As I recall some of the game shows were sponsored by Camel and other cigarette companies so I’d wonder if the panelists were encouraged to smoke.
See Chronos, you think creatively-- outside the box, as some would say. Contestants on The Family Feud would occasionally come up with original answers. This does not win you any money. Everyone knows this so the idea is to find the answer that most people out of 100 would say. Three totally unconventional answers in a row is unprecedented and funny.
Answers that could have been winners: Toupee, sugar and soap.
It was funny, damnit! Richard Dawson was in tears!.
It’s not really funny, but does anyone else remember a guy that was on Wheel of Fortune about 6 or 7 years ago that was autistic? I think his name was Raymond so I’ve always compared him to Hoffman’s character, but the guy won tons of money and was kind of cocky in his own kind of way. I remember for the final puzzle, he used “Q,X,Z, and I” for his letters (of course none came up), and Pat just knew that the guy was going to get it right.
Did he?
Of course he did. If he didn’t, it would be like Hoffman incorrectly stating the number of toothpicks on the floor.
Nothing better than cocky game show contestants. Like the first millionaire winner calling his dad to brag (though that was the easiest million dollar question ever…)
I think the old woman was from that.
“Forget your troubles, come on, get happy, (dentures fall out)”
From The 365 Stupidest Things Ever Said calendar of my hubby’s:
Louie Anderson (New Family Feud): Name a holiday that always falls on a Monday.
Contestant: Easter.
THAT was, to me, the single most funny scene of the entire evening. I HOWLED for a good 15 minutes solid. Seriously. I was having trouble breathing I was laughing so hard.
The next morning, I’m at the dentist’s office. We get to talking about it, and I’m gone again. I was laughing so hard that I could be heard out in the waiting room. That lasted a good five minutes.
That wasn’t funny, that was just disgusting. And sad.
Oh come on, that’s hilarious! I’m laughing right now just picturing it! Was the clip real? I mean, that wasn’t supposed to have been part of her act, was it?
I’m amazed to hear that the popsicle Gong Show act actually aired! I used to watch that show every day but I only remember seeing it in The Gong Show Movie.
I’ve always wanted to see the never-aired episode of Press Your Luck where the guy won like $100,000. He had taped the show for several weeks beforehand and discovered that the board lights weren’t random, but a long repeating pattern which he memorized. So he never landed on the ‘whammy’. The producers went nuts, the game lasted over an hour, and after finding out from the network lawyers that what he did wasn’t cheating and was perfectly legal they had to award him the money (I think he later lost it all in real estate). Later, they made the lights truely random and put a $50K cap on winnings.
It wasn’t part of the act. They just fell out.
I missed the show. Did they mention the time an elephant was on “Price is Right” (they wanted something outrageous to bid on)?
The curtain was opened to reveal the elephant relieving itself? If that was not on, that should go in the second installment.
Technically, it wasn’t “never-aired.” It aired once, as a two-part episode. It apparently never aired since, and I am unsure if it is part of the package the Game Show Network is currently showing. At one time, they were actually planning to make a movie out of the incident-I don’t know if they still are. Some clips of the incident appear here
Not too outrageous, but on the Richard Dawson Family Feud, in the final round, the question was “Name a dish made out of ground beef.”, and the contestant said “frying pan”.
I didn’t see it myself but my friend told me Dickie D. couldn’t control his laughter!
What else?
On the new Whammy, the question started out something like “The U.S. Government recently started minting gold coins with Sacajawea on them. What…”
and at that point a contestant buzzed in to answer
“A dollar!”
"…what was the name of the first woman to appear on U.S. currency? Was it…
A Dollar
Susan B. Anthony
Betsy Ross
" 
From Hollywood Squares last Friday, it ws one of those shows for the books. Robert Klein got called on six times before someone won, then in the second game:
Tom asked Gilbert Goldfried “Who is more apt to get a headache, a married woman or a single one?” Half the audience screamed “Married.” Gilbert was totally stunned and Tom started laughing so hard he got up and started to leave.
The answer was single.
There was also a Hollywood Squares where Gilbert Goldfried was called on 10 times cause nobody would agree with him when he was right or disagree when wrong. He kept saying “You fool” every time.
I saw the two-part episode, so I can confirm that it did indeed air. Nothing wrong with it, he didn’t bend the rules; he just figured out the pattern. Read his story on the page mobo85 linked to, it’s interesting.
On the British Version of Family Feud (Called Family Fortunes here) the question was: Name a dangerous race.
Answer: The arabs.
Two cigarette-sponsored shows were “I’ve Got a Secret” and “What’s My Line?” I’ve seen these on Gameshow Network’s Black & White Sunday Night and was amazed each contestant received a carton of cigarettes! Winstons, I think.
No. The producer of the show mentioned on alt.tv.game-shows that CBS and/or Bob Barker will not willing to give The Price is Right clips to the special. Some sort of exclusivity clause.