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Author Topic: $25K Pyramid & Announcers  (Read 6606 times)

tvmitch

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$25K Pyramid & Announcers
« on: March 07, 2017, 09:12:56 PM »
Don't know if the exact particulars of this have been discussed before...

The past few weeks of reruns of $25K Pyramid have had Jack Clark and Charlie O rotating in the announcer seat, seemingly almost every other week or so.

How was it determined who would announce what week's worth of shows? Was it whoever was available that day of taping? The randomness of the announcer schedule for this show in particular seems different than most.

Interested in and curious about the mechanics of the announcing gig.
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BrandonFG

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Re: $25K Pyramid & Announcers
« Reply #1 on: March 07, 2017, 09:54:44 PM »
I don't remember where I read this story, and my details may be off, but here goes...

I believe Pyramid's announcers had the same agent. Shortly before each set of tapings, the agent would simply call the list of announcers and see who was available.

Someone please feel free to correct that if I'm wrong.
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Winkfan

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Re: $25K Pyramid & Announcers
« Reply #2 on: March 10, 2017, 04:34:50 PM »
The past few weeks of reruns of $25K Pyramid have had Jack Clark and Charlie O rotating in the announcer seat, seemingly almost every other week or so.

Don't you mean Johnny Gilbert (not Charlie O'Donnell)? The Betty White/Soupy Sales week we just had featured Johnny in the booth.

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Nick

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Re: $25K Pyramid & Announcers
« Reply #3 on: March 10, 2017, 08:47:01 PM »
I believe Pyramid's announcers had the same agent. Shortly before each set of tapings, the agent would simply call the list of announcers and see who was available.

This subject has been discussed in the past, and I don't if this conclusion, but if it was, what made Pyramid different from the other games of its time that it operated without a single, permanent announcer?
It was a golden age of daytime network television... Game Shows... Hosted by people who actually knew that the game was the star... And I wish it was still that way - both that game shows were on all morning and that they were hosted by actual game show hosts. - Bob Purse, Inches Per Second

TLEberle

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Re: $25K Pyramid & Announcers
« Reply #4 on: March 10, 2017, 08:52:34 PM »
This subject has been discussed in the past, and I don't if this conclusion, but if it was, what made Pyramid different from the other games of its time that it operated without a single, permanent announcer?
The fact that its taping schedule was erratic, such that it used whoever was available.

/wonder what Coolio was doing in 1983.
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Nick

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Re: $25K Pyramid & Announcers
« Reply #5 on: March 10, 2017, 08:57:01 PM »
The fact that its taping schedule was erratic, such that it used whoever was available.

Pardon me for being uninformed.  When you say "erratic," how would that be in comparison to other shows taping at that time?  Is there some data available on what the routine taping schedules were then?
It was a golden age of daytime network television... Game Shows... Hosted by people who actually knew that the game was the star... And I wish it was still that way - both that game shows were on all morning and that they were hosted by actual game show hosts. - Bob Purse, Inches Per Second

TLEberle

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Re: $25K Pyramid & Announcers
« Reply #6 on: March 10, 2017, 09:09:24 PM »
The fact that its taping schedule was erratic, such that it used whoever was available.

Pardon me for being uninformed.  When you say "erratic," how would that be in comparison to other shows taping at that time?  Is there some data available on what the routine taping schedules were then?
Sorry if that came off as brusque, it wasn't my intent. Apologies.

My understanding is that most other game shows of the time had established schedules week-in and week-out, so if it was a Tuesday or Thursday (for example) you know TPIR would be in session, Sunday would be Password Plus, and so on. $25k Pyramid would pick up time whenever they could and it meant that they couldn't have the same announcer working each time, because Jack Clark would still be doing Wheel of Fortune, Johnny Gilbert was on Dream House, and so on. As to hard data, we do have a handful of historians who could take up that part.
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Otm Shank

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Re: $25K Pyramid & Announcers
« Reply #7 on: March 11, 2017, 12:12:11 AM »
Certainly a contributing factor to the erratic schedule was Dick Clark's multitude of his media empire's obligations. At the time, I believed what I heard, that the salute-and-exit signoff was so that he could dash over to the American Bandstand set, which clearly wasn't the case. But, in a figurative sense it was. One of the things that fascinated me was that he scheduled appointments in tenths of an hour, rather than by the quarter hour, so you knew to conduct business fast when you were scheduled at 2:18. It certainly helped the odd studio scheduling arrangement that the host had extraordinary time management skills, and I'll bet Mr. Stewart saved a lot of money in the process.

Occasionally at work, I've tried to do that by calling a "12-minute meeting." Then I use up any time I would have gained by explaining to everyone who asks "why 12?"

TimK2003

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Re: $25K Pyramid & Announcers
« Reply #8 on: March 11, 2017, 09:40:16 AM »
The fact that its taping schedule was erratic, such that it used whoever was available.

Pardon me for being uninformed.  When you say "erratic," how would that be in comparison to other shows taping at that time?  Is there some data available on what the routine taping schedules were then?

There was a website out there that had a rough monthly(?) schedule of what shows would tape at CBS TV City.  If someone still has that link, that would be a good start.

tpirfan28

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Re: $25K Pyramid & Announcers
« Reply #9 on: March 11, 2017, 09:55:17 AM »
There was a website out there that had a rough monthly(?) schedule of what shows would tape at CBS TV City.  If someone still has that link, that would be a good start.
http://www.cbstelevisioncity.com/shows
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