Game Shows Wiki
Host
Fred Allen
Hostess
Portland Hoffa
Announcer
Tex Antoine
Broadcast
Unsold Pilot for NBC: Summer 1954
Packager
Mark Goodson-Bill Todman Productions

"Presenting TAKE YOUR CHOICE! A new comedy quiz starring Mr. Fred Allen!"

Take Your Choice was an unsold comedy quiz show hosted by Fred Allen.

Premise[]

Contestants selected their own questions for their partner to answer in an attempt to win up to $5,000.

Trivia[]

  • On Buzzr's official website, on the schedule bar on top, it said "Take You Choice '46" when the pilot was indeed taped in '54.
  • In the intro, you can see Fred Allen standing behind "awkwardly" beside the logo.
  • One of the contestants on this pilot was Professor Roger Holmes of Mt. Holyoke College, inventor of a "thinking machine".
  • Variety articles from May and June 1954 indicate that this was pitched by Goodson-Todman for NBC's 1954-55 season, essentially replacing their previous NBC show Judge For Yourself (which had ended in May and was also hosted by Fred Allen).
  • It is likely that, due to Fred's heart condition not allowing him to emcee a more "strenuous" game or quiz show, the hostess and announcer did much of the heavy lifting. This had been the case on Judge For Yourself, which had been created by Goodson-Todman specifically to accommodate Fred, who on that show did little more than interview the contestants and introduce the acts.
  • This was the first unsold G-T pilot where the logo was presented. However, its name nor announcement were never said at the end. The second unsold G-T pilot It's Predictable (hosted by Gene Rayburn) also did that sixteen years later in 1970.
  • The pilot is held by the UCLA Film & Television Archive. A clip appeared in Buzzr promos for the network's "Lost and Found" week in September 2015 (see below), but for unknown reasons the show did not air during that week. Six years later, it eventually aired as part of the network's 6th annual "Lost and Found" event on September 25, 2021.

YouTube Video[]

Full Pilot