Who came up with the fantastic idea that the contestants would dress up?
MH: The contestants themselves. You see, in the beginning, people came dressed in suits and dresses just like on any other show. But when they realized I was picking people in the audience at random, one woman came with a sign that said, ‘Roses are red violets are blue, I came here to deal with you.’ And I picked her. Well, the next week, everyone had a sign. Then they started wearing costumes and NBC said, ‘What are you going to do about this mob scene outside? It looks like Halloween out there.’ I thought it was very pictorial. I said, ‘We’re on television and that makes a good picture. It’s a different kind of an audience out there! It’s colorful. It’s new. It’s fun. Why not? Let them do what they want!’ Would you believe we had to fight off NBC’s protests? DI: After learning that you had to pay for the cars you gave away, sure, I’d believe anything. That seemed like such easy, free advertising for the car companies. Tell our readers how it worked. MH: Every new car we gave away we
