Winner Take All

Winner Take All was a game show full of firsts (explanation later).

Game format
Two contestants (one of them being a returning champion) competed in this game full of firsts (explanation later). It was a question & answer game show in which contestants signaled to answer each question. Each contestant had a different signal sound. One contestant's signal sound was a bell, and the other had a buzzer signal sound. The first player to signal had a chance to answer. A correct answer scored one point, but an incorrect answer from the player who signaled in first gave his/her opponent a chance to answer. The first player to score three points wins the game, became "Winner Take All" champion, won a prize and faced another player.

Skits & Challenges
When the show became a TV series, it adapted new challenges into the game. For example, contestants watched live skits performed by other cast members, and the contestants were asked about what they saw. Another example saw contestants blindfolded so they wouldn't see an item in front of their podium; they had feel it out in order to guess what it is.

Personnel
1948-1950
 * Host: Bud Collyer
 * Announcer: Bern Bennett
 * Assistant “Glamour Girl”: Roxanne Arlen
 * Producers: Gil Fates, Alice Polver
 * Director: Roland Gillett, Ralph Levy, Paul Monroe, Hugh Rogers, Fred Rickey, Alex Leftwich
 * Set Designers: Mason Arvold, Richard Rychtorik
 * Music Director: Bernard Leighton

1951
 * Host: Barry Gray
 * Announcer: Harry Kramer
 * Costars: Betty Jane Watson, Jerry Austen, Howard Malone
 * Producer: Nat Eisenberg
 * Director: Frances Buss
 * Music Director: Bernard Leighton

1952
 * Host: Bill Cullen
 * Announcer: Don Pardo
 * Assistants: Shelia Connolly, Mario James, Frank Wayne
 * Producer: Peter Arnell
 * Director: Frank Jacoby
 * Music Director - Arlo

Trivia
When the show cancelled in 1952, it moved to another show called Matinee in New York.

Firsts
As mentioned earlier, this was the show full of firsts, because it premiered many, many things, things that would become available on many more game shows.


 * It was the very first game show hosted by Bill Cullen, who started out as the radio version's announcer.
 * It was the very first game show to ever air on the CBS television network.
 * It was the very first game show produced & created by Goodson-Todman enterprises.
 * It was the first game show to have two or more contestants compete against each other.
 * It was the first game show of its kind to have contestants buzz/ring in/signal to answer a question.
 * It was the first game show of its kind to have returning champions.

Merchandise
See Also: Winner Take All/Merchandise

Screen Caps
Barry Gray Era

Episode Status
Only two episodes of Gray's version exist, from April 1951. Cullen's version fared better, with four episodes surviving (February 27–28, March 5, and a fourth episode with a more elaborate set). These six episodes have been seen on GSN at one time or another.

No Wilson, Collyer, or Matinee-era episodes are known to exist. However, the May 1949 CBS sales film "Television Today" (made for potential TV advertisers) shows "Winner Take All" with Bud Collyer and contestants being produced in the CBS studios, provided as example of the kind of fare available on TV at the time.

Links
Winner Take All @ Bill Cullen's World Winner Take All @ The Bill Cullen Homepage