Books have acknowledgements, and this was originally meant to be a book, so here we go.
Mike Burger is as good a researcher as he is a friend, and that makes him a very, very good researcher. He shares my enthusiasm for ferreting out the most obscure details, and dozens if not hundreds of these entries have his fingerprints all over them This site would not be what it is without his contributions. Grateful does not even begin to describe it.
Adam Nedeff calls me a mentor, but over the years, I've learned far more from him than he has from me. It is such an advantage whenever I have a question about game shows to just be able to "ask Adam." He's also a much better writer than I am. Go buy his books.
Many folks were most generous with their own videos, research and expertise. Eric Paddon in particular filled a lot of gaps with episodes from his collection in the early going when the basic framework of this project was just taking shape. Brendan McLaughlin is another person who shares my enthusiasm for detailed research, and I'm glad that we've been able to mutually help each other out with our various projects. After the site launched, Kevin Segura stepped forward with his own expertise and unique contributions, most notably access to the handwritten notes of Executive Producer Gil Fates.
Others whose contributions large and small have been most appreciated included Marshall Akers, Hillary Belzer, Ron Gomes, Dr Dean S Harley III, David Schwartz, Josh Woo and the late (and dearly missed) Fred Wostbrock. There have probably been others, and the advantage of a website over a book is that I can add them as I remember.
When this project was "secret" (so to speak), I told some friends along the way and showed them some of my work because I'm very bad at keeping secrets, even my own. Thank you to Travis Eberle, David Hammett, Wesley Hyatt, Kelly Joldersma, Brittney Mares, Christa Robinson, Kurt Wanamaker, Rich Weingartner and Clay Zambo for their moral support and kind words.
Other people have tread similar Secret territory on the internet before me, so I should acknowledge the efforts of Kevin Segura, Richard Carson, Tommy Gun and Vahan Nisanian. I deliberately and strenuously avoided copying their work for my project, but they (and others) came first, and it would be ridiculous not to acknowledge that.
Claudia and I had a deal. I could tell her my I've Got a Secret stories while I was giving her back rubs. She ended up with a lot of back rubs, and I ended up with a sense of what worked and didn't work in my storytelling. More importantly, she was supportive and understanding and encouraging throughout the entire project. She appreciated my passion even if she did not share it, and for that I am filled with gratitude and love.
Finally, Jim Murphy was my unofficial but critically important science editor and music editor. Anything that had to do with the space race, or computers, or avant-garde composers or any number of other subjects went through him first. He was the smartest and kindest man I ever knew, and there is a great big hole in my heart where he used to be. Books have dedications too, and if this was a book, it would be dedicated to him.
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