I have no idea why I found myself watching The Newlywed Game. The series debuted on July 11, 1966, on ABC’s daytime schedule, and somewhere along the way, I began watching it. I was not quite eight when it first aired, and had to be older by the time I found it.
Back in the 1960s, daytime television tended to be a mix of programming, most of it local until after lunch, when the New York network affiliates began running soap operas and game shows. Often home sick, I first discovered the great sitcoms of the previous era as they were rerun on the independent channels WNEW and WPIX. They also ran all manner of animated fare, from Kimba the white Lion to Hercules. They also aired the early Supermarionation work from Gerry & Sylvia Anderson.
“From Hollywood, it’s THE NEWLYWED GAME! And now, meet our newlywed couples for today/And here are today’s newlyweds: (insert couples). And here’s the star of The Newlywed Game, BOB EUBANKS!”
The show was a success, becoming the longest-running game show (July 11, 1966-Dec. 20, 1974) until the record was shattered by ABC’s Family Feud. Hosted by the affable Bob Eubanks, it seeped into the American consciousness and has since spawned numerous revivals, as well as international editions in Australia, France, Germany, Indonesia, Italy, Poland, Spain, Tunisia, and the United Kingdom. It was named the 10th-greatest game show ever by TV Guide (remember the television bible?).
While famous as a Chuck Barris production, it was actually created by Robert Nicholson and E. Roger Muir. Barris composed “Summertime Guy” in 1962 and had an instrumental version, styled after the popular Herb Albert, which was performed as the show’s theme by Trumpets Olé.
Couples had to be married for less than two years to appear as contestants, skewing towards younger adults. In the first round, the men answered questions while their wives were offstage; when the wives returned, they had to match their responses to earn points. The second round ran in reverse, with each round answering with a high-point bonus question. As a tiebreaker, each couple had to guess their point total in advance. The couple with the highest point total won the day and were awarded a prize that included appliances, furniture, home entertainment systems, a trailer, motorcycles, and trips (complete with luggage and a camera).
Two things are immediately associated with the show. First, back in those days, you couldn’t say “making love” or “having sex”, so to get around the censors, Eubanks asked couples about “making whoopee”. The phrase stuck and endured.
The other was the response to the question, “Where is the strangest place you ever made whoopee?” And this one woman, bless her heart, said, “In the butt”. This has been rerun often enough to be proven to have actually happened, leading some to determine whether the show picked low-IQ couples for entertainment purposes. And yes, the differing responses did lead to some divorces, but a verified number could not be found.
Most of the original run has been lost to the ages, with just a handful surviving, including the 1974 finale. It also generated some interesting licensing, such as a board game from Hasbro and The Newlywed Game Cookbook, compiled by Jody Cameron Malis, with Eubanks’ picture on the cover.
Apparently, it was revived repeatedly, running in syndication with Eubanks hoisting until 1988 when he stepped down.
Interestingly, same-sex couples began appearing in 2009, and in a celebrity edition, George Takei and his husband, Brad, won, donating their $10,000 prize to the Japanese American Museum.
I can’t say anything about these subsequent versions because my interests had changed, and it no longer seemed relevant to me. I see it parodied now and then, beginning with Guy Smiley on Sesame Street in 1970, In Living Color, with Jim Carrey as Eubanks, and even Family Guy. There was even a use of the show, complete with Eubanks, on The Brady Brides. That people now play the game at bridal showers, and its repeated resurrections speak to its universal appeal and enduring nature.
#Tags: ABC, Bob Eubanks, Brad Takei, Chuck Barris, Family Guy, George Takei, In Living COlor, Jim Carrey, Sesame Street, The Brady Brides, The Newlywed Game, TV Guide