Number Please


Aired
ABC Daytime, Tuesday, January 31, 1961 – Friday, December 29, 1961
Run time
30 Minutes
Host
Bud Collyer
Announcers
Ralph Paul
Origination
Ritz Theatre, New York City, New York

Number Please was a preceded Wheel Of Fortune-like short-lived word game show where letters were revealed by numbers.

Game format[]

Two contestants faced a game board of twenty blank spaces, each marked with a number from 1-20. Each player got their own row. To start, each contestant picked three numbers to reveal some letters, then they took turns picking off spaces by their corresponding numbers to reveal letters or space spaces. The solutions to those puzzles were prizes or descriptions of prizes. As soon as a player knows the answers, he/she must then buzz-in and solve both puzzles. A correct solution to both puzzles won the game and a prize package which included the described prizes.

Originally, each win by a contestant meant the championship, and playing against a new opponent. Five wins retired the player as undefeated champion. Eventually, this was amended to a best-two-out-of-three wins starting in May, resulting in a player being named champion and remaining to face a new challenger.

Personnel[]

Host: Bud Collyer
Announcer: Ralph Paul
Hostesses: Reggie Dombeck, Suzanne Storrs, Nancy Kovack
Producer: Jean Kopelman
Directors: Don Bohl, Glenn Swanson
Set Designers: Romain Johnston, John Dapper
Music Director – Don Elliott

Merchandise[]

Main Article: Number Please/Merchandise

Photos[]

Main Article: Number Please/Photos

Trivia[]

This show replaced Collyer's other hit G-T show Beat the Clock after it finished it's run on the same network.

The show was originally slated to premiere on January 30, 1961 but was delayed due to former president the late John F. Kennedy's (JFK) State of the Union address.

Episode Status[]

Only one episode is known to exist, it has aired on GSN in the past and has also aired on Buzzr as part of their 5th annual "Lost & Found" week on September 27, 2020.