Match Game '24

A proposed reboot of the classic TV game show from the 1960's and 1970's.

Game shows have been a staple of television programming since its early days. Truth or Consequences, launched in 1941, was the first game show to air on television, and the roster over the years has included: Jeopardy, Wheel of Fortune, Family Feud, Password, The Price is Right, Who Wants to Be a Millionaire, Tattletales, What’s My Line?, Tic Tac Dough, Beat the Clock, To Tell the Truth, The $64,000 Question, Let’s Make a Deal, The $10,000 Pyramid, The Newlywed Game, Concentration, Name That Tune and The Hollywood Squares. And, that’s just the tip of the iceberg - there have been hundreds more which have come and gone.

But, for me, the gold standard in this space was Match Game. Hosted by Gene Rayburn, pictured above with his trademark, oddly-phallic microphone, during its 1970’s incarnation, the show originally aired on NBC from 1962-1969. It has reappeared at times over the years, and has been run in syndication as well, but the CBS show, which appeared during much of the 1970’s, sums up perfectly the key attributes of a successful TV game show: an ordinary person, teamed with B-list celebrities, chasing modest prize money, in a setting designed to elicit humorous asides.

I’m not even a little bit embarrassed to admit that I can name all six B-list celebrities pictured above: clockwise from the top left: comedian Avery Schreiber, actor Brett Somers, comedian and actor Charles Nelson Reilly, comedian, actor and author Fannie Flagg, comedian, actor and game-show host Richard Dawson and actor Jo Ann Pflug.

For those of you who didn’t spend much of the 1970’s watching Match Game, as I did, here is a brief synopsis of the game:

• Two contestants competed in the game.

• Gene Rayburn (with his oddly-phallic microphone) hosted the show.

• A lineup of six B-list celebrities comprised the panel, whose fill-in-the-blank answers contestants tried to match.

• There were two rounds in each game, and the winner was the contestant who had matched the greatest number of answers from the panel.

• The winner of the game then competed in the “Audience Match” segment, in which matching one of the top three answers provided by a panelist resulted in winning $100, $250 or $500.

• Winning one of those answers entitled the contestant to compete for ten times that amount (e.g. up to $5,000) - big money! (in the 1970’s, I guess).

The questions posed by Gene Rayburn were edgy and rife with double-entendre meanings (hey, it was the ‘70’s, man!). I was going to scribble a few examples here for your amusement, but then I thought, “Why don’t I post a youtube.com link including a few samples?” As an added bonus, you can enjoy snippets of the catchy (kitschy?) Match Game theme song. . .

Classic stuff, eh?

And, then there were the panelists. Pastemagazine.com has compiled its list of “The 10 Best ’70s Match Game Celebrity Panelists,” and, honestly, has pastemagazine.com ever lied to us? That list includes four of the panelists pictured above, and includes:

• Bill Daily - best known for his roles as Major Nelson’s buddy, Roger Healey, on I Dream of Jeannie and Howard Borden, Bob Hartley’s wacky neighbor, on The Bob Newhart Show.

• Joyce Bulifant - Joyce played Murray Slaughter’s wife, Marie, on The Mary Tyler Moore Show, and was also in the original Airplane movie.

• Nipsey Russell - Russell was a standup comic, and also played the Tin Man in The Wiz. I can’t be sure, but, I have to believe that rapper, Nipsey Hussle (real name: Airmless Joseph Asghedom) adopted his stage name in part as homage to Russell.

• Marcia Wallace - another character on The Bob Newhart Show (Hartley’s secretary, Carol), Wallace also was the voice of Edna Krabappel on The Simpsons.

• Brett Somers - her claim to fame was being married at one time to another actor, Jack Klugman, best known for appearing as Oscar in The Odd Couple, who suggested her for this job - a job she kept for a long time.

• Fannie Flagg - Flagg later became known for writing the novel and the screenplay which became Fried Green Tomatoes.

• Betty White - already a grizzled TV veteran by the time she appeared on Match Game, including her stint as Sue Ann Nivens on The Mary Tyler Moore Show, White, who was married to Password host, Allen Ludden, left a curriculum vitae (c.v.) which requires its own filing cabinet to house it (how impressed are you with my deployment of c.v. in this instance? Those three years of high school Latin really paid off).

• Patti Deutsch - even pastemagazine.com admits this one is a divisive pick. I’ve barely heard of her, and I have admitted to watching a lot of Match Game back in the 1970’s.

• Charles Nelson Reilly - often smoked a pipe on the show, and sparred with the panelist generally seated to his right, Brett Somers. Reilly had a lot of forgettable TV and film roles, but did win a Tony Award for stage acting.

• Richard Dawson - a mainstay of Match Game, Dawson went on to host Family Feud - his shtick included kissing all the female contestants - try to get away with that these days! His early career included a role on Hogan’s Heroes.

So, that was Match Game in the 1970’s. Clearly, the time is right for a reboot of that old chestnut. Finding ordinary people to appear on Match Game ‘24 should be no problem, and securing modest prize money could be arranged. The challenges, as I see it, will be identifying and contracting appropriate B-list celebrities to appear as panelists, and crafting edgy, double-entendre-laced, fill-in-the-blank questions, which won’t offend the delicate sensibilities of viewers in today’s world.

Rule of Three’s short-list of potential B-list celebrities to appear as panelists on Match Game ‘24, include:

• Aaron Rodgers - I have no doubt that Rodgers’ upcoming NFL season with the New York Jets will likely not last much longer than last year’s stretch (four plays, for those of you keeping score at home), so, availability should not be a problem. And, Rodgers’ overall wackiness will add some “pep” to the program.

• Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. - this guy has demonstrated an ability to blurt out absolutely anything, completely unprompted - Match Game ‘24 welcomes this carefree sense of unpredictability, and believes that weird, raspy voice will thoroughly entertain viewers.

• George Santos - the disgraced former senator from New York - this one might be my favorite. I have no doubt he would say ‘yes’ in an instant. And, Match Game ‘24 might be the one and only bona fide gig that appears on his resume.

We’re going to need three more to fill out our dance card - do you have any suggestions for us? Please share in the comments section below (and, no, Taylor Swift and Travis Kelce are not appropriate selections - they arguably reflect A-list status currently - we intend to pursue them to appear on Match Game ‘34 - we’re pretty sure their fifteen minutes of fame will be over by then).

As for the edgy, double-entendre-laced, fill-in-the-blank questions, we have a few suggestions for you to mull over:

• “John complained to his friend Mary, ‘This inflation is really getting out of hand - why, until now, I’ve never paid more than $100.00 in my life for ______________.’”

• “Mary said, ‘Boy, thanks to climate change we have constant wildfires, hurricanes, tornados, massive flooding, earthquakes - what’s next: ____________?’”

• “Dumb Donald said, ‘This border crisis has really got me steamed - all we have to do is tell these people about _____________ - they would all simply turn around and go back home.’”

Do you have suggestions as well? Feel free to share them in the comments section below - just, you know, don’t offend anybody. Also, feel free to submit your answers to the three edgy, double-entendre-laced, fill-in-the-blank questions posed above, in the comments section below (boy, Substack is gonna’ need to add more storage space in order to contain all the reader feedback likely to be pouring in, in response to this column).

Oh, one more thing we’re going to need: a theme song. Click on the link here for a clue as to the vibe that Match Game ‘24’s producers are looking for - submit your theme song tracks in the, you know. . .

Sample Audio for Match Game '24 Theme Song

Look for Match Game ‘24 - premiering soon!

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