Tattletales


Aired
CBS-TV Daytime: Monday February 18, 1974 – Friday March 31, 1978 Syndicated Nighttime: Monday September 12, 1977 – Sunday September 10, 1978 CBS-TV Daytime: Monday January 18, 1982 – Friday June 1, 1984
Number of episodes
30 (1977–1978 Syndicated episodes) 582 (1982–1984 episodes)
Run time
30 Minutes
Host
Bert Convy
Announcers
Jack Clark John Harlan Gene Wood Johnny Olson
Origination
Studio 31, CBS Television City, Los Angeles, California

Tattletales was billed as "the game of celebrity gossip". It is a retool of the short-lived 1969-70 syndicated game show He Said, She Said which in turn was based on an unsold 1966 pilot 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 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. Additionally, 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, and 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 had a pot of $300.

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.

Celebrity_Tattletales — 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. Two episodes of the nighttime syndicated version aired on Buzzr on February 9, 2020, as part of their "Love at First Sight" marathon.