''Two for the Money'' is an American

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 ...

television program that ran from 1952 to 1957. The show ran for one season on

NBC The National Broadcasting Company (NBC) is an American commercial broadcast television and radio network serving as the flagship property of the NBC Entertainment division of NBCUniversal, a subsidiary of Comcast. It is one of NBCUniversal's ...

, and four seasons on

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

. 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 Herbert Arthur "Herb" Shriner (May 29, 1918 – April 23, 1970) was an American humorist, radio personality, actor, and television host. Shriner was known for his homespun monologues, usually about his home state of Indiana. He was frequently co ...

was the

host A host is a person responsible for guests at an event or for providing hospitality during it. Host may also refer to: Places * Host, Pennsylvania, a village in Berks County * Host Island, in the Wilhelm Archipelago, Antarctica People * ...

for most of the show's run, with fellow humorist Sam Levenson hosting the last season. The game show was initially directed by

Paul Alter Paul Alter (March 11, 1922 – June 11, 2011) was an American television director, specializing in game shows for Mark Goodson, Mark Goodson Productions. Alter was best known as the original director of ''Family Feud'' from the show's origin in ...

. With the success of

Groucho Marx Julius Henry "Groucho" Marx (; October 2, 1890 – August 19, 1977) was an American comedian, actor, writer, and singer who performed in films and vaudeville on television, radio, and the stage. He is considered one of America's greatest comed ...

and his show, ''

You Bet Your Life ''You Bet Your Life'' is an American comedy quiz series that has aired on both radioMark 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 ...

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; however, "Hoosier" was in general use by the 1840s, having been popularized by Richmond resident John Finley's 1833 ...

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 that amount. 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 ( ), officially Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey, is a Public university, public land-grant research university consisting of three campuses in New Jersey. Chartered in 1766, Rutgers was originally called Queen's C ...

. 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'' from 1962 to 1981. During the 1960s and 1970s, he was often cited as "the most trust ...

filled in. Dr. Gross eventually became the university's president, and namesake of its fine arts program. Actor Walter O'Keefe and humorist and TV personality Sam Levenson served as Shriner's substitutes. Kenny Williams (who from 1960, until before his death in 1984, 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 Heatt ...

& 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 American Bro ...

made his network TV debut as the show's announcer.

Milton DeLugg Milton Delugg (December 2, 1918 – April 6, 2015) was an American musician, composer and arranger. Early years Milton Delugg was born in Los Angeles, California. He said, "There aren't any Deluggs. It's not a real name." He believed the family' ...

conducted the show's orchestra.

Dennis James Dennis James (born Demie James Sposa, August 24, 1917 – June 3, 1997) was an American television personality, philanthropist, and commercial spokesman. Until 1976, he had appeared on TV more times and for a longer period than any other televi ...

was primary sponsor Old Gold cigarettes' spokesman; Bob Shepperd 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 author and retired network television journalist. He first served as the co-anchor of Today (American TV program), ''The Today Show'' from 1976 to 1981 with Jane Pauley, then as the anch ...

, 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 Nielsen Media Research (NMR) is an American firm that measures media audiences, including television, radio, theatre, films (via the AMC Theatres MAP program), and newspapers. Headquartered in New York City, it is best known for the Nielsen rat ...

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 film preservation, preservation, film studies, study, and appreciation of film and television, based at the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA). As a nonpro ...

. 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 a research library in Washington, D.C., serving as the library and research service for the United States Congress and the ''de facto'' national library of the United States. It also administers Copyright law o ...

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

Critical response

A review of Levenson's second episode in the trade publication ''

Variety Variety may refer to: Arts and entertainment Entertainment formats * Variety (radio) * Variety show, in theater and television Films * ''Variety'' (1925 film), a German silent film directed by Ewald Andre Dupont * ''Variety'' (1935 film), ...

'' said that the show "appears to be uneven in entertainment qualities, rising and dipping according to the human interest of the contestants." Specifically, the review noted that in that episode Levenson's "humor clicked" with one couple, while the segment with another pair of contestants lacked spontaneity. The reviewer suggested that the show's format might be too confining for Levenson's talents.

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 game shows Television series by Mark Goodson-Bill Todman Productions ITV (TV network) original programming NBC game shows Black-and-white American television shows 1956 British television series debuts 1956 British television series endings