The Dating Game is an American television game show that first aired on December 20, 1965, and was the first of many shows created and packaged by Chuck Barris from the 1960s through the 1980s. ABC dropped the show on July 6, 1973, but it continued in syndication for another year (1973–1974) as The New Dating Game. The program was revived four additional times afterward, with the first from 1978 to 1980 as The All-New Dating Game, the second from 1986 to 1989, and the third from 1996 to 1999 all airing in syndication, while the fourth revival aired a single season on ABC in 2021. The show featured a bachelorette asking questions of three bachelors hidden from her view, to determine which of the three she would date.
Jim Lange hosted The Dating Game for its entire ABC network run and for the 1973 and 1978 syndicated editions. The 1986 revival was hosted by Elaine Joyce for its first season and Jeff MacGregor for its remaining two seasons. When the show was revived with a different format in 1996, Brad Sherwood was named as its host. Chuck Woolery took over for the two final seasons, with the original format reinstated, in 1997 after he had left The Home and Family Show.
Beginning in 1966, The Dating Game was often paired with The Newlywed Game. This was especially true when the two shows entered syndication, and in 1996, the revivals of The Dating Game and The Newlywed Game were sold together as a package called The Dating/Newlywed Hour.
The program was originally broadcast in black-and-white, but when a prime-time version began in October 1966, both versions were broadcast in color, making the daytime version the first ABC daytime series to be regularly broadcast in color.
In February 2021, it was reported that ABC and current distributor Sony Pictures Television would revive the show as The Celebrity Dating Game, with actress Zooey Deschanel and singer Michael Bolton as hosts, which premiered on June 14, 2021. It ran for eight episodes until August 16, 2021, and was canceled in April 2022.
Format Typically, a bachelorette would question three bachelors, who were hidden from her view; at the end of the questioning period, she would choose one to accompany her on a date, with expenses paid by the show. Occasionally, the roles would be reversed with a gentleman questioning three ladies; other times, celebrities would question three players for dates for themselves, co-workers or relatives.
Before becoming famous, Farrah Fawcett, Suzanne Somers, Yvonne Craig, Lindsay Wagner, Leif Garrett, Tom Selleck and Lee Majors appeared as contestants on the show in the 1960s and early 1970s. Other contestants who appeared before becoming famous included the Carpenters, Jackson Bostwick, Michael Richards, Joanna Cameron, Andy Kaufman in his Foreign Man persona (under the pseudonym Baji Kimran), Steve Martin, Burt Reynolds, John Ritter, Phil Hartman, Jennifer Granholm, Arnold Schwarzenegger, and Alex Kozinski. Columbia Law Serial killer Rodney Alcala's episodes were shown during his murder spree and after he had been convicted of assault in California.
Some contestants appeared even after they were fairly well known, including Michael Jackson, Burton Cummings, Dusty Springfield, Ron Howard, Maureen McCormick, Barry Williams, Sally Field, Richard Dawson, Jay North, Ted Bessell, Angela Cartwright, Robert Vaughn and Paul Lynde.
A trademark of the show was that at the end of each episode, the host and winning contestants would blow a kiss to the viewers.
Gameplay
Original version
Generally, the bachelorette would ask questions, written in advance on cards, to each of the three hidden bachelors. The same question could be asked to multiple bachelors. This continued until time ran out. The bachelorette would make her choice based solely on the answers to her questions. Occasionally, the contestant was a bachelor who would ask questions to three bachelorettes. Certain kinds of questions were "off limits", such as name, age, occupation and income.
1996 revival For the first season of the 1996 revival, a different format was used. A notable change was that the prospective bachelor/bachelorette knew the first names of the three contestants.
Instead of asking questions of the contestants, the bachelor/bachelorette was presented with two pun-laden statements, each pertaining to one of the contestants. When chosen, a new statement replaced the old one and the potential date explained the reason why that fact pertained to him or her. Play continued until time expired, and then the bachelor/bachelorette would announce his or her choice.
In several weeks of episodes that aired at various times throughout the season, another format was used. This format had the players choose a potential date based on appearance and another based on personality. To decide the "looks" portion, the bachelor/bachelorette would observe each contestant (another change not seen on any Dating Game series beforehand) for several seconds, with the contestants wearing noise-canceling headphones to prevent them from hearing the bachelor/bachelorette talking about them. The statement round was used to determine the "personality" portion. After the game ended, the bachelor/bachelorette would select one contestant based on appearance and one based on personality, then would be prompted to choose between the two. If the bachelor/bachelorette was to select the same contestant for both looks and personality, the contestant would win a $500 cash prize.
The remaining two seasons reverted to the original format, but there was more of a variety between bachelors and bachelorettes.
Episode status Various episodes from the ABC daytime run have aired on Game Show Network. The remaining ABC versions of the show, which were made for primetime and for syndication, are assumed to exist in their entirety.
After the syndicated finale in 1980, repeats of the 1978–1980 version were seen on KHJ-TV (now KCAL-TV) in Los Angeles from September 26, 1983, to September 12, 1986 (when The All-New Dating Game with Elaine Joyce premiered on September 15, 1986), as well as in some other cities. In another variation of the final year in reruns, some episodes from ABC daytime, ABC primetime and weekly syndication were shown.
Guests Notable people who appeared on The Dating Game include: Rodney Alcala, subsequently dubbed "The Dating Game Killer" (1978) Jo Anne Worley (1967) Steve Martin (1968) John Ritter Farrah Fawcett Michael Jackson Suzanne Somers Tom Selleck Pee-Wee Herman Phil Hartman Robin and Maurice Gibb from the Bee Gees Angela Cartwright
Theme music and cues The show used many contemporary songs, ranging from those of Herb Alpert and the Tijuana Brass from the 1960s to pop music used for celebrity guest and band appearances. For the first few episodes at the beginning of the ABC run, live music was provided by the Regents (unrelated to the doo-wop band of the same name who were famous for their song "Barbara Ann"), a house band from Jack Martin's A.M-P.M. on La Cienega Boulevard Starting in 1966, the show used recorded music, with the main theme provided by the Mariachi Brass, featuring trumpeter Chet Baker. The show used cover songs made by Skip Battin & the Group (1967, Aurora 159) and the Challengers (196?, Triumph 64).
The series used several songs by Herb Alpert and the Tijuana Brass as cues for the show, including:
"Spanish Flea" (when introducing the bachelor) "Whipped Cream" (when introducing the bachelorette)Cooper, Kim; Smay, David (2005). Lost in the Grooves: Scram's Capricious Guide to the Music You Missed. Routledge. Retrieved February 15, 2020. "Lollipops and Roses" (when the dates meet)
Other songs were used after the interview portion, when guests were choosing a date, including: "Ladyfingers" (Herb Alpert) "Lemon Tree" (Herb Alpert)
Music used during celebrity guest appearances included: "Live" (The Merry-Go-Round) "Close to You" (Carpenters) "Midnight Confessions" (The Grass Roots) "I Want To Be Where You Are" (Michael Jackson) "I Want You Back" (The Jackson Five), during the prize description "Cheyenne" (The Brady Bunch) "Goin' Out of My Head" (Little Anthony) "What's It Gonna Be" (Dusty Springfield)
Other music cues used on the show included: "Fantail" by Count Basie (when host Jim Lange would introduce the three potential dates to the audience) "Love Sickness" by the Trumpets Ole (a brief cue used when the time limit for the interview portion is reached) "Boston Bust-Out" by Jimmy McGriff (before the date is introduced to his or her prize)
In 1972, The Dating Game added a Dixieland-style closing theme called "Little Rosie" to its ABC daytime version; the tune was used also on the first two syndicated versions, through 1980. The song, along with some of the show's other cues, was featured on the 1973 album Themes from TV Game Shows, produced by Chuck Barris. The show continued to use the 1966 opening theme until 1974; during the 1978-80 version, the show used a rearranged version of it. The 1978 opening theme is found on the Barris album's first track and is credited to Barris and David Mook.
The 1980s reboot of the show used music composed by Milton DeLugg, while later editions featured a re-recording of the original theme by Steve Kaplan.
The music for The Celebrity Dating Game was composed by Cheche Alara.
International versions These versions are no longer airing.