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Created page with "'''''Judge for Yourself''''', at first subtitled '''The Fred Allen Show''', is a Mark Goodson-Bill Todman]] television] series which focuses on a nontraditional court show..."
'''''Judge for Yourself''''', at first subtitled '''The Fred Allen Show''', is a Mark Goodson-Bill Todman]] [[television]]] series which focuses on a nontraditional court show and quiz program, with comedian Fred Allen (1894-1956) as the emcee. It aired on [[NBC]] from August 18, 1953, to May 11, 1954. Don Pardo (1918-2014) was the announcer, with Dennis James (1917-1997) doing plugs for the primary sponsor, Old Gold [[cigarette]]s.<ref name=guide>{{cite book|url=ttp://books.google.com/books?id=DyS3t8z6_ckC&pg=PA622&lpg=PA622&dq=Judge+for+Yourself+(1953+TV+series)&source=bl&ots=RemEYokyS8&sig=WQ_G-E4volU2LYjM4dn3Zp0fuLc&hl=en&ei=LffyTafwJseutwf81JyDBw&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=7&ved=0CDoQ6AEwBg#v=onepage&q=Judge%20for%20Yourself%20(1953%20TV%20series)&f=false|title=Judge for Yourself in Tim Brooks and Earle Marsh, A Complete Directory to Prime Time Cable and Network TV Shows , 1946 – Present, p. 622|publisher=New York: Random House Publishing|date=2003|accessdate=June 11, 2011}}</ref><ref name=amtt>Alex McNeil, ''Total Television," p. 441.</ref>
Each week three performers – [[singer]]s, [[Dancing|dancers]], [[music]]ians, or [[Comedy|comedians]] – were judged by two panels, one of professional entertainers and the other from the studio audience. If one of the amateur judges rated the acts 1, 2, or 3 in the same order as the celebrities, that individual would win a $1,000 prize. Two instrumental jazz groups that appeared on ''Judge for Yourself'' had considerable success thereafter, libraphonist Terry Gibbs and the Marian McPartland Trio.<ref name=guide/>
The original intent of the series was to allow Allen to interact with guests, much as Groucho Marx did on his own NBC series, '[You Bet Your Life.'' The complicated format first employed, however, was revamped in the middle of the season. On the episode which aired on January 5, 1954, the professional judges were dropped, and the studio audience panel rated new songs to predict future hits, the comparable format of [[ABC]]'s ''[[Jukebox Jury]],'' which also aired in the 1953–54 season.<ref name=amtt/>
The songs were performed by a regular cast of Bob Carroll, The Skylarks, Kitty Kallen (two episodes), and Judy Johnson. The winning judge of the songs was selected on the basis of applause meter voting by the studio audience, a format also adopted thereafter on the NBC/ABC daytime reality show, '[Queen for a Day,'' hosted by Jack Bailey.<ref name=guide/>
''Judge for Yourself'' aired at 10 p.m. EST on Tuesdays, opposite ''The United States Steel Hour,'' then on ABC and later CBS. It followed ''The Armstrong Circle Theatre.''.<ref>Alex McNeil, ''Total Television,'' Network television schedule, appendix.</ref> After ''Judge for Yourself'' folded, Allen appeared for the last two years of his life from 1954 to 1956 on ''What's My Line?'', series in which a celebrity pane tries to determine the occupation of contestants through yes-or-no questions..<ref>{{cite web |publisher=''[[The New York Times]] ''|title=Fred Allen Dies While on Stroll. Won Fame as Wit on Radio After a Stage Career |date=March 18, 1956 |url=http://select.nytimes.com/gst/abstract.html?res=F50D10FA3459137A93CAA81788D85F428585F9|accessdate=June 11, 2011}}</ref>
==References==
{{reflist}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Judge for Yourself}}
[[Category:Television Shows]]
[[Category:1950s]]
Each week three performers – [[singer]]s, [[Dancing|dancers]], [[music]]ians, or [[Comedy|comedians]] – were judged by two panels, one of professional entertainers and the other from the studio audience. If one of the amateur judges rated the acts 1, 2, or 3 in the same order as the celebrities, that individual would win a $1,000 prize. Two instrumental jazz groups that appeared on ''Judge for Yourself'' had considerable success thereafter, libraphonist Terry Gibbs and the Marian McPartland Trio.<ref name=guide/>
The original intent of the series was to allow Allen to interact with guests, much as Groucho Marx did on his own NBC series, '[You Bet Your Life.'' The complicated format first employed, however, was revamped in the middle of the season. On the episode which aired on January 5, 1954, the professional judges were dropped, and the studio audience panel rated new songs to predict future hits, the comparable format of [[ABC]]'s ''[[Jukebox Jury]],'' which also aired in the 1953–54 season.<ref name=amtt/>
The songs were performed by a regular cast of Bob Carroll, The Skylarks, Kitty Kallen (two episodes), and Judy Johnson. The winning judge of the songs was selected on the basis of applause meter voting by the studio audience, a format also adopted thereafter on the NBC/ABC daytime reality show, '[Queen for a Day,'' hosted by Jack Bailey.<ref name=guide/>
''Judge for Yourself'' aired at 10 p.m. EST on Tuesdays, opposite ''The United States Steel Hour,'' then on ABC and later CBS. It followed ''The Armstrong Circle Theatre.''.<ref>Alex McNeil, ''Total Television,'' Network television schedule, appendix.</ref> After ''Judge for Yourself'' folded, Allen appeared for the last two years of his life from 1954 to 1956 on ''What's My Line?'', series in which a celebrity pane tries to determine the occupation of contestants through yes-or-no questions..<ref>{{cite web |publisher=''[[The New York Times]] ''|title=Fred Allen Dies While on Stroll. Won Fame as Wit on Radio After a Stage Career |date=March 18, 1956 |url=http://select.nytimes.com/gst/abstract.html?res=F50D10FA3459137A93CAA81788D85F428585F9|accessdate=June 11, 2011}}</ref>
==References==
{{reflist}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Judge for Yourself}}
[[Category:Television Shows]]
[[Category:1950s]]