King of the Hill Part One Game Show Pilot

[BARNEYFATSWALT]

Nice little game!--I love the huge set!--I can tell it was taped at the Ed Sullivan theater!--I can hear the ECHO--ECHO!

[WhatsAYak]

Oh, and the announcer is Fred Foy, of The Lone Ranger fame, who just passed away...may he RIP.

[caboose41]

Hank Hill Shouldve Hosted this

[gshowguy]

@caboose41 The grand prize would probably be Strickland Propane... right?

[mediadude08]

@caboose41 "You just won propane and propane accessories, I tell you what....."

[YNWA72]

sikke noget lort

[WarioBarker88]

For the record, Robert Earle's comments about Eileen being a returning champion are true -- the production slate (not shown in this upload) lists the episode as "VTR #2". I doubt they'd do that without a "VTR #1".

This pilot was taped on February 7, 1975.

[mrmatchgame]

Some shows will say they have a returning champion, even though its not true, on the NBC Card Shark Pilot they had a "Returning Champion" which really was a person who appeared on the pilot for the first time, they shows different people playing the game.

[AdamNedeff]

@WarioBarker88 And you know this because you've seen pilot #1? Card Sharks and Beat the Clock also taped multiple pilots with "returning champions" that didn't carry over from one pilot to another. It means nothing.

[WarioBarker88]

@AdamNedeff At the time I made that comment, I had not seen the "Card Sharks" pilots (or, for that matter, the 1984 "Jeopardy!' pilot) and had made a logical assumption because it was "VTR #2" with a so-called returning champ. I really don't know which route "King Of The Hill" took, but I know I was wrong to assume.

[WhatsAYak]

What a great set...one of the best I've ever seen, especially for a NY-based GS!

[namk19]

can anyone see what that last category was?

[gshowguy]

My bad-- the last category was actually "The Numbers Game".

[gshowguy]

I really enjoyed seeing this pilot, and Bobby Earle wasn't that bad as a host. Although I do think Geoff Edwards would've been a better host for this type of show. :-)

[namk19]

to be honest I think I can see Michael Tiller do a project like this

[Noveltooner]

If announcer Fred Foy's voice sounds familiar, that's because he was the announcer on radio and TV who announced, "With his faithful companion Tonto, the daring and resourceful masked rider of the plains led the fight for law and order in the early west. Return with us now to those thrilling days of yesteryear. THE LONE RANGER RIDES AGAIN!"

[yaywhewclips242]

Sounds like this show was taped in NYC!! The Empire State Rocks!! I live in Rochester.

[Noveltooner]

It was taped in New York in the Ed Sullivan Theatre and produced by Talent Associates/Norton Simon Inc. (producers of "Get Smart!") With the networks having moved their programming divisions to Los Angeles and the programmers mostly Southern Califorinans, there was a successful push to force all game show production companies to move to Los Angeles if they wanted their shows on the air, effectively killing any chance for "King of the Hill" and promoting the death of the business in NYC.

[davemock]

True that. Goodson-Todman and Bob Stewart, the last two holdouts, would be out of the Big Apple totally in six years, and it would be another 19 years before a broadcast-network game show was produced in New York again.

[DelandSIV]

The front game is an excellent and solid concept throughout. However, the back end doesn't quite fit in being a hi/lo game like in CS. Still, if this was sold (even today), people like Ogi, Brad and Ken could have considerable runs on top.

[rucksplash08]

The second girl really shouldn't have received credit for the "Star-Spangled Banner" question. "As proudly we hailed as the twighlight's last gleaming" is NOT the correct lyrics. That two of the contestants didn't know our national anthem is quite depressing, to say the least...

[palmercomm]

It's close, though.

[mpontheair]

It's a shame this show didn't sell. It looked pretty good, and Robert Earle did a good job as emcee here.

[katmusic2006]

geez! the announcer sounds like jim perry, doesn't it? odd.

[WhatsAYak]

Gotta love that set!

[Lectronimo]

Hey, I'm from Greenwich, Connecticut! I wonder what school Eileen taught at...?

[SLJ83]

I LIKE THIS GAME, it had a great concept. They should redo this game for today.

[lilyitch]

who sang the song with the taxi?

[NativeMoon]

So it wasnt just the Card Sharks theme that had come before in another show. Very interesting indeed! Thanks very much for posting - quite a gem!