The tiles were done away with in favor of having blue walls with question marks painted on them, and the rest of the set adopted a red and yellow color palette. What's My Line? On the initial program of February 2, 1950, the panel comprised former New Jersey governor Harold Hoffman, columnist Dorothy Kilgallen, poet Louis Untermeyer, and psychiatrist Richard Hoffmann. was also broadcast on network radio for a short time. The uncredited announcer introduced the first panelist, sometimes the left-most, sometimes the right-most. If all four panelists failed, each member of the team won an additional bonus prize. Shaw's interest in Kilgallen was sparked while researching a book on Belli, Ruby's attorney. Those bulletins have been preserved on historical record album retrospectives and radio and television documentaries. The contestant entered by writing his or her name on a small sign-in board. - Season 10, Episode 49: EPISODE #476", "Image: 33_April_14_1963_662, (640 299 px)", "First Breadbox episode. by Ayun Halliday | Permalink | Comments (1) |. Daly was a member of the Peabody Awards Board of Jurors from 1966 to 1982. in Games, Music, Politics, Science, Television | July 30th, 2021 1 Comment. The syndicated edition had two regular panelists for its entire run, with comedian Soupy Sales joining the returning Arlene Francis. This was in addition to the maximum $50 (equal to $563 in 2021[36]) game winnings, which guests sometimes donated to charity. The closing credits of each prerecorded episode included an acknowledgment of the prerecorded status by the offscreen announcer. He accepted and shot a pilot shortly after What's My Line? [3] The show's announcer acknowledged this fact during the closing credits of every prerecorded episode. The unscripted urbane banter kept viewers tuning in. Also, the animated intro was done away with in favor of the show's announcer (usually Gould) offering a brief preview of one of the contestants' games. That practice continued until the beginning of the final season in 1974, when announcer Chet Gould began introducing the panelists and host Blyden at once, in a conventional fashion. Follow her@AyunHalliday. [9] The cast and crew began taking "Summer breaks" from the show in July 1961, through July 1967. Menu. It was seen by viewers from 1968 to 1975. Panelists were required to probe by asking only yes-no questions. 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. and its 1950s spinoff, I've Got a Secret, which resulted in noticeable changes from the original. [1][2], More than 700 episodes exist as kinescope recordings (filming a television screen in 16mm), which was the only way moving pictures and sound from spontaneous, unscripted television shows could be preserved on a long-term basis before the digital era. 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. 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. John Charles Patrick Croghan Daly[1][2] (February 20, 1914 February 24, 1991)[3] was an American journalist, host, radio and television personality, ABC News executive, TV anchor, and game show host, best known for his work on the CBS panel game show What's My Line? Jazz greatLouis Armstrongappeared on the show twice, in 1954 and then again in 1964, when he employed a successful technique of light monosyllabic responses to trick the same panelists who had identified him quickly on his initial outing. [8] In addition, he provided the voice of a Conelrad radio announcer on the May 18, 1954 broadcast of The Motorola Television Hour on ABC titled Atomic Attack, which showcases a story about a family in a New York City suburb dealing with the aftermath of an H-bomb attack fifty miles away. 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 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. A contestant won the top prize of $50 by giving ten no answers, or if time ran out, with Daly flipping all the cards. At the time of Blyden's death, a handful of new episodes of What's My Line? What's My Line? [54] The panelists also entered in the same manner as they had before with Soupy Sales (or the panelist occupying the seat farthest left when he was absent) coming out first and introducing the person sitting next to them, and continuing down the line to Arlene Francis (or whoever occupied her seat while she was absent), who would then introduce the host. In the 196263 season, the program was in competition with Howard K. Smith's News and Comment program on ABC News. Sometimes, two mystery guest rounds were played in an episode, with the additional round usually as the first round of the episode. [31], The program began with Daly and panel entering from off-stage as they were introduced. if you like our Facebook fanpage, you'll receive more articles like the one you just read! [62] CBS regularly recycled What's My Line? During his tenure, Hal Block sat in the final seat and began the practice of introducing Daly with a pun. Its not Van Clyburn, is it? Francis ventures a couple of minutes later. Once the original What's My Line? Movies. : TV's Most Famous Panel Show, to send a form letter response to fans who had written complaining about the late Bennett Cerf's failure to disappear, some saying the television stations were using poor taste. [citation needed] The first panelist would be introduced by the announcer following the show's introduction, and each panelist would introduce the next in turn, with the last introducing Daly. Released by Dot in 1955, audio recordings of eight "mystery guest" segments from the original Daly era can only be heard. At the time, syndication involved videotape-sharing among stations that aired a series, a practice referred to as "bicycling." Cerf also played a myriad of games with Daly's full name, John Charles Patrick Croghan Daly, reciting it correctly only a handful of times over the course of the series.[26]. [3], TV Guide ranked it #9 in its list of the 60 greatest game shows ever [5] and Time Magazine ranked it as one of the 100 "All-Time" TV shows ever.[6]. After its 17-year CBS run, 'Line' aired for another seven in syndication. What's My Line? Fred Allen was not replaced on a permanent basis, and for the majority of the show's network run, between 1956 and 1965, the panel consisted of Kilgallen, Cerf, Francis and a fourth guest panelist. Lost segments include one in which panelists tried to determine that a contestant was a lawyer. Daly would then usually ask where the guest lived and, with a woman, if she should be addressed as "Miss" or "Mrs." Early in the show's run, the panel was allowed to inspect contestants, studying their hands, or label on their suit or asking them to make a muscle. The Prime Time Access Rule was intended to permit local stations to produce news and public affairs programming, but instead many of them turned to programs like WML, as practically all stations outside the largest markets found it unprofitable to produce their own shows locally. In the case of the famous mystery guest each week, the panel sought to determine the identity of the celebrity. 2023 TV GUIDE, A FANDOM COMPANY. Sponsors were accorded the same exposure on the set as Stopette. This website uses cookies to improve your experience while you navigate through the website. [21] It ended in divorce in April 1959. Cerf." [citation needed] Later in the series, Daly would throw all the cards over with increasing frequency and arbitrariness (frequently to give a particularly interesting or worthy panelist the maximum available prize money), evidence the prize was secondary to game play. Steve Allen first posed this on January 18, 1953, and it was then refined over subsequent episodes. In late 1941, Daly transferred to New York City, where he became anchor of The World Today. Broadway actor Francis recalled: I got so much pleasure out of Whats My Line? There were no rehearsals. What's My Line? One of the first rotating sponsors, which actually came before Montenier's sale of Stopette to Helene Curtis (who continued to sponsor the program after the purchase and still promoted Stopette in their advertising), was the Remington Rand Corporation, who used their time to promote their line of electric shaver and computers such as the UNIVAC. Publisher Bennett Cerf replaced Untermeyer as a regular panelist in 1951, and comedian Steve Allen replaced Block in 1953. 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 ET. After August 27, the program was then broadcast live on CBS Radio on Wednesday nights at 8:00PM for 10 months, concluding July 1, 1953. - Hayley Mills; PANEL: Steve Allen, Joanna Barnes (Nov 28, 1965)", "List of Celebrity Guests from Stage version", "Fox TV Stations to Air Classic Game Shows From Buzzr TV's Massive Library - Hollywood Reporter", "What's My Line? One of the classic game shows (and one of the simplest), and the first hit for producers Mark Goodson and Bill Todman ('I've Got a Secret,' 'To Tell the Truth'). The first contestant on What's My Line? [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). (adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({}); What would the host and panelists of the classic primetime television game showWhats My Line? We accept PayPal, Venmo (@openculture), Patreon and Crypto! One of the most popular and longest running game shows in entertainment history featuring famous mystery guests. [3], After the Sunday-night series cancellation by CBS in 1967, it returned in a syndication package for local television stations that committed to airing it five days a week. A typical episode featured two standard rounds (sometimes a third, and very rarely a rushed fourth) plus one mystery guest round. CBS reportedly committed to air six episodes for its fall 1999 schedule. [48], The 876th and final CBS telecast of What's My Line? Mrs. Roosevelt was preceded by a bathtub salesman and a fellow involved in the manufacture of Bloodhound Chewing Tobacco, after which there was just enough time for a woman who wrote television commercials. When the panelists couldn't make a show famous celebrities would take their place. The game consisted of four panelists trying to guess the occupation of a guest contestant. (1968) officially released in Canada in English? and included audio from the mystery guest segment featuring Betty Grable from that now-lost episode. 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. 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. Get the best cultural and educational resources on the web curated for you in a daily email. Often Daly would need to clarify a potentially confusing question, but he had a penchant for amusingly wordy, long-winded replies that often left panelists more confused than before, which Danny Kaye once parodied as a panelist. Produced by Mark Goodson and Bill Todman for CBS, the show was initially called Occupation Unknown before deciding on the name What's My Line? - Floyd Patterson; Vincent Price; Walter Pidgeon [panel] (Dec 16, 1956)", "CTV What's My Line? Release Calendar Top 250 Movies Most Popular Movies Browse Movies by Genre Top Box Office Showtimes & Tickets Movie News India Movie Spotlight. [58] Just days after disbanding their technical crew, Mark Goodson and Bill Todman pitched the idea of a retrospective network special to celebrate the 25th anniversary of the program's CBS debut, called What's My Line at 25. Later on, you get a sense of what playing a jolly parlor game with Mrs. Roosevelt would have been like. We also use third-party cookies that help us analyze and understand how you use this website. (Daly did not work for CBS but for the producers of What's My Line?, Goodson-Todman Productions. In May 1967,[12][13] during the final year of What's My Line?, it was announced that Daly would become the director of the Voice of America after the show ended. Herbert W. Greeley. [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. "What's My Line?" was TV's most famous panel show. It was, and is, unparalleled in style, wit, and sophistication. 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. Unlike its predecessor, the syndicated What's My Line? [3] He appears on the famous "One Day in Radio" tapes of September 21, 1939, in which WJSV preserved its entire broadcast day for posterity. Full of surprises to hold a viewer's interest. As Daly occasionally noted, "Ten flips and they (the panel) are a flop!" Smith later took over Daly's former role as anchor of ABC Evening News. What's My Line? Cerf and Daly enjoyed a friendly feud from across the stage for the remainder of the history of the program. During the 1950s, Daly became the vice president in charge of news, special events, and public affairs, religious programs and sports for ABC and won three Peabody Awards. The producers considered the revival a merger of What's My Line? . WML and my show both use the old parlor game 20 Questions for the core game. What's My Line TV Series 1951-1964 30 m IMDb RATING 7.0 /10 67 YOUR RATING Rate Game-Show A panel of celebrities trying to guess what a person does for a living, or figure out who a mystery guest is. For the 197475 season, the show's set was changed. Panelist Arlene Francis stuck it out all 24 years. There have been a dozen international versions, radio versions, and a live stage version. By joining TV Guide, you agree to our Terms of Use and acknowledge the data practices in our Privacy Policy. [40][42] Meanwhile, the concurrent 19521953 Radio edition, at least during the CBS run, was heard live from CBS Studio Building 22 (49 E. 52nd St., NY). Although using first names at other points, Daly usually addressed using surnames when passing the questioning to a particular panelist. After the war, he was a lead reporter on CBS Radio's news/entertainment program CBS Is There (later revived for television as the Walter Cronkite-hosted series You Are There), which recreated the great events of history as if CBS correspondents were on the scene. [32] In addition, some unspooled film remained on the floor after the group's rented time at the facility ran out. In producing the special, the only existing master 16 millimeter prints of the original series kinescope films were removed from storage and brought to a Manhattan editing facility that Goodson-Todman Productions rented. CBS Broadcast Center, Manhattan, New York City, New York, USA. Mystery guest rounds were no longer scored and simply ended with a correct guess or when time ran out. 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? (For the first few telecasts, the contestants signed their names on an artist's sketch pad; but when the brightness of the studio lights made it difficult for the signatures to be seen clearly by the viewers, the white sketchpad was replaced by a black chalkboard.) The game ended when the panel was stumped or if a panelist placed the occupations with the right contestants. Soon, other panelists were asking this question as well. Following Daly's resignation, only one more episode of "Critique" was produced and broadcast, an April 1969 episode featuring The Doors as the musical guests. [19][20] The marriage resulted in two sons, John Neal Daly and John Charles Daly III, and a daughter, Helene Grant "Bunsy" Daly. [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. What's My Line (TV Series 1951-1964) cast and crew credits, including actors, actresses, directors, writers and more. is the longest-running game show in the history of prime time network TV. New versions of WML were planned as early as 1981, then in 1996, the show was going to be revived by a joint venture between All-American Television and Miramax Films (which also would have been Miramax's first foray into television game shows) as it was being described as "a new model" that would have blended the original features such as having a celebrity panel question contestants in an effort to guess their occupation and also having the panel blindfolded to guess the identity of a famous person, with contemporary "special effects" and "interactive twists." Each panelist had 20 seconds to take those occupation cards to the appropriate contestant (the ones who they thought had that occupation). at 25. A former CBS correspondent, Smith switched networks early in 1961, by which time Daly had already resigned from ABC. 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). Too bad it is not shown on a regular basis anymore. In 2016, episode #018, aired live on October 1, 1950, was discovered by a film archivist. 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. The set, designed by veteran Goodson-Todman art director Theodore Cooper, was predominantly blue and featured walls behind the panel and host areas tiled with illustrations representing various occupations. Following Olson's departure, a succession of guest announcers were used, including Wayne Howell, Dennis Wholey, Bob Williams, Jack Haskell and Chet Gould,[55] with Gould eventually taking over full-time in early 1973. What's My Line? In 1980, Mark Goodson-Bill Todman Productions, creators of What's My Line?, produced That's My Line which also highlighted the unusual occupations of ordinary people. [citation needed] As a result, only about ten episodes exist from the first two years of the series, including the first three broadcasts. aired daily on weekdays, each station airing the show did not air the same episode on a particular day. At various times, a regular panelist might take a vacation or be absent from an episode due to outside commitments. From 1950 to 1966, the game show was broadcast in black and white, as was typical of most game shows at the time. 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. TV Series 1968-1975 30 m IMDb RATING 7.1 /10 167 YOUR RATING Rate Family Game-Show Five-day-a-week syndicated update of the longtime CBS game show, wherein celebrity panelists guess occupations of the contestants. We find the free courses and audio books you need, the language lessons & educational videos you want, and plenty of enlightenment in between. Every episode between July 1952 and September 1967 existed for a long time in the archive of producers Mark Goodson and Bill Todman, but some of these were lost in 1975. Bennett Cerf appeared as a guest on an irregular basis until he died during production of the fourth season in 1971. 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. 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