Bill Cullen
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The only reason this list isn't
even longer is that throughout the seventies, most game shows were based
in California while Bill was still working in New York. Appearances
on those west coast shows were limited to occasional visits during breaks
in his own schedule. For example, in a short trip to L.A. in July, 1975,
Bill taped appearances as a celebrity guest on Tattletales, Rhyme
and Reason and You Don't Say.
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Bill appeared on The Match
Game/ Hollywood Squares Hour with two little-known celebrities who
would go on to become much more famous. In 1984, Jay Leno was a rising
stand-up comic and Brian Mitchell was a supporting actor in a medical series.
Today, Leno is host of The Tonight Show and Mitchell is a Tony Award
winning Broadway performer.
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Syndicated shows in the seventies,
including many of the games listed here, were on tapes that were "bicycled"
from one station to the next throughout the country. Under that system,
different markets saw different episodes of a given series on any given
day. That's why we can't be more specific about the air dates of
those shows. In today's system of satellite distribution, virtually
all markets see the same episode of a syndicated show on the same day.
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Eagle-eyed contributor Chris
Tufts points out that during the week of July 12-16, 1976, Bill could be
seen as a guest on three different shows on three different networks.
He was on Celebrity Sweepstakes (NBC), The $20,000 Pyramid (ABC)
and Tattletales (CBS).
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In addition to being
a popular host, Bill was also a popular celebrity guest on just about every
game show that needed one. One of the more intelligent game players,
Bill usually won most any game he played and still managed to be witty
and funny doing it. Plus he always looked like he was having such
a good time!
This list is of Bill's appearances
as a guest on various game shows, including a couple of times when he appeared
only to plug his own show and not to play. We have also assembled
many of Bill's extremely rare appearances on television programs other
than game shows. A link to that page is at the bottom of this list.
Sources for the list below include
TV Guide listings, vintage newspaper articles, references and pictures
in The Encyclopedia of TV Game Shows, tapes that exist in the collections
of game show traders and several internet game show databases. Brendan
McLaughlin has been very generous in sharing his own research and TV
Guide listings. Kenneth Johannessen, Chris Tufts
and Marshall Akers were able to add several items as well.
Your specific additions are welcome.
THE $10,000 PYRAMID
(Dick Clark)
August 13-17,
1973 with Fannie Flagg
March 3-7, 1975
with Jo Anne Worley
August 18-22,
1975 with Lee Meriwether
October 13-17,
1975 with Stephanie Braxton
THE $20,000 PYRAMID
(Dick Clark)
January 19-23,
1976 with Jo Anne Worley (first week with larger prize)
March 29-April
2, 1976 with Anita Gillette
July 12-16, 1976
with Barbara Feldon
December 13-17,
1976 with Anita Gillette
September 27-October
1, 1976 with Anne Meara
August 8-12,
1977 with Lucie Arnaz
December 12-16,
1977 with Caren Kaye
December 4-8,
1978 with Lynn Redgrave
March 5-9, 1979
with Anne Meara
July 23-27, 1979
with Adrienne Barbeau
June 23-27, 1980
with Lois Nettleton (final week of series)
THE $25,000 PYRAMID
(Dick Clark)
October 10-14,
1983 with Shelley Smith
March 11-15,
1985 with Jo Anne Worley
March 24-28,
1986 with Elaine Joyce
July 21-25, 1986
with Lois Nettleton
June 1-5, 1987
with Betty White (Bill's last TV appearance)
ALL-STAR SECRETS (Bob
Eubanks)
Feb 26-March
2, 1979 with Nanette Fabray, Arte Johnson, Della Reese and John Schuck
BREAK THE BANK (Bert
Parks)
Bill filled in
as host during Parks' vacation in August, 1954.
BREAK THE BANK (Jack
Barry)
Syndicated. Specific dates
varied.
1976 with Barbara
Eden, Joey Bishop, William Conrad, Abe Vigoda, Bob Crane, Jaye P. Morgan,
Lee Meriwether and Anson Williams
BREAK THE BANK (Tom
Kennedy)
July 19-23,
1976 (final week of series) with Joyce Bulifant, Soupy Sales, Elke Sommer,
Donny Most, Jo Anne Worley, Jan Murray, Jaye P. Morgan and Lonnie Schorr
CARD SHARKS (Jim Perry)
September 8-26,
1980 three-week series featuring game show hosts, with Gene Rayburn, Wink
Martindale, Jack Clark, Tom Kennedy, Jim Lange, Allen Ludden and Alex Trebek.
CELEBRITY SWEEPSTAKES
(Jim McKrell)
September 16-20,
1974 with Geoff Edwards, Carol Wayne, Jo Ann Pflug, Macdonald Carey and
Pat Henry
April 26-30,
1976 with Lynn Anderson, Peter Brown, Dody Goodman, Dick Martin and Carol
Wayne
July 12-16, 1976
with Carol Wayne, Anne Meara, Dick Gautier, Pat McCormick and one other
October 12-16,
1976 with Dick Gautier, Arte Johnson, Lonnie Shorr and others NEW
CONCENTRATION (Hugh
Downs)
December 24,
1965 with Betty White
Bill used this appearance to plug
Eye Guess. He also appeared
on Concentration in 1971, not to play, but to plug the debut of Three
on a Match.
CROSS-WITS (Jack Clark)
Syndicated. Specific dates
varied.
1976 with Fannie
Flagg, Patti Deutsch and Jack Carter
1977 with Fannie
Flagg, Elaine Joyce and Rick Hurst
1977 with Dody
Goodman, Joyce Bulifant and Ron Ely
1978 with Pat
Carroll, Alice Ghostley, and Milt Kamen
1979 with Roxie
Roker, Marcia Wallace and Bobby Goldsboro
1979 with Roxie
Roker, Marcia Wallace and Fred Grandy
1979 with Vicki
Lawrence, Polly Holliday and Don Galloway
1979 with Jo
Anne Worley, Elinor Donahue and Johnny Brown
FAMILY FEUD (Richard
Dawson)
1983 game show
hosts week, with Bob Eubanks, Jim Perry, Nipsey Russell, Betty White, Tom
Kennedy, Jim Lange, Peter Marshall, Bert Parks and Leslie Uggams.
HE SAID, SHE SAID (Joe
Garagiola)
Syndicated. Specific dates
varied.
1969 with Gene
Rayburn and others
1970 with Orson
Bean, Robert Lansing and Heywood Hale Broun
1970 with Orson
Bean, Patrick O'Neal, and Pat Carroll NEW
1970 with Dick
Clark, Peter Duchin, and Peter Lind Hayes & Mary Healy NEW
1970 with Alejandro
Rey, Genevieve, and Kyle Rote & Sharon Ritchie NEW
1970 with Dick
Clark, Jerry Shane, and Ruby Dee & Ossie Davis NEW
(Bill also substituted for Joe Garagiola
as host on at least one occasion, possibly when Joe had a committment to
baseball broadcasting.)
HOLLYWOOD SQUARES (Peter
Marshall) [NBC Daytime]
August 16-20,
1971 with Wally Cox, Rose Marie, Jack Klugman, Tony Randall, Karen Valentine,
Jackie Vernon, Charley Weaver, and Carol Lawrence.
JEOPARDY! (Art Fleming)
Special anniversary
show (c1972) with Peter Marshall and Art James
LIARS CLUB (Allen
Ludden)
Syndicated. Specific dates
varied.
1978 with Larry
Hovis, Dody Goodman and Alan Sues
MATCH GAME (Gene Rayburn)
December 20-24,
1965 with Joan Rivers
May 15-19, 1967
with Phyllis Newman
December 18-22,
1967 with Bess Myerson
February 12-16,
1968 with Fannie Flagg
February 17-21,
1969 with Hugh Downs
MATCH GAME '7X (Gene
Rayburn)
Nov 12-16, 1973
with Somers, Jack Klugman, Cass Elliott, Dawson and Loretta Swit
March 28-April
3, 1974 with Somers, Reilly, Patty Deutsch, Dawson and Betty White
*April 14-20,
1976 with Somers, Reilly, Janice Pennington, Dawson and Fannie Flagg
*September 26-30,
1977 with Somers, Reilly, Debralee Scott, Dawson and Flagg
*April 18-20,
1979 with Fred Grandy, Somers, Reilly, Connie Stevens and Marcia Wallace
MATCH GAME (Gene Rayburn)
Syndicated. Specific dates
varied.
*1979-80 week
with Somers, Reilly, Lee Meriwether, Bill Daily and White
*1980-81 week
with Peter Marshall, Somers, Dick Martin, Elaine Joyce White
1981-82 week
with Jimmie Walker, Somers, Reilly, Lilibet Stern and Elaine Joyce
1981-82 week
with Somers, Reilly, Sharon Farrell, Maclean Stevenson and Edie McClurg
*A sixth show was taped during the
starred weeks for the syndicated MATCH GAME PM.
MATCH GAME/HOLLYWOOD SQUARES
HOUR (Gene Rayburn & Jon Bauman)
January 16-20,
1984 with Brian Mitchell, Jay Leno, Linda Dano, Ellen Bry, Richard Kline,
Lyle Waggoner, and Phyllis Diller.
MINDREADERS (Dick Martin)
August 20-24,
1979 with Brett Somers
PASSWORD (Allen Ludden)
[60's CBS]
January 30, 1962
with Dorothy Collins
August 21, 1962
with Rita Moreno (Jack Clark hosts)
March 10, 1963
with Jane Fonda
July 8, 1963
with Susan Strasberg
November 1-5,
1965 daytime week with Florence Henderson
PASSWORD (Allen Ludden)
[70's ABC]
July 12-16, 1971
with Florence Henderson
November 12-16,
1973 with Helen Reddy
May 6-10, 1974
with Susan Oliver
PASSWORD PLUS (Allen
Ludden)
March 12-16,
1979 with Mary Tyler Moore
July 9-13, 1979
with Patty Duke
October 29-Novembeer
2, 1979 with Marcia Wallace
March 3-7, 1980
with Peggy Cass
PASSWORD PLUS (Bill
Cullen)
(Bill hosted Password Plus for four
weeks during Allen Ludden's illness.)
April 14-18,
1980 with Elaine Joyce and Bill Anderson
April 21-25,
1980 with Nanette Fabray and Skip Stephenson
April 28-May
2, 1980 with Vicki Lawrence and Dick Gautier
May 5-9, 1980
with Betty White and Greg Morris
PASSWORD PLUS (Allen
Ludden)
May 12-16, 1980
with Susan Richardson
July 29-August
4, 1980 with Betty White
October 14-20,
1980 with Karen Marrow
PASSWORD PLUS (Tom
Kennedy)
November 11-17,
1980 with Barbara Rhoades
December 31,
1980-January 7, 1981 with Susan Richardson
February 11-17,
1982 with Patty Duke Astin
PERSONALITY (Larry
Blyden)
July 10-14, 1967
with Joan Rivers and Henry Morgan (Second week of series)
August 21-25,
1967 with Phyllis Newman and Sheila MacRae
October 30-November
3, 1967 with Joan Fontaine and Betsy Palmer
December 4-8,
1967 with Florence Henderson and Selma Diamond
January 8-12,
1968 with Joan Bennett and Joan Rivers
February 26-March
1, 1968 with Totie Fields and Gig Young
April 15-19,
1968 with Sheila MacRae and Betsy Palmer
May 13-17, 1968
with Eva Gabor and Pat Carroll
June 24-28, 1968
with Carol Lawrence and Dick Shawn
October 21-25,
1968 with Pat Carroll and Lainie Kazan
March 24-28,
1969 with Betsy Palmer and Selma Diamond
August 18-22,
1969 with Julia Meade and Sheila MacRae
 THE
PRICE IS RIGHT (Bob Barker)
Bill appeared
on TPIR in 1982 to plug Child's Play.
No mention was made in his brief visit of his own history with The
Price Is Right.
RHYME AND REASON (Bob
Eubanks)
August 4-8, 1975
with Jaye P. Morgan, Mitzi McCall, Meredith MacRae, Pat Harrington and
Nipsey Russell
SHOOT FOR THE STARS
(Geoff Edwards)
January 10-14,
1977 with Penny Peyser
April 4-8, 1977
with Adrienne Barbeau
July 25-29, 1977
with Barbara Feldon
September 26-30,
1977 with Adrienne Barbeau (final week)
SNAP JUDGMENT (Ed McMahon)
April 20-24,
1967 with Diana Sands
March 19-23,
1968 with Phyllis Kirk
November 28-December
2, 1968 with Jayne Meadows
March 17-21,
1969 with Dina Merrill
STRIKE IT RICH (Warren
Hull)
1954 Guest Host
Found in only one source and not
confirmed, though Hull used a number of guest hosts for his series (including
Robert Alda, Monty Hall and Dom Ameche) so why not Bill? Bill is
also credited with participating in the RADIO
version of the series.
SUPER PASSWORD (Bert
Convy)
October 22-26,
1984 with Marcia Wallace
February 4-8,
1985 with Marcia Wallace (Tournament of Champions)
September 16-20,
1985 with Tom Poston
January 27-31,
1986 with Kim Miyori
TATTLETALES (Bert Convy)
March 25-29,
1974 with Allen Ludden & Betty White and Jo Ann Pflug & Chuck Woolery
August 14-20,
1975 with Joan Collins and Zsa Zsa Gabor
July 12-16, 1976
with Judy Norton & Doug Taylor and Don & Susan Stewart
1977 week with
Bob Barker, Patty Weaver
Aug 29-Sept 2,
1977 with Gary Collins & Mary Ann Mobley and Ray Buktenica & Joyce
DeWitt NEW
March 1-5, 1982
with Conrad Janis and Irlene Mandrell
September 9-13,
1982 with Stuart Damon and Christopher Norris
April 12-18,
1983 with Maureen Reagan and Phyllis Diller
TO TELL THE TRUTH (Bud
Collyer)
October 19, 1964
with Peggy Cass, Kitty Carlisle and Tom Poston
January 18, 1965
with IGAS panelists Betsy Palmer, Henry Morgan and Bess Myerson.
TO TELL THE TRUTH
(Robin Ward)
Syndicated. Specific dates
varied. The week numbers are the production
weeks of the 39-week season.
Week 6 with Fannie
Flagg, Soupy Sales and Peggy Cass
Week 7 with John
Wade, Susan Lucci and Polly Bergen
Week 13 with
John Wade, Tiiu Leek and Peggy Cass
Week 14 with
Pat Collins, Dick Clark and Polly Bergen
Bill was a regular on the 70s version
of To Tell The Truth.
TRIVIA TRAP (Bob Eubanks)
1984 celeb week
with Jamie Farr, Tom Poston, Vicki Lawrence, Betty White and Jayne Meadows.
WHAT'S MY LINE? (John
Charles Daly)
April 1, 1956
with fellow I've Got A Secret panelists Henry Morgan, Jayne Meadows
and Faye Emerson collectively as Mystery Guests
July 9, 1961
as a solo Mystery Guest. The panel (Dorothy Kilgallen, Bennett Cerf,
Steve Allen and Jayne Meadows) failed to identify him.
WHAT'S MY LINE? (Larry
Blyden)
One source says
Bill participated in this syndicated version of the series in 1974.
If true, it was probably as a Mystery Guest again, since according to the
book What's My Line?, Bill was never a member of the panel. Not
confirmed.
WHEEL OF FORTUNE (Chuck
Woolery)
Single appearance
in 1980 as part of a special game show hosts week.
YOU DON'T SAY (Tom
Kennedy) [60s NBC Daytime]
April 8-12, 1968
with Pat Carroll
November 11-15,
1968 with Barbara Bain
YOU DON'T SAY (Tom
Kennedy) [70s ABC Daytime]
July 21-25, 1975
with Ann Elder, Joyce Bulifant, and Larry Hovis
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