Fast Draw (game show)

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Fast Draw was the name of a game show hosted by now-Jeopardy! announcer Johnny Gilbert for syndication in 1968. It was distributed by Warner Brothers/Seven Arts Television The show involved two teams, each comprised of a celebrity and a civilian contestant. It was a basically a variation on the not-yet-invented board game Pictionary & possibly an inspiration to Win, Lose or Draw.

[edit] The Main Game

The first round would start with the two civilian contestants standing behind a drawing board that was about waist-high. They would be given 10 seconds each to draw a picture that would allow the celebrities to identify the person, place, thing, or event that was assigned to them. After 10 seconds passed for the first player, the second one would immediately start drawing (accompanied by Gilbert's call to "Draw!") When a celebrity thought they knew the identity of the subject, they would hit a buzzer. The contestant would then stop drawing and the celebrity would give his/her guess (usually accompanied with a brief explanation/interpretation of what they saw on the board). If he/she was right, the team was awarded one point for each second left on the clock (the clock started at 60 seconds). If no one guessed the identity of the subject after 60 seconds, the subject was thrown out and they would start again. There were 3 rounds in a game; after each round, the celebs and the contestants would switch places. After 3 rounds, the team with the highest score would play the bonus round. The civilian member of the team was also awarded $100.

[edit] Bonus Round

In the bonus round, the celebrity had 30 seconds to communicate a "potluck" subject (the contestant was not told the category of the subject) to the contestant. The contestant could yell out as many guesses as he/she wanted without having to buzz in or explain it. If the contestant guessed the identity of the bonus subject, he/she was awarded a color television set.

Only one episode of "Fast Draw" is known to exist. The one surviving episode features guest stars Anita Gillette & Robert Alda and contestants Marilynn Rush and Carl Sanders.