Masquerade Party
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Masquerade Party was an American television game show. During its original run from 1952 to 1960, the show appeared at various times on all three major networks (ABC, NBC, and CBS).
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[edit] Basic Information
The basic idea of the show was that a panel of celebrities would meet with another celebrity that was in heavy make-up and/or costume. The make-up and costume would always provide clues as to who the celebrity was. (An example from the show's 1974 run: Actor Gary Burghoff appeared as a robot with radar, alluding to his role as Radar O'Reilly in M*A*S*H.) Then there would be a round of yes-or-no questions from the panel, who would then get another clue about the person's identity. The panel would finally try to guess the identity, and the person would be revealed.
[edit] 1952-1960 version
The original show had several hosts during its run, including Bud Collyer, newsman Douglas Edwards, most notably Eddie Bracken, Robert Q. Lewis, and Bert Parks. Well-known panelists included Pat Carroll, Sam Levenson, Audrey Meadows, Ogden Nash, Betsy Palmer and Jonathan Winters. Comedian Allan Sherman was the producer, and Stefan Hatos was the executive producer. This incarnation was ranked #8 on TV Guide's 2001 list of the 50 greatest game shows of all time.
[edit] 1974-1975 Version
A syndicated revival was produced by Stefan Hatos and Monty Hall in 1974, hosted by Richard Dawson and announced by Jay Stewart. The basic premise was the same as the original show. Bill Bixby, Lee Meriweather and Nipsey Russell were regular panelists. Col. Harland Sanders of Kentucky Fried Chicken fame made an appearance as a celebrity guest. The 70s reprisal was placed mainly in evening time slots across the nation and it failed to attract decent ratings. It was canceled within a year in September 1975, when host Richard Dawson was simultaneously hired as the first emcee of Family Feud, which at the time was a project just in the works.
[edit] External links
- Masquerade Party (1952-1960 version) at the Internet Movie Database
- Masquerade Party (1974 version) at the Internet Movie Database
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