Pyramid was an American television game show where contestants tried to guess a series of words or phrases, based on descriptions that were given to them, in the shortest amount of time. It has won nine Daytime Emmys for Outstanding Game Show, second only to Jeopardy!, which won its 10th in 2005.

Broadcast history
Pyramid was created by Bob Stewart, the quiz-show producer who also invented To Tell the Truth, The Price Is Right and Password during his years at Mark Goodson-Bill Todman Productions before forming his own company. It went through several name changes over the years, with the title originally reflecting the top prize that contestants can win in that version.


1970s editions
The show debuted as The $10,000 Pyramid on March 26, 1973. It ran for one year on CBS before it was canceled. ABC revived the show on May 6, 1974, and it became a hit. For three consecutive years, it was the number-three-rated game show on television. On January 19, 1976, the show was renamed The $20,000 Pyramid.

A once-a-week nighttime syndicated version, called The $25,000 Pyramid, ran from September 12, 1974, until September 1979.

A special week of five episodes with celebrity adult-children contestant teams featuring Susan Richardson and Jimmy Baio on the network daytime version was titled as The Junior Pyramid, and it originally aired between Monday, July 9 and Friday, July 13, 1979. A network primetime celebrity half hour special, The All-Star Junior Pyramid aired on Sunday, September 2, 1979, at 7:30pm (Eastern) and featuring Susan Richardson and Tony Danza playing the game for charity with young future stars from the new ABC shows debuting in the fall of that year (one of them on that particular episode was a youthful looking Rob Lowe). That led to the daytime version reverting to a full-time Junior Partner Pyramid format featuring civilian adult-children teams (with no celebrities at all) between Monday, October 1 and Friday, November 9, 1979.

A special Celebrity Junior Pyramid week followed suit with celebrity guests Susan Richardson, LeVar Burton and Michael McKean, but, beginning with the Monday, November 19, 1979, telecast, the daytime show went back into its normal $20,000 Pyramid format.

ABC's daytime version ended its run on June 27, 1980. A total of 1,808 telecasts had aired on both CBS and ABC.

The theme music used is called "Tuning Up" by Ken Aldin.


1980s editions
After a short-lived syndicated revival, known as The $50,000 Pyramid, failed in 1981, the show returned to CBS as The $25,000 Pyramid on September 20, 1982. That meant a permanent move to CBS Television City in Los Angeles. The show had been based in New York City, first at the Ed Sullivan Theater (CBS Studio 50) and then the Elysee Theatre (ABC TV-15), since its 1973 premiere, save for a few weeks at the start of the 1973-74 season, during which tapings were done at Television City.

Within a few weeks of its CBS return, the show was retitled The New $25,000 Pyramid to avoid confusion with reruns of the syndicated 1974-79 Cullen version (the "New" was eventually dropped from the title on the January 28, 1985, episode [#608]).

During the updated Pyramid run on CBS, a second five-day-a-week version also aired in late-afternoon or nighttime syndication as The $100,000 Pyramid from September 9, 1985, to September 2, 1988 -- this became the most famous incarnation of all the versions of Pyramid produced. The gameplay was identical to the daytime version, except the three players with the fastest winning time in the end game returned to play for an additional $100,000 jackpot. The tournament took place every six weeks or so. The nighttime version was distributed by 20th Century-Fox.

The updated Pyramid ran on CBS until the last episode on December 31, 1987, but viewer demand caused CBS to bring the show back to its daytime schedule on April 4, 1988, after the game show Blackout failed in Pyramid's time slot. The revival only lasted until July 1 of that year, as CBS premiered its new version of Family Feud the following week. Reruns aired on the USA Network from September 12, 1988 to October 13, 1995 before GSN acquired the rights to Pyramid reruns in 1997.

Pyramid returned to syndication again from January 7 to December 6, 1991, as The $100,000 Pyramid, with John Davidson presiding. Reruns of the Davidson show continued airing into the following year.


2002-2004 revival
In the fall of 2002 Pyramid — without any dollar amount in the title — returned in syndication. Sony Pictures (the production company that currently owns the format rights) did not renew the show after two seasons. The i network (formerly PAX) is currently airing reruns of the show.


Hosts
Dick Clark, who is most associated with Pyramid, hosted all network versions, the syndicated $50,000 Pyramid, and the first $100,000 Pyramid. Bill Cullen hosted the 1974-79 version of The $25,000 Pyramid, and John Davidson hosted the 1991 revival of The $100,000 Pyramid. Donny Osmond hosted Pyramid from 2002-2004. Clark has appeared in all versions, either as a host or a celebrity player, except for the Davidson version. (However, on the series premiere of the Davidson version, Clark did appear in a pre-taped greeting.)


Main game
Two teams, consisting of one celebrity player and one contestant, competed against each other. Six categories, each of which had a name pertaining to what that category was about, were placed on the pyramid-shaped game board. A contestant chose one of those categories, and after the host explained the subject of that category, the contestant was given 30 seconds to guess seven words (originally eight), phrases, or names (20 seconds for six in the most recent version of Pyramid) using clues given by his/her celebrity partner. If any descriptions were deemed illegal by the judges -- usually when all or part of the word or phrase was given -- a cuckoo sound was played, the clue was immediately thrown out, and the contestant couldn't earn any points for it. If a word was passed, the giver could not go back to that word, but if the receiver knew the word later on and guessed it, the team still earned a point.

Once time had expired or the contestant guessed all of the necessary clues (whichever came first) the opposing team followed the same procedures.

Three rounds, with two categories per round, were played in the main game. While the celebrity gave the clues and the contestant received them in the first round, the roles were reversed in the second round -- the celebrity received the clues. In the third round the contestant had the option to give or receive, with the team trailing going first. If the score was tied after three rounds, tiebreaker rounds were played using words that begin with a letter of the alphabet. In the event of a 21-21 tie (perfect scores) after three rounds, the winner of the tie-breaker received a $5,000 cash bonus.

In the tiebreaker round, if the first team completed its tie-breaker round successfully, the opponents would have to beat the time. Such took place when, at the end of the first tie-breaker, the time remaining would be held on the screen, and the host would subtract the time remaining from the base time. The second team would have to complete the round with a better time or the first team would win the game.

The winner of the game played the Winner's Circle bonus round (see below).

In the original daytime version, when a contestant lost the main game, he/she left with parting gifts. In the syndicated and versions since the 1980's, both contestants played on the entire show, swapping celebrity partners after the first game, and in the 1980s version, whoever had the highest score at the Winner's Circle returned on the next show. If both players matched their Winner's Circle totals, both returned the next day.


Bonuses
One randomly-chosen category in each game contained a hidden bonus, which allowed the contestant to win additional cash or prizes if all of the clues were guessed correctly.

The 1970s daytime network versions featured the "Big 7" (instituted on the ABC version) where contestants could win $500 for getting 7 out of 7 in less than 30 seconds. This was played once per show, and could appear in either main game (though it was most often played in the first round).

The 1970s nighttime syndicated version also featured the "Big 7", first in the 1975-76 season for a $1,000. It was later changed as "The Big Money" card displaying a random cash amount from $1,000 to $5,000 in the 1976-77 season, and from $1,000 to $4,000 in the 1977-78 season. For the 1978-79 season, the "Big 7" card returned to which a contestant could win an automobile as the bonus prize. There were no bonus cards in play on the 1981 syndicated $50,000 version.

The 1982-88 versions featured the "7-11" in the first game, where, like the "Big 7", contestants won $1,100 for seven correct answers in that subject. (Early on, the player had the option to play for $1,100 in that fashion, or to "play it safe" and take $50/answer, up to $350 total. This option was eventually dropped without comment when virtually every contestant opted to try for the bigger money.) There was also the "Mystery 7" in the second game, where contestants won a prize (most of the time either a trip or a car) for seven correct answers without receiving the subject of that category from the host. Originally, the "Mystery 7" was displayed in plain sight on the gameboard; beginning in 1983 it was hidden behind a category just like the "7-11."

The 1990-92 version originally retained the bonuses of its immediate predecessor, with the "7-11" and "Mystery 7" played as described above on the Monday, Wednesday, and Friday episodes of a given week. The Tuesday and Thursday episodes, however, saw the "7-11" dropped, the "Mystery 7" moved to the first game, and a new bonus, "Double Trouble," played in the second. Two categories on the board were designated as "Double Trouble" subjects (numbered 1 and 2), which consisted entirely of two-word answers. These subjects gave the teams 45 seconds (rather than the standard 30), and paid off $500 for getting through all seven. Each team was required to pick one "Double Trouble" category during the course of the game. Later on, during the 1991-92 season, the "7-11" was dropped altogether in favor of "Gamble for a Grand" (also played as "Gamble for a Trip"), which gave contestants the option of playing that category normally for no bonus, or to take a chance at winning $1,000 (or the announced trip) by getting all seven answers in 25 seconds instead of the usual 30.

On The $100,000 Pyramid, no bonus cards were used during tournament play.

The most recent version of Pyramid featured a "Super Six" in each game where contestants won a prize for guessing all six clues correctly within the 20-second time limit.

From 1976-80 on the daytime version, $1,000 was won for achieving a perfect score of 21 points. This bonus only appeared in the 1976-1977 season of the nighttime show, but for $2,100. On the 1980s version, if the game ended in a 21-21 tie, the tiebreaker was played for a new car in 1984, but starting in 1985 it became a $5,000 cash bonus.


The Winner's Circle
The Winner's Circle round, named for the circular structure around the chairs that the celebrity and contestant sat in, also featured a pyramid of six subjects: three on the bottom level, two in the middle, and one at the top. Each subject, however, was revealed one at a time, and whoever gave the clues (usually the celebrity, but the contestant always had the option of giving or receiving) had to give a list of objects that fit into that subject. The subjects increased in difficulty toward the top of the pyramid.

Any descriptions other than a list of items resulted in immediate disqualification of that category (signaled by a buzzer, which is also used to indicate that time expired). The strictness of the judging has varied over the years. The following clues were considered off-limits to the givers:

Using hand gestures (the cluegiver had arm straps to help discourage this); hand gestures were allowed for a short time in the early CBS days and during special weeks in which the contestants were blind. 
Saying a key part of the answer (e.g. "a building" for "Things You Build") 
Using synonyms (e.g. clueing "Things That Are Attractive" with "a beautiful woman") 
Using a prepositional phrase (e.g. "the train on schedule" for "Things That Arrive") 
Describing the category itself rather than naming items (e.g. "open your mouth I'll drill your teeth" for "Things A Dentist Uses," even though this would have been a legal clue for "What a Dentist Might Say") 
The start of the clock produced one of TV's (and Dick Clark's) most famous catch phrases: "Here is your first subject. GO!"

The contestant had 60 seconds to get to the top of the pyramid by guessing all six subjects correctly; doing so won the grand prize, which had changed with each incarnation of the show:

The original version offered $10,000 as its top prize. If won the contestant retires undefeated with the $10,000 and any other winnings to that point. 
On the 1974-79 syndicated version, a player's first trip to the Winner's Circle was played for $10,000. If a contestant won both games, his or her second trip to the Winner's Circle was played for a grand total of $25,000. 
By 1976, the top prize offered was $20,000. The contestant who went to the Winner's Circle the first time played for $10,000; the second time for $15,000 and the third and subsequent times for $20,000. Players in this version continued until a successful Winner's Circle try at whatever cash prize level (thus retired at that point), or defeated in the main game. 
In the 1981 syndicated version the first trip to the Winner's Circle was worth $5,000 and the second time was worth $10,000. 
From 1982 on, and during the syndicated 1974-79 version, the first trip to the Pyramid was worth $10,000 and the second $25,000. (Note, however, that the contestant was playing for a total of $25,000 on his or her second trip; in other words, if that player had won the $10,000 in his or her first trip, the second trip would "really" only be worth an additional $15,000.) Players in the 1980s $25,000 and syndicated $100,000 versions could remain on the show up to a maximum of five days (on the CBS 1980's run, players who go over the $25,000 winnings limit will be retired as champion, but it was later changed to $50,000 in September 1984, and towards the end of that network's run to $75,000). 
For the 2002-04 version, a player had to have won the $10,000 in his or her first trip to qualify for the $25,000 attempt and a spot in the tournament. 
The first Winner's Circle win occurred on the first broadcast in 1973, when Rob Reiner successfully used the clue "A doughnut" for "Things With A Hole". Interestingly, when Dick Clark was playing as a celebrity player on the syndicated $25,000 Pyramid, he had trouble with the same exact subject, and eventually came up with the same clue Reiner used earlier when time was running out, resulting in a $25,000 win.

If the top prize was not won, the contestant was awarded $50 for the bottom three subjects, $100 for the middle two subjects, and $200 for the top subject. The 1974-79 syndicated version's awards were $100, $200, and $300 respectively. From 1982 to 1991, the first subject was worth $50, and increased in value by $50 for each subject up to $300 for the top subject. In the 2002-2004 version, the bottom three subjects were worth $200, the middle two $300, and the top subject $500.

In most versions, each subject was displayed on a trilon that concealed the name of the subject, the dollar amount (if the contestant guessed that subject correctly), and a pyramid (if an illegal clue was given or if the subject was unused). At the end of the game, the subject of the illegal clue would be unveiled. The 2002-2004 version used television monitors instead, as producer Sony used their television monitors.

In the early years on occasion, if there was no time for the second bonus round, it would be played at the top of the next show. On the week-ending Friday episode, if there was no winner from the main game, the celebrities would play the winner's circle themselves which, if won, would split $5,000 to both contestants. This procedure was eliminated in the 1980's version when both contestants would play both games, with celebrity switching between games.

On The $50,000 Pyramid, the player with the fastest time in the front game during that week qualified for the $50,000 tournament. The field started with eight contenders but was narrowed down to three by the end of the first week of the tournament. Starting the following Monday, two finalists would play one game and the winner would play the Winner's Circle for $50,000. If the grand prize was not won, that player would play the next game against the finalist who sat out the previous game.

Tournaments were frequently held on The $100,000 Pyramid where the three contestants who reached the top of the pyramid in the shortest amounts of time played until someone won the Winner's Circle, where $100,000 was awarded. These tournaments were played like the tournaments on The $50,000 Pyramid, but without the elimination process.

The last version of Pyramid held periodic 3-day tournaments where a contestant could win $100,000. In a 6-player tournament, two players would compete for the first show, two more would compete on the second show, and the last two players competed on the final show. Each contestant's first attempt at the Winner's Circle would be played for $25,000. If $25,000 was won in the first half, and that same player returned to the Winner's Circle, that contestant played for an additional $75,000 and the tournament title. If the tournament ended with neither player able to win both Winner's Circles in one show, the contestant who won $25,000 in the fastest time, or the player winning the most money from the Pyramid ($500 for each of the three bottom categories, $1,000 for each of the two middle categories, $2,500 for the category at the top), would have his or her tournament winnings augmented to $100,000. In a four player tournament, the first two semifinalists would compete on day one and the other two semifinalists competed on day two. Each attempt at the Winner's Circle would be played for $25,000. The category payoffs remained the same as with the six-player tournaments. On each of the two semifinal shows, whoever won the most money returned to compete in the finals, in which each Winner's Circle attempt would be pay $1,000 for each of the bottom three categories, $2,500 for each of the two middle categories, and $5,000 for the category at the top, or $50,000 for all six.


Other comments
When Pyramid first began in 1973, game play was slow at times, but as the ABC version progressed, the main game play became better. By the middle of the 1980s CBS version, both the civilians and celebs were more comfortable with the game, and the Winner's Circle rounds were won somewhat more often. (A similar phenomenon has been noticed in the NBC versions of the Password franchise, as opposed to the original CBS runs.) Still, some of the toughest game play on TV came in the $100,000 versions of the 1980s and 90s, which resulted in the top prize not being won for days, if not weeks.

In the original concept for the Winner's Circle, a team had to guess ten subjects in 60 seconds to win the top prize. This idea survived long enough for the Winner's Circle gameboard to be constructed with ten trilons rather than six. Perhaps realizing that ten in sixty seconds made it too unlikely for the $10,000 to be won with anything less than perfect gameplay, Bob Stewart changed the game to its familiar six-subject configuration. The bottom four windows on the gameboard were "dummied out" by having a large piece of plywood nailed across them, which would remain for the entire duration of its initial 1973-74 CBS run. The set was reconstructed without the eliminated trilons when the show moved to ABC in 1974, though the bare section on the ABC board briefly carried a cushion-like bottom.).

It is generally assumed by fans (though by no means confirmed) that the four bottommost categories would have been worth $25 apiece, keeping with the established doubling pattern of the six categories that remained.

Despite Pyramid 's moving to ABC in 1974, the first few episodes on the Alphabet Network were taped at CBS's Ed Sullivan Theater while a replica set was being built at ABC's smaller Elysee Theater. One reason may have been the size of the set (including the big board), but according to Pyramid historian William Padron, a key factor was the objection of the CBS union staff to seeing their creations moved to an ABC studio.

The $50,000 Pyramid was unusual in that the clock in its main game actually counted up, from 00 to 30 (to facilitate "Time of the Week" scoring). It was also the first Pyramid version to use a fully electronic display for the main-game clock, rather than a chromakeyed Solari board display. The clock during the Winner's Circle round reverted to the Solari display, shown from 60 seconds downward.

During tournament play on The $100,000 Pyramid, if a contestant won the $100,000 Winner's Circle during the first half of a given episode, the second half would then feature the two remaining tournament contestants playing a consolation game, the winner of which would play the Winner's Circle for $10,000. This happened at least twice.

Richard Mahaffey became first contestant to win $100,000. In 1982 on the daytime version of "Pyramid," his wife, Lani, won $25,000 with Fred Grandy. Richard and his celebrty partner Shelley Smith went up to the top and he said "Things That Are Warped" with three seconds left on the clock and became the first to win $100,000 in 60 seconds or less.


Celebrities
William Shatner and Leonard Nimoy both guested on the ABC Pyramid in the 1970s, on a week which was billed as Kirk vs. Spock. Shatner became infamous in 1977 for throwing a chair across the stage after giving an illegal clue on the final subject ("Things That Are Blessed"; Shatner inadvertently gave a clue containing the word "blessed"), which cost his partner $10,000. On one episode two years earlier, in an unusual twist, Shatner played the Winner's Circle by himself (giving the clues in one chair then racing to the other and guessing the subject).

Several game show hosts (mostly those hosting Bob Stewart games) appeared as celebrity guests, most notably Bill Cullen and Geoff Edwards. Nipsey Russell, Betty White and Henry Polic II would eventually host a game show at one point and are also added to this list. Dick Clark himself appeared as a celebrity guest on the syndicated Pyramid on a few occasions, as well as on three episodes of the Donny Osmond-hosted Pyramid.

Celebrity partner Billy Crystal holds the record for the fastest Winner's Circle win at 26 seconds. Barry Jenner almost broke Crystal's record in the Winner's Circle, as he and contestant M.G. McCormick went up to the top in 27 seconds. McCormick won $100,000 with 33 seconds left on the clock. Kelly Packard also achieved a 27-second mark in 2002 in leading a contestant to a $10,000 win, the fastest win in the Osmond era.

The 1980s CBS and 1985-88 $100,000 versions are often considered the best of the Pyramid franchise, for their production and gameplaying values. Guests like Nipsey Russell, Anita Gillette and Soupy Sales from the 70s versions showed great enthusiasm in resuming their panelist roles. And newer viewers got to see Vicki Lawrence, Markie Post and Henry Polic II shine just as brightly as Russell and the others did during the first runs.

Post and Polic were often brought back as panelists during tournament weeks on the mid-80s $100,000 versions.

Betty White also became a semi-regular during the 80s version, displaying the same word-game proficiency on Pyramid that she did for Stewart on Password. It was on a 1987 week of CBS Pyramid shows playing opposite White that Bill Cullen made his last network TV appearance. Her most recent Pyramid appearance was on November 25, 2002 on a special episode with former Pyramid host Dick Clark as the other celebrity guest.

Mel Harris of thirtysomething appeared on Pyramid as a contestant before finding success as an actress. She later appeared as a celebrity on the Davidson era in 1991.


Announcers
Former Concentration announcer and host Bob Clayton handled the announcing chores on the 1970s Pyramid (and other Stewart-produced shows) until his death in 1979 after a heart attack. Other New York-based announcers, including Alan Kalter and Steve O'Brien, rotated the announcing duties until its last New York broadcast in 1981.

When Pyramid moved back to CBS in 1982 -- relocating at Television City in Los Angeles -- LA-based announcers such as Jack Clark, Rod Roddy, Johnny Gilbert, Bob Hilton and Charlie Tuna rotated, with Clark and Gilbert credited as regular announcers. In 1985, Charlie O'Donnell, Dick Clark's announcer on American Bandstand, worked with Clark again on Pyramid -- mostly on the $100,000 version. Dean Goss also announced on the show.

When the $100,000 Pyramid returned in 1991 with Davidson as host, both Gilbert and Goss returned to the announcer position.

John Cramer, previously of the 1997 versions of The Newlywed Game and The Dating Game, as well as the 2000 version of Twenty-One and the US prime time version of Weakest Link, announced on the Osmond 2002 revival.


Versions outside the USA
Foreign editions have been produced as well, among them, The Pyramid Game in the United Kingdom, Pyramide in France and Germany, which was later called Hast Du Worte?. There was even a version in Singapore as well.


Episode status and rights
All versions are assumed to exist, with the following exceptions:

The original CBS $10,000 Pyramid is believed to be largely erased; the only episodes confirmed to exist come from a special three-week period where the show originated from CBS Television City in Hollywood rather than its usual New York home base. GSN has aired these episodes in the past. 
GSN has only the last two seasons (1978-80) of The $20,000 Pyramid in its archive (which was purchased from Bob Stewart when Sony acquired the rights to that library). It is believed that the tapes of episodes prior to that were erased and recycled by ABC. 
The Bill Cullen $25,000 Pyramid exists in what is believed to be its entirety, but GSN does not have this version; it remains with its original syndicator, Viacom. The $50,000 Pyramid is in a similar limbo, as is the '90s $100,000 Pyramid (discussed below). 
As previously mentioned, Sony now has rights to the format and most of the numerous incarnations. The versions of Pyramid Sony does not own are the Cullen $25K version (held by Viacom) and the Davidson $100K syndicated version (held by Paramount Domestic Television and StudioCanal via the latter's acquisition of the library of Carolco Pictures, which produced the Davidson/$100K version). 

References in popular culture
The $100,000 Pyramid was parodied in a 1992 episode of In Living Color, with Jim Carrey playing the role of Dick Clark. 
An episode of The Simpsons, "Old Yeller Belly", featured a clip of Santa's Little Helper as "Suds McDuff" barking clues to a contestant on the Donny Osmond version of Pyramid. 
The $25,000 Pyramid was satirized on an episode of Jim Henson's Muppet Babies in which Baby Miss Piggy played the Winner's Circle on "The 25,000 Dollhouse Pyramid". 
A television commercial for Comcast in 2005 featured footage from an episode of The $20,000 Pyramid. The dialogue was dubbed and the subjects in the Winner's Circle were edited to relate to Comcast products (such as "Things You'd Give Your Right Arm For" and the clincher, "Things That Are Comcastic"). The celebrity player featured in this clip was Loretta Swit. 
On an episode of Friends, Joey makes an appearance on the Pyramid show hosted by Donny Osmond. He fumbles over most of the answers, but somehow makes it to the Winner's Circle. There he stumbles his way to the top, where he jokingly makes fun of Chandler and time runs out. 
Pyramid turned up in a live 2003 Ellen DeGeneres standup special on HBO, during which she described what happens when a speaker loses the thread of a conversation... in mid-conversation: "Suddenly, it's like The $10,000 Pyramid with these people. 'Things that taste like chicken. Things a monkey would wear!' " 
In the 2006 American Dad! episode "Rough Trade," Stan was seen watching a Winner's Circle round of The $100,000 Pyramid while he was at home on house arrest. Later, a drunk Stan plays along with the show, after which Klaus (the talking fish) informed him that he was watching The Price Is Right instead. 
The $25,000 Pyramid was featured in the 1982 episode of VH1's I Love the 80s 3-D.