Wheel of Fortune (1952 game show)
A 1950s game show rewarding good deeds with spins.
Wheel of Fortune is an American game show that aired on CBS from 1952 to 1953, hosted by Todd Russell and narrated by Hal Sims. It featured a carnival-style prize wheel and rewarded contestants for good deeds. The show is distinct from the later Merv Griffin-produced series of the same name that debuted in 1975.
Quick Facts
- Genre
- Game show
- Runtime
- 22–24 minutes (daytime); 24–25 minutes (nighttime)
- Creator
- Peter Arnell
- Company
- Peter Arnell Productions
- Presenter
- Todd Russell
- Narrator
- Hal Simms
- Country
- United States
- Network
- CBS
Facts from the source article.
Theme
The show's theme was Kay Starr's recording of the song 'Wheel of Fortune', released in early 1952. It spent 22 weeks on Billboard's best-seller chart, including nine weeks at number one from March 14 to May 9. Two other renditions by Bobby Wayne with Joe Reisman's orchestra and by Eddie Wilcox & Sunny Gale charted during the same period but were less popular. Pianist Milton Kaye also composed music for the program.
Broadcast history
Wheel debuted on October 3, 1952, at 10:00 AM Eastern on Fridays, airing for a full hour until 11:00 AM. It faced Breakfast Party on NBC and local programming on ABC. On November 24, Breakfast was replaced by Ding Dong School. A nighttime version began July 7, 1953, at 8:30 PM but ended September 15 against Break the Bank. The daytime version ended November 6, 1953, worn down by competition from Glamour Girl and Ding Dong School.
Australian version
Though its time on American airwaves was brief, the show became a hit in Australia, airing on radio and TV from 1959 to 1962. Reg Grundy, the series producer, originally hosted; Walter Elliott took over in 1962. A motor-driven carnival-style wheel appeared in the 1973 Shopper's Bazaar pilot. Grundy later launched his own version of the Wheel in 1981, which ran successfully on the Seven Network until 2006. A short-lived 2008 revival, Million Dollar Wheel of Fortune, aired on the Nine Network.
Episode status
Like many shows from that era, the American version was likely erased under standard network policies. A single photograph of Russell beside the wheel survives, featured in the A&E special TV Game Shows. The Australian edition probably met the same fate, though brief footage from one episode appeared in the 2006 program 50 Years: 50 Stars. The National Film and Sound Archive holds a kinescope of an episode, though its opening and closing credits are missing.
Frequently Asked Questions
Who created Wheel of Fortune (1952 game show)?
Wheel of Fortune was created by Peter Arnell.
When did Wheel of Fortune (1952 game show) end?
Wheel of Fortune last aired on 25 December 1953.
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