The Wizard of Odds

Infobox Television
show_name = The Wizard of Odds


caption =
genre = Game show
creator =
writer =
director =
developer =
starring = Alex Trebek
narrated = Sam Riddle
Charlie O'Donnell
theme_music_composer = Stan Worth
country = USA
language = English
num_episodes =
executive_producer =
producer = Burt Sugarman
Alan Thicke
location =
runtime = 30 min.
channel = NBC
first_aired = July 16, 1973
last_aired = June 28, 1974
imdb_id = 0071073
tv_com_id =

"The Wizard of Odds" (July 16, 1973-June 28, 1974) was an American daytime television game show hosted by Alex Trebek and aired on NBC. It was a game in which people from the studio audience vied in a number of rounds, primarily games revolving around statistical questions. Sam Riddle was the show's first announcer; towards the end of the run, Charlie O'Donnell replaced him.

Relatively short lived, "The Wizard of Odds" replaced "Sale of the Century" at 11 a.m. Eastern/10 Central. The show did not perform well against CBS' "Gambit" and, later, "Now You See It," and NBC dropped it after less than a year.

"The Wizard of Odds" was Trebek's first American game show assignment, after starting his broadcast career in his native Canada. It was also known for its theme song, composed and sung by one of the show's producers — entertainer Alan Thicke, a close friend of Trebek's from their early days on Canadian television. Trebek would go on to host another NBC game-show, "High Rollers" (which replaced "The Wizard of Odds"), and since 1984, has hosted the syndicated TV hit game-show "Jeopardy!".

Episode status

* It is believed that all of the original episode tapes were destroyed years ago, due to NBC's policy at the time requiring the reuse of videotapes used to record daytime programs. The show from May 20, 1974 with special guest Don DeFore exists in UCLA Film & Television Archive.