Charade Quiz
Directed byDon Weiner
Presented byBill Slater
Country of originUnited States
Production
Running time30 minutes
Original release
NetworkDuMont
ReleaseNovember 27, 1947 (1947-11-27) –
June 23, 1949 (1949-06-23)

Charade Quiz was an American game show hosted by Bill Slater which aired on the DuMont Television Network Thursdays at 8:30 p.m. ET from November 27, 1947,[note 1][1] to June 23, 1949.

Overview

In this 30-minute program, viewers requested to see something performed by panelists through charades. If the panelists failed to perform the stunt, the viewer received $15. Episodes featured "a regular slate of actors with a panel of four trying to guess what they were pantomiming."[1]

The program originated from the Adelphi Theatre in New York.[2]

Personnel

Bill Slater was the program's master of ceremonies. Victor Keppler was the producer, and Henry Alexander was the director.[3] A review in the trade publication Billboard observed: "Slater's handling of the question-master's role was assured and good humored. The small troupe of youngsters who acted out the problems did an adequate job."[3]

Charles Polacheck[4] and Victor Keppler produced the program. Henry Alexander was the director, and Frank Bunetta was the technical director.[3]

Beginning in July 1948, Whelan Drug Stores sponsored the program.[5]

Reception

A review in The New York Times in March 1948 called the program "a diverting half hour", although the quality varied from week to week with different actors and different people trying to guess what was being pantomimed.[6] Reviewer Jack Gould also felt that Slater demonstrated "a certain smugness which is not particularly appealing".[6]

Episode status

Owing to DuMont's network practices, at least some episodes of Charade Quiz were held by the network until the dumping of its archive in the 1970s. No episodes are known to exist.

See also

Notes

  1. ↑ Wesley Hyatt's book Emmy Award Winning Nighttime Television Shows, 1948-2004 says, "DuMont unveiled Charade Quiz ... on December 4, 1947."

References

  1. 1 2 Hyatt, Wesley (2006). Emmy Award Winning Nighttime Television Shows, 1948-2004. McFarland. p. 6. ISBN 9780786423293. Retrieved 23 September 2017.
  2. ↑ "DuMont Leases Adelphi" (PDF). Broadcasting. February 14, 1949. p. 36. Retrieved December 25, 2021.
  3. 1 2 3 Chase, Sam (December 27, 1947). "Charade Quiz". Billboard. pp. 16–17. Retrieved 23 September 2017.
  4. ↑ Dail, Chrystyna (2016). Stage for Action: U.S. Social Activist Theatre in the 1940s. SIU Press. pp. 75–76. ISBN 978-0-8093-3542-8. Retrieved December 25, 2021.
  5. ↑ "New Business" (PDF). Broadcasting. June 21, 1948. p. 87. Retrieved December 25, 2021.
  6. 1 2 Gould, Jack (March 21, 1948). "Programs in Review: : ' Are You Listenin' Joe?' -- Video Charade". The New York Times. p. X 9. Retrieved December 25, 2021.

Bibliography

  • David Weinstein, The Forgotten Network: DuMont and the Birth of American Television (Philadelphia: Temple University Press, 2004) ISBN 1-59213-245-6
  • Alex McNeil, Total Television, Fourth edition (New York: Penguin Books, 1980) ISBN 0-14-024916-8
  • Tim Brooks and Earle Marsh, The Complete Directory to Prime Time Network TV Shows, Third edition (New York: Ballantine Books, 1964) ISBN 0-345-31864-1


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