QUIZ KIDS & YOU BET YOUR LIFE

Tonight we present two quiz shows recorded a little over a decade apart, but featuring the same contestant. In the 1940s young Margaret Merrick was a frequent panelist on “The Quiz Kids,” where it was no secret that she had had polio. Before we had the term, she was a “poster child” for what was then called “infantile paralysis.” Margaret then appears with her husband on Groucho Marx’s “You Bet Your Life,” where she talks about her youth and the couple tackle questions about numbers in everyday life.

Though polio has nearly been eradicated worldwide, The March of Dimes still exists. It’s currently dedicated to preventing premature birth and birth defects. You can donate here.

Episodes

The Quiz Kids

January 24, 1943

“Would You Be Pleased If Varicella Paid You A Visit?”

3:26

You Bet Your Life

October 21, 1953

“The Secret Word is ‘Name’”

33:12