| Haggis Baggis | |
|---|---|
| Format | Game Show |
| Created by | Joe Cates |
| Presented by | Jack Linkletter (nighttime) Fred Robbins (daytime, 1958-1959) Dennis James (1959) |
| Narrated by | Bill Wendell Jerry Damon |
| Country of origin | United States |
| Production | |
| Running time | 30 Minutes |
| Broadcast | |
| Original channel | NBC |
| Original run | June 20, 1958 – June 19, 1959 |
Haggis Baggis was an American game show that aired on NBC from 1958-1959. Jack Linkletter hosted the primetime version while Fred Robbins and Dennis James did the daytime show. The announcer was Bill Wendell, with some editions announced by Jerry Damon.
The series was produced by Rainbow Productions, otherwise known as Joe Cates Productions.
Contents |
Two players, usually women, competed. The object was to identify an image of a celebrity's face, which was concealed behind a 5x5 grid, with the horizontal dimension showing letters and the vertical dimension showing categories. One contestant picks a category and the other picks a letter. The person who picked the letter then must name something that starts with that letter and that also fits the category chosen by the other player. If she does this, she gets to see the part of the portrait behind the square that corresponds to the category and number chosen, and she also gets a free guess. If she is wrong, her opponent gets the free guess. The first to guess the picture gets the better role in the bonus round and gets to come to play the next game.
In the bonus game the winner secretly chooses one of two prizes titled "Haggis" or "Baggis". If the opponent picks the other package, each contestant wins the prizes they chose; if not, then only the champion wins whatever she selected.
Champions could stay on the program until defeated.
The nighttime series ran from June 20 to September 29, 1958 with Linkletter as host. When the daytime series premiered on June 30, Linkletter refused so as to not compete with his father Art Linkletter.
The daytime series was hosted by Fred Robbins from the June 30 debut until February 6, 1959. The following Monday, Dennis James took over and hosted through the end of the run.
The series has not been rerun and is most likely wiped due to network policies at the time. For NBC in particular, this was quite common through 1980.
Three episodes are known to exist - two Jack Linkletter episodes are held by the UCLA Film and Television Archive,[1] while the February 18, 1959 episode (with Dennis James, announced by Jerry Damon) is held by collectors. The latter is notable for current champion Mrs. Sheehan, who successfully defends her title four times during the show.