last television game show to be aired in black and white

[barker5000]

Just curious, what was the last television game show to be aired in black and white? I think it was the final episode of the John Charles Daly version of "What's My Line?" in 1967, but I'm not quite sure.

Thanks!
Sean

[TLEberle]

I thought I read someplace that the original daytime run of Concentration held on for a long time as black-and-white before finally turning over to color. Could be wrong, and when that time was I don't recall.

[byrd62]

Much of ABC's daytime first-run schedule, including a few of their game shows, were still in black-and-white until Sep. 1967.

[Matt Ottinger]

Just curious, what was the last television game show to be aired in black and white? I think it was the final episode of the John Charles Daly version of "What's My Line?" in 1967, but I'm not quite sure.

You'd be wrong.  What's My Line? was preserved on black and white kinescopes, but was broadcast in color for the last season or so.

I thought I read someplace that the original daytime run of Concentration held on for a long time as black-and-white before finally turning over to color. Could be wrong, and when that time was I don't recall.

I don't know the exact time either, but that's a really good answer.  Norm Blumenthal resisted the changeover to color (and was definitely the last NBC game to do so) because he though adding color to the rebuses would make them too easy.

[barker5000]

Just curious, what was the last television game show to be aired in black and white? I think it was the final episode of the John Charles Daly version of "What's My Line?" in 1967, but I'm not quite sure.

You'd be wrong.  What's My Line? was preserved on black and white kinescopes, but was broadcast in color for the last season or so.


I didn't know that! Thanks Matt!

[SuperMatch93]

The Family Game was in black and white as late as December 1967, could that be it?

[NickintheATL]

Based on some quick research in the New York Times and the Knoxville News-Sentinel, the last daytime game show, and for that matter the last daytime show at all, to be in black and white was "Everybody's Talking" on ABC.  It was never listed as being in color, up until the date of its last episode on 12/29/1967.

[aaron sica]

Based on some quick research in the New York Times and the Knoxville News-Sentinel, the last daytime game show, and for that matter the last daytime show at all, to be in black and white was "Everybody's Talking" on ABC.  It was never listed as being in color, up until the date of its last episode on 12/29/1967.

A quick search in the Reading Eagle backs this up as well. No color identifier for it up until 12/29/67.

[Matt Ottinger]

Based on some quick research in the New York Times and the Knoxville News-Sentinel, the last daytime game show, and for that matter the last daytime show at all, to be in black and white was "Everybody's Talking" on ABC.  It was never listed as being in color, up until the date of its last episode on 12/29/1967.

A quick search in the Reading Eagle backs this up as well. No color identifier for it up until 12/29/67.

I absolutely defer to the impressive research from both of you.  Still, to hear Blumenthal tell it (which some of us literally did at one of the earlier GSC's), he made it sound like Concentration was this proud outlier that held onto its b&w heritage far longer than anybody else. 

I also now realize I'm also having a hard time rectifying this on a personal level because I was a huge fan of Concentration growing up, and my family didn't get a color television until 1972.  Based solely on my childhood memories, Concentration wasn't in color until that late date!

[DjohnsonCB]

Everybody's Talking or The Family Game might have indeed been it, but there was another ABC game called One in a Million that was in BW for its entire run.  Whichever it was, it was certainly one of the ABC games because they were more cash-strapped than the other networks and had more BW shows in daytime in 1967 than the others.  NBC kept airing Concentration in BW until early November of 1966 because of Norm's determination to keep the rebuses two-color, and it was after that show went to color that NBC was all-color except for the occasional movie, news special or unsold pilot.  CBS daytime went full color in 1966 or 1967, and ABC's earliest color games were Treasure Isle, The Honeymoon Race (which came out of Supermarket Sweep) and newly-converted Dating and Newlywed Games.

[TimK2003]

Everybody's Talking or The Family Game might have indeed been it, but there was another ABC game called One in a Million that was in BW for its entire run.  Whichever it was, it was certainly one of the ABC games because they were more cash-strapped than the other networks and had more BW shows in daytime in 1967 than the others.  NBC kept airing Concentration in BW until early November of 1966 because of Norm's determination to keep the rebuses two-color, and it was after that show went to color that NBC was all-color except for the occasional movie, news special or unsold pilot.  CBS daytime went full color in 1966 or 1967, and ABC's earliest color games were Treasure Isle, The Honeymoon Race (which came out of Supermarket Sweep) and newly-converted Dating and Newlywed Games.

I forgot what late-60's show I was watching on YouTube a couple months back, but it was a color show and about half the original commercials were still in Black & White -- that looked a little odd.

[gamed121683]

Everybody's Talking or The Family Game might have indeed been it, but there was another ABC game called One in a Million that was in BW for its entire run.  Whichever it was, it was certainly one of the ABC games because they were more cash-strapped than the other networks and had more BW shows in daytime in 1967 than the others.  NBC kept airing Concentration in BW until early November of 1966 because of Norm's determination to keep the rebuses two-color, and it was after that show went to color that NBC was all-color except for the occasional movie, news special or unsold pilot.  CBS daytime went full color in 1966 or 1967, and ABC's earliest color games were Treasure Isle, The Honeymoon Race (which came out of Supermarket Sweep) and newly-converted Dating and Newlywed Games.

Would it be "The Generation Gap" by any chance?

[Winkfan]

I forgot what late-60's show I was watching on YouTube a couple months back, but it was a color show and about half the original commercials were still in Black & White -- that looked a little odd.

The 1966 installment of You Don't Say (with Pat Carroll and Mel Torme as guests) that I have in my collection had some of its commercials in "black and white." Is that what you're referring to?

Cordially,
Tammy

[Ian Wallis]

ABC was certainly the last network to go full-color in daytime, and that didn't happen until 1970.  As late as Dec 1969, the network's daytime reruns of Bewitched and The Fugitive remained in black and white, even for the seasons that were originally in color.  I read that they were concerned about the additional costs of running the shows in color.  They finally started running the color episodes in color by Jan 1970.

[NickintheATL]

I must clarify that in my original analysis, I was not taking repeats into account on purpose. 

ABC was certainly the last network to go full-color in daytime, and that didn't happen until 1970.  As late as Dec 1969, the network's daytime reruns of Bewitched and The Fugitive remained in black and white, even for the seasons that were originally in color.  I read that they were concerned about the additional costs of running the shows in color.  They finally started running the color episodes in color by Jan 1970.

I never considered that ABC was avoiding color repeats for a cost issue.  That is intriguing.  The technical side of me is more intrigued of the cost of running a color film vs. a black-and-white one.