History
Jack Barry and Dan Enright first met at radio station WOR in New York, where Barry was a staff announcer. Their first collaborations were Juvenile Jury, a show which featured a panel of children, who came up with their takes on everyday problems and situations, which were submitted by listeners. This would be followed with Life Begins at Eighty, which was essentially a geriatric version of the former. Both shows made their way to television in 1950.
Another children's show from Barry & Enright, was Winky Dink and You, which engaged the young viewers to use their imaginations, as well as a special "magic slate"—a sheet of durable plastic that stuck to the TV screen via static electricity, which enabled the viewer to use crayons to "draw along" with Mr. Barry, as he told stories to the children. A kinescope of this series is available on the tape-trading circuit.
In 1953, Barry & Enright created their first game show, Back That Fact. Hosted by Borscht Belt comedian, and syndicated columnist Joey Adams.
In 1956 Barry & Enright created the game shows Twenty One (which was created in response to the highly successful $64,000 Question), and Tic-Tac-Dough. The company, along with Robert Noah, also created and produced the original version of Concentration. Two years later Twenty-One was cancelled as part of the quiz show scandals, when it was revealed that the producers pre-arranged outcomes. The scandal led to Congressional legislation against the rigging of game shows (and every form of competition show). In 1959 Tic-Tac-Dough was also canceled. Barry & Enright were forced to sell their game shows to NBC, including Concentration, Twenty One, Dough Re Mi and Tic-Tac-Dough. The company later ceased to exist.
Read more about this topic: Barry & Enright Productions
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