Who would you say was the most diverse producer of game shows in terms of different formats used, taking into account their entire body of work?
Mark Goodson is probably the answer that comes to most people's mind, although it took him a while to get there--in the 50's he had tons of panel shows running that were mostly just slight variations on "What's My Line" and "I've Got a Secret." It wasn't until the 70's that he really started being prolific. Also, correct me if I'm wrong, but it seems Goodson never actually had a straight quiz show on the air, did he? EDIT: Finals have taken their toll on my mind--completely forgot about Winner Takes All, Blockbusters, et al.
Meanwhile, Bob Stewart's career same to take the exact opposite path--he had a number of varying concepts in the early years (Eye Guess, original PiR, Personality), but by the time the 70's-80's rolled around he seemed only interested in making endless knock-offs of Password, Pyramid, and Chain Reaction/Go, with some occaisonal breathers (Three on a Match).
Barry & Enright probably wins the award for least diverse. Straight-up quizzers with a moderate element of chance involved, a familiar gimmick (slot machines, tic-tac-toe, Blackjack), plus an entirely luck-based bonus round with some sort of cute villain involved. Heat and serve.
Finally, although the rest of their work is less stellar, credit must be given to both Merv Griffin and Hatos-Hall. The fact that both outfits could come up with two of the toughest game shows around (J!/Split Specond) and two of the most brainless (Wheel/LMaD) is impressive.
Any other, slightly lesser-known producers we must acknowledge?
--Sam