Take It or Leave It (radio show)

Did You Know?

• Only five recordings of the program are known to survive.
• The first question was worth $1, and the value doubled for each successive question up to the seventh and final question worth $64.
• The show aired on Sunday at 10:00 p.m. on CBS and later on NBC.

Cultural influence

The radio quiz show "Take It or Leave It" gave the 1940s the enduring phrase "That's the $64 question" for any especially tough problem. It also introduced a taunt, now mostly heard only in Warner Bros. cartoons, where the whole audience would chant "You'll be sorry!" with a rising tone whenever a contestant gambled their winnings for the top prize. The show's massive popularity—drawing an estimated 23 million listeners in the summer of 1943, the highest for any radio quiz program at the time—led to a 1944 20th Century Fox film of the same name. That movie followed a man needing $1,000 for his wife's obstetrician who gets on the show, with the prize money exceeding the usual $64. This radio program later became the foundation for the television hit "The $64,000 Question." In 1990, "Take It or Leave It" was honored with induction into the National Radio Hall of Fame.

Personnel

The CBS radio run of this show began with host Bob Hawk from 1940 to 1941, then Phil Baker took over until 1947. That year, the program moved to NBC, where hosts included Baker, Garry Moore (1947–49), Eddie Cantor (1949–50), and Jack Paar starting June 11, 1950. Paar stayed on when the show was renamed The $64 Question, followed by Baker from March to December 1951, then Paar again that December. David Ross announced, and Ray Block handled the music.