Keep Talking (game show)
title: "Keep Talking (game show)" type: doc version: 1 created: 2026-02-28 author: "Wikipedia contributors" status: active scope: public tags: ["1958-american-television-series-debuts", "1960-american-television-series-endings", "1950s-american-game-shows", "1960s-american-game-shows", "american-broadcasting-company-game-shows", "black-and-white-american-television-shows", "cbs-game-shows", "american-english-language-television-shows", "television-shows-filmed-in-new-york-(state)"] topic_path: "arts" source: "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Keep_Talking_(game_show)" license: "CC BY-SA 4.0" wikipedia_page_id: 0 wikipedia_revision_id: 0
::data[format=table title="Infobox television"]
| Field | Value |
|---|---|
| image | Keep Talking 1959.jpg |
| caption | From top: Host Merv Griffin and panelists Morey Amsterdam, Jayne Meadows and Danny Dayton. |
| genre | Panel/Game show |
| creator | Herb Wolf |
| writer | Herb Wolf |
| director | Lloyd Gross |
| presenter | Monty Hall |
| Carl Reiner | |
| Merv Griffin | |
| country | United States |
| num_seasons | 2 |
| producer | Wolf Productions |
| location | Studio 51 (CBS) |
| ABC Studios | |
| runtime | 30 minutes |
| channel | CBS |
| ABC | |
| first_aired | |
| last_aired | |
| :: |
| image = Keep Talking 1959.jpg | caption = From top: Host Merv Griffin and panelists Morey Amsterdam, Jayne Meadows and Danny Dayton. | alt_name = | genre = Panel/Game show | creator = Herb Wolf | developer = | writer = Herb Wolf | director = Lloyd Gross | creative_director = | presenter = Monty Hall Carl Reiner Merv Griffin | starring = | judges = | narrated = | theme_music_composer = | opentheme = | endtheme = | composer = | country = United States | language = | num_seasons = 2 | num_episodes = | list_episodes = | executive_producer = | producer = Wolf Productions | editor = | location = Studio 51 (CBS) ABC Studios | cinematography = | camera = | runtime = 30 minutes | company = | channel = CBS ABC | first_aired = | last_aired =
Keep Talking is an American game show broadcast on CBS and ABC from the summer of 1958 to the spring of 1960. The show was hosted by Monty Hall, Carl Reiner and Merv Griffin.
Production
The show was a hosted panelist/game show produced by Wolf Productions and broadcast in the United States the summer of 1958, and in both the 1958-59 and the 1959-60 primetime television seasons, though on different days, times, and networks each season.
CBS broadcast the show on three different days in various timeslots:
- 7:30-8 PM (EST) on Tuesdays from July 15, 1958 through October 1958, with Monty Hall as host
- 10–10:30 PM (EST) on Sundays (November 1958 through February 1959) with Carl Reiner as host
- 8–8:30 PM (EST) on Wednesdays (February 1959 through September 1959) with Carl Reiner as host.
During this CBS run, other celebrities, such as Vincent Price, filled in as host when needed. These shows were filmed at CBS' Studio 51 in New York City.
The show moved to ABC for the 1959-60 season, filmed in the ABC Studios in California with Merv Griffin as host — the show was broadcast back on Tuesday again, but at a later time, 10:30-11 pm (EST). The last show was broadcast May 3, 1960.
Format
Six celebrity panelists, divided into two teams, would try to guess a secret word given to one player on each team. These two players would then proceed to tell a story to their team involving that word, yet not using that word. Narration of the story would jump from team-mate to team-mate, often leaving the new narrator at a loss as to how to continue the story. Little attention was paid to scoring and points—the point was for the panelists to build their ad-lib story seamlessly and entertainingly.
Stars
Among the panelists who appeared during the run of the show were:
- Morey Amsterdam
- Paul Winchell
- Peggy Cass
- Pat Carroll
- Orson Bean
- Joey Bishop
- Danny Dayton
- Ilka Chase (CBS run only)
- Elaine May (CBS run only)
- Jayne Meadows
References
References
- (December 7, 1958). "News of TV and Radio: 'Keep Talking' May Not On C.B.S.-TV -- Items". The New York Times.
- Brooks, Tim and March, Earl (2007) "The Complete Directory to Prime Time Network and Cable TV Shows: 1946–Present", Random House, {{ISBN. 0-345-45542-8, p.732
- [http://www.oldtvtickets.com/archives1/2005/12/keep_talking.html "Keep Talking"] {{Webarchive. link. (2011-05-19 from the Old TV Tickets website)
- Marc, David "Comic Visions: Television Comedy and American Culture", (Routledge, 1989) page 90, {{ISBN. 0-04-445284-5
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