Beat the Clock

Beat the Clock
GenreGame show
Presented byBud Collyer
Jack Narz
Gene Wood
Monty Hall
Gary Kroeger
Paul Costabile
Narrated byBern Bennett
Dirk Fredericks
Gene Wood
Nick Hollinrake
Jack Narz
John Cramer
Country of originUnited States
No. of seasons5 (1969–1974)
Production
Running time22–26 minutes
Production companiesMark Goodson-Bill Todman Productions (1950–1961, 1969–1974, 1979–1980)
Clock Productions (1969–1974)
The Clock Company (1979–1980)
Fremantle (2002–2003, 2018–2019)
Paxson Entertainment
(2002–2003)
Tick Tock Productions, Ltd. (2002–2003)
Original release
NetworkCBS (1950–1958, 1979–1980)
ABC (1958–1961)
Syndication (1969–1970)
CTV (1970–1974)
PAX TV (2002–2003)
Universal Kids (2018–2019)
ReleaseMarch 23, 1950 (1950-03-23) –
July 8, 2019 (2019-07-08)
Infobox instructions (only shown in preview)

Beat the Clock is an American television game show. Contestants attempted to complete challenges such as physical stunts within a time limit in order to win prizes. The show was a creation of Mark Goodson-Bill Todman Productions.

The show began on radio as Time's A-Wastin' in 1948, hosted by Bud Collyer, and changed its name to Beat the Time on January 5, 1949. The show moved to television on the CBS nighttime schedule starting on March 23, 1950. On September 16, 1957, CBS premiered an afternoon version of the show as well, which ran for a year. The nighttime show was cancelled on February 16, 1958, and the afternoon program followed on September 12, 1958.[1]

Soon, the show moved to ABC's daytime schedule, and ran from October 13, 1958 to January 27, 1961. A brief revival aired on CBS from September 17, 1979 to February 1, 1980.[1]

In 2006, the show made up the third segment of Game$how Marathon, a seven-part summer series that aired on CBS, with Ricki Lake as host and Rich Fields as announcer.

The most recent revival aired on Universal Kids from February 6, 2018 to July 8, 2019.

  1. ^ a b Hyatt, Wesley (1997). The Encyclopedia of Daytime Television. Watson-Guptill Publications. pp. 54-55. ISBN 978-0-8230-8315-2. Retrieved March 22, 2020.