The Joker's Wild was a popular American game show of the 1970s and 1980s, billed as the game "where knowledge is king and lady luck is queen".

Broadcast History
The Joker's Wild debuted on CBS September 4, 1972, incidentally on the same day as the modern incarnation of The Price is Right as well as Gambit. It ran for 686 telecasts until June 13, 1975 on that network. After a syndicated rerun cycle of the last CBS season proved successful in 1976, the show returned to first-run syndication in September 1977 and continued for nine seasons, lasting until September 1986, after 2,340 episodes, making a grand total of 3,026 telecasts. A short-lived revival ran from September 10, 1990 to September 13, 1991, also in syndication.

Jack Barry, who created the show and eventually used it to revive his partnership with longtime producer Dan Enright, hosted all versions of Joker up until his sudden death in May 1984 from a heart attack while jogging in Central Park, at age 66. Bill Cullen, "The Dean" of game shows, hosted the remainder of the syndicated run (which eventually was his last game show hosting assignment).

San Francisco weatherman Pat Finn hosted the 1990 remake, which lasted one season.

Jim Peck began subbing for Barry beginning in 1981, which he would continue to do on occasion until Barry's death in 1984; however, he did fill-in for Cullen during the final season for a few weeks. Barry and producer Ron Greenberg tapped Peck to become Barry's successor, but after Barry died, Dan Enright decided to give the hosting duties to Cullen instead.

Johnny Jacobs was the original announcer of The Joker's Wild, which he served through most of its CBS run, with Johnny Gilbert and Roy Rowan filling in on occasion. When the series returned to first-run syndication in 1977, Jay Stewart became the primary announcer, with Jacobs announcing on several 1978-1979 episodes; Bob Hilton announcing the final three months of the 1979-1980 season and Art James, who worked on Barry's Blank Check announcing the 1980-1981 season, with Stewart announcing the final three months of that season. Finally in 1981, legendary announcer Charlie O'Donnell became the new voice of Barry & Enright game shows, announcing for the final five seasons of The Joker's Wild.

Ed MacKay, a local Los Angeles radio DJ and one-time overnight news anchor at station KNX AM-1070, announced the 1990-1991 revival.


Gameplay
Note: The gameplay described below represents the best-remembered format of the 1977-86 syndicated series. Any differences in alternative versions will be discussed in the appropriate section.


Main Game
Two contestants, one a returning champion, played. The challenger began the game by pulling a lever, which set three slot machine-style wheels in motion. The wheels contained five different categories and Jokers. When the wheels stopped, the player chose one of the displayed categories and had to answer a question from that category.

The value of each question was determined by how many times that category appeared on the wheels. If three different categories appeared, a question in any of the categories were worth $50. If a two of a kind and a single appeared, a question on the pair is worth $100, and a question on the single is worth $50. If a natural triple (three of a kind) is spun, the question is worth $200 and a bonus prize is awarded to anyone who spinned a natural triple. Natural pairs and triples cannot be split and have to be taken for $100 or $200 respectively. There was however one exception to this rule: if a natural pair and one joker appeared on the windows, the player could answer the question on the displayed category for $100 with the pair, $200 with the pair and joker, or just $50 by using the joker only.

Jokers were wild, hence the title, and can be used to match any category (thus increasing the value of the question to $100 or $200, depending on the spin) or to subsitute any category not displayed on the wheels (which is referred to going "off the board") for a $50 question with one joker or $100 with two jokers.

A question is asked to the spinner, and if answered correctly, the amount of the question is added to his/her score. If answered incorrectly, his/her opponent had a chance to answer.

If three jokers are spun, that player won the game automatically with a correct answer to one question from any of the five categories in play. An incorrect answer continued the game.

The target score to win the game was $500 or more, however, players were given an equal amount of turns; meaning if the challenger reached $500 or more first, the champion is given one final spin in an attempt to either tie or win the game (example, if the champion was trailing by $100, he/she must spin at least a double to tie or a triple or three jokers to win; if trailing by more than $200, the only way to win is to spin three jokers). A player can also win if his/her opponent misses a question and thus answers it correctly for an amount that would be enough to reach $500 or more.

If both players reached $500 or more, then extra rounds were played until someone is ahead after each completed round, or if three jokers were spun and a question was correctly answered thus ending the game.

Any contestant who won five consecutive games received a new car as a bonus. Players continued on the show until defeated; and some of which won more than $25,000 in cash and prizes.


Big Winners
One contestant, Joe Dunn, was the highest-money winner (non-Tournament of Champions winnings) in Joker's Wild history, earning $66,200 in cash and prizes (surpassing Eileen Jason, who won over $50,000 four years earlier) during a 16 game long winning streak in 1983 before retiring undefeated when he went over the then-maximum limit of $50,000. Other winners, most notably Frank Dillon and Hal Shear went on to win well over $30,000 during its run (Shear, known for his "Lucky Suit", won close to $40,000 during a winning streak of some 10 games). Dillon won the $50,000 and $100,000 Tournament of Champions specials in 1977 and 1978 respectively, with Jason capturing the $250,000 ToC thanks in part to bad spins by Dillon (losing on a spin of three different categories, needing at least a double to stay in the game when Jason, the challenger, reached $500 first). Although invited to participate in the $1,000,000 Tournament of Champions in 1980, Dillon elected not to do so.


Endgame ("Face the Devil")
The wheels now contained various amounts of money ($25, $50, $75, $100, $150 and $200 cards) and Devils. The object was to take spins and accumulate $1,000 or more on the wheels, which won a bonus prize package. However, if the Devil came up at any time, the game was over and the player lost whatever money he/she had built up. The player always had the option to stop after every "safe" spin and keep the money earned to that point.

This was played in the last year of the CBS run and during the entire syndicated series. In the syndicated run, a natural triple in the bonus round (three identical dollar amounts) resulted in an automatic win.

In later years, when a player stopped to take the money, host Jack Barry would encourage the player to spin to see what would have happen if he/she continued on. On one occasion, a contestant stopped, predicting that the devil would appear on the next spin, and on the "what would have happened" spin, the devil appeared.


Other Versions

Original 1969 pilot
This pilot episode, hosted by Allen Ludden, was very different from the eventual series. Most notable was the fact that categories on the wheels were each represented by a different celebrity panelist, each of whom asked the questions in his/her specific category. A somewhat confusing points system was used for scoring in place of money, with the first player to reach 13 points winning the game (no full rounds were played in this version as was the case when the series first went on the air).

For a bonus round, the game's winner spun the wheels, each of which contained different prizes of various quality - anything from a five-cent piece of chewing gum to $500 cash. After the spin, the player could elect to keep the prizes shown, or give them all back for a second spin. This offer was then repeated after the second spin, but if a third spin was taken, the player was stuck with whatever prizes came up in that spin. This pilot did not feature returning champions.

This pilot was produced by Barry in association with Mark Goodson-Bill Todman Productions.


1971 tryout
This tryout series aired locally on Los Angeles' KTLA and aired for about three months. The tryout episodes were hosted by Jack Barry, with rules similar to the regular 1972-86 series with the following exceptions:

Spinning three different categories and answering a question in any of the three categories were worth $25. Pairs were worth $50 and triples were worth $100, with $250 the target number to win. As before, an equal amout of turns were given. A three joker spin resulted in an automatic win with a correct response to a question from any of the five categories in play. The bonus round was similar to that of the Allen Ludden-version, but with far better prizes than the 1969 pilot.


1972-1975
Initially, triples were worth $150, but soon upped to $200. Also, three Jokers originally won the game automatically, without a question being asked. From episode 1 until around mid-1973, the champion went first instead of the challenger.

The bonus round went through a few different permutations. For the first two episodes, it was a variation of the game seen in the 1969 pilot, but with only two spins allowed and most of the gag prizes replaced with decent ones. Additionally, some prizes appeared on the wheels inside of circles; if all three prizes in a spin were thus circled, the player also won a new car. Beginning with the third aired episode, the circles were eliminated and the car became a regular prize on the wheels. Not long after that, the endgame was completely overhauled again - this time, the wheels contained Jokers and Devils. The player was given up to three spins, and each time three Jokers came up, a different prize was won, increasing in value with each spin taken. If a Devil appeared, the player lost it all. Amusingly, for Christmas 1972, the graphics for this game were altered to become "Santas" (Jokers) and "Scrooges" (Devils). By the end of the CBS run, the "Face the Devil" round described above had been implemented.

In 1973, to avoid confusion between the category wheels and the bonus game reels, the Jokers in the "Jokers and Devils" era were marked with the word "Joker" instead of the word "Wild". This was implemented following a game in which the reels were not switched to the regular reels, and the champion spun three jokers to begin the game.

Early in the show's run, returning champions were competing for a chance to win the "Joker's Jackpot," an accruing jackpot of cash that started at $2,500. Players won this jackpot if they won four consecutive games (later three plus a new automobile). However, if they were defeated, all of their cash winnings to that point were forfeited to the Joker's Jackpot (prizes won in the bonus round was his/hers to keep). Thus, after every game, the champion decided whether to play on for a chance to win the Jackpot, or play it safe and retire from the show with their current winnings. The Jackpot continued to build until it reached $25,000 or more, which was at the time CBS's maximum "winnings cap" for game show contestants.

After winning the Joker's Jackpot, the champion was retired undefeated, but later the rules changed in which champions can continue playing until either defeated or reaching the maximum CBS winnings limit. Plus any Joker's Jackpots won was his/hers to keep.

Upon implemention of the "Money and Devils" bonus round, the "Joker's Jackpot" was abandoned, and players kept whatever they earned, and five wins were needed to win a new automobile.


1977-1986
There were a few alterations to the syndicated show over the years. One of the most notable was the addition of a "Natural Triple Jackpot" in 1983. This was an accruing prize package offered to a contestant who had spun a triple of any category, without Jokers. Prior to that, a bonus prize, usually around $500 in value, was given to any contestant who spun a natural triple.


Special Categories
Special categories were introduced during the course of the syndicated era; the most famous of which were the "Mystery" category & the "Fast Forward" category. Here's the rundown of the special categories:

Mystery - in which if picked the value of the question would then double. Host Jack Barry would place seven hidden questions (marked 1 through 7) in front of his podium, and when the category is selected, the contestant picks a number, and the category is announced by Barry. A right answer would earn the player $100, $200 or $400, depending on the spin. 
Fast Forward - in which a player can answer as many questions as he/she wished, stopping after a correct answer--a wrong answer forfeiting the money won in that turn and giving his opponent a chance to answer the missed question for the base value ($50, $100 or $200). 
Stumpers - this was introduced in 1983, which featured questions missed by both players from previous episodes; the player could elect to answer the question straight up, doubling the dollar value, or answer the question with the help of two wrong answers for the face value of the question (originally when this category was selected, an extra $100 was added to the value of the question, but was changed during the Cullen era). 
Bid - in which a player had to answer a certain amount of questions (a la Bullseye). The player though determined how many questions he/she would like to answer, and like "Fast Forward", can be used to catch up if trailing. 
Fact or Foto - in which the player had the option of seeing a photo he would have to identify or hearing a fact--an incorrect response giving his opponent both the fact and the photo. 
Multiple Choice - in which a player is given three possible answers to a question, and he/she had to choose which is the right one. 
How Low Will You Go? - wherein a question with a list of clues was asked, and the player had to decide how few clues he would need to answer it (similar to "Bid A Note" on Name That Tune)--a wrong answer giving all the clues to his opponent. 
Other popular categories over the years included "Grab Bag" which is a potluck category, "Crossword Definitions", "Spelling Bee", "Alphabet Soup", "News of the 70s", "Television" and "Who, What or Where?".


The Audience Game
Beginning with the 1981-82 season, an audience game was played at the final segment each show (originally two or three shows per week, including the week-ending show). Three members of the studio audience were selected by announcer Charlie O'Donnell for a chance to win bonus money and a chance to spin against the devil. Each audience member was given one spin to get as much money as possible (originally two spins were given; meaning the audience member can take another spin if he/she did not like the amount spun or wasn't enough to take the lead). The wheels contained money amounts ranging from $10 to $100, with $250 the highest amount possible in one spin (accomplished a few times). Whoever had the highest score went on to face the devil for a bonus prize and an additional $1,000. In the event of a tie, a spinoff would occur, with the members winning whatever came up on the wheels, added to what they spun before. When Bill Cullen took over the reins of "The Joker's Wild" in 1984, the third contestant became a home viewer playing from his/her touch-tone telephone. The audience end game was discontinued following the 1984-85 season.


Joker! Joker!! Joker!!! (1979-1981)
This was a special once-weekly version of The Joker's Wild with children for contestants and appropriately themed subject matter for questions. The format was basically the same, with only some slight alterations. In the main game, the children would play for points, not dollars. The winning child received a $500 education bond. The children's parents played the bonus round, presumably to avoid giving the kids the vice of gambling. This version featured many memorable exchanges between the young kids and host Jack Barry.


1990-1991
When "The Joker's Wild" returned to syndication in 1990, virtually everything about the show had been changed.

In the first round, three contestants (one a returning champion) competed to be the first to reach $500. The game began with a toss-up definition, and whomever buzzed in first with the correct answer gained control of the machine. The wheels contained various dollar amounts (generally $5-$50 in each window), with a Joker in the third window tripling the value of the first two if it came up (and giving that player 15 seconds to come up with as many correct answers as possible). After spinning, the player was given a series of rapid-fire definitions and had to figure out what those definitions referred to. Each correct answer earned the current value of the wheels. If a definition was missed, the other two players can buzz in and attempt to steal control of the board, which if successful, the wheels were spinned again. When one player reached the $500 target number, the low-scoring contestant was eliminated.

The two remaining contestants advanced to the second round, which was played much like the first, with higher dollar amounts on the wheels, and a choice of one of two categories after each spin. Additionally, an "Opponent's Choice" card could appear in the third window; as the name suggests, this gave the spinning player's opponent the choice of categories the spinner would have to answer questions from. The first to reach $2,000 or more won the game.

In the bonus round, the champion was given up to three definitions to different words starting with the same letter. Each correct answer given within sixty seconds earned one spin of the wheels. The wheels, this time, contained prizes (including various cash awards of $1,000 or more) and Jokers. The object was to get three of a kind of any prize in order to win it. After each spin, the player could "freeze" windows containing a prize he or she wanted to win, and only the unfrozen windows would continue to spin. Jokers could be used to match any prize showing; spinning three Jokers won a "Joker's Jackpot" that started at $5,000 and increased by $500 each day until won. (This had to be done in one spin, as Jokers could not be frozen.)

About halfway through this show's run, the front game format was reworked to incorporate elements of the original "Joker's Wild" game. Although still played with the "definition" format, categories at least had returned to the wheels - $25 for a single, $50 for a double, $100 for a triple. Spinning three Jokers here won an automatic $250 bonus and selected one of three categories for $100 a question. The winning score for the first round was increased to $1,000 at this point.

Thomas Van Dyke holds the record for most money won and for most appearances on this version of the show.


Notes
As he had done in the past, Jack Barry would begin each broadcast by saying Thank you and a most cordial welcome once again to The Joker's Wild. And at the end of each broadcast, Jack would ask the players to come back on the next show...which they would, of course...some 20 or 30 minutes later with new wardrobe for the next taping. These were two traits Barry used in the 1950s when live television was in place. 
In the mid-1990s, Philips produced two games for its ill-fated CD-i platform based on The Joker's Wild. These games featured "real" hosts and were based more or less on the first syndicated series. Wink Martindale "hosted" the first and best-known of these games (with Charlie O'Donnell as the announcer), while Marc Summers could be found on a special "Junior" edition of the game. Martindale incidently was among the first candidates to host the original series when networks were still not 100 percent sold on Jack Barry as host due to his involvement in the quiz show scandals of the 1950s. 
Board game manufacturer Milton Bradley produced four editions of The Joker's Wild home game, the fourth of which was actually branded for Joker! Joker! Joker!. 
Although Joker is commonly named by several game show historians as the first series Jack Barry was part of following the disastrous quiz show scandals, that isn't actually true. Barry had hosted two earlier series (The Generation Gap and The Reel Game) prior to the premiere of Joker (the latter of the two produced and created by Barry himself), and some evidence suggests he and partner Dan Enright were "silent partners" in several game shows of the 1960s (both in the United States and Canada), defying their unofficial blacklisting by the industry. Enright was brought on as executive producer of The Joker's Wild during its final CBS season. 
It has been said from sources that the concept of The Joker's Wild came as early as the mid-1960s, and that Jack Barry pitched the concept to Goodson-Todman Productions. G-T was not impressed with the format, so Barry eventually continued working the format for several years before CBS finally gave him the green light to put the series on the air (following a local tryout on station KTLA in Los Angeles one year prior to debuting on CBS). 
In 1980, The Joker's Wild became the first television program to advertise that it was giving away $1,000,000. It was the total purse for a special tournament of champions; the eventual winner received $500,000 of that total, half of which went to the charity of his or her choice. The remainder of the money was divided among the other participants in the tournament, depending on how they performed, with once again half of their winnings going to charity. Rob Griffin won the top prize. Other tournament of champions were held prior to this, but no ToCs were held after the 1980 tournament. Appropriately, Barry and Enright used the theme from Break the Bank (which they produced in 1976 and 1977) as the special music for the tournament. 
Beginning in 1981, Jack Barry on occasion would follow the same path as Bob Barker, encouraging all pet owners to have their pets spayed or neutured at the end of show. 
The 1990-91 version of The Joker's Wild paid tribute to Jack Barry with a memorial plaque placed on that version's slot machine. 
There has been many instances in which a contestant, faced with either losing the game or spinning three jokers in order to win, actually spun three jokers. One contestant, Hal Sheer, rubbed his suit, and spun three jokers. Joe Dunn was also faced with a similar situation like Sheer on two different occasions, and spun three jokers to continue on as champion. 
Although it was a Barry & Enright-produced game show from 1977 onward, The Joker's Wild was copyrighted and a property of Jack Barry Productions during its entire run and in the 1990 version, with Barry's sons John and Douglas Barry as co-executive producers. 
The theme music of the show's first incarnation was titled "The Savers." In 1997, it was renamed, "Peanuts, Popcorn, and Cracker Jack". It originally appeared on the 1967 release, Spotlight On The Moog (Kaleidoscopic Vibrations) by electronic music arists Perrey and Kingsley. A second theme, composed by Alan Thicke was introduced in 1974, titled Joker's Jive, and would be used for the 1974-75 season and for the closing of the first syndicated season. Both versions would be replaced in 1978 with the so-called Whistle Theme, a remixed version of Perrey & Kingsley's "The Savers" composed by Hal Hidey. 
It was rumored that the aforementioned original opening and closing themes were used on the final broadcast with Jack Barry as host in mid-1984, in tribute to Barry, who had passed away. 
The CBS version of "The Joker's Wild" was produced mostly at CBS Television City's Studio 31, but in the final months of the network run, it was produced at Studio 33. The syndicated version was videotaped at the KCOP's "Chris Craft Studios" for all but the final season. The 1990-91 version was produced at CBS Television City's "Bob Barker Studio" 33. 
It has been said that the Devil in the "Face the Devil" bonus game was meant to be a caricature of Jack Barry. Many contestants have told Jack that the devil resembles him, while a few others believed the Devil was a Rabai.