Doctor IQ

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Doctor IQ was an American television and radio game show. The show ran on ABC in two separate runs, from 1953 to 1954 and again from 1958 to 1959. Three different men played "Doctor IQ," who served as the host. The best known was Tom Kennedy, who went on to become one of the top game show hosts in the country; he hosted Doctor IQ during its second run. Jay Owen and James McClain were hosts during the show's first run. Art Fleming, better known as the first host of Jeopardy!, was an assistant.

The show was originally on radio from 1939 to 1950 on the NBC and ABC networks. McClain shared hosting duties with Lew Valentine.

1 Game play
2 Studios
3 External links

[edit] Game play

The basic premise of the game was very simple. Assistants would wander the theater, looking for audience members to play the game. When the assistant found someone willing to play, he or she would tell the "doctor," "I have a gentleman in the balcony, Doctor!" or something similar. The host would then ask a general-knowledge question to the contestant. A correct answer would win a $10 prize in the first part of the game, and $20 in the second part; incorrect answers would result in a $1 consolation prize. All prizes were paid in silver dollars, as was constantly noted by the host.

[edit] Wisdom Wheel

At some point during the show, a jingle would play, and the contestant wold get a chance to spin the "Wisdom Wheel," which would contain prize amounts from $1 to $100, each of which corresponded to a question whose difficulty increased with the prize amount.

[edit] Lady in the Balcony

The only game feature that carried over from week to week was "The Lady in the Balcony." A female contestant in the theater balcony would be chosen, and would be asked a series of five questions. She would be allowed five incorrect answers. If she had any misses still available after five questions, she would return the following week to face five more questions with the remaining misses in play. If she was able to survive four weeks without incorrectly answering five questions, she won a jackpot prize.

[edit] Home Game

A home viewer was also selected each week to play the game via telephone.

[edit] Studios

The show was broadcast from the Elysee Theater in New York City in 1953 and 1954, and Studio D of the ABC Television Center in Los Angeles from 1958 to 1959. No record can be found of the broadcast facility used for the radio version.