''Juvenile Jury'' was an
American
American(s) may refer to:
* American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America"
** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America
** American ancestry, pe ...
children's
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 ...
that originally ran on
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 ...
from April 3, 1947, to August 1, 1954.
It was hosted by
Jack Barry and featured a panel of children aged ten or less giving advice to solve the problems of other children. Celebrity guests appeared on the show, including
Eddie Cantor
Eddie Cantor (born Isidore Itzkowitz; January 31, 1892 – October 10, 1964) was an American comedian, actor, dancer, singer, songwriter, film producer, screenwriter and author. Familiar to Broadway, radio, movie, and early television audiences, ...
,
Red Skelton
Richard Red Skelton (July 18, 1913September 17, 1997) was an American entertainer best known for his national radio and television shows between 1937 and 1971, especially as host of the television program ''The Red Skelton Show''. He has stars ...
and
Milton Berle
Milton Berle (born Mendel Berlinger; ; July 12, 1908 – March 27, 2002) was an American actor and comedian. His career as an entertainer spanned over 80 years, first in silent films and on stage as a child actor, then in radio, movies and tel ...
.
[
The show began in 1946 as a radio program on WOR in New York,]["Radio: Juvenile Jury" ''Time magazine'', June 17, 1946.] but then successfully made the transition to television. It continued to be broadcast as a radio program until 1953.[Sies, Luther F. ''Encyclopedia of American Radio, 1920-1960.'' McFarland & Co. 2000. p. 301.]
Controversy
In a 1953 episode, four-year-old panelist Michelle Fogel claimed that she was told the questions/"problems" the night before, and further claimed that her answer to the first problem was what "my mommy told me to say"; Barry then, and again several times during the remainder of the episode, tried to assure the audience that what Fogel said was not the case.
Barry was later involved in the quiz show scandals
The 1950s quiz show scandals were a series of scandals involving the producers and contestants of several popular American Game show, television quiz shows. These shows' producers secretly gave assistance to certain contestants in order to prearr ...
, and in 1958 testified before a congressional committee about his involvement.
Legal cases
In the late 1940s, ''Juvenile Jury'' was the subject of two court cases. The jury in a New York Federal Court rejected William Evans's suit for $600,000 damages. He said that when Barry and other defendants began ''Juvenile Jury'' on WOR, the program's concept was one that he had created but was rejected after he submitted it to WGN a few months prior to ''Juvenile Jurys debut. Meanwhile, a New York Supreme Court case had Carol Marshall suing for piracy, saying that she created an unproduced radio program, ''Junior Judges'', on which ''Juvenile Jury'' infringed.
Revivals
The show was revived twice in syndication, once from 1970-1971 hosted again by Barry, and again from 1989-1991 (renamed ''The New Juvenile Jury'') hosted by Nipsey Russell
Julius "Nipsey" Russell (September 15, 1918 – October 2, 2005)Nipsey J. Russell, born September 15, 1918, died October 2, 2005. Social Security Administration. ''Social Security Death Index'' (Death Master File).U.S. Census, January 1, 1920, s ...
. Incidentally, Russell hosted another version in 1983 under the title ''Nipsey Russell's Juvenile Jury'' created specifically for broadcast on cable network Black Entertainment Television (BET)
Black Entertainment Television (acronym BET) is an American basic cable channel targeting African-American audiences. It is owned by the CBS Entertainment Group unit of Paramount Global via BET Networks and has offices in New York City, Los ...
, who co-produced the show with Barry & Enright Productions
Barry & Enright Productions (also known as either Jack Barry-Dan Enright Productions or Jack Barry & Dan Enright Productions and known as Barry, Enright & Friendly Productions) was a United States television production company that was formed in ...
. This rendition, though short-lived, was the first original game show for the fledgling network, and one of the few in game show history to feature a predominantly African-American
African Americans (also referred to as Black Americans and Afro-Americans) are an Race and ethnicity in the United States, ethnic group consisting of Americans with partial or total ancestry from sub-Saharan Africa. The term "African American ...
audience. As its theme song, ''Nipsey Russell's Juvenile Jury'' utilized the theme music of another short-lived Barry & Enright game show, ''Play The Percentages
''Play the Percentages'' is an American game show hosted by Geoff Edwards which aired in syndication from January 7 to September 12, 1980. Jay Stewart announced for the first six weeks, after which Bob Hilton became the permanent announcer.
The ga ...
'' from 1980.
Episode status
The NBC version is believed to have been destroyed
Destroyed may refer to:
* ''Destroyed'' (Sloppy Seconds album), a 1989 album by Sloppy Seconds
* ''Destroyed'' (Moby album), a 2011 album by Moby
See also
* Destruction (disambiguation)
Destruction may refer to:
Concepts
* Destruktion, a ...
, as per network practices. Two episodes (including the aforementioned 1953 episode) have been released on DVD
The DVD (common abbreviation for Digital Video Disc or Digital Versatile Disc) is a digital optical disc data storage format. It was invented and developed in 1995 and first released on November 1, 1996, in Japan. The medium can store any kin ...
, while two others are 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 with a branch office in Los Angeles, dedicated to ...
.
Game Show Network
Game Show Network (GSN) is an American basic cable channel owned by Sony Pictures Television. The channel's programming is primarily dedicated to game shows, including reruns of acquired game shows, along with new, first-run original and revive ...
aired most of the 1970s version (including the premiere) and 1980s Nipsey Russell version during the network's "Dark Period", from fall 1997 to spring 1998. Clips from both were also used occasionally on the late 1990s GSN original series ''As Seen On''.
References
External links
*
* {{IMDb title, id=0257309, title=Juvenile Jury (1983)
The 1953 "Michelle Fogel" episode
at the Internet Archive
The Internet Archive is an American digital library with the stated mission of "universal access to all knowledge". It provides free public access to collections of digitized materials, including websites, software applications/games, music, ...
1947 American television series debuts
1954 American television series endings
1970 American television series debuts
1971 American television series endings
1989 American television series debuts
1991 American television series endings
1940s American children's game shows
1950s American children's game shows
1970s American children's game shows
1980s American children's game shows
1990s American children's game shows
American children's game shows
American radio game shows
Black-and-white American television shows
English-language television shows
First-run syndicated television programs in the United States
NBC original programming
Television series about children
Television series by Barry & Enright Productions
Television series by Sony Pictures Television
BET original programming