Pantomime Quiz

This game show was originally called "Pantomime Quiz".

But I watched the version that ran from September 1962 thru September 1963 - when it was called "Stump the Stars".

It was on CBS Monday nights at 10:30 eastern time.

There were two teams of four players each that played against each other. Regulars or semi-regulars (according to the best of my memory) were Vera Miles ("The Wrong Man"), Richard Long ("Bourbon Street Beat"), Beverly Garland ("Decoy"), Stubby Kaye ("Guys and Dolls"), Ruta Lee ("Witness for the Prosecution"), Sebastian Cabot ("Checkmate"), Hans Conried ("Make Room for Daddy"), and Ross Martin ("Mr. Lucky"). Each team had three of the regulars and one of the night's two guest stars.

Beverly Garland was a vivacious woman who screamed a lot. Vera Miles was elegant. Ruta Lee was pert and sexy. Ross Martin was smart - an excellent player. All the regulars had plenty of charm and energy. Dress was formal, with the men wearing tuxedos.

One puzzle had some kind of a take-off on the name Efrem Zimbalist, Jr. No one got it. Host Mike Stokey told Richard Long he should have got it since he had played one of Zimbalist's employees on "77 Sunset Strip". Long was actually one of Zimbalist's partners, but kept his mouth shut.

Stokey once introduced Vera Miles as an actress equally capable of playing spinsters or sex pots. Miles didn't seem to appreciate the introduction.

On one special, four cast members of the movie "PT 109" played against four of the regulars. The "PT 109" cast members were Robert Culp, Ty Hardin, Grant Williams, and James Gregory. The regulars won.

Guest stars I remember included Clint Walker and Roger Smith. Joseph Cotten and his wife Patricia Medina were guests for one show. Sebastian Cabot gave Patricia a big kiss and hug. Apparently they were old friends. Also either Don Murray or Don Taylor was a guest star.

Mike Stokey called the show "the fastest half-hour on television". Each team had two minutes to solve a puzzle. There were eight puzzles per show. The show did go by quickly.

This was a show that my family and I would never miss. We collectively thought Beverly Garland was a bit of a nut job but the overall enjoyment factor was tremendous.

The stand out memory for me (and I was about 6) was Hans Conreid. I'd seen him on "Fractured Flickers" and recognised his voice from many a Jay Ward cartoon. I loved him.

He was a William Shakespeare specialist. Any time the object t was a Shakespearean quotation, he'd nail it on no time.

Terrifically paced show and heaps of fun to watch.

Have not seen it since (herein Australia) and would love to k ow f any episodes still exist.

Favorite episode was the phrase to be acted, "i don't care if your name is Howard Morris, srop jumping on my couch". And they got it.

This was a star for me in "the Golden Age of Game Shows." Other games were fun, but this one was FUNNY. Two panels of four celebrities (well known to TV audiences) took turns with one person trying to make his/her team find a specific word or phrase that was visible to the audience but not the rest of the panel. NONE of the answers were ordinary; they were designed to be difficult and awkward. Half the time, the look on the face of the celebrity as he/she read the words to be pantomimed was priceless.

My favorite moment came when Beverly Garland had to act out "The Hunting of the Snark" -- once they got "Twas brillig," Hans Conreid recited the whole thing. I had never heard of it before, but you can bet I looked it up and enjoyed it as a memory as well as a fine work.

I enjoyed a lot of other game shows of the time, but I don't think celebrity participants had so much fun themselves anywhere else -- and it was so easy to laugh with them. I rarely left that half-hour without aching sides. It's a wonder to me that the concept has not been revived -- perhaps today's celebrities have too much dignity, or the cost of hiring two panels is prohibitive. Celebrities and audiences both are losing out.

We have had so much fun watching the few episodes available. Our favorite combination is Ross Martin and Beverly Garland. They made hundreds of these shows-the series ran for so long. Where are they all?