The date: July 11th, 1960.
Still recovering from the quiz-show scandal heartache, CBS, slowly but surely, gets back in the game show groove by inviting its daytime viewers to take their first visit to Video Village. This "low-prize" daytime giveaway pitted two contestants as living 'pieces' on a 'larger-than-life' game board. (The show acutally first started on Friday night just ten days before.)
This show was significant for two reasons. Number one: It would be the first major game show hosting gig for a still barely-known Canadian TV host. Perhaps you've heard of him, Monty Hall. His predecessor, Jack Narz, who had hosted the scandal-scarred Dotto two years before, was the original "mayor" (read: host), and it would have marked his comeback had his first marriage not been in jeopardy at the time (pun intended).
Number two: It was the very first game show endeavor for Merrill Heatter and Bob Quigley. Over then next two decades, these two would go on to leave their mark on the game show industry with their 'larger-than-life' game show sets and set-ups. And they would be Goodson-Todman's worst nightmare, especially during the 1970s when the two rival teams would have an almost equal amount of shows on the air at the time.
So, happy 45th anniversary Merrill and Bob. And thank you both for all the thousands of hours of entertainment your shows have brought us; and for all the wonderful memories that they left us. We only wish lots more of your work survived. But one never knows, does one?
Cordially,
Tammy Warner--the 'Autumn Hargis of the Big Board!'
