This Is Your Life (American franchise)
This Is Your Life | |
---|---|
Genre | Reality Documentary |
Presented by | Ralph Edwards |
Country of origin | United States |
Original language | English |
Production | |
Producer | Ralph Edwards |
Running time | 45–48 minutes |
Original release | |
Network | NBC |
Release | October 1, 1952 1961 | –
Related | |
British version Australian version New Zealand version |
This Is Your Life is an American reality documentary series broadcast on NBC radio from 1948 to 1952, and on NBC television from 1952 to 1961. It was originally hosted by its creator and producer Ralph Edwards. In the program, the host surprised guests and then took them through a retrospective of their lives in front of an audience, including appearances by colleagues, friends, and family. Edwards revived the show in 1971–1972, and Joseph Campanella hosted a version in 1983. Edwards returned for various specials in the late 1980s.
Concept
The idea for This Is Your Life arose while Edwards was working on game show
By the 1950s, the show was aired live before a theater audience. The guests were surprised by Ralph Edwards and confronted by the microphone and cameras. Planning for the broadcast meant that some found out in advance that they were to be featured. For example, Eddie Cantor had a heart condition, so the show's producers made sure that he was not surprised.[2]
Notable guests
One of the show's subjects was Rev.
In February 1953, Lillian Roth, a "topflight torch singer of the Prohibition era" was the subject of the show, "cheerfully admit[ting] that she had been a hopeless drunk for 16 years before being rescued by Alcoholics Anonymous."[1][3] Edwards described Roth's condition as "impending blindness, an inflamed sinus and a form of alcoholic insanity" and brought on a psychiatrist who had treated her, a brother-in-law "who had paid her bills" and several "glamorous foul-weather friends" such as Lita Grey Chaplin and Ruby Keeler.[1] Roth's story became the basis of her 1954 autobiography and 1955 film adaption, I'll Cry Tomorrow, with Edwards appearing as himself.
Kate Newcomb, a doctor who practiced in a "70-mile circle" around Woodruff, Wisconsin, was the subject of a 1954 episode, bringing attention to her "million pennies" drive to raise funds for a small community hospital; viewers of the episode donated over $112,000 in pennies.[5]
According to The Complete Directory to Prime Time Network TV Shows, 1946–Present, one celebrity that was definitely forbidden was Edwards himself. He supposedly threatened to fire every member of his staff if they ever tried to turn the tables on him and publicly present Edwards' own life.[7]
In a 1973 episode, Vincent Price was the surprised guest. The show had been planned with his wife Mary while Price was in the UK filming the movie Theatre of Blood. By the time he returned to his US home, he had split with his wife and begun a relationship with his co-star from the movie, Coral Browne. Price's daughter later revealed that his estranged wife had told him about the show in an attempt to manage any potential fall-out and unbeknownst to the producers, he agreed to act surprised when the show was recorded.[8]
Reception
This Is Your Life was nominated three times for as "Best Audience Participation, Quiz or Panel Program" at the
By October 1960,
Reruns and revivals
In the late 1980s, Edwards made many episodes that featured celebrities available for re-broadcasting:
Edwards revived the series twice in syndication, the first in 1971 with Edwards again as host, and in 1983 with
In November 2005, ABC announced that it was developing a new version of the show, to be hosted by Regis Philbin. Coincidentally, creator, Ralph Edwards, died not long after the announcement was made. In August 2006, Philbin decided not to renew his contract with the show (he was committed to hosting America's Got Talent on NBC). ABC announced it was considering moving forward with another host in 2006, but this never came to fruition.[13][14]
In October 2008, Survivor producer Mark Burnett signed a deal with Ralph Edwards Productions to produce an updated version.[15] This also did not come to fruition.
International versions
International adaptations of the show:
- Australia – This Is Your Life (1975–1980, 1995–2005, 2008, 2011, 2022–)
- Chile – Ésta es su vida (1965)
- Denmark – Her er dit liv (1983–1985, 1987, 1991, 1997–2000, 2011–2014)
- France – C'est votre vie ! ("This is your life!") (1993–1994, 2013–2015)
- Israel – חיים שכאלה ("What a life") (1972–2000, 2007, 2011–2012)
- Netherlands - In de hoofdrol (1960–1961, 1985–1987, 1992/1993)
- New Zealand – This Is Your Life (1984–2000, 2007–2008, 2010–2011)
- Norway – Dette er ditt liv (1985–1986, 1995)
- Peru – Ésta es su vida (1961)
- Sweden – Här är ditt liv ("Here is your life") (1980–1991, 1995, 2009–2010, 2019), Ett sånt liv (1995)
- Spain – Ésta es su vida (1962–1968, 1993)
- United Kingdom – This Is Your Life (1955–1964, 1969–2003, 2007)
In the Taiwanese variety show Super Sunday, the second half of each episode has a This Is Your Life-style segment where a celebrity or a local discussed their past followed by a cinematic re-enactment (usually exaggerated or serious) then a remote segment to search for the individual. However, the final result for each segment may or may not be successful.
Parodies
- The show was parodied in 1954 by Your Show of Shows, as "This Is Your Story". Carl Reiner played the host, who surprises an uncooperative audience member played by Sid Caesar.
- In 1955, Warner Bros. animator Friz Freleng did a sendup called "This Is a Life?", hosted by Elmer Fudd and featured Bugs Bunny as the guest of honor. The cartoon also featured Daffy Duck, Granny and Yosemite Sam.
- Bob & Ray issued a 45 rpm record with a routine called "This Is Your Bed (You Made It, Now Lie in It)" on Coral (catalog number 9-61338) in 1955.
- A 1960 episode of Walt Disney Presents, "This Is Your Life, Donald Duck", was a parody tribute to Donald Duck, hosted by Jiminy Cricket.
- There was a recurring segment on the children's program Muppet character Guy Smiley; seven sketches were produced between 1972 and 1990. During Season 26 (1994–1995), two others were hosted by Sonny Friendly and the sketch was retitled as "The New Here is Your Life", featuring a storybook and a glass of milk as honorees. Another variant, "This Is Your Story" (1982), was a one-shot featuring Guy honoring Muppet Character Forgetful Jones.
- In 1976, the game show The Price Is Right parodied the show in one of its Showcase skits, called "This Is Your Strife," featuring bloopers involving model Janice Pennington. The cast had previously rehearsed a fake skit with Pennington, then sprung the "... Strife" skit on her as a surprise.
- As a part of a 1987 Howdy Doody 40th-anniversary retrospective special, Monty Hall and Buffalo Bob Smith imagined, as a way to celebrate Howdy Doody's birthday, a spoof of "This Is Your Life" called "Your Happiest Days".
- The WWE spoofed This Is Your Life three times with Mick Foley as the host. The purpose of these segments was to bring out individuals of the guest's past that embarrassed them. The most notable of these segments occurred on September 27, 1999, with The Rock. The first of these spoofs is still the highest TV rating for a non-wrestling match in Raw's history.[citation needed]
- In the early 1990s, McGruff the Crime Dog was honored by Ralph Edwards in a PSA from the Ad Council with National Crime Prevention Council.
- In Season 4 of The Good Place, a parody takes place in the show's afterlife setting, called "That Was Your Life."
References
- ^ a b c "Radio: Sermon on the Air". Time. February 16, 1953. Archived from the original on February 4, 2013. Retrieved 2011-03-06.
- ^ a b c d Mary Desjardins. "This is Your Life". Encyclopedia of Television. Museum of Broadcast Communications. Retrieved 2011-03-06.
- ^ a b "428: Oh You Shouldn't Have". This American Life. March 4, 2011. Retrieved 2011-03-06.
Photo: Rev. Kiyoshi Tanimoto appearing on a 1955 episode of the TV show "This Is Your Life." Host Ralph Edwards is at right.
- ^ "Movies > Classic TV > This is your Life: Hanna Bloch Kohner". Moving Image Archive. Internet Archive. Retrieved 2011-03-06.
- ^ "Milestones". Time. June 11, 1956. Archived from the original on September 13, 2012. Retrieved 2011-03-06.
- ^ "GEORGE SANDERS TO BE VIDEO HOST / Cast as Narrator of Filmed Series, 'The Ringmaster.' Built on Circus Stories", The New York Times (September 1, 1955, p.46) Retrieved February 12, 2019
- ^ Tim Brooks and Earle Marsh. The Complete Directory to Prime Time Network TV Shows, 1946–Present, revised and enlarged, p. 758. New York: Ballantine Books, 1981.
- ISBN 978-1497649446
- ^ "ClassicTVguide.com: TV Ratings".
- ^ a b "Television: This Is Your Wife?". Time. October 17, 1960. Archived from the original on February 4, 2013. Retrieved 2011-03-06.
- ^ a b "Angie Dickinson Refuses 'This is Your Life' Tribute", AP News, 11 November 1993.
- ^ "Angie Dickinson Stops 'This is Your Life' Surprise", YouTube: Raw Footage from the 1993 TIYL Special, 30 March 2020.
- ^ "ABC Contemplates Life Without Regis", Broadcasting & Cable, 30 August 2006.
- ^ "TV Q&A with Rob Owen", Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, 25 August 2006.
- ^ "Mark Burnett Does 'This Is Your Life'". TVWeek.com. October 2008. Retrieved 2011-03-06.
External links
- This Is Your Life, official website
- This Is Your Life at IMDb
- Encyclopedia of Television: This is Your Life from the Museum of Broadcast Communications
- This Is Your Life (U.S.) radio and TV episode list at ClassicTVInfo.com