About
"Once you cause somebody at home to talk to the television set aloud, even by himself or herself, then you've got a good game show."
In his three-hour interview, Bob Stewart (1920-2012) speaks about his transition from radio to television and his first television show, Songs for Sale. In 1955, Stewart began his association with producers Mark Goodson and Bill Todman (Goodson-Todman). He talks about creating the game shows To Tell the Truth, The Price is Right, and Password. He discusses the Quiz Show Scandals and their impact on future game shows. Stewart talks about his continued his success with his show The $10,000 Pyramid (later re-titled The $100,000 Pyramid). He discusses the importance of game show host selection, the qualities of a perfect contestant, and the key to creating a fun and successful game show. Fred Wostbrock conducted the interview on September 11, 1998 in Los Angeles, CA.
Highlights
Bob Stewart on the genesis of To Tell the Truth and The Price is Right
Bob Stewart defines the genres of game shows versus panel shows
On the creation and production of Password
Bob Stewart on how he would like to be remembered
Bob Stewart on the Quiz Show Scandals and how it affected game show producers
Full Interview
Chapter 1
On his childhood and early years growing up in New York during the Depression era
On first seeing television at the 1939 New York Worlds Fair
On his military service during World War II
On his introduction to radio writing and his first jobs including WNEW radio game shows and soaps (We Love and Learn) and writing for Gene Rayburn; his short stint at Benton & Bowles advertising
Chapter 2
On his early television work including Songs for Sale and local New York broadcasts
On The Sky's the Limit and The Morey Amsterdam Show
On learning of the Blacklist
On the genesis of The Price is Right, To Tell the Truth, and his uncredited work on the short-lived Stand Up and Be Counted; his relationship with Mark Goodson and Bill Todman
Chapter 3
On asserting control on The Price is Right
On his panel show To Tell the Truth
On the genres of game shows versus panel shows
On the concept and production of The Price is Right , the initial prizes and showcases, and the selection of host Bill Cullen
Chapter 4
On working with host Bill Cullen and his feelings about The Price is Right's more current versions
On the Quiz Show Scandals
On the creation and production of the game show Password
On leaving Goodson-Todman and starting his own production company and launching The Face is Familiar
Chapter 5
On the panel show Personality and his opinions on using celebrities on his game shows
On the panel show You're Putting Me On; on his production company and its staff; working with networks; and his first videotaped show Eye Guess
On the genesis and early production of The $10,000 Pyramid
Chapter 6
On how production on the Pyramid game shows were done and how disputes were resolved; on the show's Emmy wins
On the game shows Jackpot, Shoot for the Stars; host Geoff Edwards; and some of the announcers he's worked with (Don Pardo, Joe Clayton, Jack Clark)
On moving to the West Coast; his shows The Love Experts and The 80s Woman; working with David Letterman and Barbara Feldon
On his then-current semi-retirement; how the industry has changed; his favorites of his game show creations; his opinion of the future of interactive game shows
Chapter 7
On how he would like to be remembered
On some of the people he's worked with in his career
On some photos featuring his work
Shows
10,000 Pyramid aka 25,000 Pyramid aka 100,000 Pyramid
Bob Stewart on the genesis of The $10,000 Pyramid
Bob Stewart on how celebrity contestants were chosen for The $10,000 Pyramid
Bob Stewart on how production on the Pyramid game shows were done and how disputes were resolved
Producer Bob Stewart on Pyramid's Emmy wins
Bob Stewart on a photo of Dick Clark hosting $10,000 Pyramid
80's Woman, The
Producer Bob Stewart on The 80's Woman talk show and its host Barbara Feldon
Emmy Awards, The (Primetime and Daytime)
Producer Bob Stewart on Pyramid's Emmy wins
Eye Guess
Bob Stewart on his first use of videotape on his game show Eye Guess
Face Is Familiar, The
Bob Stewart on the genesis of the short-lived primetime game show The Face is Familiar
Jackpot
Producer Bob Stewart on the game show Jackpot
Bob Stewart on a photo of host Geoff Edwards on the set of Jackpot
Love Experts, The
Producer Bob Stewart on his short-lived panel show The Love Experts
Morey Amsterdam Show, The
Bob Stewart on producing The Morey Amsterdam Show
Password
Bob Stewart on the creation and concept of Password
Bob Stewart on how Allen Ludden became the host of Password
Bob Stewart on how the words were chosen for Password and working with celebrity guests
Personality
Producer Bob Stewart on his panel show Personality
Price is Right, The
Bob Stewart on the genesis of The Price is Right
Bob Stewart on his work as an uncredited writer on Stand Up and Be Counted
Bob Stewart on asserting his control on The Price is Right
Bob Stewart on the basic concepts of his game show The Price is Right
Bob Stewart on how The Price is Right almost never got on the air
Bob Stewart on the prizes featured on The Price is Right
Bob Stewart on the first host of The Price is Right, Bill Cullen
Bob Stewart on his relationship with game show host Bill Cullen
Producer Bob Stewart on announcer Don Pardo's nervousness when he had to fill in for ill host Bill Cullen on The Price is Right
Producer Bob Stewart on a concept he had for The Price is Right that never materialized
Bob Stewart on a photo of Price is Right host Bill Cullen from 1956
Shoot for the Stars
Producer Bob Stewart on the game show Shoot for the Stars
Sky's the Limit, The
Bob Stewart on producing the local New York game show, The Sky's the Limit
Songs for Sale
Bob Stewart on his first job in television as a writer for Songs for Sale
Spin to Win
Bob Stewart on a Spin to Win phone contestant's win
Stand Up and Be Counted
Bob Stewart on his work as an uncredited writer on Stand Up and Be Counted
To Tell the Truth
Bob Stewart on the genesis of To Tell the Truth and The Price is Right
Bob Stewart on how his panel show To Tell the Truth got its name
Bob Stewart on Mike Wallace, the host of To Tell the Truth's pilot, who turned down the show to pursue journalism
Bob Stewart on the celebrity panelists on To Tell the Truth (including Dick Van Dyke and Peggy Cass)
Bob Stewart on a cast photo of To Tell the Truth
Wheel of Fortune
Producer Bob Stewart on his short-lived panel show Love Experts
You're Putting Me On
Producer Bob Stewart on his game show You're Putting Me On
Topics
Censorship / Standards & Practices
Bob Stewart on the Quiz Show Scandals and how it affected game show producers
Emmy Awards
Producer Bob Stewart on Pyramid's Emmy wins
Hollywood Blacklist
Bob Stewart on finding out about the Blacklist when Abe Burrows was discussed as a possible radio show guest but denied because he was "in the book"
Pop Culture
Bob Stewart defines the genres of game shows versus panel shows
Quiz Show Scandals
Bob Stewart on the Quiz Show Scandals and how it affected game show producers
Bob Stewart on record companies secretly paying an AD to use their music on The Price is Right
Professions
Game Show Host
Producer Bob Stewart on what makes a good game show host
Genres
Game Shows
Bob Stewart on the genesis of The Price is Right
Bob Stewart defines the genres of game shows versus panel shows
Bob Stewart on the creation and production of Password
Bob Stewart on his preference for game shows featuring celebrities
Bob Stewart on the process of creating game shows and how his company was run
Bob Stewart on how the popularity of word games waned
Producer Bob Stewart on what makes a good game show host
People
Alan Alda
Producer Bob Stewart on his panel show Personality (which Alan Alda was up for hosting)
Morey Amsterdam
Bob Stewart on producing the local New York game show, The Sky's the Limit
Polly Bergen
Bob Stewart on To Tell the Truth panelist Polly Bergen (and husband/agent Freddie Fields)
Larry Blyden
Producer Bob Stewart on his panel show Personality
Bob Stewart on the genesis of The $10,000 Pyramid
Abe Burrows
Bob Stewart on finding out about the Blacklist when Abe Burrows was discussed as a possible radio show guest but denied because he was "in the book"
Peggy Cass
Bob Stewart on To Tell the Truth panelists Johnny Carson and Peggy Cass
Jack Clark
Game show producer Bob Stewart on announcer Jack Clark
Dick Clark
Bob Stewart on the genesis of The $10,000 Pyramid
Producer Bob Stewart on how production on the Pyramid game shows were done and how disputes were resolved; on the show's Emmy wins
Producer Bob Stewart on what makes a good game show host
Bob Stewart on Dick Clark
Bob Clayton
Game show producer Bob Stewart on announcer Bob Clayton
Billy Crystal
Bob Stewart on how celebrity contestants were chosen for The $10,000 Pyramid
Bill Cullen
Bob Stewart on asserting his control on The Price is Right
Bob Stewart on the first host of The Price is Right, Bill Cullen
Bob Stewart on his relationship with game show host Bill Cullen
Bob Stewart on his first use of videotape on his game show Eye Guess
Producer Bob Stewart on what makes a good game show host
Jamie Lee Curtis
Producer Bob Stewart on his short-lived panel show Love Experts
Milton Delugg
Bob Stewart on producing the local New York game show, The Sky's the Limit
Geoff Edwards
Producer Bob Stewart on the game show Jackpot
Gil Fates
Bob Stewart on Gil Fates
Barbara Feldon
Producer Bob Stewart on The 80s Woman talk show and its host Barbara Feldon
Mark Goodson
Bob Stewart on the genesis of To Tell the Truth and The Price is Right
Bob Stewart on working with Mark Goodson and Bill Todman
Bob Stewart on asserting his control on The Price is Right
Bob Stewart on Mark Goodson
Bud Grant
Bob Stewart on the genesis of The $10,000 Pyramid
Monty Hall
Bob Stewart on the genesis of To Tell the Truth and The Price is Right
Hope Lange
Bob Stewart on producing the local New York game show, The Sky's the Limit
Peter Lawford
Bob Stewart on how the words were chosen for Password and working with celebrity guests
David Letterman
Producer Bob Stewart on his short-lived panel show Love Experts
Allen Ludden
Bob Stewart on how Allen Ludden became the host of Password
Bob Stewart on how the words were chosen for Password and working with celebrity guests
Producer Bob Stewart on what makes a good game show host
Bob Stewart on Allen Ludden
Garry Moore
Bob Stewart on Garry Moore
Leonard Nimoy
Bob Stewart on how celebrity contestants were chosen for The $10,000 Pyramid
William S. Paley
Bob Stewart on his work as an uncredited writer on Stand Up and Be Counted
Don Pardo
Producer Bob Stewart on announcer Don Pardo's nervousness when he had to fill in for ill host Bill Cullen on The Price is Right
Gene Rayburn
Bob Stewart on producing the local New York game show, The Sky's the Limit
Bob Stewart on the Quiz Show Scandals and how it affected game show producers
Rob Reiner
Bob Stewart on the genesis of The $10,000 Pyramid
Nipsey Russell
Bob Stewart on Nipsey Russell
William Shatner
Bob Stewart on how celebrity contestants were chosen for The $10,000 Pyramid
Fred Silverman
Bob Stewart on the genesis of the short-lived primetime game show The Face is Familiar
Bob Stewart on the genesis of The $10,000 Pyramid
Bill Todman
Bob Stewart on working with Mark Goodson and Bill Todman
Bob Stewart on asserting his control on The Price is Right
Bob Stewart on Bill Todman
Dick Van Dyke
Bob Stewart on To Tell the Truth panelist Dick Van Dyke
Mike Wallace
Bob Stewart on Mike Wallace, the host of To Tell the Truth's pilot, who turned down the show to pursue journalism
Betty White
Bob Stewart on how the words were chosen for Password and working with celebrity guests