so you think Survivor, Big Brother, and Amazing Race are slick reality shows? Think again...reality TV has been around for a long time!
This one was around for a very long time...first on radio and then several times on TV. Bob Barker hosted for almost twenty years (1956-1975) and to me the reality portion of this show was that they often had servicemen and flew their families in as a surprise. Bob Barker's tagline for this show came at the end, "hoping all your consequences are happy ones"
"Smile! You're on Candid Camera" This show used a hidden camera and a set up to catch people in funny situations. It first came to TV in 1948 and last aired in 2004. The most popular shows were from the 1960 to 1964 seasons when it was in the top ten for all of those years. Sometimes, they "Punk'd" celebrities too...way before "Punk'd" ever showed up on MTV.
Okay...so this one is really the least like a reality show of the bunch. What iit does have in common with reality TV is the hope of a big prize...in the form of being discovered. It was on for two years and awful acts got "gonged". There were some legitimate acts...might be an idea for a list for tonight or tomorrow!
This one aired from 1945 to 1969--and ran five days a week for most of that time. It had the feature "Kids Say the Darndest Things" (which was later a show hosted by Bill Cosby). By the way...bet you didn't know that Art Linkletter was married for almost 75 years...that's a class act in my book!
This one started out on radio and made it's way to TV in 1956 and ran until 1964. The premise was that a woman from the audience would be selected as "Queen for a Day" and be awarded a fabulous prize. Several women might be interviewed and the "applause-o-meter" would be be used to select a winner.
There has always been a place in TV for "real people" in fact some of the earliest shows were made for just such folks.
I used to watch The Gong Show as a kid. It was a favorite in our house.
My daughter, a flight attendant met Art and said he was one of the nicest people in real life. I like these shows on your list.
These bring back some fond memories. I remember adoring the Gong show. H5.
select one here...