''Number Please'' is a

Goodson-Todman Productions Mark Leo Goodson (January 14, 1915 – December 18, 1992) was an American television producer who specialized in game shows, most frequently with his business partner Bill Todman, with whom he created Goodson-Todman Productions. Early life and e ...

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

Bud Collyer Bud Collyer (born Clayton Johnson Heermance Jr., June 18, 1908 – September 8, 1969) was an American radio actor and announcer and game show host who became one of the nation's first major television game show stars. He is best remembered for ...

which aired at 12:30 p.m. weekdays 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 January 30 to December 29, 1961. It replaced Collyer's ''

Beat the Clock ''Beat the Clock'' is an American television game show that involves people trying to complete challenges to win prizes while faced with a time limit. The show was a creation of Mark Goodson-Bill Todman Productions. The show began on radio as ' ...

'' when that series ended its run on ABC. ''Number Please'' was an early predecessor of ''

Wheel of Fortune The Wheel of Fortune or ''Rota Fortunae'' has been a concept and metaphor since ancient times referring to the capricious nature of Fate. Wheel of Fortune may also refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Art * ''The Wheel of Fortune'' (Burne-Jo ...

'' and other word-puzzle programs.

Game play

Two contestants competed against each other to solve a puzzle on a game board. Each contestant had his/her own row on the board, with the spaces on each row numbered 1–20. Contestants alternated choosing a number not yet revealed in their own puzzle, with each number revealing either a letter or a space. Each puzzle described a prize, and the first contestant who thought that he could solve both rows rang in and gave an answer for both rows exactly as the configuration appeared on the board. If the contestant was correct, he won both prizes and, occasionally, other related items. When the series began, the winner played against a new opponent and after five wins a contestant was retired as an undefeated champion. By May, this was amended to best-of-three with the appearance limit dropped.

Episode status

Only one episode is known to exist, dating from sometime in May 1961, and exists on 2" videotape, which is unusual for many near-lost shows of the time. The episode was rerun on GSN on the morning of October 9, 2006 and on

Buzzr Buzzr is an American digital broadcast television network owned by Fremantle North America, a unit of the Fremantle subsidiary of RTL Group. The network serves as an outlet for the extensive library of classic game shows owned by Fremantle. Buzz ...

on September 27, 2020 as a part of its 5th annual Lost & Found marathon.

References

External links

* Television series by Mark Goodson-Bill Todman Productions American Broadcasting Company original programming 1960s American game shows 1961 American television series debuts 1961 American television series endings {{US-game-show-stub