Premiering on 27 July 1952 and hosted by literature professor Dr Bergen Evans, this prime-time summer game show from NBC was broadcast live from Chicago.
The game was based on the old parlour game ‘Ghost’ with each successive panellist naming a letter of the alphabet while trying to avoid completing a word.
The host stated the number of letters contained in a particular word and each of the players stated a letter of the alphabet in turn. If a correct letter was guessed, it was placed in its appropriate position on a board. The object was for players to spell the word without supplying the last letter.
If the last letter was given before the word was identified, the home viewer (who submitted the word) received $50. If the word was guessed before the last letter appeared, the sender received $25.
The 1952 panel included Dr Irving Lee of Northwestern University, former drama critic Robert Pollak, housewife Sherl Stern and a guest panellist.
The series ended on 21 September 1952 but returned for another run between July and September the following year as a summer replacement for Mister Peepers.
