User:Daniel Benfield/Break the Bank 1976 Video Archive

The 1970s Break the Bank is easily the most fondly-remembered of the three games to carry that name, partly because it showed a different take on The Hollywood Squares. Unfortunately, from what I can tell GSN never got through the entirety of either version.

Despite its brief life in the 1970s, in 1987 something kinda odd happened...

LEGAL STUFF SO I DON'T GET SUED: I'm only linking to these videos, none of which were uploaded by me, for the purposes of research and as a public record. Footage ©1976-77/1987-89 Barry-Enright Productions and associated entities.

Tom Kennedy (1976)
ABC Daytime: April 12 - July 23, 1976 (75 episodes)

The show ran 15 weeks, so you probably wouldn't think it was the #3 game show in daytime. The only reason it got such a short run is because Fred Silverman wanted to expand two soap operas by 15 minutes.


 * April 12, 1976 (Debut promo, with clips of the 3/23/76 pilot! {alternate copy})
 * [Has dome-esque backings for the celebs and host area. One promo shot shows that the boxes originally weren't numbered.]

Original setup and Bank progression Week One (April 12-16): Abe Vigoda, Alice Ghostley, Jo Ann Pflug, Dick Gautier, Jan Murray, Lynda Carter, Liz Torres, Michael Hedges, Marjoe Gortner
 * April 12, 1976 (Premiere: Marlene vs. Ralph {taped 4/6/76}, with the Bank at $5,000; original broadcast!)
 * April 14, 1976 (#3: Ralph vs. Barbara {taped 4/6/76}, doing a rematch because Barbara won without giving Ralph a chance to play {Bank starts at $6,000}; studio master!)

Week Two (April 19-23): Anson Williams, Lee Meriwether, Liz Torres, Alex Karras, Jan Murray, Ja'Net DuBois, Sandy Duncan, Tom Bosley, Pat McCormick
 * April 21, 1976 (#8: Fred {$7,710} vs. Dixie, with Laurie and Jill playing later; taped from GSN {alternate copy})
 * [Rules explanation still shows the boxes turning around.]

Boxes no longer turn during rules spiel; Bank graphic now much smaller and thinner; Wild Card location now shown after each game

Week Three (April 26-30): Rosie Grier, Beverly Garland, Liz Torres, Bill Dana, Joey Bishop, Fannie Flagg, Mary Ann Mobley, Lawrence Hilton-Jacobs, Arte Johnson
 * April 26, 1976 (#11: Jill {$5,170} vs. Kent, continued from last Friday with Bill playing later {Bank starts at $7,500} and Joey getting pissed at dumb players!; taped from GSN)
 * April 28?, 1976 (#13?: Jill vs. Dennis; first part of this game through commercial outro, with the Bank at $8,500)
 * April 29, 1976 (#14: Hal {$2,000+} vs. Danyel, with Pat playing later {Bank starts at $9,500}; taped from GSN)

Week Four (May 3-7): Lonnie Shorr, Elayne Boosler, Jaye P. Morgan, Craig Stevens, Joey Bishop, Meredith MacRae, Liz Torres, Buzz Aldrin, Jimmie Walker
 * May 4, 1976 (#17: Jim {$3,920} vs. Leah, continued from yesterday with the Bank at $6,500), with Burro? and DAN AVILA playing later {Bank starts at $6,500}; taped from GSN)
 * May 5, 1976 (#18: Leah vs. DAN AVILA, with Colleen playing later and Joey getting pissed at dumb players again!; montage including entirety of Game 2)

Players occasionally shown in bottom-right corner while selecting boxes

Week Five (May 10-14): Lonnie Shorr, Shari Lewis, Della Reese, Ron Palillo, Jan Murray, Dody Goodman (WEIRD), Liz Torres, Dick Gautier, Marjoe Gortner
 * May 10, 1976 (#21: Jim {$3,450} vs. Karen, continued from last time with Nancy playing later and an insane Game 1!; taped from GSN, begins as Tom walks out)
 * May 13, 1976 (#24: Ron {$1,240} vs. Irene, continued from yesterday with Ben playing later {Bank starts at $7,500} and Lamb Chop making an appearance!; taped from GSN)

Week Six (May 17-21): Avery Schreiber, Alice Ghostley, Liz Torres, Bob Crane, Jan Murray, Ja'Net DuBois, Rue McLanahan, Mickey Dolenz, Jimmie Walker
 * May 19, 1976 (#28: Connie {$1,790} vs. Daun, with the Bank at $12,000!; taped from GSN)
 * May 20, 1976 (#29: Connie vs. Bill {Part 3}; taped from GSN {the latest ABC episode they've aired!})

Wrong answer gives the box to opponent unless it would lead to a win or block

Week Eight (May 31-June 4): Foster Brooks, Gunilla Hutton, Jaye P. Morgan, Buzz Aldrin, Jan Murray, Gail Fisher, Liz Torres, Greg Mullavey, Abe Vigoda
 * Taped 5/20/76 (#PRODUCTION 'A'-BKB-76: Karen vs. Ron, with Irene and Nancy playing later; studio master with slate, average video)
 * [Unaired episode taped alongside Week 8, used to test the aforementioned rule change. All four contestants had previously been on the show.]

Bank increases by $250/game until won

Week 13 (July 5-9): Rip Taylor, Jaye P. Morgan, Fannie Flagg, Robert Hegyes, Lonnie Shorr, Dody Goodman, Marilyn Michaels, Kent McCord, Dick Gautier
 * July 9, 1976 (#65: Roxie {$1,000+} vs. Jim, continued from yesterday {Bank starts at $6,750} with Dick and Jean playing later {Part 3, Part 4}; has commercials, begins at "We'll find out in a moment...", no last segment)
 * [Ernie Anderson fills in for Johnny Jacobs.]

Jack Barry (1976-77)
Syndicated, Weekly: September 18, 1976 - February 20 [September 11], 1977 (24 episodes) Now self-contained, with two players competing for the entire show. Breaking the Bank awards just over $10,000 in prizes, and there's now a luck-based bonus round for the night's winner: get $2,000 or more without finding the BUST card, get an extra $5,000.

Each set of celebrities taped two episodes.

Clifton Davis, Elena Verdugo, Jaye P. Morgan, William Conrad, Joey Bishop, Anson Williams, Barbara Eden, Hermione Baddeley, Pat Morita
 * September 18, 1976 (Premiere: Debbie vs. Jeffrey {taped 7/17/76}; taped from GSN on 12/25/97, last part of Game 3 missing)

Abe Vigoda, William Conrad, Lee Merriwether, Barbara Eden, Joey Bishop, Bob Crane, Jaye P. Morgan, BILL CULLEN!, Anson Williams
 * October 2, 1976 (#3: Allison vs. Scott; taped from GSN)
 * October 9, 1976 (#4: Elaine vs. Carl, with Jack cracking up several times!; taped from GSN, several minutes missing due to tape damage)

Nipsey Russell, Shelly Winters, Pearl Bailey, Orson Bean, Jan Murray, Vicki Lawrence, Ann Meara, BOB BARKER!, Jimmie Walker
 * Taped 1976 (Kay vs. Duane, with Jan doing a Nipsey-esque poem and Shelly giving a censored answer! {Part 2, Part 3}; taped from GSN)

Greek Versions (1987-89)
EPT: 1987 - 1988

MEGA: 1989

Yeah, weird thing: the show actually got a foreign iteration, the only one I'm aware of for this version (I'd have expected Reg Grundy to take a punt at it for Australia during the '70s), even noting during the closing credits that yes, this is licensed by Barry-Enright.

The set's kinda what you'd expect if the diagonally-slanted board was made into an upright one, along with a "multicolored squares" motif. The format itself uses the Barry amounts multiplied by 10 (1000-3000-5000), and there's a musical performance at the halfway point of each ~40-minute show.

The original version was Εσεіς זi λέזε; (What About You?), hosted by Kostas Rigopoulous (the uploader of the two full episodes below uses "ΕΣΕΙΣ ΤΙ ΛΕΤΕ ;"); the revival was Τηλεμπλόφες (Tilemplofes), hosted by Claus Tsivilikas.

EPT (1987-88)
 * 1987 (Full episode {Part 2}; audiovisual glitches at times during second half of show)
 * 1987 (Intro of another episode)


 * 1987 (12-minute clip; not sure if it's from one of the above)
 * 1987 (Brief clip; not sure if it's from one of the above)
 * 1987 (Mid-show segment of a male singer)


 * 1987? (Full episode {Part 2})
 * 1987? (Intro; "shaky-cam" upload)

MEGA (1989)
 * 1989 (Brief clip, shown during what appears to be the network's 20th-Anniversary retrospective on its game/reality shows)