The (New) $25,000 Pyramid (1973–1991)
"The $10,000 Pyramid" (original title)

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

Stars:

Dick Clark, Henry Polic II, Teresa Ganzel

17 wins & 21 nominations.

Cast

Series cast summary:
Dick Clark	...	Himself - Host (1182 episodes, 1973-1988)

Storyline

The object of the game is simple...to get to the top of the Pyramid (aka "Winner's Circle") in the shortest time possible. But to do so, contestants must face celebrities (and vice versa) by naming as many answers in a particular category as possible within 30 seconds. If a contestant wins the main game, they get the right to go to the Winner's Circle to try for the grand prize, which throughout the series has ranged from $10,000 to $25,000. The most popular incarnation of the series has been "The $100,000 Pyramid", where three top contestants who have gone to the pyramid in the shortest amount of time return for a Tournament Of Champions, which the grand prize is $100,000.

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Plot Keywords:

celebrity guests | word association | dollar sign in title | subjectivism | non fiction | 

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Genres:

Game-Show

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Certificate:

TV-G

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

26 March 1973 (USA)

Also Known As:

The $20,000 Pyramid

Filming Locations:

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

Company Credits

Production Co:

American Broadcasting Company (ABC), Basada Inc., Bob Stewart Productions

Technical Specs

Runtime:

30 min 30 min (3212 episodes) (CBS and ABC)

Sound Mix:

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

Color:

Color

Did You Know?

Trivia

On Monday, 23 December 1974, ABC's "$10,000 Pyramid" welcomed a new time-slot (2:00pm Mondays-Fridays [Eastern]) and a new feature called "The Big 7", which if a team picked a category where a special designated card was hidden beneath somewhere on the mini pyramid game board during the main game, the civilian contestant would be eligible to win a bonus prize if he or she was able to get a perfect score of seven points within a round.

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Quotes

Host: For $10/15/20/25/100 Thousand Dollars... here's your first subject... GO!

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Connections

Featured in Splash (1984)

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Soundtracks

"Tuning Up"
Main Title Theme
by Ken Aldin
Performed by Bob Cobert

User Reviews

TV's Most Durable Word Game

Since Bob Stewart left Goodson-Todman in the mid 60s to form his own production company, he has had successes such as Eye Guess, Personality and Three on a Match. But in 1973, he had the biggest hit of his career with The $10,000 Pyramid.

Derived from Password, Stewart loosened up the main game by allowing a player descriptive clues to get their partner to guess the word without revealing part of the answer. The winning team goes to The Winner's Circle where the clue giver faces the giant pyramid and gives clues to their partner so they can identify six subjects in 60 seconds. This is what makes Pyramid one of TV's greatest game shows. It is the best bonus round of any game show ever invented because it's 60 seconds of drama and suspense, two important elements needed for a successful game show.

Another element that made Pyramid a hit was host Dick Clark. The American Bandstand host brought to the proceedings something no other host has done. If a contestant loses the big money, he would give clues that would have helped the contestant win. He was the type of host who cared about the players and wanted them to win. Also hosting the various versions were Bill Cullen, John Davidson, Donny Osmond and Mike Richards. They did a really good job as hosts.

Also, there were many celebrities who were outstanding at the game. Some of the best Pyramid players were Soupy Sales, Anita Gillette, Betty White, Nipsey Russell and Henry Polic II.

Since its debut in 1973, the top prize has risen to 25, 50 and 100 thousand and there was also a version simply titled Pyramid and also The Pyramid. It's TV's most durable word game and it will put you in The Winner's Circle.