Password | |
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Also known as | Password All-Stars |
Created by | Bob Stewart |
Directed by | Lou Tedesco, Mike Gargiulo (1961–67) Stuart Phelps, Ira Skutch (1971–75) |
Presented by | Allen Ludden |
Judges |
David H. Greene, Reason A. Goodwin (1961–67) Dr. Robert Stockwell, Dr. Caroyln Duncan (1971–75) |
Narrated by |
Jack Clark Gene Wood Bern Bennett Lee Vines (1961–67) John Harlan (1971–75) |
Theme music composer |
Bob Cobert (1961–67) Score Productions (1971–75) |
Country of origin | United States |
No. of episodes | 1,555 (CBS Daytime) 201 (CBS Primetime) 1,099 (ABC) |
Production | |
Producer(s) |
Frank Wayne (1961–75) Howard Felsher (1971–75) |
Running time | 25–26 minutes (1962–1967 prime-time), 22–23 minutes (other versions) |
Distributor | FremantleMedia |
Release | |
Original network | CBS (1961–67) ABC (1971–75) |
Original release | October 2, 1961 – June 27, 1975 |
Chronology | |
Followed by |
Password Plus (1979–1982) Super Password (1984–1989) Million Dollar Password (2008–2009) |
Password is an American television game show which was created by Bob Stewart for Goodson-Todman Productions. The host was Allen Ludden, who had previously been well known as the host of the G.E. College Bowl. In the game, two teams, each composed of a celebrity player and a contestant, attempt to convey mystery words to each other using only single-word clues, in order to win cash prizes.
Password originally aired for 1,555 daytime telecasts each weekday from October 2, 1961 to September 15, 1967 on CBS, along with weekly prime time airings from January 2, 1962 to September 9, 1965 and December 25, 1966 to May 22, 1967. An additional 1,099 daytime shows aired from April 5, 1971 to June 27, 1975 on ABC. The show's announcers were Jack Clark and Lee Vines on CBS and John Harlan on ABC.
Two revivals later aired on NBC: Password Plus from 1979 to 1982, and Super Password from 1984 to 1989, followed by a primetime version, Million Dollar Password, on CBS from 2008 to 2009. All of these versions introduced new variations in gameplay.
In 2013, TV Guide ranked it #8 in its list of the 60 greatest game shows ever.
Two teams, each consisting of one celebrity player and one "civilian" contestant, competed. The word to be conveyed (the "password") was given to one player on each team, and was shown onscreen to viewers as well as spoken softly on the audio track. Game play alternated between the two teams. On each team, the player who was given the password gave a one-word clue from which their partner attempted to guess the password. If the partner failed to guess the password within the allotted five-second time limit, or if an illegal clue was given (two or more words, a hyphenated word, "coined" words, or any part or form of the password), play passed to the opposing team.