The basic concept of "The $64,000 Question" was sound; it had run for years on radio as "The $64 Question," with contestants answering progressively more difficult questions in a category of their choice, starting at $1 and increasing to the titular top prize. Contestants could take their winnings and leave at any point, or risk losing everything if they missed on a future question.
By 1955 $64 wasn't likely to excite many people, so when Louis G. Cowan bought the rights to the show he envisioned something like a climb up Mt. Everest (this wasn't long after Sir Edmund Hillary's ascent); as on the radio show, one contestant at a time would pick a category, answer a few easy questions starting at $64, then--at the $8000 level--be placed inside an isolation booth for the four big-money questions. And just to add to the suspense, once the contestant got to that level, he or she was asked just one multi-part question a week, then given a week (if they answered correctly) to decide whether to continue or risk losing everything (but winning a new Cadillac as a consolation prize).
The show's producers liked to have people with interests unrelated to their professions; psychologist Joyce Brothers on boxing, as already mentioned; Marine Corps Capt. Richard McCutcheon (the first $64,000 winner) on cooking; jockey Billy Pearson on art. Fine and dandy, but what I think hurt the show was that Charles Revson, head of the show's cosmetics sponsor Revlon, would drop not-so-subtle hints as to contestants he wanted to keep on and those he wanted off. Since all contestants had been pre-tested to see if their knowledge of their category was genuine, it was easy to write to a contestant's strength if Revson liked the person, or write something to knock them out if they didn't. The catch here is that the contestants were not (unlike "Twenty-One") given the questions and answers in advance (although some claimed to have heard component parts of their questions), and so it's not really fair to say that the "Question" was rigged; indeed, Dr. Joyce Brothers correctly answered a number of questions intended to eliminate her.
Nonetheless, the ratings (especially in the first year, 1955-56) seemed to indicate that the public treated this show almost like a soap opera: will the cooking expert, or opera expert, answer the big-money question? Will he or she quit? Maybe it was changing times but the 1970s remake, "The $128,000 Question," never engaged the country like the original did. But in 1958 "Question" got tarred with the same brush as "Twenty-One," perhaps unfortunately.
Sure, Charles Revson wanted what he felt was best for his show, which was making tons of money for him, but 20-20 hindsight says he should have made lipstick and let the producers run the quiz.
Hal March deserves a mention. He was a sympathetic, yet excitable host in the Bert Parks tradition (when somebody answered a tough one he'd shout "You're RIGHT! You're absolutely RIGHT!"). Also, $64,000 in 1955 was worth about $512,000 today (and CBS considered, and rejected, a pilot for "The $1,064,000 Question" in 2007).
Still a television landmark after nearly 60 years.
By 1955 $64 wasn't likely to excite many people, so when Louis G. Cowan bought the rights to the show he envisioned something like a climb up Mt. Everest (this wasn't long after Sir Edmund Hillary's ascent); as on the radio show, one contestant at a time would pick a category, answer a few easy questions starting at $64, then--at the $8000 level--be placed inside an isolation booth for the four big-money questions. And just to add to the suspense, once the contestant got to that level, he or she was asked just one multi-part question a week, then given a week (if they answered correctly) to decide whether to continue or risk losing everything (but winning a new Cadillac as a consolation prize).
The show's producers liked to have people with interests unrelated to their professions; psychologist Joyce Brothers on boxing, as already mentioned; Marine Corps Capt. Richard McCutcheon (the first $64,000 winner) on cooking; jockey Billy Pearson on art. Fine and dandy, but what I think hurt the show was that Charles Revson, head of the show's cosmetics sponsor Revlon, would drop not-so-subtle hints as to contestants he wanted to keep on and those he wanted off. Since all contestants had been pre-tested to see if their knowledge of their category was genuine, it was easy to write to a contestant's strength if Revson liked the person, or write something to knock them out if they didn't. The catch here is that the contestants were not (unlike "Twenty-One") given the questions and answers in advance (although some claimed to have heard component parts of their questions), and so it's not really fair to say that the "Question" was rigged; indeed, Dr. Joyce Brothers correctly answered a number of questions intended to eliminate her.
Nonetheless, the ratings (especially in the first year, 1955-56) seemed to indicate that the public treated this show almost like a soap opera: will the cooking expert, or opera expert, answer the big-money question? Will he or she quit? Maybe it was changing times but the 1970s remake, "The $128,000 Question," never engaged the country like the original did. But in 1958 "Question" got tarred with the same brush as "Twenty-One," perhaps unfortunately.
Sure, Charles Revson wanted what he felt was best for his show, which was making tons of money for him, but 20-20 hindsight says he should have made lipstick and let the producers run the quiz.
Hal March deserves a mention. He was a sympathetic, yet excitable host in the Bert Parks tradition (when somebody answered a tough one he'd shout "You're RIGHT! You're absolutely RIGHT!"). Also, $64,000 in 1955 was worth about $512,000 today (and CBS considered, and rejected, a pilot for "The $1,064,000 Question" in 2007).
Still a television landmark after nearly 60 years.