Match Game-Hollywood Squares Hour/Trivia

Everything About Fiction You Never Wanted to Know.


  • Hey, It's That Guy!: Gene Rayburn, obviously, had hosted the previous four versions of Match Game (in addition to other shows). Jon Bauman was best-known as "Bowzer" in Sha-Na-Na and subsequent projects; he also the short-lived The Pop 'N Rocker Game at the same time as this.
  • Hey, It's That Voice!: Both Gene Wood and Johnny Olson were long-standing Goodson-Todman announcers. Olson had announced on the previous four versions of Match Game (1962-82).
  • Keep Circulating the Tapes: The show hasn't been rerun, although about 20 or so episodes circulate (including at least one full week) and several can be viewed on YouTube. Several stories have existed through the years, including cross-ownership, viewer disinterest, and host Gene Rayburn's extreme dissatisfaction with the show (apparently insisting that this show never be rerun). The fact that Match Game and The Hollywood Squares are now owned by different companies (Fremantle Media and CBS Television Distribution) has also shot down any hope of this being shown again in a legal manner.
  • Old Shame: According to Gene Wood, Rayburn was "dragged kicking and screaming" into this mess.
  • Screwed by Mark Goodson: The legendary producer somehow didn't grasp what made Squares work and hired a first-time host (Bauman) over Peter Marshall. Add the aforementioned conflicts and Wood's statement, and it's a grand wonder how this thing managed to last 39 weeks.
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