Know it all

The highest amount of money a contestant could win on “The Gong Show” (1976-1980) was $516.32. That amount was the minimum scale payment for a speaking television appearance, established by the Screen Actors Guild.

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Paul Lynde (1926-1982) was always in the center square on the original “The Hollywood Squares” (1966-1982). Lynde also had a recurring role on “Bewitched” (1964-1972) as Uncle Arthur.

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Monty Hall (born 1921), host of “Let’s Make a Deal” (1963-1977), presented contestants with a choice between money or a hidden prize, which might be worthless. The worthless prizes were called “zonks.” Some of the zonks were giant stuffed toys, rusted automobiles and a ton of watermelons.

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“What’s My Line,” “Concentration,” “Name That Tune” and “The Newlywed Game” are just a few of the game shows on television that have been made into board games.

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“Rock ’n’ Roll Jeopardy” (1998) on VH1 was a short-lived spinoff of “Jeopardy.” The host was Jeff Probst (born 1962), now the host of “Survivor” (2000-present).

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The first celebrity guests on the premiere episode of “The $10,000 Pyramid” (1973-1992) were June Lockhart (born 1925) and Rob Reiner (born 1947).

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Before he was the game show host of “Beat the Clock” (1950-1961), Clayton “Bud” Collyer (1908-1969) was the voice of the Man of Steel in the radio show “The Adventures of Superman” from 1940 to 1951.

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The puzzle board on “Wheel of Fortune” (1975-present) has 52 spaces — 12 spaces on top, 14 spaces in the two middle rows and 12 spaces in the bottom row.

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Vanna White (born 1957) holds a Guinness World Records for being “Television’s Most Frequent Clapper.” On average, she claps 720 times on each episode of “Wheel of Fortune.”

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Game show host Wink Martindale (born 1934) received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in 2006. Wink is a nickname for Winston.

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If a contestant did not know the answer to a question on “Who Wants to be a Millionaire,” they could use one of their three lifelines. The could phone a friend for 30 seconds, they could ask the audience or they could choose 50:50 which had the multiple choices cut down to two possible answers.

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The town of Hot Springs, New Mexico,. changed its name to Truth of Consequences in 1950. In a promotional stunt, Ralph Edwards (1913-2005), the host of the radio program “Truth or Consequences” (1940-1957), challenged a town to change its name to the show’s name. As of the 2010 U.S. Census, population of the town is 6,475.

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Answer: Bob Barker (born 1923), host of “The Price is Right” (1972-present), closed every show with “help control the pet population. Have your pet spayed or neutered.” In 1995, Barker established the DJ & T Foundation, a nonprofit organization that subsidizes low-cost and free spay and neuter clinics. In July 2007, Drew Carey (born 1958) succeeded Barker as the host of the long-running game show.

Know It All is by Kerry McArdle. It runs in the weekend and Wednesday editions of the Daily Journal. Questions? Comments? Email knowitall(at)smdailyjournal.com or call 344-5200 ext. 114.