Dollar A Second

The Wild & Crazy quiz & stunt show here contestants win money for every second they stay on the show.

Broadcast
DuMont - September 20, 1953 to June 14, 1954 NBC - July 4, 1954 - August 22, 1954, July 5, 1955 August 30, 1955, June 22, 1957 - September 28, 1957 ABC - October 1, 1954 to - June 24, 1955, June 2, 1955 to August 31, 1956 Unsold Pilot 1981

Packagers
Trinity Productions (1953-1957) Chuck Barris Productions (1981)

Hosts
Jan Murray 1953-1957 Bob Eubanks 1981 Pilot

Announcers
Terry O'Sullivan Ken Roberts Tom Reddy Johnny Jacobs

Gameplay
Solo contestants or teams of contestants play a game of trivia & stunts. They earn one dollar for every second they stay in the game. Host Murray would ask questions under a specific category, the contestant(s) playing would answer those questions. As soon as he/she/they get a question wrong, then they must pay the penalty by performing a stunt, which can be anything from dialing a phone number in which no one will answer to avoiding getting doused by water. The contestant(s) can stop voluntarily and keep any money won up to that point, but they'll also leave the game, if they didn't beat the penalty.

Outside Event
During each game, there was a special feature called the "Outside Event". The "Outside Events" can be anything from skating around in a certain number of circles in a row to trying to hit a home run in baseball. If at anytime the outside event in completed, the contestant(s) currently playing loses all the accumulated money.

1981 Pilot
Aside from having a new stage, Chuck Barris now producing, and Newlywed Game host Bob Eubanks hosting, the game stayed pretty much the same. Except that contestant started at $100, plus a $500 bonus was added to the contestant(s)' total should they have that money.

Links
Rules for the 1981 Dollar a Second pilot