''Dr. I.Q.'' (aka ''Dr. I.Q., the Mental Banker'' and ''Doctor I.Q.'') is a

radio Radio is the technology of signaling and communicating using radio waves. Radio waves are electromagnetic waves of frequency between 30 hertz (Hz) and 300 gigahertz (GHz). They are generated by an electronic device called a transmi ...

and

television Television, sometimes shortened to TV, is a telecommunication medium for transmitting moving images and sound. The term can refer to a television set, or the medium of television transmission. Television is a mass medium for advertisin ...

quiz program that ran from 1939 – 1959.

Background

A "trial run" of ''Dr. I.Q.'' was staged at the Fox Theatre in Atlanta, Georgia, to test whether the program's format might be viable for radio. Allen C. Anthony, the program's announcer, said in 1961, "Overflow crowds at the Fox convinced producers that the ''Dr. I.Q.'' Show would go. When the 'I have a lady in the balcony, doctor' caught on, we knew we had it."

Radio

Over decades, the program's sponsors were Mars Candy, the Vick Chemical Company and Embassy Cigarettes. The radio series did not have a set studio. Instead, it traveled from city to city and broadcast from large concert halls and theaters. The quizmaster, Dr. I.Q., delivered silver dollars to audience members who correctly answered his fast-paced questions. The series began April 10, 1939, on the Blue Network with singer-announcer Lew Valentine as Dr. I.Q. Later quizmasters in the role of Dr. I.Q. were Jimmy McClain and Stanley Vainrib. The radio version aired until November 29, 1950 on the NBC and ABC networks. Valentine and McClain were also the hosts of ''Dr. I.Q. Jr.'', a juvenile version heard on NBC from 1941 to 1949.

Television

The television version ran 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 ...

from November 4, 1953, to October 17, 1954, and again from December 15, 1958 to March 23, 1959. The first host was Jay Owen. However, beginning January 18, 1954, McClain began hosting again.

Tom Kennedy Thomas or Tom Kennedy may refer to: Politics *Thomas Kennedy (Scottish judge) (1673–1754), joint Solicitor General for Scotland 1709–14, Lord Advocate 1714, Member of Parliament for Ayr Burghs 1720–21 * Thomas Kennedy, 9th Earl of Cassilis ...

hosted the 1958–59 version. On January 18, 1954, Hazel Bishop cosmetics became a sponsor of the program.

Episode status

Only one episode is known to exist of the 1953-54 version, and it is with McClain as host. Four episodes exist with Kennedy (including a probable pilot taped on October 15, 1958) along with a pilot for a television version of ''Dr. I.Q. Jr.''"Doctor IQ" at the UCLA Film and Television Archive
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References

Sources

''I Have a Lady in the Balcony: Memoirs of a Broadcaster in Radio and Television''

External links

* * *
A public domain TV episode of ''Dr. I.Q.'' at the Internet Archive
{{DEFAULTSORT:Doctor Iq American game shows American radio game shows 1930s American radio programs 1940s American radio programs 1930s American game shows 1940s American game shows 1950s American game shows 1953 American television series debuts 1954 American television series endings 1958 American television series debuts 1959 American television series endings Black-and-white American television shows English-language television shows American Broadcasting Company original programming ABC radio programs NBC radio programs