Let's Make A Deal

Let's Make A Deal was a television game show which originated in the U.S. and has since been produced in many countries throughout the world. The show was based around deals offered to members of the audience by the host. The contestants usually had to weigh the possibility of an offer being for a valuable prize, or an undesirable item, referred to as a "zonk".

The show was hosted for many years by Monty Hall. The original, most widely-known version aired from 1963 to 1976 on both NBC and ABC. A weekly nighttime syndicated version of the show aired from 1971 through 1977.

Each episode of Let's Make a Deal (which was billed by Jay Stewart as "The Marketplace of America") consisted of several "deals" between the host and a member or members of the audience as contestants. Audience members were picked at the host's whim as the show went along, and couples were often selected to play as "one" contestant. The "deals" were mini-games within the show that took several formats.

In the simplest format, a contestant was given a prize, and the host offered them the opportunity to trade for another prize; however, the offered prize was unknown. It might be concealed on the stage behind one of three curtains, or behind "boxes" on stage (large panels painted to look like boxes), within smaller boxes brought out to the audience, or occasionally in other formats. The initial prize given to the contestant might also be concealed, such as in a box, wallet or purse; or the player might be initially given a box or curtain. The format varied widely.

Technically, contestants were supposed to bring something to trade in, but this rule was seldom enforced. On several occasions, a contestant would actually be asked to trade in an item such as his or her shoes or purse, only to receive the item back at the end of the deal as a "prize". On at least one occasion, the purse was taken backstage and a high-valued prize was placed inside of it.

Prizes generally were either a legitimate prize, cash, or a "zonk". Legitimate prizes ran the gamut of what was given away on game shows during the era (trips, fur coats, electronics, furniture, appliances and cars). Zonks were unwanted booby prizes which could be anything from animals to large amounts of food, or something outlandish like a giant article of clothing, a room full of junked furniture, or a junked car. Sometimes zonks were legitimate prizes but of a low value such as matchbox cars, wheelbarrows, T-shirts, small food or non-food grocery prizes, etc. On the original series, zonks were often demonstrated by the show's announcer, Jay Stewart, and legitimate prizes were modeled by Carol Merrill (although Merrill, too, helped model the zonks).
From: Wikipedia.org

Let's Make A Deal opening