''Beat the Odds'' is an American

game show A game show is a genre of broadcast viewing entertainment (radio, television, internet, stage or other) where contestants compete for a reward. These programs can either be participatory or Let's Play, demonstrative and are typically directed b ...

created by Bill Derman for

Bing Crosby Harry Lillis "Bing" Crosby Jr. (May 3, 1903 – October 14, 1977) was an American singer, musician and actor. The first multimedia star, he was one of the most popular and influential musical artists of the 20th century worldwide. He was a ...

Productions. It first aired as a local production on

KTLA KTLA (channel 5) is a television station in Los Angeles, California, United States, serving as the West Coast flagship of The CW. It is the largest directly owned property of the network's majority owner, Nexstar Media Group, and is the seco ...

Los Angeles, California Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world' ...

in 1961 with

Mike Stokey Mike Stokey (September 14, 1918 – September 7, 2003) was an American game show host and producer, best known for ''Pantomime Quiz'' and its later incarnation '' Stump the Stars''. He also produced early TV specials, including ''A Christmas Car ...

as host and Stan Chambers as announcer.

Dennis James Dennis James (born Demie James Sposa, August 24, 1917 – June 3, 1997) was an American television personality, philanthropist, and commercial spokesman. Until 1976, he had appeared on TV more times and for a longer period than any other televi ...

succeeded Stokey as host in 1962, and the last episode aired in August 1963. The format was revived for

syndication Syndication may refer to: * Broadcast syndication, where individual stations buy programs outside the network system * Print syndication, where individual newspapers or magazines license news articles, columns, or comic strips * Web syndication, ...

, debuting nationally on December 16, 1968 with

Johnny Gilbert John Lewis Gilbert III (born July 13, 1928) is an American show business personality who has worked mainly on television game shows. Originally a nightclub singer and entertainer, he has hosted and announced a number of game shows from various e ...

as host and Bill Baldwin as announcer. This version of the show lasted until September 1969. In the show, contestants competed to form words after being given the first letter, last letter, and number of overall letters. For example, if the letters revealed on the two side by side windows on the game board were G and E, and the indicator called for a word of 5 or more letters, "garage" would be an acceptable answer. If a face belonging to a character called "The Whammy" appeared in a window, a player lost their turn. Each correct word won 10 points, with 100 points winning the game. ("The Whammy" was revived in modified form for Carruthers'

Press Your Luck ''Press Your Luck'' is an American television game show created by Bill Carruthers and Jan McCormack. It premiered on CBS daytime on September 19, 1983, and ended on September 26, 1986. The format is a retooling of an earlier Carruthers productio ...

in the 1980s.)

Bill Carruthers William H. Carruthers (September 27, 1930 – March 2, 2003) was an American television executive who gained his first fame as the director of '' The Soupy Sales Show'' at Detroit television station WXYZ-TV. He also directed the Ernie Kovacs-helm ...

attempted to revive the format for

ABC ABC are the first three letters of the Latin script known as the alphabet. ABC or abc may also refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Broadcasting * American Broadcasting Company, a commercial U.S. TV broadcaster ** Disney–ABC Television ...

in 1975, filming a

pilot An aircraft pilot or aviator is a person who controls the flight of an aircraft by operating its directional flight controls. Some other aircrew members, such as navigators or flight engineers, are also considered aviators, because they a ...

with

Chuck Henry Charles Robert Henry (born January 1, 1946) is a retired American journalist, who worked in the Greater Los Angeles media market for 48 years. He worked for nearly 29 years at KNBC, where he was a co-anchor of the 5, 6, and 11 p.m. newscasts, and ...

as host. This pilot did not sell. The "Whammy" was represented as a blue lightning bolt.

References

{{Reflist 1960s American game shows 1961 American television series debuts 1969 American television series endings First-run syndicated television programs in the United States