(CBS) The Early Show's Retro Reunion revisits on Friday one of craziest game shows from the 1970s, The Match Game.

Hosted by the late Gene Reyburn, this program pitted two contestants against each other as they tried to match words with the six celebrity panelists. We speak with Charles Nelson Reilly, Brett Somers and in Los Angeles, the queen of the game shows herself, Betty White.


The Story:

Match Game first aired as a daytime series on NBC from 1962 to 1969, and on CBS from 1973 to 1982. After the show was canceled in 1982, it was revived again as part of The Match Game--Hollywood Squares Hour on NBC from 1983 to 1984. Gene Rayburn was the host of all of these versions. The 70s version was by far the best and the funniest. It is still being played every night on the Game Show Network.

ABC tried to bring Match Game back to life in 1990 with Ross Shafer as host. It didn't work and lasted only one season. It came back yet again in 1998-1999 with Michael Burger as host with regulars George Hamilton, Vicki Lawrence and Nell Carter.

The CBS version, which ran from 1973 to 1979, pushed the envelope, with Rayburn rattling off questions packed with double entendres, unusual for 1970s daytime TV.


A Typical Question:

"The bank guard said to Bertha the stripper, 'Lady, I don't care how valuable you think they are. You can't keep your blanks in our safety deposit vault.'"

It was as if the game didn't really count -- and it didn't. The Match Game was one of the first game shows to focus on humor, not contestants' scores.

In the final "big money" round of the game, the contestants had to pick one celebrity to match with. They nearly always picked Richard Dawson. He was known for being the best matcher.

While hosting Match Game, Rayburn was famous for using a really long microphone with a little ball on the end. It was his trademark.

Rayburn said in interviews that the '70s version of Match Game was, basically, a "silly" idea for a game show. When you look at the format, he was absolutely correct. But, the interaction between Rayburn, the contestants and the stars took the "silly" format and made into one of the most entertaining shows on television.

Rayburn insisted to Mark Goodson (Match Game's producer) to let Match Game be played for laughs, and to allow him to get laughs in any possible way. Goodson gave in, and even hired comedy writers to write the questions. Each show was something different. You just never knew what was going to happen. Viewers tuned in to see Somers and Nelson Reilly exchange banter back and forth, and to watch Richard Dawson give away another $5,000 to a lucky contestant.

Rayburn sometimes went offstage and goofed with cameramen, crew and producers; much like David Letterman does today. Viewers also enjoyed Betty White's occasional practical jokes on Rayburn. Patti Deutsche's stare into the camera during the intro. Fannie Flagg's increasingly weird shirts. McLean's smart-aleck remarks, Bill Daily's strange answers, and other celebrities like Bill Cullen, Allen Ludden, Gary Burghoff and David Doyle, who would make infrequent appearance.

Even when Richard Dawson's attitude started to change in '78, people still tuned in, perhaps to see if Richard would snap out of his foul mood and smile for once. Match Game ended all too soon. Gene blamed the shift in time slots for the demise of Match Game.


Where Are They Now?

Charles Nelson Reilly: Currently performing a one man show, The Life of Reilly in Los Angeles and planning to bring it to Broadway.

Brett Somers: After the show was canceled, she moved from L.A. to New York City. Currently, she is directing and teaching.

Betty White is writing her fifth book and is working on a new Steve Martin film called In the House.

©MMII CBS Worldwide Inc. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. Reuters Limited and the Associated Press contributed to this report.

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