October 17, 1966: "The Hollywood Squares" Premieres

A typical Hollywood Squares lineup from the 1970s.

October 17, 1966: The Hollywood Squares premieres on NBC. Peter Marshall hosts.

The format was simple: Nine little rooms, fronted by desks that could light up with an X or an O (always referred to as a "circle"), with a celebrity sitting at the desk. Each of 2 contestants would select a celebrity, based on their position, as if in a tic-tac-toe board, trying to get three across, horizontally, vertically or diagonally. Sometimes, a celebrity would be chosen "for the win," or "for the block" to prevent the opposing player from getting three straight.

When the selection was made, Marshall would ask a question, and the celebrity would usually provide a funny answer, then what he thought was the real answer. Marshall would prompt the contestant, who would then say, "I agree," or, "I disagree." If the contestant was right, he or she would get the square. If he or she was right, the opposing contestant would get the square, unless doing so would give that contestant the win. The final X or circle had to be directly earned.

There was also a "Secret Square": If a contestant chose that square, and won it, he or she would win an additional prize. The celebrity in the square was never told beforehand that he or she was the one.

Comic actor Paul Lynde long occupied the center square, and became as identified with the game as Marshall. His initial answers were usually snippy, and often showed him to be "in a closet with a glass door": He did everything to say that he was gay except actually say it. In those days, if that's as far as you went, without taking the final step, you could still have a career. But ill health knocked him out of the center square, and he died in 1982. Other regular panelists were comedian George Gobel, actress Rose Marie, and singer-actor John Davidson.

The show continued until 1981. In the 1983-84 season, it was brought back on NBC, as part of The Match Game/Hollywood Squares Hour. The 1st half of the show was a revival of Match Game, with Gene Rayburn as host, and Jon Bauman, better known as Bowzer, the lead singer of doo-wop nostalgia group Sha Na Na, as the lower-left square. The 2nd half would be Hollywood Squares, with Gene and Jon switching, so that Jon was the host and Gene was in the lower left.

A new version of The Hollywood Squares aired in syndication from 1986 to 1989, with Davidson as host. Yet another syndicated version aired from 1998 to 2004, with Tom Bergeron as host.

UPDATE: On May 2, 2024, CBS announced that a new version will begin airing in January 2025, with Nate Burleson as host, and actress Drew Barrymore as the center square.

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October 17, 1966 was a Monday. Basketball star Danny Ferry was born. This was also the day of the 23rd Street Fire in Manhattan, which killed 12 firefighters. I have a separate entry for that event.

Baseball season had ended 8 days earlier, with the Baltimore Orioles completing a 4-game sweep of the defending World Champions, the Los Angeles Dodgers. Football was in midweek: Monday Night Football was still 4 years away. The NBA season had just started, but no games were played on this day. And the NHL season was 2 days from starting. So there were no scores on this historic day.