From The TV IV

The Match Game is a game show that aired on NBC.

Created by Frank Wayne for Goodson-Todman Productions, The Match Game pitted two teams, each fronted by a celebrity captain, in matching answers to questions, such as "Besides the White House, name a landmark in Washington D.C." or fill-in-the-blanks such as "Scared _______." Each player secretly writes down an answer, and then by team, each player reveals his/her answer. If two players on the team match answers, they score 25 points. If all three players match, it's a total of 50.

The first team to reach 100 points wins the game and $100. (If a game is tied at 100, then play continues until a team cannot make sufficient answers to tie the other.) The winning team now predicts how a previous studio audience answered three questions, with each player who matches scoring $50 for the team.

The Match Game aired at 4 PM Eastern weekdays for 25 minutes a day (breaking afterwards for an NBC news capsule). Late in the run, a special home contest was used. A member of the studio audience was selected to write down the answer to a question, and a random call was made to a viewer within the 48 contiguous states. If the viewer matches the audience player, they split a jackpot that starts at $500 and goes up $100 each day it is not won.

Contents 1 Cast 2 Seasons 3 In-Depth 4 DVD Releases 5 External Sites

[edit] Cast

Person	Role	Duration
Main Cast
Gene Rayburn	Host	1	2	3	4	5	6	7
Johnny Olson	Announcer	1	2	3	4	5	6	7

[edit] Seasons

Season	Premiere	Finale	#
NBC
Season One	December 31, 1962	August 30, 1963	175
Season Two	September 2, 1963	September 4, 1964	265
Season Three	September 7, 1964	August 27, 1965	255
Season Four	August 30, 1965	September 2, 1966	265
Season Five	September 5, 1966	September 1, 1967	260
Season Six	September 4, 1967	August 30, 1968	260
Season Seven	September 2, 1968	September 26, 1969	280

[edit] In-Depth

• At a Glance: Additional information about the series

[edit] DVD Releases

The 1962 NBC pilot, never aired before, is on disc 4 of The Best Of Match Game DVD set.

[edit] External Sites