The $1.98 Beauty Show

Format

The $1.98 Beauty Show was a staged and broadly played program, but its format functioned as a subtle satire that flipped traditional roles. The comedian served as the announcer, while the announcer delivered the jokes. Celebrity judges were introduced with great fanfare but contributed nothing during the show and never spoke, not even to reveal the winner. The judge sitting closest to host Rip Taylor would silently pass him an envelope containing the name of the prearranged winner. The show had three rounds, with each contestant evaluated by three celebrity panelists, including Jaye P. Morgan, Jamie Farr, Steve Garvey, Rosey Grier, Patty Andrews, Louis Nye, Peter Lawford, Dorothy Lamour, Marty Allen, Trini Lopez, and the Unknown Comic—all of whom had also appeared as panelists on The Gong Show. Taylor introduced the contestants one by one. In the second round, contestants demonstrated their abilities. The third round was a swimsuit competition, where Taylor brought the contestants on stage and announcer Jacobs made jokes about their vital statistics and hobbies. At the end of each episode, Taylor named the $1.98 Beauty of the Week, who received a cheap plastic crown, a bouquet of rotten vegetables, and the $1.98 cash prize, which Taylor dispensed from a coin dispenser on his belt. The outcome was predetermined, as stated in the announcer’s opening monologue and in the fine print of the closing credits. According to Rip Taylor, the show was performing well in syndication but was abruptly canceled by Chuck Barris. Taylor recalled that Barris was at a party when someone commented on the amount of trash he had on the air. Barris, who had 17 hours of such programming each week, became angry and said he would remove it all. The $1.98 Beauty Show was ranked third in the country at the time of its cancellation.