That may be the only time in the history of the show that there were three female panelists the same night. Interestingly, this particular episode was never aired on GSN because the original master kinescope was lost and is not in the Goodson-Todman library but this backup kinescope copy which was originally made for Lucy herself I think did survive and that's why it's been part of so many Public Domain DVD releases of old game show episodes.
The hilarity that arises from the questioning for the gentleman who sells maternity clothes is a classic case though of how WML and other panel shows like this in the early 50s were not immune to the kind of rigging that was also prevalent in other game shows. In his book, Gil Fates admitted that in these early days of the show, they would often give their funny man on the panel (in this case Steve Allen) a list of questions for him to ask on one spot that would always be guaranteed to get a "yes" answer but in the process would be "going down the wrong track". At no time was Steve ever told what the occupation was, but it was a way of trying to milk things for laughs until finally at some point, one big question to complete the "wrong track" way of thinking would get a "no" and then the game could proceed "straight".
The ultimate proof of this quasi-rigging I saw when the EXACT SAME QUESTIONS that Steve used on one WML contestant in early 1954 for a contestant with the line "repairs zippers" were used once again ten months later on another panel show "The Name's The Same" where the object was to guess the name of a contestant which could be a thing and in this case was "A. Zipper." Gene Rayburn was the panelist in that case, asking the same questions with the same laughs and the same topper that got a "no" before the game proceeded.
When the uproar over the quiz show scandals broke out, the word immediately went down at Goodson-Todman to stop this scripted element of the show altogether. Even though it in no way involved rigging of game play to the detriment of the contestant, they didn't want the slightest suspicion to come over the operation any longer.
Interesting. I always wondered if some sort of knowledge was fed to a panelist. Sometimes it seemed a little blatant, at least to me.
Generally, they would do it for the second contestant, and always when Daly would be told to start the questioning with the resident funnyman of the show. This kind of feeding was never done with Arlene, Bennett or Dorothy since all of them, Dorothy in particular, was trying to win the game.
That WML ultimately lasted 11 years more without such tampering ahead of time proves how much the show never needed to go that route, though it did leave us admittedly with a lot of hilarious moments that sure *seemed* spontaneous (of course in the same tradition, almost all of the zingers you heard on "Hollywood Squares" were themselves scripted ahead of time with the celebs not told what the question was, but to be prepared to use a zinger when a question about so-and-so came up).
That was Margaret Truman as one of the panelists, and other than being Harry Truman's daughter, I am damned if I know why she was a celebrity of that era.
Because she embarked on a singing career during that time that got a lot of publicity but she was never particularly that great. There's the famous story of a Washington Post music critic giving her a negative review which prompted Truman, who was still President at the time, to write him a nasty letter that said as follows:
"I've just read your lousy review of Margaret's concert. I've come to the conclusion that you are an "eight ulcer man on four ulcer pay. It seems to me that you are a frustrated old man [NOTE-Humes was 34] who wishes he could have been successful. When you write such poppy-cock as was in the back section of the paper you work for it shows conclusively that you're off the beam and at least four of your ulcers are at work. Some day I hope to meet you. When that happens you'll need a new nose, a lot of beefsteak for black eyes, and perhaps a supporter below!"
For some reason, a lot of historians like to cite this as an example of Truman and his supposedly wonderful "give em' hell" style, but in all candor, it makes him come off as a lunatic. (Just try and imagine certain other presidents getting away with that!)
Because she embarked on a singing career during that time that got a lot of publicity but she was never particularly that great. There's the famous story of a Washington Post music critic giving her a negative review which prompted Truman, who was still President at the time, to write him a nasty letter that said as follows:
"I've just read your lousy review of Margaret's concert. I've come to the conclusion that you are an "eight ulcer man on four ulcer pay. It seems to me that you are a frustrated old man [NOTE-Humes was 34] who wishes he could have been successful. When you write such poppy-cock as was in the back section of the paper you work for it shows conclusively that you're off the beam and at least four of your ulcers are at work. Some day I hope to meet you. When that happens you'll need a new nose, a lot of beefsteak for black eyes, and perhaps a supporter below!"
For some reason, a lot of historians like to cite this as an example of Truman and his supposedly wonderful "give em' hell" style, but in all candor, it makes him come off as a lunatic. (Just try and imagine certain other presidents getting away with that!)
Irving Berlin used Margaret Truman in his musical "Call Me Madam." From time to time the main character (an ambassador, played by Ethel Merman) has phone calls with Truman that start with her saying "Hello, Harry?" During one of the calls she asks "How's the family?" Then she cries "You mean they have critics in Galesberg, Illinois?!"
However, Henry Mancini did appear on the show as a Mystery Guest (the 1968-75 version). Tiomkin and Mancini are probably the only film composers ever to appear on "What's My Line".
A note regarding the appeal of “What’s My Line”, which appears to be universal. The licensed German version ran as the longest-lasting quiz show on German television from 1955 to 89 (with only a three-year break), nation-wide and on prime time. From what I can see, it was entirely the same concept including set and props, with only a few rituals added. For instance, guests got the money for each “no” with a 5-deutschmarks coin put into a porcelain piggy bank, which made a characteristic sound.
Of course, the show appeared like a fossil during the later years, but still maintained a steady audience, mostly due to the delicate charms and wit of host and panelists.
The show was cancelled after the death of host Robert Lembke whose particular dry sense of humor was considered irreplaceable. Later there were several attempts to revive the show in modernized and/or ironizing forms, but none did really catch on.
The licensed German version ran as the longest-lasting quiz show on German television from 1955 to 89 (with only a three-year break), nation-wide and in prime time. From what I can see, it was entirely the same concept including set and props,
There was a very famous British version of the show, with identical format during the 1950s/'60s, which presented a lot of celeb mystery guests too, many from Hollywood. Nothing much on YouTube though:
Actually, this is interesting: 'not a mystery guest, but here's Eamonn Andrews, the UK moderator of the UK show, as a 'special' guest on the US original:
The licensed German version ran as the longest-lasting quiz show on German television from 1955 to 89 (with only a three-year break), nation-wide and in prime time. From what I can see, it was entirely the same concept including set and props,
There was a very famous British version of the show, with identical format during the 1950s/'60s, which presented a lot of celeb mystery guests too, many from Hollywood. Nothing much on YouTube though:
Actually, this is interesting: 'not a mystery guest, but here's Eamonn Andrews, the UK moderator of the UK show, as a 'special' guest on the US original:
Eamonn Andrews also appeared occasionally as a panelist on the U.S. version. And Moe Howard, one of The Three Stooges, appeared as a mystery guest on the Mexican version.
Eamonn Andrews also appeared occasionally as a panelist on the U.S. version.
He is also one of only three to fill in for John Daly as host, as Daly missed only four programs in the course of the run. The first time, Bennett Cerf foolishly attempted to guest host with bad results, the other times it was Andrews and Clifton Fadiman respectively.
Watching WHAT'S MY LINE on YouTube, and I'm hooked. I'm taking in the 1961-63 era of the show, and was surprised to learn that it had an "off" year in 1961 in that it did not make the top 30 shows.
