It was a hit, that ended up being a miss

I'm not a big fan of Barry/Enright Game shows. But one I really liked was Break the Bank. Break the Bank debuted on April 12, 1976 on ABC with Tom Kennedy as host. The show featured 9 celebrities (sounds familiar doesn't it), and featured different boxes of money. 3 $100, $200, and $300 boxes. It also had 5 money bags, and a wild card that could be used for anything. And 5 blanks. Get 3 of a kind and you win the game. Get 3 money bags and you Break the Bank. You had to answer questions. 2 celebrities gbe you answers, and you had to determine which celebrity was right, and which celebrity was speaking crap. That's how the game was played. It was the 2n highest rated daytime game show, ahead of The $20,000 Pyramid, and behind Match Game '76. Unfortantley it was the sacrificial lamb for an expanding soap opera and ended its run on July 23, 1976.

But in September 1976, Break the Bank returned to the airwaves with Jack Barry as host. Same rules except the boxes were $100, $300, and $500, and a $10,000 prize package as the "bank." This version included a bonus round, with different money cards. The player called on a celebrity and they revealed a money value. They had to hit $2,000 without hitting a bust card, and they won $5,000.

I enjoyed this show. Tom was the best. Jack was OK, but he never looked comfortable on camera. Although I did enjoy the shades. This should've lasted longer. It aired on GSN from October 1997-April 1998 during the dark period, and hasn't been seen since.