For many years, the cheapest show on prime time was a game that producer Mike Stokey kept selling, at first under the name Pantomime Quiz and later as Stump the Stars. Either way, it was two teams, each with four celebrities, playing charades. It was at varying times on CBS, NBC, ABC and even the Dumont network, plus there was a syndicated version. Sometimes, networks used it as an emergency filler. If you had a sudden hole on your schedule, Stokey could have his show up and running in a matter of days…and it didn't cost much.
This episode is a Stump the Stars from November 26, 1962 and it features four of the show's regular competitors going up against the cast of The Dick Van Dyke Show. It's one of the few episodes not hosted by Mike Stokey. When CBS took the show on in September of '62, they insisted that Stokey not host it, as he'd done in all the previous versions. Pat Harrington was the host…but not for long. A month or so after this one, Harrington was gone and Stokey was back without explanation. Next time I see Pat, I'll ask him wha' happened but I'll bet the answer will simply be that Stokey wanted to host it himself and finally persuaded CBS that Harrington didn't add any value, ratings-wise.
This runs close to a half-hour. Someone uploaded it to YouTube in two parts and they should play in sequence in the player below…
