Daniel Enright (August 30, 1917 - May 22, 1992) was one of the most successful game show producers in American television. Enright worked with Jack Barry from the 1940s until Barry's death in 1984. They were partners in creating programs for radio and television. Their company was called Barry & Enright Productions. August 30 is the 242nd day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar (243rd in leap years), with 123 days remaining. ... 1917 (MCMXVII) was a common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar (see link for calendar) or a common year starting on Tuesday of the 13-day slower Julian calendar. ... May 22 is the 142nd day of the year in the Gregorian calendar (143rd in leap years). ... 1992 (MCMXCII) was a leap year starting on Wednesday. ... Jack Barry (March 20, 1918 – May 4, 1984) was an American television game show host and producer, whose career was nearly ruined in the quiz show scandal of the late 1950s but who made a remarkable comeback over a decade later. ... Barry & Enright Productions (or simply referred to as: Jack Barry-Dan Enright Productions or Jack Barry & Dan Enright Productions), was a U.S. television production company that was formed in 1947 by Jack Barry and Daniel Enright. ...

Enright (original surname Ehrenreich), who grew up in Israel and New York, met up with Barry as the latter was working in stand-up comedy. After a stint at WOR radio, the two developed several early TV shows, including the seminal "interactive" show Winky Dink and You, as well as Juvenile Jury and Life Begins at 80. WOR is the callsign currently used by one broadcaster in New York, New York, and formerly used by two others: WOR AM WOR-FM is now WRKS-FM WOR-TV is now WWOR-TV This is a disambiguation page — a navigational aid which lists other pages that might otherwise...

The duo hit the jackpot as producers of network game shows Tic Tac Dough and Twenty One in the 1950's. 70s & 80s Tic Tac Dough Logo Wink Martindale hosting Tic Tac Dough in 1980 Tic-Tac-Dough was an American television game show based on the pen-and-paper game tic-tac-toe. ... Twenty One was an American game show. ...

The Quiz Scandal

Enright himself has described the initial broadcast of Twenty One as "a dismal failure. It was just plain dull." Contestants repeatedly missed questions and, in Enright's own words, "It lacked all drama; it lacked all suspense. The next morning the sponsor (Geritol) called my partner, Jack Barry, and me and told us in no uncertain terms that he never wanted to see a repeat of what happened the previous night. And from that moment on, we decided to rig Twenty One." Even with rigging, initial ratings were unimpressive. Geritol is the name of an American vitamin and mineral supplement. ...

Enright and Barry believed they needed to find heroes and villains — contestants the audience would either root for or root against. Though not illegal at the time, Enright went beyond merely finding appealing players by actually manipulating them: providing certain contestants with answers in advance, and scripting games and the players' mannerisms in the isolation booth. It was a process the producers duplicated for Tic Tac Dough.

Enright's most famous contestant protege was Twenty One's Charles Van Doren, who went on to win for 14 weeks and became a cover subject for Time Magazine, thus causing the show's popularity to soar. Van Doren replaced Herb Stempel, who himself had been given answers over his extended run on the show but was forced to take a dive. Stempel became bitter about his loss and went to Enright, demanding money and threatening to expose the show's rigging. Enright said he would help but put Stempel off. Stempel finally went public with his allegations, though Enright denied all charges and the show went on for some time. Charles Lincoln Van Doren (born February 12, 1926) is an American intellectual and former TV quiz show contestant. ... (Clockwise from upper left) Time magazine covers from May 7, 1945; July 25, 1969; December 31, 1999; September 14, 2001; and April 21, 2003. ... Herb Stempel is a television game show contestant who became famous for his participation in the 1950s show Twenty One, where he had a suspiciously long run of wins in 1956, and for his eventual exposure of what became known as the quiz show scandals. ...

As the press was publishing allegations by former contestants of quiz rigging, NBC purchased from Barry and Enright the shows Twenty One and Tic Tac Dough, along with two new daytime entries, Concentration and a musical quiz Dough Re Mi, all of which aired on NBC, for $1 million. Eventually the truth came out, and Enright admitted to rigging the show and giving contestants the questions and answers in advance. As Twenty One's emcee and co-producer, Jack Barry did not directly rig the shows himself (even quiz-show scandal investigator Joseph Stone questions his involvement), yet he has admitted in interviews given in the 1970s and 1980s his role in covering up the rigging for Enright.

Exile

Barry and Enright's careers went into eclipse after the scandal broke, though Barry did get some hosting and acting gigs and briefly collaborated on projects with Goodson-Todman. Barry purchased a radio station in Redondo Beach, California, and in 1969 he made his first network comeback as an emcee, replacing Dennis Wholley on a short-lived prime-time game, The Generation Gap on ABC. Two years later he sold his first post-scandal game show, also to ABC, called The Reel Game, which he emceed as well.

Slowly, Enright managed to work his way back into television, having to go to Canada to do so. He was a producer of the early-70s syndicated game show All About Faces with Richard Hayes. Barry & Enright also collaborated on other small Canadian-produced quiz shows including Photo Finish, shot in Montreal, and It's a Match, which was taped in Toronto. It was on these shows that a number of young American and Canadian producers and directors got their start, including Sidney M. Cohen and Jay Wolpert. Richard Hayes is Professor of Sanscrit at McGill University. ... Sidney M. Cohen is a Canadian television director and program creator. ... Jay Wolpert is a screenwriter and television producer. ...

Back On Top with The Joker's Wild

In 1972, after two failed attempts to sell a pilot, CBS bought from Barry the game show that would permanently revive his career as a host and producer: The Joker's Wild. One of the original pilots of The Joker's Wild was produced in 1969 during Barry's collaboration with Mark Goodson and Bill Todman and was emceed by Allen Ludden. Although credited as "A Jack Barry Production," there had been speculation that ex-partner Enright was somehow involved with the show, and indeed Enright was credited as executive producer in the show's final year on CBS. Nonetheless, Joker proved to be a success. In 1975 it was cancelled by CBS but reruns of Joker did so well on local Los Angeles and New York TV stations that in 1977 a whole new series was produced for syndication. The syndicated Joker ran until 1986 (with Bill Cullen succeeding Barry after his death). The Jokers Wild was an American game show of the 1970s and 1980s, billed as the game where knowledge is king and lady luck is queen. // Title card for the original CBS daytime edition of The Jokers Wild. ... Mark Goodson (January 14, 1915 – December 18, 1992) was an American television producer born in Sacramento, California. ... Bill Todman (July 31, 1916-July 29, 1979) was an American television producer born in New York City. ... Allen Ludden (October 5, 1918 – June 9, 1981) was an American television presenter and game show host. ... William Bill Lawrence Frances Cullen (February 18, 1920–July 7, 1990), was an American radio and television personality. ...

By 1977, Barry and Enright had resumed their partnership full-time. In the spring of 1976 they sold a revival of Break the Bank to ABC. Despite promising ratings, the daytime network version hosted by Tom Kennedy was cancelled. A weekly first-run syndication version aired from September 1976 to September 1977, hosted by co-packager Barry. Break the Bank is a title that has been used for three entirely separate American game shows throughout television history. ... Tom Kennedy (born James Narz February 16, 1927, in Louisville, Kentucky) is a television game show host who had his greatest fame in the 1960s and 1970s. ...

Barry and Enright later found their longest-lasting success with syndicated versions of Joker and the revived Tic Tac Dough. 70s & 80s Tic Tac Dough Logo Wink Martindale hosting Tic Tac Dough in 1980 Tic-Tac-Dough was an American television game show based on the pen-and-paper game tic-tac-toe. ...

Venture Into Film

In 1981, Barry & Enright crossed over into the field of motion picture production with the release of their first (and only) film, Private Lessons a coming-of-age comedy featuring erotic film star Sylvia Kristel. Carroll Baker is a piano-teacher and her student falls in love with her. ... Sylvia Kristel (born September 28, 1952 in Utrecht, Netherlands) is a Dutch actress and model. ...

Later Years

Following Jack Barry's sudden death in 1984, Enright continued to run Barry & Enright Productions completely, retaining the B&E name as opposed to renaming the company Dan Enright Productions. Barry's death resulted in the departure of key Barry & Enright figures, including producers Ron Greenberg and Gary Cox and director Richard S. Kline, all three of whom were not in favor of Enright taking over the company. Kline went on to form his own production company, Greenberg returned to producing his own programs, and Cox joined Reg Grundy Productions in 1985. Richard S. Kline directed and produced many game shows through the 70s, 80s, and 90s. ... Reg Grundy Productions was the American wing of the worldwide television production company Grundy Worldwide, which was founded by Australian television producer Reg Grundy. ...

Enright went on to produce a few other game shows on his own, including a short-lived revivial of Tic Tac Dough as well as a few projects with former Wheel of Fortune co-hostess Susan Stafford who was Vice President of Public Relations, Barry & Enright Productions.They lived in a penthouse in Santa Monica,California. 70s & 80s Tic Tac Dough Logo Wink Martindale hosting Tic Tac Dough in 1980 Tic-Tac-Dough was an American television game show based on the pen-and-paper game tic-tac-toe. ... Susan Stafford (b. ...

Dan Enright died of cancer on May 22, 1992, at age 74, more than eight years after the death of Jack Barry.

External links

• PBS Biography of Dan Enright