WML? - Celebrities who were panelist and MG on both versions

[SuperSweeper]

I'm sort of a latecomer to What's My Line? fandom, but I've really gotten into it over the last few years.

Yesterday, I was brainstorming an interesting question - who are the celebrities who appeared as both a panelist and as a Mystery Guest on both versions of the show? I decided to do a little research and see what I could find.

Surprisingly, it's not an especially big list. Most of those who you'd think would make it were felled by one of the four - usually, being an MG on the CBS version.

Here's who is confirmed as hitting the WML? Grand Slam, in no particular order:

Dina Merrill (who was the celebrity who got me started on this)
Gene Rayburn
Jayne Meadows
Steve Allen (as far as I know, he's the only regular panelist that did this)
Betty White
Henry Morgan
Garry Moore
Eamonn Andrews
Mark Goodson
Sheila MacRae
Mel Torme (probably the most surprising entry to me; he only appeared on the CBS version twice, once in each category)
Peggy Cass

I did count group MG appearances towards this, as well as Eamonn Andrews' appearance as a "regular" contestant.

The following three men all fit three of the four categories, though I do not see a confirmed syndie MG appearance for them:

Soupy Sales
Robert Q. Lewis
Allen Ludden (paging Adam Nedeff)

I also did not see a syndicated panel appearance for Kitty Carlisle - does anyone know if she ever appeared?

Unsurprisingly, most of these people were game show personalities, either as host or regular panelist on another show.

[Jimmy Owen]

I'm pretty sure Larry Blyden was panelist, MG and host.

[Bryce L.]

I know Wally Bruner was MG at least twice (once presumably as an emergency fill-in for a no-show during his own host tenure; once after Larry had taken over hosting). No clue if he ever appeared in the CBS series.

[SuperSweeper]

Sorry, none of the regular hosts qualify; Daly and Bruner never appeared on the versions they didn’t host, and Blyden, though he appeared as a guest panelist several times on the CBS version, was never a Mystery Guest there.

[Jimmy Owen]

Okay, I misunderstood the question.

[Matt Ottinger]

Would Bennett Cerf belong in your close-but-no-cigar category of three out of four?  I'm pretty sure he was both a panelist and a mystery guest on the syndicated version.

[Jimmy Owen]

Would Bennett Cerf belong in your close-but-no-cigar category of three out of four?  I'm pretty sure he was both a panelist and a mystery guest on the syndicated version.

. I was thinking also about Martin Gabel

[SuperSweeper]

(Sorry, it’s easier for me to reply at once on my phone 🙂)

Yes, unfortunately, Bennett and Martin fall short. Bennett also falls into the “No nighttime MG” category, and Martin (surprisingly) was never a panelist on the syndicated version. Why he was never asked is beyond me.

[SuperSweeper]

I’m sure there are celebrities that qualify that I don’t know about, as there are a LOT of weeks of the syndicated version without a confirmed panel and/or Mystery Guests.

In addition to the people who are unconfirmed in the original post, I was also curious about Peter Lind Hayes and Tony Randall, both of whom would qualify if they were panelists on the syndicated version (but I see no evidence that they ever did, from what’s out there).

However, as I have mentioned, there really can’t be too many people left who would fit, as the nighttime version is, to my knowledge, 100% documented, and the MG qualification from that version knocks a TON of people out of contention.

[jjman920]

If I'm not mistaken, Steve Allen, Fred Allen, and Dorothy Kilgallen were the only "regular" panelists of the CBS version that made a MG appearance. Correct me if I'm wrong.

And on the episode of the syndicated version that features Martin as a mystery guest, it is noted that he had never appeared on that version up until that point. Something he sounded a little bitter about.

[SuperSweeper]

If I'm not mistaken, Steve Allen, Fred Allen, and Dorothy Kilgallen were the only "regular" panelists of the CBS version that made a MG appearance. Correct me if I'm wrong.

And on the episode of the syndicated version that features Martin as a mystery guest, it is noted that he had never appeared on that version up until that point. Something he sounded a little bitter about.

Nope, that is correct - and of course, Fred and Dorothy did not appear on the syndicated version. 😞

Trisscope brought up a name that I missed - Peter Lawford. He did a week on the panel in 1973, but we don’t have a confirmed syndie MG appearance. I would be absolutely stunned if he didn’t appear, though.

[Matt Ottinger]

Yes, unfortunately, Bennett and Martin fall short.

Yes, I understand that.  However, you've also made a small list of people who fell short.  What we're doing is making suggestions for additions to that.

[SuperSweeper]

Yes, unfortunately, Bennett and Martin fall short.

Yes, I understand that.  However, you've also made a small list of people who fell short.  What we're doing is making suggestions for additions to that.

Sorry, I don’t think I explained that list well enough. I shared it because I was curious if anyone could confirm if those three had appeared as Mystery Guests on the syndicated version, as it is likely that at least one, if not all three, did.

In this context, I wasn’t planning on listing Bennett, Dorothy, etc. because I know for a fact that they do not qualify.

EDIT: Perhaps I should have listed them, because by not including them, I probably just confused people even more. 🙂

Thank you for pointing that out, as I was wondering what I was missing with the earlier responses. Sorry again for the confusion.

[Jimmy Owen]

Phyllis Newman also came to mind, but don't know if she was an MG on Daly.

[Matt Ottinger]

Ah, excellent!  That list of three men was essentially a question.  Got it, and I apologize for being confused.  It's a shame there isn't a definitive list of Mystery Guests for the syndicated version.  We're stuck with just what fans know based on what GSN and Buzzr has aired.  The Fates book helps fill in some syndie gaps a little, but not for the purposes of your elegant question.