Sonny Fox on
"The 64,000 Challenge"
I did a lot of game shows in my life, but I guess the one that would be most interesting in the context in which you're talking about now is "The $64,000 Challenge." I had not very much experience as a performer at that time. I first began to be a performer in 1954 in an educational station in St. Louis in a converted girl's gymnasium and then eleven months later found myself doing a show on CBS called "Let's Take A Trip," which was taking two children on sort of an electronic field trip every week -- live, remote location, no audience, no sponsors -- out of a new CBS News and Public Affairs. And then eleven months after that I found myself in Studio 54 on Sunday night at ten o'clock live, doing "[The] $64,000 Challenge." I only say that because the context is one of a very inexperienced performer being plunged into this maelstrom, this pressure cooker, if you will, of two sponsors, three ad agencies, a live studio band and a live studio audience, all of which was quite awesome. But you have to understand that in those days because of the success of "[The] $64,000 Question" the original show and a sister show of "Challenge," which was on Sunday nights at ten -- I'm sorry, Tuesday nights at ten, "[The] $64,000 Question" was on at Tuesday nights at ten -- had totally fascinated a nation. It took a few weeks for that to take a hold, but then when Gino Protto, the shoemaker who was an expert on opera, won $64,000, he became a star, and others followed and they became real stars. Life Magazine featured them. They were followed all over the place. And I remember one night walking down on a Tuesday night, walking down on a summer's night, in the streets of New York, and the windows were opened, and out of every window I heard the same sound and the sound was of "[The] $64,000 Question." Now when "[The $64,000] Challenge" went on the air it was Sunday night at ten, live, and it was a much awaited event of course, and a much per sought after hosting job. I was not sure I was right for it and, as a matter of fact, when I first did an audition, it was on audio tape, and Joe Case, who was then the Producer/Director, called me and said, "What do you think? I said, "I wouldn't hire me if I were you." Well anyway it ended up where I was hired.
After I did the pilot we went out to dinner, and Charles Revson, the Revson of Revlon who is the chief sponsor at that time, along with Kent of the program, said we may have to change your name because nobody will believe a man named Sonny is giving away all that money. And I think I said something like, "Well for the money you're prepared to pay me you can call me anything you want." Anyway, the first night of "$64,000 Challenge" the announcer said, "And here is your host, Bill Fox." I stood there for a moment until somebody said, "That's you." And I went out, and the first week I was Bill Fox even though at noon on CBS I was Sonny Fox and in my bio I was Irwin Fox. Later that week, after the first show, I got a call from the EPI, the producer, saying we have a problem about your name. I said, "What is it?" They said, "There already is a Bill Fox on the rolls of AFTRA," the union, and you cannot use somebody else's name if it's already established, even though, even if it were my own name. I said, "Oh." And then he said, "What is your real name." I said, "Irwin." There was a pause. The kind of a pause that went on just to be too long. I said, "Right." I said, "I have a great idea. Why don't we just change my name every week and people who hate the show will just tune in to watch to see what they're calling me this week." The second week on "$64,000 Challenge" the host, the announcer, said, "And ladies and gentlemen, here is your host, Sonny Fox."
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