Public Announcement #55

Pyramid Is Game Show Dynasty

Dick Clark was once called “America’s Oldest Teenager” because of his youthful appearance and because of the very popular music & dance program he hosted American Bandstand. Mom Mom Nita told stories to me about my Aunt Pug and Uncle Buddy then later my Mom and Uncle Chuck would run home to watch American Bandstand after school. Like many teenagers at the time, they danced & sang to the new hit songs being played on the show. These stories were after my sweet & patient grandmother watched Total Request Live (TRL) with me on MTV to see The Top 10 videos of the day. I think Ricky Martin was the closest thing she saw to her boyfriend Elvis. American Bandstand was before MTV & VH1 actually played music videos and before they sold their corporate souls. I admire Dick Clark for bringing music to millions before the cables and American Idol.

I was born in 1988 and my memories of Dick Clark were reruns of one of the greatest game shows ever. If you are familiar with the phrase “For $10,000.. HERE IS YOUR FIRST SUBECT…GO!!!” Then YOU KNOW, I am talking about The Emmy-Winning phenomenon that is Pyramid!!! Of course being a little kid seeing the reruns in the afternoon on USA Network at my grandmother’s house, the episodes were new to me. And yes Dick Clark looked the same as he did when the show first began in 1973 as The $10,000 Pyramid on CBS for its first season. The show was created by game show producer Bob Stewart who got his career started co-creating game shows for the game show dynamic duo Mark Goodson & Bill Toddman. Bob’s creations includes the masterpiece Password, the excellent cocktail party guessing game To Tell The Truth, and of course the dynasty that is The Price Is Right. I also very much enjoyed the very underrated but cult hit game show Bob Stewart also created from the early 1970’s Three On A Match.

The concept of Pyramid is two pairs (one celebrity, one contestant on each team) each given clues to figure out seven key well known words, phrases and people in a category of seven. With Password, you’re only be allowed to give one word clues without hand gestures. In Pyramid, the partner who gives may provide clues necessary as long as the clue is not part of the keyword and if you do yo hear the famous CUCKOO sound. Each team has 30 Second to get all seven words guessed correctly and with six categories on the board, that’s 21 points to be earned. Oh and finding the Big 7 hidden in the six categories and getting all the keywords guessed in the 30 seconds would win the contestant $500!!!

The team with the most points after three rounds each goes to The Winner’s Circle to get six subjects in the pyramid in less than 60 Seconds for the $10,000!!!! The player who gives the clues are only allowed to provide a list and are not allowed to use their hands. The rule is enforced so much, the clue giver is strapped into the chair. If an illegal clue is given, we hear a loud BUZZING sound which means the chance at the $10,000 goes away. Dick always encouraged the team to keep going to rank up as much money in the 60 seconds. I always liked that Dick was always ready to say “Next Please” or “would you like to go on?” if stuck on a subject because of time. That minute goes by fast and it’s the most intense in game shows next to the last five questions on Who Wants To Be A Millionaire? The bottom three categories in the pyramid $50 each, top two $100 each and the top $200. The same dollars amounts in the Winner Circle followed when the program in 1976 when one year on CBS and two on ABC that ABC would start a new version called The $20,000 Pyramid which ran from 1976-1980. The main difference with the Winner’s Circle in the $10,000 and $20,000 Pyramid was this.. The $10,000 Pyramid, you played for that amount only until you won. The first time in The Winner’s Circle on the $20,000 Pyramid after you win a game, you play for $10,000 in your first run. You play for $15,000 if you lost and came back for a second try and every attempt after if you didn’t win the $15,000 was for the big pot $20,000!!!! You leave as a retired champion once you win any of those three amounts. These amounts were big time money for game shows in the 1970’s that didn’t give away a car as the grand prize.

The DEAN of Game Show Hosts Bill Cullen hostedThe $25,000 Pyramid in syndication from 1974-1979 but I think this particular Pyramid found it’s ultimate groove in 1982 when CBS picked The New $25,000 Pyramid and three years later with $100,000 Pyramid. The CBS version didn’t add the NEW until a couple months on the air and kept “NEW” in the title until January 1985 NOT to confuse fans. I’ve been trying to solve that damn mystery for 25 years and I finally solved it!!! The format was mostly the same except this time the first time you go the Winner’s Circle you play for $10,000 and the second time (win or lose the first time in the Winner’s Circle) you play for $25,000. The dollars amounts ranged from $50 to $300 so one person could rack up $1,000 even if they don’t go to the top of the pyramid and I saw one person win $1,000 to Dick Clark’s shock. Plus whoever won the most money after the two games got to come back the next day. I also loved the two new bonuses that I loved came on the $25,000 Pyramid The famous 7-11 where a contestant could win $1,100 for getting seven words in the 30 Seconds. The Mystery 7 was wonderful in you saw the seven words but you didn’t know what they had in common UNTIL after the win or the buzzer whichever came first. Those bonus prizes included a trip to beautiful locations like Fiji or Mexico or a home computer which was a new flashy prize in the 1980’s. Oh and sometimes on the Mystery 7… YOU COULD WIN A NEW CAR!!!!! Those prizes were shown in most cases after Dick Clark would say farewell for that episode with the famous sign-off “For Now, Dick Clark… So Long” with the salute before walking off the set.” Dick Clark always left us wanting more but that’s when he knew it was time for that sign-off knowing he would be back very soon.

1985 saw the birth of $100,000 Pyramid which aired at night in syndication until 1988 with one season in syndication hosted in 1991 with John Davidson. The format was similar to $25,000 Pyramid in the sense of the money you play for plus the bonuses. However, the three players that went to the top of the Pyramid in the shortest length of time return in eight weeks for $100,000!!! Sometimes it took forever for a big win, but I know Dick Clark loved giving away millions of dollars to great contestants. The only time I know he didn’t like hosting Pyramid were on days (very rare occasions) when the judges instructed Dick to take money back the contestants THOUGHT they won. One celebrity was so embarrassed he hid his head with a towel in shame. Dick told the celebrity “I got the tough job, I gotta take the money back and explain this.” WITH a dictionary in hand on one or two occasions. You can imagine the excitement when a call went to the judges and the contestant won the big money where a very long commercial break occurs.

Famous celebrities who were on Pyramid included William Shatner, Billy Crystal (Got a contestant to the top of the Pyramid in 26 seconds), Vicki Lawrence who loved mocking Dick every chance she could especially when Dick would try to help the contestant guess a tough clue in the Winner’s Circle after the buzzer. I also enjoyed seeing Levar Burton from Reading Rainbow & Didi Conn from Shining Time Station. One time Michael J. Fox was a guest when starring in the very popular NBC sitcom Family Ties and the little girls in that audience screamed for him like he was Elvis. The announcer at the time Jack Clark (no relation to Dick) pulled it together with a chuckle to say “your host is Dick Clark!” Every generation has at least one teen idol. Other memorable guest stars for me were Betty White, Florence Henderson, (Carol Brady from The Brady Brunch), Barry Jenner from Dallas and Family Matters (Carl’s boss Lt. Murtaugh), Dick Cavett who I think could have hosted for a week if Dick Clark ever got a sore throat.

I’ve seen reboots come and go with Pyramid. The Donny Osmond that lasted two seasons was mediocre at best because the format was too different Six answers in 20 seconds instead of 7 in 30??? Give me a break!!! But that version probably looks like Picasso compared to the awful and thankfully short lived GSN version with Mike Richards. I’m not just saying that because Mike is a manipulative, vile, and extremely crude individual. He’s also just flat and bland as a host. Mike Richards makes John Davidson look like Ryan Seacrest or Pat Sajak depending on your taste. It’s safe to say Michael Strahan who has hosted $100,000 Pyramid for the last decade on ABC has brought Pyramid back to the original format the closest plus he seems the closest to Dick Clark. NOW If you win a game now you play for $50,000 in the Winner’s Circle and $100,000 on your second attempt. We’ve been in the era of game shows giving away six and seven figures for a long time but it doesn’t mean the rules when they are perfect should change. I do love when Michael asks the contestants what they plan to do with the big money if they win. The celebrities are better too than the last remakes Martha Stewart and Snoop played, Weird Al got to play, Ken Jennings from Jeopardy, and my wife would never forgive me I didn’t say RuPaul who I also find to be always fabulous & exciting. Little known fact, my uncle knew RuPaul when they performed in a club that Uncle Chuck was a bartender in.

Pyramid has won nine Emmy Awards for Best Game Show and is only second in that record to Jeopardy with 13 wins!!!! The game is easy to play though some items are easier to give as clues than others and that guessing until the end is addicting once you get into it. I think that’s why I enjoyed seeing Dick Clark play along especially after a failed attempt in the Winner’s Circle. Like Password, if you find the rhythm well, you can be successful at it. I also just remember it put a smile on my grandmother’s face when we watched marathons of it on Game Show Network. Those memories are often the best prizes because they come from heaven and the man above. You don’t need to always attend Sunday School to know that.