Shenanigans

Shenanigans S H E N A N I G A N S Shenanigans

say the word then spell it out then repeat the word again

In 1964, Merrill Heatter and Bob Quigley revived their first game show Video Village by changing the title to Shenanigans and putting the show in ABC's Saturday morning kids line up.

Sponsored by Milton Bradley, the show featured two kids playing the role of pieces on a game board as the played versions of the sponsor's games and collected shenanaganzas to be redeemed for prizes.

I saw the show for the very first time on youtube.com and i thought it was a fun kids game show. Stubby Kaye, best known for his roles in the musical comedies Guys and Dolls and L'il Abner, did an outstanding job in hosting what would turn out to be his only game show. He brought a lot of energy and enthusiasm to the proceeding and more important, he had very good rapport with the young contestants. He also sang the show's theme song. It's a shame that any game show producer never offered him another hosting job. He would have also done well hosting an adult game show.

It was also one of the few times veteran Heatter-Quigley announcer Kenny Williams appeared on camera. He portrayed "Kenny the Cop" and added a lot to the show.

If you never seen or heard the show, view it on youtube. You'll have a shenanaganza.

I LOVED this show (I was 5, nearly 6) and made my own home board version when I couldn't get it soon enough. It aired on ABC. Some of the major stops/spaces were Pie in the Eye, where you tried to cream a pie in between the opening/closing eyelids/lashes of a giant eye; Punchboard, where you punched in a large button to pick your question; and Haunted House, where you had to run inside and get something scary that turned out to be a prize. There were several other major spaces like that. Prizes were also Milton Bradley games, the sponsor (mostly); MB also had a home version of the game, of course. There were lots of spaces to land on along the (I think) squared-U shaped live board; all the events took places on a horizontal wall along the outer edge, something like an old-style midway wall. The theme song (didn't think about it at the time, but I bet Stubby sang it (not live)) began something like: *Shenanigans--Come on along and play Shenanigans--...* (??) For the life of me, tho, I donÔt recall how the players/tokens moved around the board (dice, spinner, etc.)

Check it out! I just found this clip (and more) on YouTube! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eg6KV6xi4rk&feature=related Thanks to whoever posted these, I am somewhat obsessed with memories of Shenanigans, and reading this thread drove me to search for some clips.I too would love to have this on DVD! My favorite game was Pie in the Eye. I wanted to be on this show so bad, but was only 5-6 at the time and the contestants all seemed to be like 9-12. Saturday mornings were so fantastic when we could lounge around watching shows like Sky King and Lone Ranger with Ralph Williams commercials every 10 minutes. Then we had to go out and play (bummer!) Thanks for the memories!

Shenanigans debuted with little fanfare on Saturday morning September 26, 1964. Two players, a girl and a boy, traversed a studio sized gameboard in a race to the finish line. Players moved the number of spaces designated by a flashing display that was stopped by yet another child whenever the host declared, "Ready, presser press!" Along the way, the children would be subject to random event and carnival-like stunts. Success was rewarded with prizes, such as harmonicas and record players, and play money called Shenaniganzas. Shenaniganzas could be redeemed for prizes in the first season but in the second season they could be redeemed for trading stamps when S&H became a sponsor.

The show was sponsored by Milton Bradley, the makers of the home version of the game. Each time the home game was mentioned, it was noted that the home game was "an exact duplicate" of the television show. That was a lie. The home game had fewer spaces and many of the activities from the series such as "Touch & Go" were missing.

After a successful first season, the show was renewed for a second season and the gameboard changed to add "Operation" and "Where's Willie?", two games added to Milton Bradley's catalog. To make sure these games received their due, the players were stopped in their tracks to play these new games.

The novelty had worn off and Shenanigans had its last broadcast on December 18, 1965. For the last time Stubby Kaye would lip synch, "...funny how the minutes seem to fly. Until next week it's time to say goodbye."