What's My Line?

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What's My Line?

Show logo from the final syndicated season (1974–1975).
Format Game show
Presented by John Charles Daly (1950–1967)
Wally Bruner (1968–1972)
Larry Blyden (1972–1975)
Starring Arlene Francis (1950–1975)
Dorothy Kilgallen (1950–1965)
Louis Untermeyer (1950–1951)
Hal Block (1951–1953)
Bennett Cerf (1951–1971)
Steve Allen (1953–1954)
Fred Allen (1954–1956)
Soupy Sales (1968–1975)
Country of origin  United States
No. of episodes 876 (1950–1967)
1,315 (1968–1975)
Production
Producer(s) Mark Goodson
Bill Todman
Running time 30 minutes with commercials
Broadcast
Original channel CBS
Syndicated
Original run February 2, 1950 – September, 1975
Chronology
Related shows I've Got a Secret

What's My Line? is a weekly panel game show which ran for eighteen seasons from 1950 to 1967 whose objective was to guess the unusual occupations of contestants. It is the longest-running game show in the history of prime time network television. Hosted by John Charles Daly and with panelists Dorothy Kilgallen, Arlene Francis and Bennett Cerf What's My Line? won three Emmy Awards for "Best Quiz or Audience Participation Show," in 1952, 1953 and 1958 and Golden Globe for Best TV Show in 1962.[1][2]

In 1968 it returned in syndication as a daily production which ran until 1975. There have been several international versions, radio versions and a live stage version.

Contents

[edit] Original CBS series (1950–1967)

Produced by Mark Goodson and Bill Todman for CBS television was initially called "Occupation Unknown” .[3] The original series, which was usually broadcast live, debuted on Thursday, February 2, 1950 at 8:00 p.m. ET. After airing alternate Wednesdays, then alternate Thursdays, finally on October 1, 1950 it had settled into its weekly Sunday 10:30 p.m. ET slot where it would remain until the end of its network run on September 3, 1967.

[edit] Hosts and panelists

The original series was hosted by veteran radio and television newsman John Charles Daly. Eamonn Andrews (host of the British version)[4], Clifton Fadiman[5][6], and Bennett Cerf[7] substituted on the four occasions Daly was unavailable.

The show featured a panel of four celebrities who questioned the contestants. For the majority of the show’s run the panel consisted of Random House publisher and co-founder Bennett Cerf, actress Arlene Francis, columnist Dorothy Kilgallen and a fourth guest panelist. During the show’s inception the panel consisted of Kilgallen, Francis, poet Louis Untermeyer and comedy writer Hal Block with Cerf replacing Untermeyer in 1951 and comedian Steve Allen replacing Block in 1953. Steve Allen left to launch The Tonight Show in 1954 and was replaced by comedian Fred Allen who remained on the panel until his death in 1956. After Kilgallen’s death in 1965 the two remaining seats on the panel were never filled regularly again. The most frequent guest panelist was Arlene Francis' husband Martin Gabel, who appeared 112 times.

Regular announcers included Lee Vines (1950–1955), Hal Simms (1955–1961), Ralph Paul (1961), and Johnny Olson (1961–1967).

[edit] Gameplay

"What’s My Line" was a guessing game in which the panel tried to determine the line, or in the case of a famous "mystery guest", the identity of the contestant. The rules of the game required panelists to probe by only asking questions which could be answered “yes” or “no”. A contestant won by receiving ten "no" answers; as Daly occasionally noted, "10 flips and they (the panel) are a flop!". The contestant also won if time ran out with Daly then flipping all the cards. Each typical episode featured two standard rounds, sometimes a third, very rarely a fourth, and one mystery guest round.

[edit] Standard rounds

For the first few seasons, the contestant would first meet the panel up close, for a casual “inspection”, and then were allowed one initial "wild guess”. However beginning in 1955 Daly simply greeted, then seated the contestant and they instead met the panel at the end of the game. The contestant's line was then revealed to the studio and television audiences, and Daly would tell the panel whether the contestant was salaried or self-employed, and later in the series, dealt in a product or service.

A panelist chosen by Daly would begin the game. If they received a “yes” answer they continued, but if they received a “no” questioning passed to the next panelist and $5 was added to the prize tallied on cards Daly would flip over. Daly explained, at the end of the show's run, that the maximum payout of $50 ensured the game was played only for enjoyment, and there could never even be the appearance of impropriety. Later in the series, Daly would throw all the cards over with increasing frequency and arbitrariness; evidence the prize was secondary to gameplay.

Panelists had the option of passing to the next panelist and they could also request a "conference" in which they had a short time to openly discuss ideas about occupations or lines of questioning. Panelists adopted some basic binary search strategies, beginning with broad questions, such as whether the contestant worked for a profit-making or non-profit organization, or whether the product was alive (in the animal sense), worn, or ingested. To increase the probability of “yes” answers they would often phrase questions in the negative starting with "Is it something other than..." or "Can I rule out..."

The show popularized the phrase, "Is it bigger than a breadbox?" first posed by Steve Allen on January 18, 1953 then refined over subsequent episodes. Soon, other panelists were asking this question as well.[8][9] On one occasion the guest was a man who made breadboxes. It was correctly guessed by Steve Allen after Kilgallen asked "Is it bigger than a breadbox" and Daly could not restrain his laughter.[10]

[edit] Mystery guest rounds

See also: List of mystery guests

The final round of an episode involved blindfolding the panel for a celebrity "mystery guest" (originally called "mystery challengers" by Daly), who the panel had to identify by name, rather than occupation. Differing from standard rounds panelists were limited one question at a time even if they received a “yes” answer (a difference initiated with the April 17 1995 show.) Mystery guests usually came from the entertainment world, either stage, screen, television or sports. When Mystery guests came from other walks of life, or non-famous contestants who the panel but not the studio audience might know, they were usually played as standard rounds. However, the panel might be blindfolded, or the contestant might sign in simply as "X", depending on whether they would be known by name or sight.

Mystery guests would usually attempt to conceal their identities with disguised voices, much to the amusement of the studio audience. According to Cerf, the panel would often determine the identity of the mystery guest fairly quickly, as they knew which celebrities were in town; particularly early in the series before the practice of disguising one's voice was employed. To provide the audience an opportunity to see the guest play the game for a while, the cast would typically let the questioning go around at least once before they guessed who it was.[11]

Sometimes, two mystery guest rounds were played in an episode, with the additional round as the first round of the episode.

[edit] Style

What's My Line? is known for its attention to manners and class. In its early years, business suits and street dresses were worn by the host and panelists, but by 1953, the men wore black suits with bow ties (a few guests in fact wore tuxedos) while female panelists donned formal gowns and often gloves.[12] Exceptions to this dress code were on the broadcasts immediately following the deaths of Fred Allen[13] and Dorothy Kilgallen[14], in which the male cast members wore straight neckties and the women ordinary dresses instead of evening gowns.

The game followed a line of formality and adherence to rules. Although using first names at other points, Daly usually addressed using surnames when passing the questioning to a particular panelist. He would also amiably chide the panel[15] if they began a conference without first asking him.

However, even with such formality, Daly was not above trading bon mots with the panelists during the game and Bennett Cerf would often attempt to make a pun of their name. Occasionally Daly would amiably one-up Cerf if he felt the pun was of lesser quality. 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.

Often Daly would need to clarify a potentially confusing question, but his penchant for verbose replies often left panelists more confused than before (which Danny Kaye once parodied as a panelist). On more than one occasion, Daly "led the panel down the garden path," a favorite phrase used when the panel was misled by an answer.

[edit] Production practices

[edit] On-camera

When the series began, both the panelists and host began the program in their seats. 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. Hal Block sat in the final seat during his tenure and began the practice of introducing Daly with a pun. Upon his departure, Bennett Cerf took over this position and expanded these introductions, often telling long jokes which he tied to Daly in some way. In 1954, responding to letters asking what panelists looked like away from their seats, panel and host entered from off-stage as they were introduced.[16][page needed]

To begin a round, Daly would invite the contestant to "come in and sign in, please" which by 1960 evolved to the more familiar "enter and sign in, please." They would write their name on a small sign-in board. Daly would usually ask where the guest lived and with women 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.

While ostensibly a game show, if there was time, it was also was an opportunity to conduct interviews. However, despite frequent requests by the panel (particularly Arlene Francis) there were very rarely demonstrations, unlike on sister show I've Got a Secret and the show’s later syndicated reincarnation. According to executive producer Gil Fates, Daly was not fond of this practice.[16][page needed][dubious – discuss]

[edit] Sponsors

After the first four episodes, the show gained its initial sponsor: Stopette spray deodorant made by Jules Montenier, Inc. This involved featuring the product in the show's opening, on the front of the panel's desk, above the sign-in board, and on Daly’s scorecards. Bennett Cerf explained that Dr. Montenier was ultimately ruined by his refusal to abandon or share sponsorship as the show entered new markets and became too expensive.[17][18] After Dr. Montenier sold Stopette to Helene Curtis,[19] the series was sponsored by a variety of companies which were either regular or rotating. Sponsors were accorded the same exposure on the set as Stopette. Near the end of its run, sponsors would be introduced in the opening title and given commercials during the show, but would not be displayed on the set.

[edit] Behind the scenes

Unknown to the public, mystery guests were paid $500 as an appearance fee, whether they won or lost the game. This was in addition to the maximum $50 game winnings, which guests sometimes donated to charity. Guest panelists were paid $750 as an appearance fee. The regular panelists were under contract and were paid "much more," according to Fates.[20] Bennett Cerf explained that when he became a permanent member of the program, he was paid $300 per week, and by the end of the series, they were being paid "scandalous" amounts of money.[21][22]

[edit] The final CBS network show

CBS announced in early 1967 that a number of game shows, including What's My Line?, were to be cancelled at the end of the season. Bennett Cerf said that the network decided that game shows were no longer suitable for prime time, and that the news was broken by the New York Times before anyone involved with the show was notified.[23]

The 876th and final CBS telecast of What's My Line? aired on September 3, 1967; it was highlighted by clips from past telecasts, a visit by the show's first contestants, 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. Mark Goodson, Bill Todman and Johnny Olson appeared on-camera as well.[24][25][26]

[edit] Syndicated revival (1968–1975)

With the end of the original What's My Line? Goodson-Todman struck a deal with CBS' syndication arm (now Viacom) to syndicate a new weekday videotaped edition of What's My Line?. This version became a staple of local stations' afternoon and early evening schedules, especially from the 1971-72 season onward, when the FCC forced networks to cede one half-hour to their affiliates. The Prime Time Access Rule was intended to permit local stations to produce news and public affairs programming, but instead they turned to programs like WML, as practically all stations outside the largest markets found it unprofitable.

Wally Bruner was the original host and was succeeded by Larry Blyden in 1972. Arlene Francis and comedian Soupy Sales were regular panelists; Bennett Cerf continued to make frequent appearances. Other panelists included Alan Alda, his father Robert Alda, Joanna Barnes, Dr. Joyce Brothers, Bert Convy, Joel Grey, Elaine Joyce, Ruta Lee, Meredith MacRae, Henry Morgan, Gene Rayburn, Nipsey Russell, Gene Shalit and Dana Valery.

The revival was considered by producers a merger of “What's My Line?” and its 1950s spinoff “I've Got a Secret”. As with Secret, contestants frequently demonstrated their skill or product after their game ended, often with the help of the panelists which came to dominate over the game element. There were other changes from the original as well. Hosts and panelists discontinued the formal dress of the CBS years in favor of street clothes. Dollar signs for "no" answers were eventually removed and replaced by sequential numbers 1–10. Mystery guest rounds were no longer scored and simply ended with a correct guess or time ran out. A new game, "Who's Who," was played on occasion; four audience members stood on stage with four occupations indicated on cards and panelists would attempt to place the occupations with the contestants.

The color animated intro of the final CBS season was reused for the new version's main title sequence. The set, designed by veteran Goodson-Todman art director Ted Cooper, was predominantly blue and featured walls behind panel and host areas tiled with illustrations representing various occupations. The final 1974–1975 season used a set designed by Ron Baldwin and was red and yellow with blue walls with scattered question marks.

Johnny Olson continued as announcer until 1972 after which a succession of guest announcers were used including Wayne Howell, Dennis Wholey, Chet Gould, Bob Williams and Jack Haskell, with Gould eventually taking over full-time in early 1973.

In 1971 Bennett Cerf died during the show’s run. Stations continued to air shows where he was a panelist resulting in confusion among some fans, who were seeing "new" episodes with Cerf, long after hearing about his death. At the time, syndication involved tape sharing between stations airing series, with some having to air episodes later than others. This prompted producer Gil Fates, who recalled the situation in his book, What's My Line?: TV's Most Famous Panel Show, to send a form letter to fans who had written complaining about the late Bennett Cerf's failure to disappear, some saying the television stations were using poor taste. Fates explained that Cerf indeed had died, but television was practicing a time-honored tradition of celebrating one's work long after their passing. 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 tapes.[27]

The Syndicated version ran for 1,315 episodes. In the fall of 1975 the final tapings aired in most parts of North America.

Larry Blyden, informed of the program's termination was offered a job hosting a new Goodson-Todman game show. He was killed in a car accident in Morocco at the age of 49, a few weeks after taping the pilot.

New versions of WML were planned as early as 1981, and in recent years Harry Anderson was announced as host of a 2000 revival. None of these revivals ever made it to air. By comparison, Line's sister shows Truth and Secret have been revived several times.

[edit] Episode status

All of the original series' episodes were recorded via kinescope onto film. A practice sometimes utilized by networks in the early 1950s was to destroy the film used for these recordings to recover the silver content for profit.[28] CBS regularly profited from What's My Line? kinescopes through this practice until July 1952, when Mark Goodson and Bill Todman, having realized it was occurring, offered to pay the network for a film of every broadcast.[citation needed] As a result, only about ten episodes exist from the first two years of the series, including the first three broadcasts.

The existing kinescope films (now digitized) have subsequently rerun on television. The series has been seen on GSN[29] at various times.

[edit] 25th anniversary special

In early 1975, with production of the syndicated version of the series on break, the show's staff went through the annual process of selling the syndication rights to TV stations across North America. That year, there were not enough takers to justify further production. [30] Just days after disbanding their technical crew, Goodson and Todman pitched the idea of a retrospective network special to celebrate the 25th anniversary of the program's CBS debut. The programming department at CBS turned down the idea[31] but ABC bought it. The special was broadcast by ABC on May 28, 1975, and is currently available for viewing at The Paley Center for Media.

In producing the special, the only existing records of the original series on kinescope film were removed from storage and brought to a Manhattan editing facility that Goodson-Todman Productions rented. There, company employees Gil Fates, Bob Bach, Pamela Usdan and Bill Egan[32] worked round-the-clock for three days to compile the 90-minute special under deadline pressure from ABC network official Bob Shanks.[33] In the process of viewing and editing the films for the special, they accidentally damaged or destroyed several kinescope films which spanned the entire run of the original series, including a few that did not make the final cut of the retrospective.[16][page needed] In addition, some unspooled film remained on the floor after the group's rented time at the facility ran out.[16][page needed] 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. Other episodes sustained only partial damage, such as a 1965 episode that is mainly damaged during the mystery guest appearance of Marian Anderson.[citation needed]

[edit] DVD releases

Alpha Video released a DVD containing 4 episodes on February 26, 2008. This is an unofficial release of public domain episodes, and it's unclear if an official release will occur. [34]

[edit] Other U.S. versions

[edit] U.S. Radio (1952–1953)

A weekly American CBS radio version of What's My Line? was produced from May 20, 1952 to July 1, 1953. The regular panelists (Dorothy Kilgallen, Bennett Cerf, Arlene Francis, and Hal Block) along with host John Daly premiered the radio version of their show on May 20, 1952 (a Tuesday) while still performing the Sunday telecast.

The debut mystery guest, in her only What's My Line? appearance, was Marlene Dietrich. Marlon Brando made his only What's My Line? appearance on December 3. The radio show continued through the "Hal Block era" into the "Steve Allen era" while once moving its broadcast to Wednesdays. The final radio broadcast was July 1, 1953. Some of these episodes are easily available to visitors to The Paley Center for Media in New York City and Beverly Hills, CA. Others are at the Library of Congress in Washington, D.C., where procedures to access them are more complicated.

[edit] Live stage version (2004–present)

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? — Live On Stage. The Los Angeles version of the live show went on hiatus when van Straaten relocated to New York, then resumed in June 2007.

The production debuted in New York at the Barrow Street Theatre on March 24, 2008 for an announced run of six shows. The show is now an authorized production as it is licensed by FremantleMedia, the owners of "What's My Line?". As of April 12, 2008 the New York Mystery Guests have been George Wendt, Moby, and Tony Roberts. Panelists have included Michael Riedel, Stephanie D'Abruzzo, Frank DeCaro, Jonathan Ames, and original TV version veterans Betsy Palmer and Julia Meade. 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.

In Los Angeles, panelists have included Carlos Alazraqui, Alison Arngrim, E.G. Daily, Andy Dick, Paul Goebel, Danny Goldman, Annabelle Gurwitch, Mariette Hartley, Elaine Hendrix, Marty Ingels, Cathy Ladman, David L. 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.

Mystery guests have included Ed Begley, Jr., Stephen Bishop, Mr. Blackwell, LeVar Burton, Brett Butler, José Canseco, Drew Carey, Andy Dick, Michael and Kitty Dukakis, Hector Elizondo, Nanette Fabray, Peter Falk, Bruce 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.[35]

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. Usually when such a veteran appears, there is a pristine-quality DVD screening of the original kinescope on a plasma screen. 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. A clip from the kinescope was played.

In addition, the show has featured relatives of the original cast: Jill Kollmar (daughter of Dorothy Kilgallen and Richard Kollmar), Nina Daly (daughter of John Charles Daly), and Vinton Cerf (co-inventor of the Internet and distant cousin of Bennett Cerf). It also included a segment in which Vint Cerf's son Bennett (named after the panelist) appeared as a guest.

[edit] International versions

[edit] Brazil

The Brazilian version of What's My Line? was called Adivinha o que ele Faz? which translates from Portuguese to English as Guess What He Does? In 1956, the host of the Brazilian version, Heloísa Helena, appeared as a contestant on the American version, on Episode #341 on December 16, 1956.[36]

[edit] Canada (French-speaking)

The French Canadian version of What's My Line? was called Chacun son Metier,[37] which translates from French to English as To Each His Job or To Each His Trade. In 1959, the host of the French Canadian version, Louis Morisset, appeared as a contestant on the American version, on Episode #448[38] on January 18, 1959. This alternate Canadian version was aired in Canada from 1954 to 1959. Canadian panelist Nicole Germain appeared as a contestant in the first round on the American version on Episode #242[39] on January 23, 1955 and sat in on the panel next to Bennett Cerf for the second round.

[edit] Germany

The German version was called Was bin ich?[40][41] which translates as What am I? and was hosted by Bavarian Robert Lembke. The show ran from 1955 to 1958 and again from 1961 until Lembke unexpectedly died in 1989. It was broadcast on the TV station ARD (First German Television). Lembke, at that time head of the news division of the state-owned Bavarian Broadcasting Establishment Bayerischer Rundfunk (BR), bought the rights during a visit to the English BBC in 1954

The best-known panel consisted of district attorney Hans Sachs, actress Marianne Koch, TV announcers Annette von Aretin and Anneliese Fleyenschmidt, and Guido Baumann, head of the Swiss radio and TV station DRS. Guests received 5 Deutschmarks (DM) for each "no" answer and the panel was allowed 10 "no" answers. Prize money was given in a porcelain Piggy Bank, and Lembke would insert a 5 DM coin into the Bank's slot for each "no", producing a loud and characteristic sound. Related to this is Lembke's most famous line "Welches Schweinderl hättens denn gern?" ("Which piglet would you like to have?", spoken in Lembke's strong Bavarian accent), which referred to differently colored Piggy Banks.

A new version of the show aired weekly on Kabel 1 from 1999–2005.[42] The show was hosted by Björn Hergen Schimpf. The panel consisted of entertainer/comedians Herbert Feuerstein and Tanja Schumann, talk-show host Vera Int-Veen and former German minister of labour and social affairs Norbert Blüm.

[edit] South Korea

In 1963, a panelist on the South Korean version, Miss Keun Oh Kim, appeared as a contestant on the American version, on Episode #674 on July 28, 1963. The South Korean version began in 1956, and was owned by the South Korean government and run as a non-profit organization.[43]

[edit] Venezuela

The Venezuelan version of What's My Line? was called Mi Trabajo y Yo which roughly translates from Spanish to English as My Job and I. In 1961, the director and moderator of the Venezuelan version, Jacques Lemoine, appeared as a contestant on the American version, on Episode #594 on December 24, 1961.[44]

[edit] United Kingdom

BBC What's My Line? panelists

A British version[45] of What's My Line? first ran from 16 July 1951 to May 1963 on BBC1.

Eamonn Andrews hosted the original British series, except in the first episode where the host was Gilbert Harding. In the UK, the host's position was called the "chairman." Panellists on the original show included Elizabeth Allan, Lady Isobel Barnett, Katie Boyle, Jerry Desmonde, Gilbert Harding, Barbara Kelly, Ghislaine Alexander, Cyril Fletcher, Marghanita Laski and David Nixon.[46]

At this time, there was also a radio version for British listeners on Radio Luxembourg. As Andrews and Harding had exclusive contracts with the BBC, their places were taken by Peter Martyn (later Bernard Braden) and Richard Attenborough. David Nixon, Barabara Kelly and Lady Isobel Barnett also appeared.

From 23 August 1973 to 18 May 1974 the show aired on BBC2, hosted by David Jacobs with regular panellists William Franklyn, Lady Isobel Barnett, Kenneth Williams and Anna Quayle (later replaced by Nanette Newman).[47]

Eamonn Andrews returned to host a revival of the series on ITV on 26 March 1984 with John Benson as announcer. This version aired in prime time and although mainly recorded, some episodes were screened live. Taped episodes opened with "Tonight from London it's time for What's My Line" and live with "Live from London...". Regular panellists included Angela Rippon, Ernie Wise, George Gale, Jeffrey Archer, Barry Sheen and novelist Jilly Cooper. After Andrews died in 1987, actress Penelope Keith assumed the role of chairperson. The programme aired for a further two series from 1989 to 28 August 1990 with Angela Rippon as host. These Keith and Rippon episodes were taped and screened in the ITV daytime schedule.

The show was revived by ITV from 19 September 1994 to 3 December 1996 hosted by Emma Forbes. A special one-off edition hosted by Hugh Dennis was produced for BBC Four in 2005, as part of a season about British culture in the decade following World War II along with an episode of the original series (from 5 October 1957).

[edit] See also

[edit] References

[edit] notes

  1. ^ "List of all Awards won". http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0042168/awards. Retrieved on 2009-7-5. 
  2. ^ "Golden Globe won". http://www.goldenglobes.org/browse/film/25780. Retrieved on 2009-07-05. 
  3. ^ Weiner, Ed; Editors of TV Guide (1992). The TV Guide TV Book: 40 Years of the All-Time Greatest Television Facts, Fads, Hits, and History. New York: Harper Collins. p. 174. ISBN 0-06-096914-8. 
  4. ^ "Episode #47 summary from TV.com". http://www.tv.com/What%27s+My+Line%253F/EPISODE+%23470/episode/96848/summary.html. Retrieved on 2009-07-05. 
  5. ^ "Episode #410 summary from TV.com". http://www.tv.com/What%27s+My+Line%253F/EPISODE+%23410/episode/95891/summary.html. Retrieved on 2009-07-05. 
  6. ^ "Episode #411 summary from TV.com". http://www.tv.com/What%27s+My+Line%253F/EPISODE+%23411/episode/95893/summary.html. Retrieved on 2009-07-05. 
  7. ^ "Episode #382 summary from TV.com". http://www.tv.com/What%27s+My+Line%253F/EPISODE+%23382/episode/95768/summary.html. Retrieved on 2009-07-05. 
  8. ^ "First Breadbox episode. Summary at IMDB". http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0746355/. Retrieved on 2009-05-10. 
  9. ^ "First mention of "breadbox". Episode summary". http://www.tv.com/What%27s+My+Line%253F/EPISODE+%23138/episode/93118/summary.html. Retrieved on 2009-05-10. 
  10. ^ "Video of Man who Made Breadboxes". http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=heMsqlCe5zk. Retrieved on 2009-05-10. 
  11. ^ Cerf, Bennett (session 16). Interview with Robbin Hawkins. Notable New Yorkers. Columbia University Libraries Oral History Research Office. New York City, New York. 1968-01-23. Retrieved on 2008-04-27. at p.744, 54:37.
  12. ^ Terry Teachout, The Games People Played in a Simpler Time, The New York Times, October 28, 2001
  13. ^ "Video WML after Allen's death". http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eHvYzKFV1vg. Retrieved on 2009-07-11. 
  14. ^ "Video WML after Kilgallen death". http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ASeMN0XRef8. Retrieved on 2009-07-11. 
  15. ^ "Video of Daly "chiding" panel (at 8:30)". http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iXT2E9Ccc8A. Retrieved on 2009-07-11. 
  16. ^ a b c d Fates, Gil (1978). What's My Line?: TV's Most Famous Panel Show. Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey: Prentice Hall. 
  17. ^ Cerf, Bennett (session 16). Interview with Robbin Hawkins. Notable New Yorkers. Columbia University Libraries Oral History Research Office. New York City, New York. 1968-01-23. Retrieved on 2008-04-27. at p.730, 33:24.
  18. ^ "Audio of Hawkins interview with Cerf from Youtube". http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kxA4UQ3gcbw. Retrieved on 2009-07-06.  at 4:30
  19. ^ "Helene Curtis company history". http://www.fundinguniverse.com/company-histories/Helene-Curtis-Industries-Inc-Company-History.html. Retrieved on 2009-05-11. 
  20. ^ Fates p.44
  21. ^ Cerf, Bennett (session 16). Interview with Robbin Hawkins. Notable New Yorkers. Columbia University Libraries Oral History Research Office. New York City, New York. 1968-01-23. Retrieved on 2008-04-27. at p.733, 37:30.
  22. ^ "Audio of Hawkins interview with Cerf". http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kxA4UQ3gcbw. Retrieved on 2009-07-06.  at 8:30
  23. ^ Cerf, Bennett (session 16). Interview with Robbin Hawkins. Notable New Yorkers. Columbia University Libraries Oral History Research Office. New York City, New York. 1968-01-23. Retrieved on 2008-04-27. at p.750, 1:03:30.
  24. ^ "Episode #876 Summary from TV.com". http://www.tv.com/What%27s+My+Line%253F/EPISODE+%23876/episode/98400/summary.html. Retrieved on 2009-07=05. 
  25. ^ "Video final episode". http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8G-GIYq-kKg. Retrieved on 2009-07-05. 
  26. ^ "IMDB final episode summary". http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0747058/. Retrieved on 2009-07-05. 
  27. ^ Fates pp. 113-115
  28. ^ "Albert Hodge: 'Captain Video' Of TV" Washington Post edition of March 22, 1979, p. C12. Notes this was done to Captain Video and other series by DuMont.
  29. ^ "NY Times article on WML on GSN". http://tvdecoder.blogs.nytimes.com/2008/01/10/classic-game-shows-have-viewers-playing-whats-my-vintage/?scp=2&sq=longest%20running%20game%20show&st=cse. Retrieved on 2009-07-12. 
  30. ^ Fates p.198
  31. ^ Fates p.204
  32. ^ Fates p.204
  33. ^ Fates p.113
  34. ^ "Photo of DVD confirming availability". http://www.oldies.com/product-view/5538D.html. Retrieved on 2009-07-08. 
  35. ^ "List of Celebrity Guests from Stage version". http://www.jkeith.net/myline/wml2005/celebrity_guests.html. Retrieved on 2009-07-09. 
  36. ^ "Episode 341 Summary". http://www.tv.com/whats-my-line/episode-341/episode/95492/summary.html. Retrieved on 2009-07-04. 
  37. ^ "IMDB page". http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0376377/. Retrieved on 2009-07-11. 
  38. ^ "Episode summary from TV.com". http://www.tv.com/What%27s+My+Line%253F/EPISODE+%23448/episode/96825/summary.html. Retrieved on 2009-07-12. 
  39. ^ "Episode 242 summary". http://www.tv.com/What%27s+My+Line%253F/EPISODE+%23242/episode/95199/summary.html. Retrieved on 2009-07-04. 
  40. ^ "IMDB page". http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0155452/. Retrieved on 2009-07-12. 
  41. ^ "Video of show" (in german). http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dH9WTSb-Myw&feature=related. Retrieved on 2009-07-11. 
  42. ^ ""Was bin ich?" 2000 version IMDB". http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0277533/. Retrieved on 2009-7-6. 
  43. ^ "Episode 674 summary". http://www.tv.com/whats-my-line/episode-674/episode/97679/summary.html. Retrieved on 2009-07-4. 
  44. ^ "Episode #594 Summary". http://www.tv.com/What%27s+My+Line%253F/EPISODE+%23594/episode/97391/summary.html. Retrieved on 2009-07-04. 
  45. ^ http://www.ukgameshows.com/page/index.php?title=What's_My_Line%3F
  46. ^ Photo from original UK series, TV history link
  47. ^ Photo from 1973 series, BBC TV website

[edit] External links

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