Concentration (game show)
Concentration is an American television game show based on the children's memory game of the same name. It was created by Jack Barry and Dan Enright. The show featured contestants matching prizes represented by spaces on a game board, which would then reveal portions of a rebus puzzle underneath for the contestants to solve.
| Concentration | |
|---|---|
| Also known as | Classic Concentration |
| Created by | Jack Barry Dan Enright Robert Noah Buddy Piper |
| Directed by | 1958–73 NBC: Van Fox Ted Nathanson Gertrude Rosenstein Lynwood King 1958 Primetime: Bob Hultgren 1961 Primetime: Ted Nathanson 1973–78: Ira Skutch 1987–91: Marc Breslow |
| Presented by | Hugh Downs Jack Barry Bob Clayton Ed McMahon Jack Narz Alex Trebek |
| Starring | Models: Paola Diva Diana Taylor Marjorie Goodson-Cutt |
| Narrated by | Bill McCord Art James Jim Lucas Bob Clayton Wayne Howell Johnny Olson Gene Wood |
| Opening theme | "Concentration Theme" by Paul Taubman (1958–1967) "Fast-Break" by Edd Kalehoff for Score Productions (1973–1978) "Classic Concentration Theme" by Paul Epstein for Score Productions (1987–1991) |
| Ending theme | same as open |
| Country of origin | United States |
| No. of seasons | 15 (1958–1973) 5 (1973–1978) 4 (1987–1991) |
| No. of episodes | 3,770 (1958–1973) 975 (1973–1978) 1,020 (1987–1991) |
| Production | |
| Executive producers | Norm Blumenthal Chester Feldman Howard Felsher |
| Production locations | NBC Studios New York City (1958–1973) Metromedia Square Hollywood, California (1973–1978) NBC Studios Burbank, California (1987–1991) |
| Camera setup | Multi-camera |
| Running time | 22–26 minutes |
| Production companies | Jack Barry-Dan Enright Productions (1958) NBC (1958–1973) Mark Goodson-Bill Todman Productions (1973–1978) Mark Goodson Productions (1987–1991) |
| Original release | |
| Network | NBC (1958–1973, 1987–1991) Syndicated (daily, 1973–1978) |
| Release | August 25, 1958 – March 23, 1973 |
| Release | September 10, 1973 – September 8, 1978 |
| Release | May 4, 1987 – September 20, 1991 |
The show was broadcast on and off from 1958 to 1991, presented by various hosts, and has been made in several different versions. The original network daytime series, Concentration, appeared on NBC for 14 years, 7 months, and 3,770 telecasts (August 25, 1958 – March 23, 1973), the longest continuous run of any game show on that network. This series was hosted by Hugh Downs and later by Bob Clayton, but for a six-month period in 1969, Ed McMahon hosted the series. The series began at 11:30 am Eastern, then moved to 11:00 and finally to 10:30. Nearly all episodes of the NBC daytime version were produced at 30 Rockefeller Plaza, New York City.
A weekly nighttime version appeared in two separate broadcast runs: the first aired from October 30 to November 20, 1958, with Jack Barry as host, while the second ran from April 24 to September 18, 1961, with Downs as host. The second version of Concentration, the first to be made in Southern California, ran in syndication from September 10, 1973, to September 8, 1978, with Jack Narz as host. After some reformatting, a remake called Classic Concentration, hosted by Alex Trebek, ran on NBC from May 4, 1987, to September 20, 1991 (with reruns broadcast to January 14, 1994).