Bob Stewart (1920 - ) is a former American television game show producer. He was active in the TV industry from 1956 to 1992.
Stewart is known for creating some of the most popular game shows for Mark Goodson-Bill Todman Productions. These shows include To Tell The Truth, Password, and The Price Is Right. His biggest success as an independent producer is the Pyramid series, starting with The $10,000 Pyramid in 1973.
Stewart, a native New Yorker, was one of a coterie of talented Goodson staff producers who came up with ideas for game shows and segments. Producers such as Stewart, Frank Wayne, and Gil Fates earned Goodson's respect not only for their concepts but for their skill in executing them.
After the success of Password in the mid 1960s, Bob Stewart set out on his own. His first independent program, the memory game Eye Guess, aired on NBC from January 3, 1966 to September 26, 1969, and featured close friend Bill Cullen, who emceed Price, as host. His next entry, the CBS primetime celebrity game show The Face Is Familiar with host Jack Whitaker, ran from May 7 to September 3, 1966. Another Stewart celebrity game, Personality (hosted by Larry Blyden), aired on NBC from 1967 to 1969.
Other than Eye Guess, Stewart's other moderate early success was Three on a Match, hosted by Cullen, which aired on NBC from August 2, 1971 to June 28, 1974.
Stewart's biggest success with his own production company, and one of TV's most honored games, was Pyramid (game show) hosted by Dick Clark, which like Password was a word game. Its March 26, 1973 premiere on CBS marked the first time a quiz show mounted a five-figure or more cash jackpot since the demise of 100 Grand in the mid-1960s.
Pyramid's network run would span 15 years (and escalating dollar amounts in the title). It has proven to be one of the most enduring game shows, airing almost continuously between first-run network/syndicated airings and cable reruns since 1982. Its nine Emmy awards for best game show rank it second to the Alex Trebek version of Jeopardy!, which has 10.
The network version of Pyramid (hosted by Clark) ran from 1973 to 1980 (moving to ABC for its final six years) and from 1982 to 1988 on CBS (with a three month break in the second run). It was also popular in syndication, running once a week from 1974 to 1979 (with Bill Cullen as emcee), daily from January to September 1981 and again daily from 1985 to 1988 (with Clark back at the podium) and again from January 1991 to March 1992 (with John Davidson).
Another version of Pyramid, not helmed by Stewart, aired in syndication from 2002 to 2004, hosted by Donny Osmond.
Other game shows from Bob Stewart Productions -- mostly word games and puzzles -- included Jackpot, Chain Reaction, Go, and Double Talk. Jackpot and Chain Reaction were moderate successes for Stewart in their 1980s runs on cable TV after having relatively brief runs on NBC.
Bob Stewart retired in 1992 after the second run of The $100,000 Pyramid was cancelled, and his son Sande Stewart took over operations of Bob Stewart Productions. Sande Stewart later produced some game shows on his own, including Inquizition, Hollywood Showdown, and Powerball Instant Millionaire.
Bob Stewart Productions was sold to Sony Pictures Entertainment in the mid 1990s, and many of Bob Stewart's creations air frequently on Game Show Network. Stewart himself has participated in panels and special events related to quiz shows, including the annual Game Show Congress gatherings in the Los Angeles metropolitan area.
External links
- The Bob Stewart Fan Page
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