Saturday, October 09, 2021

You Bet Your Life - The Secret Word Is Tree (11-01-50)

The Secret Word Is "Tree" (Aired November 1, 1950)

The play of the game, however, was secondary to the interplay between Groucho, the contestants, and occasionally Fenneman. The program was rerun into the 1970s, and later in syndication as The Best of Groucho. As such, it was the first game show to have its reruns syndicated. The mid-1940s was a depressing lull in Groucho's career. His radio show Blue Ribbon Town, sponsored by Pabst Blue Ribbon beer, which ran from March 1943 to August 1944, had failed to catch on and Groucho left the program in June 1944. After a radio appearance with Bob Hope, in which Marx ad-libbed most of his performance after being forced to stand by in a waiting room for 40 minutes before going on the air, John Guedel, the program's producer, formed an idea for a quiz show and approached Marx about the subject. After initial reluctance by Marx, Guedel was able to convince him to host the program after Marx realized the quiz would be only a backdrop for his contestant interviews, and the storm of ad-libbing that they would elicit.

No comments: