Airing: Weekly in syndication (depending on individual
markets).
Personnel: Jed
Allan, host; Bill Buneta, Bobby Cooper, and/or Dave Davis, assistants. A
Seven-Ten Production. Taped in Los Angeles.
Description: The pageantry and spectacle that is the sport of bowling,
performed by your favorite celebrities.
Game Play: Four celebrities competed in teams of two. One
celeb from each of the two teams threw their first ball in the specially
constructed two-lane alley. Of the two bowlers, the one who knocked over more
pins in their first shot had their partner try to make the easier of the two spares -- so a 1-2-4 spare would be easier than a 5-10, even though it would be more pins. Ten frames were played in this manner
(assumedly with the celebrities alternating in the first and second positions),
with prizes awarded to members of the studio audience based on their
performance. A score of 210 won the audience member a new car; apparently this was only accomplished by Mod Squad cast members Tige Andrews and Michael Cole.
End Game: None that I know of.
Background: Okay, I have to be honest: of all the shows on
this page, there’s only one I’ve never, ever seen – and this is it. In fact,
I’d never heard of Celebrity Bowling until reading about it in The
Encyclopedia of TV Game Shows – Maxine Fabe’s 1979 game show opus TV
Game Shows! does not mention it. (So if anyone has any more information on the show, please let me know.)
The show began in 1971, produced by Joe
Siegman and Don Gregory, who would also take to the tennis courts in 1973 with Celebrity
Tennis (which was co-hosted by tennis stars Tony Trabert and Bobby Riggs).
Jed Allan, who acted in a few soaps (Days of Our Lives from 1975-85, as
well as brief stints on Love of Life and The Secret Storm) and
the latter CBS years of Lassie, was the host of both shows. By the sound
of it, I suspect Celebrity Bowling aired primarily before or after
various sporting events to fill time, much as Sports Challenge
did.
Sherry Kominsky was Allan’s assistant in the early years
of the show. One or more of the
assistants listed above participated in the episodes airing during the 1974-75
and 1975-76 seasons.
Bowlathon: In order to cut down on production costs, all 26 episodes made
for a given season of Celebrity Bowling were taped over a three-day weekend (which
must have been loads of fun for Allan as the weekend wore along). The series
was shot at a two-lane alley constructed in the studios of KTTV in Los Angeles.
Celebrity Bowlers: They got some decent ones. Here’s a partial list: Steve Allen, Ed
Ames, Army Archerd, all six Brady Bunch kids (and a few from The Waltons), Sid Caesar, Sammy Davis Jr., Richard Dawson, Richard
Deacon, Phyllis Diller, Michael Douglas (viewed in a clip in Before They
Were Stars with huge glasses), Virginia Graham, Tom Kennedy, Wink
Martindale, Jayne Meadows, Gary Owens, Roy Rogers (with Dale Evans or Trigger),
Cesar Romero, William Shatner, McLean Stevenson, Brenda Vaccaro, Lyle Waggoner,
and Adam West. Dawson once noted on Match Game that many celebrities on
that panel had participated on the show.
Bowled Over: Celebrity Bowling ceased production
after the 1977-78 season. It did make a brief comeback in 1987 under the title The
New Celebrity Bowling, hosted again by Allan. This time, they took five
days to tape the 26 episodes. Allan’s most recent roles have included
occasional appearances on Beverly Hills 90210 and a recent one-episode
shot on Walker, Texas Ranger.
The Home Game: None, of course.
Reruns: Except for the occasional clip, I’ve never seen this show. ESPN
Classic Sports could pick this one up as they have with Sports Challenge.
Revivals: I suppose it’s possible, but it seems local stations have other
things to do with their broadcast time.
Curt Alliaume,
Executive Producer: Me, I’d prefer to show the Pro Bowlers
Tour, which has been sadly lacking from network television for the last few
years.
My Grade: No grade, as I never saw the show.
Read More About It:
Sound + Vision:
E-Mail Me With Your Memories of Celebrity
Bowling
Celebrity
Bowling is a
copyrighted title of Seven-Ten Productions. This page is in no way affiliated
with or endorsed by Seven-Ten Productions, its subsidiaries, affiliates, or
successor organizations. No challenge to their ownership is implied.