''Professor Quiz'' was radio's first true quiz program, broadcast with many different sponsors from 1936 to 1948 on CBS and ABC. The program featured Professor Quiz, his wife Betty, and his son, Professor Quiz Jr. The program's announcer was

Robert Trout Robert Trout (born Robert Albert Blondheim; October 15, 1909 – November 14, 2000) was an American broadcast news reporter who worked on radio before and during World War II for CBS News. He was regarded by some as the "Iron Man of Radio" for ...

. It began May 9, 1936, sponsored by George Washington Coffee, on a limited CBS hook-up from Washington, D.C., expanding to the full network on September 18, 1936 from New York. George Washington Coffee also sponsored '' Uncle Jim's Question Bee'', radio's second quiz show which began four months after the debut of ''Professor Quiz''.

Arthur Godfrey Arthur Morton Godfrey (August 31, 1903 – March 16, 1983) was an American radio and television broadcaster and entertainer who was sometimes introduced by his nickname The Old Redhead. At the peak of his success, in the early-to-mid 1950s, Godf ...

was a host of the program in 1937. The series moved to ABC on January 24, 1946, continuing until the last program on July 17, 1948. From the program's debut until August 1938, it averaged receiving about 15,000 letters from listeners each week. The program's format pitted five people from the audience against each other for several rounds of questions until the winner received a cash prize. Additional prizes went to some listeners who sent in questions that were used on the air. Each winner received $25 in silver dollars, and the runner-up received 15 silver dollars..By September 1947, more than 2500 contestants had received more than $100,000 on the program. The quizmaster, Professor Quiz, was Dr. Craig Earle, a pseudonym for Arthur E. Baird. Sponsors included Velvet Pipe and Cigarette Tobacco and

Kelvinator Kelvinator was an American home appliance manufacturer and a line of domestic refrigerators that was the namesake of the company. Although as a company it is now defunct, the name still exists as a brand name owned by Electrolux AB. It takes its ...

appliances. In February 1940, a Professor Quiz home game was available with the purchase of a bottle of Teel (a liquid dentifrice). The game included a 52-page book that contained 600 questions from the radio program and a spinner that players used to select questions.

References

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External links

"Exercise and Expertise: How Early Broadcasting Promoted Health Education" by Donna L. Halper
American radio game shows 1930s American radio programs 1940s American radio programs 1930s American game shows 1940s American game shows CBS Radio programs ABC radio programs