Memory Game (partially found Joe Garagiola game show; 1971)

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Garagiola.jpg

Ticket from a taping.

Status: Partially Found

Memory Game (also known as "Joe Garagiola's Memory Game") was an American game show that aired on NBC from February 15, 1971 to July 30 of the same year and was the second game show created by talk show host Merv Griffin after Jeopardy! seven years earlier[1]. It was hosted by former St. Louis Cardinals catcher Joe Garagiola Sr. and the show was his second hosting gig after doing the Mark Goodson Bill Todman program He Said, She Said.

Format

The format of the show was five contestants (all female) with one returning champion study a booklet of questions and answers for the game. After they studied, they were given $50 to start with. The time they had to study the material varied per round. Once the time expires, one of the show's assistants would collect the booklets and Garagiola would ask the players random questions from the booklet. The returning champion (who is seated in the first position) gets the call to answer or elect of one their opponents to answer the current question. The chosen player has to correctly answer the question in the given time until a buzzer sounds indicating times up. A correct answer awards the chosen player $5, while a incorrect answer deducts $5. The game continues until all the questions in the booklet have been brought up. Dollar amounts for correct or incorrect answers would change throughout the game with $10 in Round 2 and $20 in Round 3. The player with the most money at the end of the game wins a $1,000 bonus and would return the next game to compete against four new contestants. However if the champion wins on for three days, they are retired undefeated and win a new car.[2]

Cancellation

When the show premiered on NBC, it was placed at the 1:30pm timeslot and was up against the CBS soap opera As The World Turns and the ABC game show Let's Make A Deal (which also used to be on NBC) and the show didn't stand a chance in the ratings, leading to it's cancelation six months after it premiered and the Bob Stewart creation Three On A Match would take it's place and would out live Memory Game, ending in 1974 and Joe Garagiola Sr. would go onto replace Jack Kelly on another NBC game show Sale Of The Century until that show's end in 1973.

Availability

After it's short lived run, no reruns of the show were seen and like most game shows in the early 1970's, is presumed to be erased to make room for other shows. Despite this, five episodes from March 1971 and April 1971 have been archived at the UCLA Film & Television Archive[3]. Outside of various press photos during the taping of one episode, no footage or screenshots from the show has surfaced online. On November 27, 2022, YouTuber user David Schwarz uploaded audio from the premiere, marking the first time since 1971 that any content from the show has surfaced.

Gallery

Videos

Audio from the February 15, 1971 episode

Images

References