Liar's Club

Hosts

Rod Serling (1969) Bill Armstrong (1976) Allen Ludden (1977-1979) Eric Boardman (1988-1989)

Announcers

Jim Isacs Bill Berry Joe Seiter Bill Armstrong Ted Friend

Broadcast (Syndication)

Serling era: 1/20/1969-6/13/1969 Armstrong/Ludden era: 9/1976-9/1979 Boardman era: 10/3/1988-6/30/1989

Packagers

Ralph Andrews Productions (1969, 1976-1979) Four Star Productions/ Golden West Productions/ Northstar Productions (1988-1989)

The game show where a celebrity panel analyze weird & unusual objects.

Gameplay

The show featured a panel of celebrity guests, who would be presented with an unusual object; each would give a ridiculous explanation of what the object was used for. Contestants (there were two on the 1969 version, four on the 80s version and the first season of the 70s version, and three during the Ludden era) would guess which star was telling the true story. Starting with the 70s version, the contestants placed bets on the star they thought told the truth. They played for money in the 70s version; but they played for points in the 80s version. They started at 100 dollars/points ($200 for a short time in 1976) at the beginning of the game and were allowed to bet in $10 increments up to $100 during the first season of the 70s version, half of their earnings during the Ludden era, and the 80s version's betting range was 10 to 50 points.

The Odds

The odds increase for each round:
Round 1 - 1-1
Round 2 - 2-1
Round 3 - 5-1
Round 4 - 10-1

For part of the Bill Armstrong season, the odds were 2-1, 5-1, 10-1, and 20-1, and each contestant would be paid out at different odds in each round (one player would have 2-1 in the first round, one 5-1, one 10-1, and one 20-1, and then the odds would change for the players in each round after), and contestants could bet up to $50 and the player with 2-1 odds chose any one celebrity and each of the other players chose one of the remaining celebrities. At one point in the series, if a contestant was the only one to pick the right celebrity in a round, his or her payout was doubled.

The Liar's Club Gallery/The Art Corner

This was always the last round of the game in which artwork was presented before the panel and contestants. Each celebrity would each offer their own title for the art. Each player would then make one last wager on which star gave the right title. Correct answers from the contestants won the wager at a 10-1 payoff.

Ludden-era Final Round

During Ludden's first season, the final round consisted of each celebrity describing his/her own unusual item; during Ludden's second season, this round became the "Liar of the Day Round" and in a departure from the first three rounds, it was now up to the contestants to predict which celebrity was the liar.

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On the 1969 version, the player who scored the most correct guesses won $100. In the two more remembered later versions, the player with the highest score won the game and a bonus prize (during the Ludden era of the 70s version and the 80s revival, a correct bet in all 4 rounds was also worth an additional prize). If there was a tie, the player who bet the most in the final round wins. If there was still a tie, the player who got the most right throughout the game wins. If there was still a tie, whoever came closest to their pregame score selection without going over wins.

Music

1976 - Stan Worth

Vacation Prize Cue - "Classey" (Formerly used on Give-N-Take as a prize cue)
Prize Cue - "Red Arrow" (Formerly used on Give-N-Take and Temptation (2) 1981 for the main)
Prize Cue - "Baby 'G" (Formerly used on Give-N-Take as the win cue)
Prize Cue - "Benny"
Prize Cue - "Circus Fun"

1988 - Gary Peterson

Inventor

Ralph Andrews

Similar Shows

All Star Secrets - Similar show but with unusual facts about the stars; aired on NBC in 1979
Balderdash - Similar show aired on PAX from 2004-2005

Gallery

Trivia

• Celebrity attorney/actress/producer Vicki Roberts was a regular researcher on the show, who brought in many of the strange objects that were used by scouring local antique shops in the Los Angeles area.
• In 1991, a Canadian game show called The Next Line, hosted by Kevin Frank, was produced. It had many similarities to the New Liar's Club: both shows were taped at the same studio, and both used the same props with a few changes. The rules were very similar to Liar's Club in terms of the game and scoring, only rather than determine the correct description of an unusual item, players had to find which celebrity was giving the correct line to a cut-off video clip or song. Like The New Liar's Club, the show was produced by Blair Murdoch and featured Pete Barbutti as a regular panelist.
• A pilot for a new version in 1996 was done with Ed McMahon hosting, but the series did not sell. The title is a spin on the Friars Club.

Links

Rules for the old Liar's Club
Screengrabs of The New Liar's Club