Radio: Fun in the Living Room

Off the air, Quizmaster Bert Parks is an unassuming fellow who lives quietly in suburban Greenwich, Conn, with his wife & three children. On the air, he displays an almost manic cheerfulness; as he capers about the stage, shoots his eyebrows, winks roguishly at lady contestants and bares a toothy smile, he lights up the TV screen like rhinestone jewelry. Last week hardworking Parks added Double or Nothing (Mon., Wed., Fri., 2 p.m., CBS-TV) to the list of giveaway shows (Stop the Music, Break the Bank) on which he has given away yachts, swimming pools, mink coats, scholarships and round-the-world cruises with all the abandon of a politician passing out cigars.

Being a radio & TV philanthropist has not been easy. When Parks started Stop the Music in 1948 on radio, his show was put opposite the successful Fred Allen Show. In less than a year, Veteran Allen had dropped from No. 2 in the ratings to No. 38. Fred Allen quit radio, muttering: “When people can get listeners by giving away three iceboxes instead of two, this is a silly business anyway.” The next year Parks met, and has so far mastered, an even tougher opponent: the Federal Communications Commission. By a vote of 3-1, the FCC banned giveaways from the air (TIME, Aug. 29, 1949). The networks promptly appealed to the courts, where the case still rests. But public apathy was able to do what FCC couldn’t: dozens of giveaways, including such big-money ventures as Truth or Consequences and Hollywood Calling, have faded from the air for lack of audience and sponsors.

Bert Parks, professional smarty-pants, not only survives, he flourishes. This week, he adds a third quiz show, Balance Your Budget, to his string. His sponsors—Bristol-Myers, Campbell Soup, Sealy Mattress —will pay him more than $100,000 this year. Parks thinks the reason for his continuing success lies in his approach: “Mine is to be nice to people. Fun in the living room is the type of thing I do best—that way, you can bring out so many humorous angles.” As an example, Parks cites a married couple on one of his shows who had a chance to win $3,700 by identifying the World War II head of the WASPs. The woman whispered the correct answer (Jacqueline Cochran) to her husband, but he shook his head, said, “Amelia Earhart.” Chuckles Parks: “I thought she’d kill him when I said Earhart was wrong. We kept the TV camera on them as they went down to their seats, and she was really giving it to him hot & heavy for losing all that money. It was a scream!”