''Let's Play Post Office'' is an American

game show A game show (or gameshow) is a genre of broadcast viewing entertainment where contestants compete in a game for rewards. The shows are typically directed by a game show host, host, who explains the rules of the program as well as commentating a ...

which aired on

NBC The National Broadcasting Company (NBC) is an American commercial broadcast television and radio network serving as the flagship property of the NBC Entertainment division of NBCUniversal, a subsidiary of Comcast. It is one of NBCUniversal's ...

from September 27, 1965 to July 1, 1966.

Don Morrow Donald Gordon Morrow (January 29, 1927 – October 27, 2020) was an American announcer, television presenter, and voiceover artist.Stephen Heyman ''The New York Times'', April 10, 2009. Morrow was the announcer for the 1950s game show ''On Yo ...

was the host, with

Bill Wendell William Joseph Wenzel Jr. (March 22, 1924 – April 14, 1999), known as Bill Wendell, was an NBC television staff announcer for almost his entire professional career. Life and career Born William Joseph Wenzel Jr. on March 22, 1924, in New Y ...

and

Wayne Howell Wayne Howell Chappelle (February 16, 1921 – July 8, 1993) was a voice-over announcer for the NBC television and radio networks from 1947 through 1986. He was born in Lexington, Kentucky, and became one member of a core group of New York-based ...

as announcers. Paul Taubman, who had previously worked with Morrow on ''

Camouflage Camouflage is the use of any combination of materials, coloration, or illumination for concealment, either by making animals or objects hard to see, or by disguising them as something else. Examples include the leopard's spotted coat, the b ...

'', provided music. The series aired at 12:30 PM Eastern and was the second game show by Merv Griffin Productions; the first was ''

Jeopardy! ''Jeopardy!'' is an American television game show created by Merv Griffin. The show is a quiz competition that reverses the traditional question-and-answer format of many quiz shows. Rather than being given questions, contestants are instead g ...

'', which had premiered on NBC eighteen months earlier (and in fact had moved to 12:00 Noon on the day ''Post Office'' debuted, becoming the show's lead-in throughout its run). The show was created by Louise Adamo.

Gameplay

Three contestants competed, one usually a returning champion, to identify celebrities from fictitious letters they might have written. Each letter had a predetermined value of $5–$100. Morrow specified when and where the letter might have been written, then began to read the letter one line at a time; the value of the letter decreased as Morrow continued to read. Contestants could buzz in at any point to make a guess, with a correct answer winning the current value of the letter. Clues were often puns; for example: "The temperature outside is zero. I mostel you." (Answer:

Zero Mostel Samuel Joel "Zero" Mostel (February 28, 1915 – September 8, 1977) was an American actor, comedian, and singer. He is best known for his portrayal of comic characters including Tevye on stage in ''Fiddler on the Roof'', Pseudolus on stage and o ...

Zip round

The final round had five one-line messages, with the contestants trying to identify the name of each "sender". Correct answers added $25, while wrong answers deducted $25. The high scorer after this round became champion and returned on the following episode.

Set

The set was designed like a small-town post office. The contestant podiums resembled stamp windows, while Morrow's podium resembled a street-corner mailbox and the board looked like a giant envelope.

Introduction

{{unreferenced section, date=June 2023 Don Morrow was always introduced as the "postmaster of ceremonies."

References

* David Schwartz, Steve Ryan, and Fred Wostbrock, ''The Encyclopedia of TV Game Shows'', 3rd edition, 1999. * Wesley Hyatt, ''The Encyclopedia of Daytime Television'', 1997. 1960s American game shows 1965 American television series debuts 1966 American television series endings Television series by Merv Griffin Enterprises Television series by Sony Pictures Television