Despite the popularity of billiards on television, the US networks have not looked kindly on it. 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 profound impact on the popularity of pool and organized billiards was booming by the end of the 1960s.
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 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, the first billiards game program on television, was it. Frank Oliva, a billiards evangelist, developed the game. The game was a variation on the traditional 14-1 straight pool. The game was scored by a timer, with each player scoring 10 points per innings. 100 points was considered the best match score. There were eight 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. This show featured celebrities and professional billiards players competing against each other. 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.
The show was a huge hit, and billiards started to be popularized 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. It was only until the 2005 launch of Ballbreakers that billiards on television once again made a major impact. Ballbreakers lasted only one year and made many errors. The show was more amateur-style comedy than a reality show because they limited the number of contestants who could participate. However, the show ended in failure and was eventually cancelled.
In the mid-1970s, the billiards game show Pick Pockets also made a big impact. Jimmy O'Connor was the host. It was a dated show, but had charm. Numerous celebrities, including Sid Caesar and Little Joey Canton, appeared on the show. Willie "Mr. Pocket Billilliards" Mosconi was the show's star. He is considered to be the greatest pool player ever. He set the straight pool world record for 1954. He also won the World Straight Pool Championship fifteen times.
It also featured many celebrities playing billiards in TV. A $1000 charity prize was also included in the show.