| The Newlywed Game was an American television game show where
newly-married couples answered questions to find out how well the husband and wife knew each other. Created by Chuck Barris, the show became famous for some of the arguments that couples had
over incorrect answers and even led to some divorces.
Broadcast history
The Newlywed Game aired on ABC
from July 11, 1966, until December 20, 1974. In 1977 it was revived for syndication, where it ran
until 1980.
After one week of specials aired on ABC in 1984, the show returned to syndication in
1985 as The New Newlywed Game. That version lasted until 1989.
A third syndicated revival ran from 1996 to 1999.
Hosts
Bob Eubanks is the host that is most often associated with The Newlywed
Game. Eubanks hosted all versions except the 1984 ABC version, which Jim
Lange hosted; the last season of the 1980s version, which Paul Rodriguez hosted; and the first season of the 1990s version, which Gary Kroeger hosted. The 1996 revival
featured a different format than the one described in this article; after one season of disappointing ratings, Eubanks was
brought back to the show and the classic format was revived.
Rules of the game
For the first round, the wives were taken off the stage while the husbands were asked four questions. (Many of The Newlywed
Game's questions dealt with "making whoopee," the euphemism that producers
used for sexual intercourse in order to get around network
censors.) The wives were then brought back on stage and were asked for their answers for the same four questions. Once the wife
gave her answer, the husband gave the answer that he previously gave, which was written on a blue card. A match for that question
was worth 5 points for the couple.
The roles were reversed in the second round, where the husbands were taken off the stage and the wives were asked four
questions before the husbands were brought back on stage to give their answers. The first three questions in this round were
worth 10 points each, and the final question was worth 25 points. The couple with the highest score at the end of the second
round won a prize that was specifically chosen for that couple before the show; in the most recent version, the grand prize was a
second honeymoon.
"In the butt, Bob"
The Newlywed Game was the subject of an urban legend for many
years. The story, which had several variations, had Bob Eubanks asking a contestant, "Where is the weirdest place where you have
ever made whoopee?" in one episode. The contestant supposedly responded, "In the butt, Bob." Eubanks denied the incident for a
long time.
It turned out that the incident in question happened in a 1977 episode where Eubanks
asked a wife where the weirdest place that she and her husband had the urge to "make whoopee" was. The wife responded, "In the
ass" (with "ass" bleeped out). After everyone in the studio laughed at the answer, Eubanks clarified the question, asking for the
weirdest location. (She couldn't come up with an answer to match her husband's "in the car.")
Eubanks reluctantly presented the clip on a 2002 NBC
special, The Most Outrageous Game Show Moments, which he co-hosted. The clip also appeared in the 2002 film Confessions
of a Dangerous Mind, about the life of creator Barris.
External links
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