Missing Links (game show)
A panel game where celebrities guessed missing words from unusual stories.
Missing Links is a Goodson-Todman game show that originally aired on NBC and later moved to ABC. It was hosted by Ed McMahon and then by Dick Clark, marking Clark's only game show for the production company. The series is notable for being the sole Goodson-Todman program Clark hosted without his customary sign-off.
Quick Facts
- Runtime
- 30 Minutes
- Creator
- Mark Goodson; Bill Todman
- Presenter
- Ed McMahon (NBC); Dick Clark (ABC)
- Announcer
- Johnny Olson
- Country
- United States
- Network
- NBC
- First aired
- 9 September 1963
- Last aired
- 27 March 1964
Facts from the source article.
Game play
A panel of three celebrities faced a studio contestant who told an unusual story. When the contestant reached a sentence with a blank or blanks at or near the end, each panelist tried to guess the missing word or words. A correct answer from one celebrity won $50 for the contestant, while an incorrect answer passed the turn to the next celebrity. If all three missed, the host gave the starting letter or letters of the answer, and a correct guess then earned only $25. Three guests played each day, with the final guest being a celebrity. On the pilot, the guest predicted whether each word would be guessed or not, earning $10 per correct prediction based on remaining chances or incorrect guesses. On the sixth and final part of the story, each panelist took one guess with the first letter revealed, and a correct prediction earned $25 per incorrect guess or chance remaining.
Broadcast history
Missing Links debuted on September 9, 1963 at 11:30 AM Eastern on NBC, replacing The Price Is Right in a scheduling shuffle. It competed against Seven Keys on ABC and reruns of Pete and Gladys on CBS. On December 30, ABC replaced Keys with Dick Clark's first game show, The Object Is, which was cancelled after thirteen weeks. On March 30, 1964, Missing Links moved to ABC to replace The Object Is, with Clark replacing McMahon as host. Its NBC slot was taken by Jeopardy! CBS began counterprogramming with reruns of The Real McCoys, and ratings slid. ABC cancelled the show almost nine months later, ending it on December 25, 1964.
Episode status
Of the show's episodes, only three are known to survive; the rest were wiped under standard network practices of the time. The pilot resurfaced during Buzzr's Lost and Found week on September 13, 2017. It was one of five episodes recorded on August 21, 1963, just weeks before NBC began airing the series. That first week's panel included Milt Kamen, Phyllis Newman, and Chester Morris. Near the pilot's end, host Ed McMahon recounts the unusual background of contestant Gloria Steinem, a magazine writer who had worked undercover as a Playboy Bunny. Her episode, also taped that same day, was later erased. A surviving 1964 episode features host Dick Clark with panelists Sam Levenson, Kaye Ballard, and Joel Grey. Another episode, dated December 24, 1964, is preserved by the UCLA Film and Television Archive and the Library of Congress, with Arlene Francis among the panel and Clark hosting. All other episodes vanished because the original reel-to-reel videotapes were erased before the videocassette existed.
Frequently Asked Questions
Who created Missing Links (game show)?
Missing Links was created by Mark Goodson and Bill Todman.
When did Missing Links (game show) end?
Missing Links last aired on 27 March 1964.
More in Television Series by Mark Goodson-Bill Todman Productions
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