Concentration

[WarioBarker]

when Jerry once substituted for Johnny Carson in studio 6B, across from where we were taping, I went in to see him. Because of Bob's one film career, I wanted to play a joke on Bob ... I had to admit the gag to Bob and asked him to try to get Jerry to do it. Jerry finally agreed, and said, "For him, I'll do it, but not for you." (ME!). That hurt, even though I told him that his ex-wife was a big fan of [Concentration] -- I had several letters from her telling us she never missed the show. He couldn't have cared less.

Considering the woman was Jerry's ex-wife, I can kind of see his viewpoint.

Ted [Nathanson] was a great director, and a wonderful man to work with (even though his kookie practical jokes drove us nuts).

Do you, perchance, recall any of these pranks? Hopefully it wasn't the caliber of Hugh Downs giving out your phone number on-air.

[BrandonFG]

when Jerry once substituted for Johnny Carson in studio 6B, across from where we were taping, I went in to see him. Because of Bob's one film career, I wanted to play a joke on Bob ... I had to admit the gag to Bob and asked him to try to get Jerry to do it. Jerry finally agreed, and said, "For him, I'll do it, but not for you." (ME!). That hurt, even though I told him that his ex-wife was a big fan of [Concentration] -- I had several letters from her telling us she never missed the show. He couldn't have cared less.

Considering the woman was Jerry's ex-wife, I can kind of see his viewpoint.

I'm gonna go out on a limb and guess that she and Jerry were still married at the time.

I just did a quick read of Jerry's bio...turns out they didn't divorce until well after Concentration went off the air.

[normb]

when Jerry once substituted for Johnny Carson in studio 6B, across from where we were taping, I went in to see him. Because of Bob's one film career, I wanted to play a joke on Bob ... I had to admit the gag to Bob and asked him to try to get Jerry to do it. Jerry finally agreed, and said, "For him, I'll do it, but not for you." (ME!). That hurt, even though I told him that his ex-wife was a big fan of [Concentration] -- I had several letters from her telling us she never missed the show. He couldn't have cared less.

Considering the woman was Jerry's ex-wife, I can kind of see his viewpoint.

Ted [Nathanson] was a great director, and a wonderful man to work with (even though his kookie practical jokes drove us nuts).

Do you, perchance, recall any of these pranks? Hopefully it wasn't the caliber of Hugh Downs giving out your phone number on-air.

Not really, except for his shooting around the cameras, on a dolly, almost running over anyone who didn't run out of the madman's way. Actually he was before his time -- skateboards ere stillyears away.  I do remember one of his funny routines to amuse the crew, when he decided to toss pennies in the air while trying to make "baskets" in my Associate Producer, Jeanne O'Meara's v-neck blouse.  Everyone thought it was funny, except Jeannr.  She whacked him pretty hard across the face.  He never did that again. No, he wasn't even a close second to Hugh, who was more inventive and brilliant and demonic.

[normb]

when Jerry once substituted for Johnny Carson in studio 6B, across from where we were taping, I went in to see him. Because of Bob's one film career, I wanted to play a joke on Bob ... I had to admit the gag to Bob and asked him to try to get Jerry to do it. Jerry finally agreed, and said, "For him, I'll do it, but not for you." (ME!). That hurt, even though I told him that his ex-wife was a big fan of [Concentration] -- I had several letters from her telling us she never missed the show. He couldn't have cared less.

Considering the woman was Jerry's ex-wife, I can kind of see his viewpoint.

I'm gonna go out on a limb and guess that she and Jerry were still married at the time.

I just did a quick read of Jerry's bio...turns out they didn't divorce until well after Concentration went off the air.

Right you are.  Jerry's wife, Patty, was still his better half at that time.

[chris319]

Norm, before the quiz scandal and before they sold the show to NBC, how much did Mr. Barry and Mr. Enright make their presence felt on Concentration? We know that Jack emceed the show early on and Dan had decided that Concentration would not be rigged. Anything you care to add?

And thank you for being so generous with us in sharing your experience on Concentration.

[normb]

Norm, before the quiz scandal and before they sold the show to NBC, how much did Mr. Barry and Mr. Enright make their presence felt on Concentration? We know that Jack emceed the show early on and Dan had decided that Concentration would not be rigged. Anything you care to add?

And thank you for being so generous with us in sharing your experience on Concentration.

Jack and Dan were 100% involved in the development and the first month of Concentration.  Check the dates: Concentration premiered August 25, 1958 and their other property, Twenty-One, left the air (because of the quiz show scandal) October 16,1958. A few weeks earlier, my bosses, Barry & Enright Productions were forced out of business and NBC took over.  From then on, along with my entire staff, I became an NBC employee.

[Christopher]

Hi, Mr. Blumenthal! A late arrival here, but no questions that haven't already been answered. Just a note that I was about to turn 2 when Concentration first premiered and first became aware of it around age 4. I was a devotee in those salad days, and it was an early learning tool for me. I still recall it fondly, I watch the few videos I have of the show thinking back to when I'd tune in regularly (when I wasn't at school) and always loved your use of the clues in the puzzles. Personal favorite: "You Have A Right To Your Opinion" (U / half / a / rye + 't / 2 / Europe + onion). Classic.

Many thanks for giving us this classic show.

[normb]

Hi, Mr. Blumenthal! A late arrival here, but no questions that haven't already been answered. Just a note that I was about to turn 2 when Concentration first premiered and first became aware of it around age 4. I was a devotee in those salad days, and it was an early learning tool for me. I still recall it fondly, I watch the few videos I have of the show thinking back to when I'd tune in regularly (when I wasn't at school) and always loved your use of the clues in the puzzles. Personal favorite: "You Have A Right To Your Opinion" (U / half / a / rye + 't / 2 / Europe + onion). Classic.

Many thanks for giving us this classic show.

Thanks for the kind words.  I always had fun twisting the English language and turning it into kookie langugage of my own.  I got a lot of satisfaction out of coming up with liberties such as the one you mentioned.  How far could (and did) I go?  First of all, every puzzle I made up, had to be solved by my associate producer, before they were used on the air.  If my staff couldn't decypher them, they were junked.  My watchword was always, "The clues I created, worked as long as people could eventually figure them out and mentally slap my wrist (in humor), as opposed to wanting to hit me in the mouth (in anger) for not playing fair."  Thanks again.

[Neumms]

Here's another question for you, Norm. Who came up with the name of the show?

[normb]

Here's another question for you, Norm. Who came up with the name of the show?

The show concept of concentrating on the position of prizes (or making a match) was an adaptation of an old children's card game, called, "Concentration."  In that game all 52 cards are laid out face down, and pairs (or matches) are earned by the players. I hated the name, because of the association with the horrors of the WW 2 concentration camps. Regardless, I was overruled.  By the way, we never received even one objection to that name, from our home audience.

[TimK2003]

Hi Norm,

What demographics/characteristics were you (or your staff) looking for in a person who wanted to be a contestant on Concentration?  Did the "stereotypical" contestant on Concentration change much between the late 50s and the early 70s?  I want to say that out of the handful of shows I have seen on tape and on the internet, it seems that you were going for the mellower, over-30 crowd who is pretty much what most of today's game shows DON"T want on their shows.  

And on average, do you recall how many people per week would call or send in a post card wanting to become a contestant, and how did your number of requests compare to some of the other NBC game shows at the time (like Jeopardy, or The Match Game, for example)?

Thanks again, Norm.  Again, it's an honor and a privilege to have you take time to share your stories and answers on the forum.  I wish we had others who would do even half as much as you have done, but sadly many of them have gone onto the great bonus game in the sky, so to speak.

[normb]

Hi Norm,

What demographics/characteristics were you (or your staff) looking for in a person who wanted to be a contestant on Concentration?  Did the "stereotypical" contestant on Concentration change much between the late 50s and the early 70s?  I want to say that out of the handful of shows I have seen on tape and on the internet, it seems that you were going for the mellower, over-30 crowd who is pretty much what most of today's game shows DON"T want on their shows.  

And on average, do you recall how many people per week would call or send in a post card wanting to become a contestant, and how did your number of requests compare to some of the other NBC game shows at the time (like Jeopardy, or The Match Game, for example)?

Thanks again, Norm.  Again, it's an honor and a privilege to have you take time to share your stories and answers on the forum.  I wish we had others who would do even half as much as you have done, but sadly many of them have gone onto the great bonus game in the sky, so to speak.

Contrary to the fact that sponsors prefered the buying public of younger people, we strove for a cross-section of all age groups.  Of course, statistics have since debated the theory that only young people buy soap, soda and automobiles.  However, just for the fun of it -- look at today's commls for Jeopardy! and Wheel -- all those medical products are not for the under 30 crowd.  The daytime audience we played to, were predominantly housewives and retired, or unfortunately home-bound seniors.  The success of soap operas is further proof that there were a lot of housewives watching. History has proven that millions of younger people (like those who grew up to be members of your Game Show Forum)and students and people with night jobs, etc. were daily viewers.  To insure the variables in the contestant area, older people stood a better chance of being selected as did men.  We got very far fewer applicants in those categories. Basically, most game shows used the same criteria. The viewer requests to become contestants is hard to estimate -- but, the number of applicants who took the tests and interviews was about 1 accept out of about 30 or more rejects.

[normb]

Hi Norm,

What demographics/characteristics were you (or your staff) looking for in a person who wanted to be a contestant on Concentration?  Did the "stereotypical" contestant on Concentration change much between the late 50s and the early 70s?  I want to say that out of the handful of shows I have seen on tape and on the internet, it seems that you were going for the mellower, over-30 crowd who is pretty much what most of today's game shows DON"T want on their shows.  

And on average, do you recall how many people per week would call or send in a post card wanting to become a contestant, and how did your number of requests compare to some of the other NBC game shows at the time (like Jeopardy, or The Match Game, for example)?

Thanks again, Norm.  Again, it's an honor and a privilege to have you take time to share your stories and answers on the forum.  I wish we had others who would do even half as much as you have done, but sadly many of them have gone onto the great bonus game in the sky, so to speak.

Contrary to the fact that sponsors prefered the buying public of younger people, we strove for a cross-section of all age groups.  Of course, statistics have since debated the theory that only young people buy soap, soda and automobiles.  However, just for the fun of it -- look at today's commls for Jeopardy! and Wheel -- all those medical products are not for the under 30 crowd.  The daytime audience we played to, were predominantly housewives and retired, or unfortunately home-bound seniors.  The success of soap operas is further proof that there were a lot of housewives watching. History has proven that millions of younger people (like those who grew up to be members of your Game Show Forum)and students and people with night jobs, etc. were daily viewers.  To insure the variables in the contestant area, older people stood a better chance of being selected as did men.  We got very far fewer applicants in those categories. Basically, most game shows used the same criteria. The viewer requests to become contestants is hard to estimate -- but, the number of applicants who took the tests and interviews was about 1 accept out of about 30 or more rejects.

[geno57]

Of course, statistics have since debated the theory that only young people buy soap, soda and automobiles.  However, just for the fun of it -- look at today's commls for Jeopardy! and Wheel -- all those medical products are not for the under 30 crowd.

The theory isn't that older people don't buy the products ... but that as we age, we're far less likely to change our loyalty to our long-established favorite brands, at the mere suggestion of advertising.

I'm in my mid-50s.  I use a certain soap and only one brand of toothpaste.  I already know which shirts and pants and cars I like.  I'm not going to change, unless they stop making what I use.  It probably won't be too much longer, though, before I'll have to start paying more attention to spots aimed at "men of a certain age".

[Jay Temple]

Were there any puzzles where you thought of the sound-alike and then came up with a phrase that incorporated it?

"'Tear a ...' Say, 'pteradactyl' starts with those sounds ..."