Art Fleming Jeopardy! from 1974

[JeffGR4]

Art Fleming was the best. Anyway, these contestants weren't too swift. How could they not know the Dublin and Versailles questions?

[allenehrl]

Art was much more supportive than Alex Trebek. Trebek lacks empathy big time. Art Fleming had the magic, always a smile in his voice.

[chaseyoung1800]

the eifel tower?? really?

[mbclev]

I love it when the players went to the Sports category early on in the round. Today, you usually see Jeopardy contestants avoid sports-related categories like the plague until it was absolutely necessary to go to them.

[poetxyz]

Such fun to watch this and spark my childhood memories. What I'd forgotten and it seemed immediately strange was the contestants being able to ring in at any point during the reading of the "answer." Thanks for posting this!

[DeathWatchatMidnight]

Art Fleming was all class.

[allenehrl]

Who could forget the legendary Art Fleming? He was much more charismatic than Alex Trebek is.

[PREGO1966]

After almost 30 years, Alex has done a great job.

[68lincoln]

I remember Jeopardy from the 1960s and 70s very well. I watched it often. I really love this more simple set design than the hig tech set used on today's version. And I think Art Fleming has a lot more personality than Alex Trubeck who I find to be gloomy.

[irish89055]

@68lincoln one too many bows there Art, I like Trebec but what bothers me is when the contestants fail to get one of the answers he reads it as if he knows all them... Art did it here with the Dublin question..

[DRIVEIN101]

Answer: The one-and-only Dynamic Duo of Jeopardy!

Question: Who's Art Fleming and Don Pardo?

[primogennaio]

I loved the old version of "Jeopardy". This is very nostalgic for me.

[TheSwiftSin]

Of course nostalgia will make your preferences of "who is better" biased.

[truflip99]

Eiffel tower wtf? so dumb lol

[beatleboy9020001]

wow didnt offer alot for money on the boards then

[bluebear1985]

@beatleboy9020001 Well, it was daytime TV. Besides, after the quiz scandals of the 50s, NBC was reluctant to give away too much. It debuted in 1964, a time when the scandals were still pretty fresh in some peoples' minds.

[Ottawa4everXX]

hehe 4 letter words.....

[joachoye]

Damn, People In 1974 Were Stupid

[yourmomiskool69]

GSN needs to show these

[giacamorooster]

Love your video. My dad was on Jeopardy in the early 70's. I have been trying to find the episode for years. Do you have any suggestions. I would love to give it to him as a gift.

[LordThree]

@giacamorooster Only a small number of the 2,753 episodes from the original NBC Daytime version survive, mostly as black-and-white kinescopes of the original color videotapes.[33] Some episodes from 1967, 1971, and 1973-1974 exist in the UCLA Film and Television Archive while various episodes are at the Paley Center for Media (including the 1964 "test" episode). Incomplete paper records of the NBC-era games exist on microfilm at the Library of Congress.

[johnnyafairbanksak]

@LordThree As for the 1974-75 nighttime syndicated version, I assume all of those exist as well.

[recordman64]

I LOVE the older Jeopardy! The old boards, the old music, the old Daily Double sounds...and of course, Art Fleming and Don Pardo!

[hankwheels]

ROFL, look at those tiny dollar amounts.

[WSenator1]

@blowtube23 - Well, would you place Art's coffin to the right or left of the contestants?

[WSenator1]

I've watched "Jeopardy!" from my elementary school days, and I have ALWAYS loved it. Both hosts - Art Fleming and Alex Trebek - have been superb, IMHO. (Don Pardo has always been a favorite, too, both here and on SNL.) One minor thing bothers me: Why are there so many Alex Haters? I think he's done a wonderful job with the show, just as AF did. Styles were different, but who cares?

[zsyed12345678]

Some large monetary amounts there!

[gilgamess]

Ah, the good old days when you could cut a bratwurst in thirds, shove a cord in it and BAM! you've got yourself a microphone. It's all done with electronics now.

[CookyMonzta]

Damn! Hell of an incredibly long time since I've seen 'Jeopardy' like this. I miss this to death! I wish the producers of the current 'Jeopardy' would bring back the old theme, even if only for their Tournament of Champions.

[WSenator1]

@CookyMonzta - Agreed!

[primogennaio]

I used to watch the old "Jeopardy!" every day. I loved everythinbg about it, from the opening music to the hand printed cards to the Daily Double gongs. It was better having the contestants sit. The modern version with Alex Trebek is faster and computerized, but the original was the quaintest and the best.

[GandSAfan]

During the first two seasons, the cards were pulled up by hand backstage, and then they were pulled mechanically, after that.

(You can often hear a click from the mechanism, right after Art says "The answer is")

[primogennaio]

I wasn't aware that after the second season they were pulled mechanically. Are you sure it was after the second year? I remember on an anniversary show Art Fleming showed the rear of the "Jeopardy!" board and the crew member who pulled the cards. Occasionally they got wedged against the sides of the slot and it took a few seconds to lift them out. I saw one show taped in the NBC studio in NYC.

[maclovindotca]

Kim,Kent, and Karyn the 3 Ks.

You wouldn't be able to get away with a joke like that today, in our anally politically correct world !!

[bearwoof48]

Notice that the contestants were allowed to SIT DOWN on the original version. When they brought the show back in the 80's, I'll bet anything some idiot consultant told them the show would have more drama and more forward motion if the players stood up. Gotta move faster. Quicker! God forbid anyone should be allowed to savor a moment on TV today. There would be no room for the commercials!

[urbanpreppie05]

Wow...get a grip...

[SmoothCriminalAaron]

wow, prizes were cheap back then.

and what kinda name is Art Fleming?

[JayBBluejay]

@SmoothCriminalAaron Art Fleming was born Arthur Fleming Fazzin in New York City. When Merv Griffin asked him to be the host of "Jeopardy!" in 1964, he had never hosted a game show. Griffin told Fleming, who was an actor, "Just act like one". He hosted "Jeopardy!" from 1962-75 in NYC and then a 1978-79 revival based in LA. Art passed away in 1995 but his charm, wit, and mannerisms (Especially when it came time for the commercials and he would say "Won't you please watch? Good."

[minkymott]

There's sound, but no picture.

[sarniatownreggae]

I liked the music. It was quirky.

[vibra64]

This show can't be from 1974 because one of the questions was in sports the answer was Secratariet won the triple Crown. He won the triple crown in 1976 so how can this show been on in 1974?

[paulluvz269xxx]

Secretariat (March 30, 1970 October 4, 1989) was an American Thoroughbred racehorse, who in 1973 became the first U.S. Triple Crown champion in twenty-five years, setting new race records in two of the three events in the Series the Kentucky Derby (1:59 2/5), and the Belmont Stakes (2:24) records that still stand today.

[raymar316]

Secretariat won the Triple Crown in 1973 not 1976, so, yes this can be from 1974. Fleming beats Trebek by a mile.

[w8ing4ever]

@raymar316 Definitely WAY better than Trebek! Agreed!

[bbbbbbbbbbbbb100]

Part of the challenge was struggling with all those abbreviations that they used to fit the clues onto those cards.

[thishereguitar]

LONDONDERRY?? Idiot.

[cyberzonie]

Art was great on this show...........better than Alex. Alex should have stayed on High Rollers.

[MegaPanicker]

Is that guy at 0:35 Art Fleming?

[garytvfan]

The host, at :35, IS Art Fleming. I met him hosting a college contest back in the mid 70s. What a NICE gentleman, and a real pro. Everything a game show host should be.

[namhari56]

Great clip, I loved Art Fleming. I can't believe that not everyone remembers Art Fleming. When Alex came along it was very hard to get used to him, now he's old hat :/

[studmuffffffin]

It's annoying how they ding in before the answer's over.

[cd637299]

Such were the rules then. Merv Griffin was very much around, and apparently that was the way he wanted it. The first season of the Trebek version have this rule too.

[JacksonPerdue]

i forgot they used to sit

[Kwpolska]

Trebek's version is better because for one episode they need 74 cards for first version, for 1978-1979 The All-New Jeopardy! they need 90 cards... On Trebek's first series they need only 12 cards for episode. Now - 0 cards.

[luvthoseclips]

Art Fleming is long passed away....so no chance of him replacing Alex Trebek.

[TheMiimaster]

you wish, everyone loves trebek. he is old, but awesme

[giveorkeep72]

art fleming is better than alex trebek on jeopardy...because he seems to be interested in the contestants more and seems more freindlier.....

[saintyetwixter]

This version of the ORIGINAL Jeopardy rocks! I remember watching the game show a lot as a kid during the 1960s and 1970s, enjoying every second of it!

[epgrove1961]

This is Don Pardo speaking.......Ugh!

[BoogsterSU]

When did they host Alex Trebek and the "What is....." quote of the answer?

[hssenior]

alex came in 1984

[dburr13]

This was the version of Jeopardy i remember watching as a kid...The theme...the set...the sound cues...All familiar...and unseen and unheard by me for 35 years.

[SHRINA17]

Versailles..silly gooses!

[WSenator1]

@SHRINA17 - . . .or silly geese!

[Animainiac85]

Wish more episodes existed of this verison. Stupid NBC and their tape erasing!

[Golbez1991]

There's a small chance that the tapes might exist somewhere... they did find by accident the Marshall years of the Hollywood Squares.. tapes we all thought that they were erased...

[bobmartin3]

The Red painted Flat car #52 Is Named After This Circus Scene Here! What is The Gollmar Bros. Enormous New Shows?

[BoogsterSU]

What is,"This comment is spam. Remove it or I'll kill your YouTube profile"?!

[viewerenthusiast]

gonads dangling

[Noveltooner]

Several comments were made about the contestants ringing in when an answer was exposed before they even knew what it was. Computerized lockouts to synch with the board didn't exist. Besides, blindly ringing in is what heightened the "jeopardy," or risk. Merv Griffin HAD originally wished to keep contestants from ringing in until an answer was read (like today's version), but stagehands had to time when to turn the ring-in buttons "on" and "off" and just couldn't time it consistently.

[thewipsportsfan]

ah thank you thank you thank you Classic Jeopardy! Thank god for Youtube: my second Game Show network!

[MisterVideoGuy]

I don't mean to be rude, but the people who did the categories and amounts are lazy. Think of Alex Trebek and his electric boards compared to these. I may not have been alive during Fleming's time, but why couldn't they do electric screens with categories and amounts when the debut came? (For Trebek's borad's, time passed by when they changed the category style.)

[secondchance1977]

Because they didnt have electric screens back then!

[dickclarkfan1]

You gotta remember the original Jeopardy ran from the mid 1960's until 1979. Such screens were not used until the 2nd Alex Trebek pilot shot in 1983.

[BenJabituya]

There were people behind the board, revealing cards.

[GarfieldnPyramid]

Corrrect. But how many people?

[Noveltooner]

They were far from lazy; they took many, many hours to print those cards for the board. The electronics you speak of didn't practically exist for these purposes until 1984 when Jepoardy! returned. Even Trebek's first pilot was still done with the cards. Also, the sets for the NY-based games were designed and built by craftsmen associated with the Broadway stage, since Broadway served as television's "ancestorial" design in those days.

[Noveltooner]

Consider also that rear-projection would have slowed the game down enormously. There was no such thing as an LED. IBM computers of the day required computer rooms the size of a football field and hundreds of huge CPUs to equal the processing power and storage capacity of the cheapest Intel Celeron or AMD Sempron-based computer today. You're looking at those days the way I looked at my father's; it was incomprehensible that radio served the same function as TV did when I was a kid.

[pegbars]

OMG, I remember those cues!!

[nakedrat]

Art Fleming was great. Alex Trebek is a pompous ass.

[tuttt99]

RIP Art Fleming.

[asham2]

I grew up with this version. Glad you uploaded!

[nonsuchfabio]

Fascinating clip. I watched this show as a kid in the 1960s. I thought Art Fleming was the nicest guy.

[Ian16545]

Hey, isn't that the same Kent Gerrold (sp?) that used to work at WUSA-TV 9 in Washington, DC?

[gameshowthemeguy]

Does anyone have a recording of the long version with the final credits with the theme song playing? This is a tough one to find.

[TheSpindles]

Alex Trebeck could come close to Don Pardo..What a voice he had...

[yeongwol]

Art Fleming was cool!

[N2PTF]

Alex trebek is an arrogant ass wanna-be.They had a 20th anniversary edition of Jeopardy which only recognized the Trebek era. It's as if the show didn't even exist before that !

[AK47Music]

I grew up watching this version, and Art Fleming can rest in peace knowing that Alex Trebek will NEVER fill his shoes when it comes to hosting Jeopardy!

As for Don Pardo, he can kick it back over in Tucson (where he is living now after a long legendary career with NBC) assured knowing that he and Art were television institutions in the gameshow world back in the 60's and 70's, and that no one can ever top them, then or now.

[GandSAfan]

I totally agree with you!! I also grew up with this version, and today's version doesn't even come close!! (I also learned much of my early knowledge from this show!!) ;)

[bluesdca]

Amen to that!

[gameshowthemeguy]

This was a theme song for the ages. Can anyone get a clipping of the end of the show with the long version with the credits. This theme can't be found anywhere.

[gymnastix]

For some reason "Jeopardy!" was not often aired on Boston's NBC station, WBZ (Channel 4) when I was a kid. But our home had a good roof antenna and we were able to pick up Channel 10 (WJAR-TV) in Providence, which is how I would watch "Jeopardy!" back in the day.

[gymnastix]

Some things never change, though, like the tick-tock mesic theme played during final "Jeopardy!," written by "Jeopardy!" creator Merv Griffin.

[pooka5472]

That's because WBZ often preempted "Jeopardy!" and other NBC shows in favor of either local newscasts or syndicated programming.

[33Mark221]

There is only one Fleming! Sure there was this guy who discovered penicillin, but the REAL Fleming is Art!

[Stratman78]

And the fuckers from NBC deleted alot of these episodes. What the hell were they thinking? I'm going to go vomit now for history is forever erased. Too bad that GSN started in 1994, they should've began right when game shows began. Wishful thought.

[VictorGolfCharles]

Why oh why did they have to trash these old-school Jeopardy! episodes?! They could have served as useful proof that the show started in 1964!

[Noveltooner]

I am pretty sure more episodes of the original "Jeopardy!" do exist probably in a private collection owned by the late Merv Griffin's estate. He provided an episode for clips used in the "Kick the Can" sequence in "Twilight Zone - The Movie." Contrary to urban legend, the "Jeopardy" clips were NOT a re-creation for the film but from an actual 1971 episode. Sadly, back in the day, color videotape cannisters were enormous, heavy and expensive. But when U-matic cassettes debuted in '69, no excuse.

[Hondo20132]

There are quite a few in the Paley Center for Media.

[noahf67]

Trebek & co are surely a class act, but there's just an old-school air of dignity here that we'll never see again...

[prausch65]

I recollect that at a certain time during Jeopardy's run it had a more dramatic intro, with a drum roll.

[ieeeeeeeeeeeee]

i believe that intro was from the 1979 Jeopardy!.

[someguy23475]

Yes, that was during the 78-79 revival.

[byrd56]

The timpani-roll dramatic intro was also used during the original "Jeopardy!"'s tournament of champions.

[christheone8773]

this theme music ROCKS!!

[AlbieGray]

Seeing these clips almost makes one realize that although Alex Trebek has made Jeopardy his own and that is true that Alex has made Jeopardy his own; but Art Fleming was one of the truly class acts that paved the way.

[prausch65]

Indeed, I watched Jeopardy! in the Art Fleming years and he was a very professional and charismatic MC, much like the Dean of Game Shows, Bill Cullen.

[TheVGC]

Off-sync video. Reason for this is unknown.

[paktype]

I used to watch this show all the time when I was home sick from school. I was 9 when this particular episode was on. I loved it.

[paktype]

Dig those plastic cups inside the plastic cupholders. My mom had a set of those too.

[mpontheair]

Merv Griffin CREATED Jeopardy.

Don Pardo and Art Fleming MADE Jeopardy.

Johnny Gilbert and Alex Trebek PROPELLED Joepardy to where it is now.

Great nostalgia here!

[lilpunkster]

are these contestants still living ??

[WSenator1]

@lilpunkster - Let's say they were in their 30s or 40s when this episode aired. That would make them in their 60s-70s-80s about now. It's a tossup.

[CookyMonzta]

@WSenator1 I was 8 when this show aired, and I was a game-show fanatic back then.

[WSenator1]

@CookyMonzta - I was finishing college then. I was a game-show fanatic then, too - and a JEOPARDY fanatic for life!

[CookyMonzta]

@WSenator1 I was 8 when this episode aired, and back then I was a game-show fanatic.

[sps242]

I haven't heard that theme music since this originally aired! I wished the network(NBC, I think in this case)kept all of the videoreels..but they used them over and over in those days to be cost effective, but thank you arkadel for somehow submitting this one! Art was the man that's for sure..didn't know he passed on until I saw this episode.

[staytunedfor]

Great opening theme that I loved as a kid, as well as the quintessential 60's game show set. Too bad so many game shows and soaps of this era are gone forever.

[rangerron13]

Does anyone know if Art Flemming was approached about coming back in 1984. If he wasn't he should have been. He was one of the best game show hosts of all time.

[Noveltooner]

Yes, he was, an that was even after Alex Trebek had taped the two pilots. Three factors led to his turning it down. One was taping the show in L.A., which he did not like; he preferred the show in New York. Secondly, he found the computerized set and secial effects distracting from the game ("...more like a pinball machine than 'Jeopardy!'").

[Noveltooner]

Finally, the answers were really dumbed-down; it wasn't for another 12 years and nationwide contestant searches that brought the current "Jeopardy" near the academic level of its predecessor.

[johnnyafairbanks]

And also, the gameplay on the original Jeopardy was slow-paced and boring compared to the current version.

[rwagoner]

You're kidding, right? The original was at least as fast paced; the much harder answers just took longer to read.

[Kapell1959]

You are quite correct. The current game show is a mere shell of its former self. Trebek is completely worthless as a host. He could not tie the shoes of Art Fleming. What a joy it is to watch how "Jeapordy!" is to be played.

[meowfit]

This is a KICK!!! I just wish I could see the whole thing!!! This really does take me back, because my brother and I would watch Jeopardy on our sick days from school. I can't get over the clarity of this clip, either. More, please!!!

[Adamdude111]

I did end up standing in Jeopardy!'s old studio and I could feel Art Fleming and Don Pardo's presence.I could hear Don belting out These 3 people will compete today on..... Jeopardy! and I could hear Art saying Let's play Jeopardy! It was surreal.

[Adamdude111]

I wish Art had agreed to host the revival of Jeopardy! in 1984.

[thegamesthatrate]

If I remember right, the classic line of Don Pardo before the rolling of the credits was "Questions and answers provided by Grolier Encyclopedia Incorporated. Jeopardy! was pre-recorded live before a studio audience. This is Don Pardo speaking."

[GoulashFor10]

Almost right. Early in the run he said "Compton's Pictured Encyclopedia from Grolier Incorporated is a source authority for questions and answers used on JEOPARDY. JEOPARDY in color was pre-recorded. This is Don Pardo."

[GoulashFor10]

In later years, the "Encyclopedia International from Grolier...,etc." was plugged between commercials during the break between "Jeopardy" and "Double Jeopardy." Before the end credits he said, "If you would like to be a contestant on JEOPARDY or receive tickets for JEOPARDY, write to 'Jeopardy, Post Office Box 336, Radio City Station, New York, New York' and please include your telephone number. JEOPARDY was pre-recorded. This is Don Pardo.

[thegamesthatrate]

Thanks. I'm trying to do this from memory from more than 30 years ago. Do you have a tape of the credits running with the full original Jeopardy! theme?

[thegamesthatrate]

How precious to hear the opening bars of the real JEOPARDY! theme with that classic introduction announced by the master announcer Don Pardo. Even better is to see Art Fleming, who will always be the real host of JEOPARDY!, no matter how long Alex Trebek hosts it.

Does anyone have a clip of the full theme with the credits rolling at the end?

[GoulashFor10]

Another thing I liked was the audience applause at a correct question on what Art Fleming once called "the Big One"; the bottom answer in a category that was not only the highest value, but the most difficult. I puctuated an audience appreciation. In L.A., just laid-back dead silence.

[GoulashFor10]

The last sentence should read "IT punctuated an audience appreciation; in L.A., there's just laid-back dead silence."

[GoulashFor10]

I always liked the fact that the contestants sat behind desks in this version; they looked more comfortable and it added to the "academic" atmosphere of the program. Several contestants on today's "Jeopardy!" have fainted during tapings while forced to stand behind those podiums.

[x14215469]

Classy!

[ImACheezhead]

Where did you get this from?

[GoulashFor10]

Probably from Shokus Video. The have a DVD with this show (there is a broadcast technical glitch at the beginning of the last half of "Double Jeopardy" - aah! the old days!), the 2000th show with Mel Brooks and a special "Visual Jeopardy", and the very last show.

[Lvanett2]

This is an excellent quality clip! Now if we could just find a clean version of the original opening theme... (not the 1979 or later versions)

[Adamdude111]

I'm taking the NBC Studio tour in NYC and I hope I get to visit the stage where the original Jeopardy! was taped.

[GoulashFor10]

Also checkout the Hudson Theatre, now part of the Millenium Hotel (44th St. between Times Square and 6th Ave.). NBC owned it as a large off-site studio during the Fiftes and Sixties and was the birthplace of "The Tonight Show" and "The Price is Right."

[byrd56]

The original "Jeopardy!" was shot at NBC-New York's Studio 8-G, which lately has been the home base for Bob Costas and the "Sunday Night Football" pregame show.

[Jnelson09]

I didn't think I'd ever see the original clearly.

[798389]

Art Fleming was terrific.

[billium1999]

Ah, the memories....I was 15 in summer of '74. I was a different kid; when others looked forward to summer because it meant no school, I loved it because it meant I got to watch Jeopardy! every day. No knock on Alex Trebek, but to me, the "real" Jeopardy will always mean Don Pardo's booming voice, the original theme, and most of all, the gentlemanly Art Fleming at the podium.

[Jantelover]

attended a taping in 72 with my english class... fleming's delivery was spot on and sparkling, trebek merely competent -- belongs better on high rollers.... great to see this.. thanks for posting!

[Herbert7J]

Thank you very much for this post. I haven't heard the opening theme of Jeopardy (in its TRUE, original form) in 37 years. What a delight to hear it again.

[DNS67665]

Had to be sometime after June 1973, because Secreteriat is one of the questions.

[tuttt99]

Dig those crazy collars and plaids on the women. The nerdy man in the middle looks the most mormal by today's standards.

[RobDog65]

Alex Trebek has NOTHING on Art Fleming. You just can't beat an original.

[tuttt99]

Amen to that. I miss that wild and crazy theme music, too. Whoever made the "think" music into the theme outta be publicly flogged.

[meesterfonnyboy]

Merv Griffin wrote all of the music, as well as creating the concept and producing the show. The "think music" just happened to be the most memorable, and was worked into the current theme by an unknown miscreant. (Any credit-readers out there? Help?)

[RobDog65]

To this day, whenever I'm in NYC (mostly for pleasure nowadays), I get two songs in my head--the theme from "The Honeymooners" and the music you hear when Art Fleming is being introduced (also the end theme). :)

[meesterfonnyboy]

Never been to NYC -- I'm stuck here in the Southeast -- but I'd still like to hear that end theme in the clear...I remember it well...

[bluebear1985]

Merv Griffin wrote most of the music for the current version. For the original, the theme was called "Take Ten", and written by Julann Griffin. Of course the "Final Jeopardy" music has always been the same song written by Merv.

[dmine45]

Do you know when this episode originally aired?

Great to see the original NYC version!

[someguy23475]

Early or mid 1974. I have a copy of this episode.

[gameshowthemeguy]

Can you post it with the closing theme song on it? This was the best.  Thanks.

[someguy23475]

It was a short credit roll, I know that.

[gameshowthemeguy]

Do you have anything on this tape with the theme music?  NBC destroyed the tapes. I can't find this music anywhere. Thanks.

[someguy23475]

I have a short clip of the theme from this episode. It was a short credit roll, so you don't hear much.