''Fast Draw'' was a weekly

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 ...

hosted by

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 ...

for syndication from May 25 to Fall 1968 and was distributed by Warner Brothers/Seven Arts Television. The announcer was "Uncle" Fred Scott. Taped at the studios of

WNEW-TV WNYW (channel 5) is a television station in New York City, serving as the flagship of the Fox network. It is owned and operated by the network's Fox Television Stations division alongside Secaucus, New Jersey–licensed MyNetworkTV flagship ...

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

, the show involved two teams, each composed of a celebrity and a civilian contestant. The format both predated the board game ''

Pictionary ''Pictionary'' (, ) is a charades-inspired word-guessing game invented by Robert Angel with graphic design by Gary Everson and first published in 1985 by Angel Games Inc. Angel Games licensed Pictionary to Western Publishing. Hasbro purchas ...

'' (introduced in 1985) and was the game show predecessor to ''

Win, Lose or Draw ''Win, Lose or Draw'' is an American television game show that aired from 1987 to 1990 in syndication and on NBC. It was taped at CBS Television City (one of the few non-CBS game shows to tape there), often in Studios 31, 33, and 43 at various ...

'' (which debuted in 1987).

Gameplay

Main game

The first round would start with the two civilian contestants standing behind a drawing board that was about waist-high. They would be given 10 seconds each to draw a picture that would allow the celebrities to identify the person, place, thing, or event that was assigned to them. After 10 seconds passed for the first player, the second one would immediately start drawing (accompanied by Gilbert's call to "Draw!") When a celebrity thought he or she knew the identity of the subject, they would hit a buzzer. The contestant would then stop drawing and the celebrity would give his/her guess (usually accompanied with a brief explanation/interpretation of what they saw on the board). If he or she was right, the team was awarded one point for each second left on the clock (the clock started at 60 seconds). If no one guessed the identity of the subject after 60 seconds, the subject was thrown out and they would start again. There were three rounds in a game; after each round, the celebs and the contestants would switch places. After three rounds, the team with the highest score won the game and got to play the bonus round. In the bonus round, the winning team was given the opportunity to play one final game. The guest star would guess and the contestant would do the drawing. The contestant of the team was awarded $100 for winning the main game.

Bonus round

In the bonus round, the celebrity had 30 seconds to communicate a "potluck" subject to the contestant (who was not told the category of the subject). The contestant could yell out as many guesses as he or she wanted without having to buzz in or explain it, and if the subject was successfully guessed, he/she was awarded a 13"

color television Color television or Colour television is a television transmission technology that includes color information for the picture, so the video image can be displayed in color on the television set. It improves on the monochrome or black-and-white t ...

set.

Episode status

The series is presumed to be lost, as is the case with many game show series from the late 1950s through the early 1980s. Only one episode is known to exist, with guest stars

Anita Gillette Anita Gillette ( Luebben; born August 16, 1936) is an American actress. She had numerous roles on Broadway, American television, and in feature films. She also made many appearances as a celebrity guest on television game shows. Early life Gill ...

and

Robert Alda Robert Alda (born Alfonso Giuseppe Giovanni Roberto D'Abruzzo; February 26, 1914 – May 3, 1986) was an Italian-American theatrical and film actor, a singer, and a dancer. He was the father of actors Alan and Antony Alda. Alda was featured in a ...

."Fast Draw Starring Johnny Gilbert," ''YouTube'', posted July 14, 2015, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_GiMKmM8qzs

References

{{Reflist First-run syndicated television programs in the United States American game shows 1960s American game shows 1968 American television series debuts 1968 American television series endings Television series by Warner Bros. Television Studios