Everybody's Talking
| Everybody's Talking | |
|---|---|
| Created by | Jack Barry Jerome Schnur |
| Presented by | Lloyd Thaxton |
| Narrated by | Wink Martindale Charlie O'Donnell |
| Country of origin |  United States |
| Production | |
| Running time | 30 minutes |
| Original release | |
| Network | ABC |
| Release | February 6 – December 29, 1967 |
Everybody's Talking was a game show which aired on ABC from February 6 to December 29, 1967. Former dance-party host Lloyd Thaxton was the host; Wink Martindale and Charlie O'Donnell were the announcers. Thaxton typically closed each episode by saying, "Keep watching, and keep listening, because everybody's talking!"
Veteran producer Jack Barry created this show during a brief period working for Goodson-Todman. Due to lingering bad publicity concerning his possible involvement in the rigging of Twenty-One and Tic-Tac-Dough in the late 1950s, he asked that his name be kept off the credits. Jerome Schnur Productions packaged the show instead.
Everybody's Talking is notable as being the last new black and white series to air on commercial network television in December 1967.
Gameplay
The object of the game was for three contestants to watch a film of people on the street making short descriptions of a person, place, or object. The point value of each round started at 100, then counted down one point approximately every second. The first player to buzz in with a guess as to what "everybody's talking" about froze the point value of the round. If the other two players had a guess, they had to buzz in and make it before the subject was revealed (and with the point value frozen, they didn't know when this would be). The player with the correct guess (if any) got the points, and subsequent rounds were played in the same manner until one player scored at least 100 points. That player received $1 for every point earned and went on to play the bonus round, in which a correct guess doubled the point value to form a cash payoff when the film was stopped.
By Summer, the contestants were replaced by three celebrities playing for viewers at home; the program opened with each drawing a postcard backstage before entering the studio. The object remained the same, with the first to reach 100 points also winning a prize for that home viewer (the other two home viewers received a consolation prize).
Revival
In 1973, Barry revived the show as Hollywood's Talking with three contestants trying to guess what a number of celebrities were talking about. If a player made a correct guess during the first one-third of the film, s/he won $150; during the second third, $100; during the last third, $50. The first player to score $250 went on to a bonus round, identifying short descriptions for additional cash.
This show is notable as the first national hosting job for Geoff Edwards, later host of Jackpot! and The New Treasure Hunt. It aired on CBS from March 26 to June 22, 1973 and was replaced by one of the most popular game shows of the '70s - Match Game.