Let's Make a Deal

Did You Know?

• In 2001, Let's Make a Deal was ranked No. 18 on TV Guide's list of 'The 50 Greatest Game Shows of All Time'.
• The show held the world's record for the longest waiting list for tickets in show-business history, with a wait time of two to three years.
• A 1969 episode features a gaffe Monty Hall rated as his most embarrassing moment: he offered a woman $100 if she could show him another nipple on a baby's bottle.

Broadcast history

Let's Make a Deal debuted on NBC on December 30, 1963, as part of its daytime schedule, replacing People Will Talk at 2:00 pm Eastern. After five months, it moved to 1:30 pm Eastern and became a hit, facing little competition from CBS's As the World Turns and ABC drama reruns. The show moved to ABC on December 30, 1968, where it remained until July 9, 1976, continuing its dominance at 1:30 pm against NBC game shows. A weekly syndicated edition premiered on August 30, 1971, distributed by ABC Films and later Worldvision Enterprises, running until 1977. In 1975, Days of Our Lives expanded to an hour and began drawing younger audiences away from Deal. ABC executive Fred Silverman moved the show to noon during the week of December 1–8, 1975, putting it against High Rollers and The Magnificent Marble Machine on NBC and The Young and the Restless on CBS. Although Deal beat The Magnificent Marble Machine in ratings, the show failed to achieve the 30 share NBC required, and Marble went into reruns. The replacement The Fun Factory premiered on June 14, 1976, running about even with Deal in ratings.

Past personnel

Monty Hall hosted nearly every episode from 1963 to 1986, covering the original daytime series, primetime episodes on NBC and ABC, and three syndicated productions (1971, 1980, 1984). He was absent twice due to illness: Dennis James substituted in 1971, and Geoff Edwards hosted a week in 1985 while Hall recovered from laryngitis. Bob Hilton hosted the 1990 NBC series but was fired due to low ratings; Hall returned as guest host in October 1990 until the series ended in January 1991. Billy Bush hosted the 2003 series, with Hall making a cameo. Announcers also served as assistant hosts. Wendell Niles was the original announcer, replaced by Jay Stewart in 1964, who stayed until 1977. Chuck Chandler announced the 1980 Canadian series, Brian Cummings the 1984 series (first season), Dean Goss the following season, Dean Miuccio the 1990 revival, and Vance DeGeneres the 2003 edition. Jonathan Mangum has been the announcer for the current CBS version since 2009, with Chris Ahearn as backup. Carol Merrill was the prize model on the original series from 1963 to 1977. Models on later series included Maggie Brown, Julie Hall, Karen LaPierre, Melanie Vincz, Georgia Satelle, and the Klimaszewski Twins.

Production

The original daytime series was recorded at NBC Studios in Burbank, California, then at ABC Television Center in Los Angeles after 1968. The weekly syndicated series also taped at ABC Television Center for its first five seasons; after ABC cancelled the daytime series in 1976, the sixth and final syndicated season was recorded in the ballroom of the Westgate Las Vegas hotel. The 1980 Canadian series taped at Panorama Film Studios in West Vancouver. The All-New Let's Make a Deal taped its first season at NBC Studios in Burbank and its second at Sunset Las Palmas Studios in Hollywood. The 1990 NBC daytime series was recorded at Disney-MGM Studios near Orlando, Florida. The 2003 revival returned production to Burbank. The current edition first originated from the Tropicana outside Las Vegas, then moved to Los Angeles in 2010, taping at Sunset Bronson Studios (2010–2015), Raleigh Studios (2015–2017), Saticoy Studios in Van Nuys (2017–2022), Quixote Studios in Sylmar (2022–2023), and Haven Studios in Atwater Village (2023–2024). The theme music for the 1963–1977 versions was composed by Sheldon Allman, performed by an in-studio combo led by Ivan Ditmars. The 1980–1981 theme was composed by Stan Worth.

Format

Each episode consists of several deals between the host and one or more traders from the studio audience, selected at the host's whim. Married couples are often chosen to play together. In a typical deal, a trader receives a prize or cash of medium value and is offered the chance to trade for an unknown prize, which may be hidden behind curtains, in a large box onstage, in a smaller box on a tray, or other formats. The initial prize may itself be hidden, and cash may be packaged so only the outermost bill is visible. Traders are technically supposed to bring something to trade in, but this rule is seldom enforced; occasionally, a trader trades an item like a shoe or purse and receives it back as a prize. Prizes include cash, trips, electronics, furniture, appliances, or cars. Traders who choose boxes or curtains risk receiving zonks—outlandish items or low-value prizes. On rare occasions, a zonk conceals a valuable prize, such as a fur coat inside a garbage can, or has genuine value itself, like an antique pie wagon valued at $3,300.