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Hosts
Ralph Edwards (Radio; TV: 1941, 1950–1951)
Jack Bailey (TV, 1954–1956)
Bob Barker (Daytime, 1956–1975)
Steve Dunne (Nighttime, 1957–1958)
Bob Hilton (1977–1978)
Larry Anderson (1987–1988)
Chris Rose (2000s)
Assistants
Dresser Dahlstead (1956–1975)
Murray Langston & Hilary Safire (1987–1988)
Announcers
Frank Barton (1950–1951)
Jerry Lawrence (1954–1955)
Ken Carpenter (1955–1956)
Charles Lyon (1956–1975)
Wendell Niles (1957–1958)
John Harlan (1977–1978)
Johnny Gilbert (1987 Pilot)
Ted Zigler (1987–1988)
Mark Thompson (2000s)
Broadcast
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CBS Radio (Weekly): 3/23/1940 – 7/27/1940, 9/5/1950 – 5/29/1951
NBC Radio (Weekly): 8/17/1940 – 6/24/1950, 6/17/1952 – 6/12/1956
WNBT Special: 7/1/1941
CBS Primetime: 9/7/1950 – 5/31/1951
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NBC Primetime: 5/18/1954 – 9/28/1956, 12/13/1957 – 6/6/1958
NBC Daytime: 12/31/1956 – 9/25/1959, 10/26/1959 – 9/24/1965
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Truth or Consequences 1970s
Syndication (Daily): 9/19/1966 – 9/1975
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Syndication (Weekly): 9/19/1977 – 9/1978
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Pilot: 1986
Syndication (Daily): 9/17/1987 – 2/26/1988
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Unsold Pilot for FOX Primetime: 2003 or 2004
Packagers
Ralph Edwards Productions (1940–1978)
Ralph Edwards-Stu Billett Productions/Chris Bearde Productions (1987–1988)
Distributors
Metromedia Television (1966–1978)
Lorimar-Telepictures (1987–1988)

Truth or Consequences was the long-running wild & wacky game show where contestants that were selected from the studio audience could either tell the truth (answer a question) or be forced to pay the consequences (perform a stunt).

On the show, people had to answer a trivia question correctly (usually an off-the-wall question that no one would be able to answer correctly, or a bad joke) and had about two seconds to do so before "Beulah the Buzzer" was sounded (in the rare occasion that the contestant answered the question correctly before Beulah was heard, another question was asked).

If the contestant could not complete the "Truth" portion, there would be "Consequences," usually a zany and embarrassing stunt. From the start, most contestants preferred to answer the question wrong in order to perform the stunt. Said Edwards, "Most of the American people are darned good sports."[1]

In many broadcasts, the stunts on Truth or Consequences included a popular, but emotional, heart-rending surprise for a contestant, that being the reunion with a long-lost relative or with an enlisted son or daughter returning from military duty overseas, particularly Vietnam. Sometimes, if that military person was based in California, his or her spouse or parents were flown in for that reunion.

Radio[]

Ralph Edwards would say later that he got the idea for a new radio program after playing the parlor game Forfeits.[2] The show premiered on NBC radio in March 1940 and was an instant hit with listeners.

In Action Comics #127 (December 1948), Superman was a contestant on Truth or Consequences ([1]).

In March 1950, host Ray Edwards put out a request, presumably meant as a joke, that the first place to change its placename to "Truth or Consequences" would have the 10th anniversary edition of the show filmed there. In response, the town of Hot Springs, New Mexico changed its name on 31 March, 1950 to Truth or Consequences. The show kept its promise and filmed the 10th anniversary edition of the show there, and Edwards returned to the town every year on the first weekend of May for the next fifty years. When he returned, the town would put on a ceremony called "Fiesta", featuring a parade, a stage show, a beauty contest and a dance ceremony at Ray Edwards Park. Truth or Consequences still celebrates Fiesta on the first weekend of May every year.

A 1950 Looney Tunes cartoon called The Ducksters featured Daffy Duck as the host of a radio game show called Truth or AAAAAHHHH!, with Porky Pig as the contestant. NOTE: At the end of the cartoon, Daffy yelled: "Have you got a doctor in the balcony lady?" Which was actually a reference to another game show Dr. I.Q.; the actual catch phrase was: "I have a lady/gentleman in the balcony, Doctor."

Television[]

The syndicated Truth or Consequences became the first successful first-run daily game show (as opposed to reruns) to not air on a network, having ended its NBC run in 1965.

Truth or Consequences was the first game show to air on commercially-licensed television, airing on the first day of WNBT's program schedule in 1941. This was a one-time experiment; Truth or Consequences did not appear on TV again until 1950, when the medium had caught on commercially.[3]

During Barker's run as host, "Barker's Box" was played at the end of the show. Barker's Box was a box with four drawers in it, one with a $10 bill, one with $20, one with $50, and one with a pop-up surprise. A contestant able to pick all three money drawers without choosing the surprise drawer won a bonus prize.

On Truth or Consequences, Barker's sign-off ended with the phrase, "Hoping all your consequences are happy ones."

Phil Gurin of The Gurin Company recently bought rights to the show and is currently working on a revival.

Cultural references[]

Donald Duck competes with Huey, Dewey and Louie in a television show that resembles Truth or Consequences in a comic book. He prepares himself by reading tomes of trivia and ends up humiliating himself on air.

On January 22, 1957, the show, which was produced in Hollywood, became the first program to be broadcast in all time zones from a prerecorded videotape; this technology, which had only been introduced the previous year, had been used only for time-delayed broadcasts to the West Coast.

On George Carlin's 1969 debut album, Take-Offs and Put-Ons, the character Congolia Breckinridge appears on a similar show called Truth or Penalties (although at one point Carlin says the original show's name). Because she has too little time to buzz in, when she is invited to pull back the curtain, an empty stage is revealed. The host then announces, "We were going to reunite you with your sister, whom you haven't seen in 27 years, but you blew the question, so we sent your sister back to Maine."

On The All-New Popeye Show, Popeye was chosen to be a contestant on a show called Take It or Lump It, but Bluto (angered by not being chosen) has other plans. Bluto apparently started to treat the show like Truth or Consequences, as Popeye gets buzzed out before answering the questions and Bluto puts Popeye into humiliating situations. Eventually, Popeye & Olive found out and turned the tables on Bluto and sent him to outer space.

Clips from the 1966-1975 version are shown during the intro sequence of the 80s MTV game show Remote Control.

Gallery[]

Show Tickets[]

Pics of Barker on the set[]

Trade Ads (1966-78 version)[]

Trade Ads (1987 version)[]

Possible Revival[]

On October 4, 2012, The Gurin Company have licensed the rights to Truth or Consequences[4]from Ralph Edwards Productions. According to Gurin, he said that, "It's just a really fun show. We're taking the original show and making it bigger." He also said that "People want to perform the stunts, which always makes for good TV. Add an unexpected reunion with a family member, or a surprise from someone in the past, and the show tugs at your heart strings". However, nothing came of it.

Episode Status[]

According to the Inter-Office Memorandum from Pat Gleason published on June 25, 1987, the number of episodes from each version that exists are as follows:

37½/39 (1950-1951 CBS Primetime version with Ralph Edwards)
95/124 (1954-1956 NBC Primetime version with Jack Bailey; one missing episode is at the Library of Congress)
74/2,254 (1956-1965 NBC Daytime version with Bob Barker; seven missing episodes are at the Library of Congress)
0/26 (1957-1958 NBC Primetime version with Steve Dunne)
1,700+/1,755 (1966-1975 Syndicated version with Bob Barker)
32/32 (1977-1978 Syndicated version with Bob Hilton)

Rating[]

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Music[]

1957
Main – "Stop Gap" by Wilfred Burns
Other Songs – Jack Fascinato

1977 – Hal Hidey
1987 – Don Felder

Spin-offs[]

Funny Boners – a short-lived kids version which aired on NBC

Production Locations[]

New York City, NY (Early Radio Seasons)
Truth or Consequences, NM (10th Anniversary)
Los Angeles, CA (All Other Seasons)

Similar Shows[]

People are Funny
Dollar a Second

Merchandise[]

Truth or Consequences/Merchandise

References[]

Links[]

Truth or Consequences @ Tim's TV Showcase
Truth or Consequences (pilot) @ gmeshowgarbage.com

YouTube Videos[]

A Jack Bailey Episode
Bob's First Show
A Montage of Bob's Era
A Bob Hilton Episode

1987 Revival[]

A Full Episode from 1987

Another Full Episode from 1987

Clips of the 1987 Series

2003/2004 Pilot[]

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