Wednesday, August 20, 2008

The Dating Game



The Dating Game was an ABC television show that first aired on December 20, 1965. ABC dropped the show on July 6, 1973, but it resurfaced in several syndicated versions (1973-1974 as The New Dating Game, 1978-1980, 1986-1989 and 1996-2000).

For the first few episodes in at the beginning of the ABC run, live music was provided by The Regents. For years it would almost always be aired in tandem with another Barris production, The Newlywed Game, which premiered on ABC the following year.

Typically, a bachelorette would question three bachelors, who were hidden from her view; at the end of the questioning period, she would choose one to go out with on a date paid for by the show. Occasionally, the roles would be reversed with a man questioning three ladies; other times, a celebrity would question three players for a date for themselves, a co-worker or a relative of theirs. Many celebrities played the game looking for love themselves.

Some contestants who were quite famous, included The Carpenters, Suzanne Somers, Farrah Fawcett, Andy Kaufman (who went under the name Baji Kimran), Steve Martin, Burt Reynolds, Michael Jackson, Sally Field, John Ritter, Phil Hartman, Jennifer Granholm, Arnold Schwarzenegger and Tom Selleck (who went on the show twice and lost both times). The United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit judge Alex Kozinski appeared on it and won. One standard trademark was that at the end of each episode, the host and winning contestants would blow a kiss to the viewers.

It was hosted by San Francisco disc jockey Jim Lange in the 1960s and 1970s.
From: Wikipedia.org

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