Blind Date (1)

Blind Date (then later as Your Big Moment) was a primetime dating game show and precursor of The Dating Game.

Broadcast
ABC: May 5, 1949-June 8, 1950; August 31, 1950-September 20, 1951 NBC: June 7, 1952-July 19, 1952

DuMont: May 19, 1953-September 15, 1953

Packager
Bernard Shubert Productions

Hosts
Arlene Francis (1949–1952)

Melvyn Douglas (May 19, 1953-June 2, 1953)

Jan Murray (June 9, 1953-September 15, 1953)

Announcers
Walter Herlihy

Rex Marshall

Ken Roberts

Gameplay
College men vied for a date with a model by having conversations with the unseen woman in this show similar to The Dating Game. Six men known as the "Hunters", from various colleges tried to win a date from three women known as the "Hunted". for an expense-paid date on the town including an invitation to the Stork Club in New York. The men were seated on one side of the wall and telephoned one of the women sitting on the other side. They attempted to talk to her into accepting a date with one of them. On the basis of voice and specially prepared questions, she chose the most impressive one of her romantic date on the town. When the show was brought back in May 1953, it was called Your Big Moment with Melvyn Douglas. After three weeks on the air, Jan Murray became the new host along with the title reverting itself back to Blind Date.

Trivia
Original host Arlene Francis would later be known as a panelists on What's My Line?.

Links
Classic TV - Blind Date (1951) Part 1 Classic TV - Blind Date (1951) Part 2 Classic TV - Blind Date (1951) Part 3