Those bulletins have been preserved on historical record album retrospectives and radio and television documentaries. With this in mind, Goodson-Todman offered host Blyden the hosting position on Showoffs, a charades-based game show that the company was developing for ABC's daytime lineup. Allen left in 1954 to launch The Tonight Show, and he was replaced by comedian Fred Allen (no relation),[13] who remained on the panel until his death in 1956. Publisher Bennett Cerf replaced Untermeyer as a regular panelist in 1951, and comedian Steve Allen replaced Block in 1953. Complete episodes of "What's My Line?" in the order in which they originally aired Because playlists are limited to 200 videos, this one covers only the debu. It also included a segment in which Vint Cerf's son Bennett (named after the panelist) appeared as a guest. Other episodes sustained only partial damage, such as a 1965 episode that is mainly damaged during the mystery guest appearance of Marian Anderson. Please find all options here. [3] This version originally was hosted by Wally Bruner and later by Larry Blyden. (TV Series 19501967) - Trivia", "What's My Line? [8] In such instances, cast and crew worked on two episodes consecutively during the same Sunday night: the "taped" one, followed immediately by the "live" one. did not emphasize formality as the panelists did not dress in formal wear. The panel varied somewhat in the following weeks, but after the first few broadcasts, during the show's earliest period the panel generally consisted of Kilgallen, actress Arlene Francis, Untermeyer and comedy writer Hal Block. (1952) and The Mike Wallace Interview (1958), How American Bandstand Changed American Culture: Revisit Scenes from the Iconic Music Show, How Dick Cavett Brought Sophistication to Late Night Talk Shows: Watch 270 Classic Interviews Online. Occasionally Daly would amiably one-up Cerf if he felt the pun was of lesser quality. was also broadcast on network radio for a short time. Episode #195 (February 21, 1954) only exists among collectors as a second-hand kinescope, as the official kinescope is missing from the Goodson-Todman archive. Steve Allen first posed this on January 18, 1953, and it was then refined over subsequent episodes. [citation needed]. Companion Facebook group for the YouTube "What's My Line?" channel, where you can find every available surviving episode of the long running CBS version. 2023 TV GUIDE, A FANDOM COMPANY. By what name was What's My Line? Get the best cultural and educational resources on the web curated for you in a daily email. At the time of Blyden's death, a handful of new episodes of What's My Line? Panelists had the option of passing to the next panelistor even disqualifying themselves entirely if they somehow knew the contestant's occupation or identity, in the case of a mystery challenger, before the round. In 2016, episode #018, aired live on October 1, 1950, was discovered by a film archivist. aired on September 3, 1967; it was highlighted by clips from past telecasts, a visit by the show's first contestants, a challenger from the New York unemployment office, and the final mystery guest, who was John Daly himself. Were hoping to rely on our loyal readers rather than erratic ads. However, despite frequent requests by the panel, particularly Arlene Francis, such demonstrations rarely occurred as according to executive producer Gil Fates, Daly was not fond of this practice.[32]. The game tasked celebrity panelists with questioning contestants in order to determine their occupations. Panelists were required to probe by asking only yes-no questions. If all four panelists failed, each member of the team won an additional bonus prize. is a panel game show which originally ran in the United States on the CBS Television Network from 1950 to 1967, with several international versions and subsequent U.S. revivals. Revivals in the United States were proposed several times, but all of them failed to go past the planning stages. won three Emmy Awards for "Best Quiz or Audience Participation Show" in 1952, 1953, and 1958 and the Golden Globe Awards for Best TV Show in 1962. [4] New episodes have not been created for American television since December 12, 1974. You also have the option to opt-out of these cookies. What's My Line? TV Shows. 1956: Won, ABC Television, Television News for Coverage of the National Political Conventions. However, even with such formality, Daly was not above trading bon mots with the panelists during the game, and Cerf would often attempt to make a pun of his name. Jack Barry, partner of Dan Enright, both of whom had taken falls in the quiz-show scandals of the 1950s, hosted the What's My Perversion? Cerf and Daly enjoyed a friendly feud from across the stage for the remainder of the history of the program. )[20] In the early years of the show, the questioning was the same as it was for regular contestants, but starting with the April 17, 1955 edition, panelists were only allowed one question at a time. The original What's My Line?, based on the Daly era, was released by Lowell in 1955. [citation needed] Daly was a war correspondent in 1943 in Italy during Gen. George S. Patton's infamous "slapping incidents." Panelists have included Jonathan Ames, Joy Browne, Stephanie D'Abruzzo, Frank DeCaro, Michael Riedel, and original TV version veterans Betsy Palmer and Julia Meade. [62] CBS regularly recycled What's My Line? [37] Bennett Cerf explained that when he became a permanent member of the program, he was paid $300 (equal to $3,379 in 2021[36]) per week, and he told Robbin Hawkins in their interview that by the end of the series, the panelists were being paid "scandalous amounts of money. [15] Mystery guests usually came from the entertainment world, either stage, screen, television or sports. See production, box office & company info. At that time, the immediate concern of Mark Goodson and Bill Todman was that John Daly, anchor of the ABC network's nightly newscasts, would be allowed to visit Moscow to cover, in that capacity, a breaking news story. Yul Brynner said this memorable line in "The King and I". . Originally moderated by John Charles Daly and most frequently with regular panelists Dorothy Kilgallen, Arlene Francis, and Bennett Cerf, What's My Line? However, Daly resigned after only five programs because the producing station of the program, Newark, New Jersey-licensed WNDT, declined to delete a remark by WCBS radio reporter David Goldman that Daly considered obscene from a taped program in the series titled "Huui, Huui," an opening production of the New York Shakespeare Festival Public Theater. [9] The cast and crew began taking "Summer breaks" from the show in July 1961, through July 1967. Most notably, the mystery guests ran the gamut of show business' most legendary icons, including Jack Benny, John Wayne, Gary Cooper, Elizabeth Taylor, Ava Gardner, Joan Crawford, James Cagney, Julie Andrews, Jack Lemmon, Jackie Gleason, Steve McQueen, Alfred Hitchcock, Doris Day, James Garner, Ronald Reagan, Jane Russell, Rosalind Russell, Fred Astaire, George Raft, Edward G. Robinson, Gene Autry, Lena Horne, Paul Newman and Joanne Woodward, Andy Griffith, Harry Belafonte, Ginger Rogers, Roy Rogers, Lucille Ball, Desi Arnaz, Bob Hope, Frank Sinatra, Dean Martin and Jerry Lewis, Sammy Davis Jr., Peter Lawford, Sean Connery, James Stewart, Henry Fonda, Salvador Dal, Aretha Franklin, and many more. by Ayun Halliday | Permalink | Comments (1) |. [9] Daly stated that "the last straw"[10] that led to his resignation was the decision of the then-president of ABC, Leonard Goldenson, to bring in Time Inc. to co-produce documentaries that had previously been under Daly's direction for the network. at 25. The Los Angeles version of the live show went on hiatus when van Straaten relocated to New York, then resumed in June 2007. Mystery guest rounds were no longer scored and simply ended with a correct guess or when time ran out. [52] In 1971, production of What's My Line? The special eventually was broadcast by ABC on May 28, 1975, on the late-night series ABC's Wide World of Entertainment, and is currently available for viewing at The Paley Center for Media. . To begin a round, Daly would invite the contestant to "come in and sign in, please," which, by 1960, had evolved to the more familiar "enter and sign in, please." is hailed as the longest running PRIME TIME quiz show in TV history. The main differences I find between this version and the original is that it tended to lean more towards comedy and that the stylish attire was gone (the men didn't wear tuxedos and the women eschewed evening gowns in favor of slacks or casual attire). have made of The Masked Singer , a more recent offering in which panelists attempt to identify celebrity contestants who are concealed by elaborate head-to-toe costumes and electronically altered voiceovers. From November 2004 to July 2006, Jim Newman and J. Keith van Straaten produced one-hour live stage versions of the show at the ACME Comedy Theatre in Los Angeles, California, titled What's My Line? This was probably his most famous role. Daly's closing line on the ABC newscasts was "Good night, and a good tomorrow." To support Open Cultures educational mission, please consider making a donation. ', Dies at 77", "Story Behind Music; John Daly to Be the Narrator in New Series of Television Concerts", https://content.time.com/time/subscriber/article/0,33009,871848,00.html, "John Charles Daly to Direct the Voice of America; Daly will direct Voice of America", "His Line Is U.S. News; John Charles Daly Jr", "John Daly Takes Oath As Voice of America Chief", "Daly Quits the Voice of America; Assails 'Executive Undercutting'; Charges Efforts to Reassign Senior Personnel While He Was Away on Tour", "George Foster Peabody Awards Board Members", "John Daly Weds Virginia Warren In a Methodist Church on Coast", "What's My Line? Appearing as panelists were Robert Q. Lewis, who had been a panelist on the original What's My Line?, and Pamela Mason, who had been a mystery guest. During his tenure, Hal Block sat in the final seat and began the practice of introducing Daly with a pun. Upon his departure, Bennett Cerf took over this position. In the British version they also mimed their profession, and if they defeated the panel they. When the panelists couldn't make a show famous celebrities would take their place. Long-standing 50s/60s late-night parlor game -- the ultimate in black-and-white sophistication and wit. He also had several television and movie guest appearances from the late 1940s to the mid-1960s, including an uncredited role in Bye Bye Birdie (as the reporter announcing the title character's induction into the Army) and as the narrator, in a mock documentary style, on the premiere episode of the rural comedy series Green Acres. The series also inspired a multitude of concurrent international versions and a syndicated U.S. revival in 1968 in which Daly did not participate. is the longest-running game show in the history of prime time network TV. Moderator John Daly in CBS publicity photo for What's My Line? They could also request a conference, in which they had a short time for open discussion of ideas about occupations or lines of questioning. [27] On more than one occasion, Daly "led the panel down the garden path" a favorite phrase used when an answer had proven misleading to the panelists. - 1955 - Episode 02. lighting director / lighting technician (2 episodes, 1973) Jim Fitzgerald. Soon, other panelists were asking this question as well. The first guest on the New York show (#75 in the production overall) was Pat Finch, who was the first guest on the first CBS episode. An audio-only portion of episode #079 from December 2, 1951 (only has part of Game 1 with Mrs. Virginia Hendershot as the Steam Shovel Operator from Bound Brook, NJ) exists. [40], Episode #397 (January 12, 1958) was a special Hollywood episode broadcast from CBS Television City (7800 Beverly Blvd, Los Angeles, CA). The first three seasons (19681971) originated from Studio 50, the home of the final year of the original series, but with a new, modern-design set. He was a vice president at ABC during the 1950s. The series has been seen on Game Show Network[63] at various times. If their question elicited a yes answer, they continued questioning. in Games, Music, Politics, Science, Television | July 30th, 2021 1 Comment. [3] This led to a job in 1950 as the host and moderator on a new panel show produced by GoodsonTodman, What's My Line? This is one of the inspiration for my own game show on YouTube called Interrogation (https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCdVdkPbFNHF97A-eZ_mOUzw). Line's sister show, I've Got a Secret, and later, the syndicated version of WML engaged in the practice of contestants demonstrating their talents. Youd just sit there and be yourself and do the best you could.. Alpha Video released a DVD containing four episodes on February 26, 2008. I recently saw this series again on "Game Show Network" and madly taped many of these classic episodes that instantly brought back fond memories of a time when something as minor as a silly little game show aimed for class. - Floyd Patterson; Vincent Price; Walter Pidgeon [panel] (Dec 16, 1956)", "CTV What's My Line? [15] The contestant's line was then revealed to the studio and home audiences, and Daly would tell the panel whether the contestant was salaried or self-employed, and from 1960 on, whether they dealt in a product or a service. Others are at the Library of Congress in Washington, D.C., where procedures to access them are more complicated. The syndicated edition had two regular panelists for its entire run, with comedian Soupy Sales joining the returning Arlene Francis. [60] In the process of viewing and editing the films for the special, they accidentally damaged or destroyed several kinescope films that spanned the entire run of the original series, including a few that did not make the final cut of the retrospective. If the panelists got it correct on the first try, the audience members received $5 and a year's supply of Turtle Wax. Directed by Paul Munroe (1950) Franklin Heller (1950-1967) Frank Satenstein Paul Alter(1957-1961) Ira Skutch Lloyd Gross (1968-1975 syndicated version) Presented by John Charles Daly Wally Bruner Larry Blyden Starring Arlene Francis Dorothy Kilgallen Louis Untermeyer Hal Block Bennett Cerf Steve Allen Fred Allen Soupy Sales But hell, I still enjoy watching the original Dick Tracy serials, so my critical judgment is highly suspect. Dick Cavett, in an early television appearance in Fred Allen's vacated chair in 1966, noted that the mystery guest was probably wondering who Cavett was. had yet to air in certain markets; by the fall of 1975, the last of these episodes had aired across the United States. Unsubscribe at any time. Cerf." On Fred Allen's death in 1956, Random House book publisher co-founder and humorist Bennett Cerf became the anchor panelist who would usually introduce Daly. An attempt at an eighth season did not get off the ground as not enough stations were willing to pick up the series for an additional year. Daly had always been the emergency mystery guest in case the scheduled guest was unable to appear on the live broadcast, but this had never occurred. As they had with the original series, Goodson-Todman went to ABC News to seek out a host, whose title had ceased to be that of "moderator," and hired Wally Bruner to take over for John Charles Daly. [citation needed] Non-celebrities include the lifelong Los Angeles-area resident who challenged the panel with her line, afterward reminiscing how 43 years earlier she had traveled to New York, where Arlene Francis identified her as a meter maid. On those occasions, to provide the audience an opportunity to see the guest play the game, the panelists and host would typically allow questioning to pass around at least once before coming up with the correct guess. The uncredited announcer introduced the first panelist, sometimes the left-most, sometimes the right-most. There have been a dozen international versions, radio versions, and a live stage version. In order to commemorate the show's 50th Anniversary at the time, this version was released by Endless Games in 2001. Five-day-a-week syndicated update of the longtime CBS game show, wherein celebrity panelists guess occupations of the contestants. 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