"The $10,000 Pyramid" (1973) TV series 1973-1992

Directors:

Bruce Burmester
Mike Gargiulo

Seasons:

1 | 4 | 5 | 6 | unknown

Release Date:

26 March 1973 (USA)

Genre:

Game-Show

Plot:

Two contestants, each with a celebrity partner, must guess words from their partners' clues; then the roles are reversed. Winners face the pyramid.

Plot Keywords:

Celebrity Guests | Word Association | Dollar Sign In Title | Subjectivism | Non Fiction

Awards:

17 wins & 17 nominations

Cast

Adrienne Barbeau	...	Herself (55 episodes, 1974-1991)
Michael McKean	...	Himself (48 episodes, 1977-1985)
LeVar Burton	...	Himself / ... (46 episodes, 1977-1986)
Jo Anne Worley	...	Herself (35 episodes, 1973-1991)
Audrey Landers	...	Herself (35 episodes, 1982-1991)
Dick Clark	...	Host / ... (34 episodes, 1973-1988)
Henry Polic II	...	Himself (33 episodes, 1984-1992)
Melody Thomas Scott	...	Herself / ... (32 episodes, 1983-1991)
Elaine Joyce	...	Herself (31 episodes, 1978-1986)
Grant Goodeve	...	Himself (30 episodes, 1978-1985)
Michael J. Fox	...	Himself (30 episodes, 1983-1984)
Soupy Sales	...	Himself / ... (28 episodes, 1973-1991)
Debralee Scott	...	Herself (28 episodes, 1976-1980)
Ken Kercheval	...	Himself (26 episodes, 1980-1991)
Stuart Pankin	...	Himself (26 episodes, 1986-1991)
Didi Conn	...	Herself (25 episodes, 1978-1985)
Lauri Hendler	...	Herself (25 episodes, 1983-1987)
Richard Kline	...	Himself (25 episodes, 1983-1986)
Susan Ruttan	...	Herself (25 episodes, 1986-1991)
Robin Riker	...	Herself (25 episodes, 1987-1991)
Constance McCashin	...	Herself (24 episodes, 1981-1988)

Also Known As:

New $25,000 Pyramid (USA) (new title)
The $100,000 Pyramid (USA) (syndication title)
The $20,000 Pyramid (USA) (new title)
The $25,000 Pyramid (USA) (syndication title)
The $50,000 Pyramid (USA) (new syndication title)
The New $100,000 Pyramid (USA) (new syndication title)

Runtime:

30 min (4270 episodes)

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Sound Mix:

Mono (1973-1987) | Stereo (1987-1992)

Certification:

USA:TV-G

Filming Locations:

ABC Studios, Manhattan, New York City, New York, USA

Company:

American Broadcasting Company (ABC)

Trivia:

Monday, January 19, 1976 saw the ABC daytime show renamed simply as "The $20,000 Pyramid" with its very slightly revised cash prize and game winning structure. The first celebrity guests on the re-titled daytime show were Jo Anne Worley and Bill Cullen.

Quotes:

[last lines]
Host: For now, Dick Clark.
[salutes]
Host: So long.

Movie Connections:

Featured in Nick of Time (1995)

Soundtrack:

Tuning Up

Bubble Gum For the Tired Mind

This was the perfect type of game show for the person coming home from work at the end of a long day. While it was a challenging game for the contestants, the viewer could just sit & watch & be mind numb when necessary.

Dick Clark made his first move from being America's teenager into being Americas game show host with this show. Actually he is pretty good at it as he would always keep things moving along at a brisk pace.

Each program would have two contestants & two celebrities teamed against each other & competing for the right to get into the winners circle. The team that got to the winners circle (after winning some cash for winning the game) would have a chance to climb a 6 subject pyramid in 60 seconds & win $10,000 (later 20, 25, 50 & then 100). The rules were more stringent on the pyramid than during the regular game.

Certain celebrities were excellent at playing the game. Some were not, which in a way was telling as the celebrities were exactly the same as the contestants. To me, it was always exciting watching a team win the 60 second round. Think the best ever done was around 25 seconds which was amazing.

This game was word association, & actually took the concept from a previous game, Password, only put it into hyper speed by trying to do everything in 30 second or 60 second bites. It worked really well considering it ran non-stop pretty much for 19 seasons & recently has been revived with new syndicated versions again & again.