The famous "isolation booth"
June 7, 1955, 70 years ago: The $64,000 Question premieres on CBS. It ran for 4 years, before being caught up in "The Quiz Show Scandals." It was sponsored by Camel cigarettes and Revlon cosmetics.
It was similar to more recent Who Wants to Be a Millionaire? except that you had to choose one category and stick with it; and you got only one lifeline, and you could only use it if you got to the last question, then you could bring "an expert." Host Hal March died of lung cancer in 1970, only 49 years old -- apparently, more loyal to Camel than to Revlon.
An as-yet-unknown Joyce Brothers won the $64,000, her subject being boxing. As a joke, Jack Benny went on the show, and picked violins as the subject. He got the first, $64, question right, and, fulfilling his reputation for cheapness, quit.
Another CBS show, The Honeymooners, made 2 references to it, then introduced a parody, The $99,000 Answer, in which Jackie Gleason's character, Ralph Kramden was determined to win the big prize, using popular songs as his category, but, in one of the most-telegraphed punches in TV history, blew the $100 question.
According to an inflation-calculator website, $64,000 in 1955 is worth $770,000 today. So winning the big prize on Who Wants to Be a Millionaire? is bigger. But $99,000 wouldn't be: That's worth about $1.19 million.
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