By Adam Nedeff, researcher for the National Archives of Game Show History
The Exorcist is one of the most chilling horror films of the 20th century. Pea soup, flying furniture, and the terrifying guttural voice emitting from a 12-year-old girl came together to create a disturbing and impossible-to-forget experience for moviegoers.
And we have Groucho Marx to thank for it.
Groucho Marx’s comedy quiz show, You Bet Your Life, was firmly an institution by the start of 1961, having already logged more than 13 years on radio and television. The simple Q&A game was always of secondary importance. The actual appeal of the show was the lengthy interview that Groucho conducted with the contestants before they started the game. Groucho’s interviews were peppered with ad-libs and scripted lines as he mined the contestants for any interesting thing that they might have to say about themselves. And technically, even the interview was part of the game—the contestants won bonus money if either of them uttered that week’s “secret word” while talking to the legendary funnyman.
On February 9, 1961, Groucho welcomed two contestants to the stage. One was a Beverly Hills housewife named Arlene. The other was a mysterious man in a white suit and sunglasses, calling himself Prince Kahirala. Prince Kahirala, looking a little spooked and confused even with his eyes covered, explained that he was from Saudi Arabia, and that his grasp of English was minimal. Groucho fired off some quick lines about “being on the lam”—an expression that the prince didn’t understand—and confused the prince by asking about Minnesota.
Groucho seemed flustered for just a moment before the prince abruptly took off his sunglasses and began speaking fluent English with an American accent. He introduced himself as Bill Blatty, a friend of You Bet Your Life announcer George Fenneman, and explained that he was a writer who took on phony identities to amuse people. Groucho, who seemed to have only feigned not knowing the prince’s true identity, sang the praises of Blatty’s most recent book, Which Way to Mecca, Jack?, a humorous memoir of his two years living in Lebanon while he worked for the United States Information Service.
Blatty and his partner collected $10,800 that night. Adjusted for inflation, Blatty’s share of the money today would be about $56,000. With a cushion of money to land on, Blatty opted to quit his day job and focus completely on writing. In the next eight years, Blatty churned out the screenplays for eight feature films, becoming an established name in comedy with titles like A Shot in the Dark and What Did You Do in the War, Daddy? He was paid $150,000 for a screenplay that was ultimately never produced, and lived off that money while he researched and wrote The Exorcist.
Blatty returned to game shows once more shortly before The Exorcist reached movie theaters. Blatty was a contestant on To Tell the Truth, discussing the controversy and interest surrounding his novel on which the movie would be based. And to tell the truth, Blatty was never shy about acknowledging the role that a game show had played in his success. He once pointed out that he never held a regular job a day in his life after he had played You Bet Your Life.
DO YOU REMEMBER…THESE OTHER “YOU BET YOUR LIFE” CONTESTANTS?
HAYSTACKS CALHOUN: One of the most famous wrestlers of that era, the 601-pound Calhoun, of Morgan’s Corner, Arkansas, appeared with Groucho early in his wrestling career. He would later appear in Rod Serling’s Requiem for a Heavyweight, collect seven tag team championships with various partners, and be inducted posthumously in the WWE Hall of Fame.
PHYLLIS DILLER: A newspaper reporter and advertising copywriter who had started performing stand-up comedy at age 37, Diller made her national television debut as a contestant, telling a few jokes at Groucho’s request. She would remain a fixture of comedy and variety shows for the next five decades.
PEDRO GONZALEZ-GONZALEZ: A stand-up comic who performed mostly for Spanish speaking audiences, Gonzalez-Gonzalez’s chat with Groucho, in which he gave a confusing explanation of his name, caught the attention of John Wayne, who had Gonzalez-Gonzalez added to several of his films in bit roles. Gonzalez-Gonzalez had a long, successful career as an actor as a result, and today he has a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.