March 23, 1973. That was the date the rebuses came to an end for a while
After over 3,700 episodes, NBC aired the last episode of Concentration. It went through three regular hosts - Hugh Downs, Bob Clayton and Ed McMahon. The show\'s final rebus was YOU\'VE BEEN MORE THAN KIND, which was a thank you from Norm Blumenthal et al to its fans. As the show ended, Auld Lang Syne was played (it was also played at the end of the last Howdy Doody Show in 1960). The show held the record for the longest run by a daytime game show until The Price Is Right broke the record (and then some) in 1987. In addition, Concentration had two runs on NBC primetime: in 1958 (with co-creator Jack Barry) and 1961 (with Downs after Barry was banished from TV after the scandals).
Concentration would later return in the form of the 1970s syndicated show and the 1987-1991 Alex Trebek-hosted Classic Concentration (plus a 1985 pilot).
Personally, I was hoping that Concentration would return in 2008 for the show\'s 50th anniversary. When that didn\'t happen, I thought that it would be back in 2009 so it could join TPIR and TTTT as the shows that have appeared in new episodes in the 50s, 60s, 70s, 80s, 90s and 2000s.
With NBC in FIFTH place in primetime, maybe the execs can roll the proverbial dice and bring Concentration back, but with many people unfamiliar with rebuses, will we ever see two contestants trying to solve them again? Or will we see some other type of puzzle in its place?
Brian