Old-Time Radio Reimagined
Take It or Leave It
6 episodes · 1942–1948 · CBS, NBC · Variety & Music
Play Take It or Leave It on Radio Days
Contestants answered questions for prizes that started at one dollar and doubled up to $64, and could take the money or risk it on the next question while the audience shouted "You'll be sorry!" It ran on CBS from April 21, 1940, and NBC from 1947 to 1952, for Eversharp, with Bob Hawk, Phil Baker, Garry Moore, Eddie Cantor and Jack Paar as hosts; in 1950 it was renamed The $64 Question. "That's the $64 question" became a common phrase, the show led to TV's The $64,000 Question, and it was inducted into the National Radio Hall of Fame in 1990.
Sources: Wikipedia: Take It or Leave It (radio show); RadioGOLDINdex
Episodes
Tap a title to play it on Radio Days.
1942
- Football Teams
Phil Baker hosts and plays Dinah on his accordion. Jack Benny competes in Musical History and, after the $1 question, tries to stop and keep the dollar.
1946
- Host Phil Baker
Phil Baker's first Hollywood broadcast of the quiz; an Internal Revenue agent wins the first $64 question. The jackpot question asks the second-largest British Dominion.
1947
- Popular Broadway Songs
Phil Baker opens with flying-saucer jokes and plays accordion for a contestant's Orchestra and Accordions category. The jackpot question asks the present tense of "wrought."
1948
- States with Women's Colleges
Garry Moore hosts; the first contestant names states with women's colleges, and Red Skelton drops in to promote his show and help a contestant. - Sports Menagerie
- Garry Moore Hosts the Jackpot Quiz