Storybook Squares

Infobox Television
show_name = Storybook Squares


caption = Storybook Squares titlecard, 1970s version.
format = Game show
runtime = 30 minutes
starring = Peter Marshall, Kenny Williams (announcer)
country = USA
network = NBC
first_aired = 1969
last_aired = 1977

Storybook Squares was a short-lived Saturday morning version of Hollywood Squares for children. The only difference was that it featured celebrities (usually the same ones from Hollywood Squares) in costume as well-known fictional characters (and a few historical figures, as well), hence the name.

The show ran on NBC from January to August 1969.

Peter Marshall, naturally, was the host of the show. Kenny Williams was the announcer, but read the characters' names off a scroll as the character "Guardian of the Gate" (similar to his Town Crier role on "Video Village").

Panelists

The only Squares panelist who played as he normally would was Cliff Arquette, who carried his Charley Weaver persona over to Storybook Squares. The other panelists played characters from fairy tales and books, historical figures, or in some cases the characters they played on television.

Some of the other panelists were:
* Jim Backus as Mr. Magoo, the animated character for whom he provided the voice, and Thurston Howell, III, his character from "Gilligan's Island"
* Wally Cox as Paul Revere and Davy Crockett
* Bob Crane as Colonel Hogan, his role on "Hogan's Heroes"
* Nanette Fabray as The Old Woman Who Lived in the Shoe
* Stu Gilliam as Merlin
* Arte Johnson as his character the "Very Interesting!" Nazi from Laugh-In
* Paul Lynde as the Evil Queen from Snow White and the Frankenstein Monster
* Carolyn Jones as Morticia Addams, her role on "The Addams Family"
* Rose Marie as Pocahantas and Annie Oakley
* Soupy Sales as Henry VIII and Thomas Edison
* William Shatner as James T. Kirk, his character from "Star Trek"

Format

Like the original version, two contestants competed (with a boy as X and a girl as O).

The game was played exactly the same as the original Hollywood Squares, but no money was involved. Instead, the children played for prizes, with one being awarded per game won.

Return of the Storybook Squares

Although "Storybook Squares" was short-lived, the format returned as part of the regular "Hollywood Squares" show several times during the '70s in special theme weeks. The format, however, differed slightly. This time, teams with three generations of family members (for example, grandmother/mother/son) faced off, and each game was worth $300, with each team earning $50 per square should time run out. The kids played for the first segment of the show, and their parents squared off in the next game, and the grandparents for the rest of the game, unless time was running out (in which case all four players played). The team with the most money at the end of the game won a large prize, such as a car or exotic vacation.Some of the panelists from this version were:
*Milton Berle as Old Mother Hubbard
*Valerie Bertinelli as Little Miss Muffet
*Big Bird as himself (Muppet portrayed by Carroll Spinney)
*Paul Lynde as Atilla the Hun, The Frankenstein Monster, and The Wicked Witch
*Vincent Price as Captain Hook
*William Shatner as Captain Kirk
*Elke Sommer as Guinevere
*Connie Stevens as The Queen of Hearts
*Karen Valentine as Mona Lisa
*Anson Williams as Simple Simon
*Rip Taylor as General Custer

The Set

The original set in 1969 was decked out in a medieval theme for the host and players' podiums, while the actual "Squares" remained untouched. The 1970s sets, by comparison, extended the medieval theme to the entire set, with a sweeping castle facade built around and behind the "Squares".