• In the 2001 Family Guy episode, "Mr. Saturday Knight", Chris is seen watching reruns of Match Game, with Gene Rayburn reading this question to the panel: "Forgetful Freddy was so forgetful that when ever he tried to remember some one's name, he drew a blank." 
• In the movie Private Parts (1997 film), based on Howard Stern's book of the same name, Stern and company are shown playing Match Game during one of his morning shows.
• In 2006 in the 1973 episode of VH1's nostlagia series, "I Love the 70s Volume 2", Match Game was among the mentioned pop culture topics of the year.
• A 1994 episode of The Simpsons, entitled "Bart Gets Famous", implies that the set of Match Game 2034--an obvious ridicule of the addition of the year into the show's title--would be similar to the post-modern atmosphere of The Jetsons. 
•  Saturday Night Live parodied the show during the 1970s in a skit where drunk celebrities were making the game more difficult for contesants. Also, in a famous parody of Inside the Actor's Studio in 2001, Alec Baldwin is portraying Charles Nelson Reilly and Will Ferrell as James Lipton mentions that, "when one thinks of CNR, one's mind goes right to Match Game. The parodied Lipton continues, "The show was delightful. No. No. It was brilliant. No, no, no, no. There is no word to describe its perfection, so I am forced to make one up, And I'm going to do right now. Scrumtrilescent." Baldwin's parody of Reilly has him describing how he hung out at Gene Rayburn's house after a 1975 taping with Nipsey Russell, Brett Somers, and Betty White.
• In September 2004, a noteworthy philosopher at a special televised PBS event mentioned "Match Game" during his lectures, promoting the show as a very creative and truly heartwarming program in that it provides the best medicine of all: laughter.
•  A Will & Grace episode showed the main characters watching eight back-to-back episodes of Match Game '73, with Karen humming the theme tune and remarking how she loved the Game Show Network.
• Match Game is a frequent segment on The Dan Patrick Show on ESPN Radio. Three call-in listeners play. The listener with the most matches wins a prize and goes on to the Super Match, which is played for an extra prize.
•  On March 15, 2002, CBS's The Early Show featured a 'Match Game Retro Reunion' in which Brett Somers, Charles Nelson Reilly and Betty White are all interviewed regarding memories from the show. Gene Rayburn's famous long and skinny Sony microphone, which hangs in the TV and Radio Museum, was shown on the special.
• Rayburn's mic was also shown on NBC's The Most Outrageous Game Show Moments 5 in May 2003.
•  Entertainment Tonight did a "What Ever Happened to...?" special on Match Game, in which they went into context regarding mishaps that occurred, the broadcasting history, and the interactions between the panel, host Rayburn, and the contestants. Clips from a 1990s interview with Gene Rayburn were shown as were interviews with Reilly and Somers. The fact that Richard Dawson wasn't "friendly" with other panelists was actually mentioned.
• On the 2000s television game show, Weakest Link, this question was asked on one of the shows: "Who was the original host of the game show, Match Game?" The correct answer was of course, Gene Rayburn, however the contestant incorrectly responded, Burton.
•  TV Guide and TV Land created a television special in December 2005 which counted down their list of the 100 most unexpected TV moments. The Match Game '77 School Riot, in which panelists Debralee Scott and Richard Dawson revolt when the judges do not accept "finishing school" as a match, ranked #82 on the list. 

ARTICLES & MEDIA REFERENCES OF MATCH GAME

"People Magazine"- 12/20/1999 issue [obituaries],

Match Maker: Gene Rayburn lit up TV's The Match Game with his brash and risque wit

Between 1962 and 1982, while contestants filled in the blanks to silly quuestions on TV's The Match Game, host Gene Rayburn filled in much of the humor. As the show's wry emcee, Rayburn, who died Nov. 29 at age 81, was comically unpredictable. "Once this girl came on," recalls longtime celebrity panelist Charles Nelson Reilly, "and Gene was going to say, 'Oh you have such beautiful dimples', and it came out as 'nipples.' He must have turned four colors of beet red!" "The whole idea [of emceeing] is to amuse the people sitting in front of you", Rayburn told our magazine just days before dying of congestive heart failure at his daughter's home in Beverly, Mass. Yet the Illionis-born only child of Milan Rubessa, machinist from Croatia, once yearned to be an opera singer when he came to New York. Didn't happen. Instead, NYC's WNEW hired him as part of the radio morning show, 'Rayburn and Finch.' In 1954, Rayburn moved on to NBC as announcer of Steve Allen's Tonight Show.

For the rest of the 50s, Rayburn hosted an array of game shows for NBC, including Play Your Hunch, Dough Re Mi, and Make the Connection. The call came from Mark Goodson to host a new idea called The Match Game in 1962. The show hanged along on NBC daytime until 1969. IT returned four years later as Match Game '73, with more of an emphasis on bawdy humor and a rowdy cast. Rayburn worked his best on this version--which was by the far the most popular and funniest of all versions. Rayburn and his cast of crazies soon became the #1 daytime slot on television. With no podium, Gene was free and wildly wacky, letting loose all on all on Match Game. We followed him everywhere he went with that long, skinny microphone of his. Heck, it was even him who request that the game be played for laughs. So Goodson hired comedy writers to write double-entendre filled questions.

Soon characters like Dumb Dora and Old Man Perwinkle started popping up (a typical question: "In the old folks' army, you get a medal just for ______ing.") In one interview, Rayburn reminisced a lot about the '70s version, "We would tape a couple of shows, then take a break, have a little vino, tell jokes, then tape the remainder of them", Rayburn told college student David Hammmett. With all that fun, Rayburn was insane and as humorous as ever. After Match Game left the air in the early 80s, Rayburn hosted two short-lived game shows: Break the Bank and The Movie Masters.

He was considered for hosting new versions of Match Game in 1987 and 1990, but execs shreiked when they found out his age after Entertainment Tonight wished him a happy birthday. After that, Gene officially retired and made frequent appearences on the Game Show Network and talk shows when they had game show retrospectives. When his wife Helen died in October of 1996, he spent a week's-worth weeping. He spent time with his daughter Lynn, until his death, which we should all spend a week's-worth weeping for. Gene Rayburn: Game Show Host, Funny Man...Considerate.

"Official Website of E!: The Entertainment Channel"- 12/2/1999,

Game-Show Great Dead

Gene Rayburn, who with alien-probe-like microphone in hand prodded celebrities to intellectual depths as host of TV's polyester-friendly Match Game in the 1960s and 1970s, is dead. The venerable tube personality passed away Monday of heart failure at his daughter's home in Massachusetts, Associated Press reported today. He was 81. As Steve Allen's announcer during the NBC's first incarnation of The Tonight Show, Rayburn is best remembered for Match Game and its myriad variations: Match Game PM, The Match Game/Hollywood Squares Hour, etc.

On Match Game, Rayburn held court each day with six quasi-celebrity guest panelists--regularly foisting the who-the-heck-are-they? likes of Nipsey Russell, Brett Somers and Charles Nelson Reilly on an impressionable TV generation. The way it worked was this: Rayburn read an incomplete phrase (Typically: "Dumb Dora is so dumb..."), the giggling celebs filled in the rest, the contestants guessed which double-entendres the stars scribbled down. Documentation of these strange customs is currently available via reruns on cable's Game Show Network.

Born December 22, 1917, in Christopher, Illinois, Rayburn came to New York City as a young man with dreams of becoming an opera singer. Didn't happen. Instead, Rayburn worked early and often in TV. Other game-show hosting duties included: Make the Connection (1955), Play Your Hunch (1962), and Snap Judgment (1967). He worked on The Tonight Show from 1954-57.

The first version of Match Game debuted in 1962. Rayburn rode the thing virtually straight into the early 1980s. A 1990 Match Game revival featured many of Rayburn's semi-famous panelists (including Somers and Reilly), but not the man himself. As Match Game host, Rayburn arguably made two significant pop-culture contributions: (1) He invented the long, skinny mike that became his signature prop; and, (2) He once mistakenly complemented a contestant's nipples. (He meant to say "dimples," thereby virtually inventing the TV blooper industry.) Today, a former agent remembered Rayburn as a giant of the tubeland quiz. "He was the Frank Sinatra of game-show hosts," Fred Wostbrock told A.P.

CNN.com- (12/2/1999),

"Gene Rayburn, former 'Match Game' host and DJ, dies at 81"

NEW YORK (AP) -- Gene Rayburn, the jocular host who winked at double entendres during TV's popular "Match Game," has died. He was 81.Rayburn died Monday of congestive heart failure at his daughter's home in Gloucester, Massachusetts.The "Match Game" was the top game show during much of the 1970s. Contestants would try to match answers to nonsense questions with a panel of celebrities; the references were often vaguely naughty for daytime TV.

Rayburn was nominated for five Daytime Emmy awards. He even invented the long thin microphone that he carried on the show. Born December 22, 1917, in Christopher, Illinois, Rayburn initially came to New York City to become an opera singer. After World War II, he became a disc jockey instead, and the "Rayburn & Finch" show with partner Dee Finch on WNEW helped popularize the idea of morning drive time. Moving into TV, he was the sidekick to Steve Allen on NBC's "Tonight" show.

He acted in live dramas on "Kraft Theatre" and "Robert Montgomery Presents" and worked for many years in summer stock theater. But game shows became his turf, and his "Match Game" tenure survived one hilarious blooper. Interviewing a contestant and meaning to compliment her dimples, he looked at her face and said, "you have the most beautiful nipples I have ever seen." "He was the Frank Sinatra of game show hosts," said his former agent, Fred Wostbrock. Like many veteran TV stars, Rayburn will live on in reruns. Old "Match Game" episodes are a staple on cable's Game Show Network, where it is played twice a day. His wife, Helen, who appeared with Rayburn on the game show "Tattletales," died in 1996.

OTHER RAYBURN DEATH REFERENCES: Time magazine wrote: "DEAD. 81. Gene Rayburn, unruffable TV quizmaster who was host of The Match Game. He passed of congestive heart failure in Glocuster, Mass." In a January 2000 article on the new primetime quiz show phenomenon with the introduction of Millionaire, Time magazine's Joel Stein wrote that "Gene Rayburn died a few months too early." The Washington Post wrote: "Gene Rayburn, 81, who amused TV audiences from the 1960s to the 1980s as host of 'The Match Game,' died of congestive heart failure Nov. 29, 1999 at the home of his daughter in Gloucester, Mass. The Match Game was a top game show during much of the 1960s and 1970s. Contestants would try to match answers to nonsense questions with a panel featuring such celebrities as Richard Dawson, Brett Somers, Charles Nelson Reilly and Betty White.

"TV Guide [cover story] (1/27/2001 issue)

 "50 Greatest Game Shows"- Match Game is #10
 No show did more for the double-entendre than Match Game. Gene Rayburn emceed the original version from 1962 to 1969, when it was canceled. Four years later, it returned as Match Game '73 with Rayburn again hosting, but this time the show had more an emphasis on bawdy humor. Two contestants must match of a panel of six celebrities to fill-in-the-blank prompts such as, "Dumb Dora had the strangest medical condition. When she went to the doctor, he put a flashlight in her ear and the light came out her ________."

The contestant with the most matches went on to a final round. By the time of the country's bicentennial, Match Game had hit a ribald stride, with such celebrity panelists as Fannie Flagg and Brett Somers. A PERFECT MATCH: As one of the shrewdest panelists on Match Game, celebrity player Richard Dawson helped contestants win an estimated total of 3 million dollars. UNDER ____: Celebrity panelist Charles Nelson Reilly first met Rayburn when he was Rayburn's Broadway understudy for "Bye Bye Birdie."

CBS News Online- (3/15/2002),

Hosted by the late Gene Reyburn, this program pitted two contestants against each other as they tried to match words with the six celebrity panelists. We speak with Charles Nelson Reilly, Brett Somers and in Los Angeles, the queen of the game shows herself, Betty White. The Story: Match Game first aired as a daytime series on NBC from 1962 to 1969, and on CBS from 1973 to 1982. After the show was canceled in 1982, it was revived again as part of The Match Game--Hollywood Squares Hour on NBC from 1983 to 1984. Gene Rayburn was the host of all of these versions. The 70s version was by far the best and the funniest.

It is still being shown in reruns every night on the Game Show Network. ABC tried to bring Match Game back to life in 1990 with Ross Shafer as host. It didn't work and lasted only one season. It came back yet again in 1998-1999 with Michael Burger as host with regulars George Hamilton, Vicki Lawrence and Nell Carter. The CBS version, which ran from 1973 to 1979, pushed the envelope, with Rayburn rattling off questions packed with double entendres, unusual for 1970s daytime TV. A Typical Question: "The bank guard said to Bertha the stripper, 'Lady, I don't care how valuable you think they are. You can't keep your blanks in our safety deposit vault.'" It was as if the game didn't really count -- and it didn't. The Match Game was one of the first game shows to focus on humor, not contestants' scores.

In the final "big money" round of the game, the contestants had to pick one celebrity to match with. They nearly always picked Richard Dawson. He was known for being the best matcher. While hosting Match Game, Rayburn was famous for using a really long microphone with a little ball on the end. It was his trademark. Rayburn said in interviews that the '70s version of Match Game was, basically, a "silly" idea for a game show. When you look at the format, he was absolutely correct.

But, the interaction between Rayburn, the contestants and the stars took the "silly" format and made into one of the most entertaining shows on television. Rayburn insisted to Match Game producer Mark Goodson to let Match Game be played for laughs, and to allow him to get laughs in any possible way. Goodson gave in, and even hired comedy writers to write the questions. Each show was something different. You just never knew what was going to happen. Viewers tuned in to see Somers and Nelson Reilly exchange banter back and forth, and to watch Richard Dawson give away another $5,000 to a lucky contestant.

Rayburn sometimes went offstage and goofed with cameramen, crew and producers; much like David Letterman does today. Viewers also enjoyed Betty White's occasional practical jokes on Rayburn. Patti Deutsche's stare into the camera during the intro. Fannie Flagg's increasingly weird shirts. McLean's smart-aleck remarks, Bill Daily's strange answers, and other celebrities like Bill Cullen, Allen Ludden, Gary Burghoff and David Doyle, who would make infrequent appearances. Even when Richard Dawson's attitude started to change in '78, people still tuned in, perhaps to see if Richard would snap out of his foul mood and smile for once. Match Game ended all too soon. Gene blamed the shift in time slots for the demise of Match Game.

Entertainment Weekly- (3/30/2001 issue), ['What to Surf' section]

"'Match' Makers: Online Odes to TV Show"

Devout fans of The Match Game -- and apparently they are legion -- are filling in the blanks about the long-running TV game show by creating cybershrines to the institution that made Charles Nelson Reilly (right) a household name.  Can we ever forgive these people?  Thanks to the popular reruns on the Game Show Network, newbies are finding out just how dumb Dumb Donald really is.  Get ready to match the stars.   -- Richard Horrman

Entertainment Tonight- (c. 2003 TV report)

"Whatever Happened to...Match Game?"

(this wasn't article, it aired on TV on Entertainment Tonight, so here's the transcript of it.)

For most of the 70s, Match Game was one of *the* most popular game shows on television. Mostly unscripted, you never knew what celebrity panelists like Charles Nelson Reilly or Brett Somers might say and now, we know why. Brett Somers: "It was a fun show to do. You'd tape three shows and then you'd have dinner and drinks. (laughs) I could always tell when I was waking up: 'after dinner, that [particular] show was done after dinner.'" Charles Nelson Reilly: "The food was good. You could have a drink when you wanted to. You know, after you'd tape four shows, the last show, you'd be asking drinks from the prop man." The mayhem on Match Game was partially fuled by alcohol, but also by the blend of zany celebrity personalities that sat on the panel. Gene Rayburn (1990): "Charles said once about the show, 'this is not a job, it's a social engangement.' Because, you know, bunch of us would get together, do a couple shows, break for lunch, have a little vino."

The show had originated in the early 60s with host Gene Rayburn, but was reborn in the 70s when it aired daily on CBS. The vitchy repartee between Reilly and Somers had audiences hooked. Brett: "I think Charles and I had a marvelous relationship. We had a great time doing it. I loved Charles." Charles: "I look at them because they're funny. For some strange reason, The Match Game was funny." Brett was the wife of actor Jack Klugman. The producers of Match Game originally wanted the Odd Couple star to be a part of the panel but he had other comittments and Mrs. Klumgan stayed. Reilly was a well-known Broadway actor and the two of them became a real-life TV odd couple.

Brett: "Charles fell asleep one day. Literally. We went to a commercial and he went, [makes actions of a sleepy person], and I said, 'you were sleeping' and he said, 'I was...' and [I said], 'I said you were' and we were screaming and it went on the air." There was practically no rehersal for the show and the director rarely cut tape when the stars would get raunchy. One time though, the taping did have to stop. Gene (1990): "Well, the funniest thing that ever happened was when I was interviewing a young contestant, a beautiful young woman, uh, we were on the air, the tape was rolling, and she had great teeth, great smile, great dimples in her cheeks and I looked at her and I said, 'you know, you have the most beautiful nipples I've ever seen.' Well, in those days in that climate, they had to edit that out of the tape."

The stars all seemed to have a great time ribbing each other, but none of the regulars were friendly with panelist Richard Dawson. Charles: "Well, Mr. Dawson never spoke to us. He was like that. You could not get close to him. He wouldn't go out with us or eat with us or anything." Reilly became famous from Match Game, but he says that all of the goofiness on the show blacklisted him from other roles in show business. Charles: "The worst thing that can happen to you is if you become a game show fixture. That's the end of your life."

Reilly's flamboyant ways on the show were also unusual for television in the 70s. He says he never hid the fact that he is gay. Charles: "I never thought of coming out of a closet because I was never in a closet. I was just being who I was and who I thought I was." Gene Rayburn passed away in 1999. Brett Somers never divorced Jack Klugman, although they've been separated for decades. She lives in Connecticut and plans her own one-woman show. The reruns of Match Game are among the highest-rated shows on the Game Show Network and air each and every night. Brett is amazed at how it has brought her a whole new generation of fans. Brett: "I got a letter from a 12-year old boy the other day, saying he just found Match Game."

In the years since Match Game went off the air, Reilly has continued to act, direct theater, and is in a one-man show, "The Life of Reilly", but he says that for some reason, a rumor once circulated that he was dead. Charles: "When I played my play, they called the box office and this is true and they asked, 'who's playing Reilly in the Life of Reilly?' and they say, 'Charles Nelson Reilly' and they go, [imitating elderly women], 'HE'S DEAD! THE TALL ONE WITH THE BIG GLASSES AND THE WIG, HE'S DEAD!' And the box office goes, 'yes, madam, he is dead, you're right, but he still manages to come in every night anyway.'" Here's the answer to our Match Game trivia question: which one of TV's "Golden Girls" appeared regularly as a panelist on Match Game? That was Betty White, who played the game for seven seasons.

Retrocrush.com- "The 100 Greatest TV Themes: 'Match Game' Theme Song is #47"

A total product of the funky 70s, The Match Game theme (composed by Robert Isreal in 1973) begins with an awesome bass and wah-wah guitar combination that is just great to listen to.  It's my favorite Robert Israel composed theme, who brought you classics like Family Feud, and The Price is Right.  The Match Game was a great game show full of celebrities that were actually fun to watch and looked like they were always drunk and having a great time.  The theme song really set the fun tone for the show and made you want to go to a BLANK and BLANK her BLANK until her BLANK made your BLANK BLANK off.  Take some time and visit The Match Game Homepage for a great fan-site with lots of goodies and video to enjoy, and if you're in the mood for cheesecake, might I suggest The Brett Somers Official Website?

The San Diego Union-Tribute- (1/2/2006 issue)

"GSN blanks on the (blank)"

Brett Somers has never stopped filling in the blanks more than 20 years after her days on "Match Game" ended. "A lot of people say they still watch it," Somers said. "I got a letter from an 11-year-old boy who said he watches it, and his mother used to watch it. This is a show that's been off the air for 20 years. I can't believe it."

Starting 11 tonight on the cable channel GSN, "Match Game" will lead off the late weeknight programming block with two back-to-back episodes from its vintage 1970s era. For years, repeats of the fill-in-the-blank competition have dominated the channel formerly known as The Game Show Network. Even now, with the channel turning toward reality contests and shortening its name to merely "GSN," episodes of "Match Game" endure. "It's the ideal escapist entertainment," Rich Cronin, president of GSN, has said of the show. "It's easy to play along with, and it's not really hard like a 'Jeopardy!' or anything." "Match Game" was a simple premise. Host Gene Rayburn asked two contestants to provide an answer for a comical blank left in a statement, which usually turned into the punch line for a joke. Six celebrities wrote their answers in advance, hoping to match the answer the contestant would give. T

he show was wildly popular during the 1970s as part of CBS's late afternoon programming block. It made household names out of B-list stars of the day such as Somers, Charles Nelson Reilly and Richard Dawson. Actress Kirstie Alley played the game once, but not as a panelist. A pre-fame Alley was a contestant who won thousands of dollars. "Whenever I see it now, I think 'I've come a long way. I've had a long journey.' It was a lot of fun," Alley said. Somers said the show marches on because its spontaneity is timeless. "The people they had on ('Match Game') were people who had fun," Somers said. "People on the show really liked each other. Gene was a wonderful host. You could do anything you wanted. "I was watching the show one day and I was doing push ups on the air. I don't know why I was doing it. I guess I was dared." Backstage, "we were always laughing and screaming in the green room before the show," Somers said.

There were always suggestions that the stars may have been hammered when they were playing the game. "Saturday Night Live" has parodied the show with boozing '70s stars making the game difficult to play. Web sites such as matchgame.org are devoted to trivia such as panelist appearances and episode guides. Somers said "Match Game" was all about having fun. "It's the best job I ever had in this business," she said. "You went in on Saturday. You did six shows. Then you went out to dinner with Charles Nelson Reilly and various other people. "You did the same thing on Sunday. Then you were off for two weeks." She did other game shows after "Match Game." A few years back, she appeared on a revival of "Hollywood Squares," but didn't enjoy it. "It was too much like work," she said. "They gave you the jokes. There was no interplay. The jokes and the interaction are what made 'Match Game' work."

MSN News- (12/29/2005 issue)

10 All-Time Greatest TV Game Shows

"Match Game" (1962; 1973)- #5 of the 10 Greatest Game Shows

The premise was thinner than Gene Rayburn's stick microphone: the wide-grinning host would read the setup of a potentially bawdy statement, and the contestant would attempt to complete it with a blank-filling piece of wit that matched the answers of the celebrity panel. Rumors of alcohol-fueled tapings only added to the allure of watching old-schoolers such as Richard Dawson, Brett Somers and Charles Nelson Reilly complete phrases with terms such as "doo-doo," or Rayburn accidentally telling a female contestant that she had nice nipples. A trailblazer for C-lister celebrity shows such as "The Surreal Life," reruns still fill the airwaves some three decades after the show's prime.