Winner Take All (game show)
| Winner Take All | |
|---|---|
| Created by |
Mark Goodson Bill Todman |
| Presented by |
Ward Wilson (1946) Bill Cullen (1946-1950, Radio; 1952, TV) Bud Collyer (1948-1950, TV; 1950-1952, Radio) Barry Gray (1951, daytime) Sonny Fox (1956) |
| Narrated by | Bill Cullen (1946) Bern Bennett (1948-1950) Harry Kramer (1951) Don Pardo (1952) |
| Country of origin | United States |
| No. of episodes | 1951 (TV): ~50 1952 (pre-Matinee): ~45 1952 (Matinee): ~65 |
| Release | |
| Original network |
CBS (Radio; 1946-1952) CBS (Television; 1948-1951) NBC (1952) |
| Original release | June 3, 1946 – September 5, 1952 |
Winner Take All, an American radio-television game show, ran from 1946-1952 on CBS and NBC. It was the first game show produced by the Mark Goodson-Bill Todman partnership. The series was originally hosted by Ward Wilson, but is best known for being the first game hosted by Bill Cullen.
Although the game format was very simple, Winner Take All served as the genesis for many future game-show formats. It was the first game to use lockout devices, and the first to use returning champions.
Two contestants – one with a buzzer, the other with a bell – competed in answering general-knowledge questions, questions based on skits performed beforehand, or doing discovery tests (usually while blindfolded) inside the studio.
The first contestant to sound their signal and give the right answer to the question would score one point, with a wrong answer giving the opponent a free guess. The first player to score three points won the game and a prize, then stayed on to face another challenger.
Winner Take All debuted on CBS Radio on June 3, 1946. Original emcee Ward Wilson stepped down after just three months at the helm, and announcer Bill Cullen stepped in as a temporary host on September 9. Cullen's work on the show stunned executives, who made his hosting job permanent.
CBS, noting the show's popularity on radio, moved the series to television on July 1, 1948 with Bud Collyer as host. The radio series continued with Cullen for another two years, with Collyer taking over in August 1950. The televised Winner, while popular, bowed on October 3, 1950.
The network refused to give up on a popular format, however, and attempted a second television run for its daytime schedule. Debuting on February 12, 1951 at 2:45 PM with radio personality Barry Gray as emcee, this iteration aired for 45 minutes on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays; on Tuesdays and Thursdays, the show aired for a half-hour and was paired with Bride and Groom.
The series originally ran up against the informational show Vacation Wonderland on NBC and local programming on ABC (which did not program from 2:00-3:00 until 1958). On March 12, Wonderland was cut back to 15 minutes and moved to 3:15 PM; its replacement, the soap opera Miss Susan, did not do very well but nonetheless managed to beat Winner by enough in the ratings.
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