A panel game or panel show is a radio or television game show in which a panel of celebrities participates. Panelists may compete with each other, such as on ''The News Quiz''; facilitate play by guest contestants, such as on ''Match Game''/''Blankety Blank''; or do both, such as on ''Wait Wait... Don't Tell Me!'' The genre can be traced to 1938, when ''Information Please'' debuted in the United States. While panel shows were more popular in the past in the U.S., they are still very common in the United Kingdom.

Format

Most games, such as ''Mock the Week'' or ''Hollywood Squares'', are humorous, while others, such as ''Face The Music'', are more serious. Often, the competition and points are a formality, while comedic banter provides much of the entertainment. The American version of ''Whose Line Is It Anyway?'' acknowledged this with the introduction, "Welcome to ''Whose Line Is It Anyway'', the show where everything's made up and the points don't matter." On ''QI'', the questions are so hard, points can be given for interesting discussion, even if the answers are wrong.

Panel games often have a theme. Some are satirical, such as ''Wait Wait... Don't Tell Me!'' or ''Have I Got News for You''. ''8 Out of 10 Cats'' is based on statistics, ''What's My Line?'' is about occupations, ''Quote... Unquote'' features quotations, ''I've Got a Secret'' is about secrets, while ''Would I Lie to You?'' and ''The Unbelievable Truth'' deal with lies.

Some panel games are variants on classic parlor games. ''Twenty Questions'' is based on the parlor game of the same name, ''Give Us a Clue'' is modeled after Charades, and ''Call My Bluff'' and ''Balderdash'' are based on Fictionary.

Frequently, a panel show features recurring panelists. Some panelists also appear on multiple panel shows.

Most shows are recorded in front of a studio audience.

Panel games are so popular in Britain that they have been the subject of satire themselves. ''I'm Sorry I Haven't a Clue'' is a panel game that spoofs many common elements of such shows, including the unimportance of scoring, while ''Rob Brydon's Annually Retentive'' is a scripted comedy series that parodies the workings of a panel show.

International production

United States

The first known example of a panel game in the world is the radio program ''Information Please'', which debuted on 17 May 1938 on the NBC Blue Network. An evolution of the quiz show format, ''Information Please'' added the key element of a panel of celebrities, largely writers and intellectuals, but also actors and politicians. Listeners would mail in questions, winning prizes for stumping the panel.

U.S. panel games transferred to television and saw their peak of popularity in the 1950s and '60s, when, in addition to shorter-lived series on other networks, CBS ran the three longest-running panel shows in prime time: ''What's My Line?'', ''I've Got a Secret'' and ''To Tell the Truth''. At times, they were among the top ten shows on U.S. television and they continue to experience occasional revivals on daytime television and on cable. All three Goodson-Todman primetime shows were cancelled by CBS in 1967 amid ratings declines and trouble attracting younger viewers, although the programs were consistently profitable by being among the cheapest television shows to produce. Their cancellations came as attention to demographics and a focus on younger viewers gained currency among advertisers. The departures of these three New York-based shows were also part of a mass migration of television production to Los Angeles, leaving only one primetime show produced on the East Coast.

Later years saw several successes in the format, with ''Match Game''; ''Hollywood Squares''; ''The Gong Show''; ''Win, Lose or Draw''; ''Celebrity Sweepstakes''; ''Password'' and ''Pyramid'' primarily running in the daytime and airing in their greatest numbers during the '70s and '80s. Later, the U.S. version of ''Whose Line Is It Anyway?'' had a primetime run from 1998 to 2004 on ABC, while ''Wait Wait... Don't Tell Me!'' has become a popular weekend show on NPR since 1998. In 2010, NBC's launch of ''The Marriage Ref'' was described as a revival of the primetime American panel game.

United Kingdom

Panel games are particularly popular in the United Kingdom, where they've found continued success since the BBC adapted its first radio panel shows from classic parlor games. Perhaps the earliest UK panel show is the BBC radio adaptation of ''Twenty Questions'', which debuted on 28 February 1947. Panel games have enjoyed lasting success in the UK; ''Twenty Questions'' lasted until 1976, while ''Just a Minute'' has been on the air since 1967. Other long-running games on radio include ''I'm Sorry I Haven't a Clue'' since 1972, ''The News Quiz'' from 1977, and ''My Word!'' from 1956 to 1990.

The British import of ''What's My Line?'' may be the first television panel game in the UK with an original run from 1951 to 1963 and several remakes in later years.

Australia

Australian panel games include ''Good News Week'' and ''Spicks and Specks''.

Canada

Canadian panel games include ''Front Page Challenge'' and ''The Debaters''.

France

French panel games include ''L'Académie des neuf'' ("The Academy of Nine", based on ''Hollywood Squares''), ''Burger Quiz'', ''Cluedo'' (based on Cluedo/Clue), ''Le Francophonissime'', ''Incroyables Expériences'' ("Incredible Experiences") and ''Kamoulox'' (a portmanteau of the creators' names).

Germany

German panel games include ''Genial daneben'' ("Idiot Savant"), ''Kopfball'' ("Headball"), ''Die Montagsmaler'' ("Pictionary"), ''Noch Besserwissen'' ("Even Better Knowledge"), ''Die Pyramide'' (the German version of ''Pyramid''), ''Quizfire'', ''Sag die Wahrheit'' ("Tell the Truth", the German version of ''To Tell the Truth''), ''Typisch Frau – Typisch Mann'' ("Typical Woman – Typical Man"), ''Was bin ich?'' ("What am I?", the German version of ''What's My Line?'') and ''Was denkt Deutschland?'' ("What Does Germany Do?").

Japan

Japanese panel games include おしゃべりクイズ疑問の館 ("Chat House Quiz Questions"), 二十の扉 ("Twenty Doors", based on ''Twenty Questions''), 話の泉 ("Source of the Story", based on ''Information Please''), ABOBAゲーム ("ABOBA Game"), 一攫千金ヤマワケQ! ("Yamawake Fortune Q!"), おっちゃんVSギャル ("Uncle vs. Gal"), クイズ仕事人 ("Business People Quiz"), クイズ!紳助くん ("Shinsuke-kun Quiz"), 3・3が9イズ ("3.3 is 9", based on ''Hollywood Squares''), 世界痛快伝説!!運命のダダダダーン! ("Thrilling World Legend! Fate! Da-da-da-da!") and 世界痛快伝説!!運命のダダダダーン! ("Thrilling World Legend! Destiny! Da-da-da-da!").

Examples

''8 out of 10 Cats''

''29 Minutes of Fame''

''And Then You Die''

''Argumental''

''Best of the Worst''

''The Big Fat Quiz of the Year''

''Blankety Blank''

''Call My Bluff''

''The Debaters''

''Does the Team Think?''

''Front Page Challenge''

''Give Us A Clue''

''Good News Week''

''Have I Got News for You''

''Hollywood Squares''

''I'm Sorry I Haven't a Clue''

''It's News to Me''

''I've Got a Secret''

''Just a Minute''

''The Marriage Ref''

''Match Game''

''Mock the Week''

''My Word!''

''Never Mind the Buzzcocks''

''Never Mind the Full Stops''

''The News Quiz''

''Password''

''QI''

''Quote Unquote''

''A Question of Sport''

''Says You!''

''Shooting Stars''

''Spicks and Specks''

''They Think It's All Over''

''To Tell the Truth''

''The Unbelievable Truth''

''Wait Wait… Don't Tell Me!''

''What's My Line?''

''Whose Line is it Anyway?''

''Would I Lie To You?''

''The Write Stuff''

References

External links

UKGameshows.com list of panel games

Category:Game shows

cy:Gêm banel

Name	The Dogs
Background	group_or_band
Origin	Miami, Florida
Genre	Hip-Hop, Miami Bass
Years active	1990–1996
Label	Joey Boy Records
Associated acts	The Puppies, Bass Patrol
Current members	Disco RickKeith BellLabrant DennisCracked Up }}

The Dogs were a 1990s hip hop group consisting of Disco Rick, Keith Bell, Labrant Dennis and Fergus "Cracked Up" Smith, best known for "Crack Rock," their hit single with the chant "Yo' Mama's on Crack Rock!" The group released three studio albums ''The Dogs'' in 1990, ''Beware of The Dogs'' in 1991 and ''K-9 Bass'' in 1992.

Labrant Dennis was arrested in May 1996 for the double murder of Marlin Barnes, a University of Miami football player, and Timwaneka Lumpkin, his exgirlfriend.

Discography

Year	Album	Chart Position
		Top R&B;/Hip-Hop Albums>US Hip-Hop
1990	align="left"	37
1991		55
1992		95

External links

Birchmeier, Jason "[ The Dogs Biography]", ''Allmusic'', Macrovision Corporation

Category:American hip hop groups Category:Southern hip hop groups Category:People from Miami, Florida

{{infobox person|name	Allen Ludden| imageAllen ludden crop.png
Birthname	Allen Packard Ellsworth
Birth date	October 05, 1917
Birth place	Mineral Point, Wisconsin, U.S.
Death date	June 09, 1981
Death place	Los Angeles, California, U.S.
Death cause	Stomach cancer
Occupation	Game show hostTelevision personality
Yearsactive	1949–1981
Spouse	Margaret McGloin (1943-1961) (her death)Betty White (1963-1981) }}

Allen Ludden (born October 5, 1917 – June 9, 1981) was an American television personality, emcee and game show host, perhaps most well known for hosting various incarnations of the game show ''Password'' between 1961 and 1980.

Biography

Early years

Allen Packard Ellsworth was born on October 5, 1917, in Mineral Point, Wisconsin, the first child of Elmer Ellsworth, 25, a Nebraska native living in Mineral Point and working as an ice dealer; and his wife Leila M. Allen, age 22, a Wisconsin native and housewife. Tragically, Elmer Ellsworth died the next winter at age 26, a victim of the worldwide influenza epidemic, on January 6, 1919. When Allen was about five years old, Leila Ellsworth married Homer Ludden Jr., an electrical engineer and the son of H.D. Ludden, the town physician, a Chicago native who had practiced in Mineral Point since 1906. Allen was given his adoptive father's name and became Allen E. Ludden. The family lived briefly in the small Wisconsin towns of Janesville, Elkhorn, Antigo and Waupaca before moving to Texas when Allen was still a small child.

Education and career

An English and dramatics major at the University of Texas, Ludden graduated with Phi Beta Kappa honors in 1940 and received his Master of Arts in English from the same university in 1941. He served in the U.S. Army, received a Bronze Star, and was discharged with the rank of captain in 1946. During the late 1940s and early 1950s he carved out a career as an adviser for youth in teen magazine columns and on radio. His radio show for teenagers, ''Mind Your Manners,'' received a Peabody Award in 1950.

Ludden hosted many game shows, including the ''GE College Bowl,'' but he was most well known for hosting both the daytime and prime time versions of ''Password'' on CBS and ABC between 1961 and 1975. His opening TV catch phrase, "Hi doll," was directed toward his beloved real-life mother-in-law, Tess White, mother of Betty White. He ended ''Password'' with a "password of the day," and then "So long, see you tomorrow, I hope." Ludden began hosting an updated version of the game, ''Password Plus,'' on NBC, in 1979, but chemotherapy treatments for stomach cancer forced him off the show in late October 1980. Tom Kennedy filled in as host during this time. Other shows hosted by Ludden include ''Liar's Club,'' ''Win With the Stars,'' and ''Stumpers!'' He also hosted the original pilot for ''The Joker's Wild'' and hosted a talk-variety show, ''Allen Ludden's Gallery.''

At the request of the publishers Dodd, Mead & Co., Ludden wrote and published four books of "Plain Talk" advice, plus a youth novel, ''Roger Thomas, Actor'' (1959), all for young readers. He received the 1961 Horatio Alger Award.

Family

Ludden married Margaret McGloin on October 11, 1943. She died from cancer on October 30, 1961, just days after their 18th wedding anniversary. They had a son, David, and two daughters, Martha and Sarah.

He proposed to twice-divorced Betty White, whom he had met on ''Password'', at least twice before she accepted. Eventually, they were married on June 14, 1963, and remained together until Ludden's death. They appeared together in an episode of ''The Odd Couple'' in which Felix and Oscar appeared on ''Password''. Ludden also appeared as a guest panelist on ''Match Game'', with White sitting in the audience (she was prompted to rip apart one of Ludden's wrong answers on camera during an episode of ''Match Game '74''; the two appeared together on the panel in 1975, and on ''Match Game PM'' in 1980).

Death

After Ludden was diagnosed with stomach cancer in early 1980, he took a leave of absence from ''Password Plus'' for chemotherapy treatment and returned a month later (Bill Cullen substituted during this time). In late October 1980, he slipped into a coma while on vacation. It was initially reported that he had suffered a stroke, but the coma was actually caused by high levels of calcium from medication taken to help fight the cancer. Ludden's good friend Tom Kennedy took over as host of ''Password Plus'' during this time, and while Ludden hoped to return at some point in the future, his cancer grew worse during this time and he never returned. Allen Ludden died in Los Angeles on June 9, 1981, just days before his 18th wedding anniversary with Betty White. He was 63. Ludden was buried beside his father in the Ellsworth family plot in Graceland Cemetery in his hometown of Mineral Point, Wisconsin.

Awards

Allen Ludden was posthumously awarded a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. The star is located beside White's.

Legacies

A walkway at the Los Angeles Zoo was named in his memory (Betty White is a board member at the Zoo) and a man-made lake in Mineral Point was named Lake Ludden in his honor.

Sources

The Allen Ludden Papers collection is located at the Free Public Library in his native Mineral Point, Wisconsin. The items include letters written or received by Ludden, typed radio scripts, newspaper and magazine clippings by or about Ludden, publicity photographs and personal photographs, and a pair of horn-rimmed glasses (which are broken). The collection was donated by Betty White.

References

External links

Allen Ludden's biography

Allen Ludden's Photo & Gravesite

Category:1917 births Category:1981 deaths Category:American game show hosts Category:American military personnel of World War II Category:Cancer deaths in California Category:Deaths from stomach cancer Category:People from Iowa County, Wisconsin Category:University of Texas at Austin alumni Category:United States Army officers

de:Allen Ludden es:Allen Ludden

name	Johnny Olson
birth name	John Leonard Olson
birth date	May 22, 1910
birth place	Windom, Minnesota, U.S.
death date	October 12, 1985
death place	Santa Monica, California, U.S.
death cause	Cerebral hemorrhage
occupation	Announcer
years active	1944–1985 }}

John Leonard "Johnny" Olson (May 22, 1910 – October 12, 1985) was an American radio personality and television announcer. His work spanned 32 game shows produced by Mark Goodson and Bill Todman from the late 1950s through the mid 1980s. He was also the announcer of ''The Jackie Gleason Show'' from 1962 to 1970.

Early career

Born in Windom, Minnesota, while landing jobs at WIBA and KGDA in and nearby Madison, Wisconsin after 1928, Olson enrolled in pharmacy classes at the University of Minnesota. He also worked a string of odd jobs, from soda jerk to singer.

Olson's first network job on radio was in New York City in 1944, announcing the musical game show, ''Ladies Be Seated'', a stunt game along the lines of ''Truth or Consequences'' broadcast on the NBC Blue radio network. He previously hosted several radio shows in Chicago, including ''Johnny Olson's Rumpus Room'', a late-night variety radio show broadcast from 10:30 pm to 12 midnight, which was also the name of a later talk show he hosted on the DuMont Television Network.

As late as 1956, Olson had a crack at another radio quiz, the short-lived ''Second Chance'', somewhat similar to the earlier hit ''Queen for a Day'' in that this show, too, focused on guest contestants' tribulations, in this case a chance at rectifying a mistake or a loss in life.

Work for DuMont Television Network

From May 1947 to July 1949, Olson hosted ''Doorway to Fame'', an evening television talent show on the new DuMont Television Network. From January 1949 to July 1952, Olson hosted ''Johnny Olson's Rumpus Room'', a daytime television talk show which was the first daytime show broadcast from DuMont's flagship station WABD over DuMont's small East Coast network. Olson also hosted the Saturday morning children's show ''Kids and Company'' on DuMont from September 1951 to June 1952, with co-host Ham Fisher.

Early announcing work

Olson's first TV announcing job was on the final year of the original ''Name That Tune'' in 1958; in that year Olson also announced the Merv Griffin-hosted ''Play Your Hunch'', which lasted until 1963 and began his long association with Mark Goodson-Bill Todman Productions, five years earlier. In the late 1960s, he was also a substitute announcer on the ABC version of ''Supermarket Sweep''.

Beginning in 1960, Olson announced the CBS prime-time panel game ''To Tell The Truth'' (on which he greeted each team of challengers with the question, "What is your name, please?"). The following year, he added duties on sister show ''What's My Line?'', and in 1962 began announcing in the original ''Match Game'' (hosted by Gene Rayburn) in daytime on NBC until that series ended in 1969.

Olson was also announcer for ''The Jackie Gleason Show'' from 1962 until its cancellation in 1970. The first few seasons of the variety show were recorded in New York City (as Olson would say at the beginning of each show, "the entertainment capital of the world"), while the last few seasons were produced in Miami Beach, Florida (replaced by "the sun and fun capital of the world").

Olson continued to announce ''What's My Line?'' and ''To Tell the Truth'' after both shows moved from CBS to syndication in the late 1960s. His involvement with both of them ended when he was designated announcer of the 1972 revivals of ''The Price Is Right'' and ''I've Got a Secret'', both of which were taped in Hollywood, and left New York for the west coast.

''The Price Is Right''

While ''Name That Tune'', ''To Tell the Truth'', ''What's My Line'', and ''The Match Game'' put Olson in the upper echelons of television game show announcers, the revival of ''The Price Is Right'' cemented Olson's fame. From the first show (airing September 4, 1972) to his passing in 1985, his role transcended that of an announcer.

In addition to serving as then-host Bob Barker's sidekick, Olson was a beloved and valued member of the cast. He warmed up the audience prior to taping; during taping, he often had on-camera exposure (occasionally bantering with Barker) prior to calling out the contestants' names; he also appeared in many of the shows' Showcases.

His exhortations for contestants to "Come on down!" became a catchphrase, and a ''Price Is Right'' tradition observed by his successors, Rod Roddy (1986–2003), Rich Fields (2004–2010), and George Gray (2011–present).

On a side note, future show announcer Rich Fields attended a taping of ''The Price Is Right'' in 1978, asking Olson how he could get the announcing job. Olson then had Fields come up on stage and shout: "Johnny Olson, come on down!" Feigning annoyance, Olson told Fields: "Gimme back that microphone, kid, before Mr. Barker hears you backstage. Now go sit down!" Fields eventually became the show's announcer from 2004 to 2010.

''Match Game'' and later career

In 1973, Olson started announcing for a revived ''Match Game,'' another show transplanted from New York to California; the show's "Get ready to match the stars!" became a second catchphrase associated with him for the following nine years. Like executive producer Mark Goodson, Olson filled in on the days when a scheduled guest failed to appear in time for a taping. Olson only missed one taping of ''Match Game'' during the CBS years; Bern Bennett was his fill-in for one week of daytime shows and one nighttime show.

During the 1970s and early 1980s, while going strong with his announcing duties on ''Price'' and ''Match'', he announced nine other shorter-lived game shows, including ''Now You See It'', ''Mindreaders'', ''Double Dare'', a revival of ''Tattletales'', he even filled in for Bob Hilton on ''Blockbusters'' and his final non-''Price'' assignment, ''Body Language''.

Olson's name was occasionally the solution to clues and puzzles on shows he announced for; this happened on both ''Now You See It'' and ''Body Language''. Additionally, when "Come on _______" was used as a question in the "Super Match" portion of an episode of ''Match Game '78'' (with then ''Price'' host Bob Barker serving as a panelist), host Gene Rayburn called Olson to center stage to read the top answer ("''Come on down!''").

Olson spent his off time on his spacious farm located at Buckingham Acres in Lewisburg, West Virginia.

Death

Olson died on Saturday, October 12, 1985 in Santa Monica, California from a cerebral hemorrhage he had suffered several days earlier. He was entombed at Rosewood Cemetery in Lewisburg, West Virginia. The staff and crew of ''The Price Is Right'' learned of Olson's condition as Studio 33 at CBS was being prepared for another day's taping. Production was cancelled for the rest of the week (shows were recorded several weeks in advance of broadcast). There was no on-air mention of Olson's death until October 15 when then-host Bob Barker paid tribute to Olson in an attached segment that followed the end credits. The last Olson-announced episode aired on November 8, 1985.

References

External links

POV OnLine

Johnny Olson at Find A Grave.com

Category:1910 births Category:1985 deaths Category:University of Minnesota alumni Category:American radio personalities Category:American television personalities Category:Game show announcers Category:People from Minneapolis, Minnesota Category:People from Greenbrier County, West Virginia Category:People from Cottonwood County, Minnesota

es:Johnny Olson fr:Johnny Olson