Penny to a Million is an American television game show that aired on ABC from May 4 to October 19, 1955. Bill Goodwin was the host. It was broadcast from 9:30 to 10 p.m. Eastern Time on Wednesdays.

Format
Questions began with a value of 1 cent and doubled in value with each correct answer to a maximum of $10,000 (1 million cents).

Two rounds of regular game play were in each episode. In each round, four new contestants selected from the audience took turns answering questions. The first correct answer added one cent to the jackpot, with each subsequent correct answer doubling the jackpot; if a contestant gave a wrong answer or failed to answer, they were eliminated from the game, awarded a gift certificate or savings bond ($25 for the first two eliminated, $50 for the round's runner-up) and a pack of cigarettes or a pen, depending on the show's sponsor. Wrong answers did not affect the jackpot. The round continued until three of the four contestants were eliminated or 20 questions were answered correctly (for a jackpot of up to 219¢, rounded down to 500,000 pennies). The jackpot reset to zero after each round.

Questions were separated into categories. As long as each contestant answered correctly, the next question would be of the same category; lines of questioning began with the easiest questions first, becoming progressively more difficult with each question. After a wrong answer, a new category would be introduced, and the process began again. For musical categories (identifying tunes was a recurring question format), a big band was on hand to perform short snippets.

The winners of each round competed in the playoff round, where the jackpots from each round were added together. The two players took turns answering questions until at least one of them missed a question. If they both missed a question in turn, they both split the pot evenly. If one player correctly answered a question and the other missed, the winner won three-quarters of the pot while the runner-up received the remaining quarter of the pot.

The show's name comes from its concept: the smallest prize was 1¢, and the highest prize the show offered was "a million pennies," or $10,000. The rules of the game ensured that only $7,500 of that top prize could be won by any particular contestant.

Production
Herb Wolf was the producer for Wolf Associates. Sponsors were Brown & Williamson Tobacco Corporation and W. A. Sheaffer Pen Company. Penny to a Million replaced Who Said That?, which Sheaffer had co-sponsored. Admiral, which was a co-sponsor of Who Said That?, chose not to back the new show.

George Ansbro was the announcer for episodes that originated in New York; Jay Stewart announced those that originated in Los Angeles.

Critical response
A review in the trade publication Variety said that Penny to a Million "follows a familiar pattern" seen in other televised quiz shows. It called the program's premise "a clumsy format that builds no excitement and holds little interest." The review described Goodwin as "a smiling, affable host" who did not benefit from hosting the show and whose "quips fall far from the funnybone mark." It concluded that the sponsor "didn't make a change for the better" by putting Penny to a Million in place of Who Said That?.

Episode status
At least five episodes are known to exist, including the pilot.

References

External links
Penny to a Million at IMDb
Penny to a Million description, photos, and video clips at tvparty.com
'Episode from October 1955 available for download at the Internet Archive

1955 American television series debuts
1955 American television series endings
1950s American game shows
American Broadcasting Company original programming