Game show blunders that will have you laughing til you cry

3. Parlez-vous français! (Password Plus)

Here we go with the top three game show blunders in television history and winning the bronze medal is probably the most famous Password Plus moment in its three-year run on NBC. It features the star of blunder number seven, Tom Kennedy, as well as the queen of Password, Betty White, and game show favorite, Dick Martin. As Tom Kennedy explained at the opening of this clip, usually when a mistake is made that doesn't affect the outcome of the game, that part of the episode would be edited out and not shown when the episode eventually airs. However, this particular moment was so outlandish and funny that it was decided that it should air for all to see, and every fan of game show blunders says thank you.

This blunder is appropriately known as the "French Incident" and it occurred at the very start of a new Password Plus match. A new partner for Betty White had just been introduced and the game was underway. The first password in the $100 puzzle was "French" and the celebrity partners were giving the clues. Betty, as she always did, gave the perfect clue for "French" by saying the word "language" but in a French-sounding accent. Unfortunately, her partner was not getting a "French connection" and guessed "Italian." Betty, who had the right to be appalled by her partner's guess, rolled her eyes and threw in the air the so-called wallet containing the password. Another brilliant comedic moment by Ms. Betty White.

It was then Dick Martin's turn to give a clue to his partner, and here is where the blunder occurs. Dick said "France" as his clue, and by putting both "language" and "France" together, the contestant correctly guessed "French." At first, the clue "France" was accepted as signaled by the dinging.

However, a quick decision was made by the judges to reverse the call after determining that "France" is an illegal clue for "French" since one is a form of the word of the other. This is where the laugh riot begins. Tom Kennedy forgets that Betty's partner Sherry gets a free guess at the puzzle since an illegal clue was given and then properly guessed by their opponents. Betty once again comes in the clutch with a funny remark after Kennedy begins to laugh at his mistake. Betty says, "don't worry Allen, everything is fine," referring to her husband and the original host of Password Plus, Allen Ludden.

At the time, Tom Kennedy was filling in for Ludden after he took a second leave of absence to recover from health troubles. This episode originally aired on December 23, 1980. Sadly, Allen would pass away about six months later. Even though it was a hilarious remark that bounced off of Tom Kennedy's mistake, Betty's nod to Allen was a great way to inadvertently say that everyone associated with Password is thinking of him while he is gone. Moving right along, what was simply just an illegal clue turned into a laugh fest as Tom tried all he could to compose himself on multiple occasions but to no avail.

The funniest part of the blunder had to be when Tom said to Dick Martin that he could not use "France" as a clue for "French" on this show, to which Mr. Martin replied, "How about we go to another show?" Tom then takes the time to walk to the other half of the stage pretending to go to another show.

Finally, after about three minutes of Tom completely losing it on national television, he was able to properly tell Dick and his partner Kathy that an illegal clue had been used and gave Sherry her free guess. The main event for this blunder might be over, but a short follow-up occurred just two passwords later when Dick once again gave an illegal clue. For the password "lost," he said the word "lose." As a way of finishing off this blunder with a bang, Dick Martin gave one last funny remark by saying "lose" is a dangling participle which is a grammatical term meaning "a participle intended to modify a noun that is not actually present in the text." The word "lose" might not actually be a dangling participle in this sense, but it is a form of the word "lost" which is why it was an illegal clue. Thankfully this time around, Tom was able to keep himself composed and not lose control of the show, and thankfully for game show fans, we were able to witness the full, unedited segment that should be called "Password Plus Gone Bananas."