Mike Stokey's Pantomime Quiz

This was the first game show to be based on the parlor game Charades; and it gave life a few others game shows using this type of format.

Broadcast
KTLA - 1947-1949 CBS - 1948-1951, 1952, 1954, 1955-1957 NBC - January 2, 1952-March 26, 1952 ABC - 1955, 1958-1959 DuMont - October 20, 1953-April 13, 1954

Packager
Mike Stokey Productions

Host
Mike Stokey

Timekeepers
Sandra Spence Virginia Dwyer Spring Mitchell

Announcers
Art Fleming Art Gilmore Bill Baldwin Charles Woods Don Morrow Don Russell Ed Reimers Ken Niles Jimmy Blaine Terry O' Sullivan

Gameplay
Two teams of four celebrities (consisting of three regulars & one guest) competed in this TV adaptation of Charades. In each round, one member of each team had at least two minutes to get his/her partners to say famous phrases, quotes & names. But he/she had to do that by acting it out (using pantomime). The team to do that in the least amount of time won the round, and the team with the fastest time for all phrases won the game.

In addition, home viewers got in on the fun by sending their won phrases to the show. The viewers whose phrases were used on the show won cash prizes or prize prizes; plus the viewers whose phrases stumped the stars (phrases that were not guessed by the teams in less than two minutes) won a bonus.

Music
"Huckleberry Duck" by Raymond Scott

Inventor
Mike Stokey

Trivia
Mike Stokey's Pantomime Quiz was the first TV show to earn an Emmy award.

The show was revived as Stump the Stars, and later as Celebrity Charades.

Link
A 1951 Episode of Pantomime Quiz