''Memory Game'' (sometimes referred to as ''Joe Garagiola's Memory Game'') was an American television game show that aired 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 ...

. The series – hosted by

Joe Garagiola Joseph Henry Garagiola Sr. (February 12, 1926 – March 23, 2016) was an American professional baseball catcher, later an announcer and television host, popular for his colorful personality. Garagiola played nine seasons in Major League Basebal ...

– ran from February 15 to July 30, 1971. The show's creator and packager was

Merv Griffin Mervyn Edward Griffin Jr. (July 6, 1925 – August 12, 2007) was an American television show host and media mogul. He began his career as a radio and big band singer, later appearing in film and on Broadway. From 1965 to 1986 he hosted his own ta ...

, and its announcer was

Johnny Olson John Leonard Olson (May 22, 1910 – October 12, 1985) was an American radio personality and television announcer. Olson is perhaps best known for his work as an announcer for game shows, particularly the work he did for Mark Goodson-Bill Todman P ...

(his only announcing job for Merv Griffin Productions).

Gameplay

Five contestants, all women and one of them a returning champion (or designate), competed and were spotted $50 at the start of the game. Before each round, they were each given a booklet containing the questions and answers to be used in that round. The time they had to study the material varied per round. Once the study time period elapsed, the show's assistants collected the booklets and Garagiola began asking questions at random from the booklet. The champion – who was seated in the number 1 position – could elect to answer or call out an opponent's number (2 through 5). That player could answer or call any of her opponents to answer, and so on until a "time's up" buzzer sounded. At that time, the active player at that moment had to answer. A correct answer was worth $5, a wrong answer lost that amount. Play continued in this fashion until all the questions were exhausted. Subsequent rounds were played with increased stakes ($10 in Round 2, $20 in Round 3 and all future rounds). The winner at the end of the show won a $1,000 bonus and returned the next day to meet new challengers. If a contestant stayed on for three days, she retired undefeated and won a new car.

Broadcast history

''Memory Game'' was one of eight shows NBC attempted to program in the 1:30 PM (12:30 Central) time slot between 1968 and 1975; like most of the others, CBS' ''

As the World Turns ''As the World Turns'' (often abbreviated as ''ATWT'') is an American television soap opera that aired on CBS for 54 years from April 2, 1956, to September 17, 2010. Irna Phillips created ''As the World Turns'' as a sister show to her other soa ...

'' and

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 ...

's ''

Let's Make a Deal ''Let's Make a Deal'' (also known as ''LMAD'') is an American television musical comedy variety-game show that originated in the United States in 1963 and has since been produced in many countries throughout the world. The program was created an ...

'' (formerly seen on NBC) soundly defeated it in the ratings. Three weeks after this show's cancellation, NBC moved Garagiola to another daytime game, ''

Sale of the Century ''Sale of the Century'' (stylized as ''$ale of the Century'') is an American television game show that originally debuted on September 29, 1969, on NBC daytime. It was one of three NBC game shows to premiere on that date, the other two being th ...

'', which he hosted for the rest of its original run. ''

Three on a Match ''Three on a Match'' is a 1932 American pre-Code crime drama released by Warner Bros. The film was directed by Mervyn LeRoy and stars Joan Blondell, Warren William, Ann Dvorak and Bette Davis. The film also features Lyle Talbot, Humphrey Boga ...

'', hosted by

Bill Cullen William Lawrence Francis Cullen (February 18, 1920 – July 7, 1990) was an American radio and television personality whose career spanned five decades. His biggest claim to fame was as a game show host; over the course of his career, he host ...

, replaced ''Memory Game'' on the NBC schedule.

Production

According to ''The Encyclopedia of Daytime Television'' by Wesley Hyatt, Griffin did not identify his production company on the end credits of the program. The talk-show host and entertainment mogul never gave any explanation for his decision.

Episode status

Much like other NBC games of the era, most episodes of ''Memory Game'' are believed to have been

wiped Lost television broadcasts are mostly those early television programs which cannot be accounted for in studio archives (or in personal archives) usually because of deliberate destruction or neglect. Common reasons for loss A significant prop ...

as per network practices. Five episodes are known to exist at the

UCLA Film and Television Archive The UCLA Film & Television Archive is a visual arts organization focused on the preservation, study, and appreciation of film and television, based at the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA). Also a nonprofit exhibition venue, the archiv ...

.UCLA Archive: Memory Game
/ref> Audio of the premiere episode from February 15, 1971, was posted to You Tube in December 2022.

References

{{reflist

External links

Memory Game
entry at

Internet Movie Database IMDb (an abbreviation of Internet Movie Database) is an online database of information related to films, television series, home videos, video games, and streaming content online – including cast, production crew and personal biographies, ...

. NBC original programming 1970s American game shows 1971 American television series debuts 1971 American television series endings Television series by Merv Griffin Enterprises Television series by Sony Pictures Television Television series created by Merv Griffin Memory games