Sale of the Century (U.S. game show)
| Sale of the Century | |
|---|---|
 |
|
| Created by | Al Howard |
| Directed by | Paul Alter |
| Presented by |
Jack Kelly (1969–71) Joe Garagiola (1971–74) Jim Perry (1983–89) Co-hosts: Barbara Lyon (1969–71) Kit Dougherty (1971–74) Madelyn Sanders (undetermined; 1969–74 version) Sally Julian (1983) Lee Menning (1983–84) Summer Bartholomew (1984–89) |
| Narrated by |
Bill Wendell (1969–74) Jay Stewart (1983–88) Don Morrow (1988–89) |
| Theme music composer | Ray Ellis & Marc Ellis (1983–89 version) |
| Opening theme | "Mercedes" (1983–89 version) |
| Country of origin | United States |
| No. of seasons | 5 (1969–74) 7 (1983–89) |
| No. of episodes | approx. 990 (NBC 1969–73) 39 (SYN 1973–74) 1,578 (NBC 1983–89) 270 (SYN 1985–86) |
| Production | |
| Location(s) |
NBC Studios New York, New York (1969–74) NBC Studios Burbank, California (1983–89) |
| Running time | 22–24 minutes |
| Production company(s) | Al Howard Productions (1969–74) Reg Grundy Productions (1983–89) |
| Distributor |
Screen Gems (1973–74) Genesis Entertainment (1985–86) |
| Release | |
| Original network |
NBC (1969–73, 1983–89) Syndicated (1973–74, 1985–86) |
| Picture format | 4:3 |
| Original release |
First Run September 29, 1969– July 13, 1973 (NBC Daytime) September 1973– September 1974 (Weekly Syndication) Second Run January 3, 1983− March 24, 1989 (NBC Daytime) January 7, 1985− September 12, 1986 (Daily Syndication) |
Sale of the Century is an American television game show which debuted in the United States on September 29, 1969, on NBC daytime. It was one of three NBC game shows to premiere on that date, the other two being the short-lived Letters to Laugh-In and Name Droppers. The series aired until July 13, 1973, and a weekly syndicated series began that fall and ran for one season. Actor Jack Kelly hosted the series from 1969 to 1971, then decided to return to acting full-time. He was replaced by Joe Garagiola, who hosted the remainder of the daytime series plus the one season in syndication.
The rights to Sale of the Century were purchased in 1980 by Australian TV mogul Reg Grundy, who turned the show into a success in Australia (see Sale of the Century (Australian game show)) and eventually sold his format of the series to NBC. With Jim Perry as its host, the new American Sale of the Century launched on January 3, 1983 and aired until March 24, 1989. Again, it was one of three NBC game shows premiering on the same date, along with Hit Man and Just Men! (which both lasted only 13 weeks), and like its predecessor spawned a syndicated edition. Also hosted by Jim Perry, this syndicated Sale series premiered on January 7, 1985 and ran daily until September 12, 1986.
Al Howard was the executive producer of the initial 1969–73 version, and for a short time was co-executive producer of the 1980s version with Robert Noah.
A new version of the series entitled Temptation, like the recent Australian revival, debuted in syndication on September 10, 2007, following a September 7 preview on MyNetworkTV. This series ran for one year.
Contestants answered general knowledge questions posed by the host at a value of $5 per correct answer. However, any contestant who answered incorrectly lost $5, and—unlike most game shows—only one contestant was permitted to answer for each question.
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