''Two for the Money'' is an American

game show A game show is a genre of broadcast viewing entertainment (radio, television, internet, stage or other) where contestants compete for a reward. These programs can either be participatory or demonstrative and are typically directed by a host, ...

television program Television, sometimes shortened to TV, is a telecommunication medium for transmitting moving images and sound. The term can refer to a television set, or the medium of television transmission. Television is a mass medium for advertising, ...

which ran from 1952 to 1957. The show ran for one season on

NBC The National Broadcasting Company (NBC) is an American English-language commercial broadcast television and radio network. The flagship property of the NBC Entertainment division of NBCUniversal, a division of Comcast, its headquarters are l ...

, and four seasons on

CBS CBS Broadcasting Inc., commonly shortened to CBS, the abbreviation of its former legal name Columbia Broadcasting System, is an American commercial broadcast television and radio network serving as the flagship property of the CBS Entertainm ...

. It was a

Mark Goodson Mark Leo Goodson (January 14, 1915 – December 18, 1992) was an American television producer who specialized in game shows, most frequently with his business partner Bill Todman, with whom he created Goodson-Todman Productions. Early life and e ...

Bill Todman William Selden Todman (July 31, 1916 – July 29, 1979) was an American television producer and personality born in New York City. He produced many of television's longest-running shows with business partner Mark Goodson, with whom he created ...

production, and was initially sponsored by

Old Gold Old gold is a dark yellow, which varies from light olive or olive brown to deep or strong yellow, generally on the darker side of this range. The first recorded use of ''old gold'' as a color name in English was in the early 19th century (exact ...

cigarettes. Humorist Herb Shriner was the host for most of the show's run, with fellow humorist

Sam Levenson Samuel Levenson (December 28, 1911August 27, 1980) was an American humorist, writer, teacher, television host, and journalist. Personal life Born in 1911, he grew up in a large Jewish immigrant family in Brooklyn, New York. He graduated from ...

hosting the last season. The game show was initially directed by Paul Alter. With the success of Groucho Marx and his show, ''

You Bet Your Life ''You Bet Your Life'' is an American comedy quiz series that has aired on both radio and television. The original and best-known version was hosted by Groucho Marx of the Marx Brothers, with announcer and assistant George Fenneman. The show deb ...

,'' which aired on NBC,

was looking for a similar format that was as much a showcase for the host as it was a game. ''Two for the Money'' was just that, with as much of Shriner's homespun

Hoosier Hoosier is the official demonym for the people of the U.S. state of Indiana. The origin of the term remains a matter of debate, but "Hoosier" was in general use by the 1840s, having been popularized by Richmond resident John Finley's 1833 poem " ...

humor as there was actual game play. But there was a game to be played, and its format was fairly simple. In the first round, a pair of contestants would be given a category, and would come up with as many correct answers that fit the category as possible within a fifteen-second time period. An example of a category: "States whose names end in 'A'." Each correct answer was worth $5.00. The other important rule is that the contestants had to alternate in giving their responses. Round two was much the same, but each correct answer's value was determined by the amount won in the first round — if the contestants won $25 in the first round, each correct second-round answer was worth $25. The amount won in the second round would be the value of each correct answer in the third and final round. Shriner had help in judging correct answers from Mason Welch Gross, a professor from

Rutgers University Rutgers University (; RU), officially Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey, is a public land-grant research university consisting of four campuses in New Jersey. Chartered in 1766, Rutgers was originally called Queen's College, and was ...

. Dr. Gross would sound a buzzer should he catch the team repeating an answer or giving an incorrect answer. For a brief time while Dr. Gross was away,

Walter Cronkite Walter Leland Cronkite Jr. (November 4, 1916 – July 17, 2009) was an American broadcast journalist who served as anchorman for the ''CBS Evening News'' for 19 years (1962–1981). During the 1960s and 1970s, he was often cited as "the mo ...

filled in. Dr. Gross eventually became the university's president, and namesake of its fine arts program. Actor

Walter O'Keefe Walter O'Keefe (August 18, 1900 – June 26, 1983) was an American songwriter, actor, syndicated columnist, Broadway composer, radio legend, screenwriter, musical arranger and TV host. Biography O'Keefe was born in Hartford, Connecticut. H ...

and humorist and TV personality

served as Shriner's substitutes. Kenny Williams (who from 1960, until before is death in 1985, would be the "voice" of nearly all the game shows produced by

Merrill Heatter Merrill Gabriel Heatter (December 16, 1925 – October 8, 2017) was an American television producer and writer. He was best known for his collaboration with writer Bob Quigley for over 20 years and the formation of their production company Heat ...

& Bob Quigley) was the announcer. In 1957,

Ed McMahon Edward Leo Peter McMahon Jr. (March 6, 1923 – June 23, 2009) was an American announcer, game show host, comedian, actor, singer, and combat aviator. McMahon and Johnny Carson began their association in their first TV series, the ABC game sh ...

made his network TV debut as the show's announcer. Milton DeLugg conducted the show's orchestra. Dennis James was primary sponsor Old Gold cigarettes' spokesman;

Bob Shepperd Bob, BOB, or B.O.B. may refer to: Places *Mount Bob, New York, United States *Bob Island, Palmer Archipelago, Antarctica People, fictional characters, and named animals * Bob (given name), a list of people and fictional characters *Bob (surname ...

was the pitchman for other sponsors. The show was also remade in the United Kingdom for the then-new ITV network in 1956, lasting only one series. The UK version was hosted by Bernard Braden. Seventeen-year-old

Tom Brokaw Thomas John Brokaw (; born February 6, 1940) is an American retired network television journalist and author. He first served as the co-anchor of ''The Today Show'' from 1976 to 1981 with Jane Pauley, then as the anchor and managing editor of '' ...

, governor of South Dakota Boys' State, appeared with the real governor of South Dakota,

Joe Foss Joseph Jacob Foss (April 17, 1915January 1, 2003) was a United States Marine Corps major and a leading Marine fighter ace in World War II. He received the Medal of Honor in recognition of his role in air combat during the Guadalcanal Campaign. In ...

, in 1957. Together they won $1,225, answering questions mainly about politics (one of the categories was "state governors," and one of Brokaw's answers, as he recounts in his autobiography, was "The honorable Joe Foss of South Dakota"). The series finished #14 in the Nielsen ratings for the 1954-1955 season. It received Emmy nominations for Best Audience Participation, Quiz or Panel Program in 1953 and 1954.

Episode status

17 episodes survive at the

UCLA Film and Television Archive The UCLA Film & Television Archive is a visual arts organization focused on the preservation, study, and appreciation of film and television, based at the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA). Also a nonprofit exhibition venue, the ar ...

. One episode is included in the set "Classic Game Shows & More", released by Mill Creek Entertainment. 171 out of the approximately 209 episodes from the Herb Shriner run survive at the

Library of Congress The Library of Congress (LOC) is the research library that officially serves the United States Congress and is the ''de facto'' national library of the United States. It is the oldest federal cultural institution in the country. The library ...

. Combined with 11 exclusive to UCLA, the number comes out to 182. The status of the Sam Levenson shows is unclear.

References

External links

*{{IMDb title, id=0044299, title=Two for the Money
Video of public domain episode (with Sam Levenson) on Internet Archive
1952 American television series debuts 1957 American television series endings 1950s American comedy game shows 1950s British game shows CBS original programming Television series by Mark Goodson-Bill Todman Productions ITV (TV network) original programming NBC original programming Black-and-white American television shows