Password Plus Mystery

[JasonA1]

These may or may not have been the original scoreboards from the Password '79 pilot.

I hate to act as if my post was must-read material, but had you clicked through, you would have seen Chris explain the show's "pilot" (quotes used for a reason) had the same name, logo and set we remember. That doesn't confirm or deny your scoreboard bit, but I'm trying to keep this from being the latest "fact" for the show's Wiki page.

-Jason

[chris319]

There was never a Password '79 pilot. A Password Plus pilot was taped on Friday, January 5, 1979, the day before we taped the first 10 episodes on January 6 and 7.

The readouts you see in the front of the desk were for the original scoring system and were not hooked up when we first went into the studio. They were never used because we switched to a per-puzzle scoring system before they were even made operational. The original scoring system awarded points per password gotten. The points accumulated in a bank a la Family Feud. The value of the puzzle increased as more clues were revealed. Ira Skutch felt it was counterintuitive to have the value of the puzzle increase as more clues were revealed and it became easier to solve; thus he came up with the per-puzzle system. The readouts were not covered with carpeting in the shot you see. They were faced with scrim which was painted blue to match the surrounding carpeting.

In going over the guest list, I remember Bobby not being too happy about booking Bill Cullen and Peggy Cass together during the same week. He called them "octogenarians" even though Peggy was still shy of her 60th birthday.

I'm trying to keep this from being the latest "fact" for the show's Wiki page.

Very much appreciated. You know how I feel about fanb0i cruft creeping into Cruftopedia.

[SRIV94]

We still have one unaccounted-for week of shows. There was a week of shows with Judy Norton-Taylor and Bert Convy (my last) numbered 495 - 499, then two weeks of shows before the Betty White/Dick Martin week, which we know from the slate included #514, taped on Saturday 12/6/80 for air on 12/23/80. Della Reese and Bill Anderson appeared either on shows 500 - 504 or 505 - 509. Who appeared on the missing week and was it before or after Reese/Anderson? My last day of employment at G-T was Friday November 21 and they did not tape the weekend of November 22 - 23 (they also had Blockbusters to tape during that time).

What weeks do you have accounted for between episodes 469 (which should be Ludden's last) and 499 (your last)?  I'm wondering if the confusion stems from the two all-celeb weeks Kennedy did when he first took the job (eps 470-474 [with David Doyle, Debralee Scott, Dick Gautier and Gina Hecht] aired after eps 510-514).

[Jay Temple]

In going over the guest list, I remember Bobby not being too happy about booking Bill Cullen and Peggy Cass together during the same week. He called them "octogenarians" even though Peggy was still shy of her 60th birthday.

That's interesting, because their prior association (TTTT) made that week must-see TV when I saw it coming up.

[chris319]

We still have one unaccounted-for week of shows. There was a week of shows with Judy Norton-Taylor and Bert Convy (my last) numbered 495 - 499, then two weeks of shows before the Betty White/Dick Martin week, which we know from the slate included #514, taped on Saturday 12/6/80 for air on 12/23/80. Della Reese and Bill Anderson appeared either on shows 500 - 504 or 505 - 509. Who appeared on the missing week and was it before or after Reese/Anderson? My last day of employment at G-T was Friday November 21 and they did not tape the weekend of November 22 - 23 (they also had Blockbusters to tape during that time).

What weeks do you have accounted for between episodes 469 (which should be Ludden's last) and 499 (your last)?  I'm wondering if the confusion stems from the two all-celeb weeks Kennedy did when he first took the job (eps 470-474 [with David Doyle, Debralee Scott, Dick Gautier and Gina Hecht] aired after eps 510-514).

470-474  VTR Sun 10/12/80   Nancy Walker Jim Perry  Judy Norton-Taylor  Greg Morris

475-479  VTR Fri 10/17/80   Patty Duke Astin    John Astin
480-484  VTR Sat 10/18/80   Barbara Rhoades     Bill Cullen
485-489  VTR Sun 10/19/80   Audrey Landers      Jack Jones

490-494  VTR Sat 11/15/80   Vicki Lawrence      Fred Grandy
495-499  VTR Sun 11/16/80   Judy Norton-Taylor  Bert Convy

500-504  VTR Sat 11/29/80   Della Reese?        Bill Anderson?
505-509  VTR Sun 11/30/80   Della Reese?        Bill Anderson?

510-514  VTR Sat 12/6/80    Betty White         Dick Martin

I think the celebrity week you refer to with David Doyle et al. spans shows #515 to #519 and was likely taped on Sunday, 12/7/80.

Were there one or more preemptions around this time? According to this tally, #514 should have been a Friday show but the air date given on the slate was a Tuesday. A Thanksgiving preemption would have pushed Friday's show to Monday, and a preemption the day after Thanksgiving would have pushed Friday's show to Tuesday. At some point they may have had a three-show taping day to get back on the Monday through Friday track. Bobby could have arranged this three-show week ahead of schedule had he known about the preemptions in advance.

[snowpeck]

I recorded Password Plus on GSN pretty religiously back when they were running the Kennedy shows, and followed along with the PDFs on Steve Beverly's site and then the Buzzerblog when they moved over there.  According to those, (which there is a large number of at this link) the celebrity week with David Doyle et al was 470-474 and the other all star week was 475-479. It seems to me that Tom Kennedy taped two all-celebrity weeks back to back when he took over as host... one that was broadcast immediately, and one that was held for later on.

Though I can't seem to find a PDF that confirms it, that would mean the Convy/Norton-Taylor week was 500-504.

Does your memory corroborate that at all, Chris?

[Eric Paddon]

Were there one or more preemptions around this time? According to this tally, #514 should have been a Friday show but the air date given on the slate was a Tuesday. A Thanksgiving preemption would have pushed Friday's show to Monday, and a preemption the day after Thanksgiving would have pushed Friday's show to Tuesday. At some point they may have had a three-show taping day to get back on the Monday through Friday track. Bobby could have arranged this three-show week ahead of schedule had he known about the preemptions in advance.

There could have been another pre-emption the day after the 1980 Election.   There was at least one Reagan press conference related to developments there.

[SRIV94]

There could have been another pre-emption the day after the 1980 Election.   There was at least one Reagan press conference related to developments there.

According to the Vanderbilt News Archive, there was a press conference on 11/6 (two days later) but it didn't take place until 2PM ET/1PM CT.

[chris319]

Were there one or more preemptions around this time? According to this tally, #514 should have been a Friday show but the air date given on the slate was a Tuesday. A Thanksgiving preemption would have pushed Friday's show to Monday, and a preemption the day after Thanksgiving would have pushed Friday's show to Tuesday. At some point they may have had a three-show taping day to get back on the Monday through Friday track. Bobby could have arranged this three-show week ahead of schedule had he known about the preemptions in advance.

There could have been another pre-emption the day after the 1980 Election.   There was at least one Reagan press conference related to developments there.

Perhaps the Macy's parade on Thanksgiving day and football the day after?

I recorded Password Plus on GSN pretty religiously back when they were running the Kennedy shows, and followed along with the PDFs on Steve Beverly's site and then the Buzzerblog when they moved over there. They had the Norton-Taylor/Convy week numbered as 500-504. Not sure what that means, however.

I believe that's in error. I remember thinking as Gene Wood was reading the slate that I wouldn't be around for the 500th show.

I have made a spreadsheet which reconciles the show numbers with the celebrities, taking into account the six-show week for the discarded George Peppard show and the two four-show weeks, one due to the preemption on 4/25/80 and the other consisting of shows #257 through #260 with Brett Somers and Ross Martin. The Somers/Martin shows would have been taped some time in December after NBC told us "Oh by the way, we preempted your show on Thanksgiving day" and we realized we were off the Monday through Friday celebrity cycle. The spreadsheet puts the last Bert Convy episode right at #499. Anyone reading this may have a copy of the spreadsheet once it is further along. The Somers/Martin taping also resulted in a P+ staffer being dismissed from the show due to a misunderstanding involving Brett Somers.

GSN aired the Peppard show which didn't air on NBC. That would throw the GSN airings out of sync with the actual NBC airings.

I insist that there is a missing week out there. It might not be reflected in GSN records but TV listings of the time may have it. Did NBC air any football games the morning after Thanksgiving 1980?

[snowpeck]

I recorded Password Plus on GSN pretty religiously back when they were running the Kennedy shows, and followed along with the PDFs on Steve Beverly's site and then the Buzzerblog when they moved over there. They had the Norton-Taylor/Convy week numbered as 500-504. Not sure what that means, however.

I believe that's in error. I remember thinking as Gene Wood was reading the slate that I wouldn't be around for the 500th show.

I have made a spreadsheet which reconciles the show numbers with the celebrities, taking into account the six-show week for the discarded George Peppard show and the two four-show weeks, one due to the preemption on 4/25/80 and the other consisting of shows #257 through #260 with Brett Somers and Ross Martin. The Somers/Martin shows would have been taped some time in December after NBC told us "Oh by the way, we preempted your show on Thanksgiving day" and we realized we were off the Monday through Friday celebrity cycle. The spreadsheet puts the last Bert Convy episode right at #499. Anyone reading this may have a copy of the spreadsheet once it is further along. The Somers/Martin taping also resulted in a P+ staffer being dismissed from the show due to a misunderstanding involving Brett Somers.

I insist that there is a missing week out there. It might not be reflected in GSN records but TV listings of the time may have it.

I edited my post, probably since you started replying, to reflect some additional information I culled from those GSN PDFs.  At least going by their numbers, the two all-star weeks from early in Kennedy's run were taped back to back, and one of them held for later broadcast.

[mmb5]

The Somers/Martin taping also resulted in a P+ staffer being dismissed from the show due to a misunderstanding involving Brett Somers.

You can't bury the lede like that.

[SRIV94]

Were there one or more preemptions around this time? According to this tally, #514 should have been a Friday show but the air date given on the slate was a Tuesday. A Thanksgiving preemption would have pushed Friday's show to Monday, and a preemption the day after Thanksgiving would have pushed Friday's show to Tuesday. At some point they may have had a three-show taping day to get back on the Monday through Friday track. Bobby could have arranged this three-show week ahead of schedule had he known about the preemptions in advance.

Ludden's last show aired on Monday, 10/27/80 (all of NBC's morning shows except the first half hour of LETTERMAN were pre-empted on 7/14/80 because of the Republican Convention).  Thanksgiving was another pre-emption, but the day after all shows were on.  So that's why 514 aired on Tuesday.

[chris319]

I edited my post, probably since you started replying, to reflect some additional information I culled from those GSN PDFs.  At least going by their numbers, the two all-star weeks from early in Kennedy's run were taped back to back, and one of them held for later broadcast.

Do you have tape dates or show numbers? If we assume the GSN records are off by five, that might provide a clue. Again, I am positive that the final Bert Convy show, my last, was #499. It is possible that we skipped ahead with the show numbers and I don't remember it. That would put the show numbers in sync. Around that time we were taping shows ahead due to Blockbusters. According to my records, the celebrity week with Nancy Walker was taped on Sunday, 10/12/80. We may have taped the David Doyle week on either Saturday the 11th or Monday the 13th.

all of NBC's morning shows except the first half hour of LETTERMAN were pre-empted on 7/14/80 because of the Republican Convention

Now you tell us.

In addition to the fact that it was over 30 years ago, we obviously paid close attention to tape dates because we had to show up for work at the studio, but the staff didn't pay much attention to air dates. Once we were finished in the studio it was on to the next. No one in the office watched the show off air even though we had a TV, so I can see there being some "give" in the air dates.

You can't bury the lede like that.

I just did :-P Can you help us out here, Mr. TV Guide?

[chris319]

Here is what I have. The air dates are off, having just learned of the preemptions on 7/14/80 and Thanksgiving 1980.

Known tape dates: 1/6-7/79, 7/7-8/79, 12/22-23/79, 5/17-18/80, 11/15-16/80

          Aired
 Show #  week of         Celebrities
 ------  -------         -----------
  1-  5  1/08/79        Elizabeth Montgomery    Robert Foxworth
  6- 10  1/15/79        Marcia Wallace          Tony Randall
 11- 15  1/22/79        Carol Burnett           Vicki Lawrence
 16- 20  1/29/79        Linda Kaye Henning      Richard Paul
 21- 25  2/05/79        Betty White             Dick Martin
 26- 30  2/12/79        Elaine Joyce            Tom Kennedy
 31- 35  2/19/79        Loretta Swit            Jack Klugman
 36- 40  2/26/79        Elizabeth Montgomery    Bert Convy -- new Alphabetics board
 41- 45  3/05/79        Betty White             Robert Pine
 46- 50  3/12/79        Mary Tyler Moore        Bill Cullen
 51- 55  3/19/79        Joyce Bulifant          Greg Morris
 56- 60  3/26/79        Karen Morrow            Martin Milner
 61- 65  4/02/79        Lee Meriwether          Scoey Mitchlll
 66- 70  4/09/79        Marcia Wallace          Peter Bonerz
 71- 75  4/16/79        Debralee Scott          Nipsey Russell
 76- 80  4/23/79        Bart Braverman          Robert Urich
 81- 85  4/30/79        Loretta Swit            John Schuck
 86- 90  5/07/79        Susan Seaforth Hayes    Bill Hayes
 89- 95  5/14/79        Nancy Lane              Jon Bauman
 96-100  5/21/79        Betty White             John Phillip Law
101-105  5/28/79        Marion Ross             David Letterman
106-110  6/04/79        Lee Meriwether          Ross Martin
111-115  6/11/79        Elaine Joyce            George Peppard One episode with George Peppard not aired per M.G.
116-120  6/18/79         Sarah Purcell           Bill Anderson
121-126  6/25/79         Judy Norton-Taylor      Robert Walden Six shows taped due to Peppard incident.
127-131  7/2/79          Barbara Rhoades         Pat Harrington
132-136  7/9/79          Patty Duke Astin        Bill Cullen
   -141  7/16/79         Joyce Bulifant          Dick Gautier
   -146  7/23/79         Linda Kaye Henning      Dick Martin
   -151  7/30/79         Elizabeth Montgomery    Wesley Eure            
   -156  8/6/79          Marcia Wallace          Robert Foxworth
   -161  8/13/79         Janet Lennon            Monty Hall
   -166  8/20/79         Patty Duke Astin        Jon Bauman
   -171  8/27/79         Nancy Lane              Robert Reed
   -176  9/3/79          Judy Norton-Taylor      Ron Masak
   -181  9/10/79         Loretta Swit            Greg Morris
   -186  9/17/79         Debralee Scott          Wesley Eure
   -191  9/24/79         Joanna Gleason          Robert Pine
   -196  10/1/79         Karen Morrow            Robert Walden
   -201  10/8/79         Patty Duke Astin        John Astin
   -206  10/15/79        Betty White             Joanna Gleason
   -211  10/22/79        Judy Norton-Taylor      Greg Morris
   -216  10/29/79        Marcia Wallace          Bill Cullen
   -221  11/5/79         Lee Meriwether          Peter Marshall
   -226  11/12/79        Patty Duke Astin        John Astin
   -231  11/19/79        Nancy Lane              Pat Harrington
   -236  11/26/79        Nanette Fabray          John Schuck
   -241  12/03/79        Debralee Scott          Jon Bauman
   -246  12/10/79        Elaine Joyce            Bart Braverman
   -251  12/17/79        Barbara Rhoades         Bill Anderson
   -256  12/24/79        Carol Burnett           Bert Convy

Known tape dates: December 22-23, 1979

257-260  12/31/79        Brett Somers            Ross Martin  Four shows this week due to Thanksgiving preemption
   -265  1/07/80         Sarah Purcell           Richard Paul
   -270  1/14/80         Betty White             Greg Morris
   -275  1/21/80         Vicki Lawrence          Dick Martin
   -280  1/28/80         Joanna Gleason          Dick Gautier
   -285  2/04/80         Loretta Swit            Ron Masak
   -290  2/11/80         Marcia Wallace          Wesley Eure
   -295  2/18/80         Patty Duke Astin        John Astin
   -300  2/25/80         Anne Meara              Nipsey Russell
   -305  3/03/80         Peggy Cass              Bill Cullen
   -310  3/10/80         Carol Burnett Vicki Lawrence Joanna Gleason McLean Stevenson
   -315  3/17/80         Barbara Rhoades         Ross Martin
   -320  3/24/80         Debralee Scott          Richard Paul
321-325  3/31/80         Marcia Wallace          Wesley Eure
326-330  4/07/80         Anita Gillette          Jon Bauman
331-335  4/14/80         Elaine Joyce            Bill Anderson  (MC Bill Cullen)
336-340  4/21/80         Nanette Fabray          Skip Stephenson(MC Bill Cullen)     Iran hostage press conference on 4/25/80.
341-345  4/28/80         Vicki Lawrence          Dick Gautier   (MC Bill Cullen)
346-350  5/05/80         Betty White             Greg Morris    (MC Bill Cullen)
351-354  5/12/80         Susan Richardson        Bill Cullen Four shows taped this week due to pre-emption on 4/25/80.
355-359  5/19/80         Phyllis Diller          Bert Convy
360-364  5/26/80         Lucille Ball            Dick Martin
365-369  6/02/80         Elaine Joyce            Jon Bauman
370-374  6/09/80         Betty White             John Astin
375-379  6/16/80         Vicki Lawrence          Gene Rayburn
380-384  6/23/80         Gina Hecht              Dick Gautier
385-389  6/30/80         Susan Richardson        Wesley Eure
390-394  7/07/80         Juliet Prowse           Dick Martin
395-399  7/15/80         Barbara Rhoades         Scoey Mitchlll -- Preempted on 7/14/80 (Republican convention)
400-404  7/22/80         Marcia Wallace          Richard Paul
405-409  7/29/80         Betty White             Bill Cullen
410-414  8/05/80         Sally Struthers         Monty Hall
415-419  8/12/80         Susan Richardson        Jon Bauman
420-424  8/19/80         Lucille Ball            Dick Martin
425-429  8/26/80         Debralee Scott          Fred Grandy
430-434  9/02/80         Gina Hecht              Ron Masak
435-439  9/09/80         Marcia Wallace          Robert Donner
440-444  9/16/80         Elaine Joyce            Wesley Eure
445-449  9/23/80         Betty White             Gene Rayburn
450-454  9/30/80         Susan Richardson        Peter Marshall
455-459 10/07/80         Joanna Gleason          Jon Bauman

Allen's last taping
460-464 VTR Sat 10/04/80   AIR 10/14-20/80  Karen Morrow       Bill Cullen
465-469 VTR Sun 10/05/80   AIR 10/21-27/80  Vicki Lawrence     Robert Donner

(Tuesday 10/7/80 - Allen's stroke)

10/27/80 - Debut of Blockbusters, Las Vegas Gambit
Tom Kennedy emcees
470-474  VTR Sun 10/12/80   AIR 10/28-11/3/80  Nancy Walker       Jim Perry
                                             Judy Norton-Taylor Greg Morris

475-479  VTR Fri 10/17/80   AIR 11/04-10/80  Patty Duke Astin    John Astin
480-484  VTR Sat 10/18/80   AIR 11/11-17/80  Barbara Rhoades     Bill Cullen
485-489  VTR Sun 10/19/80   AIR 11/18-24/80  Audrey Landers      Jack Jones

490-494  VTR Sat 11/15/80   AIR 11/25-12/2/80  Vicki Lawrence      Fred Grandy       Thanksgiving preemption
495-499  VTR Sun 11/16/80   AIR 12/3-9/80    Judy Norton-Taylor  Bert Convy
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
500-504 ?VTR Sat 11/29/80   AIR 12/10-16/80?
505-509 ?VTR Sun 11/30/80   AIR 12/10-16/80? Della Reese?       Bill Anderson?

510-514  VTR Sat 12/ 6/80   AIR 12/17-23/80  Betty White         Dick Martin

[mmb5]

I just did :-P Can you help us out here, Mr. TV Guide?

I can't.  Once the program airs, we delete the airing record from the database.  Plus, for older shows we don't have episode breakdowns, such as Password Plus.  Only shows that I think we have complete credits/run times for game shows with celebrities are Bergeron Squares and Donnymid.