My Mind Went Blank: A Look Back at ‘Match Game’ (Photos)

This summer, ABC will attempt to resurrect one of the most legendary game shows of all-time: “Match Game.” During its run in the 1970s on CBS, “Match Game” became a roaring after-school success with its relaxed atmosphere and bawdy humor that made it feel more like a cocktail party than a game show. Before Alec Baldwin takes over hosting duties, let’s look back at the ingredients that made the original a smash hit that has yet to be replicated.

“Match Game” started as a straight-laced NBC show in 1962, with two contestants trying to match answers with a celebrity. The show nearly got cancelled as viewers found it to be staid and boring.

Shortly after NBC cancelled the show in 1963, the producers decided to run its final tapings with more risqué prompts like “John always liked to put butter on his _____.” The ratings rebounded, and NBC kept the show running for another six years.

The “Match Game” that most people know today was born in 1973, and like its predecessor, it started with no-nonsense answers before taking a wacky turn. In this format, contestants were asked to fill in the blank of a raunchy joke and would get points for each celebrity whose answer matched theirs.

The show quickly gained a rabid popularity among teens thanks to a regular stable of naughty stars.
First was the show’s host, Gene Rayburn, who would keep the show’s chaos in line with a sneaky grin and avuncular warmth. He would become known for shooting down a lame answer from a celeb with the phrase, “That’s a rotten answer!”

Rayburn would also get into spats with the stagehands and cameramen when they didn’t do what he wanted them to, sometimes even trying to grab the camera from their hands and climbing over the audience to get to the crew in the back.

Leading the celebrity panel was actress Brett Somers, a grumpy lady who would often snap at the audience when they booed her answers. Like Rayburn, she also had a rivalry with the crew, namely the guy who would sound the buzzer whenever her answer didn’t match.

Sitting next to Somers was her frequent comedic banter partner, Charles Nelson Reilly. Reilly would often come to the show smoking a pipe and wearing the most outlandish 70s outfits you could imagine.

Many of the show’s most off-color jokes would come from the fact that Reilly was openly gay. One prompt said “Charles Nelson Reilly is dressing up for Halloween as _____.” Somers wrote down “a fairy,” to which Reilly responded with a card reading, “I didn’t flinch.” For his part, Charles said he would dress up for Halloween as Somers.

Completing the group of regulars was Richard Dawson, who spun his time on “Match Game” into becoming the host of “Family Feud.” Dawson quickly became a favorite amongst contestants for trying harder than any other panelist to write answers most likely to get a match.

Of the semi-regulars on the show, by far the most popular was future internet sensation Betty White. Many were surprised to see her subvert her wholesome “Golden Girls” reputation with SNL skits and Snickers commercials, but “Match Game” fans know she’s been naughty for years. When Somers once said she was the first to finish with her answer, White responded, “You were finished a long time ago, sweetheart!”

Even as the naughty jokes lost their edge, “Match Game” found lasting power in the familiarity between Rayburn and the regular stars.