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The Big Surprise

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straight quiz with a few gimmicks such as two "insurance questions" which could be used, if answered correctly, to prevent the complete loss of winnings which otherwise occurred in the event of an incorrect answer to the regular questions. The questions were valued at $ 100, $ 200, $ 300, $ 1,000, $ 2,000, $ 3,000, $ 10,000, $ 20,000, $ 30,000, and $ 100,000.
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filed a lawsuit against the show, seeking $ 103,000 in monetary damages or reinstatement on the show as a contestant. Her claim was that, after being asked a question she did not know in a "warm-up" session, that she was asked the same question again during the televised show. Her assertion was that
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Contestants who had performed an act of heroism or generosity were accompanied by "reporters" who explained why that contestant should be chosen. The contestant then answered questions about his or her family, friends, hometown, hobbies, and other special interests. Questions started in value at $ 1
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If a contestant missed a question, another contestant could answer a question correctly and receive 10% of the original contestant's winnings, with the original contestant keeping the other 90%. While there were some alterations in the show's format over the next six months, it was basically a
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by asking questions of contestants in advance to determine what they knew, and then asking questions during the show accordingly. In some cases, when a contestant didn't know the answer to a question, Koplin would provide them with the answer in advance.
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When congressional hearings were convened in 1959 concerning allegations that many of the big money quiz shows were managed, Carlin and an associate producer of the show, Mert Koplin, testified under oath that
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this was done intentionally, with the express purpose of eliminating her as a contestant. At the time of the lawsuit, Steve Carlin, executive producer of Entertainment Productions, Inc. (the producers of
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and increased up to $ 100,000. An incorrect answer on any of the easy questions lost all winnings, while an incorrect answer on any of the hard questions lost half of the winnings.
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from October 8, 1955, to June 9, 1956, and from September 18, 1956, to April 2, 1957. It was hastily created by NBC in response to the
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Ethel Park Richardson was the first grand prize winner; she won for her responses to questions about American folk music and folklore.
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had been controlled, and that the primary sponsor of the show, Revlon, knew it. Koplin described controlling
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was one of the shows admitted to have been controlled by its producers and staff, under the umbrella of the
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no later than the early 1970s along with most other NBC programming that had no rerun value.
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Only the April 7, 1956, show is known to exist, which begins with guest contestant
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14-year-old George L. Wright III after correctly identifying a song of the 1920s
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for the rest of the run. Barry would return to NBC a few months after leaving
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Maisie Chen, native of China, with expertise in the Brooklyn Dodgers
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The Complete Directory to Prime Time Network and Cable TV Shows
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Rear Admiral Redfield B. Mason with his knowledge of mythology
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through March 3, 1956, after which he was replaced by
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Mike Wallace with Sue Oakland and Mary Gardiner, 1956.
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At least five people won the $ 100,000 grand prize:
559: 520:"Image of Jack Barry hugging Ethel Park Richardson" 467:"Boy, 10, Wins $ 100,000 in TV Quiz on Wall Street" 404: 187:in summer 1955 and almost instantly became a hit. 973: 401:) called this claim "ridiculous and hopeless". 868:The Interviews: An Oral History of Television 680: 359:and had ended prior to the disclosure of the 694: 946:House Subcommittee on Legislative Oversight 271:. Unsourced material may be challenged and 1002:American English-language television shows 687: 673: 660:"Leonard Ross: The Mike Wallace Interview" 36: 997:Black-and-white American television shows 495:"Mrs. Chen, a Dodger Fan, Wins TV's 100G" 375:going for $ 30,000. The rest were likely 291:Learn how and when to remove this message 987:1957 American television series endings 982:1955 American television series debuts 974: 533:Thomas, Robert McG. Jr. (1995-07-28). 532: 442:"House May Expand Probe of Television" 340:with his knowledge of the stock market 318: 668: 489: 487: 436: 434: 432: 347: 269:adding citations to reliable sources 236: 194:The series was originally hosted by 191:offered a grand prize of $ 100,000. 656:. Time Magazine, September 3, 1956. 644:. Time Magazine, February 13, 1956. 355:never approached the popularity of 13: 169:broadcast in the United States by 14: 1023: 650:. Time Magazine, March 19, 1956. 616: 595:"Sues Quiz Program For $ 103,000" 484: 429: 366: 959: 958: 762: 405:Quiz Show congressional hearings 382: 241: 387: 19:For the album by The Elms, see 633:Brooks, Tim and Marsh, Earle, 587: 526: 512: 459: 392:In late 1956, a contestant on 92: 1: 422: 7: 839:Pop culture and advertisers 232: 10: 1028: 206:with his own co-creations 18: 992:1950s American game shows 954: 928: 920:Frank Stanton (executive) 902: 877: 845: 838: 797: 771: 760: 702: 471:The Philadelphia Inquirer 183:, which had premiered on 130: 120: 115: 107: 102: 91: 83: 73: 57: 47: 35: 28: 696:1950s quiz show scandals 642:"The $ 100,000 Question" 601:. 1956-12-27. p. 22 501:. 1956-06-10. p. 61 473:. 1956-04-22. p. 40 227:1950s quiz show scandals 21:The Big Surprise (album) 448:. 1959-11-04. p. 1 446:The Shreveport Journal 1007:Lost television shows 739:The $ 64,000 Question 357:The $ 64,000 Question 313:The $ 64,000 Question 180:The $ 64,000 Question 16:American TV quiz show 815:Elfrida von Nardroff 265:improve this section 861:American Experience 319:Grand Prize winners 599:The News-Palladium 570:"The Big Surprise" 539:The New York Times 969: 968: 903:Other key figures 898: 897: 810:Charles Van Doren 718:For Love or Money 648:"The Moneymakers" 361:quiz show scandal 348:Broadcast history 301: 300: 293: 155: 154: 84:Country of origin 1019: 962: 961: 843: 842: 766: 732:The Big Surprise 689: 682: 675: 666: 665: 624:The Big Surprise 610: 609: 607: 606: 591: 585: 584: 582: 581: 572:. 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Retrieved 445: 415: 411: 408: 398: 393: 391: 388:1956 Lawsuit 370: 356: 352: 351: 338:Leonard Ross 336:11-year-old 322: 312: 310: 306: 302: 287: 278: 263:Please help 251: 222: 220: 213: 207: 203: 200:Mike Wallace 193: 188: 178: 158: 157: 156: 108:Running time 67:Mike Wallace 58:Presented by 29: 941:Frank Hogan 936:Oren Harris 798:Contestants 784:Dan Enright 373:Errol Flynn 177:success of 74:Narrated by 69:(1956–1957) 64:(1955–1956) 976:Categories 830:Marie Winn 779:Jack Barry 753:Twenty-One 605:2020-10-16 580:2024-03-26 552:2020-10-16 505:2020-10-16 499:Daily News 477:2020-10-15 452:2020-10-16 423:References 215:Twenty One 196:Jack Barry 164:television 148:1957-04-02 138:1955-10-08 111:30 minutes 103:Production 95:of seasons 78:Jack Clark 62:Jack Barry 929:Officials 854:Quiz Show 772:Producers 547:0362-4331 377:destroyed 252:does not 167:quiz show 52:Game show 878:Sponsors 233:Gameplay 885:Geritol 311:Unlike 273:removed 258:sources 175:ratings 146: ( 142: – 136: ( 131:Release 121:Network 890:Revlon 545:  711:Dotto 703:Shows 162:is a 48:Genre 629:IMDb 543:ISSN 256:any 254:cite 212:and 627:at 267:by 185:CBS 171:NBC 125:NBC 93:No. 978:: 597:. 561:^ 541:. 537:. 497:. 486:^ 469:. 444:. 431:^ 229:. 218:. 688:e 681:t 674:v 608:. 583:. 555:. 508:. 480:. 455:. 294:) 288:( 283:) 279:( 275:. 261:. 150:) 140:) 98:2 23:.

Index

The Big Surprise (album)

Game show
Jack Barry
Mike Wallace
Jack Clark
NBC
television
quiz show
NBC
ratings
The $ 64,000 Question
CBS
Jack Barry
Mike Wallace
Tic-Tac-Dough
Twenty One
1950s quiz show scandals

cite
sources
improve this section
adding citations to reliable sources
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Learn how and when to remove this message
Leonard Ross
quiz show scandal
Errol Flynn
destroyed

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