Anything For Money
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''Anything for Money'' is an American
television 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 host, who explains the rules of the program as well as commentating and narrating wh ...
where two contestants tried to predict the outcomes of situations in which cast members Christopher Callen and Ralph Harris attempted to coerce passers-by into participating in jokes, in exchange for increasing amounts of money.
Fred Travalena Frederick Albert Travalena III (October 6, 1942 – June 28, 2009) was an American entertainer, specializing in comedy and impressions. Early life Bronx, New York-born and Long Island-raised, Travalena moved to Los Angeles and developed a ...
hosted ''Anything for Money'' with
Johnny Gilbert John Lewis Gilbert III (born July 13, 1928) is an American show business personality who has worked mainly on television game shows. Originally a nightclub singer and entertainer, he has hosted and announced a number of game shows from variou ...
serving as announcer. The series was syndicated to stations to air as part of their daytime lineups and premiered on September 17, 1984. Originally slated to air twenty-two weeks of new episodes at first, an additional eight weeks were ordered over the course of the season and a total of 150 episodes aired before the show was cancelled. First-run episodes aired from the premiere until April 19, 1985, and reruns aired until sometime in August 1985. The show later aired on
USA Network USA Network (or simply USA) is an American basic cable television channel owned by the NBCUniversal Media Group division of Comcast's NBCUniversal. It was launched in 1977 as Madison Square Garden Sports Network, one of the first national sports ...
from 1986 until 1988. The series was produced by Gary Bernstein and
Larry Hovis Larry Hovis (February 20, 1936 – September 9, 2003) was an American singer and actor best known for the 1960s television sitcom '' Hogan's Heroes''. Early life and career Hovis was born in Wapato, Washington, and moved to Houston, Texas, as ...
, packaged by their production company Bernstein/Hovis Productions and Impact Studios, and distributed by
Paramount Television The first incarnation of Paramount Television was operated as the television production division of the American film studio Paramount Pictures, until it changed its name to CBS Paramount Television on January 17, 2006. History Desilu Pro ...
.


Rules

Travalena would introduce clips and, once the premise of the prank was known, the contestants then guessed whether or not the participants would consent. Three rounds were played, with a correct guess worth $200 in round 1, $300 in round 2, and $500 in round 3. The player with the most money after 3 rounds was the champ and received a bonus prize, besides their winnings. If the scores ended in a tie, both players received the bonus prize and became co-champs.


Controversy

''Anything for Money'' was originally a concept developed by Ralph Andrews Productions in 1983. Gary Bernstein was working for the company during this time, and Andrews had an agreement with
Columbia Pictures Television Columbia Pictures Television, Inc. (abbreviated as CPT) was launched on May 6, 1974, by Columbia Pictures as an American television production and distribution company. It is the second name of Columbia Pictures' television division Screen Gems ...
which gave Columbia first right of refusal for any Andrews-produced project between 1980 and 1986. Bernstein at the time was also partnering with actor Larry Hovis in his own venture. When ''Anything for Money'' was originally devised, CPT refused it outright. Andrews then advised Bernstein to go to Paramount and try and sell it to them, which he was successful in doing. A problem arose, however, because Bernstein said that ''he'' had owned the rights to the show and not Andrews. Paramount later picked up ''Anything for Money'' in 1984 and hired Bernstein and Hovis to produce it, thus causing Andrews to file a lawsuit against Paramount for taking his concept. Paramount won summary judgment in 1984, but after years of appeals, Andrews won a reversal in 1990. This did not affect Andrews and Bernstein's relationship as colleagues, as the two production units later launched ''
Yahtzee Yahtzee is a dice game made by Milton Bradley (a company that has since been acquired and assimilated by Hasbro). It was first marketed under the name of Yahtzee by game entrepreneur Edwin S. Lowe in 1956. The game is a development of earlie ...
'' in 1988. However, that program was also mired in controversy that would lead to a lawsuit being filed by the latter.


International versions

An equally short-lived British version ran on
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, ...
from February 6, 1991, until September 28, 1992, hosted by Andrew O'Connor. In 1991, SBT premiered a Brazilian version, ''Topa Tudo por Dinheiro'', hosted by the network's founder and owner
Silvio Santos Senor Abravanel (; 12 December 1930 – 17 August 2024), known professionally as Silvio Santos, was a Brazilian television presenter and business magnate. Widely regarded as the greatest personality in Television in Brazil, Brazilian television, ...
.


Sources

*{{IMDb title, 0198053


References

Television series by CBS Studios 1980s American game shows 1984 American television series debuts 1985 American television series endings 1990s British game shows 1991 British television series debuts 1992 British television series endings First-run syndicated game shows