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Uncle Jim's Question Bee was broadcasting's second quiz show.

Broadcast[]

NBC Blue (Weekly): 9/26/1936 – 12/16/1939, 10/8/1940 – 7/8/1941
CBS Radio (Weekly): 6/18/1940 – 10/2/1940

Hosts[]

Jim McWilliams (1936–1940)
Bill Slater (1940–1941)

Publicist[]

Adele Wesley

Format[]

Three men and three women were chosen from the audience and would be asked questions sent to the show by listeners. The winner of the bee received $25.

Sponsors[]

  • George Washington Coffee (1936 to 1939)
  • Unilever (1940 to 1941)

Trivia[]

This was the first quiz show where the host asked questions to the contestants. Broadcasting's first quiz show, Professor Quiz, had the contestants ask questions to the host.

It was also the first game show to have at least two or more contestants competing against each other.

Merchandise[]

Board Games[]

Lowell put out six editions of the Uncle Jim's Question Bee board game starting in 1938. Each board game contained a series of decks of questions in a variety of categories.

Books[]

In 1939, Whitman released four volumes of the Uncle Jim's Question Bee book, each 7x8 long and contained 250 regular questions plus 20 "cuckoo" questions and were in Red, Blue, Yellow and Green.

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