Hollywood Squares: Difference between revisions

[[Bert Parks]] hosted the 1965 pilot of ''Hollywood Squares,'' which was taped at [[Television City|CBS Television City]].<ref>{{YouTube|hrSvImHsUX4|Part 1}}</ref><ref>{{YouTube|syMXK0Gxncc|Part 2}}</ref> A second pilot was taped with comedian [[Sandy Baron]] as host.<ref>Nedeff, Adam. ''Game Shows FAQ: All That’s Left to Know About the Pioneers, the Scandals, the Hosts, and the Jackpots''. Milwaukee: Hal Leonard, 2018, p. 145.</ref> Neither Parks nor Baron were considered to host the series, partly because NBC was “looking for a complete non-entity”, and partly because Baron was considered “too New Yorky”.<ref>”Hollywood Squares”. ''E! True Hollywood Story'', created by Ilya Reznikov, Season 7, Episode 21, E! Networks, 2003.</ref> NBC acquired the rights to the show, which debuted on October 17, 1966, with Peter Marshall as host, a job he held for 15 years. Marshall agreed to host because he did not want rival [[Dan Rowan]] to host.<ref>{{Cite book |last1=Marshall |first1=Peter |url=https://archive.org/details/isbn_9781558539808 |title=Backstage with the Original Hollywood Square |last2=Armstrong |first2=Adrienne |year=2002 |publisher=Rutledge Hill Press |isbn=1558539808 |language=en |author-link=Peter Marshall (entertainer) |url-access=registration}}</ref> ''Hollywood Squares'' was the final addition to a short-lived game show powerhouse block on NBC, which for the next two years also included ''[[Concentration (game show)|Concentration]]'', ''[[Jeopardy!]]'', ''[[You Don't Say!]]'', ''[[Let's Make a Deal]]'', ''[[Match Game]]'' and others. During most of its daytime run, NBC broadcast ''The Hollywood Squares'' at 11:30&nbsp;a.m. [[Eastern time zone|Eastern]]/10:30&nbsp;a.m. [[Central time zone|Central]]; it dominated the ratings until 1976 when it made the first of several time slot moves. The daytime show aired its 3,536th and last episode on June 20, 1980, when it was canceled to make way for a [[The David Letterman Show|talk show]] with [[David Letterman]] that would become a precursor to his ''[[Late Night with David Letterman|Late Night]]'' and ''[[Late Show with David Letterman|Late Show]]'' programs.<ref>{{cite magazine |last1=Poniewozik |first1=James |title=David Letterman, Infinite Jester |url=https://time.com/3858346/david-letterman-infinite-jester/ |magazine=[[Time (magazine)|Time]] |access-date=November 22, 2024}}</ref>