Add a Line

Add a Line

Genre	Game show
Running time	30 minutes
Country	United States
Language(s)	English
Syndicates	ABC
Starring	John Nelson (host)
Air dates	July 4, 1949 to September 26, 1949

Add a Line was a daytime radio game show which aired on ABC July 4, 1949, to September 26, 1949.^[1] The title came from the show's format, which "called for players to add the final line to a rhyme given to them by the host." ^[2]

The 30-minute program was broadcast at 2:30 p.m. and other time periods during its run. The host was John Nelson (1915-76), who was heard on other audience participation radio shows, including Bride and Groom and Breakfast at Sardi's. In Radio and Television (Appleton-Century-Crofts, 1950), Garnet R. Garrison and Giraud Chester noted:

By 1949, the give-away programs had taken on the character of a bonanza. One CBS program offered a jackpot of $50,000 to the lucky winner. NBC launched a mammoth quiz called Hollywood Calling to compete with the Jack Benny show. ABC had Stop the Music, Strike It Rich and Add a Line. Mutual, with its Queen for a Day, managed to give away more prizes than any of the other networks.^[3]

References

1. Terrace, Vincent. (1999). Radio Programs, 1924-1984: A Catalog of More Than 1800 Shows. McFarland & Company, Inc. ISBN 978-0-7864-4513-4. P. 8.
2. Terrace, Vincent (1981), Radio's Golden Years: The Encyclopedia of Radio Programs 1930-1960. A.S. Barnes & Company, Inc. ISBN 0-498-02393-1. P. 3.
3. Garrison, Garnet R. and Chester, Giraud. Radio and Television, 550 pages. New York: Appleton-Century-Crofts, 1950.