Pantomime Quiz
Pantomime Quiz | |
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Also known as | Pantomime Quiz Time |
Presented by | Mike Stokey |
Country of origin | United States |
Production | |
Running time | 24–26 minutes |
Production company | Mike Stokey Productions |
Original release | |
Network | KTLA (1947–1949) CBS (1949–1957) NBC (January–March 1952) DuMont (1953–1954) ABC (1955; 1958–1959) |
Release | November 13, 1947 October 9, 1959 | –
Pantomime Quiz, initially titled Pantomime Quiz Time and later Stump the Stars, was an American television game show produced and hosted by Mike Stokey. Running from 1947—1959, it has the distinction of being one of the few television series—along with The Arthur Murray Party; Down You Go; The Ernie Kovacs Show, The Original Amateur Hour; and Tom Corbett, Space Cadet—to air on all four TV networks in the US during the Golden Age of Television.
Overview
Based on the parlor game of
Home viewers were encouraged to send in suggestions for phrases to be used in a telecast. Those that were actually used earned cash or a prize for the people who sent them. A bonus was given if the team trying to solve it could not do so within two minutes.
Broadcast history (national)
In June 1949, Pantomime Quiz became the "first locally [Hollywood] originated show to be aired in New York via kine recordings."[1] The broadcasts over WCBS-TV were sponsored by Chevrolet dealers "beginning early in September for a price of about $1,200 weekly."[1]
The program was picked up by
The DuMont Television Network took the series from October 20, 1953, to April 13, 1954, after which it went back to CBS from July 9 to August 27, 1954.[2]
ABC finally took the charades game for a mid-season slot much like NBC, airing the durable quiz from January 22 to March 6, 1955. After CBS took it back they ran it for three more summers (July 8 to September 30, 1955; July 6 to September 7, 1956; July 5 to September 6, 1957) before the network dropped the program altogether.[2]
After a seven-month absence, ABC picked up Pantomime Quiz from April 8, 1958, to September 2, 1958; on May 18, 1959, the show began airing on ABC in
An Australian version aired in 1957 on Melbourne station
Revivals
Stump the Stars | |
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Pat Harrington, Jr. (1962) (1962–1970)Mike Stokey | |
Country of origin | United States |
Production | |
Running time | 22–24 minutes |
Production company | Mike Stokey Productions |
Original release | |
Network | CBS (1962–1963) Syndication (1964/1969–1970) |
Release | September 17, 1962 September 25, 1970 | –
On September 17, 1962, Pantomime Quiz returned to the air as Stump the Stars on
Soon after, Stokey began recording a new
Celebrity Charades
January 1979 brought another syndicated revival with a few tweaks and a new name - Celebrity Charades. Jay Johnson was the host; This version aired until September. The first three episodes reran on GSN in the 1990s.
On June 20, 2005,
Celebrity guests
Some of the "stars" who were "stumped" on Pantomime Quiz or Stump the Stars:
- Nick Adams
- Anna Maria Alberghetti
- Morey Amsterdam
- Lucie Arnaz
- Ed Begley
- Zina Bethune
- Janet Blair
- Amanda Blake
- Carol Burnett
- Raymond Burr
- Sebastian Cabot
- Roger C. Carmel
- Dane Clark
- Robert Clary
- Jan Clayton
- Hans Conried
- Jackie Coogan
- Jeanne Crain
- Robert Culp
- Dan Dailey
- Sammy Davis Jr.
- Yvonne De Carlo
- Angie Dickinson
- Peter Donald
- Diana Dors
- Nanette Fabray
- Nina Foch
- John Forsythe
- Beverly Garland
- Alice Ghostley
- Frank Gorshin
- Rocky Graziano
- James Gregory
- Barbara Hale
- Ty Hardin
- Dorothy Hart
- William Hopper
- Robert Horton
- Tab Hunter
- Adele Jergens
- Stubby Kaye
- Milt Kamen
- Eartha Kitt
- Bert Lahr
- Hedy Lamarr
- Michael Landon
- Angela Lansbury
- Gypsy Rose Lee
- Ruta Lee
- Jerry Lewis
- Art Linkletter
- Richard Long
- Deanna Lund
- Carol Lynley
- Gisele MacKenzie
- Gordon MacRae
- Sheila MacRae
- Jayne Mansfield
- Rose Marie
- E.G. Marshall
- Ross Martin
- Lee Marvin
- Roddy McDowall
- Vera Miles
- Mary Tyler Moore
- Terry Moore
- Howard Morris
- Don Murray
- Tommy Noonan
- George O'Brien
- Dick Patterson
- Tom Poston
- Mala Powers
- Paula Prentiss
- Vincent Price
- Robert Reed
- Mickey Rooney
- Maxie Rosenbloom
- Jane Russell
- Tommy Sands
- Lizabeth Scott
- Martha Scott
- William Shatner
- Allan Sherman
- Nancy Sinatra
- Connie Stevens
- Elaine Stritch
- William Talman
- Karen Valentine
- Dick Van Dyke
- Elena Verdugo
- Clint Walker
- Ruth Warrick
- Grant Williams
- Alan Young
Episode status
Many episodes of Stump the Stars and Pantomime Quiz exist, and are held by the UCLA Film and Television Archive.[5][6]
A few episodes that appear to be public domain have been available on the private trading circuit; and also appear on YouTube.
See also
- Party Game—Canadian game show similar to Pantomime Quiz
- List of programs broadcast by the DuMont Television Network
- List of surviving DuMont Television Network broadcasts
- Hollywood Game Night
References
- ^ a b "KTTV's 'Pantomime' To N.Y. Chevy Dealers" (PDF). Billboard. 25 June 1949. p. 10. Retrieved 12 December 2015.
- ^ ISBN 0-14-024916-8.
- ^ "Local Station Activity (cont'd)". Ross Reports on Television including The Television Index. 16 November 1952. p. 3. Retrieved 26 March 2022.
- ^ "The Age - Google News Archive Search".
- ^ UCLA archive website Archived 2012-07-07 at archive.today
- ^ UCLA archive website Archived 2012-07-07 at archive.today
Bibliography
- David Weinstein, The Forgotten Network: DuMont and the Birth of American Television (Philadelphia: ISBN 1-59213-245-6
- Alex McNeil, Total Television, Fourth edition (New York: ISBN 0-14-024916-8
- Tim Brooks and Earle Marsh, The Complete Directory to Prime Time Network TV Shows, Third edition (New York: ISBN 0-345-31864-1
External links
- Pantomime Quiz at IMDb
- Stump the Stars episode guide at Classic TV Info
- DuMont historical website