1950: ‘Beat the Clock’ Debuts on TV

Beat the Clock is one of the earliest kooky TV game shows that actually began as a radio show known as Time’s A-Wastin’ in 1948 by Mark Goodson-Bill Todman Productions. At that time, it was hosted by Bud Collyer. It changed its name to Beat the Clock in 1949 premiering on CBS TV on this day in 1950 as an evening show. During each episode, contestants were given a series of tasks that they needed to finish within a minute highlighted by a giant countdown clock. The budget for the show was pretty low compared today’s standards. Props were everyday objects used in usual ways. Playwright Neil Simon was among the early stunt writers for the show. Proving popular, a daytime version of Beat the Clock was created 1957, but it only ran for a year before moving to ABC where it stayed until 1961. The show had a brief revival on CBS from September 1979 to February 1980 and a kid’s version aired on Universal Kids from February 2018 to July 2019.