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About Ralph Edwards Productions
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Ralph Edwards Productions - Our History
Ralph Edwards was a radio and television announcer, producer and host, and is best known for creating
the landmark programs "Truth or Consequences" and "This Is Your Life".
He began as a radio announcer in the San Francisco Bay Area, projecting an assured, professional manner,
and quickly established a national reputation handling as many as 45 network shows a week on both CBS
and NBC. [ Ralph Edwards Biography ]
"Truth or Consequences"
"Truth or Consequences" began as a national radio game show on NBC Radio in 1940, and soon became the
number one audience participation show. It aired for 38 consecutive years on radio and television.
As host, Ralph asked a humorous and difficult trivia question - "Beulah the Buzzer" sounded when the
contestants inevitably failed to answer. Edwards then made them "pay the consequence" by performing
elaborate and outlandish stunts.
A special "Truth or Consequences" TV show was among the handful of programs which aired on the very
first day of commercial television broadcasting in the United States, when New York City experimental
station W2XBS changed its call letters to WNBT (now WNBC-TV) on July 1, 1941.
"Truth or Consequences" is credited with a number of entertainment "firsts": it was the first program
to go out of the studio to produce outrageous stunts on remote; the first to stage surprise reunions;
and the first series to combine entertainment with a greater cause. These ideas became the springboard
for later programs and inspired many of today's game and reality shows.
Ralph Edwards was among the first to realize the power of radio during World War II. Many of the show's
acts had a connection with the war effort, and in a series of War Bond tours Ralph took "Truth or
Consequences" on the road, covering 100,000 miles raising five hundred million dollars in E Bonds -
the equivalent of almost $7 Billion in today's dollars.
To celebrate the 10th anniversary of the TV show, Ralph looked for a U.S. city willing to re-name itself,
and promised to broadcast from that city. Hot Springs, NM voted to change its name to became Truth or
Consequences, New Mexico. Beginning in 1950 and continuing for the next 50 years, Edwards traveled to
TorC, NM every May to host the Truth or Consequences Fiesta, frequently bringing Hollywood stars to join
the celebration.
Bob Barker
Ralph burnished the career of another game show host, his protégé Bob Barker. The 1940s-1950s TV version
of "Truth or Consequences" had been hosted by Edwards, Jack Bailey, and Steve Dunne. When the show returned
for another NBC run in 1956, Ralph hired Bob Barker, a popular West Coast radio and TV personality, after
hearing him on the radio. During the 2001 Daytime Emmy Awards, Barker told backstage reporters that his
lifelong friend Ralph Edwards had one piece of advice: to be no one else but himself.
Bob hosted "Truth or Consequences" on NBC until 1965, and later in daily syndication until 1975, by which
time he had also taken over a revival of "The Price Is Right" on CBS. As a result, thanks to Ralph's "be
yourself" admonition, Barker became as familiar to a whole generation of "Truth or Consequences" and
"Price Is Right" viewers.
"This Is Your Life"
A popular segment of "Truth or Consequences" involved contestants being surprised on stage by a sweetheart
in the military, a family member, or a long-lost friend. These reunions were the basis of Ralph Edwards'
second big hit, "This Is Your Life."
Starting on radio in 1948 and on TV in 1952, every week Ralph surprised an unsuspecting person (a celebrity
or an ordinary citizen) to celebrate the subject's personal and professional life, often introducing figures
from their past as in-studio guests. The show drew great interest from viewers, partly because the identity
of the subject wasn't revealed until the show went on the air live. Throughout the half-hour, Edwards
guided the narrative, ushering visitors on and off stage, and prompting the honoree to recall a story or two.
Many of the subjects were unknown heroes, everyday people - a school teacher, a Holocaust survivor, a philanthropist.
Famous celebrity subjects included Jayne Mansfield, Stan Laurel and Oliver Hardy, Bette Davis, Andy Griffith,
Johnny Cash, Buster Keaton, Bobby Darin, Milton Berle, Barbara Eden, Jesse Owens, Betty White, and Dick Clark.
"This Is Your Life" became an international institution when Ralph traveled to England in 1955 to host a "This
Is Your Life" special on BBC-TV, which began its own version of the show that fall. It aired for nine years,
and after a five-year hiatus, returned for an additional - and remarkable - 34 year run, first on Thames
Television, then back on the BBC.
The format for "This Is Your Life" has been licensed and successfully produced in many other countries
around the world.
Other Shows
While still hosting "Truth or Consequences" on radio, Ralph developed one of the first daytime variety
programs for NBC-TV, "The Ralph Edwards Show." Like many successors, it was a combination of music, skits,
comedy, contests, and "TorC"-type acts.
A high point was reached in 1967, when programs created by Ralph filled an astonishing 10½ hours of TV
broadcasting each week.
Over the years, Edwards produced dozens of game shows, including "About Faces," "Knockout," "Place the Face,"
"It Could Be You," "the Cross-Wits," and "Name That Tune" (1970s version). Other shows included dramas "Wide Country,"
"Family Medical Center," and "Superior Court"; a variety show, the "Woody Woodbury Show"; and an animated Christmas
story for children "Annabelle's Wish".
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Ralph Edwards/Stu Billett Productions
1981 marked the beginning of a long and successful partnership between Ralph and producer Stu Billett. Their first
collaboration was "The People's Court", the first program of its type and the forerunner of the current crop of
court shows. Taped in a courtroom set before a live gallery, the show presents real small claims court cases,
argued before, and adjudicated by, a real judge. The first Judge, Joseph Wapner, with Bailiff Sgt. Rusty Burrell,
presided over "The People's Court" for 12 years. Former New York Mayor Ed Koch and the Hon. Jerry Sheindlen followed.
Since 2001, the Hon. Marilyn Milian has presided.
Over the years, Edwards/Billett Productions has created a number of other shows, including "BUZZZ!", "Family Medical
Center", "Love Stories", "So You Think You've Got Troubles?" and "Superior Court".
"The People's Court" remained on the air for 44 years.
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