Dollar a Second

1 9 5 3 – 1 9 5 7 (USA)

A humiliating stunt was announced at the beginning of this primetime game show.

A contestant, chosen from the studio audience then competed in a series of rapid-fire general knowledge rounds with the player receiving one dollar per second for each second of correct responses. The player continued until they felt safe and chose to stop.

However, if the announcer interrupted the proceedings and the player had not stopped, they lost the accrued money.

Players then had the chance to earn money by performing the stunt announced at the beginning of the program. A ticking clock was set and a specific money amount established as the maximum prize. The contestant then performed the stunt.

For each second the clock ticked before the player had completed the stunt, one dollar was deducted from the established prize amount, with the final cash prize dependent on the outcome of the stunt.

The series ran on DuMont from 20 September 1953 to 14 June 1954; on NBC from 4 July to 22 August 1954; on ABC from 1 October 1954 to 24 June 1955; on NBC again from 5 July to 23 August 1955; on ABC from 2 September 1955 to 31 August 1956; before returning to NBC once more from 22 June to 28 September 1957.

The show originated as a radio programme in France, where it was called Cent Francs par Second. A radio version also aired in the UK, where it was known as Shilling a Second and was broadcast on Radio Luxembourg.

Host
Jan Murray
Assistants
Patricia White
Bernard Martin
Stuart Mann
Announcer
Ken Roberts
Terry O’Sullivan

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