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37-584: Sugarman also produced the 1970s game shows Celebrity Sweepstakes , Whew! and The Wizard of Odds , and the short-lived series The Richard Pryor Show . During 1979, Sugarman also owned shares in Old Tucson Corporation, which owned the Old Tucson and Old Vegas amusement parks in Arizona and Nevada. In the 1980s, he produced the motion pictures Kiss Me Goodbye , Extremities and Children of

74-485: A Christmas special. Quiz Derby , with similar rules but only five celebrities, was a much more popular version than both its American and British counterparts. It ran weekly from 1976–1992. In September 1977, ATV-0 in Melbourne premiered All-Star Sweepstakes with John Newman as host. The series lasted until January 1978. Nipsey Russell Julius " Nipsey " Russell (September 15, 1918 – October 2, 2005)

111-733: A medic in the United States Army during World War II , enlisting as a private on June 27, 1941, and returning from Europe in 1945 as a second lieutenant . He got his start as a comedian in the 1940s as a carhop at the Atlanta drive-in The Varsity , where he increased the tips he earned by making customers laugh. He was discovered after he began performing in nightclubs in the 1950s. He subsequently made many "party albums", which were essentially compilations of his stand-up routines. In 1952, Russell joined with film comedian Mantan Moreland for

148-797: A Lesser God . He was the executive producer of the film Crimes of the Heart in 1986 and television series The Newlywed Game 1988. He was also part owner of Barris Industries (later known as the Guber - Peters Entertainment Company) before it was sold to Sony in 1989. During the late 1980s, Burt Sugarman was a member of The Giant Group, which they had bought investments in media firms, like broadcasting firm Reeves Entertainment Group , and television broadcaster/cable system operator/newspaper owner Media General in 1987. Sugarman married television personality and talk show host Mary Hart in 1989; they have one son. He had previously been married to Pauline Schur and to

185-509: A bet on who he or she thought would answer correctly, as "$ 10 on Nipsey Russell ". In the show's last 13 weeks, the audience was told the category of the question before selecting celebrities. Contestants could bet $ 2, $ 5, or $ 10 (unless he or she had $ 10 or less, at which point the bet defaulted automatically to $ 2) or up to $ 100, if he or she bet on the favorite. Near the end of the show's run, contestants could not bet more than $ 10 less than their total when doing this. A correct answer added

222-424: A loud horn) and replaced. If either player dropped down to less than the minimum $ 2 bet, both players were given $ 2 (or $ 1 if that player already had $ 1). The first round lasted for an unspecified time limit. Near the end of the show's run, the celebrities no longer wrote down answers. This made the game run quicker, and made it more likely that a question would be answered, since if the current player's celebrity got

259-493: A rule where the two players had to choose different numbers. The program was involved in NBC 's first cross-game promotion, held on St. Patrick's Day in 1975 and called "Shamrock Sweepstakes". Players from NBC's six daytime game shows at the time ( Sweepstakes , High Rollers , Wheel of Fortune , Hollywood Squares , Jackpot! , and Blank Check ) answered a set of questions dealing with Ireland and Irish/Irish-American people;

296-595: A stage act, replacing Ben Carter as Moreland's dapper straight man . One of their bits was an old routine that Moreland and Carter had performed in vaudeville and in Charlie Chan films. In the "interruption routine" (or "incomplete sentences") Moreland would engage Russell in conversation, only to be interrupted by Russell, who in turn was interrupted by Moreland: Moreland: Guess who I saw? I saw old— Russell: Is he back again? I thought he was— Moreland: He was, but he got out. Russell: Is that so? Moreland: Yeah, he

333-735: A supporting role as a New York policeman, "Andy" Anderson, in the sitcom Car 54, Where Are You? Russell returned to the role in the feature film version of Car 54, Where Are You? (filmed in 1990, released in 1994), with "Anderson" now serving as the precinct captain. In 1965, Russell became a co-host of ABC 's Les Crane Show . In 1970, he was a co-star on the ABC sitcom Barefoot in the Park . From 1973 through 1976, he appeared regularly on The Dean Martin Show and The Dean Martin Comedy World . In 1978, he played

370-502: A tie both players came back, but this changed to both players leaving if they both lost everything on the last question. Originally, players could stay on until defeated, and they won a car for every three wins. The limit later became three days, then five (with five wins needed for the car, but it was then changed back to three wins for the car, although the five-game limit remained). On the syndicated versions, two different contestants (no returning champions) played each week. The winner of

407-584: The 1990s, Russell gained popularity with a new generation of television viewers as a regular on Late Night with Conan O'Brien . Russell often appeared during comedy sketches between scheduled guests and delivered his trademark rhymes. Russell's final TV appearance was as a panelist on a game show–themed week on the final season of the Tom Bergeron version of Hollywood Squares in 2003. Russell died on October 2, 2005, at age 87 in New York City, of cancer. He

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444-643: The Sands Hotel Copa Room. He performed at Kutsher's Country Club in Monticello, New York, on January 1, 1977. Russell became the first black performer to become a regular panelist on a daily network game show when he joined ABC's Missing Links in 1964. In 1971, he started as a featured panelist on To Tell the Truth , which led to his being hired for The Match Game when Goodson-Todman Productions revived it two years later. He also served as panelist in 1968 on

481-631: The Tin Man in the film version of The Wiz alongside Diana Ross and Michael Jackson . Scattered appearances on television series followed, as well as occasional guest-host stints on The Tonight Show during the Johnny Carson era. Russell also appeared frequently in Las Vegas, including a series of appearances with Sergio Franchi at the Frontier Hotel in 1978 and 1979, and with Franchi in 1979 at

518-454: The answer wrong the other celebrities now knew that it was a wrong answer. In round two, called the Home Stretch round, contestants had the opportunity to double their bets by picking a second celebrity with the correct answer. In the earliest and latest parts of the run, the contestant would lose any money won on the first celebrity if the second celebrity got it wrong, but the contestant had

555-399: The end of the run this changed to 5:1. The two players secretly and simultaneously selected their celebrities, as well as whether to bet everything they had or none of it. There was a significant prize, usually worth around $ 1,000, for anyone who bet "all" and lost. Both players kept any cash won on the show. The player with the highest cash total won the game. Originally, if the game ended in

592-449: The game received a bonus prize. Later in the syndicated version, a "fanfare" played during the game meant that the contestants also had a chance to predict how many celebrities had the correct answer. If either prediction, or both, were correct, the player(s) won a bonus prize package called the " exacta ". This was also added to the NBC version in the last 13 weeks of its run, although they added

629-625: The late actress Carol Wayne , and was engaged to actresses Ann-Margret and Myrna Hansen . This article about a television producer from the United States is a stub . You can help Misplaced Pages by expanding it . Celebrity Sweepstakes Celebrity Sweepstakes is an American television game show that aired on NBC 's daytime schedule from April 1, 1974, to October 1, 1976. The show also had two separate weekly syndicated runs from September 9, 1974, to September 1975 and again from September 20, 1976, to May 23, 1977. Jim McKrell hosted

666-400: The lead, but her phone was busy; fortunately, she was drawn by another celebrity, who ended up with the highest score.) The top three celebrities (whose home contestants answered the phone) won their game amounts for their home contestants, plus an extra $ 75,000 to the winner, $ 20,000 for second, and $ 5,000 for third. The episode status of Celebrity Sweepstakes is unclear. It is possible that

703-575: The leading roles in the film version of The Wiz as the Tin Man . He was a frequent guest on the Dean Martin Celebrity Roast series and often appeared on Late Night with Conan O'Brien during the program's early years. Julius Russell was born in Atlanta , Georgia. His birthdate is unclear; according to one report his birth certificate was lost. At the time of his 2005 death, friends said he

740-638: The nickname "Nipsey" from his mother, who liked the way it sounded. He went to Booker T. Washington High School in Atlanta, then moved to Cincinnati to live with an aunt during his senior year so that he could establish residency to attend the University of Cincinnati tuition-free. He attended the University of Cincinnati for one semester in 1936, which is also consistent with a birthdate of 1918, as he would have been 18 and not merely 11 or 12, as he would have been if he had been born in 1924 or 1925. He served as

777-401: The one who got the most correct won $ 100,000. A later promotion involved home contestants; over a week, celebrities played the game (mainly actors from NBC soap operas, although Chuck Woolery and Susan Stafford of Wheel of Fortune appeared on the last day), each playing for someone at home. In order to win, the home player had to answer the phone when called. (One contestant would have had

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814-407: The option of not choosing a second celebrity. If only one celebrity had the correct answer, a bell dubbed the "ice cream bell" (as it sounded like something an old-fashioned ice cream salesman would ring when going around the neighborhood) would ring; selecting the correct celebrity would automatically double the payout. The odds for each celebrity were determined by how well they had performed during

851-542: The possession of producer Burt Sugarman . On January 9, 2013, host Jim McKrell was interviewed on the Shokus Radio program "Stu's Show" and seemed to contradict this, saying that the entire run of Celebrity Sweepstakes was destroyed due to the issues of dual ownership between Sugarman and Ralph Andrews . The Sweepstakes Game , using a similar format with Bernard Braden as host, ran for 13 weeks on LWT from July 3 to September 25, 1976. A fourteenth episode later aired as

888-643: The premiere of Wheel of Fortune . Additionally, about 2 minutes and 20 seconds of the March 18, 1975 episode recorded off WAVE in Louisville and featuring a clip of the Shamrock Sweepstakes mentioned above has surfaced and can be viewed at the FuzzyMemories website. The status of the syndicated versions is also unclear. It had been assumed by traders that these episodes, along with the daytime episodes, were in

925-414: The question correctly. After the voting took place, a totalizator set odds on each celebrity. The celebrity who had the greatest vote of confidence from the audience was dubbed the "favorite" and had the lowest odds, frequently 1:1 (even money) or 2:1. A celebrity who had few or no audience votes was dubbed the "long shot" and had the highest odds, up to 99:1. The contestant in control that round then placed

962-403: The questions in advance of the taping. However, the questions were based on biographical information that had been taken from the celebrities. This information (strengths and weaknesses) was provided to the audience and contestants via tip sheets , akin to actual horse racing forms . McKrell read a question and people in the studio audience then voted for the celebrity they believed could answer

999-581: The series was destroyed as per network policy at the time. The pilot and finale both circulate among collectors, and a 1975 episode from the Warhol collection is held by The Paley Center for Media in New York, as well as two other episodes. The final episode can also be currently viewed on YouTube . In addition, the last 30 seconds of the January 6, 1975 show exist on audio tape, which features Chuck Woolery promoting

1036-427: The show for the final question of the game. The odds were calculated based upon the number of incorrect answers given by a celebrity, so that a celebrity missing two questions was given 2:1 odds, four misses resulted in 4:1 odds, and so on; odds for celebrities who didn't miss any questions were given at even money (1:1). Later in the run, the audience set the odds one more time; at first, the maximum odds were 8:1, but by

1073-429: The show was not picked up. In 1985, he hosted the short-lived NBC game show Your Number's Up , which was produced by Sande Stewart. Russell’s specialty on game shows was delivering short, humorous poems. He was a regular panelist on a 1970s ABC show, Rhyme and Reason , built around his poetic talents. In 1979, he told Jet magazine, “I knew two poems and one day, on a show called Missing Links ( Ed McMahon

1110-399: The show. Bill Armstrong was the main announcer, with Dick Tufeld , Charlie O'Donnell and John Harlan substituting. Joey Bishop and Carol Wayne were the regulars who appeared most often. Other panelists included Clifton Davis , Buddy Hackett , George Hamilton , JoAnn Pflug and Freddie Prinze . CS was produced jointly by Ralph Andrews and Burt Sugarman . The first theme song

1147-476: The syndicated version of What's My Line? Producer Bob Stewart featured him regularly as a panelist on Pyramid throughout its 1970s and 1980s runs. He hosted two revivals of Jack Barry and Dan Enright's Juvenile Jury for BET from 1983 to 1984, then again for syndication from 1989 to 1991. In 1983, Russell hosted a pilot game show on CBS called Star Words . Three pilots were recorded in June of that year but

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1184-407: The value of the bet multiplied by that celebrity's odds to the contestant's score (a $ 10 bet on a celebrity with the right answer and his/her odds are at 5:1 would win $ 50). A wrong answer lost the value of the bet and the opponent could then make a bet of his or her own on that same question. If no celebrity had the correct answer, the question would be thrown out (known as a "scratch" and indicated by

1221-492: Was 80, and that was the age reported in his obituaries. That implies a birth year of 1924 or 1925; the New York Times obituary gave his birthdate as October 13, 1924. Federal records suggest that he was born in 1918: Census documents record a Julius Russell in Atlanta aged 1 year 4 months in 1920, consistent with a birthdate in late 1918. The Social Security Death Index lists his birthdate as September 15, 1918. He acquired

1258-399: Was an American entertainer best known for his appearances as a panelist on game shows from the 1960s through the 1990s, including Match Game , Password , Hollywood Squares , To Tell the Truth , and Pyramid . His appearances were often distinguished by short, humorous poems he recited during the broadcast, which led to his nickname "the poet laureate of television". He had one of

1295-429: Was composed by Stan Worth, and the second by Alan Thicke . The game used a horse racing motif as its premise. Two contestants (originally three in the early weeks) competed for the entire show, and started the game with $ 20 (sometimes $ 50) each, trying to predict which of six celebrities could correctly answer questions posed by the host. As stated by McKrell at the beginning of the show, the celebrities did not receive

1332-620: Was over— Russell: Is that so? Soon the entire conversation was conducted in incomplete sentences, with each man anticipating or contradicting the other. Their act can be seen in two all-black-cast compilation films, Rhythm and Blues Review and Rock and Roll Revue ; another variation of the "interruption routine", performed by Tommy Davidson and Savion Glover , was featured in Spike Lee 's 2000 film Bamboozled . A September 1957 appearance on The Ed Sullivan Show led to several guest spots with Jack Paar on The Tonight Show and in 1961

1369-407: Was the host), I did one poem and everybody applauded. The next day I did the other one I knew. On the third morning, Ed said, ‘And now Nipsey’s poem.’ I didn’t really know any more poems, but I realized that this was a winning gimmick – that people liked this. So I went home to see if I could create them and found that I could. And that’s how I started. I actually stumbled into it on the air.” During

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