Dollar A Second

Hosts
Jan Murray (1953–1957) Bob Eubanks (1981)
Announcers
Terry O'Sullivan Ken Roberts Tom Reddy Johnny Jacobs (1981)
Broadcast
DuMont Primetime: 9/20/1953 – 6/14/1954 NBC Primetime: 7/4/1954 – 8/22/1954, 7/5/1955 – 8/30/1955, 6/22/1957 – 9/28/1957 ABC Primetime: 10/1/1954 – 6/24/1955, 9/2/1955 – 8/31/1956 Unsold Pilot for Daily Syndication: 2/7/1981
Packagers
Trinity Productions (1953–1957) Chuck Barris Productions (1981)
Distributor (1981, planned)
Worldvision Enterprises, Inc.

1955 OPENING SPIEL:
"(insert sponsor) presents Jan Murray starring in Dollar a Second!"

1981 OPENING SPIEL:
"From Hollywood, it's all fun and excitement as we play Dollar a Second! And here's the man who gives the money away, Bob Eubanks!"

Dollar A Second was the wild and crazy quiz/stunt show where contestants won money for every second they stay on the show.

Gameplay[]

Contestants (solo or team) would play a game of trivia and stunts, earning $1 for every second they stayed in the game. Host Murray would ask questions under a specific category, and the contestant(s) would answer them.

As soon an incorrect answer was given, they had to pay the penalty by performing a stunt, which required choosing from five items, one of which resulted in a mess or embarrassment. Picking one of the four safe items would beat the penalty and allow the contestant(s) to continue playing, but if the player had to pay the penalty again, that choice would be removed. One such stunt had a player placed on a slide that went down towards a small above-ground swimming pool, and the partner had to pick one of five envelopes with a telephone number in them, one of which nobody on the other side would be available to answer. Should someone be there on the other end of the line, the person who dialed the number would say "I've got somebody!" and the penalty was beaten.

Failure to beat the penalty would end the game, but the contestants would keep whatever they had won at that point along with another dollar for every correct answer.

Outside Event[]

During each game, there was a special feature called the "Outside Event". The "outside event" was something that when it occurred, the game would end and the contestants would lose all the money accumulated. For example, the couple had to pick an envelope that contained the number of round trips a model train could take, and when it reached that number the event would be completed; however, they wouldn't know how many trips that train had made until that mystery number was attained. If at any time the outside event was completed, the game would end and those currently playing would lose everything accumulated, but received money based on the number of correct answers given as a consolation prize.

Players were allowed to stop at any time (except when paying the penalty) and keep whatever they'd earned to that point.

1981 Pilot[]

Aside from having a new set (most notably a visible onstage money display), Chuck Barris now producing, and Newlywed Game host Bob Eubanks hosting, the game stayed pretty much the same; however, there were four differences:

Contestants started at $100, and got a $500 bonus upon reaching the $500 mark
When paying the penalty, there were only four items to choose from rather than five.
No money was given for correct answers; as a result, when the outside event occurred, the consolation prize was non-monetary (such as a camera).
Before a new game began, contestants could opt to choose their own outside event or stay with the current one (unless it had already occurred, in which case they had to choose their own).