The Joker's Wild

A quiz based game show also based on slots.

In olden days, it was the show where the categories are presented by spinning a slot machine.

Several categories are in the mix and after choosing a category, you answer a question related to it to get money.

One category showing is worth single amount, two of the same category is worth double the amount and three of the same is worth triple. Also, there is one Joker space on each reel, the player has the choice of making the joker any category or by selecting one of the others and the joker.

The show went through three versions.

1968 Pilot
In this pilot shot on December 8, 1968 and hosted by Password host Allen Ludden, the giant slot machine had categories that "came to life", because the categories were represented by five celebrity guests. They were:


 * Irene Ryan - Homemaking
 * Pat Paulsen - Politics
 * Don Drysdale - Baseball
 * Rosemary Clooney - Music
 * Rich Little - Show Biz

Two contestants faced the panel of five celebrities and the slot machine with their faces representing the five categories on it's wheels, and jokers. What makes this version of Joker's Wild different is that contestants don't have to answer just one question, they can also answer two or three. They each took turns pulling the lever in front of them to activate the celebrity wheels. When they stop, the player in control can choose which celebrity/celebrities to take. Before each question the contestant in control can choose to either take the question(s) or pass it/them to his/her opponent. Whoever star was chosen, the panelist will then ask a question or questions under his/her own category in which correct answers scored points according to how many of any celebrity appeared. One of each celebrity made each question worth one point; two of one celebrity, and one of another made the value of each question be two points; and finally, three of a single celebrity made each question worth three points. Now should the contestant in control miss a question, the opposing player had a chance to answer a bonus question from the last celebrity to read a question. There were also jokers on the wheels, and like the show says, "The Joker's Wild"; the player in control can make the joker(s) into any category/celebrity they like whether it's on the board or not. Both players took an equal number of turns and the first player to score 13 points wins the game. Should the first contestant make it 13 or more first, the other contestant had one last spin in an attempt to catch-up. Finally, if at anytime three jokers appear (that's Joker, Joker, JOKER!), that player has a chance to pull of an instant win by answering one question from one category correctly.

The winner of each game won $250 and a chance to spin for three prizes of various qualities, ranging from a 5¢ piece of chewing gum to $500. The winning contestant took up to three spins of the wheels, on each spin, three prizes were displayed. After the first spin, the winner can either keep the first set of three, or reject them all for another spin. On the second set of three the winning player can either keep the those prizes, or reject them all for one final spin, and whatever the champ got on the third & final spin was his/hers to keep.

There were no returning champions in this pilot. Two new contestants every game.

1969 Pilot
A second pilot was taped a month later on January 5, 1969. There were no celebrities this time, with Ludden simply reading the questions himself; despite this change, the 1968 host-contestant podium remained in use.

Both pilots were produced by Barry in association with CBS, with Lee Vines announcing.

1971 KTLA Series
A "tryout series" aired locally on Los Angeles' KTLA for about three months and was hosted by Jack Barry. The rules were similar to the rules below with the following exceptions:

Three contestants competed in each game, with the champion spinning first to begin the game. Spinning three different categories and answering a question in any of the three categories was worth $25, while pairs were worth $50 and triples were worth $100. $250 was needed to win, and as before an equal amount of turns was given. A three-Joker spin resulted in an automatic win with a correct response to a question from any of the five categories in play.

In the event of a tie, the lowest scorer was eliminated and play continued until one was ahead after each round. The bonus round was similar to that of the Ludden pilots but had more elaborate prizes.

Highlights of this version were shown during promos of the eventual series, which began production on CBS in 1972.

1972-1986 Version
In this more familiar version, two contestants faced a giant slot machine & answered questions. On those wheels are five categories. Each player in turn pulled a lever in front of them which caused the category wheels to spin. When the wheels stopped, that player was given a choice of up to three categories. Host Barry asked a question under that category and a correct answer won money for that player; but an incorrect answer gave the opponent a chance to steal the money by answering the same question. Question values were determined by how many of that category appeared. A single category was worth $50, a double category/pair was worth $100, and a triple was worth $200 (originally $150). The first player to reach $500 or more won the game. Also on the wheels were jokers, they're wild (hence the name of the show). The contestants can match up the joker with any category they chose, and they can also use the joker(s) to go off the board, and select a different category. But if at anytime three jokers come up (that's Joker, Joker, JOKER!), that player can instantly win the game by answering one question from one category correctly. Originally the player would automatically win without answering a question by getting three jokers. The winner of the game kept his/her money and earned a chance to play the bonus game.

Natural Triple
In the syndicated version of the show, contestants won a bonus for spinning a natural triple in the main game in addition to answering a question worth $200. From 1977 to 1983, contestants who spun a natural triple won a special prize which was kept win or lose. Beginning in the fall of 1983, contestant who spun a natural triple won a special jackpot called the "Natural Triple Jackpot" which was an accumulating jackpot prize package. Prizes were kept regardless of the game's outcome.

Bonus Game
The bonus game had three different versions.

The Prize Wheels
In the early weeks of the series, the categories were replaced with prizes ranging in value from tens of dollars to hundreds of dollars. The winning contestant spun the wheels up to two times, on each spin, three prizes were displayed. After the first spin, the winner can either keep the first set of three prizes, or trade them back for one more spin, and whatever the winner got on the second spin was theirs to keep.

In the first two shows, some of the prizes were circled. If the winning player could spin three circled prizes, he/she also won a car. It was later scrapped in favor of having the car or another big prize on the wheels (usually the third).

Joker's & Devils
In this bonus, the jokers were still on the wheels, but now they were accompanied by devils. The devils were a representation of the late host Jack Barry, plus they had a pitchfork behind them. The winning contestant spun the wheels up to three times (originally four). On each spin, if only jokers appeared, he/she won a prize (the prize was generally announced before each spin, but for a brief period, it was announced after a successful spin). But if one devil showed up, he/she lost the prize(s); to prevent this from happening, after each successful spin, the contestant had a choice to stop and take the prizes or continue playing. During the four spin era, the last spin was worth a new car or another big prize.

When this bonus first premiered, the jokers had the word "Wild" underneath them just like the main game. But in 1973 due to the fact that the wheels didn't change in between the bonus game & main game in one episode, the word "Wild" was replaced with the word "Joker".

Face the Devil
In this bonus round, the categories & jokers were replaced by dollar values ranging from $25-$200, and devils which still resembled host Jack Barry. The winning player can take as many spins as they liked. The goal on each spin is to spin only money amounts, each time he/she did that, that contestant would win the combined total of the money amounts shown. But if at anytime a devil appeared that player would lose all the accumulated money up to that point. That's why the host gave the contestant the option to stop the game and keep whatever he/she won after each successful spin. But if the contestant can reach $1,000 or more, that player not only gets to keep the cash, but also wins a special prize package; and (starting in 1977 in the syndicated version) if the winning player can spin a natural triple (three of the same money amounts), he/she automatically wins the money & prizes.

Joker's Jackpot
In the early years of the CBS version, contestants played for an accumulating cash jackpot called the Joker's Jackpot. After each bonus game (before the bonus during a brief period), the champion could decide to either keep the money won in the main game in addition to the prizes won in the bonus game and leave the show, or play another game knowing that if the champion lost that game, the grand total of the main game winnings were lost & added to the jackpot (the bonus game prizes were not in jeopardy). Champions who won three games in a row (originally four), won the Joker's Jackpot. The Joker's Jackpot started at $2,500 and continued growing until it reached $25,000 or more since $25,000 was CBS' winnings limit at the time. Weeks later after reducing the number of wins to three, breaking the jackpot also won a brand new car. Originally champions who broke the Joker's Jackpot retired from the show, later shows had them continue playing until they lose, stop or reached the $25,000 limit, with the main game money from previous attempts at the jackpot no longer in jeopardy.

The first contestant to break the jackpot was Kathy Wexler; the jackpot at that time was $13,800. But she never won any prizes because she kept on getting beaten by the devil in the bonus game.

When the Face the Devil bonus game instituted, the Joker's Jackpot was removed entirely and champions now played for just a brand new car. To win the car contestants had to win five games in a row, and there were no more risks involved win or lose.

Tournament of Champions
For the first three years of the syndicated version, "Tournaments of Champions" were held annually, featuring 16 of the biggest winners from the previous year. Different rules applied to Tournament of Champions play: the players played for points instead of dollars, and in the championship game, winning two games out of three were needed to win the top prize (3 out of 5 for both the third and fourth tournaments). In the event a natural triple was spun, $500 went to the player's favorite charity. Players drew numbers to determine who would spin the wheels first. If player #1 (in the challenger's podium) spun three jokers and answers a question, that player's score goes to 500 points. The player who spun second would get one final turn to tie the game in that case, or win the game if trailing by less than 200 points. The player who was ahead after each completed round after the target score of 500 points was reached was declared the winner.

Frank Dillon won the $50,000 and $100,000 tournaments in 1977 and 1978, respectively; Eileen Jason captured the $250,000 tournament in 1979 defeating Dillon in the finals. The $100,000 & $250,000 prizes were 10-year annuities.

$1,000,000 Tournament
For what would turn out to be the final ToC in 1980 (due to a majority of stations being CBS O&O's who imposed their then-$25,000 limit on winners), The Joker's Wild became the first television program to advertise that it was giving away $1,000,000. It was the total purse for this ToC, whose players would split their earnings with 16 nominated charities. During this tournament, the theme to another Barry & Enright game show, the 1976 version of Break the Bank, was used instead of the regular opening and closing themes.

Money Distribution

 * The winner gets $25,000 a year for a decade, while his/her charity gets the full $250,000 for their charity. Runner-up gets $10,000 a year for a decade, the full $100,000 for their charity.

Rob Griffin won the $1,000,000 tournament, defeating Cassandra Dooley.

1990-1991 Version
This version was entirely different from the original. For three contestants competed instead of two, and the questions were all words, phrases, and names, and the contestant's job is to come up with a definition or the meaning of the clue. Correct answers earned money and answered another clue. One mistake caused the opponents to buzz-in and steal the money & control by answering the same clue.

The two survivors of round one moved on to round two, and the winner of the game moved on to the bonus game.

The show had two formats during it's season long run.

Format #1
The joker machine consists of dollar amounts ranging from $5-$50 with the last window consisting of a joker. Each spin decides the value of each clue. If the joker in the last window appeared, the value was tripled, and the player in control had 15 seconds to answer as many clues, as they can, with an incorrect answer stopping progress.

Round 1
In the first round all questions were general knowledge. To start, a jump-in clue was given and the first player to buzz-in with a correct answer won control of the joker machine & the questions. The first player to reach $500 or more advanced to round two with the second place player, while the third place player was eliminated from the game. The surviving players' scores were also carried over into the next round.

Round 2
In round two, the player in control had a choice of two categories for which they must answer clues from. Plus there was an "Opponent's Choice" space on the third wheel in addition to the joker, which is just what it sounds like; for when landed on, the opponent got to decide the subject. The first player to reach $2,000 or more won the game.

Format #2
The rules were changed to have elements of the classic Joker's Wild inserted into the game but with the definitions format remaining. This time, up on the wheels were categories (ala Classic Joker's Wild), plus the joker can appear in all three windows. Like the title says, the jokers were wild, and the player in control can match it up with any category shown, but there was no right to go off the board. As before, question values were determined by how many of that category appeared. All amounts were cut in half, meaning that a single category was worth $25, a double category was worth $50, and a triple was worth $100. Should three jokers appear in any spin, that contestant was automatically awarded $250 to his/her score, plus a choice of three categories behind the jokers for $100/question.

Round one was basically the same, except that it now took $1,000 to end the first round; and excluding "Opponent's Choice", the second round was played exactly under the same perimeters.

Bonus Round
To start, the winning player was given 60 seconds to answer as many questions as he/she can. All correct answers began with the same letter given at the start. Host Finn would give a maximum of three definitions, and the player must give the correct word to the definitions. Each correct answer earned one spin to the joker machine, he/she can pass if the player doesn't know the answer.

When time ran out, that player took the number of spins earned to the joker machine. On the wheels this time were jokers, prizes, and cash amounts from $500-$2,000, and no devils. The winning contestant's job was to match one prize on all three windows in the spins allotted. If the player saw a prize he/she liked, he/she can freeze the window containing that prize, and try to go for that. Jokers were still wild, the contestant can use them to match up with any prize shown. If the championship contestant can spin three jokers (that's Joker, Joker, JOKER!) in a single spin, that player would win the Joker's Jackpot which started at $5,000, and grew by $500 every day if not won.

Big Winners
Tex Crenshaw - He appeared on the show during the premiere week of the CBS Joker's Wild. Tex was the first contestant to win a car on the show. He won it after defeating two-time winner Mary Sprouse, by playing the 2nd version of the prize round. At that time, the circles were removed in favor of having the car or any other big prize on the wheels. Tex took his two spins, and after rejecting the prizes on his first spin, he took his second & final spin which gave him the car. Upon winning the car, he came up to the board pointed at the car, and hugged & shook hands with host Jack Barry.

Kathy Wexler - She was the first contestant during the CBS run to win the Joker's Jackpot. By that time the rules were changed so that the Jackpot can be won by winning three games instead of four. Supposedly, she would've won it by having the challenger lose on the final turn, but she actually won it by stealing the question on Entomology (insects). The challenger missed by saying "locust" & "grasshopper" (though game show rules state that a contestant's first answer must be accepted), causing Kathy to strike paydirt with her saying the correct answer "Bollweevil". The jackpot at that time was $13,800, which was added to the $1,600 she won from the three games she won giving her a total of $15,400 all in cash.

Ken Phyfe - He was another big time winner from the CBS run. He was the first contestant to break the Joker's Jackpot more than once. Prior to the game in which he broke the jackpot the second time, he played a major unusual game against then challenger Karen Vensusan; for both players ran into trouble answering questions from two categories (Bing Crosby & Horse Racing). In the end, Karen lost with no money at all while Ken pocketed another $550 to his total. Then in the next game on the next show after playing his bonus game in which he won all three prizes, Ken played against a lady named Ingrid Van der Sapp from Holland in which won and broke the Joker's Jackpot for the second time with a score of $500-$350. His total for breaking the second jackpot came to $17,267.

Hal Shear - He mostly won the game & bonus games by the use of his plaid suit aka his "Lucky Suit". At one time, a challenger named Adrienne Carter was on the verge of becoming the new champion because she reached $500 first, while Hal supposedly lost with $200. According to the rules, both players must take the same number of turns; when the first player (originally the champion, later the challenger) reached $500 first, the other player must take one last spin in order to catch up. So after Adrienne reached $500 first, Hal took his final turn; he was trailing by $300 so he only needed three jokers to win the game. So to start, he rubbed his suit, and as luck would have it, he got the three jokers he needed, causing Jack Barry to act like he was drunk. Following that, Hal managed to answer his question correctly and won his eighth game. This by far was one of the greatest comebacks in game show history.

Joe Dunn - He was the show's only retired champion in the syndicated run having won $66,200. His retirement from the show came to pass due to the fact that the show (because it was aired in mostly CBS' O & O stations) was following CBS' winnings limit rules which was by that time $50,000. Since his winnings were beyond that, the $16,200 of his winnings were donated to his favorite charity, the rest he got to keep.

Thomas Van Dyke - He was the 90s version's biggest winner having appeared 14 days (won 13 of those days), and on his next to last day, he won the Joker's Jackpot of $17,500. His final total was $55,562 in cash & prizes.

Mary Hunt - She holds the distinction of winning the largest Joker's Jackpot in the history of the show which was $36,000 plus the $2,000 she won from the game for a total of $38,000.

Merchandise
A board game was made for the 70's version.

A game for the CD-i was released in 1994 with Wink Martindale as host.

Spin-Offs
The Honeymoon Game - A unsold spinoff pilot tried in 1969

Joker Joker Joker - A children's version that ran from 1979-1981

Music
1969, 1972, 1975 Open - "The Savers" by Gershon Kingsley & Jean Jacques Perrey

1972, 1975 Close - "Joker's Jive" by Alan Thicke

1972, 1975 Prize Cues - by Ole Georg Music

1975 - Hal Hidey

1990 - Joe Manolakakis

Links
Information on The Joker's Wild Pilot

THE JOKER'S WILD HOMEPAGE

The Joker's Wild @ Game Show '75

Adam Nedeff's Page on The Bill Cullen years of Joker's Wild

David's Joker's Wild Page

Rules for The Joker's Wild at the Game Show Temple

YouTube Videos
Kathy Wexler becomes the first to win the Joker's Jackpot

Mary's $36,000 Win!