''Blind Date'' (also known as ''Your Big Moment'') is an American television

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 ...

which aired on

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 ...

NBC The National Broadcasting Company (NBC) is an Television in the United States, American English-language Commercial broadcasting, commercial television network, broadcast television and radio network. The flagship property of the NBC Enterta ...

, and then DuMont after many years on radio.

Format #1

Six men vied for dates with three unseen women by having conversations with them, in a show similar to the future ''

The Dating Game ''The Dating Game'' is an American television game show that first aired on December 20, 1965, and was the first of many shows created and packaged by Chuck Barris from the 1960s through the 1980s. ABC dropped the show on July 6, 1973, but it c ...

''. The men, who were typically either servicemen or college students, were known as the "Hunters" and tried to win a date with the women, known as the "Hunted," for an expense-paid date on the town, which included an invitation to a popular local

nightclub A nightclub (music club, discothèque, disco club, or simply club) is an entertainment venue during nighttime comprising a dance floor, lightshow, and a stage for live music or a disc jockey (DJ) who plays recorded music. Nightclubs gener ...

Radio Version

In this version, the six men (initially local servicemen) sat on one side of a wall, and the three women sat on the other side. Two men each would have about two minutes to explain by telephone their best points to one woman. After they both had their turn, the woman chose the date she found more interesting, with the winners escorted through swinging doors to meet their blind dates. Winners received a night on the town, which on the premiere episode included a nightclub invitation to the

Stork Club Stork Club was a nightclub in Manhattan, New York City. During its existence from 1929 to 1965, it was one of the most prestigious clubs in the world. A symbol of café society, the wealthy elite, including movie stars, celebrities, showgirls, ...

, $5 in pocket money, and a chaperoned ride home. The losers received a friendly kiss from Francis, $15 in cash, and tickets to a popular local theater production as consolation prizes. And the women were each paid $50 for their appearances. The radio show began its network run as a summer replacement for the ''Maxwell House Coffee Time'' program, and it was fairly risqué for its time. The ''

Billboard A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertise ...

'' review for the first show concluded with, "All in all, it's a lot of fun and if program could be broadcast 'for adults only' it'd be a great filler inner for Snooks and

Frank Morgan Francis Phillip Wuppermann (June 1, 1890 – September 18, 1949), known professionally as Frank Morgan, was an American character actor. He was best known for his appearances in films starting in the silent era in 1916, and then numerous soun ...

. Since broadcasting is a family medium it doesn't belong on the air."

Television Version

In this version, two men (college students or servicemen) were seated on one side of a wall and telephoned one of the women sitting on the other side. They attempted to talk her into accepting a date with one of them. On the basis of voice and specially prepared questions, she chose the most impressive one of the two for her affections. Those two people became a couple. This process continued until three couples were formed. At the end of the show, the audience determined which couple would receive the romantic night on the town by means of applause.

Format #2

In 1953, the television format was changed to viewers writing to the show, and asking about a date with a type of person, or to go on a date to a special event.

Broadcast history

''Blind Date'' started on the stage of the Hollywood Theatre in

Sioux Falls Sioux Falls () is the most populous city in the U.S. state of South Dakota and the 130th-most populous city in the United States. It is the county seat of Minnehaha County and also extends into Lincoln County to the south, which continues up t ...

South Dakota South Dakota (; Sioux language, Sioux: , ) is a U.S. state in the West North Central states, North Central region of the United States. It is also part of the Great Plains. South Dakota is named after the Lakota people, Lakota and Dakota peo ...

, as ''G.I. Blind Date'', a radio show designed to entertain servicemen at the Army Radio Technical Training School in town. The first show was broadcast on KELO radio in January 1943. ''G.I. Blind Date'' was created by Joe Floyd, Cliff Gill and Vera Thomson as a between-movie entertainment feature. Seeing its success, Floyd peddled the idea around to other markets, eventually selling it to NBC radio where it first aired July 8, 1943, hosted by

Arlene Francis Arlene Francis (born Arline Francis Kazanjian; October 20, 1907 – May 31, 2001) was an American actress, radio and television talk show host, and game show panelist. She is known for her long-running role as a panelist on the television game s ...

. The radio show grew into a television show. This version originally aired on ABC from May 5, 1949, to September 20, 1951, moved to NBC from June 7 to July 15, 1952, then ran on DuMont (originally as ''Your Big Moment'') from May 19 to September 15, 1953. The ABC version aired Fridays at 8:30pm EST during the start of the 1949-50 TV season, and Thursdays at 9:30pm EST during the 1950–51 season.

was the host of the ABC and NBC versions, and had hosted the radio version since 1943.

Melvyn Douglas Melvyn Douglas (born Melvyn Edouard Hesselberg, April 5, 1901 – August 4, 1981) was an American actor. Douglas came to prominence in the 1930s as a suave leading man, perhaps best typified by his performance in the romantic comedy ''Ninotchka ...

became host when the show moved to DuMont, but was replaced after the third show by

Jan Murray Jan Murray (born Murray Janofsky; October 4, 1916 – July 2, 2006) was an American stand-up comedian, actor, and game-show host who originally made his name on the Borscht Belt and later was known for his frequent television appearances over se ...

Episode status

One episode with Francis from 1950 is held among collectors, while the August 25, 1953, show with Murray is held by the

Paley Center for Media The Paley Center for Media, formerly the Museum of Television & Radio (MT&R) and the Museum of Broadcasting, founded in 1975 by William S. Paley, is an American cultural institution in New York City, New York with a branch office in Los Angeles, ...

Critical reception

Media critic

Jack Gould John Ludlow Gould (February 5, 1914 – May 24, 1993) was an American journalist and critic, who wrote commentary about television. Early life and education Gould was born in New York City into a socially prominent family and attended the Loomis ...

wrote in ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...

'', "''Blind Date'' does not seem very real." He explained that the show had a "forced and contrived nature", with the participants appearing to have been rehearsed.

References

Bibliography

* David Weinstein, ''The Forgotten Network: DuMont and the Birth of American Television'' (Philadelphia:

Temple University Press Temple University Press is a university press founded in 1969 that is part of Temple University (Philadelphia, Pennsylvania). It is one of thirteen publishers to participate in the Knowledge Unlatched pilot, a global library consortium approach t ...

, 2004) * Alex McNeil, ''Total Television'', Fourth edition (New York:

Penguin Books Penguin Books is a British publishing, publishing house. It was co-founded in 1935 by Allen Lane with his brothers Richard and John, as a line of the publishers The Bodley Head, only becoming a separate company the following year.DuMont historical website
1949 American television series debuts 1953 American television series endings 1940s American radio programs 1940s American game shows 1950s American game shows American radio game shows American game shows Black-and-white American television shows DuMont Television Network original programming English-language television shows NBC original programming