Fun With Charades (1952-59)

February 11, 1954:IGA advertisement in the Plain Dealer featuring their sponsorship of "Fun With Charades" on WEWS-TV 5 Sundays at 4:30 PM.

     Hello folks: For our first post in a very long time we will look at a Local Game Show, FUN WITH CHARADES, that had a healthy 7 year run on Cleveland TV..

     First mention of the show in the Plain Dealer, which we could assume is it's premiere date, was Sunday November 9, 1952 on WEWS Channel 5 at 2:30 PM. The show aired mostly on Sundays throughout its run. First host mentioned, on the December 28, 1952 telecast was Linn Sheldon who basically hosted  the 1952-53 season.

Cleveland TV Veteran Joe Berg, known as "Mr. Lollipop" on Channel 5, hosted the June 14, 1953 telecast. Fun with Charades pitted 2 community groups or high school teams against each other in a game of Charades, similar to the popular national show Pantomime Quiz. During the Channel 5 run , there were occasional multi-week tournaments..

Fun with Charades had moved to 4;30 Sundays by October 11, 1953..By December 4. 1953 Bob Dale takes over as Emcee

 
Note on the November 14, 1954 broadcast

Bob Dale would continue as host through March 11, 1956 show, which was the final show on channel 5.  The show would have a couple other time changes before it's WEWS cancellation.


Note on the move to channel 8 and auditioning for an emcee.


March 18, 1956 would see a new season and a new station and time for "Charades" WXEL (soon to be WJW-TV 8) tapped Jim Doney as host. with the show airing Sunday at Noon.  By January 6, 1957 the show aired at 2:30 once again, with another time change January 12, 1958 at 2PM, and Doney still hosting..The show ended it's WJW-TV run April 6, 1958. 

Notice of Fun with Charades return to TV on KYW-TV 3 October 12, 1958.  Along with other TV/radio items of interest.

Fun with Charades made a last run, now on KYW-TV 3 with host "Big" Wilson until the apparent final show of the series February 22, 1959.  Surprising that no one else has tried to revive the concept locally since then.  The National "Pantomime Quiz/Stump The Stars" ran as late the 1970's and NBC aired Win Lose or Draw for a few years as a "Pantomime" type show..

Following is a partial Episode Guide for Fun With Charades.  I exhausted all the Plain Dealer and TV Guide listings I could find.  Interesting to see the wide range of groups involved with this program. Fun With Charades-WEWS 2:30 Sundays (host) )Debut November 9, 1952

12-21-1952 First Presbyterian Church Mansfield Boys/Girls

12-28-52 Cleveland Heights Theatrical Group (Linn Sheldon)

1-11-53 Roosevelt School PTA Euclid/B'nai B'Brith Chapter 362 (Linn Sheldon)

1-18-53 Skyscraper Club of Cleveland (group for tall people) (Linn Sheldon)

1-25-53 Two Cleveland Married Couples/Four North Canton High School Girls (Linn Sheldon)

2-1-53 Cleveland YMCA Boys/YWCA Girls (Linn Sheldon)

3-8-53 Cleveland (Heights) Theatrical Group/Lakewood Little Theater (Tournament-Linn Sheldon)

3-15-53 WHKK Akron staff members/Two Parma Married Couples (Tournament-Linn Sheldon)

3-29-53 WHKK Akron/ Civic Theater Group Cleveland -Semifinals (Linn Sheldon)

4-12-53 WHKK Akron/Four Girls from Reliance Electric of Euclid-Championship-(Linn Sheldon)

4-26-53 North Olmsted High School/Cleveland High School Students (Linn Sheldon)

5-3-53 Lakewood Light Opera Guild/ '359ers Glenville Chapter Order of Eastern Star (Linn Sheldon)

6/14/53 Akron Players/Shaker Players(Joe Berg)

WEWS Sundays 4:30

10/11/53 Youngstown Players/Team from Akron

12/4/53 Bob Dale takes over as emcee

1/10/1954 Akron Roadway Express/Ladies Oriental Shrine-North America-TV Guide

2/13/54 Jewish Schools PTA/Travel Club of Cleveland

3/28/1954 Kent Junior Chamber/ Boy Scout Troop 88 Parents

4/4/54 Kent Jaycees/UJRS PTA (Jewish Schools PTA above?) Semifinals

4/11/54 Maple Heights High/Lakewood High

4/18/54 West Geauga School/Our Lady Of The Angels Church

4/25/54 Brecksville Little Theater/Wickliffe Welcome Wagon

5/9/54 Lakewood High Barnstormers/Wickliffe Welcome Wagon

5/16/54 Paduan Youth Group ofOur Lady Of the Angels/Gruber's Waiters (TV Guide)

7/25/54 Kinsman Group/Lorain Community Players (TV Guide)

8/22/54 Seven Aces Club/Madison Leaders Club-Semifinals (TV Guide)

8/29/54 Chi Rio Our Lady of Good Counsel/Madison Leaders Club-Season Final (TV Guide)

9/12/54 Cleveland Light Opera Guild/Temple On The Heights Young People's Congregation

11/14/54 Young Republicans Cleveland/Akron (Bob Dale Continues as host)

12/5/1954 Young Republicans-Akron/Cleveland Heights Jr. Chamber of Commerce

1/23/1955 TransCanada Airlines/Warrenville Players (TV Guide)

5/22/55 Cleveland Music Theater Group

5/29/55 Cleveland Music Theater/John Carroll Little Theater

9/11/55 Trans Canada Airlines/Cleveland Heights Community Theater (Bob Dale)

Showtime moves to 5:30 PM 10/9/55

10/9/55 TransCanada Airlines/Bay Village Players

10/16/55 Freedom Chapter B'nai/B'rith/Shaker Heights Players

10/23/55 Freedom Chapter B'nai B'rith/TransCanada Airlines

11/27/55 Maple Heights Methodist/Simon Perkins Jr. High (Akron) (Now at 4:30 again)

12/4/55 Maple Heights Co-Op Nursery School/Cathedral Square Players

1/1/56 Akron United World Federalists/St. Aloysius Ares Club

1/15/1956 Graphic Arts Field/Jewish Big Brothers

2/12/56 Jewish Community Center/Triangle Guild Players (Finals)

2/19/56 Sugardale Provision/Cleveland Shaw High School

3/11/56 Final Show on WEWS

3/18/56 First Show on WXEL-Jim Doney Emcee-12 Noon

1/6/57 Moved to 2:30 PM

2/3/57 Simon Perkins Jr. High (Akron)/Boy Scouts Explorer Post No. 190 (TV Guide)

1-12-58 Moves to 2PM-Jim Doney Hosting

4/6/1958 Last show on WJW-TV

10-12-58 Moves to KYW-TV 3-Big Wilson hosting 4:30 PM Shaker Heights B'nai B'rith/Euclid Little Theater

11/9/58 Euclid Little Theater/Shaker Players Women's Committee

2/22/59 Series ends..  

On a personal note:I've decided to be more active in posting here once again.  It still won't be as much as I did when I first started the blog.  I hope to find more new subjects, and other angles on subjects we've posted before..