Make the Connection
Four panelists tried to guess the connection between people.
Make the Connection is an American game show that aired on NBC Thursday nights from July 7 to September 29, 1955, sponsored by Borden. The series, a Mark Goodson-Bill Todman Production, featured four celebrity panelists who questioned contestants to find a connection between two or more people. Original host Jim McKay was replaced after four episodes by Gene Rayburn, making his game show hosting debut on August 4, 1955.
Quick Facts
- Runtime
- 30 Minutes
- Creator
- Mark Goodson; Bill Todman
- Presenter
- Jim McKay; Gene Rayburn
- Country
- United States
- Network
- NBC
- First aired
- 7 July 1955
- Last aired
- 29 September 1955
- Episodes
- 13
Facts from the source article.
Did You Know?
- Betty White made one of her earliest game show appearances as a panelist on Make the Connection; her first on national television was a few weeks earlier on What's My Line?
- The regular panelists were Betty White, Gene Klavan, Gloria DeHaven, and Eddie Bracken.
- Each time a panelist failed to make the connection within 30 seconds, the contestant earned $25; the game ended after a panelist guessed the connection or the guest earned $150.
Episode status
Of the thirteen episodes made, only a few survive, including one with Jim McKay and a Gene Rayburn-hosted show featuring an energetic J. Fred Muggs, the chimpanzee from the Today Show. GSN has occasionally broadcast a Rayburn episode in its black-and-white blocks. Buzzr aired a Rayburn episode on September 11, 2017, for its Lost and Found event, and another with Muggs on September 25, 2021, during the network's 6th annual Lost and Found marathon. Buzzr also showed an episode on Christmas morning as part of its A Betty White Christmas marathon.
More in Television Series by Mark Goodson-Bill Todman Productions
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