American radio and television comedy quiz game show
For other uses, see You Bet Your Life (disambiguation).
You Bet Your Life
Logo for the 2021 revival
Also known as
The Groucho Show (1960–1961)
Genre
Comedy Quiz show
Created by
John Guedel
Directed by
Robert Dwan Bernie Smith
Presented by
Groucho Marx Buddy Hackett Bill Cosby Jay Leno
Narrated by
Jack Slattery George Fenneman Ron Husmann Robbi Chong Kevin Eubanks
Composers
Jerry Fielding (1947–1952) Jack Meakin (1952–1961)
Country of origin
United States
No. of seasons
14
No. of episodes
529 + 1 unaired
Production
Producer
John Guedel (1950-1961)
Production locations
NBC Studios Burbank Hollywood, CA (1980-1981) WHYY-TV, Philadelphia (1992-1993) Fox Television Center Los Angeles (2021-2023)
Running time
24–25 minutes
Production companies
John Guedel Productions, in association with NBC (1950-1961) Otter Creek Productions (2021-2023)
Original release
Network
ABC Radio (1947–1949) CBS Radio (1949–1950) NBC Radio (1950–1960) NBC-TV (1950–1961) First-run syndication (1980–1981, 1992–1993, 2021–2023)
Release
October 27, 1947 (1947-10-27) – May 26, 2023 (2023-05-26)
Infobox instructions (only shown in preview)
You Bet Your Life is an American comedy quiz series that has aired on both radio[1] and television.[2] The original version was hosted by Groucho Marx of the Marx Brothers, with announcer and assistant George Fenneman. The show debuted on ABC Radio on October 27, 1947, moved to CBS Radio debuting October 5, 1949, and went to NBC-TV and NBC Radio on October 4, 1950. Because of its simple format, it was possible to broadcast the show on both radio[1] and television but not simultaneously. Many of the laughs on the television show were evoked by Groucho's facial reactions and other visual gimmicks; the two versions were slightly different. The last episode in a radio format aired on June 10, 1960. The series continued on television for another year, recording a season on September 22, 1960 with a new title, The Groucho Show.
Gameplay on each episode of You Bet Your Life was generally secondary to Groucho's comedic interplay with contestants and often with Fenneman. The show was so popular that it was the first primetime series to be shown in reruns during the summer months. The common practice at the time was to have a series go on hiatus during the summer, being replaced temporarily by a 13-week comedy or variety series before the main series returned in the fall. The You Bet Your Life summer reruns were broadcast as The Best of Groucho, to make clear to viewers that these were repeat broadcasts.
After the show went off the air, NBC prepared a syndicated version for local stations in 1961. Because the reruns were already established as The Best of Groucho, the syndicated version retained this title.[3] NBC removed all references to the original sponsors by cropping the image whenever the sponsor's logo appeared, along with the "NBC" mark on Groucho's microphone.[3] This is why some shots in the syndicated versions appear grainy and less focused: by deleting the sponsor's logo, the image zoomed in on what remained on the screen, sometimes cropping out a contestant while the screen showed only Groucho.[3]
You Bet Your Life has been revived three times since the original series ended, the most recent being a version hosted by Jay Leno that aired in first-run syndication from 2021 to 2023.
^ abYou Bet Your Life radio shows at the Internet Archive
^Review You Bet Your Life radio episode originally broadcast October 12, 1949. Full episode available to hear at YouTube, a subsidiary of Alphabet, Inc., Mountain View, California. Retrieved August 22, 2017. In the cited episode and during the early years of You Bet Your Life, announcer George Fenneman consistently described the show as a "comedy quiz series" during his introduction of each episode.
^ abc
PUBLICATION: Additional Examples Separating Unpublished From Published Versions - Using as example a television program
depicting changes in You Bet Your Life episodes when adapted to Best of Groucho episodes, at Tree-view chart on Copyright Law (David P. Hayes)
Groucho supplement to preceding
explaining the relevance of the changes to copyright status
YouBetYourLife is an American comedy quiz series that has aired on both radio and television. The original version was hosted by Groucho Marx of the...
on radio and television, most notably as the host of the game show YouBetYourLife. His distinctive appearance, carried over from his days in vaudeville...
Retrieved October 3, 2018. "YouBetYourLife #54–23 Groucho meets a psychiatrist (Secret word 'Door', Feb 17, 1955)", YouBetYourLife, video copy of original...
List of poems In 1957, Armour appeared on the television game show YouBetYourLife. After introductions, host Groucho Marx repeated the show's famous...
remembered as the show announcer and straight man on Groucho Marx's YouBetYourLife. Marx, said of Fenneman in 1976, "There never was a comedian who was...
with her father. She was a contestant/performer on his quiz show YouBetYourLife at least five times: She first appeared at age 8 (a surprise contestant...
comedian. He appeared on the May 28, 1959, episode of the TV quiz show YouBetYourLife, hosted by Groucho Marx. Schell demonstrated a comic barrage of beatnik...
was also an associate producer at Rastar Productions and at NBC for YouBetYourLife, a remake based on a Groucho Marx TV program from the 1950s that his...
also be heard as a contestant on the 14th November 1951 edition of YouBetYourLife. Towards the end of his career, he was filmed for a part in The Incredible...
They're Laughing!: Groucho Marx and YouBetYourLife (2000) Midnight Marquee Press, Inc. Kanfer, Stefan, Groucho: The Life and Times of Julius Henry Marx...
hosted Jay Leno's Garage, and from 2021 to 2023, hosted the revival of YouBetYourLife. Leno writes a regular column in Popular Mechanics showcasing his...
Rapid Fire (1989) as Eddy Williams The Lost Platoon - Hayden (1991) YouBetYourLife, episode #9.15, as himself (1959) Rowan & Martin's Laugh-In, episode...
Liberace appeared on the March 8, 1956, episode of the TV quiz program YouBetYourLife, hosted by Groucho Marx. Music critics were generally harsh in their...
until her death. Travilla appeared on the March 24, 1960, episode of YouBetYourLife, hosted by Groucho Marx, and introduced his elegantly dressed wife...
Dawson hosted an unsold pilot for a revival of the classic game show YouBetYourLife that was to air on NBC in 1988, but the network declined to pick up...
Ghostarchive and the Wayback Machine: Groucho Marx - YouBetYourLife (18 October 2013). "YouBetYourLife #54-15 Klondike Kate; the Dosses return (Secret...
television programs: In 1959, with his first wife, Ginger, he appeared on YouBetYourLife with host Groucho Marx. In 1959, Drysdale appeared as a mystery challenger...
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