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Bet Your Life is an American quiz show that aired on both radio
and television. The most well-known version was hosted by
Groucho Marx of the Marx Brothers, with announcer and assistant
George Fenneman. The show debuted on ABC Radio in October 1947,
then moved to CBS Radio in 1949 before making the transition to
the NBC Radio and NBC-TV networks in October 1950. Because of
its simple format, it was possible to broadcast the show
simultaneously on the radio and on television. In 1960, the show
was renamed The Groucho Show and ran a further year. Most
episodes are in the public domain.
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. Guedel also convinced Marx to invest in 50% of the
show, in part by saying that he was "untouchable" at ad-libbing,
but not at following a script.[1] Since Marx and the contestants
were ad-libbing, Marx insisted that each show be recorded and
edited before release. The show for the studio audience ran
longer than the broadcast versions, so that risque or less
interesting material could be removed.
Contestant teams usually consisted of one male and one female,
most selected from the studio audience. Occasionally famous or
otherwise interesting figures were invited to play (i.e., a
Korean-American contestant who was a veteran and had been a
prisoner of war during the Korean War).
After his signature introduction of "Here he is: the one, the
ONLY..." by Fenneman and finished by a thunderous "GROUCHO!"
from the audience, Marx would be introduced to the music of
"Hooray for Captain Spaulding", his signature song.
Some show tension revolved around whether a contestant would say
the "secret word", a common word revealed to the audience at the
show's outset. If a contestant said the word, a toy duck
resembling Groucho with a mustache and eyeglasses, and with a
cigar in its bill, descended from the ceiling to bring a $100
bill. A cartoon of a duck with a cigar was also used in opening
title sequence. In one episode, Groucho's brother, Harpo, came
down instead of the duck, and in another, a model came down in a
birdcage with the money. Marx sometimes slyly directed
conversation to encourage the secret word to come up. The duck
was also occasionally replaced with a wooden Indian figure.
After the contestants' introduction and interview, the actual
game began. Contestants chose among available categories and
then tried to answer a series of questions within the category.
Each couple was staked with $20 and were asked four questions,
wagering part or all of their bankroll for each question. The
scoring format was later changed to a starting bankroll of $100
and couples selecting question values from $10 to $100. A
correct answer added the value of the question to their bankroll
and an incorrect answer cut their bankroll to that point in
half. According to co-director Robert Dwan in his book, As Long
As They're Laughing, Guedel changed the scoring format because
too many couples were betting—and losing—all their money.
Later, this was changed to couples answering questions either
until they either gave two consecutive incorrect responses or
answered four consecutive questions correctly for a prize of
$1,000. Toward the end of the series (1959–61), contestants
picked four questions worth $100, $200, or $300 each,
potentially winning up to $1,200. However, winning at least $500
qualified the team to answer a jackpot question.
If at any point the couple bet all of their money and lost or
their bankroll was below $25, Marx asked an elementary
consolation question for $25 (later $100). The questions were
made easy in hopes that no team would answer incorrectly and
included such examples as "Who is buried in Grant's Tomb?",
"When did the War of 1812 start?", "How long do you cook a
three-minute egg?", and "What color is an orange?"
In all of the scoring formats, the couple with the highest score
at the end of the game was asked one final question for a
growing jackpot. In the early years (1947–56), the prize for the
jackpot question started at $1,000, with $500 added each week
until someone correctly answered the question. After other game
shows offered larger cash prizes, the format of the jackpot
question changed. Contestants faced a wheel with numbers from
one through ten and selected one number for $10,000 (and later,
another number for $5,000). If the number selected was spun, a
correct answer to the jackpot question augmented the team' total
winnings to that amount; otherwise, the question was worth a
total of $2,000. From 1956-59, teams risked half their $1,000
won earlier in the quiz for a shot at the jackpot question, and
one of the two players on the team could keep their half of the
money while the other risked their half. This was later changed
from 1959-61 so that no winnings were risked.
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EPISODES LIST
You Bet Your Life 1947 09
15 Secret Word Air (Audition)
You Bet Your Life 1949 03 17 Secret Word Floor
You Bet Your Life 1949 04 07 Secret Word Head
You Bet Your Life 1949 10 05 Secret Word Chair
You Bet Your Life 1949 10 12 Secret Word Smile
You Bet Your Life 1949 10 19 Secret Word Clock
You Bet Your Life 1949 10 26 Secret Word Radio
You Bet Your Life 1949 11 02 Secret Word shoe
You Bet Your Life 1949 11 09 Secret Word Ink
You Bet Your Life 1949 11 16 Secret Word Grass
You Bet Your Life 1949 11 23 Secret Word Sky
You Bet Your Life 1949 11 30 Secret Word Window
You Bet Your Life 1949 12 07 Secret Word Dust
You Bet Your Life 1949 12 14 Secret Word Hair
You Bet Your Life 1949 12 21 Secret Word Chair
You Bet Your Life 1949 12 28 Secret Word Name
You Bet Your Life 1950 01 04 Secret Word Tree
You Bet Your Life 1950 01 11 Secret Word Milk
You Bet Your Life 1950 01 18 Secret Word Spoon
You Bet Your Life 1950 01 25 Secret Word Sky
You Bet Your Life 1950 02 01 Secret Word Air
You Bet Your Life 1950 02 08 Secret Word Bread
You Bet Your Life 1950 02 15 Secret Word Sugar
You Bet Your Life 1950 02 22 Secret Word Table
You Bet Your Life 1950 03 01 Secret Word Door
You Bet Your Life 1950 03 08 Secret Word Heart
You Bet Your Life 1950 03 15 Secret Word Water
You Bet Your Life 1950 03 22 Secret Word Money
You Bet Your Life 1950 03 29 Secret Word Name
You Bet Your Life 1950 04 05 Secret Word Smile
You Bet Your Life 1950 04 12 Secret Word Door
You Bet Your Life 1950 04 19 Secret Word Name
You Bet Your Life 1950 04 19 Secret Word Name2
You Bet Your Life 1950 04 26 Secret Word Chair
You Bet Your Life 1950 05 03 Secret Word Bread
You Bet Your Life 1950 05 10 Secret Word Door
You Bet Your Life 1950 05 17 Secret Word Foot
You Bet Your Life 1950 05 24 Secret Word Tree
You Bet Your Life 1950 05 31 Secret Word Book
You Bet Your Life 1950 06 07 Secret Word Dress
You Bet Your Life 1950 06 14 Secret Word Tree
You Bet Your Life 1950 06 21 Secret Word Hand
You Bet Your Life 1950 06 28 Secret Word Air
You Bet Your Life 1950 10 04 Secret Word Wall
You Bet Your Life 1950 10 11 Secret Word Grass
You Bet Your Life 1950 10 18 Secret Word Floor
You Bet Your Life 1950 10 25 Secret Word Air
You Bet Your Life 1950 11 01 Secret Word Tree
You Bet Your Life 1950 11 08 Secret Word Door
You Bet Your Life 1950 11 22 Secret Word Table
You Bet Your Life 1950 11 29 Secret Word Book
You Bet Your Life 1950 12 06 Secret Word Hair
You Bet Your Life 1950 12 13 Secret Word Room
You Bet Your Life 1950 12 20 Secret Word Floor
You Bet Your Life 1950 12 27 Secret Word Smile
You Bet Your Life 1951 01 03 Secret Word Chair
You Bet Your Life 1951 01 10 Secret Word Heart
You Bet Your Life 1951 01 17 Secret Word Lamp
You Bet Your Life 1951 01 24 Secret Word Walk
You Bet Your Life 1951 01 31 Secret Word Clock
You Bet Your Life 1951 02 07 Secret Word Shoe
You Bet Your Life 1951 02 28 Secret Word Nose
You Bet Your Life 1951 10 17 Secret Word Arm
You Bet Your Life 1951 11 21 Secret Word Tree
You Bet Your Life 1951 11 28 Secret Word Name
You Bet Your Life 1951 12 05 Secret Word Door
You Bet Your Life 1951 12 12 Secret Word People
You Bet Your Life 1951 12 19 Secret Word Smile
You Bet Your Life 1951 12 26 Secret Word Paper
You Bet Your Life 1951 xx xx Fred Allen
You Bet Your Life 1952 01 02 Secret Word Hand
You Bet Your Life 1952 01 09 Secret Word Face
You Bet Your Life 1952 01 16 Secret Word Spoon
You Bet Your Life 1952 01 23 Secret Word Water
You Bet Your Life 1952 01 30 Secret Word Food
You Bet Your Life 1952 02 06 Secret Word Lamp
You Bet Your Life 1952 02 13 Secret Word Floor
You Bet Your Life 1952 02 20 Secret Word Heart
You Bet Your Life 1952 02 27 Secret Word Glass
You Bet Your Life 1952 03 05 Secret Word Knife
You Bet Your Life 1952 03 12 Secret Word Sky
You Bet Your Life 1952 03 19 Secret Word Name
You Bet Your Life 1952 03 26 Secret Word Table
You Bet Your Life 1952 04 02 Secret Word Chair
You Bet Your Life 1952 04 09 Secret Word Sign
You Bet Your Life 1952 04 16 Secret Word Foot
You Bet Your Life 1952 04 23 Secret Word Spoon
You Bet Your Life 1952 04 30 Secret Word Door
You Bet Your Life 1952 05 14 Secret Word Age
You Bet Your Life 1952 05 21 Secret Word Money
You Bet Your Life 1952 05 28 Secret Word Wall
You Bet Your Life 1952 06 04 Secret Word Clothes
You Bet Your Life 1952 06 11 Secret Word Paper
You Bet Your Life 1952 09 17 Secret Word Chair
You Bet Your Life 1952 09 24 Secret Word Floor
You Bet Your Life 1952 10 01 Secret Word Tree
You Bet Your Life 1952 10 15 Secret Word Water
You Bet Your Life 1952 10 22 Secret Word Table
You Bet Your Life 1952 10 29 Secret Word Heart
You Bet Your Life 1953 09 30 Secret Word Smile
You Bet Your Life 1953 10 07 Secret Word Table
You Bet Your Life 1954 03 17 Secret Word Hand
You Bet Your Life 1954 03 24 Secret Word Floor
You Bet Your Life 1954 04 21 Secret Word People
You Bet Your Life 1954 04 28 Secret Word Smile
You Bet Your Life 1955 01 14 Secret Word Paper
You Bet Your Life 1955 10 26 Secret Word Name
You Bet Your Life 1956 01 06 Secret Word Table
You Bet Your Life 1956 03 07 Secret Word Table
You Bet Your Life 1956 07 02 Secret Word Name
You Bet Your Life 1957 02 17 Secret Word Book
You Bet Your Life 1957 03 16 Secret Word Chair
You Bet Your Life 1957 11 04 Secret Word Street
You Bet Your Life 1957 12 06 Secret Word People
You Bet Your Life 1958 01 13 Secret Word Picture
You Bet Your Life 1958 01 27 Secret Word Hand
You Bet Your Life 1958 02 03 Secret Word Chair
You Bet Your Life 1958 02 10 Secret Word Hand
You Bet Your Life 1958 02 24 Secret Word face
You Bet Your Life 1958 03 03 Secret Word Room
You Bet Your Life 1958 03 10 Secret Word Name
You Bet Your Life 1958 03 17 Secret Word People
You Bet Your Life 1958 03 31 Secret Word Name
You Bet Your Life 1958 05 12 Secret Word Table
You Bet Your Life 1959 01 29 Secret Word Nose
You Bet Your Life 1959 03 02 Secret Word House
You Bet Your Life 1959 03 16 Secret Word Paper
You Bet Your Life 1959 08 10 Secret Word Chair
You Bet Your Life 1959 09 07 Secret Word Walk
You Bet Your Life 1959 09 21 Secret Word Food
You Bet Your Life 1959 09 28 Secret Word Street
You Bet Your Life 1959 10 05 Secret Word Street
You Bet Your Life 1959 10 12 Secret Word Book
You Bet Your Life 1959 10 19 Secret Word Room
You Bet Your Life 1959 10 26 Secret Word Book
You Bet Your Life 1959 12 28 Secret Word Shoe
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