Information, Please
| Information Please (Radio) | |
|---|---|
| Created by | Dan Golenpaul |
| Presented by | Clifton Fadiman |
| Country of origin |
 United States
|
| No. of seasons | 13 |
| Production | |
| Running time | 30 minutes |
| Release | |
| Original network | NBC Radio |
| Original release | May 17, 1938 – April 22, 1951 |
| Information Please (TV) | |
|---|---|
| Created by | Dan Golenpaul |
| Presented by |
Clifton Fadiman (June–August) John McCaffery (August–September) |
| Country of origin |
United States
|
| Production | |
| Running time | 30 minutes |
| Release | |
| Original network | CBS |
| Original release | June 29 – September 21, 1952 |
Information Please was an American radio quiz show, created by Dan Golenpaul, which aired on NBC from May 17, 1938 to April 22, 1951. The title was the contemporary phrase used to request from telephone operators what was then called "information" but is now called "directory assistance".
The series was moderated by Clifton Fadiman. A panel of experts would attempt to answer questions submitted by listeners. For the first few shows, a listener was paid two dollars for a question that was used, and five dollars more if the experts could not answer it correctly. When the show got its first sponsor (Canada Dry), the total amounts were increased to five and ten dollars respectively. A complete Encyclopædia Britannica was later added to the prize for questions that stumped the panel. The amounts went up to ten and twenty-five dollars when Lucky Strike took over sponsorship of the program.
Panel regulars included writer-actor-pianist Oscar Levant and newspaper columnists and renowned wits and intellectuals Franklin P. Adams and John Kieran. All the panelists were well-versed in a wide range of topics, though each had a specialty. Music and film questions were often addressed to Levant. Adams was well known for his mastery of poetry, popular culture and Gilbert and Sullivan. Kieran was an expert in natural history, sports and literature. A typical question would have three or four parts and would require the panelists to get a majority of the questions right, lest they lose the prize money.
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Wikipedia