Tattletales

Tattletales was billed as "the game of celebrity gossip". The show itself is a reboot (and loosely based) of the short-lived 1969-70 syndicated game show He Said, She Said which in turn was based on an unsold 1966 pilot called It Had to Be You.

Game format
The game was played in two halves: in each half, one half of the couples (all of the same sex) wore headphones and sat in an enclosed room on the left of the set and were being viewed by television monitors while the other half sat behind the playing desk in front of the audience. The show went through two formats.

1st Format
Convy read a question to the spouses sitting at the desk. A spouse would then buzz-in to answer that question and give a one-word or two-word clue to the answer that he/she thought the mate would recognize. The isolated mates' monitors would then be turned on and Convy would then repeat the question followed by the clue. The mate would then buzz-in (using a buzzer of his/her own) if he/she thought his/her spouse gave that clue and gave his/her answer. If it matched the spouse's answer, the couple won money for their rooting section according to how long the clue is (one-word clue $100, two-word clue $50). Two questions of that type were asked.

After those two questions, Convy then read a mini multiple choice question called the "Tattletale Quickie". Each spouse in turn answered the question. Then after each spouse gave an answer, the isolated mates gave their own answers and if they matched, they won $100 for their rooting section.

2nd Format
Later in the run, the format was changed to have all "Tattletale Quickies" for the entire show. Because of the new format, they didn't need to call them "Tattletale Quickies" anymore. Also the scoring format changed; each question had a pot of $150 with the money split between two or all three couples if they get it right. If all three match they score $50, if two of the couples matched they score $75, but if only one couple matched that couple won the entire pot. If no couple made a match, the money was carried over into the next question. Four questions (sometimes more in case of extra time) were asked with the roles reversed after the first two, and the final question was worth double or $300 to the only couple who matched, $150 for two couples, and $100 for all three.

Money for Rooting Sections
In all versions, all three "rooting sections" (one-third of the studio audience, divided into the colors of red, yellow (sometimes nicknamed "banana"), and blue) divided the money their respective couples won for them. The couple with the most money at the end of the show won the game, earning their rooting section a bonus of $1,000. If the game ended in a tie between two or among all three couples, the bonus was split ($500 for two rooting sections, $334 for all three).

Cash prizes on game shows are typically awarded to contestants in the form of a check, mailed weeks after a show has been taped. Because of the impracticality (e.g., postal costs) of doing this for an entire studio audience, Tattletales kept a check-cutting machine in the studio and distributed the money to the audience members on their way out immediately after the show.

Personnel

 * Host: Bert Convy
 * Guest Host: Bob Barker, Jack Narz, Gene Rayburn, Richard Dawson
 * Announcer: Jack Clark, Gene Wood, John Harlan, Johnny Olson
 * Executive Producer: Ira Skutch
 * Producer/Editor: Paul Alter
 * Set Designer: James Agazzi
 * Music: Score Productions, Edd Kalehoff

Broadcast History
CBS Daytime
 * February 18, 1974-June 13, 1975 (CBS Weekdays at 4:00 p.m.)
 * June 16-August 08, 1975 (CBS Weekdays at 11:00 a.m.)
 * August 11-November 26, 1975 (CBS Weekdays at 3:30 p.m.)
 * December 01, 1975-December 09, 1977 (CBS Weekdays at 4:00 p.m.)
 * December 12, 1977-March 31, 1978 (CBS Weekdays at 10:00 a.m.)
 * January 18, 1982-June 01, 1984 (CBS Weekdays at 4:00 p.m.)

Syndication
 * September 1977-September 1978 (Weekly, usually at 7:30 p.m.)

Trivia
This was Bert Convy's first permanent job as game show host.

International Versions
Main Article: Tattletales/International

Merchandise
Main Article: Tattletales/Merchandise

Photos
Main Article: Tattletales/Photos

In Popular Culture
Tattletales has been referenced, mentioned or spoofed in the following:


 * The Perfect Position (1975) an episode can be seen on television in black & white.


 * SCTV (Lust for Paint/Tv Episode/December 12, 1977) as Celebrity Tattletales.

Episode Status
See Also: Tattletales/Episode Guide

This series exists in its entirety, and has aired on GSN and Buzzr at various times in the past. However, they never reran the syndication version at all.

Stations
These are some of the stations that carried the 1977-78 syndicated version of "Tattletales".

New York – WCBS

Los Angeles – KNXT

Chicago - WBBM

Philadelphia – WCAU

St. Louis - KMOX

Green Bay - WBAY

Milwaukee - WISN

Minneapolis - WCCO

Detroit - WJBK

Orlando - WCPX

Scranton, PA - WDAU

Fresno, CA - KMJ-TV

Omaha - WOWT

Quad Cities - WOC

Jackson, MS - WAPT

Cincinnati - WXIX

Sioux Falls - KELO

Kansas City - WDAF

Waco, TX - KWTX

Yakima, WA - KNDU

Link
Tattletales description by Game Show Network (via Internet Archive)

Tattletales @ BertConvy.net (via Internet Archive)

Remembering Bert Convy and Tattletales