THE CBS JOKER'S WILD DATASHEET

"THE JOKER'S WILD"

BROADCAST HISTORY:

CBS DAYTIME, SEPTEMBER 4, 1972 - JUNE 13, 1975

686 EPISODES IN COLOR ON VIDEOTAPE; 30 MINUTES

MONDAYS-FRIDAYS 10:00-10:30 AM (EASTERN)

PACKAGER:

JACK BARRY PRODUCTIONS

HOST:

JACK BARRY

ANNOUNCERS:

JOHNNY JACOBS, JOHNNY GILBERT, ROY ROWAN

EXECUTIVE PRODUCERS:

JOHN R. TOBYANSEN, DAN ENRIGHT (1975)

PRODUCER:

JUSTIN EDGERTON

DIRECTOR:

RICHARD S. KLINE

ASSOCIATE PRODUCERS (1975):

RICHARD CHAPLAN, EILEEN EDGERTON

ASSISTANT TO EXECUTIVE PRODUCER/PRODUCERS:

BARBARA S. OLSAN

ART DIRECTOR:

DON ROBERTS

CONTESTANT COORDINATORS:

ESTHER FURTH, BEVERLY MORRISON, LILA MICHAELS (1975)

ASSISTANT CONTESTANT COORDINATORS (1975):

TERRI SWAIN, SHEILA PALMER, NANCY SHERMAN

PRODUCTION ASSISTANT (1975):

MELINDA CASEY

RESEARCHERS:

RICHARD CHAPIN, MIMI GREENBERG, TERRY McDONNELL, DOUGLAS J. NIGH

PRODUCTION STAFF:

MERI OLIVER, SANDI FULLERTON, EILEEN EDGERTON, DARLEN MARKS (1975), INA WEISS (1975)

ASSOCIATE DIRECTORS:

STAN GREEN, SAMN SHERMAN, SANDI F. FULLERTON (1975)

PRODUCTION SUPERVISOR:

ALLAN BAUMRUCKER, TOM RICHMOND (1975)

LIGHTING DIRECTORS:

DICK HOLBROOK, HANK RENEK, JOHN BEAM, ED S. HILL (1975)

TECHNICAL DIRECTORS:

BOB SCHULZ, LESLIE VAUGHT, GEORGE THOMPSON (1975)

AUDIO:

DON HELVEY, TERRY HENSEY, BOB MARENCOVICH (1975)

STAGE MANAGERS:

HARRY ROGUE, GARY SHIMOKAWA, ELLIS TONEY, BARBARA SEARLES, J.D. LOBUE (1975), RUSS SEGEL (1975)

EXECUTIVE IN CHARGE OF PRODUCTION:

JACK BARRY

ORIGINATION:

STUDIO 41, CBS TELEVISION CITY, LOS ANGELES

MR. BARRY’S WARDROBE FURNISHED BY (1975):

RUBIN BROTHERS INTERNATIONAL

Opening Spiels:

#1 (September-November 1972):

"From Television City In Hollywood, CBS Presents America's Most Exciting New Show, THE JOKER'S WILD!!!"

#2 (November 1972-June 1975):

"From Television City In Hollywood, Here's The Game Where Knowledge Is King And Lady Luck Is Queen: It's THE JOKER'S WILD!!!"

Closing Spiels:

#1a (September 1972):

"All Contestants Are Selected In Advance, And Are Advised On The Rules Of The Game! The Joker's Wild Is A Jack Barry Production!"

#1b (September 1972-March 1973):

"All Contestants Are Selected In Advance, And Are Advised On The Rules Of The Game! Stay Tuned For The New Price Is Right Next On Most Of These Stations!"

#2 (March 1973-March 1974):

"All Contestants Are Selected In Advance, And Are Advised On The Rules Of The Game! Stay Tuned For The $10,000 Pyramid On Most Of These Stations!"

#3 (March 1974-June 1975):

"The Joker's Wild Is A Jack Barry Production! All Contestants Are Selected In Advance, And Are Advised On The Rules Of The Game! (Please) Stay Tuned For Gambit On Most Of These Stations!"

Main Title Themes/Background Cues:

"The Savers"

1972-1974 CBS Theme

aka "Peanuts, Hot Dogs and Beer"

Written by Jean-Jacques Perrey (ASCAP) and Gershon Kingsley (ASCAP)

Published by Valentine Music Company (ASCAP)

"The Joker's Jive" ("Version B")

1974-1975 CBS Theme

Written by Alan Thicke

"Bell Hop"

CBS Ticket Plug

Composed by John Shakespeare

"Shopping Centre"

CBS Prize Cue #1

Composed by Manfred Minnich

"Pop Promotion"

CBS Prize Cue #2

Composed by Gerhard Narholz & Jurgen Jaenner

"Thank you. Thank you very much, and a most cordially welcome to a

brand-new and, we hope, very exciting show for you. It's called The Joker's

Wild. It's a show where Knowledge Is King and Lady Luck Is Queen, and where

winning players can win up to $25,000 in cash and prizes!"

---Jack Barry on the inaugural CBS Joker telecast, September 4, 1972

Miscellaneous Notes:

1. Jack-Barry's The Joker's Wild debuted on the exact same Labor Day which saw the dawning of Goodson-Todman's The New Price Is Right and Heatter-Quigley's Gambit. Along with the short-lived The Amateur's Guide To Love (March-June, 1972; another H/Q property), these were the first game shows to air on the CBS Daytime schedule since the demise of the original To Tell The Truth in September 1968. This was the result of The CBS Television Network totally revamping its waning daytime schedule by wiping out a 90-minute block of sitcom repeats.

2. The Joker's Wild featured different openings perpetrated by emcee Jack Barry. From the premiere episode to Episode #50 (November 10, 1972), Jack walked from the right of the set and stopped in front of the 1-armed bandit to greet his audience. For the week of November 13-17, 1972, the show featured the camera cutting from the show's title on the 3 windows to Jack already standing behind his podium. And from Episode 56 (November 20, 1972) to the show's demise in June 1975, the camera cut from the show's title on the 3 windows to the entrance for Jack and zoomed in on him as he enters, turns right, and stops behind his podium.

3. In October 1972, the show began employing the use of Sony microphones – the same one used by Bob Barker on The New Price Is Right and the same one Jack Barry will make use of on Joker as it revives in first-run syndication in 1977 – for the contestants' podiums.

4. In the short credits crawl at the end of Episode 51 (November 13, 1972), the CBS Television City logo replaced the caption "This Program Was Recorded," which was seen between the caption "A JACK BARRY PRODUCTION" and the show's title, and had been since the show's debut.

5. One week, The Joker's Wild featured well-known celebrities competing for charity, in January 1974:

January 7: Rod McKuen

January 8: Morey Amsterdam, Dr. Joyce Brothers, Lyle Waggoner, Peggy Lennon

January 9: Ross Hunter, Ross Martin, Fannie Flagg

January 10: Martha Raye, Bill Daily, Ann Elder

January 11: Peggy Cass, Doc Severinsen, Marty Ingels

6. Beginning with Episode 31 (October 16, 1972), the lettering in the category wheels was seen in white boxes.

7. Famous Joker firsts: first 2 contestants were Susan Raphael and Ed Hackey; the first 5 categories used in the very first main round: "Cooking," "Roaring 20s," "Julius Caesar," "Comic Strips," and "Football"; the first champion: Ed Hackey (all on the Sept. 4, 1972 premiere); the first Joker contestant to win a car: Tex Crenshaw (Sept. 6, 1972), the first contestant to pull 3 Jokers (and win the game in the process!): Barbara Terrace (Sept. 7, 1972), the first contestant to unfortunately spin a Devil in the Bonus Round: Ernest Carr (Sept. 18, 1972), and, of course, the first contestant to break The Joker's Jackpot: Kathryn Wexler ($15,400 on Sept. 28, 1972)!

8. Episode 135 (March 14, 1973) saw slight alterations on the set of The Joker's Wild: its podiums, which since the series debut have been supported by steel tripods, are now supported by I-shaped plaster colums, with the money readouts on the contestants' podiums being much wider to accommodate 5-digit money amounts instead of 4-digit ones. Only the contestant's podiums went plaster at first; the host's podium followed suit a week later (in episode #141, aired on CBS March 22, 1973).

9. Starting with Episode 51 (November 13, 1972), Jack Barry would declare that departing contestants will be recieving a copy of The Joker's Wild Board Game. Now, I just want to say that the box that Jack is holding bears no resemblance to the one which is constantly sold on eBay and features on its box the ever-perky Joker standing on his hands, for the one he's holding features a color still of a regular CBS Joker's Wild episode! (Anybody got a copy of this version of the game?)

10. In the first 2 CBS episodes of The Joker's Wild, the contestants' podiums featured nameplates for the contestants, while the emcee's podium boasted the name "JOKER'S JACKPOT" printed on cardboard, instead of actual lettering.

11. The second pilot of The Joker's Wild, recorded at KTLA in 1971, offered $25 for a single category, $50 for pairs, and $100 for triples.

12. The back wall of The Joker's Wild's set was seen in a different array of colors: black, sky blue, and yellow.

13. Every Easter, children came on to play The Joker's Wild with their parents. (This would give rise to the weekly 1979-81 syndicated spin-off Joker! Joker!! Joker!!!.)

14. The climax of the 686th and final CBS Joker episode saw Jack Barry giving a lengthy speech, in which he mentions his partner Dan Enright and mentioned TJW's replacement on CBS the following Monday:

"Ladies and gentlemen, this is the last Joker's Wild program. On Monday, a new program will appear here: it is called Spin-Off, and it features a very good friend of mine, Jim Lange. I hope that you will watch it, 'cause I'm sure you will enjoy it.

"686 programs ago, I had the distinct pleasure of saying, 'Welcome to The Joker's Wild.’ I could not have been able to say that then, nor could I say goodbye to you now, without acknowledging the contributions made by my friends here at CBS, notably the chief of programs, Mr. Fred Silverman, Mr. Bud Grant, Mr. Oscar Katz, and Mr. Michael Ogiens; their patience has been monumental, their loyalty has been terrific, as it has been to those of you who are watching.

“I'd also like to pay a special tribute, along with my Executive Producer Dan Enright, to 2 individuals who have helped so much to make this the 3-year success that it has enjoyed here on CBS, in particular our Director, Richard Kline, without whom we could not have done the program, and the great contributions made by our Producer, Justin Edgerton. At the end of this program, I cannot---there is not time for me to list everybody; you will see a full list of the names of the people both on the technical staff and on the staff of my own company without whom we could not have brought you 686 programs.

"We hope that you have enjoyed them. It's been a great privilege for me to have been with you these 3 years; they have been the very, very happiest and most productive years of my life. We'll be seeing you again shortly, and so, for the 686th time, this is Jack Barry, for all of us here on The Joker's Wild, thanking you for your loyalty and saying goodbye."

Jack Barry then walked off the original set of The Joker's Wild for the very last time, after which, the studio gradually darkens, save for the lights of The Joker's Wild's 1-armed bandit slot machine, and the long credits crawl commences. Camera then zoomed in on the three windows of the giant 1-armed bandit---the only visible portion of the set---that displayed the show's title; these windows then shut off one by one, leaving the set dark.

Thus perished the original CBS Daytime edition of The Joker's Wild. By this time, it had abandoned its omnipresent Joker's Jackpot and Jokers And Devils bonus round in favor of a new Money And Devil's bonus round. It featured celebrity contestants playing for charity in January of 1974 and by this point had also instituted a new musical theme: Alan Thicke's "The Joker's Jive (Version B)". NBC routed Celebrity Sweepstakes into the 10 a.m. spot opposite Joker on CBS in January 1975, therefore committing its decline in ratings. The Joker's Wild was Jack Barry's last network game; his next hosting gig was the 1976-77 weekly syndicated primetime edition Break The Bank (after its 1976 ABC Daytime version [hosted by Tom Kennedy], despite monstrous ratings, fell victim to expanding daytime dramas), which he produced together with Dan Enright.

Barry and Enright sold repeats of the 1974-75 CBS season of The Joker's Wild to several markets, including KTLA in Los Angeles and WOR in New York (where it debuted in February 1977). The immense popularity of these repeats foreshadowed TJW's return to TV in a new first-run syndicated edition in September 1977, which yielded a 9-year hit!

15. The following CBS episodes of The Joker's Wild are archived in the ATAS-UCLA Television Archives in Los Angeles:

a. Title: The joker's wild. [1969, unidentified issue, pilot] / a Jack Barry

production in association with CBS-TV Network ; produced and created by

Jack Barry; director, Marty Pasetta ; writer, Ed Hider.

Publisher: c1969.

Notes: Quiz show.

Broadcast on CBS.

Record date: Apr. 22, 1969.

Performers: Host: Allen Ludden. Panel: Pat Paulsen, Rich Little,

Rosemary Clooney, Don Drysdale, Eileen Ryan.

Language: English

Genre/form: Quiz shows.

Database control #: 04-AAF-8608

b. The joker's wild. [1973-03-12] / CBS ; created by Jack Barry ; executive

producer, Dan Enright.

Published/distributed: [1973-03-12]

Notes: Cast/perfomers: Host: Jack Barry.

Genre/form: Quiz shows.

Database control #: 04-AAF-8609

Summary: 1 videoreel of 1 : sd. ; 1/2 in.

AVAILABILITY: Conservation copy.Archival copy.

Not available for viewing. Contact the Research and

Study Center for further information., NOTES: On one

videoreel in unknown order with March 12, 1973 issue

of The price is right.

c. The joker's wild. [1973-03-20] / CBS ; created by Jack Barry ; executive

producer, Dan Enright.

Published/distributed: [1973-03-20]

Notes: Cast/perfomers: Host: Jack Barry.

Genre/form: Quiz shows.

Database control #: 04-AAF-8610

Summary: 1 videoreel of 1 : sd. ; 1/2 in.

AVAILABILITY: Conservation copy.Archival copy.

Not available for viewing. Contact the Research and

Study Center for further information., NOTES: On one

videoreel in unknown order with March 20, 1973 issue

of The price is right.

d. The joker's wild. [1973-03-28] / CBS ; created by Jack Barry ; executive

producer, Dan Enright.

Published/distributed: [1973-03-28]

Notes: Cast/perfomers: Host: Jack Barry.

Genre/form: Quiz shows.

Database control #: 04-AAF-8611

Summary: 1 videoreel of 1 : sd. ; 1/2 in.

AVAILABILITY: Conservation copy.Archival copy.

Not available for viewing. Contact the Research and

Study Center for further information., NOTES: On one

videoreel in unknown order with March 28, 1973 issue

of The 10,000 dollar pyramid.

e. The joker's wild. [1973-04-05] / CBS ; created by Jack Barry ; executive

producer, Dan Enright.

Published/distributed: [1973-04-05]

Notes: Cast/perfomers: Host: Jack Barry.

Genre/form: Quiz shows.

Summary: 1 videoreel of 1 : sd. ; 1/2 in.

Database control #: 04-AAF-8612

AVAILABILITY: Conservation copy.Archival copy.

Not available for viewing. Contact the Research and

Study Center for further information., NOTES: On one

videoreel in unknown order with April 5, 1973 issue of

The 10,000 dollar pyramid.

f. The joker's wild. [1973-04-13] / CBS ; created by Jack Barry ; executive

producer, Dan Enright.

Published/distributed: [1973-04-13]

Notes: Cast/perfomers: Host: Jack Barry.

Genre/form: Quiz shows.

Database control #: 04-AAF-8613

Summary: 1 videoreel of 1 : sd. ; 1/2 in.

AVAILABILITY: Conservation copy.Archival copy.

Not available for viewing. Contact the Research and

Study Center for further information., NOTES: On one

videoreel in unknown order with April 13, 1973 issue

of The 10,000 dollar pyramid.

g. Title: The joker's wild. [1974, unidentified issue, no. 424] / a Jack

Barry production ; created by Jack Barry.

Published/distributed: 1974.

Notes: Broadcast on CBS.

Record date: May 20, 1974.

Cast/perfomers: Host: Jack Barry.

Genre/form: Quiz shows.

Other Entries: Barry, Jack, 1918-1984. host

CBS Television Network.

Database control #: 04-AAF-8614

Summary: 1 videocassette of 1 (Betacam SP) (30 min.) : sd., col. ; 1/2 in.

AVAILABILITY: Archival copy. Not available

for viewing. Contact the Research and Study

Center for further information. Preservation

copy., LOCATION: A10-75-367.

Summary: 1 videocassette of 1 (30 min.) : sd., col. ; 3/4 in.

AVAILABILITY: Research copy. Usually available for on site viewing;

some restrictions may apply. Conservation copy., LOCATION: A15-74.

16. For 25 years, it was believed that the videotapes of the first two seasons of The Joker's Wild on CBS had been erased for reuse. That is, until an excavation at New York City's CBS affilliate WCBS-TV Channel 2 proved otherwise. Game Show Network (GSN) picked up the tapes to add to their vast collection (they already had the 1974-75 CBS tapes of the game, in addition to all 9 seasons of the syndie version), and, with a few exceptions (i.e. mising episodes), aired the CBS Joker's Wild on its schedule between December 2000 and August 2001, starting with the September 4, 1972 debut telecast.

Instituted: Monday, May 9, 2005.

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