Editing Hollywood Squares (section)

==1966–1981==
[[File:Hollywood Squares (TV series) titlecard.jpg|thumb|left|Title card for the original 1966–1981 version]]
[[Bert Parks]] hosted the 1965 pilot of ''Hollywood Squares,'' which was taped at [[Television City|CBS Television City]].<ref>{{YouTube|hrSvImHsUX4|Part 1}}</ref><ref>{{YouTube|syMXK0Gxncc|Part 2}}</ref> A second pilot was taped with comedian [[Sandy Baron]] as host.<ref>Nedeff, Adam. ''Game Shows FAQ: All That’s Left to Know About the Pioneers, the Scandals, the Hosts, and the Jackpots''. Milwaukee: Hal Leonard, 2018, p. 145.</ref> Neither Parks nor Baron were considered to host the series, partly because NBC was "looking for a complete non-entity", and partly because Baron was considered "too New Yorky".<ref>"Hollywood Squares". ''E! True Hollywood Story'', created by Ilya Reznikov, Season 7, Episode 21, E! Networks, 2003.</ref> NBC acquired the rights to the show, which debuted on October 17, 1966, with Peter Marshall as host, a job he held for 15 years. Marshall agreed to host because he did not want rival [[Dan Rowan]] to host.<ref>{{Cite book |last1=Marshall |first1=Peter |url=https://archive.org/details/isbn_9781558539808 |title=Backstage with the Original Hollywood Square |last2=Armstrong |first2=Adrienne |year=2002 |publisher=Rutledge Hill Press |isbn=1558539808 |language=en |author-link=Peter Marshall (entertainer) |url-access=registration}}</ref> ''Hollywood Squares'' was the final addition to a short-lived game show powerhouse block on NBC, which for the next two years also included ''[[Concentration (game show)|Concentration]]'', ''[[Jeopardy!]]'', ''[[You Don't Say!]]'', ''[[Let's Make a Deal]]'', ''[[Match Game]]'' and others. During most of its daytime run, NBC broadcast ''The Hollywood Squares'' at 11:30&nbsp;a.m. [[Eastern time zone|Eastern]]/10:30&nbsp;a.m. [[Central time zone|Central]]; it dominated the ratings until 1976 when it made the first of several time slot moves. The daytime show aired its 3,536th and last episode on June 20, 1980, when it was canceled to make way for a [[The David Letterman Show|talk show]] with [[David Letterman]] that would become a precursor to his ''[[Late Night with David Letterman|Late Night]]'' and ''[[Late Show with David Letterman|Late Show]]'' programs.<ref>{{cite magazine |last1=Poniewozik |first1=James |title=David Letterman, Infinite Jester |url=https://time.com/3858346/david-letterman-infinite-jester/ |magazine=[[Time (magazine)|Time]] |access-date=November 22, 2024}}</ref>

The show also ran at night, first on NBC from January 12 to September 13, 1968, as a mid-season replacement for the short-lived sitcom ''[[Accidental Family]]''. A nighttime [[broadcast syndication|syndicated program]] ran from November 1, 1971, until May 22, 1981. Initially airing once weekly, the syndicated ''Squares'' added a second airing in 1972 and began airing daily or nightly in September 1980, the show's final season. [[File:Hollywood squares 1974.jpg|thumb|left|Celebrating the start of its ninth year on the air in 1974, (L–R) are [[Paul Lynde]], [[Rose Marie]], host [[Peter Marshall (entertainer)|Peter Marshall]] and [[Cliff Arquette]] as [[Charley Weaver]]. ]]

The daytime series was played as a best two-out-of-three match between a returning champion and an opponent, with each game worth $200/$400 per match (originally $100 for each game and an additional $300 for the match that totaled $500). Originally, a five-match champion retired with an additional $2,500, the Secret Square prize package (if not yet won), and a new car; the cash bonus was increased through the years. By 1976, the prize for a five-day champion included additional cash ($5,000 or $10,000), two new cars, and a luxury vacation, with a total value of somewhere between $20,000 and $25,000. In September 1976, an endgame was added after each match with the champion simply selecting a star, each of whom held an envelope with a prize; the top prize was $5,000, with additional prizes ranging from small kitchen appliances to items worth up to about $2,000.{{citation needed|date=November 2022}}

The nighttime versions featured the same two contestants playing for the entire half-hour with each completed game worth $300 (NBC prime time) or $250 (syndicated). On the syndicated version, if time ran out with a game still in progress (interrupted by a loud horn that the host called "the tacky buzzer"), each X or O on the board at that point was worth an additional $50 to the contestants, with each contestant guaranteed at least $100 in total winnings. The contestant with the most money at the end of the show won a bonus prize, which for the first seven years of the syndicated series was a car. From 1978 to 1980, the endgame described above was used with each prize worth at least $5,000 including a new car; cash prizes of $5,000 and $10,000 were also available. If the match ended in a tie, one final question was played with the star of one contestant's choosing; if the contestant agreed or disagreed correctly, they won the match; otherwise, the match went to the opponent. The nighttime syndicated version's episodes were self-contained, unlike the daytime version where games could straddle.

For the final (1980–1981) season, the syndicated series left NBC's [[Burbank, California]] [[The Burbank Studios|studio]] and moved to the [[Riviera (hotel and casino)|Riviera Hotel and Casino]] in [[Las Vegas]], [[Nevada]]. During the final season, games were no longer scored. Instead, the winner of each game won a prize, and if time ran out before a game could be completed, the prize went to the player with the most squares on the board. Additionally, eight of the season's winning contestants were invited back to play in a Grand Championship tournament at the end of the season. The final $100,000 Grand Championship Tournament was played in 1980 and won by Eric Lloyd Scott of [[Denver]], Colorado. Prizes that year included a Geodesic Dome Home from Domes America, a [[Botany 500]] wardrobe, a 50-day cruise on [[Delta Line]], the first [[Apple II]] computer system, the original [[Betamax|Sony Betamax]], a camper trailer, a [[Recreational vehicle|motorhome]] and $20,000 in cash.

===Cast of stars===
[[File:Hollywood Squares 2000th show 1974.jpg|thumb|300px|The 2000th show in 1974. Back row, L-R: [[Cliff Arquette]] as [[Charley Weaver]], [[Rose Marie]], [[John Davidson (entertainer)|John Davidson]] (who later hosted the 1986 revival of the show), [[George Gobel]], [[Kent McCord]], [[Peter Marshall (entertainer)|Peter Marshall]], [[Vincent Price]] and [[Paul Lynde]]. Front row: [[Ruta Lee]] and [[Sandy Duncan]]. ]]
Many celebrities became recognized as regulars on the show. Some regulars were frequently asked questions pertaining to a certain topic or category. For instance, [[Paul Lynde]] was frequently asked questions related to history or relationships, to which he would first respond with a clever zinger to get a laugh (usually a wrong answer but funny joke/punch line) before providing his answer. [[Cliff Arquette]] (in character as "Charley Weaver"), a history buff, excelled at American history questions; [[Rich Little]] almost always received questions about other celebrities, which allowed him to do an impression of that individual; [[Wally Cox]] was also given a lot of celebrity questions for which he usually gave the wrong answer; [[Roddy McDowall]] usually gave correct answers about the plays of [[Shakespeare]]; [[Rose Marie]] often received questions on dating and relationships, playing off her lovelorn comic persona; and [[Demond Wilson]] often responded with mock anger to questions that were carefully worded to play upon [[African Americans|African-American]] stereotypes.

Lynde was featured in the tactically important center square throughout most of the show's original run. In 1968, after the first two years on the show, Lynde became the regular center square. Lynde's outrageous jokes earned him three consecutive [[Daytime Emmy Award]] nominations from 1972 to 1974. He left the series after taping the August 20–24, 1979, week of shows and was replaced by [[Wayland Flowers]]; Lynde returned when the series relocated to Las Vegas for the 1980–1981 season.

===Secret Square===
The Secret Square game is played as the first game on a given broadcast (or the first complete game, if a show began with a game already in progress) during the daytime series. In this game, a randomly selected Secret Square is shown only to the home audience by the shot of the television camera. A contestant who picked that square during the game won a bonus prize package if they correctly agreed or disagreed with the star. Secret Square prize packages added cash on the daytime edition, which started at around $1,000 for the 1966 episodes; the base amount increased in the later years from 1967 to 1980, by which time a new Secret Square package was worth around $3,500 to $4,500. The package grew daily until won. The question for the star was sealed in a special envelope and was almost always multiple-choice.

For the 1968 NBC primetime series, the first two games were the Secret Square games. One Secret Square offered a trip and the other Secret Square offered a car or occasionally a boat. If not won, the prize offered in the first round carried over to the second round, with a second prize added. If not won in the second round, the Secret Square prize package went unclaimed.

During the first two seasons of the syndicated series (1971–1973), the first two games were Secret Square games, with the prize packages generally worth about $2,500. If no one claimed the prizes offered in the first round, they were carried over to the second round, and if still not won went unclaimed. Beginning in 1973 and ending in 1978, the first three games had a Secret Square, with each game offering different prize packages, usually worth between $2,000 and $7,000. From 1978 to 1980, the Secret Square games were cut to game numbers two and three (the first two games early on). The Secret Square was not used during the 1980–1981 daily syndicated version.