It's Your Bet

Hosts
Hal March (1969) Dick Gautier (1970–1971) Tom Kennedy (October 1969-1970, 1971–1972) Lyle Waggoner (1972–1973)
Announcer
John Harlan
Broadcast
Syndication (Daily, NBC stations only): 9/29/1969 – 9/7/1973
Packagers
Ralph Andrews Productions The Meredith Company
Distributors
NBC Films (1969–1971?) Rhodes Productions (1971?–1973)

It's Your Bet was the four-year game show were celebrity couples bet on how their spouses would answer a series of questions.

Gameplay[]

Two celebrity couples played the game for members of the studio audience.

A separating wall slid out from the couple's desk and divided the couple so they could not see what the other bet. One half of the couple was told what the question was through the telephone. Afterward, he/she made a bet anywhere from 25 to 100 points (in 25-point increments) on whether their partner could answer the question or not. The host then read the question to the other half of the couple. A correct bet added the wager, but unlike most game shows where contestants celebrity or civilian wager on questions, an incorrect bet awarded the wager to their opponents. Couples & the spouses from those couples took turns betting & answering; starting with the women betting on their husbands, then the men betting on their wives, and so on & so forth.

The first couple to score 300 points won the game, prizes for their audience member and went on to play the "Preference Round" for more prizes.

Preference Round[]

In the "Preference Round", the winning celebrity couple attempted to guess how his/her spouse would answer a question. The spouses played one at a time on each question. The host posed a question and three possible answers; each time the couple agreed on the response, the team won another prize for their designated audience member.

Taping Locations[]

Los Angeles, CA
San Diego, CA

Episode status[]

One March episode and two Kennedy episodes (including an episode where he sub-hosted for March) are known to exist. A Waggoner episode taped June 1, 1972 is held at the UCLA Film and Television Archive.

Trivia[]

It's Your Bet was a revival of the 1965 NBC daytime show I'll Bet. Tom Kennedy's brother Jack Narz was the host for that show.

Original host Hal March started to have lung cancer while he was doing the show; he died on January 17, 1970. Tom Kennedy, who subbed for Hal, took over as the new host. A similar thing would happen in 1980: Tom took over as host of Password Plus when Allen Ludden's cancer came back.

At one time, Burt Reynolds and the staff of It's Your Bet played a joke on Tom Kennedy by using a fake question. That moment found its way to the NBC special The Most Outrageous Game Show Moments, hosted by Bob Eubanks.

Final host Lyle Waggoner (who was one of the guests during Tom's reign as host) was best known for being one of the cast members of The Carol Burnett Show, and later the star of TV's (New Adventures of) Wonder Woman with Lynda Carter as the title character. Waggoner died from cancer on March 17, 2020 at the age of 84.