Penny to a Million

*Penny to a Million*
Penny to a Million
Starring	Bill Goodwin
Narrated by	Johnny Olson; Jay Stewart
Country of origin	United States
No. of episodes	~20
Production
Running time	25 minutes
Original release
Network	ABC
Release	May 4 –; October 19, 1955

Penny to a Million was a primetime American television game show (at the time more commonly called a "quiz show") that aired on ABC from May 4 to October 19, 1955 on Wednesday nights, for alternate sponsors Brown & Williamson's Raleigh cigarettes, and W.A. Sheaffer Pen Company. The pilot was hosted by Bud Collyer, but he was replaced by Bill Goodwin when it became a series.

Format=

Two rounds of regular game play were in each episode. In each round, four new contestants selected from the audience took turns answering questions. The first correct answer added one cent to the jackpot, with each subsequent correct answer doubling the jackpot; if a contestant gave a wrong answer or failed to answer, they were eliminated from the game, awarded a gift certificate or savings bond ($25 for the first two eliminated, $50 for the round's runner-up) and a consolation prize from that episode's presenting sponsor. The round continued until three of the four contestants were eliminated or twenty questions were answered correctly (for a jackpot of up to 2¹⁹¢, rounded down to 500,000 pennies). The jackpot reset to zero after each round.

The winners of each round competed in the Playoff Round, where the jackpots from each round were added together. The two players took turns answering questions until at least one of them missed a question. If they both missed a question in turn, they both split the pot evenly. If one player correctly answered a question and the other missed, the winner won 3/4 of the pot and the runner-up received the remaining quarter of the pot.

Episode Status

At least five episodes are known to exist, including the pilot.

External links

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