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The Game Show Forum => The Big Board => Topic started by: animill9 on November 06, 2005, 01:31:01 PM

Title: $100,000 PYRAMID QUESTION
Post by: animill9 on November 06, 2005, 01:31:01 PM
During a tournament week on The $100,000 Pyramid, whenever one of the three contenders won the $100,000, the six "flippy boxes" (aka trilons) would all start wiggling in unison. Ive always wondered if the wiggling was done manually backstage by the stagehands, or if it happened with the push of a button in the control room?
Title: $100,000 PYRAMID QUESTION
Post by: Dbacksfan12 on November 06, 2005, 02:07:21 PM
[quote name=\'animill9\' date=\'Nov 6 2005, 01:31 PM\']I've always wondered if the wiggling was done manually backstage by the stagehands, or if it happened with the push of a button in the control room?
[/quote]
First, don't type your subject in all caps.  It's likely not to be read by many people.

I seem to recall a webpage that said that was done manually; they used to do this frequently on the $20K version.
Title: $100,000 PYRAMID QUESTION
Post by: Kevin Prather on November 06, 2005, 03:10:44 PM
My understanding has always been that all movement of the trilons was done by stagehands. They were never run by motors. And this is for a good reason. You don't want to half to stop tape in the middle of a WC round because one of the motors screwed up and a box didn't turn or stop turning.

To answer your question, it was most likely done by stagehands. I believe some have said that it was their way of applauding the winner.
Title: $100,000 PYRAMID QUESTION
Post by: jmangin on November 06, 2005, 03:25:12 PM
Yes, it was done by stage hands.  Believe it or not, FIVE people were behind the WC board simultaneously turning boxes.
Title: $100,000 PYRAMID QUESTION
Post by: animill9 on November 06, 2005, 04:39:05 PM
I have a friend who says it freaked him out whenever he saw the trilons shaking.
Oh please!!
Title: $100,000 PYRAMID QUESTION
Post by: Kevin Prather on November 06, 2005, 04:48:37 PM
He probably sleeps with a night-light too, I suppose?
Title: $100,000 PYRAMID QUESTION
Post by: SRIV94 on November 06, 2005, 04:59:48 PM
[quote name=\'whoserman\' date=\'Nov 6 2005, 03:48 PM\']He probably sleeps with a night-light too, I suppose?
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As long as his friend doesn't bowl. . . :)

Doug -- and the countdown to 1600 continues
Title: $100,000 PYRAMID QUESTION
Post by: Robert Hutchinson on November 06, 2005, 05:50:08 PM
I used to think that the trilons were shaking because about 5000 people were running up on stage.
Title: $100,000 PYRAMID QUESTION
Post by: animill9 on November 06, 2005, 06:16:10 PM
Actually, there have been some episodes where someone won the 100 thou, and the trilons didnt move at all.
Title: $100,000 PYRAMID QUESTION
Post by: Kevin Prather on November 06, 2005, 06:41:10 PM
I'm sort of surprised that happened as often as it did. Wasn't that sort of a huge security risk? What if one of those guys was a nutcase with a knife or something?
Title: $100,000 PYRAMID QUESTION
Post by: NickintheATL on November 06, 2005, 07:25:51 PM
Murder at the Pyramid, film at 11....

Hmm.

Come on, you guys know the real reason the trilons do that is for the operators to defend themselves in case one of those audience members who come on stage try to climb up the pyramid? It was cheaper than electrifying it and such (cheap, Bob Stewart, now there's something I never thought of :-D)

Nick- who might need his sarcasm detector adjusted after this post
Title: $100,000 PYRAMID QUESTION
Post by: Kevin Prather on November 06, 2005, 08:00:33 PM
[quote name=\'NicholasM79\' date=\'Nov 6 2005, 05:25 PM\']Come on, you guys know the real reason the trilons do that is for the operators to defend themselves in case one of those audience members who come on stage try to climb up the pyramid?
[/quote]

Oh, yeah! How could I forget the Great Pyramid Mob of '86? Now THAT was a mess.
Title: $100,000 PYRAMID QUESTION
Post by: animill9 on November 06, 2005, 11:24:37 PM
Actually, there was more than one "mob" on Pyramid in 1986. There were two to be exact; the time that Cheryl Reinwand (all-time Pyramid money winner with $150,800) won the tournament, and the episode where Denise Bumbliss won the 100k. The trilons didnt wiggle on either of those big wins.
Title: $100,000 PYRAMID QUESTION
Post by: Kevin Prather on November 07, 2005, 12:04:37 AM
[quote name=\'animill9\' date=\'Nov 6 2005, 09:24 PM\']Actually, there was more than one "mob" on Pyramid in 1986.
[/quote]

Sorry, man.

WHOOOSH!
Title: $100,000 PYRAMID QUESTION
Post by: BrandonFG on November 07, 2005, 01:11:01 AM
[quote name=\'whoserman\' date=\'Nov 6 2005, 08:00 PM\'][quote name=\'NicholasM79\' date=\'Nov 6 2005, 05:25 PM\']Come on, you guys know the real reason the trilons do that is for the operators to defend themselves in case one of those audience members who come on stage try to climb up the pyramid?
[/quote]

Oh, yeah! How could I forget the Great Pyramid Mob of '86? Now THAT was a mess.
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I remember seeing that one. Scary for my 3 or 4-year-old eyes.

IIRC there was also a telethon that lasted all weekend. John Cougar Mellencamp did a pretty nice tribute, although in 1986, he might've just been John Cougar.
Title: $100,000 PYRAMID QUESTION
Post by: HYHYBT on November 07, 2005, 03:49:00 AM
Why five people? I could see needing two.

(Sorry, I seem to be asking a lot of stupid questions lately)
Title: $100,000 PYRAMID QUESTION
Post by: BrandonFG on November 07, 2005, 04:17:49 AM
[quote name=\'HYHYBT\' date=\'Nov 7 2005, 03:49 AM\']Why five people? I could see needing two.

(Sorry, I seem to be asking a lot of stupid questions lately)
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Seems like with the pyramid being the size it was, it would be difficult for only two people to shake six trilons simultaneously. I'm guessing it was two people on the bottom row alone.
Title: $100,000 PYRAMID QUESTION
Post by: zachhoran on November 07, 2005, 09:30:15 AM
[quote name=\'animill9\' date=\'Nov 6 2005, 11:24 PM\']Actually, there was more than one "mob" on Pyramid in 1986. There were two to be exact; the time that Cheryl Reinwand (all-time Pyramid money winner with $150,800) won the tournament, and the episode where Denise Bumbliss won the 100k. The trilons didnt wiggle on either of those big wins.
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Mary MOney's January 1987 and Richard Mahaffey's November 1985 $100K wins also had a good chunk of the audience coming up on stage.
Title: $100,000 PYRAMID QUESTION
Post by: BrandonFG on November 07, 2005, 09:32:23 AM
[quote name=\'zachhoran\' date=\'Nov 7 2005, 09:30 AM\'][quote name=\'animill9\' date=\'Nov 6 2005, 11:24 PM\']Actually, there was more than one "mob" on Pyramid in 1986. There were two to be exact; the time that Cheryl Reinwand (all-time Pyramid money winner with $150,800) won the tournament, and the episode where Denise Bumbliss won the 100k. The trilons didnt wiggle on either of those big wins.
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Mary MOney's January 1987 and Richard Mahaffey's November 1985 $100K wins also had a good chunk of the audience coming up on stage.
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Zach, don't feed into it. Both of you are really killing what was a pretty good joke.
Title: $100,000 PYRAMID QUESTION
Post by: tvrandywest on November 07, 2005, 09:53:05 AM
[quote name=\'HYHYBT\' date=\'Nov 7 2005, 12:49 AM\']Why five people? I could see needing two.
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I can't speak for the magic of the trembling trilons, but in the day-to-day production of Pyramid at CBS TVCity the board was operated by two stagehands under the direct supervision of a stage manager. On either the "pass" or "solve" of each subject the stage manager was cued from the booth and subsequently cued the proper direction to flip the trilon in play while also cueing the second stagehand to reveal the next subject. The first stagehand would then move to the third trilon and wait for a cue, and so on.

On stage 33 that pyramid was positioned about 6 feet forward from the studio's rear wall exactly where the hallway from the host's and announcer's dressing room enters the stage floor.

Memories!

Randy
tvrandywest.com
Title: $100,000 PYRAMID QUESTION
Post by: SRIV94 on November 07, 2005, 10:34:49 AM
[quote name=\'fostergray82\' date=\'Nov 7 2005, 12:11 AM\']IIRC there was also a telethon that lasted all weekend. John Cougar Mellencamp did a pretty nice tribute, although in 1986, he might've just been John Cougar.
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Nah, he readded the Mellencamp surname starting with his 1983 LP Uh-Huh.

And with that, I give you post #1600.

Doug -- celebrating 1600 posts (but only three actually worth reading)
Title: $100,000 PYRAMID QUESTION
Post by: HYHYBT on November 08, 2005, 09:40:59 AM
Thanks very much. I can see that it would take at least three to shake them (two hands per person, you know) but I remember reading in a book someplace once that it took five to operate the big pyramid and two for the small one and never could see why.

Anyway...
Title: $100,000 PYRAMID QUESTION
Post by: Robert Hutchinson on November 08, 2005, 06:01:03 PM
[quote name=\'HYHYBT\' date=\'Nov 8 2005, 09:40 AM\']Thanks very much. I can see that it would take at least three to shake them (two hands per person, you know) but I remember reading in a book someplace once that it took five to operate the big pyramid and two for the small one and never could see why.[/quote]

Perhaps they meant five people total? Two trilon turners, someone to cue them, the judge to cue the cuer, and someone to run the lights?
Title: $100,000 PYRAMID QUESTION
Post by: Casey on November 08, 2005, 07:01:24 PM
[quote name=\'tvrandywest\' date=\'Nov 7 2005, 09:53 AM\']I can't speak for the magic of the trembling trilons, but in the day-to-day production of Pyramid at CBS TVCity the board was operated by two stagehands under the direct supervision of a stage manager. On either the "pass" or "solve" of each subject the stage manager was cued from the booth and subsequently cued the proper direction to flip the trilon in play while also cueing the second stagehand to reveal the next subject. The first stagehand would then move to the third trilon and wait for a cue, and so on.
[/quote]
The coordination (in the 1 second between the ding or buzz of the clue) of 4 people had to have been something beautiful to see.  Tangentially, do you Randy or anyone else know why on the $10,000-$20,000 Pyramid, an illegal clue (which would result in the trilong being flipped counterclockwise 1 space to the pyramid side) but in the CBS era, they flipped twice clockwise.. why didn't they go backwards?  (and why am I asking a question about a 25 year old game show that has no real relevance to my life?) :)
Title: $100,000 PYRAMID QUESTION
Post by: clemon79 on November 08, 2005, 07:24:34 PM
[quote name=\'isucgv\' date=\'Nov 8 2005, 04:01 PM\']why didn't they go backwards?  (and why am I asking a question about a 25 year old game show that has no real relevance to my life?) :)
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Well, as long as you realize that it's kinda silly to ask :)

My guess would be that it's simply easier to always remember to flip one direction. "One flip or two" is easier to keep straight than "flip left/flip right." That way you don't make a mental mistake in the heat of the moment and flip a new box over to the dollar amount side.

Another possibility is that in rehearsals or something they might have discovered that the trilons flipped well in one direction, but may have had a propensity to get stuck when flipping the other way. Remember those couple times when a subject card got stuck and fell out of the trilon?
Title: $100,000 PYRAMID QUESTION
Post by: ChuckNet on November 08, 2005, 10:15:28 PM
Quote
Remember those couple times when a subject card got stuck and fell out of the trilon?

Yep...if I may digress, I'm sure the loud "BANG!" when it hit the floor (followed by a sharp "Don't turn around!" from Dick, who would usually compliment the player afterwards for not doing so) must've made a few viewers jump, myself included...LOL.

Chuck Donegan (The Illustrious "Chuckie Baby")
Title: $100,000 PYRAMID QUESTION
Post by: Robert Hutchinson on November 08, 2005, 11:46:01 PM
[quote name=\'isucgv\' date=\'Nov 8 2005, 07:01 PM\']Tangentially, do you Randy or anyone else know why on the $10,000-$20,000 Pyramid, an illegal clue (which would result in the trilong being flipped counterclockwise 1 space to the pyramid side) but in the CBS era, they flipped twice clockwise.. why didn't they go backwards?[/quote]

... there's no way I can point out that it was a clockwise turn in the '70s, since the normal rotation then was counterclockwise, without looking the fool, is there? This self-aware little ramble is the best I can do.