkt (Dot, Dot, Dot - an allusion to an ellipsis) in the early 1990s on satellite and cable network Sat.1. The show was hosted by Mike Krüger.

Related Topics:
Germany - Ellipsis - Sat.1 - Mike Krüger

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Match Game, the Slot Machine

As with many classic television shows, Match Game has now been incorporated into a casino slot machine. This version features five simulated reels and a simulation of Rayburn as the host. It recreates the 1973-1982 version of the show, with Reilly, Somers, Jimmie Walker, Morgan Fairchild, Rip Taylor and Vicki Lawrence as the celebrity players. The slot machine is surprsingly faithful to the original game format.

Related Topics:
Jimmie Walker - Morgan Fairchild - Rip Taylor - Vicki Lawrence

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