What's the first game show you saw in person?

[Ian Wallis]

Dream House in 1983 was my first. Had a blast. Johnny Gilbert told me how to get to the bathroom before the show started. When I walked out into the lobby on my way to use the restroom I saw the darkest storm clouds I've ever seen out the window. Looked like a tornado was about to hit.

That must have been the same time I was there.  We saw a taping for \"Battlestars\" in very early April, 1983, but a few days before that we were at DisneyLand.  That day there were very dark storm clouds, heavy rain and reports of tornadoes in some parts of LA!

[bossjock967]

It wasn't an actual taping... but I watched a \"mock\" taping of LMAD '90 at Disney MG Studios in Florida.  It was pretty cool to watch, and they did give out prizes for those who were selected to be \"contestants.\"

Now that I think about it... I should've gone next door to the \"New Mickey Mouse Club\" to check out Britney and Christina.  As a very hormonal 12 year old... I think I would have enjoyed that.  :-)

[Mike Tennant]

[quote name=\'bossjock967\' date=\'Aug 20 2003, 04:15 PM\']It wasn't an actual taping... but I watched a \"mock\" taping of LMAD '90 at Disney MG Studios in Florida.  It was pretty cool to watch, and they did give out prizes for those who were selected to be \"contestants.\"[/quote]
I did that, too.  It was fun.  They even gave out costumes to those chosen to be on the trading floor.  I'll say one thing:  those doors didn't look nearly as big in person as they did on TV.  Plus, of course, there was no Monty (or even Bob Hilton, for that matter), though the fill-in host (or was it a hostess?) did a fine job.

[Timsterino]

[quote name=\'Mike Tennant\' date=\'Aug 21 2003, 09:46 AM\'] [quote name=\'bossjock967\' date=\'Aug 20 2003, 04:15 PM\']It wasn't an actual taping... but I watched a "mock" taping of LMAD '90 at Disney MG Studios in Florida.  It was pretty cool to watch, and they did give out prizes for those who were selected to be "contestants."[/quote]
I did that, too.  It was fun.  They even gave out costumes to those chosen to be on the trading floor.  I'll say one thing:  those doors didn't look nearly as big in person as they did on TV.  Plus, of course, there was no Monty (or even Bob Hilton, for that matter), though the fill-in host (or was it a hostess?) did a fine job. [/quote]
  A little trivia for those who are interested....

The \"Let's Make a Deal\" 1990 thingie was done where the WWTBAM Play it! attraction currently stands. I remember when it went away, I was hoping they would bring in another game show to play along with.

It took eleven years but they finally fulfilled my wish.

Tim :-)

[DrBear]

Correcting my earlier post, to a point
I still haven't seen a TELEVISED game show but I did see the \"Wheel of Fortune\" Bob Eubanks tour in the mid 1990s when it played a local casino. Since I was there as a reporter, I didn't get to play at all (and strangely, I didn't get to speak to Bob. Maybe he was still gun-shy after \"Roger and Me.\"

[pyl85]

When I was about 4 my family and I saw Fame and Fortune. It was just the Michigan state lotto show hosted by WDIV weatherman Chuck Gaidica, but it was a pretty cool experience for me. They would often cut to shots of audience members and when the show aired there was a pretty good shot of us. I still have it on tape.

-Greg

[Game Show Man]

First show I ever saw in person was the also the first show I was a contestant on, Match Game '98.  I have since seen:

Three tapings of Hollywood Squares (including Game Show Week!  I got an autograph from Peter Marshall for my copy of his book)
a taping of daytime Weakest Link (where I met Randy West)
one taping of Whammy! (the Larson episode taping; God I'm lucky)
and one taping of TPIR.

\"Game Show Man\" Joe Van Ginkel

[BrandonFG]

Well, take this how you want, but when I was in New York City this summer, I saw some of a Street Smarts segment taping. I didn't get to see any of the questions asked, but I do know Frank Nicotero is really short in person! :-)

[ChuckNet]

I did that, too. It was fun. They even gave out costumes to those chosen to be on the trading floor. I'll say one thing: those doors didn't look nearly as big in person as they did on TV. Plus, of course, there was no Monty (or even Bob Hilton, for that matter), though the fill-in host (or was it a hostess?) did a fine job.

I went to Disney-MGM about a month before LMaD premiered in Jul 90...the game wasn't in place yet, but our tour hostess said they were preparing for it.

Also, our own Mandel Ilagan got to attend the LMaD attraction while it was there, as well.

Chuck Donegan (The Illustrious \"Chuckie Baby\")

[Esoteric Eric]

As chronicled elsewhere (ezBoard?), my first attendance @ a GS taping was a $20K Pyramid session (three episodes) in April of 1980, with JoAnne Worley and Sal Viscuso as the celebs.  I saw one $10K win.  There were only seven more $20K Pyramids produced after the three I saw, but they may have already been preparing for the subsequent $50K Pyramid, since JoAnne and Sal were the celebs on the first week of that series.

The Vacationing Esoteric Eric, who a) is really happy that the Little League team from his hometown (Saugus, MA) is still in the LL World Series, b) just attended his second Mariners - Red Sox game in successive Friday nights (home team won both times), and c) also toured Fenway Park, where he got to sit in one of the Green Monster seats and touch the left field foul / fair pole (that's for you, Pudge Fisk, wherever you are)

[GSFan]

The first was a taping of the original Jeopardy in 1968.  I vividly remember being at the taping of the final episode of Jeopardy in late 1974.  I've seen almost every New York origination since 1968 including:

WML (syndicated version)
TTTT (syndicated version)
Concentration
Who, What or Where
Three On A Match
Jackpot
Winning Streak
Musical Chairs
The Money Maze (saw the first episode, among others)
Big Showdown (saw the 100th episode with the first $10,000 win)
Blankety Blanks
Pass The Buck
Spin-Off (the pilot was taped in NYC)
WoF (at Radio City in 1988)

and finally, every version of Pyramid that was taped in New York.  I've joked that both CBS and ABC were going to charge me rent for the amount of time that I spent at the Sullivan and Elysee theaters.

David

[GSFan]

I remember that I also saw a week of Body Language during a trip to LA in 1984.

David

[Matt Ottinger]

My family traveled to New York City from Tennessee every summer to visit an uncle, and the trip always had to include at least one visit to a game show taping.  It also usually included convincing an usher or NBC page that the child (me) would behave himself and was, in fact, the reason we were there.

The first one was either Match Game or Concentration, it's too long ago to remember.  The most memorable ones were seeing Three on a Match before I had actually seen it on TV (my local station didn't carry it) and seeing what was probably by that time The $20,000 Pyramid and getting a chance to talk to Bob Clayton.

[alfonzos]

My first nationaly televised game show was Hit Man. It was a Super Bowl weekend and the audience was in a foul mood. Announcer Rod Roddy could not rally the audience. Attempts to bribe the audience with a trivia quiz with a cash payoff failed!

Between takes I had a chance to talk with him and ask him about his career. He was a nice man having a bad day.

[bricon]

What did you think Jim Lange was like off-camera?

I am not Tammy  but having had the pleasure of working with him twice, have found him to be a total class act.  He currently does mornings on KABL 960 in San Francisco.  The station streams its signal on the internet, and Jim's bio can be found here