History Series / TheHollywoodSquares

** Watkins-Strathmore made two in 1967 and 1968. Ideal made one in 1974, with Peter Marshall pictured on the box. Creator/MiltonBradley made two in 1980 and 1986. Creator/ParkerBrothers made one in 1999, and Tiger made an LCD handheld game in that same year. [=GameTek=] made computer versions for MS-DOS and the NintendoEntertainmentSystem.

** Repeated and cranked UpToEleven for Tom Bergeron on a show taped to air on April Fool's Day 2003. At one point the male and female contestants were engaged in a heated argument, after which the male contestant made the female contestant ''break down in tears''. Bergeron, who had even more of a deer-in-the-headlights look than Davidson had, comforted the "poor woman" as he sent the show to commercial (of course, unbeknownst to him, [[LeaveTheCameraRunning the camera was still running]]). At the end of the episode, giggling executive producer [[HappyDays Henry Winkler]] (who at the time also served as announcer) announced over the intercom, "Hey Tom... April Fools."

** "(X or Circle) gets the square."

** Paul Lynde didn't become the permanent center square until 1968, although he was a center square the second, third and fifth weeks of the daytime series. Early center squares – from between October to December 1966 – included Ernest Borgnine, Buddy Hackett, Bill Bixby, George Jessel, Marty Allen, Creator/GlennFord, Shelley Berman and Vera Miles.

* INeedAFreakingDrink: After the infamous "YOU FOOL!" incident, Tom promised that if they ran out of time playing that game, they're all going out for drinks.

* KnowNothingKnowItAll: Inverted with a famous Secret Square question with Art Fleming, host of ''Series/{{Jeopardy}}''. Art was asked a multiple-choice question (as all Secret Square questions are) he later admitted did not know the answer to, and just blurted out a guess. The naive female contestant remarked that since he was Art Fleming, he just ''had'' to be correct. It turned out he was right(!) and the contestant won a $10,000 prize package.

* ShoutOut:
** To an extent. When Susan Stafford appeared to model prizes for Game Show Week, she was introduced as being from "classic ''Series/WheelOfFortune''".

* YouFool: In the Bergeron era, Penn Jillette would often respond to wrong answers by going [[LargeHam completely over-the-top]] in shouting how wrong the contestants were. This led to one instance where Gilbert Gottfried was the only unclaimed square, and after the second failed attempt began yelling "You fool!" in imitation of Jillette, who had done it earlier that episode. Gottfried ended up being called on a total of ''seven times'' before someone answered correctly; by the end the ''whole panel'' was shouting "You fool!" in unison. Also an OverlyLongGag, and a rare example of one that became ''more'' funny each time it recurred. Video [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ioVk9MeZNGg here]] and [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xeEqxWTz8Ls here]].

** Paul Lynde didn't become the permanent center square until 1968, although he was a center square the second, third and fifth weeks of the daytime series. Early center squares – from between October to December 1966 – included Ernest Borgnine, Buddy Hackett, Bill Bixby, George Jessel, Marty Allen, Glenn Ford, Shelley Berman and Vera Miles.

* YouLookFamiliar: John Davidson was a semi-regular panelist on the Marshall ''Squares'' before becoming host of the third version.

** The Marshall version included ''The Storybook Squares'' for kids and families to play. It included more kid-friendly celebrities such as [[Series/SesameStreet Big Bird]]. (Is that an inversion of SesameStreetCred or what?)

* RunningGag: Big Bird almost always referred to Peter Marshall as "Mr. Marshmallow".

** "[Name of celebrity] for the block." and "[Name of celebrity] [[MemeticMutation for the win]]."

* HomeGame: Watkins-Strathmore made two in 1967 and 1968. Ideal made one in 1974, with Peter Marshall pictured on the box. Creator/MiltonBradley made two in 1980 and 1986. Creator/ParkerBrothers made one in 1999, and Tiger made an LCD handheld game in that same year. [=GameTek=] made computer versions for MS-DOS and the NintendoEntertainmentSystem.

* AprilFoolsDay: In a clip frequently shown on other shows, the crew played a prank on Davidson. During a normal round the female contestant angrily accuses the male contestant of looking over Davidson's podium at his answer cards. As John increasingly gets a 'deer in the headlights' look, the female contestant gets up from her chair and confronts the male contestant, finally pushing him over the edge of raised platform. Unknown to the stunned Davidson, both 'contestants' were actually stunt people.

-->'''Peter Marshall:''' In a recent ''PARADE'' magazine article, it was stated that a woman being attacked should yell out two words. First she should yell "Help!", what should she then yell?
-->'''Rose Marie:''' "More!"
** And on another occasion.
-->'''Peter:''' Rose, studies indicate that women are attacked one night of the week much more than any other. Which night is it?
-->'''Rose Marie:''' With my luck, tonight.

--->'''Peter''': According to the familiar quotation, "surely" what "will follow me all the days of my life"?
--->'''Paul''': The nickname "beaver face".
** And again:
--->'''Peter''': Your mother was a jackass and your father was a horse. What does that make you?
--->'''Paul''': The star in the center square, beaver face!
* CampGay: Paul Lynde. Jm J. Bullock filled this role on Davidson's version.
* CatchPhrase: "X (or Circle) gets the square."

* ADayInTheLimelight: At least twice, John Davidson got to sit on the panel while someone else (in one case, Series/{{ALF}}) got to host. Announcer Shadoe Stevens also hosted one week while Davidson was unavailable, and HowardStern served as announcer that week.
** Similarly, Peter Marshall was a panelist on the first Game Show Week during Bergeron's run. Things came full-circle when he and Tom traded places for one episode.
* DerivativeWorks: The Marshall version included ''The Storybook Squares'' for kids and families to play. It included more kid-friendly celebrities such as [[SesameStreet Big Bird]]. (Is that an inversion of SesameStreetCred or what?)

* EpicFail: The infamous "YouFool" episode, where the poor contestants guessed incorrectly with Gilbert Gottfried nine consecutive times (in a block-and-win situation) before finally someone was correct. Amusingly, Gottfried kept bluffing and the contestants kept agreeing. It only ended when Gottfried finally provided a correct answer which the contestant obediently agreed to; who knows how long it would have gone on otherwise?

-->'''Tom Bergeron:''' Is Viagra kosher for Passover?
-->'''Whoopi Goldberg:''' Not if it leads to pork.

-->'''Peter Marshall:''' Rose, hundreds of years ago, English bartenders called it 'dry sack'. What is it known as today?
-->'''Rose Marie:''' Grounds for divorce.

** On the John Davidson version, Shadoe Stevens and Series/{{ALF}} both got to do this. The former had HowardStern take Shadoe's usual spot as bottom center square/announcer, and on the latter, John sat on the panel.

-->'''Peter Marshall:''' Marty, we know you're from Pittsburgh, right? OK, what does a guy from Philadelphia dip his pretzel in?
-->'''Marty Allen:''' [[GettingCrapPastTheRadar A girl from New Jersey]]!

* LoopingLines: On the June 20, 1980 NBC Daytime finale, Wayland Flowers' puppet Madame took a jab at Fred Silverman, by saying "You can fuck some of the people some of the time, and you can fuck all of the people some of the time, but you can't fuck all of the people all of the time!". NBC decided to go back and redub that line, by replacing each use of the word "fuck" with "fool".[[note]]Of course, NBC could have just bleeped it.[[/note]] Whether that was actually Wayland dubbing himself or not is unknown.
** This is further evident that Madame was actually saying something else, based on the audience reaction.

* PanelGame

* RattlingOffLegal: Kenny Williams' quote, seen at the top of this page.

* RearrangeTheSong: The famous Marshall theme got a Disco/''Supertrain''-style [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0CBqGIG1XsM update]] in 1979, which was used until the end in 1981.

* ShoutOut: To an extent. When Susan Stafford appeared to model prizes for Game Show Week, she was introduced as being from "classic ''WheelOfFortune''".

** Merrill Heatter would later recycle the "celebrities in a ginormous panel" motif on his later shows ''Series/{{Battlestars}}'' and ''Series/AllStarBlitz''.

Love child of the GameShow and the PanelGame, produced by Creator/MerrillHeatter and Bob Quigley for Creator/{{NBC}} and syndication from 1966 to 1981. Peter Marshall, "the master of ''The Hollywood Squares''", played host to nine celebrities and two contestants. The celebrities were seated in an oversized TicTacToe grid; the contestants, Mr. X and Ms. O, agreed or disagreed with the stars' often comical and bawdy answers to esoteric questions.

* EpicFail: The infamous "YouFool" episode, where the poor contestants guessed incorrectly with Gilbert Gottfried nine consecutive times (in a block-and-win situation) before finally someone was correct.

* ObviousRulePatch: Unlike tic-tac-toe, in the case of a "cat's game" where neither player can get three in a row, a contestant ''has'' to get the correct answer to claim the square, and (unlike with other squares) can't claim it by means of the opponent getting the wrong answer. Winning the game under these conditions is known as a "Five-Square Win".

** A situation involving numerous consecutive incorrect answers in a similar block-or-win situation also happened at least once on the original Peter Marshall version, this being a 1968 NBC episode, this time with Don Adams as the celebrity. At one point, in a variation of his ''GetSmart'' CatchPhrase, Adams quipped: "Would you believe we may never finish this game?!"

* HomeGame: Watkins-Strathmore made two in 1967 and 1968. Ideal made one in 1974, with Peter Marshall pictured on the box. Milton Bradley made two in 1980 and 1986. Parker Brothers made one in 1999, and Tiger made an LCD handheld game in that same year. [=GameTek=] made computer versions for MS-DOS and the NintendoEntertainmentSystem.

-->'''Kenny Williams''', reciting the famous legalese during the ending credits of the original version.

Love child of the GameShow and the PanelGame, produced by MerrillHeatter and Bob Quigley for Creator/{{NBC}} and syndication from 1966 to 1981. Peter Marshall, "the master of ''The Hollywood Squares''", played host to nine celebrities and two contestants. The celebrities were seated in an oversized TicTacToe grid; the contestants, Mr. X and Ms. O, agreed or disagreed with the stars' often comical and bawdy answers to esoteric questions.

* LosingHorns: Type C on the Davidson version for a car loss ("Pitcher's Got a Big Butt" was played on the organ); Type B for "nine keys" bonus losses on the Bergeron version.

* AndStarring: The 1998-2004 version would list off all the celebrities who would appear in the episode in question, always saving Whoopi Goldberg for last. When they do mention her, the announcer says, "And starring Whoopi Goldberg!"

* CampGay: Paul Lynde.

Love child of the GameShow and the PanelGame, produced by MerrillHeatter and Bob Quigley for Creator/{{NBC}} and syndication from 1966 to 1981. Nine celebrities were seated in an oversized TicTacToe grid as two contestants, Mr. X and Ms. O, agreed or disagreed with the stars' often comical and bawdy answers to esoteric questions.

Host Peter Marshall referred to the female contestant's mark as a "circle", although technically it appeared on the board as an ellipse. The most famous center square, Paul Lynde, didn't join the panel on a permanent basis until 1968. More information [[http://www.classicsquares.com/ here.]]

** The first two seasons of the Davidson version saw the winner choose one of five keys, then try to find which car out of five displayed in-studio (no, seriously) the key would start. After having chosen a "good-luck celebrity" from the panel to stand by, the contestant would try to start the car; if it started, they won and were retired right there and then. If not, the contestant continued onto another game; if they made it to the bonus round a second time, the car they'd chosen prior would be eliminated. If a champion made it five days, they won the last car remaining. (At which point (also used on occasional Friday shows) all nine celebrities would join in.)

* HomeGame: Watkins-Strathmore made two in 1967–68. Ideal made one in 1974, with Peter Marshall pictured on the box. Milton Bradley made two in 1980 and 1986. Parker Brothers made one in 1999, and Tiger made an LCD handheld game in that same year. [=GameTek=] made computer versions for MS-DOS and the NintendoEntertainmentSystem.
* A video game, based on the later-era Bergeron format, was released for the Nintendo {{Wii}} on October 5, 2010.

** TheAnnouncer: Kenny Williams handled the entirety of the 1966-80 era. Shadoe Stevens (best known as Casey Kasem's replacement on ''AmericanTop40'') did both the Davidson version — on which he often pulled double duty as a panelist — and the first 4 seasons of the Bergeron version. After Shadoe left the latter, Jeffrey Tambor (''Series/TheLarrySandersShow'') announced Season 5, and John Moschitta (aka the Micro Machines man) announced Season 6. Fill-ins included Shadoe's brother Richard and HowardStern (!) on the Davidson version, while Henry Winkler (also executive producer at the time) sometimes filled in for Tambor. "[[TotallyRadical DJ Ms. Nix]]" (real name: Nicole Lyn Hill) is the announcer on ''Hip Hop Squares''.

** Jim J. Bullock also guest-hosted on the Davidson version.
** Rosie O'Donnell hosted a round of the Bergeron version during the Whoopi Goldberg era.

** TheAnnouncer: Kenny Williams handled the entirety of the 1966-80 era. Shadoe Stevens (best known as Casey Kasem's replacement on ''AmericanTop40'') did both the Davidson version — on which he often pulled double duty as a panelist — and the first 4 seasons of the Bergeron version. After Shadoe left the latter, Jeffrey Tambor (''SeriesTheLarrySandersShow'') announced Season 5, and John Moschitta (aka the Micro Machines man) announced Season 6. Fill-ins included Shadoe's brother Richard and HowardStern (!) on the Davidson version, while Henry Winkler (also executive producer at the time) sometimes filled in for Tambor. "[[TotallyRadical DJ Ms. Nix]]" (real name: Nicole Lyn Hill) is the announcer on ''Hip Hop Squares''.

** Merrill Heatter would later recycle the "celebrities in a ginormous panel" motif on his later shows ''{{Battlestars}}'' and ''AllStarBlitz''.

* EarlyInstallmentWeirdness: Early games tended to drag due to the panelists drawing out their gag answers for too long. Also, Paul Lynde didn't become the permanent center square until 1968.

** TheAnnouncer: Kenny Williams handled the entirety of the 1966-80 era. Shadoe Stevens (best known as Casey Kasem's replacement on ''AmericanTop40'') did both the Davidson version — on which he often pulled double duty as a panelist — and the first 4 seasons of the Bergeron version. After Shadoe left the latter, Jeffrey Tambor (''TheLarrySandersShow'') announced Season 5, and John Moschitta (aka the Micro Machines man) announced Season 6. Fill-ins included Shadoe's brother Richard and HowardStern (!) on the Davidson version, while Henry Winkler (also executive producer at the time) sometimes filled in for Tambor. "[[TotallyRadical DJ Ms. Nix]]" (real name: Nicole Lyn Hill) is the announcer on ''Hip Hop Squares''.

** A situation involving numerous consecutive incorrect answers in a similar block-or-win situation also happened at least once on the original Peter Marshall version, this being a daytime NBC episode.

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