NBC, because of their cross-ownership back in the old days with color TV pioneer RCA, had about a 10-year head start on the other two original TV networks when it came to game shows in color.

Since What's My Line? on CBS might have experimented with a color episode or two in the late 1950's, but didn't go color regularly, of course, until September 1966, does that make Face is Familiar from just a few months prior, CBS' first game show to be regularly transmitted in color? [Or did Art Linkletter and House Party get there first, and does that count as a game show despite Art's segment with the kids and a few other non-game elements?]

And when ABC's Dating Game went primetime in late 1966, didn't it go color as well, and would that have been ABC's first such game show? [I think it was.]

The primetime run of Dating Game starting in Oct 1966 was in color, and has been rerun by GSN. I believe the daytime version was still in black and white until sometime in '67. Same with Newlywed Game.

Face is Familiar was also in color. GSN has run one episode of it, I believe a couple of others exist in the trade curcuit.

Who was first I can't say for sure, but hopefully this information will help.

Those must have been the episodes taped at the Vine Street Theater at 1313 N. Vine Street. By then ABC must have converted the facility to color for The Joey Bishop Show (announcer: Regis Philbin) which debuted in the spring of 1967 and which later housed the first season of Family Feud.

The Face Is Familiar likely taped in studio 50 (The Ed Sullivan Theater) which was likewise converted to color in the late '60s.

Three others, including the pilot hosted by Jack Clark. Oddly, all of the others are in black & white.


According to David Schwartz, who probably has the ticket stubs to back it up, the show was shot at studio 41. I imagine it's possible they shot in more than one location over the course of the summer, which wasn't completely unheard of back then.

As per Ed Reitan's page, both the Ed and the entire Broadcast Center [including the Studio 41 in question] were colorized in '65. I'm not sure whether or not the other recordings in question are videotape or--more likely--kinescopes.

The TV studio geeks [like me] can notice what sounds like the Ed's distinctive acoustics in this clip.

Judging from the acoustics it's the Sullivan all right.

Someone tell Jack Whitaker not to say "fermiliar".

He was saying "vermillion." As in "We're in color now, so welcome to 'The Face Is Vermillion'!"

You win the thread.

The Florence Henderson-Ray Milland episode is a color kinescope, but the color is so washed out it's easy to not be aware of it.