Holy [Blank]: The Long-Lost Match Game-Hollywood Squares Hour Returns to TV After 35-Year Absence
Throughout much of the 1970s, Match Game and The Hollywood Squares were among the most successful game shows on TV (as well as a steady source of employment for a slew of C-list celebrities). So back in 1983, when NBC decided to combine the two programs into one — called, what else, The Match Game-Hollywood Square Hour — it seemed like a surefire winner. It wasn’t: Despite the presence of original Match Game host Gene Rayburn (and Sha Na Na iconJon “Bowzer” Bauman as host of the Squares half of the show), ratings were meh, prompting the Peacock to pull the plug after just one season.
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