Mark Leo Goodson (January 14, 1915 – December 18, 1992) was an American television producer who specialized in

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 demonstrative and are typically directed by a host, ...

s, most frequently with his business partner

Bill Todman William Selden Todman (July 31, 1916 – July 29, 1979) was an American television producer and personality born in New York City. He produced many of television's longest-running shows with business partner Mark Goodson, with whom he create ...

, with whom he created Goodson-Todman Productions.

Early life and early career

Goodson was born in Sacramento, California, on January 14, 1915. *^a "Born Jan. 14, 1915 in Sacramento, CA." — ¶ 1. His parents, Abraham Ellis (1875–1954) and Fannie Goodson (1887–1986), emigrated from Russia in the early 1900s. As a child, Goodson acted in amateur theater with the Plaza Stock Company. The family later moved to Hayward, California. Originally intending to become a lawyer, Goodson attended the

University of California, Berkeley The University of California, Berkeley (UC Berkeley, Berkeley, Cal, or California) is a public land-grant research university in Berkeley, California. Established in 1868 as the University of California, it is the state's first land-grant u ...

. He financed his education through scholarships and by working at the Lincoln Fish Market. He graduated

Phi Beta Kappa The Phi Beta Kappa Society () is the oldest academic honor society in the United States, and the most prestigious, due in part to its long history and academic selectivity. Phi Beta Kappa aims to promote and advocate excellence in the liberal a ...

in 1937 with a degree in economics. That year, he began his broadcasting career in San Francisco, working as a disc jockey at radio station KJBS (now KFAX). In 1939, he joined radio station KFRC, where he produced and hosted a radio quiz called ''Pop the Question'' in which contestants selected questions by throwing darts at multicolored balloons.

Television production

Goodson and long-time partner Bill Todman produced some of the longest-running game shows in US television history, and their names were well known at least to the large audiences for these shows. Their first television show, '' Winner Take All'', debuted on CBS television on July 1, 1948. The long list of Goodson-Todman productions includes ''

The Price Is Right ''The Price Is Right'' is a television game show franchise created by Bob Stewart, originally produced by Mark Goodson and Bill Todman; currently it is produced and owned by Fremantle. The franchise centers on television game shows, but also i ...

'', '' Family Feud'', '' Classic Concentration'', '' Match Game'', '' Password'', '' Beat the Clock'', '' To Tell the Truth'' (Goodson's personal favorite show), '' I've Got a Secret'', ''

What's My Line? ''What's My Line?'' is a panel game show that originally ran in the United States on the CBS Television Network from 1950 to 1967, originally in black and white and later in color, with subsequent U.S. revivals. The game uses celebrity paneli ...

'', ''

Card Sharks ''Card Sharks'' is an American television game show. It was created by Chester Feldman for Mark Goodson- Bill Todman Productions. The game features two contestants who attempt to predict the outcome of survey questions to gain control of a r ...

'', and '' Tattletales''. Goodson-Todman Productions/Mark Goodson Productions created content for U.S. channels and other international channels. (including Talbot Television Ltd. and Fremantle UK Productions Ltd.). such as CBS, NBC, and ABC in the US,

BBC1 BBC One is a British free-to-air public broadcast television network owned and operated by the BBC. It is the corporation's flagship network and is known for broadcasting mainstream programming, which includes BBC News television bulletins ...

, ITV ( Anglia, Central,

Granada Granada (,, DIN: ; grc, Ἐλιβύργη, Elibýrgē; la, Illiberis or . ) is the capital city of the province of Granada, in the autonomous community of Andalusia, Spain. Granada is located at the foot of the Sierra Nevada mountains, at the c ...

, LWT,

TVS TVS may refer to: Mathematics * Topological vector space Television * Television Sydney, TV channel in Sydney, Australia * Television South, ITV franchise holder in the South of England between 1982 and 1992 * TVS Television Network, US dis ...

Scottish Television Scottish Television (now, legally, known as STV Central Limited) is the ITV (TV network), ITV network franchisee for Central Belt, Central Scotland. The channel — the largest of the three ITV franchises in Scotland — has been in operation ...

, and Yorkshire Television),

Channel 4 Channel 4 is a British free-to-air public broadcast television network operated by the state-owned enterprise, state-owned Channel Four Television Corporation. It began its transmission on 2 November 1982 and was established to provide a four ...

, and

Sky One Sky One was a British pay television channel operated and owned by Sky Group (a division of Comcast). Originally launched on 26 April 1982 as Satellite Television, it was Europe's first satellite and non- terrestrial channel. From 31 July 1 ...

, (also Challenge TV). It licensed many of its shows to the Reg Grundy Organisation to be adapted in Australia and Europe. Goodson and Todman's shows endured through the decades, many over multiple runs, because of Goodson's sharp eye for production and presentation, and their strict insistence on maintaining clean, honest contests, thus allowing their shows to survive the quiz-show scandals of the late 1950s. After those scandals wiped out most of their competition, much of the newer game-show output of the 1960s and 1970s came from either Goodson-Todman or companies launched by their former employees: Merv Griffin, Bob Stewart, Monty Hall, and later

Jay Wolpert Jay Wolpert (January 29, 1942 – January 3, 2022) was an American television producer and screenwriter. Life and career Wolpert was born in The Bronx, New York City. His first television appearance came as a contestant on the original version o ...

. Goodson-Todman was involved with Jack Barry's comeback vehicle '' The Joker's Wild'' for its 1969 pilot, but ended involvement with the show before it debuted in 1972. While Todman oversaw the company's lucrative businesses outside of television, Goodson handled the creative aspects of producing game shows. The people who worked for the company and created most of the Goodson-Todman shows were pivotal to the success of those shows. Goodson-Todman executives Bob Stewart, Bob Bach,

Gil Fates Joseph Gilbert Fates (September 29, 1914, Newark, New Jersey - May 1, 2000, New York City) was an American television producer. Fates was the executive producer of '' What's My Line?'' Fates produced the game show during its entire quarter-cent ...

, Ira Skutch, Frank Wayne, Chester Feldman, Paul Alter, Howard Felsher,

Ted Cooper Edward Theodore Cooper (November 11, 1920 – December 5, 1999) was a long-time United States television scenic designer and creative consultant. Cooper is best known as the production designer and creative consultant for Mark Goodson-Bill ...

, Jay Wolpert, and others were instrumental in making the shows successful. The company proved itself to be masterful at games, but was not as successful when it tried other fields of television programs, including the anthology dramas '' The Web'' and '' The Richard Boone Show'', a talk-variety show for famed insult comic Don Rickles – and what was possibly the company's biggest failure, a sitcom titled '' One Happy Family''. Goodson-Todman Productions was also involved with three Westerns: '' Jefferson Drum'' (1958–59), starring Jeff Richards as a newspaper editor in the Old West; '' The Rebel'' (1959–1961), starring Nick Adams as a former Confederate soldier who traveled to the West after the American Civil War ( Johnny Cash sang the theme); and '' Branded'', starring Chuck Connors as a soldier who had wrongly been given a dishonorable discharge from the Army. For many years, the company was headquartered in the

Seagram Building The Seagram Building is a skyscraper at 375 Park Avenue, between 52nd and 53rd Streets, in the Midtown Manhattan neighborhood of New York City. Designed by Ludwig Mies van der Rohe with minor assistance from Philip Johnson, Ely Jacques Ka ...

at 375 Park Avenue in New York City. Most of the company's production moved to Hollywood in the early 1970s (as did many other production companies), starting with the ABC revival of ''Password'' in 1971. The Los Angeles offices were based at 6430 Sunset Boulevard, moving to 5750 Wilshire Boulevard. The company's last New York-based show was the 1980 version of ''To Tell the Truth'', but the New York office remained open and was used for East Coast '' Child's Play'' auditions. A few years after Bill Todman's death in 1979, Goodson acquired the Todman heirs' share of the company, and in 1982, the company was renamed Mark Goodson Productions. Traditionally, shows signed off with "This is (announcer's name) speaking for (show name), A Mark Goodson-Bill Todman Production/A Mark Goodson Television Production." After Goodson's death, to pay off a massive inheritance tax, Goodson's family sold the rights (except for '' Concentration/Classic Concentration'', which had been licensed from NBC) to

All-American Television All American Television (later known as All American Communications Television) was a television syndication company active from 1981 to 1998. It was founded by Anthony J. Scotti, Ben Scotti, and Syd Vinnedge. The company was known for producing ...

, which was subsequently taken over by

Pearson PLC Pearson plc is a British multinational publishing and education company headquartered in London, England. It was founded as a construction business in the 1840s but switched to publishing in the 1920s. Spender, J. A., ''Weetman Pearson: F ...

(an educational publisher and communications company based in the United Kingdom), and, in turn, was acquired by RTL Group (a division of Bertelsmann), to form

Fremantle Fremantle () () is a port city in Western Australia, located at the mouth of the Swan River in the metropolitan area of Perth, the state capital. Fremantle Harbour serves as the port of Perth. The Western Australian vernacular diminutive for ...

, which now owns the rights to the library from Mark Goodson Productions. The Mark Goodson Productions name, logo, and announcement continued to be used for some shows until 2007, when

Bob Barker Robert William Barker (born December 12, 1923) is an American retired television game show host. He is known for hosting CBS's ''The Price Is Right'' from 1972 to 2007, making it the longest-running daytime game show in North American telev ...

's last episode of ''The Price Is Right'' aired. Afterwards, at the close of each episode of ''The Price Is Right'', the announcer credits the show as "a FremantleMedia Production" until 2018; it is now credited simply as "a Fremantle Production", reflecting the name change of the company. Copyrights to many of the Goodson-Todman's game shows were assigned to its specially formed companies, named in ''The (program name) Company'' scheme, such as ''The Family Company'', ''The Password Company'' etc. They are currently in-name-only units of Fremantle North America. In 1990, Goodson received the

Emmy Award The Emmy Awards, or Emmys, are an extensive range of awards for artistic and technical merit for the American and international television industry. A number of annual Emmy Award ceremonies are held throughout the calendar year, each with the ...

"Lifetime Achievement Award for Daytime Television", which was presented to him by Betty White. Two years later, in 1992, Goodson earned induction into the Television Hall of Fame.

Foreign versions

Many Goodson-Todman games were produced internationally, some under different titles, and were distributed by Reg Grundy Productions. ''Family Feud'' was known in the United Kingdom as '' Family Fortunes'', and ''Card Sharks'' went under the title '' Play Your Cards Right''. In Germany, ''Match Game'' was known as '' Schnickschnack'' (loosely translated, "something, anything" and used as a counterpart for the word "blank", for which German has no direct word). In the United Kingdom, it was known as '' Blankety Blank'', while in Australia, it was known as '' Blankety Blanks'' (which, coincidentally, was the title of an unrelated American game show, created by former Goodson-Todman staffer Bob Stewart).

Shows

Of the numerous shows Goodson produced in his lifetime, five are currently on the air: ''The Price Is Right'', which has run continuously since 1972; ''Family Feud'', which ran in two different iterations during 1976–1985 and 1988–1995, and was revived in its current form in 1999; ''Match Game'' and '' To Tell the Truth'', both of which were revived in 2016 after lengthy stints off the air; and ''Card Sharks'', which already had a brief comeback in 2001 but was later revived in 2019. All revivals since 1994 have been produced by successor companies (All-American Television from 1994 to 1998, Pearson Television from 1998 to 2002, FremantleMedia from 2002 to 2018, and Fremantle since 2018).

Mark Goodson–Bill Todman Productions (1948–1982)

*'' All-Star Family Feud Special'' (ABC 1978–1984) *''About Last Night'' (HBO Max 2022-present; a remake of ''Tattlettales'') produced by Sweet July Productions and Unanimous Media *'' Beat the Clock'' (CBS, ABC 1950–1961, 1969–1974, CBS 1979–1980 copyrighted as The Clock Co., 2002–2003 copyrighted as Tick Tock Productions, Ltd., 2018–2019) *'' The Better Sex'' (ABC 1977–1978) *''Blade Rider, Revenge of the Indian Nations'' (1966) *'' Blockbusters'' (NBC 1980–1982, NBC 1987); UK version produced from 1983 to 1995 *'' Branded'' (NBC 1965–1967) *'' Broken Sabre'' (1965) *''By Popular Demand'' (CBS 1950) *'' Call My Bluff'' (NBC 1965) *''

'' (NBC 1978–1981, CBS/Syn 1986–1989, Syn 2001–2002, ABC 2019–2021) copyrighted as Suzanne Productions (later MG Productions), and The Card Sharks Company. *'' Celebrity Family Feud'' (2008, 2015–present) *'' Choose Up Sides'' (NBC 1956) * ''Concentration'' and ''Classic Concentration'' (Syn 1973–1978, NBC 1987–1991) copyrighted as G-T Enterprises and The Concentration Company *'' The Don Rickles Show'' (ABC 1968–1969) *'' Double Dare'' (CBS 1976–1977) *''(The New) Family Feud (Challenge)'' (ABC 1976–1985, CBS 1988–1995, 1999–present) copyrighted by The Family Company, The New Family Company, Feudin' Productions, and Wanderlust Productions *'' Get the Message'' (ABC 1964) *'' Goodyear Theatre'' (NBC 1957–1960) *'' He Said, She Said'' (Syn 1969–1970) *'' It's News to Me'' (CBS 1951–1953, 1954) *'' I've Got a Secret'' (CBS 1952–1967, Syn 1972–1973, 1976, 2000–2001, 2006) produced by Oxygen Media LLC in the 2000–01 version and Burt DuBrow Productions in association with Get Real Entertainment in the 2006 version *'' Jefferson Drum'' (1958–1959) *''Judge for Yourself'' (NBC 1953–1954) *''Las Vegas Beat'' (1961) *'' Make the Connection'' (1955) *'' Match Game'' (NBC 1962–1969, CBS 1973–1982, 1990–1991, 1998–1999, 2016–2021) copyrighted as Sojourn Productions, Celebrity Productions, The Match Game Company, and others. *'' Million Dollar Password'' (2008–09) *'' Mindreaders'' (NBC 1979–80, unrelated to the 1975 pilot) *'' Missing Links'' (NBC, ABC 1963–1964) *'' The Name's the Same'' (ABC 1951–1954, 1954–1955) *''

Now You See It Now You See It may refer to: * Now You See It (American game show), ''Now You See It'' (American game show), a 1974–1975 game show, resurrected in 1989 * Now You See It (Australian game show), ''Now You See It'' (Australian game show), a 1985–1 ...

'' (CBS 1974–1975, 1989) copyrighted as Suzanne Productions and The Now You See It Company *'' Number Please'' (ABC 1961) *''One Happy Family'' (1961) *'' Password'' (CBS 1961–1967, ABC 1971–1975) copyrighted as Peak Productions. *''

Password Plus and Super Password ''Password Plus'' and ''Super Password'' are American TV game shows that aired separately between 1979 and 1989. Both shows were revivals of '' Password'', which originally ran from 1961 to 1975 in various incarnations. With only subtle differ ...

'' (NBC 1979–1982, NBC 1984–1989) copyrighted as The Password Company and The Super Password Company. *'' Philip Marlowe'' (1959–60) *'' Play Your Hunch'' (CBS, ABC, NBC 1958–1963) *''

'' (NBC, ABC 1956–1965, 1985–86, 1994–95, Syn 1972–1980, CBS 1972–present) copyrighted as Marbil Productions, Price Productions and The Price Is Right Productions. *'' The Rebel'' (1959–1961) *'' The Richard Boone Show'' (1963–1964) *'' Ride Beyond Vengeance'' (1966) *'' Say When!!'' (NBC 1961–1965) *'' Showoffs'' (ABC 1975) *'' Snap Judgment'' (NBC 1967–1969) *''Split Personality'' (NBC 1959–60) *'' Stop the Music'' (ABC 1948–1952, ABC 1954–1956) produced in association with Louis Cowan Productions *'' Tattletales'' (CBS, Syn 1974–1978, CBS 1982–1984) copyrighted as Panel Productions and The Tattletales Company. *'' That's My Line'' (CBS 1980–1981) *'' To Tell the Truth'' (CBS 1956–1968, Syn 1969–1978, Syn 1980–81, 1990–91, 2000–2002, 2016–present) *''

Two for the Money Two for the Money may refer to: * ''Two for the Money'' (2005 film), a 2005 American sports-drama film * ''Two for the Money'' (1972 film), a 1972 American TV film * ''Two for the Money'' (game show), an American game show * ''Two for the Money ...

'' (CBS 1952–1956, NBC 1957) *'' What's Going On?'' (ABC 1954) *''

'' (CBS 1950–1967, Syn 1968–1975) *'' What's My Line? at 25'' (ABC 1975) *'' The Web'' (CBS 1950–1954) *'' The Web'' (NBC 1957) *'' Winner Take All'' (CBS, NBC 1948–1950, 1951, 1952)

Mark Goodson Productions (1982–1996)

*''

Body Language Body language is a type of communication in which physical behaviors, as opposed to words, are used to express or convey information. Such behavior includes facial expressions, body posture, gestures, eye movement, touch and the use of space. Th ...

'' (CBS 1984–86) *''Bonus Bonanza'' (1995) *'' Child's Play'' (CBS 1982–83) *'' Classic Concentration'' (NBC 1987–91) copyrighted as The Concentration Company, a subsidiary of NBC. *'' Come Back to the 5 and Dime, Jimmy Dean, Jimmy Dean'' (1982) *''Flamingo Fortune'' (1995) *''TV's Funniest Game Show Moments'' (1984) *''TV's Funniest Game Show Moments #2'' (1985) *'' Illinois Instant Riches'' (1994–96) *'' The Match Game-Hollywood Squares Hour'' (NBC 1983–1984) *'' Trivia Trap'' (ABC 1984–1985)

Unsold pilots produced by Goodson-Todman Productions and Mark Goodson Productions

*''Rate Your Mate'' (1951, for CBS) *''Take Your Choice'' (1954, for NBC) *''Play for Keeps!'' (1955, for CBS) *''It Had to Be You'' (1966, for NBC) *''It's Predictable'' (1970) *''Mindreaders'' (1975, unrelated to the eventual series) *''Spellbinders'' (1978, for NBC) *''Puzzlers'' (1980, for NBC) *''Star Words'' (1983, for CBS) *''Concentration'' (1985, for Syndication) *''Now You See It'' (1985, for Syndication) *''Oddball'' (1986, for NBC) *''On a Roll'' (1986, for CBS) *''TKO'' (1989, for CBS) *''Body Talk'' (1990, for ABC) *''I Accuse!'' (1994, for Syndication) *''MG2'' (1996) *''Card Sharks'' (1996)

Personal life and final years

In 1941, Goodson married Bluma Neveleff and moved to New York City, where he teamed up with partner Bill Todman. The pair's first radio show, '' Winner Take All'', premiered on CBS in 1946. Outside of television production, Goodson and Todman went on to own several newspapers in New England and purchased radio station KOL, Seattle, in 1962. Bill Todman died in July 1979, and in 1982, the Goodsons acquired the Todman heirs' portion of the company. Goodson and Neveleff had two children, Jill (1942) and

Jonathan Jonathan may refer to: *Jonathan (name), a masculine given name Media * ''Jonathan'' (1970 film), a German film directed by Hans W. Geißendörfer * ''Jonathan'' (2016 film), a German film directed by Piotr J. Lewandowski * ''Jonathan'' (2018 ...

(1945). They divorced and he married Virginia McDavid, a former Miss Alabama. In 1962, Goodson and McDavid had a daughter, Marjorie, who was a prize model on '' Classic Concentration'' from July 1987 until its finale in September 1991. In 1972, he married Suzanne Waddell, who had once been a guest on ''

'' They divorced in 1978.

Death

Goodson died of

pancreatic cancer Pancreatic cancer arises when cells in the pancreas, a glandular organ behind the stomach, begin to multiply out of control and form a mass. These cancerous cells have the ability to invade other parts of the body. A number of types of panc ...

on December 18, 1992 in New York City, a month before his 78th birthday. He is interred at Hillside Memorial Park in

Culver City, California Culver City is a city in Los Angeles County, California, United States. As of the 2020 census, the population was 40,779. Founded in 1917 as a "whites only" sundown town, it is now an ethnically diverse city with what was called the "third-most ...

, along with his parents Fannie Goodson and A.E. Goodson. After his death, Bob Barker gave him a small tribute that aired after an episode of ''The Price Is Right'', as an attached segment that followed the end credits: Following was a portrait of Goodson and a message saying "Mark Goodson 1915-1992".

Legacy

Reruns of Goodson's shows have continued to dominate both the schedules of

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 reviv ...

and

Buzzr Buzzr is an American digital terrestrial television, digital broadcast television network owned by Fremantle North America, a unit of the Fremantle (company), Fremantle subsidiary of RTL Group. The network serves as an outlet for the extensive li ...

because his company saved most of the episodes of the shows, while other companies wiped theirs to reuse the tapes. The practice of wiping was stopped by the start of the 1980s.

Biography

On June 3, 2000, an episode of ''

Biography A biography, or simply bio, is a detailed description of a person's life. It involves more than just the basic facts like education, work, relationships, and death; it portrays a person's experience of these life events. Unlike a profile or c ...

'' called ''Mark Goodson: Will the Real Mark Goodson Please Stand Up?'' aired on A&E, where it profiled his life and career. This features many interviews of the hosts, panelists, and co-workers such as Betty White,

, Gene Rayburn, Kitty Carlisle, Marjorie Goodson, and Suzanne Goodson.

2009 Game Show Awards

On June 6, 2009, an awards special that aired on GSN called ''2009 Game Show Awards'' featured a brief tribute to Goodson as his daughter Marjorie held the Innovator Award herself.

''Game Show Marathon''

The series was based on the British format called '' Ant & Dec's/Vernon Kay's Gameshow Marathon'' and ran on CBS from May 31 until June 29, 2006 hosted by former actress/talk show host Ricki Lake, announced by Rich Fields (who formerly announced for ''The Price is Right'' from 2004 until 2010), and Todd Newton as the prize deliverer in which six celebrities ( Lance Bass, Paige Davis,

Tim Meadows Timothy Meadows (born February 5, 1961) is an American actor and comedian. He was one of the longest-running cast members on ''Saturday Night Live'', where he appeared for ten seasons and for which he received a nomination for the Primetime Emm ...

Kathy Najimi Kathy Ann Najimy ( ; ar, كاثي ان نجيمي ; born February 6, 1957) is an American actress and activist. She is best known for her roles in the films ''Soapdish'' (1991), ''Sister Act'' (1992), '' Hocus Pocus'' (1993), ''Hope Floats'' (1 ...

, Leslie Nielsen, and Brande Roderick) played seven classic game shows for their favorite charities and the home viewer featured five formats based on Goodson-Todman/Goodson shows along with the recreation of their original sets such as ''The Price is Right (1972 version)'', ''Beat the Clock'', ''Card Sharks'', '' Match Game'' and ''Family Feud''.

Buzzr (YouTube)

From 2014 until 2016, the Buzzr brand was first used by its parent company FremantleMedia (now Fremantle) for its YouTube channel created by its digital-content studio Tiny Riot. The online channel features mostly classic clips along with its short-form reboots of its classic game-show properties using various internet celebrities as contestants. Four of the Goodson-Todman/Goodson shows that were rebooted are ''Family Feud'', ''Password'', ''Beat the Clock'', and ''Body Language''.

References

External links

Museum of Broadcast Communications: Mark Goodson and Bill Todman

This is a Mark Goodson-Bill Todman Production

Goodson Collection

Mark Goodson: Will the Real Mark Goodson Please Stand Up?

Lords of Fun and Games, Sports Illustrated.com

A Mark Goodson Productions , Legacy.com

Myrna Oliver in the Los Angeles Times article about Mark Goodson from December 19, 1992

Mark L Goodson (1915 - 1992) - Genealogy - Geni.com
* * on the Emmy channel * *
Mark Goodson's Profile

Mark Goodson in Memory
{{DEFAULTSORT:Goodson, Mark 1915 births 1992 deaths Television producers from California American people of Russian-Jewish descent Deaths from pancreatic cancer Burials at Hillside Memorial Park Cemetery Businesspeople from Sacramento, California Deaths from cancer in New York (state) 20th-century American businesspeople