To Tell the Truth

To Tell the Truth is a classic American television game show that has been seen in various forms on and off since 1956.

Fourth Edition (1990-1991)

TTTT returned again for a year in 1990 with Gordon Elliott, then Lynn Swann, then finally Alex Trebek in the host's seat. The reason for all of these changes was because Elliott was fired eight weeks into the run because of an odd contract dispute with his former employers. Because of this dispute, he could not appear on television for some time. Swann, a former football player for the Pittsburgh Steelers, was formerly a panelist. He had no experience as a host, and many would say it showed. He was replaced by the more experienced Trebek after 14 weeks as emcee.

Related Topics:
1990 - Gordon Elliott - Lynn Swann - Alex Trebek - Pittsburgh Steelers

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There are two more hosting oddities related to this show. On the first day of the show's run, NBC inadvertently aired (in the East Coast feed only) the pilot episode of the show, which was hosted by actor Richard Kline. The second oddity occurred during Trebek's run as host when his wife went into labor just before airtime. So Mark Goodson guest hosted the show (which turned out to be his last TV appearance before his death in 1992). (Goodson had previously filled in for an ailing Bud Collyer during TTTTs original daytime run in the 1960s.)

Related Topics:
NBC - Richard Kline - Mark Goodson

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As a side note, the job on Truth made Alex Trebek the first, and as of yet only, person to host three national game shows simultaneously, as he was also hosting Classic Concentration on NBC and Jeopardy! in syndication.

Related Topics:
Concentration - Jeopardy!

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Fooling the whole panel won the challengers $3,000. Three wrong votes won $1,500, while any less than that awarded $1,000.

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Only two games were played followed by a reworked One on One feature. In this version of One on One, one additional contestant presented two stories, of which only one was correct. Each panelist asked one question of the person on each story. After this was completed, a selected member of the audience tried to guess which story was true. If they were correct, they won $500.

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The show could be considered more "retro" than the 1980 edition: Octagenarian Kitty Carlisle appeared more often than anyone else and old regulars Bean, Bergen, Cass and others made frequent appearances. Additionally, the show's theme music was an orchestral remix of the 1969-78 theme (minus the lyrics).

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TTTT, after spending many years originating from New York, originated for the first time from NBC Studios in Burbank. Burton Richardson was its main announcer, however, Charlie O'Donnell also announced on occasion.

Related Topics:
NBC Studios - Burton Richardson - Charlie O'Donnell

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