The US networks have not been kind to billiards despite its popularity on TV. 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 movie had a profound impact on the popularity of pool and organized billiards was booming by the end of the 1960s.
The Hustler, which starred Jackie Gleason in the role of Minnesota Fats, was a huge success. After the movie was released, billiards halls across the country doubled in size. The movie had a significant impact on the popularity and acceptance of organized billiards. By the end of the 60s, television had already made billiards a reality.
Ten-Twenty was the first TV billiards program. Frank Oliva, a billiards advocate, created the game in 1959. It was a variation to the classic 14-1 straight game of pool. The game was timed, and the player could score 10 points per inning. 100 points was the perfect match score. The game consisted 8 innings of play. In the eighth innings, players could score another 20 points.
Frank Oliva founded Ten-Twenty, an billiards game program, in the early 1960s. 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 was among those who participated in the billiards program. It also featured amateur pool sharks like Jimmy Caras (Cowboy), and Dennis Orcollo.
It was a huge success and television began to be popular for billiards. But the popularity of billiards on television waned in the late 1970s, and by the 1980s, the number of billiards game shows had diminished. The return of billiards to television was possible only with the 2005 launch Ballbreakers. The Ballbreakers only lasted for one year and made many mistakes. The show seemed like an amateur comedy program because it limited the number of shots that contestants could take. 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. Although it was dated, the show had charm. The show featured several celebrities including Sid Caesar, Mickey Rooney, and Little Joey Canton. Willie “Mr. Pocket Billilliards” Mosconi played the starring role on the show. He was considered the greatest pool player of all times. He set the straight pool world record for 1954. He was also the World Straight Pool Champion fifteen times.
There were also several celebrities who played billiards, including Sid Caesar, Bill Cosby and Buddy Hackett. The show also featured a $1000 charity prize.