After a radio appearance with Bob Hope, in which Marx ad-libbed most of his performance after being forced to stand by in a waiting room for 40 minutes before going on the air, John Guedel, the program's producer, formed an idea for a quiz show and approached Marx about the subject. His radio show Blue Ribbon Town, sponsored by Pabst Blue Ribbon beer, which ran from March 1943 to August 1944, had failed to catch on and Groucho left the program in June 1944. The mid-1940s was a depressing lull in Groucho's career.

As such, it was the first game show to have its reruns syndicated. The program was rerun into the 1970s, and later in syndication as The Best of Groucho.

In 1960, the show was renamed The Groucho Show and ran a further year. Because of its simple format, it was possible to broadcast the show simultaneously on the radio and on television. The show debuted on ABC Radio in October 1947, then moved to CBS Radio in 1949 before making the transition to the NBC Radio and NBC-TV networks in October 1950. The most well-known version was hosted by Groucho Marx of the Marx Brothers, with announcer and assistant George Fenneman. YOU BET YOUR LIFE with Groucho Marx - OLD TIME RADIO - 3 CD - 223 mp3 - Total 113:07:45 ***You Bet Your Life is an American quiz show that aired on both radio and television.

Pic of groucho youbet your life