and included audio from the mystery guest segment featuring Betty Grable from that now-lost episode. is the longest-running game show in the history of prime time network TV. Fates explained that Cerf indeed had died, but television was practicing a time-honored tradition of celebrating one's work long after his death. Although the Harpo Marx segment was preserved via kinescope, and so were most live telecasts of What's My Line?, all of Daly's 15-minute live newscasts for the ABC network were lost due to wiping. During World War II, Daly covered front-line news from Europe and North Africa. As of April 12, 2008 the New York mystery guests have been George Wendt, Moby, Natalia Paruz and Tony Roberts. 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. 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). Trivia: Much of the first two seasons of "What's My Line" were destroyed by CBS, but by the 3rd season Goodson-Todman productions requested a kinescope of each episode. The phrase is it bigger than a breadbox went on to become a running joke, further contributing to the illusion that viewers had been invited to a fashionable cocktail party where glamorous New York scenemakers dressed up to play 21 Professional Questions with ordinary mortals and a celebrity guest. According to Fox's book, Killing Me Softly: My Life in Music, Bob Israel of Score Productions paid him a buyout fee of $1,000 (equal to $5,495 today[citation needed]) for the work. A portion of episode #097 (April 6, 1952), the full episode #533 (October 2, 1960), and the full milestone 800th episode (January 23, 1966) exist at the UCLA Film and Television Archive. The second version, based on the Bruner/Blyden era, was released by Whitman in 1969. He assumed the position on September 20, 1967,[14] but lasted only until June 6, 1968, when he resigned over a claim that Leonard H. Marks, his superior at the U.S. Information Agency, had been making personnel changes behind Daly's back.[15]. is known for its attention to manners and class. The ultimate or penultimate round of an episode involved blindfolding the panel for a celebrity guest appearance (originally called "mystery challengers" by Daly) whom the panel had to identify by name, rather than occupation. Part One Season 2 episode 9 Air date November 17, 1997 Written by Howard Gordon Marti Noxon Directed by David Solomon Length 42 minutes Cast Starring Sarah Michelle Gellar Buffy Nicholas Brendon Xander Alyson Hannigan Willow Charisma Carpenter Cordelia David Boreanaz Angel Anthony Stewart Head Giles Guest starring 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? Allow us to kick things off on a Surreal Note with Mystery Guest Salvador Dali, after whichyou can browse chronological playlists as you see fit: Salvador Dal Gets Surreal with 1950s America: Watch His Appearances on Whats My Line? Panelists were required to probe by asking only yes-no questions. It was during the run of the syndicated version that Woody Allen parodied What's My Line? Panelists and guests who appeared on the original TV versions and on the stage version include Shelley Berman, Lee Meriwether, radio commentator Michael Jackson, Jayne Meadows, Nanette Fabray, Joanna Barnes, Julie Newmar, Margaret O'Brien, and Marty Ingels. However, according to Miramax TV president Billy Campbell, the deal crumbled because the network decided the show was too costly and ambitious. In addition, the panelists were simply referred to by name and only their first names were displayed in front of them. Daly was the first national correspondent to report the attack on Pearl Harbor and the death of Franklin D. Roosevelt. Johnny Olson continued as announcer until a short time into the 197273 season, when he departed for California to begin his tenures as announcer of the revivals of The Price Is Right (which he continued to do until his passing in 1985) and I've Got a Secret (1972-73). - Full Cast & Crew 1950 -2022 CBS Reality, Family, Comedy, Game Show TVG Watchlist Where to Watch One of the classic game shows (and one of the simplest), and the first hit for. (In the first episode, the mystery guest was New York Yankees shortstop Phil Rizzuto. 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]. [40], At least by episode #034 (January 21, 1951),[41] the show moved to CBS Studio 59 (Mansfield Theatre, later renamed the Brooks Atkinson Theatre in 1960, 256W. 47th St., NY), and stayed there until Episode #516, June 5, 1960. Daly had received many letters over the years asking him to fill that role; until the finale he never could, because Daly served as the "emergency mystery guest", in case the scheduled celebrity failed to show on the live program. [32] An April 1967 episode featuring Candice Bergen as the mystery guest was lost in its entirety, as was a June 1967 episode featuring both Betty Grable and F. Lee Bailey. The game consisted of four panelists trying to guess the occupation of a guest contestant. As with Secret, contestants frequently demonstrated their skill or product after the game. After its 17-year CBS run, 'Line' aired for another seven in syndication. Once the original What's My Line? Daily, Andy Dick, Paul Goebel, Danny Goldman, Annabelle Gurwitch, Mariette Hartley, Elaine Hendrix, Marty Ingels, Cathy Ladman, David Lander, Kate Linder, Ann Magnuson, Jayne Meadows, Lee Meriwether, Patt Morrison, Rick Overton, Jimmy Pardo, Lisa Jane Persky, Nancy Pimental, Greg Proops, Mink Stole, Nicole Sullivan, Marcia Wallace, Matt Walsh, Len Wein, Wil Wheaton, Gary Anthony Williams, Debra Wilson, April Winchell, and Andy Zax. This version became a staple of local stations' afternoon and early evening schedules, especially from the 197172 season onward, when the FCC forced networks to cede one half-hour to their affiliates. As he wrote in his book, Fates knew, but did not tell viewers, about the production costs that would have gone to waste had his company acceded to the demands, some coming from station managers, to scrap the Cerf videotapes.[57]. if you like our Facebook fanpage, you'll receive more articles like the one you just read! The amount of the prize was tallied by Daly who flipped up to ten cards on his desk. Dollar signs for "no" answers were replaced by sequential numbers. [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. It also included a segment in which Vint Cerf's son Bennett (named after the panelist) appeared as a guest. See production, box office & company info. game show, shortly before both finally returned to television in triumph with The Joker's Wild. [40][44], Episode #323 (August 12, 1956), in conjunction with the 1956 Democratic National Convention, was a special Chicago episode broadcast from the studios of CBS owned-and-operated WBBM-TV (630 N. McClurg Ct., Chicago, IL). aired daily on weekdays, each station airing the show did not air the same episode on a particular day. 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. Episode summary", "Summary show with contestant who made breadboxes", "The Games People Played in a Simpler Time", "What's My Line? From 1950 to 1966, the game show was broadcast in black and white, as was typical of most game shows at the time. [17] He spent most of the 1980s as a frequent forum moderator for the American Enterprise Institute, a conservative think tank. This is the version of this classic game show that I grew up with. We accept PayPal, Venmo (@openculture), Patreon and Crypto! Were hoping to rely on our loyal readers rather than erratic ads. All original series shows were recorded via kinescope onto silver nitrate film, but networks in the early 1950s sometimes destroyed such recordings to recover the silver content from the film. [citation needed]. [19][20] The marriage resulted in two sons, John Neal Daly and John Charles Daly III, and a daughter, Helene Grant "Bunsy" Daly. The new color episodes were preserved only with black-and-white kinescopes, however, and even several of those from 1967 were lost. The show lasted 17 years, with Daly hosting all but four episodes of the weekly series. 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. Panelists have included Jonathan Ames, Joy Browne, Stephanie D'Abruzzo, Frank DeCaro, Michael Riedel, and original TV version veterans Betsy Palmer and Julia Meade. What's My Line? Daly's closing line on the ABC newscasts was "Good night, and a good tomorrow." 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. - Season 5, Episode 4: EPISODE #174", "Audio of Hawkins interview with Cerf from Youtube", "What's My Line? What's My Line? Mystery guests have included Ed Begley Jr., Stephen Bishop, Mr. Blackwell, LeVar Burton, Brett Butler, Jos Canseco, Drew Carey, Andy Dick, Michael and Kitty Dukakis, Hector Elizondo, Nanette Fabray, Peter Falk, Caitlyn Jenner, Larry King, Kathy Kinney, Bruno Kirby, Tara Lipinski, Lisa Loeb, Shelley Long, Leonard Maltin, Rose Marie, Wink Martindale, Sally Struthers, Rip Taylor, Judy Tenuta, Alan Thicke, Dick Van Patten, Lindsay Wagner, Wil Wheaton, Noah Wyle, and Sean Young.[61]. One of his most memorable days as host of NBC's Today Show was when Harpo Marx was a guest promoting his book Harpo Speaks. Although using first names at other points, Daly usually addressed using surnames when passing the questioning to a particular panelist. Funded by the National Endowment for the Humanities, the Old Dominion Foundation (later the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation), and the Louis Calder Foundation (paper industry leader), Critique was originally scheduled for 26 weekly programs. TV Series 1973-1974 IMDb RATING 7.4 /10 12 YOUR RATING Rate Game-Show Add a plot in your language Creators Mark Goodson Bill Todman Stars David Jacobs Isobel Barnett Kenneth Williams See production, box office & company info Add to Watchlist Episodes 23 The contestant entered by writing his or her name on a small sign-in board. [citation needed] As a result, only about ten episodes exist from the first two years of the series, including the first three broadcasts. [citation needed] At the time, this was a very rare instance of a television personality working on two different US broadcast TV networks simultaneously. "What's My Line?" was TV's most famous panel show. Sponsors were accorded the same exposure on the set as Stopette. Cerf and Daly enjoyed a friendly feud from across the stage for the remainder of the history of the program. He was F. Lee Bailey. + What's My Line? The color composition of the What's My Line? Steve Allen: Is it bigger than a bread box? 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