Despite the fact that billiards is very popular on American television, networks have not taken it seriously. Billiards wasn't a very popular game on television for many years. However, the Hustler movie in 1961 brought it some attention. The movie had a huge impact on the popularity, and organized billiards started to flourish in the late 1960s.
The Hustler featured Jackie Gleason playing a fictional character named Minnesota Fats. It was a big success. The number of billiards rooms in America doubled after the film was released. The movie had a major influence on the popularity of organized pool and, in the latter half of the 1960s, billiards made its TV debut.
Ten-Twenty was the first TV billiards program. Frank Oliva, a billiards pioneer, invented the game in 1959. The game was a variation on the traditional 14-1 straight pool. The game was timed so that each player could score 10 point per inning. 100 points was the perfect match score. The game consisted of eight innings of play. The players had the option to shoot for 20 more points in the eighth inning.
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 scores were calculated based on the score of each snooker player.
Cisero Murphy, Joe Diehl and Nick Oliva were some of the players on the billiards-show. Joe Procita was one of many. Amateur pool sharks such as Jimmy Carass, Cowboy Jimmy Moore, and Dennis Orcollo also appeared on the show.
The show was a huge hit, and billiards started to be popularized on television. Billiards began to lose popularity in the late 1970s. The number of television shows that featured billiards had decreased by the 1980s. Ballbreakers launched in 2005 and billiards again had a big impact. The Ballbreakers only lasted for one year and made many mistakes. The show was more amateur-style comedy than a reality show because they limited the number of contestants who could participate. It was cancelled after the show's failure.
Pick Pockets, a billiards game show, was a hit in the 1970s. Jimmy O'Connor was the host. It was a very old show but it had charm. The show featured several celebrities including Sid Caesar, Mickey Rooney, and Little Joey Canton. Willie "Mr. Pocket Billie" Mosconi, the greatest player in pool history, was also a star of the show. In 1954, he set a world straight pool record. He was also the World Straight Pool Champion fifteen times.
The TV show featured several celebrities playing billiards including Sid Caesar, Bill Cosby, Buddy Hackett, and Bill Cosby. The show also featured a $1000 charity prize.