Concentration (October 15, 1958): Part 2a

[@saml760]

thank you,thank you,thank you so much for this graet piece of lost history. i can hardly wait for part 3!!!

[@altfactor]

If you see an image of the box of the first edition (late 1958) of the "Concentration" home game, you'll see a drawing of two "contestants", a small image of the "Rollamatic Puzzle Changer", and a larger image of the Concentration board in the studio. The background of the drawing is a checkerboard pattern very similar to that in the studio during the earliest years of the show.

[@fromthesidelines]

That episode of "CONCENTRATION" featuring Noreen Wald, after Kennedy's assasination and funeral, was telecast on November 26, 1963; ALL commercial programming on all networks were pre-empted from 2pm(et) on November 22, through the end of the broadcast day on November 25th.

[@WarioBarker]

Actually, plenty of other episodes exist from this run -- Steve Beverly reported a few years ago that the entire 1958-73 runs were held, intact, by NBC.

[@MikeTeaveeJr]

Hugh showed viewers a card of the first puzzle on the first show, "It Happened One Night"; later redone in color by Steve Ryan for the show's 30th anniversary show in August 1988.

[@WarioBarker]

The show aired at 11:30 AM from its start, and moved to 11:00 AM on 9/9/62. The series was probably done live, or at least taped close to airing date, for at least the first 5-6 years. According to Noreen Wald, who appeared on the show in November 1963, the episode immediately following JFK's assassination (presumably 11/25/63) had both herself (as returning champ) and Hugh Downs visibly shaken.

[@WarioBarker]

I'm pretty certain this isn't the Premiere. The Barry version aired from October 30 to November 20, 1958. The fact that the sample rebus here is the first rebus from the Premiere may imply that this is a pretty early episode. No mention is made of Barry-Enright in this episode, so it's most likely from after NBC bought the show from them.

[@WarioBarker]

My apologies -- I meant to say that with the guess that the champ in this episode carried over from the Pilot, that it does open up the possibility of this being the Premiere. I say this, since the date is "Fall 1958" and the sample rebus ("It Happened One Night") has been referred to as the first one used on the Premiere. As it is used here, albeit *prior* to the game, this implies either a very early episode -- or, as "beentheredonetht" has brought for consideration, the Premiere.

[@ChrisK42]

WarioBarker88 Just to let you know, there have been a few episodes of the Jack Narz version uploaded, thanks to Wink Martindale .

[@WarioBarker]

* NBC: About 7-10 or so, ranging from 1958-1969 (including several Challenge Of Champions episodes and a couple of Christmas episodes). I have no clue whether 1970-1973 episodes circulate, although the final segment of the Finale is elsewhere on this site. * Narz: I know of one complete episode (1978), plus about 3-4 clips of varying lengths (one of which is from 1974).

[@bhayes06]

I think they were. BTW, that wasn't Bob Clayton announcing, it was Art James; Bob didn't join the until 1963.

[@dan1701a]

I should have said "the premiere of the daytime version." But the folks who say the first daytime episode included the puzzle "It Happened One Night" could also be mistaken, since nobody knows whether or not any other episodes exist.

[@WarioBarker]

It's *possible*, but I don't think so. I don't know if Barry-Enright shows promoted themselves as being "A Jack Barry{-Dan Enright} Production" during the 1950s, but I know for certain that this episode does not. Although it *does* raise a plausible scenario, if not a strange one -- although, since Barry-Enright did pilots for Twenty-One and Tic-Tac-Dough (with an odd format), this episode may very well be the Premiere. Can anybody confirm whether or not this *is* the Premiere?

[@dan1701a]

It's funny, if you listen in the background of Hugh and Bob toward the end of this clip, you can hear the sounds of the board being loaded up for the next game. Which brings an interesting question: Were the early runs of the daytime "Concentration" done live?

[@dan1701a]

Another question (probably rhetorical, but anyway...): If this is, indeed, the first episode, how can "Bob" be a returning champion, since no episodes had aired? Unless he was on the night time version with Jack Barry...

[@pap4456]

with timpani!