[quote name=\'Chief-O\' post=\'159497\' date=\'Aug 3 2007, 11:41 AM\']
Doesn't Burt Sugarman own "Sweepstakes"
[/quote]
The short answer is that NBC owned
Celebrity Sweepstakes and seeing no need to save tapes of old game shows, erased and reused them, except for the last show and one other, I believe.
For those who like more details, here's my story: I've always liked game and quiz shows, from
Dr. IQ on the radio to
Split Second, for which I'd come home for lunch to watch. Everyone told me that I should go on. One day in 1976 my next door neighbor who knew someone or other said that she was going to try out for a game show, and would I like to come along. It was a return of
You Don't Say developed at Warner Bros. in Burbank. I think on my 4th visit, the contestant coordinator read lists of names of those they wanted to stay, and the rest could leave, thank you very much. It turned out that every name was read except for two people; I was one. I never felt lower in my life driving home.
About two months later I got a phone call from a Ralph Andrews staffer saying that they just bought
Celebrity Sweepstakes back from Bert Sugarman, NBC is trying to pump the ratings, and they need contestants right now, and could I be at the NBC studios in a couple of days. They said that while the celebrities had been fed answers before, that was going to stop. So, for example, Carol Wayne who had come across as a bimbo who really is smart, would now be just a bimbo—except for showbiz questions.
I went on the second "day." The celebrities were Bill Cullen, Alan Sues, Norm Crosby, Carol Wayne, Elaine Joyce and Pat Carroll. The only questions I remember was that Pat didn't know that a hummingbird is the only bird that can fly backwards, and that Elaine misspelled "mayonnaise." I bet on Bill Cullen the most and he essentially won me $25,000. I never felt higher in my life driving home!
Some weeks later, my family was watching my appearance, and about 20 minutes into the show the telephone rang. It was Irene who screamed, "Clanky, you can't possibly win—you're too far behind!" I said, "Just watch the show!" and hung up. It really was an exciting come-from-behind win. This was the first of my 5 game show appearances.
