Mark Leo Goodson (January 14, 1915 – December 18, 1992) was an American television producer who specialized in

game show A game show (or gameshow) is a genre of broadcast viewing entertainment where contestants compete in a game for rewards. The shows are typically directed by a game show host, host, who explains the rules of the program as well as commentating a ...

s, most frequently with his business partner Bill Todman, with whom he created Goodson-Todman Productions.

Early life and early career

Goodson was born in Sacramento, California, on January 14, 1915. *^a "Born Jan. 14, 1915 in Sacramento, CA." — ¶ 1. His Jewish parents, Abraham Ellis (1875–1954) and Fannie Goodson (1887–1986), emigrated from Russia in the early 1900s. As a child, Goodson acted in amateur theater with the Plaza Stock Company. The family later moved to

Hayward, California Hayward is a city located in Alameda County, California, United States, in the East Bay subregion of the San Francisco Bay Area. With a population of 162,954 as of 2020, Hayward is the sixth largest city in the Bay Area, and the third largest in ...

. Originally intending to become a lawyer, Goodson attended the

University of California, Berkeley The University of California, Berkeley (UC Berkeley, Berkeley, Cal, or California), is a Public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Berkeley, California, United States. Founded in 1868 and named after t ...

. He financed his education through scholarships and by working at the Lincoln Fish Market. He graduated

Phi Beta Kappa The Phi Beta Kappa Society () is the oldest academic honor society in the United States. It was founded in 1776 at the College of William & Mary in Virginia. Phi Beta Kappa aims to promote and advocate excellence in the liberal arts and sciences, ...

in 1937 with a degree in economics. That year, he began his broadcasting career in San Francisco, working as a disc jockey at radio station KJBS (now KFAX). In 1939, he joined radio station KFRC, where he produced and hosted a radio quiz called ''Pop the Question'' in which contestants selected questions by throwing darts at multicolored balloons.

Television production

Goodson and long-time partner Bill Todman produced some of the longest-running game shows in American television history, and their names were well known at least to the large audiences for these shows. Their first television show, '' Winner Take All'', debuted on CBS television on July 1, 1948. The long list of Goodson-Todman productions includes ''

The Price Is Right ''The Price Is Right'' is an American television game show where contestants compete by guessing the prices of merchandise to win cash and prizes. A 1972 revival by Mark Goodson and Bill Todman of their The Price Is Right (1956 American game ...

'', '' Family Feud'', '' Classic Concentration'', ''

Match Game ''Match Game'' is an American television panel game show that premiered on NBC in 1962 and has been revived several times over the course of the last six decades. The game features contestants trying to match answers given by celebrity paneli ...

'', ''

Password A password, sometimes called a passcode, is secret data, typically a string of characters, usually used to confirm a user's identity. Traditionally, passwords were expected to be memorized, but the large number of password-protected services t ...

'', ''

Beat the Clock ''Beat the Clock'' is an American television game show. Contestants attempted to complete challenges such as physical stunts within a time limit in order to win prizes. The show was a creation of Mark Goodson- Bill Todman Productions. The sho ...

'', ''

To Tell the Truth ''To Tell the Truth'' is an American television panel show. Four celebrity panelists are presented with three contestants (the "team of challengers", each an individual or pair) and must identify which is the "central character" whose unusual ...

'' (Goodson's personal favorite show), '' I've Got a Secret'', ''

What's My Line? ''What's My Line?'' is a Panel show, panel game show that originally ran in the United States, between 1950 and 1967, on CBS, originally in black and white and later in color, with subsequent American revivals. The game uses celebrity panelists ...

'', ''

Card Sharks ''Card Sharks'' is an American television game show. It was created by Chester Feldman for Mark Goodson-Bill Todman Productions. Contestants attempt to predict the outcome of survey questions to gain control of a row of oversized playing cards ...

'', and ''

Tattletales ''Tattletales'' is an American game show produced by Mark Goodson, Goodson-Bill Todman, Todman Productions in association with Fremantle (company), Fremantle. The program had two runs on the CBS daytime schedule between February 1974 and June ...

''. Goodson-Todman Productions/Mark Goodson Productions created content for American channels and other international channels. (including Talbot Television Ltd. and Fremantle UK Productions Ltd.). such as CBS, NBC, and ABC in the US,

BBC1 BBC One is a British free-to-air public broadcast television channel owned and operated by the BBC. It is the corporation's oldest and Flagship (broadcasting), flagship channel, and is known for broadcasting mainstream programming, which includ ...

, ITV ( Anglia, Central,

Granada Granada ( ; ) is the capital city of the province of Granada, in the autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community of Andalusia, Spain. Granada is located at the foot of the Sierra Nevada (Spain), Sierra Nevada mountains, at the confluence ...

, LWT, TVS, Scottish Television, and

Yorkshire Television ITV Yorkshire, previously known as Yorkshire Television and commonly referred to as just YTV, is the British television service provided by ITV Broadcasting Limited for the Yorkshire franchise area on the ITV (TV network), ITV network. Until 19 ...

Channel 4 Channel 4 is a British free-to-air public broadcast television channel owned and operated by Channel Four Television Corporation. It is state-owned enterprise, publicly owned but, unlike the BBC, it receives no public funding and is funded en ...

, and

Sky One Sky One was a British pay television channel operated and owned by Sky Group (a division of Comcast). Originally launched on 26 April 1982 as Satellite Television, it was Europe's first satellite and non- terrestrial channel. From 31 July 1989, ...

, (also Challenge TV). It licensed many of its shows to the

Reg Grundy Organisation Reg Grundy Organisation (founded as Reg Grundy Enterprises, later known as both Reg Grundy Productions and Grundy Television and known informally as Grundy's) was an Australian-based multinational mass media company, primarily involved in tele ...

to be adapted in Australia and Europe. Goodson and Todman's shows endured through the decades, many over multiple runs, because of Goodson's sharp eye for production and presentation, and their strict insistence on maintaining clean, honest contests, thus allowing their shows to survive the quiz-show scandals of the late 1950s. After those scandals wiped out most of their competition, much of the newer game-show output of the 1960s and 1970s came from either Goodson-Todman or companies launched by their former employees:

Merv Griffin Mervyn Edward Griffin Jr. (July 6, 1925 – August 12, 2007) was an American television show host and media mogul. He began his career as a radio and big band singer, later appearing in film and on Broadway theatre, Broadway. From 1962 to 1986, G ...

, Bob Stewart,

Monty Hall Monty Hall (born Monte Halparin; August 25, 1921 – September 30, 2017) was a Canadian-American radio and television show host who moved to the United States in 1955 to pursue a career in broadcasting. After working as a radio newsreade ...

, and later Jay Wolpert. Goodson-Todman was involved with Jack Barry's comeback vehicle '' The Joker's Wild'' for its 1969 pilot, but ended involvement with the show before it debuted in 1972. While Todman oversaw the company's lucrative businesses outside of television, Goodson handled the creative aspects of producing game shows. The people who worked for the company and created most of the Goodson-Todman shows were pivotal to the success of those shows. Goodson-Todman executives Bob Stewart, Bob Bach, Gil Fates, Ira Skutch, Frank Wayne, Chester Feldman, Paul Alter, Howard Felsher, Ted Cooper, Mimi O'Brien, Jay Wolpert, and others were instrumental in making the shows successful. The company proved itself to be masterful at games, but was not as successful when it tried other fields of television programs, including the anthology dramas '' The Web'' and '' The Richard Boone Show'', a talk-variety show for famed insult comic

Don Rickles Donald Jay Rickles (May 8, 1926 – April 6, 2017) was an American stand-up comedian and actor. He was known primarily for his insult comedy. His film roles include ''Run Silent, Run Deep (film), Run Silent, Run Deep'' (1958), ''Enter Laughing ...

– and what was possibly the company's biggest failure, a sitcom titled '' One Happy Family''. Goodson-Todman Productions was also involved with three Westerns: '' Jefferson Drum'' (1958–59), starring Jeff Richards as a newspaper editor in the Old West; '' The Rebel'' (1959–1961), starring Nick Adams as a former Confederate soldier who traveled to the West after the American Civil War (

Johnny Cash John R. Cash (born J. R. Cash; February 26, 1932 – September 12, 2003) was an American singer-songwriter. Most of his music contains themes of sorrow, moral tribulation, and redemption, especially songs from the later stages of his career. ...

sang the theme); and '' Branded'', starring

Chuck Connors Kevin Joseph "Chuck" Connors (April 10, 1921 – November 10, 1992) was an American actor and professional basketball and baseball player. He is one of only 13 athletes in the history of American professional sports to have played in both Majo ...

as a soldier who had wrongly been given a dishonorable discharge from the Army. For many years, the company was headquartered in the

Seagram Building The Seagram Building is a skyscraper at 375 Park Avenue, between 52nd Street (Manhattan), 52nd and 53rd Street (Manhattan), 53rd Streets, in the Midtown Manhattan neighborhood of New York City. Designed by Ludwig Mies van der Rohe along with P ...

at 375 Park Avenue in New York City. Most of the company's production moved to Hollywood in the early 1970s (as did many other production companies), starting with the ABC revival of ''Password'' in 1971. The Los Angeles offices were based at 6430 Sunset Boulevard, moving to 5750 Wilshire Boulevard. The company's last New York-based show was the 1980 version of ''To Tell the Truth'', but the New York office remained open and was used for East Coast '' Child's Play'' auditions. A few years after Bill Todman's death in 1979, Goodson acquired the Todman heirs' share of the company, and in 1982, the company was renamed Mark Goodson Productions. Traditionally, shows signed off with: "This is (announcer's name) speaking for (show name), A Mark Goodson-Bill Todman Production/A Mark Goodson Television Production." After Goodson's death, to pay off a massive inheritance tax, Goodson's family sold the rights (except for '' Concentration/Classic Concentration'', which had been licensed from NBC) to All-American Television, which was subsequently taken over by Pearson PLC (an educational publisher and communications company based in the United Kingdom), and, in turn, was acquired by

RTL Group RTL Group S.A. ("Radio Télévision Luxembourg") is a Luxembourg-based international media conglomerate, with another corporate office in Cologne, Germany. The company operates 56 television channels and 36 radio stations in Germany, France an ...

(a division of

Bertelsmann The Bertelsmann SE & Co. KGaA, commonly known as Bertelsmann (), is a German privately held company, private multinational corporation, multinational conglomerate (company), conglomerate corporation based in Gütersloh, North Rhine-Westphalia, ...

), to form

Fremantle Fremantle () () is a port city in Western Australia located at the mouth of the Swan River (Western Australia), Swan River in the metropolitan area of Perth, the state capital. Fremantle Harbour serves as the port of Perth. The Western Australi ...

, which now owns the rights to the library from Mark Goodson Productions. The Mark Goodson Productions name, logo, and announcement continued to be used for some shows until 2007, when Bob Barker's last show of ''The Price Is Right'' aired. Afterward, at the close of each episode of ''The Price Is Right'', the announcer credits the show as "a FremantleMedia Production" until 2018; it is now credited simply as "a Fremantle Production", reflecting the name change of the company. Copyrights to many of the Goodson-Todman's game shows were assigned to its specially formed companies, named in ''The (program name) Company'' scheme, such as ''The Family Company'', ''The Password Company'' etc. They are currently in-name-only units of Fremantle North America. In 1990, Goodson received the

Emmy Award The Emmy Awards, or Emmys, are an extensive range of awards for artistic and technical merit for the television industry. A number of annual Emmy Award ceremonies are held throughout the year, each with their own set of rules and award categor ...

"Lifetime Achievement Award for Daytime Television", which was presented to him by Betty White. Two years later, in 1992, Goodson earned induction into the Television Hall of Fame.

Foreign versions

Many Goodson-Todman games were produced internationally, some under different titles, and were distributed by Reg Grundy Productions. ''Family Feud'' was known in the United Kingdom as '' Family Fortunes'', and ''Card Sharks'' went under the title '' Play Your Cards Right''. In Germany, ''Match Game'' was known as '' Schnickschnack'' (loosely translated, "something, anything" and used as a counterpart for the word "blank", for which German has no direct word). In the United Kingdom, it was known as '' Blankety Blank'', while in Australia, it was known as '' Blankety Blanks'' (which, coincidentally, was the title of an unrelated American game show, created by former Goodson-Todman staffer Bob Stewart).

Shows

Of the numerous shows Goodson produced in his lifetime, three are currently on the air: ''The Price Is Right'', which has run continuously since 1972; ''Family Feud'', which ran in two different iterations during 1976–1985 and 1988–1995, and was revived in its current form in 1999; and ''

'', which was revived in 2022 after a lengthy stint off the air. All revivals since 1994 have been produced by successor companies (All-American Television from 1994 to 1998, Pearson Television from 1998 to 2002, FremantleMedia from 2002 to 2018, and Fremantle since 2018).

Mark Goodson–Bill Todman Productions (1948–1982)

*'' All-Star Family Feud Special'' (ABC 1978–1984) *''About Last Night'' (HBO Max 2022; a remake of ''Tattletales'') produced by Sweet July Productions and Unanimous Media *''

'' (CBS, ABC 1950–1961, 1969–1974, CBS 1979–1980 copyrighted as The Clock Co., 2002–2003 copyrighted as Tick Tock Productions, Ltd., 2018–2019) *'' The Better Sex'' (ABC 1977–1978) *''Blade Rider, Revenge of the Indian Nations'' (1966) *'' Blockbusters'' (NBC 1980–1982, 1987); UK version produced from 1983 to 1995 *'' Branded'' (NBC 1965–1967) *'' Broken Sabre'' (1965) *''By Popular Demand'' (CBS 1950) *'' Call My Bluff'' (NBC 1965) *''

'' (NBC 1978–1981, CBS/Syn 1986–1989, Syn 2001–2002, ABC 2019–2021) copyrighted as Suzanne Productions (later MG Productions), and The Card Sharks Company. *'' Celebrity Family Feud'' (2008, 2015–present) *'' Choose Up Sides'' (NBC 1956) * ''Concentration'' and ''Classic Concentration'' (Syn 1973–1978, NBC 1987–1991) copyrighted as G-T Enterprises and The Concentration Company *'' The Don Rickles Show'' (ABC 1968–1969) *'' Double Dare'' (CBS 1976–1977) *''(The New) Family Feud (Challenge)'' (ABC 1976–1985, CBS 1988–1995, Syn 1999–present) copyrighted by The Family Company, The New Family Company, Feudin' Productions, and Wanderlust Productions *'' Get the Message'' (ABC 1964) *'' Goodyear Theatre'' (NBC 1957–1960) *'' He Said, She Said'' (Syn 1969–1970) *'' It's News to Me'' (CBS 1951–1953, 1954) *'' I've Got a Secret'' (CBS 1952–1967, Syn 1972–1973, 1976, 2000–2001, GSN 2006) produced by Oxygen Media LLC in the 2000–01 version and Burt DuBrow Productions in association with Get Real Entertainment in the 2006 version *'' Jefferson Drum'' (1958–1959) *''Judge for Yourself'' (NBC 1953–1954) *''Las Vegas Beat'' (1961) *'' Make the Connection'' (1955) *''

'' (NBC 1962–1969, CBS 1973–1982, ABC 1990–1991, Syn 1998–1999, ABC 2016–2021, 2025-present) copyrighted as Sojourn Productions, Celebrity Productions, The Match Game Company, and others. *'' Million Dollar Password'' (2008–09) *'' Mindreaders'' (NBC 1979–80, unrelated to the 1975 pilot) *'' Missing Links'' (NBC, ABC 1963–1964) *'' The Name's the Same'' (ABC 1951–1954, 1954–1955) *'' Now You See It'' (CBS 1974–1975, 1989) copyrighted as Suzanne Productions and The Now You See It Company *'' Number Please'' (ABC 1961) *''One Happy Family'' (1961) *''

'' (CBS 1961–1967, ABC 1971–1975, NBC 2022–present) copyrighted as Peak Productions. *'' Password Plus and Super Password'' (NBC 1979–1982, NBC 1984–1989) copyrighted as The Password Company and The Super Password Company. *''

Philip Marlowe Philip Marlowe ( ) is a fictional character created by Raymond Chandler who was characteristic of the hardboiled crime fiction genre. The genre originated in the 1920s, notably in '' Black Mask'' magazine, in which Dashiell Hammett's The Cont ...

'' (1959–60) *'' Play Your Hunch'' (CBS, ABC, NBC 1958–1963) *''

'' (NBC, ABC 1956–1965, Syn 1972–1980, 1985–86, 1994–95, CBS 1972–present) copyrighted as Marbil Productions, Price Productions and The Price Is Right Productions. *'' The Rebel'' (1959–1961) *'' The Richard Boone Show'' (1963–1964) *'' Ride Beyond Vengeance'' (1966) *'' Say When!!'' (NBC 1961–1965) *'' Showoffs'' (ABC 1975) *'' Snap Judgment'' (NBC 1967–1969) *''Split Personality'' (NBC 1959–60) *''Stop the Music (American TV series), Stop the Music'' (ABC 1948–1952, ABC 1954–1956) produced in association with Louis G. Cowan, Louis Cowan Productions *''

'' (CBS, Syn 1974–1978, CBS 1982–1984) copyrighted as Panel Productions and The Tattletales Company. *''That's My Line'' (CBS 1980–1981) *''

'' (CBS 1956–1968, Syn 1969–1978, Syn 1980–81, NBC 1990–91, Syn 2000–2002, ABC 2016–2022) *''Two for the Money (game show), Two for the Money'' (CBS 1952–1956, NBC 1957) *''What's Going On (TV series), What's Going On?'' (ABC 1954) *''

'' (CBS 1950–1967, Syn 1968–1975) *''What's My Line?, What's My Line? at 25'' (ABC 1975) *'' The Web'' (CBS 1950–1954) *''The Web (1957 TV series), The Web'' (NBC 1957) *'' Winner Take All'' (CBS, NBC 1948–1950, 1951, 1952)

Mark Goodson Productions (1982–1996)

*''Body Language (game show), Body Language'' (CBS 1984–86) *''Bonus Bonanza'' (1995) *'' Child's Play'' (CBS 1982–83) *'' Classic Concentration'' (NBC 1987–91) copyrighted as The Concentration Company, a subsidiary of NBC. *''Come Back to the Five and Dime, Jimmy Dean, Jimmy Dean (film), Come Back to the 5 and Dime, Jimmy Dean, Jimmy Dean'' (1982) *''Flamingo Fortune'' (1995) *''TV's Funniest Game Show Moments'' (1984) *''TV's Funniest Game Show Moments #2'' (1985) *''Illinois Instant Riches'' (1994–96) *''Match Game-Hollywood Squares Hour, The Match Game-Hollywood Squares Hour'' (NBC 1983–1984) *''Trivia Trap'' (ABC 1984–1985)

Other shows based on Mark Goodson formats

*''100 Latinos Dijeron'' (MundoFox/MundoMax 2013–2015, Estrella TV 2019–present - 2nd Spanish version of ''Family Feud'') *''¿Qué dice la gente?, ¿Qué Dice la Gente?'' (Telefutura 2006–2008 - 1st Spanish version of ''Family Feud'') *''Dame la Pista'' (Telefutura 2008 – Spanish version of ''Child's Play'') *''¿Qué dicen los famosos?, ¿Qué Dicen los Famosos?'' (Telemundo 2022–present - Spanish version of ''Celebrity Family Feud '') *''You Lie Like a Dog'' (Animal Planet 2000 – Animal themed version of ''To Tell the Truth'') *''Philly Pheud'' (WPHL-TV 2013–present - local Philadelphia version of ''Family Feud'')

Personal life and death

In 1941, Goodson married Bluma Neveleff and moved to New York City, where he teamed up with partner Bill Todman. Todman died from a heart condition on July 29, 1979, two days before his 63rd birthday. In 1982, the Goodsons acquired the Todman heirs' portion of the company. Goodson and Neveleff had two children, Jill (1942) and Jonathan Goodson, Jonathan (1945). They divorced and he married Virginia McDavid, a former Miss Alabama. In 1962, Goodson and McDavid had a daughter, Marjorie, who was a prize model on ''Concentration (game show)#Classic Concentration (1987–1991), Classic Concentration'' from July 1987 until its finale in September 1991. In 1972, he married Suzanne Waddell, who had once been a guest on ''

'' They divorced in 1978. Goodson died of pancreatic cancer on December 18, 1992, in New York City at the age of 77. He is interred at Hillside Memorial Park in Culver City, California, along with his parents Fannie Goodson and A.E. Goodson. After his death, Bob Barker gave him a small tribute that aired after an episode of ''The Price Is Right'', as an attached segment that followed the end credits: Following was a portrait of Goodson and a message saying, "Mark Goodson 1915–1992".

Legacy

Reruns of Goodson's shows have continued to dominate both the schedules of Game Show Network and Buzzr because his company saved most of the episodes of the shows, while other companies wiped theirs to reuse the tapes. The Lost television broadcast#Wiping, practice of wiping was stopped by the start of the 1980s.

Biography

On June 3, 2000, an episode of ''Biography (TV program), Biography'' called ''Mark Goodson: Will the Real Mark Goodson Please Stand Up?''A&E Biography - Mark Goodson - 6.3.00
/ref>aired on A&E Network, A&E hosted by Harry Smith (American journalist), Harry Smith and narrated by Russell Buchanan, where it profiled his life and career. This features many interviews of the hosts, panelists, and co-workers such as Betty White, Bob Barker, Gene Rayburn, Kitty Carlisle, Marjorie Goodson, and Suzanne Goodson.

2009 Game Show Awards

On June 6, 2009, an awards special that aired on Game Show Network, GSN called ''2009 Game Show Awards'' presented by Alex Trebek, featured a brief tribute to Goodson as his daughter Marjorie held the Innovator Award herself.

''Game Show Marathon''

The series was based on the British format called ''Gameshow Marathon (UK game show), Ant & Dec's/Vernon Kay's Gameshow Marathon'' and ran on CBS from May 31 until June 29, 2006, hosted by former actress/talk show host Ricki Lake, announced by Rich Fields (who formerly announced for ''The Price is Right'' from 2004 until 2010), and Todd Newton as the prize deliverer in which six celebrities (Lance Bass, Paige Davis, Tim Meadows, Kathy Najimy, Leslie Nielsen, and Brande Roderick) played seven classic game shows for their favorite charities and the home viewer featured five formats based on Goodson-Todman/Goodson shows along with the recreation of their original sets such as ''The Price is Right (1972 version)'', ''Beat the Clock'', ''Card Sharks'', ''

'' and ''Family Feud''.

Buzzr (YouTube)

From 2014 until 2016, the Buzzr brand was first used by its parent company FremantleMedia (now Fremantle) for its YouTube channel created by its digital-content studio Tiny Riot. The online channel features mostly classic clips along with its short-form reboots of its classic game-show properties using various internet celebrities as contestants. Four of the Goodson-Todman/Goodson shows that were rebooted are ''Family Feud'', ''Password'', ''Beat the Clock'', and ''Body Language''.

References

External links

Museum of Broadcast Communications: Mark Goodson and Bill Todman

This is a Mark Goodson-Bill Todman Production

Goodson Collection

Mark Goodson: Will the Real Mark Goodson Please Stand Up?

Lords of Fun and Games, Sports Illustrated.com

A Mark Goodson Productions , Legacy.com

Myrna Oliver in the Los Angeles Times article about Mark Goodson from December 19, 1992
* * on the Emmy channel * *
Mark Goodson's Profile

Mark Goodson in Memory
{{DEFAULTSORT:Goodson, Mark 1915 births 1992 deaths 20th-century American businesspeople 20th-century American Jews American people of Russian-Jewish descent American television producers Burials at Hillside Memorial Park Cemetery Businesspeople from Sacramento, California Deaths from pancreatic cancer in New York (state) Television producers from California American television show creators