Keep Talking (game show) explained

Genre:Panel/Game show
Creator:Herb Wolf
Director:Lloyd Gross
Presenter:Monty Hall
Carl Reiner
Merv Griffin
Country:United States
Num Seasons:2
Producer:Wolf Productions
Location:Studio 51 (CBS)
ABC Studios
Runtime:30 minutes
Channel:CBS
ABC

Keep Talking is an American game show broadcast on CBS and ABC from the summer of 1958 to the spring of 1960. The show was hosted by Monty Hall, Carl Reiner and Merv Griffin.

Production

The show was a hosted panelist/game show produced by Wolf Productions[1] and broadcast in the United States the summer of 1958, and in both the 1958-59 and the 1959-60 primetime television seasons, though on different days, times, and networks each season.

CBS broadcast the show on three different days in various timeslots:[2] [3] [4]

During this CBS run, other celebrities, such as Vincent Price, filled in as host when needed. These shows were filmed at CBS' Studio 51 in New York City.

The show moved to ABC for the 1959-60 season, filmed in the ABC Studios in California with Merv Griffin as host - the show was broadcast back on Tuesday again, but at a later time, 10:30-11 pm (EST). The last show was broadcast May 3, 1960.

Format

Six celebrity panelists, divided into two teams, would try to guess a secret word given to one player on each team. These two players would then proceed to tell a story to their team involving that word, yet not using that word. Narration of the story would jump from team-mate to team-mate, often leaving the new narrator at a loss as to how to continue the story. Little attention was paid to scoring and points—the point was for the panelists to build their ad-lib story seamlessly and entertainingly.

Stars

Among the panelists who appeared during the run of the show were:

Notes and References

  1. News: Adams . Val . News of TV and Radio: 'Keep Talking' May Not On C.B.S.-TV -- Items . April 30, 2023 . The New York Times . December 7, 1958 . X 15. subscription.
  2. Brooks, Tim and March, Earl (2007) "The Complete Directory to Prime Time Network and Cable TV Shows: 1946 - Present", Random House,, p.732
  3. http://www.oldtvtickets.com/archives1/2005/12/keep_talking.html "Keep Talking"
  4. Marc, David "Comic Visions: Television Comedy and American Culture", (Routledge, 1989) page 90,