Anything For Money
| Anything For Money | |
|---|---|
| Genre | Game Show |
| Presented by | Fred Travalena |
| Narrated by | Johnny Gilbert |
| Composer(s) | Dennis McCarthy |
| Country of origin |
 United States |
| No. of seasons | 1 |
| No. of episodes | 150[1] |
| Production | |
| Running time | 30 minutes |
| Production company(s) |
Bernstein/Hovis Productions Impact Studios Paramount Television |
| Distributor | CBS Television Distribution (current) |
| Broadcast | |
| Original channel | Syndicated |
| Original run | September 17, 1984 – August 1985[2] |
Anything For Money is an American television game show hosted by Fred Travalena and announced by Johnny Gilbert which ran in syndication from September 17, 1984 to September 1985. Reruns were later aired on the USA Network from 1986 to 1988.
Two contestants watched video clips in which cast members Christopher Callen and Ralph Harris attempted to coerce passers-by into participating in jokes, in exchange for increasing amounts of money.
The series was produced by Gary Bernstein and Larry Hovis, packaged by their production company Bernstein/Hovis Productions and Impact Studios, and distributed by Paramount Television.
Rules
Travalena would introduce clips and, once the premise of the prank was known, the contestants then guessed whether or not the participants would consent. Three rounds were played, with a correct guess worth $200 in round 1, $300 in round 2, and $500 in round 3.
The player with the most money after 3 rounds won the game and received a bonus prize, in addition to their winnings.
Controversy
Anything For Money was originally a concept developed by Ralph Andrews' production company in 1983. Gary Bernstein was working for the company during this time, and Andrews had an agreement with Columbia Pictures Television which gave Columbia first right of refusal for any Andrews-produced project between 1980 and 1986. Bernstein at the time was also partnering with actor Larry Hovis in his own venture. When Anything For Money was originally devised, CPT refused it outright. Andrews then advised Bernstein to go to Paramount and try and sell it to them, which he was successful in doing. A problem arose, however, because Bernstein said that he had owned the rights to the show and not Andrews. Paramount later picked up Anything For Money in 1984 and hired Bernstein and Hovis to produce it, thus causing Andrews to file a lawsuit against Paramount for taking his concept. Paramount won summary judgment in 1984, but after years of appeals Andrews won a reversal in 1990.[3]
This did not affect Andrews and Bernstein's relationship as colleagues, as the two production units later launched Yahtzee in 1988.