Despite the growing popularity of billiards in America, US networks haven't been impressed. For many years, billiards was not a popular game to be played on television, but with the advent of The Hustler movie in 1961, it began to get a bit more attention. The film had a significant impact on the popularity and growth of billiards.
The Hustler starred Jackie Gleason, who played a fictional character called Minnesota Fats. The movie was a success. After the movie was released, billiards halls across the country doubled in size. The movie also had a major impact on the popularity of organized billiards, and by the late 60s, billiards had made its debut on TV.
Ten-Twenty was the first television billiards show. The game was developed by billiards evangelist Frank Oliva in 1959. It was an adaptation of the classic 14-1 straight-pool game. The game was played in a timed fashion. Each player could score ten points per inning. The perfect match score was 100 points. The game consisted eight innings. In the eighth innings, players could score another 20 points.
Frank Oliva started Ten-Twenty, a billiards program that brought pool out of basements. The show featured professional billiards players as well as celebrities competing against one another. The timers were set and the scores were determined by how well each snooker player scored.
Cisero Murphy was among those who participated in the billiards program. It also featured amateur pool sharks like Jimmy Caras (Cowboy), and Dennis Orcollo.
This show was a big hit and billiards became very popular on television. But the popularity of billiards on television waned in the late 1970s, and by the 1980s, the number of billiards game shows had diminished. Ballbreakers, which was launched in 2005, made billiards on TV a huge hit again. The one-year run of Ballbreakers was a failure. The show's decision not to allow contestants to take more than one shot made it look like a sketch comedy show. But the show fell apart and was eventually cancelled.
Pick Pockets was also a popular billiards game in the middle of the 1970s. Jimmy O'Connor was the show's jovial host. Although the show was old-fashioned, it had charm. Numerous celebrities made appearances on the program, including Sid Caesar, Mickey Rooney, "Little Joey Canton" and Sid Caesar. Willie Mosconi (Mr. Pocket Billions), the greatest pool player, was the star of the show. 1954 was his straight pool world-record. He won the World Straight Pool Championship 15 times.
The TV show featured several celebrities playing billiards including Sid Caesar, Bill Cosby, Buddy Hackett, and Bill Cosby. One $1000 charity prize was also available on the show.