Trivia / Truth or Consequences

---

• Channel Hop: Bounced from NBC (radio version and 1941 experimental TV broadcast) to CBS (1950-54 TV version), then back to NBC (1954-65), then to first-run syndication (1966-78 and 1987-88).
• He Also Did: Jack Bailey was simultaneously hosting Queen for a Day during his tenure on Truth or Consequences. Amusingly, Queen for a Day's creator and executive producer, John Masterson, actually himself later went on to create a series for Ralph Edwards: The People's Court.
• Progressive Jackpot: The "Mrs. Hush" contest, from the fall of 1947, was possibly the Trope Maker. In this promotion to help raise funds for the March of Dimes, listeners ^note (there was only the radio version at the time) were read a series of clues each week leading to the identity of a famous actress ^note , much in the same vein as the "Fame Game" of the much later Sale of the Century. A base prize package was started, and for each week that no one identified the mystery actress, more prizes were added; the clues at first were rather obscure but later clues made the answer easier to identify. Eventually, on Dec. 6, 1947, Ruth Subbie of Fort Worth, Texas, correctly fingered Clara Bow as "Mrs. Hush". For her good fortune, Ruth won a 1948 Hudson convertible, a camping trailer, a two-seat airplane, $2,000 cash, a $1,000 diamond-and-ruby-studded watch, a $1,000 diamond ring, a $2,000 Canadian beaver fur coat, a trip to Hawaii, a complete house-painting job, a radio-phonograph console, several appliances (including a gas-powered refrigerator, a range and a washer and dryer), a vacuum cleaner, electric blankets, venetian blinds and the newest novelty of the age: a television set. Total retail value of all those gifts: $21,000^note about $225,000 in 2015 money, of which Uncle Sam asked for $5,000^note about $54,000 in 2015 money. Read more about the contest at this link.
  • By the way, USA Today reporter Jefferson Graham, in his game show history book Come on Down!!! The TV Game Show Book, wrote about the contest, noting that the contest raised more than $350,000^note about $3.8 million in 2015 money (or $400,000^note about $4.3 million in 2015 money, depending on the source) for the March of Dimes ^note (contestants had to donate at least 50 cents to enter and give an acceptable explanation about why the March of Dimes was a worthy organization), and that organizers were able to make available large-ticket items (such as appliances and cars) that — more than two years after the end of World War II — were still scarce and in high demand.
• What Could Have Been: A pilot was made in 2003 or 2004 for a potential revival on Fox. It's on YouTube courtesy of Wink Martindale's channel.

---