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They're Already
Playing the Games
Thursday night, the games began for real at Game Show Congress, although early attendees have made the rounds of a few game show tapings. Around 11 o'clock, the activity was still lively for a computer version of The Price Is Right and you could have heard roars all the way to Encino when the GSC delegates were playing Plinko.....I've Got a Secret legend Betsy Palmer arrived Thursday and she, Sarah Purcell and Stuart Shostak engaged in a rehearsal for tonight's stage version of What's My Line? at the Hilton Burbank Convention Center. Former Street Smarts host Frank Nicotero joins them on the panel.....One of the genuine first-class touches to this convention is the art and set design work of Rick Carl. We've seen the prototypes and this is, without question, the classiest look of any of the five GSC events and a huge tip of the cap goes to Rick.
A pleasant early surprise was to find Tic Tac Dough legend Thom McKee and his lovelier-than-ever wife Jenny around the convention hall Thursday night. Thom is this year's GSC Contestant Legend. Saturday afternoon, The Tic Tac Dough Reunion will feature host Wink Martindale, producers Ron Greenberg and Allen Koss and the McKees will recount the show's history and the magical nine weeks in which McKee won 43 consecutive games over 46 days (and played in 88 games, including ties, a record which may never be broken)....Thom was planning to get some golf in around 7 a.m. today. He said, "You know how it is....golf is business." Jenny found that remark amusing....Former GSN chief programmer and now Fox Reality honcho Bob Boden was also making the rounds. Boden has been an attendee and loyal supporter of GSC since 2003.
Matt Ottinger, who runs the great Bill Cullen Page, is taking the reins as GSC's official archivist and you won't find a better guy to oversee so many of the classic tapes we encounter. Matt's wife is also with us this year....Big winners Ed Toutant, Kevin Olmstead and David Legler are in the house again. Dave's father, whom we remember as the sharp Second Chance during his son's $1.765 million run on Twenty One, is still recovering from an injury and could not make this year's GSC....As usual, former $125,000 Millionaire winner and four-time Jeopardy! champion Jason Block, Gordon Pepper, Joe Van Ginkel and friends were having a blast during the Thursday night games.
GSC's own T.R.A.S.H.master, James Dinan is making his fourth straight GSC.....Another highlight of the weekend: Ottinger and Wayne Forrester are overseeing the classic games screening room. This year, the screening room features the best work of two legends we've lost in the last year, Peter Tomarken and Nipsey Russell.....When we reached Denver on the way in to Burbank, former $64,000 Millionaire winner Lori Bailey was waiting at the gate to get on the same connecting flight. Lori is overseeing the Buzzer Battle competition, hosted by former Truth or Consequences and The Big Spin emcee Larry Andrerson.
Also in the house Thursday night: Ultimate Jeopardy! Tournament of Champions third place finisher Jerome Vered.....A significant amount of buzz is spreading about A&E's two-hour game show Biography special tonight (8 p.m., EDT/PDT). Wink appears, as does Merv Griffin, who does not do many of these retrospectives.....The special will be followed by an additional hour on Jeopardy!.....Wheel of Fortune and Jeopardy! executive producer Harry Friedman will be making his first GSC appearance Sunday at both an industry panel and as a testimonial speaker for Peter Marshall, who will receive the Bill Cullen Career Achievement Award.
Game Show Congress Coverage (Sun.)
Game Show Congress Coverage (Sat.)
Pictures, Tic Tac Dough Reunion, Hosts & Announcers
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TVGAMESHOWS.NET
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Ralph Edwards Tribute (will be restored soon)
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Two weekends ago, Game Show Congress founder Paul Bailey and Stuart Shostak joined Fresno television and radio personality Ronnie Paul for his marathon Saturday night talk show to promote the fifth incarnation of GSC.
Bailey asked a telephone guest: "When I first called and asked if you'd be willing to come out and speak at the first Game Show Congress, what did you think?" The guest said he didn't know at the time what a Game Show Congress was but once he was told the concept, he said, "Why didn't I think of that?"
Thankfully, Paul Bailey did think of that. Several informal gatherings of game show fans had originated in hotels and private homes across the U.S. for several years. Paul had the dream, vision and foresight to put together a national event which consolidated the interests the genre's enthusiasts and expanded to a genuine historic preservation society and legends fraternity.
That first GSC in 2002 was a joint venture with the University of Colorado's annual Trivia Bowl. The daytime seminars drew slim crowds. Things picked up in the evening as the trivia finals approached and a forum of seven big-money winning quiz show contestants drew a full house at CU's student activities building. The energy and enthusiasm for those who attended those evening sessions convinced Paul he was onto something.
The next year, GSC moved to one of the smaller Las Vegas hotels and the event blended with a series of quiz competitions. A huge highlight on the final evening: the premiere of Mike Burger's computer genius, a program which re-created more than 50 classic TV game shows with the actual music, stingers and graphics. Grown people played those games well past midnight.
One consideration was given to taking GSC across the country. However, to gain attention and recognition in the entertainment industry and to honor the legends who have made this genre the enduring one it is, the decision was made to move GSC to Los Angeles. That decision, as you may well surmise, was an expensive one.
Most people who organize trade or entertainment conventions in major cities will tell you: unless you have sponsors or significant backers, these gatherings are money-losers, or at the very best, break-even. Paul Bailey has been willing to risk a substantial amount of his own money to take Game Show Congress on the five years of its journey. Candidly, we don't know of anyone else who would be willing to invest so much of himself and his personal finances to see a dream achieved.
Paul, on top of that, is one of the most congenial and accommodating people we have ever met. If you ever wanted a dictionary definition of great guy as no cliche, put Paul Bailey in the slot. Without his dream, his drive, his ambition and his wherewithal, game show enthusiasts would not have had these five opportunities to fellowship and to have a small chip of time to be "that close" to the people who have given us so many memorable and entertaining moments.
If you are in the L.A. area and have never attended, we encourage you to make your way to the Hilton Burbank Convention Center this weekend. The Saturday seminars and game-playing events are among the most informative and enthusiastic you will ever see. If you could not make it this year, zero in a July date on your calendar for next year. If you are here in Burbank and reading this: don't leave this city without expressing a personal thanks to Paul Bailey. Without him, none of us would be here this weekend.
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BURBANK NOTES: Tonight's What's My Line? stage game at GSC with J. Keith van Straaten as host will be the last one for a while. Van Straaten is headed for New York.....Several attendees were at the Wednesday night Line at ACME Comedy Theatre. The mystery guest: Entertainment Tonight critic Leonard Maltin....Daytime events on Saturday, in addition to game-playing competition: The Tic Tac Dough Reunion at 1 p.m., followed by Steve Beverly's annual State of the Games address from 3:15-4. Afterward, the hall will be reconfigured for the Hosts and Announcers panel with Jack Narz, Johnny Gilbert, Burton Richardson, Sarah Purcell and Larry Anderson. Former Game Show Network Club A.M. host Laura Chambers is the moderator.
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