Liar's Club
| Liar's Club | |
|---|---|
| Starring |
Rod Serling (1969) Bill Armstrong (1976) Allen Ludden (1977–79) Eric Boardman (1988–89) |
| Narrated by | Jim Isaics (1969) Bill Berry (1976–79) Joe Seiter (1976–79) Bill Armstrong (1988) Ted Friend (1989) |
| Country of origin | United States (1969–79) Canada (1988–89) |
| Production | |
| Producer(s) |
Ralph Andrews (1969–79) Blair Murdoch (1988–89) |
| Running time | approx. 26 Minutes |
| Release | |
| Original network | Syndicated (1969, 1976–79, 1988–89) |
| Original release | 1969 – 1989 |
Liar's Club is an American game show, originally produced by Ralph Andrews, featuring a panel of celebrity guests who offered explanations of obscure or unusual objects. Contestants attempted to determine which explanation was correct in order to win prizes.
Liar's Club was first seen during the 1969–70 season with Rod Serling as host, and returned for a three-season run from 1976–79, after airing as a local series on Los Angeles' KTLA during the 1974–75 season. Bill Armstrong hosted the KTLA version, which aired on Saturday nights at 7:30 pm, and briefly hosted the program in syndication during the first season in 1976–77, but was soon replaced by Allen Ludden. Bill Berry and Joe Seiter shared the announcing duties. Celebrity attorney/actress/producer Vicki Roberts was a regular researcher on the show, and brought in herself many of the strange or unusual objects on the show, many of which were found by scouring local antique shops in the Los Angeles area.
Another version of the show aired during the 1988–89 season as The New Liar's Club; Eric Boardman hosted the program, and former emcee Bill Armstrong originally served as announcer, but was later replaced by Ted Friend. This version was produced by Blair Murdoch at CKVU-TV in Vancouver, British Columbia.
A panel of four celebrity guests was presented with an unusual object, with each celebrity providing an explanation of the object's use. Contestants then attempted to guess which panelist was providing the accurate description. Two contestants competed on the 1969 version, while the first season of the 70s version and the 1988 revival featured four contestants, and the two seasons (1977–79) with Ludden had three.
On the 1969 version, the contestant who made the most correct guesses during the episode won $100. For all later versions, contestants began the game with a set amount of money and made wagers before attempting to guess the correct object, which were then paid out at various odds if the contestant was successful.
From 1976–77, contestants were spotted with $100 at the start of the game, and wagered up to $100 (in $10 increments) for each prediction. Correct predictions were paid out at odds of 1:1 in Round 1, 2:1 in Round 2, 5:1 in Round 3, and 10:1 in Round 4. When Ludden took over as host in 1977, the game format largely remained the same, but the maximum in each round wager was increased from $100 to half of the contestant's current bank. On the 1988–89 version, contestants played for points, wagering between 10 and 90 points, in 10 point increments; in the first three rounds, contestants were limited to betting half their current points but in the final round, the contestants could wager all their points, but the largest wager tag given was 90 points, so the contestants could not bet more than that.
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