Make the Connection
| Make the Connection | |
|---|---|
| Created by |
Mark Goodson Bill Todman |
| Presented by |
Jim McKay (July 7–28) Gene Rayburn (August 4-September 29) |
| Country of origin | United States |
| No. of episodes | 13 |
| Production | |
| Running time | 30 Minutes |
| Broadcast | |
| Original channel | NBC |
| Original run | July 7 – September 29, 1955 |
Make the Connection was an American game show, sponsored by Borden, that ran on Thursday nights from July 7 to September 29, 1955 on NBC. Originally hosted by Jim McKay (who years later would be best known for hosting ABC's Wide World of Sports as well as that network's coverage of the Olympics), he was replaced after the first four episodes by future Match Game host Gene Rayburn for the final nine episodes.
The series was a Mark Goodson-Bill Todman Production, and as such it had many things in common with the other panel shows developed by the company. Like I've Got a Secret, there were four celebrity panelists who were each given a timed period in which to ask questions. Each panelist that was stumped earned the contestants money.
Betty White made one of her earliest game show appearances as a panelist on the series. White would later be a frequent panelist on every version of the Rayburn-hosted Match Game.
Rules
The object of the game was for the four celebrity panelists to "make the connection" between two people who would sit on both sides of the host. Each time a panelist failed to make the connection within 30 seconds, the contestant earned $25. The game ended after a panelist guessed the connection or the guest earned $150. Like many of its sister panel shows, it also featured the obligatory appearance by a celebrity guest, who would play the game as a contestant.
Episode status
Only a handful of the thirteen episodes exist, including at least one McKay episode and the Rayburn-hosted edition which featured an uncharacteristically-animated J. Fred Muggs, the Dave Garroway "Today" show chimpanzee sidekick.. GSN has occasionally shown an episode (mostly those hosted by Rayburn) in its "black and white" programming blocks.