In 1940, Edwards created the game show Truth or Consequences, which aired for 38 years on radio and television. Contestants were asked to perform (often ridiculous) stunts for prizes of cash or merchandise.
The show was originally based in New York (with Allen as announcer), but later moved to Los Angeles. Its radio run started on CBS, Edwards' and Allen's home network, then moved to NBC. Its TV run started with a one-time special on July 1, 1941 as part of the inaugural broadcast day of television's oldest commercially-licensed station, WNBT in New York (now WNBC).
Occasionally the show played for sentiment, as contestants were surprised on stage by a sweetheart in the military, a family member, or a long-lost friend. During a May 22, 1948, broadcast, Edwards interviewed a young cancer patient in Boston who loved baseball and dreamed of having a television to watch his favorite team, the Boston Braves, then the city's National League ball club. At the end of the broadcast, Edwards asked listeners from his studio in Hollywood to donate money for cancer research, as well as to buy a TV for the boy, whom he called "Jimmy" to protect his privacy. "Let's make Jimmy and thousands of other boys and girls happy who are suffering from cancer, by aiding the research to help find a cure for cancer in children," Edwards said on the show. By the end of the week, $20,000 in donations were made to Jimmy and the fund was born. It was the Braves' favored charity until their move in 1953 to Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Since then, the Jimmy Fund has been adopted by the Boston Red Sox.
Truth or Consequences, New Mexico was named after the show following Edwards' promise to broadcast the show from the first city that renamed itself. The city in southern New Mexico features several public parks and facilities that bear his name. Beginning in 1950 and continuing for the next 50 years, Edwards traveled to that city during the first weekend of May every year.
Edwards and the Truth or Consequences radio show were featured in a Superman story in Action Comics #127 (December 1948).
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