June 7, 1955: “The $64,000 Question” Premieres

The famous "isolation booth"

June 7, 1955: The $64,000 Question premieres on CBS. It ran for 4 years, before being caught up in "The Quiz Show Scandals." It was sponsored by Camel cigarettes and Revlon cosmetics.

It was similar to more recent Who Wants to Be a Millionaire? except that you had to choose one category and stick with it; and you got only one lifeline, and you could only use it if you got to the last question, then you could bring "an expert." Host Hal March died of lung cancer in 1970, only 49 years old -- apparently, more loyal to Camel than to Revlon.

An as-yet-unknown Joyce Brothers won the $64,000, her subject being boxing. As a joke, Jack Benny went on the show, and picked violins as the subject. He got the first, $64, question right, and, fulfilling his reputation for cheapness, quit.

Another CBS show, The Honeymooners, made 2 references to it, then introduced a parody, The $99,000 Answer, in which Jackie Gleason's character, Ralph Kramden was determined to win the big prize, using popular songs as his category, but, in one of the most-telegraphed punches in TV history, blew the $100 question.

According to an inflation-calculator website, $64,000 in 1955 is worth $710,000 today. So winning the big prize on Who Wants to Be a Millionaire? is bigger. But $99,000 wouldn't be: That's worth about $1.1 million.

*

June 7, 1955 was a Tuesday. These baseball games were played:

* The New York Yankees lost to the Detroit Tigers, 4-3 at Briggs Stadium (later Tiger Stadium) in Detroit. Fred Hatfield hit a home run off Tom Sturdivant in the bottom of the 12th inning. Al Kaline went 3-for-5. For the Yankees, Eddie Robinson and Joe Collins hit home runs, while Mickey Mantle went 1-for-5.

* The New York Giants lost to the Milwaukee Braves, 13-4 at the Polo Grounds. Hank Aaron went 4-for-5 with 3 RBIs, including his 23rd career home run. there would be more. Willie Mays went 3-for-4 with 2 RBIs.

* The Brooklyn Dodgers beat the Cincinnati Reds, 4-0 at Ebbets Field. Johnny Podres pitched a 5-hit shutout, and went 2-for-3 with an RBI in his own cause. Jackie Robinson went 0-for-3.

* The St. Louis Cardinals beat the Philadelphia Phillies, 5-4 at Connie Mack Stadium in Philadelphia. Stan Musial went 3-for-5 with 3 RBIs.

* The Chicago Cubs beat the Pittsburgh Pirates, 4-3 at Forbes Field in Pittsburgh. Ernie Banks went 0-for-4.

* The Boston Red Sox beat the Cleveland Indians, 9-5 at Cleveland Municipal Stadium. Neither starting pitcher -- Mel Parnell for Boston and rookie Herb Score for Cleveland -- finished the 1st inning. Ted Williams went 1-for-4 with a walk and 2 RBIs.

* The Washington Senators swept a doubleheader from the Kansas City Athletics, 3-2 and 7-3 at Kansas City Municipal Stadium.

* And the Baltimore Orioles and the Chicago White Sox were rained out at Comiskey Park in Chicago. The game was made up as part of a doubleheader on August 23. The ChiSox won the opener, 6-2. The O's won the nightcap, 10-3.