The Buzzerblog Almanac
The Buzzerblog Almanac
BuzzerBlog is creating an ever-updating almanac of important dates in game show history. Follow along and see what interesting parts of game show history happened today! This calendar is set to show events and anniversaries in game show history in the next 90 days. Come back often to see new and interesting game show facts!
Thursday May 2
- Jack Barry (died, 1984)
Sunday May 5
- Todd Newton (born, 1970)
Tuesday May 21
- Gene Wood (died, 2004)
Wednesday May 22
- Dan Enright (died, 1992)
- Johnny Olson (born, 1910)
Thursday May 23
- Ken Jennings (born, 1974)
Sunday May 26
- Art Linkletter (died, 2010)
Sunday June 2
- Ray Combs (died, 1996)
- Richard Dawson (died, 2012)
Monday June 3
- Chuck Barris (born, 1929)
- Dennis James (died, 1997)
Saturday June 8
-
Michael Larson out-whammies the Whammy on Press Your Luck (1984)
Michael Larson was an unemployed mechanic in Lebanon, Ohio, who was obsessed with game showsâin particular, the bright lights and big bucks of a certain Press Your Luck. VCR remote in hand, Larson discovered the slot-machine-esque Big Board was hiding a huge secret: the bouncing light that when stopped banked whatever money or prizes it illuminated ran on predetermined patterns. Using his last savings to get to LA, he earned a spot on the show and won $110,237âand the ire of CBS.
Saturday June 15
-
Bob Barker's last episode of The Price is Right airs (2007)
The revived daytime version of Bill Cullen’s The Price is Right premiered on CBS, helmed by popular, slick and endearing showman Bob Barker, in 1972. In 2006, after 3 decades, Barker announced his retirement from the show; his final show aired on CBS on June 15, 2007. The show’sâand Barker’sâpopularity received a huge boost from college-aged kids following a cameo appearance in the 1996 film Happy Gilmore.
Monday June 17
- Bill Rafferty (born, 1944)
Monday July 1
- Hugh Downs (died, 2020)
Tuesday July 2
-
CBS Television Quiz premieres (1941)
From what we know of the show today, it sounds like Jeopardy!: contestants were given clues, and asked to formulate a question that the clue would answer. Created, developed, produced and hosted by influential television producer Gil Fates, the CBS Television Quiz was the first television game show to be regularly scheduled and broadcast. It aired Wednesdays at 8:30 PM Eastern. The series ended on January 7, 1943. Gil Fates would later go on to become the executive producer of What’s My Line for its entire 25-year run on television. The quiz’s on-screen scorekeeper, Frances Buss, went on to become the first female television director in the United States.
Saturday July 6
- Merv Griffin (born, 1925)
Sunday July 7
- Bill Cullen (died, 1990)
Saturday July 13
- Johnny Gilbert (born, 1928)
Monday July 15
- Bert Convy (died, 1991)
Wednesday July 17
- Art Linkletter (born, 1912)
Monday July 22
- Alex Trebek (born, 1940)
Tuesday July 23
- Bert Convy (born, 1933)