I am here because I am reading Mr. Lemoncello's Very First Game. He mentioned that he liked watching this show back in the day, and helped inspire him to make and host his own rebus puzzles with others.
Hugh Downs died today at age 99. Mom used to tell me I called him Do Downs. My favorite game show as a youngster. NBC, 10:30 weekdays. When we played the table game, I used to use Hugh Downs' catch phrases, like "Is right!" and "The board goes back."
I saw these original Concentration games in the early 1960s with Hugh. Maybe from 1958, when I was watching "Maverick" and other great tv series of that fabulous tv era. I'm sorry to hear of Hugh's passing, but he lived a far longer and better life at 99 than almost anyone else could hope for. He had the record for most hours on television until Regis Philbin passed him for that honor. Regis is now also gone in 2020. R.I.P. to both those fine gentlemen and game show masters!
On YT I watched an early 1970s version of Whats My Line . Barbara Walters was the mystery guest dressed in a mini skirt (that was a long time ago) . Ms Arlene Francis was on the panel . Anyway at the end when Walters gushed her admiration for the most well informed woman she knew, Ms Francis . And Ms Francis with equal fervor gushed how much she admired the young news woman Ms. Walters . I thought about the two mutual admirers of different generations and i throught what did have in common . They both worked with Hugh Downs !
My favorite game show when I was a kid. I recently bought a 1970 version of this game on eBay, excellent condition, with all the pieces. Brought a lot of memories back. Hugh Downs will be 99 years old on Valentine's Day 2020.
THANK YOU SOOOOOOO MUCH!!!!!!!! Best Memory Feelings EVER!!!!!!!!!! Really MISS these BLESSED WHOLESOME BRIGHT DAYS during a wonderful childhood world!
I remembered this as a kid. I was angry watching classic concentration with Trebek as I knew there was an earlier version. I was watching the later episodes late 60's early 70's and did not know the host. I see the Trebek version did not last long. Hoping GSN or Buzzr can find it and run episodes.
We almost got our wish a few years back ... NBC was planning an hour-long version of Concentration to go against the revival of Let's Make A Deal. I don't know whether a pilot had actually been commissioned or not, but the idea died at the last minute because the news division wanted to do a fourth hour of "Today."
And speaking of game shows that never got revived, I got the home version of "Concentration" for free from one of the trash pick finds. The pieces are almost intact, except the play money and the numbers 3 and 22 are missing. It's a fun game, but I have not seen it before, but I remember "Classic Concentration" with Alex Trebek from "Jeopardy" and it was a great show than the original.
NBC could always try again. If reports of Megyn Kelly's hour of Today being a ratings dud are true, they could always scrap that, move Kathie Lee & Hoda up an hour & there would be room for an hour of Concentration. However, NBC has been out of the daytime game show business since 1994, so they might be a bit rusty.
@@ericandy88 Even ABC hasn't been in the daytime game show business in years neither. Who knows? Maybe one of these days game shows would make a comeback in daytime TV. After all they're much cheaper than soap operas.
@@tribblegals5365 TODAY is a cash cow for NBC and why it's four hours. Add in "Access Live" (while not an official NBC show airs almost entirely on NBC stations) and Days and NBC has six hours of daytime programming there. Most if not all NBC Owned and Operated stations also air Steve Harvey and Ellen, so that makes it difficult to do a new version unless it went to another network, as NBC affiliates often also now do an 11:00 AM or Noon newscast and start afternoon newscasts at 4:00 PM. Maybe it could come back as a two-hour prime time show on Saturday nights, but even there it would have to likely be all cash now.
I'm with you 100%. NBC needs to cut down The Today Show back to three hours so a reboot of Concentration will air for an hour. We will see a lot of interesting prizes for the new Concentration and matching two Wild Cards will reward $1000 in cash. All Roker would be a great host.
Until "The Price Is Right" set the mark for a daytime game show run (42 seasons), "Concentration" once held the mark with 15 seasons (1958-73). In addition to Hugh Downs, these people also took their turns at emcee's podium-Jack Barry,Ed McMahon and Bob Clayton. Art James and Bill Mazer (better known as a sportswriter in New York) worked as fill-in hosts. In 1967, Mazer hosted the shortlived "Reach For The Stars". Barry was fired just weeks after the premiere in the wake of the quiz show scandals. He was implicated. Some years ago, NBC was thinking of doing a revival of "Concentration" as an hour-long show, with a high-tech game board, but the idea was scrapped when the network's news department opted for a fourth hour of "Today" instead.
I still like this version better than "Classic Concentration." Sometimes" teching" things up, actually makes them worse. Sounds foolish, i know. The new game seems overproduced.
I know, right?! I turn 39 this year and have fond memories of watching “Classic Concentration” with my mom in the mornings when it was in reruns on NBC summer mornings in the late’80s/early ‘90s while eating breakfast. *But* I have to agree - I think the physical blocks and the sound effects of the Narz “Concentration” make for a superior presentation. I’ve been watching the Narz version on the digital network Buzzr, I guess it’s the first time it’s been on television in a long while, and the first time I watched it I was like, “This is so much better!”
The early version of Concentration in which the board has "booby traps" like Forfeit 1 Gift & "zonk" prizes. Fortunately, they were removed in the later version, Classic Concentration.
I was in grade school when this show went on the air; I never heard the host's name clearly. My sister and I called him DO DO!" in sync with the announcer giving his name.
Loved this show when I was a kid. If they brought it back, it would have to be close to the same... no silliness or glitz. Something like how Jeopardy is produced. Not sure today's audience would be entertained.
I wonder if the guy was gay. Hugh questioned him about it and he said “no plans”. Or maybe he had the good sense to know that marriage ruins your life.
SPOILERS Never heard of Walter Slezak before this watching. And I had the 2nd puzzle long before time was up--that wagon-like vehicle on the top row, I realize, is a surrey.
November 1966. Norm Blumenthal, who designed the rebuses, was adament about making sure that the rebus images would NOT be in color; he wanted them to continue to be difficult to solve.
@Tomkat 56 It's up to NBC whether or not to bring back Concentration since the network owns the rights to the format, for what I've read. NBC also brought back Will & Grace, which they also own the rights to that show as well.
This program reminds one that the network took at 15 min station ID break . for a half hour show . This segmented different sponsors . On Concentration ended the first 15 min station witha pan of the audience with that weird music playing while at the end of the show they would pan the audience again and weird music with the credits including the various of the various companies who contributed participates game prizes . Thaes credits were so fast one would have to be a speed reader to read .
it was daytime in the 50s even the top shows of the day were mellow and low key seeming. just the tone of the times, funny thing is that the show rarely changed by the time the last show ended in 73, by then game shows were getting bigger and bolder with big sets and bold music themes
It may have been live. Many daytime shows only had a Hammond organ and the organist would improvise. I only hear timpani and an organ and Celeste. This would mean only 2 musicians to pay.
Do you have any records of past contestants, and when they appeared on Concentration? I wish I could make contact with a contestant from September 4th, 1959. Any suggestions? Thank you!
Wow, good luck on that. Only about 12 of these original 1958-73 shows have survived. NBC owns the Concentration franchise. Best bet would be to write them and ask for the archives department. Unless the contestant appeared in the 1959 show that Art James hosted (here on RU-vid), it doesn't look good to find any video of it; however the archives dept. might have info about who appeared, and when.
I had the home game- it could not have cost more than $10 in its day. Now it could even be an app. Could you show have this in black-and-white because it is known that huge Downs is colorblind? I only watch the first 10 minutes of this episode, we just had maybe six or eight ports of the puzzle revealed, I couldn't watch it any longer because I have to concentrate, get it, concentrate? On other priorities. But my guess is, and I did not cheat, the answer would be Walter Mitty. Hugh? IS RIGHT!!!
I was born in 1959, and used to get almost each and every home game. I think they ran about $3-4 in toy stores, not expensive by today's standards, but I sure was happy when my folks would get one. Also....NBC had color at the time, but Concentration was not in color until 1966 (outside of a brief primetime run in 1961). Color-blindness had nothing to do with it. It was Norm Blumenthal (who designed each and every rebus puzzle) who did not want color, because he felt the puzzles would be too easy. Even after color, the pictures in the puzzle were still of one color.
