Stump the Stars

This was a star for me in "the Golden Age of Game Shows." Other games were fun, but this one was FUNNY. Two panels of four celebrities (well known to TV audiences) took turns with one person trying to make his/her team find a specific word or phrase that was visible to the audience but not the rest of the panel. NONE of the answers were ordinary; they were designed to be difficult and awkward. Half the time, the look on the face of the celebrity as he/she read the words to be pantomimed was priceless.

My favorite moment came when Beverly Garland had to act out "The Hunting of the Snark" -- once they got "Twas brillig," Hans Conreid recited the whole thing. I had never heard of it before, but you can bet I looked it up and enjoyed it as a memory as well as a fine work.

I enjoyed a lot of other game shows of the time, but I don't think celebrity participants had so much fun themselves anywhere else -- and it was so easy to laugh with them. I rarely left that half-hour without aching sides. It's a wonder to me that the concept has not been revived -- perhaps today's celebrities have too much dignity, or the cost of hiring two panels is prohibitive. Celebrities and audiences both are losing out.