The Game Show Forum
The Game Show Forum => The Big Board => Topic started by: SuperSweeper on April 10, 2022, 08:48:39 PM
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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.
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I'm pretty sure Larry Blyden was panelist, MG and host.
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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.
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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.
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Okay, I misunderstood the question.
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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.
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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
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(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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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Phyllis Newman also came to mind, but don't know if she was an MG on Daly.
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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.
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Just to summarize everything again…
Celebrities who could qualify, but I don’t have a confirmed syndication MG appearance:
Allen Ludden
Robert Q. Lewis
Soupy Sales
Peter Lawford
Celebrities who could qualify, but I don’t have a confirmed syndie panel appearance:
Kitty Carlisle
Peter Lind Hayes
Tony Randall
Mentioned, but didn’t qualify:
All three hosts
Bennett Cerf
Dorothy Kilgallen and Fred Allen (because of their deaths)
Martin Gabel
Phyllis Newman (also not an MG on the CBS version, unfortunately)
I hope that people will continue to share guesses/ideas!
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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.
Not a problem - thanks again for that question! I realized that my initial post wasn’t too clear after the main list.
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An anonymous source was very kind enough to research my questions - thank you, kind soul, and thank you to the person who shared the information with me.
All four of my questioned Mystery Guests - Allen, Robert, Soupy, and Peter - all did appear in that role. They have all hit the WML Grand Slam.
On the other hand, all three I asked about with regards to the panel - Kitty, Tony, and Peter - did NOT appear on the syndicated version in that role.
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An anonymous source was very kind enough to research my questions - thank you, kind soul, and thank you to the person who shared the information with me.
All four of my questioned Mystery Guests - Allen, Robert, Soupy, and Peter - all did appear in that role. They have all hit the WML Grand Slam.
On the other hand, all three I asked about with regards to the panel - Kitty, Tony, and Peter - did NOT appear on the syndicated version in that role.
I was surprised to hear about Robert Q. Lewis being on the syndicated show. I guess I've always associated him with the 50s and wasn't aware that he was still relevant by then.
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An anonymous source was very kind enough to research my questions - thank you, kind soul, and thank you to the person who shared the information with me.
All four of my questioned Mystery Guests - Allen, Robert, Soupy, and Peter - all did appear in that role. They have all hit the WML Grand Slam.
On the other hand, all three I asked about with regards to the panel - Kitty, Tony, and Peter - did NOT appear on the syndicated version in that role.
I was surprised to hear about Robert Q. Lewis being on the syndicated show. I guess I've always associated him with the 50s and wasn't aware that he was still relevant by then.
Didn't he also do at least one week of Match Game in the 1970s?
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An anonymous source was very kind enough to research my questions - thank you, kind soul, and thank you to the person who shared the information with me.
All four of my questioned Mystery Guests - Allen, Robert, Soupy, and Peter - all did appear in that role. They have all hit the WML Grand Slam.
On the other hand, all three I asked about with regards to the panel - Kitty, Tony, and Peter - did NOT appear on the syndicated version in that role.
I was surprised to hear about Robert Q. Lewis being on the syndicated show. I guess I've always associated him with the 50s and wasn't aware that he was still relevant by then.
Didn't he also do at least one week of Match Game in the 1970s?
He did, episodes 0096 to 0100 (last week of November, first week of December, 1973). Lineup was RQL, Brett, Morey Amsterdam, Joyce Bulifant, Dawson and Ann Elder.
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An anonymous source was very kind enough to research my questions - thank you, kind soul, and thank you to the person who shared the information with me.
All four of my questioned Mystery Guests - Allen, Robert, Soupy, and Peter - all did appear in that role. They have all hit the WML Grand Slam.
On the other hand, all three I asked about with regards to the panel - Kitty, Tony, and Peter - did NOT appear on the syndicated version in that role.
I was surprised to hear about Robert Q. Lewis being on the syndicated show. I guess I've always associated him with the 50s and wasn't aware that he was still relevant by then.
I didn't know relevance was a requirement for Match Game. ;)
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An anonymous source was very kind enough to research my questions - thank you, kind soul, and thank you to the person who shared the information with me.
All four of my questioned Mystery Guests - Allen, Robert, Soupy, and Peter - all did appear in that role. They have all hit the WML Grand Slam.
On the other hand, all three I asked about with regards to the panel - Kitty, Tony, and Peter - did NOT appear on the syndicated version in that role.
I was surprised to hear about Robert Q. Lewis being on the syndicated show. I guess I've always associated him with the 50s and wasn't aware that he was still relevant by then.
Didn't he also do at least one week of Match Game in the 1970s?
He also dod a few weeks of The Cross Wits in the mid 70s.
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Don't forget about Robert Q (and Regis Philbin) on the panel of the Jack Barry-hosted "What's My Perversion?" :)
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I was surprised to hear about Robert Q. Lewis being on the syndicated show. I guess I've always associated him with the 50s and wasn't aware that he was still relevant by then.
When you're desperate to fill five MG slots a week, having previously only dealt with the one, you're going to have to rely occasionally on some old friends. This doesn't surprise me at all, "relevant" or not. I still remember as a kid seeing Gretchen Wyler as a Mystery Guest and having absolutely no idea who that was.
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Q was only in his early 50s during his Match Game appearance. He seemed much older.
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I still remember as a kid seeing Gretchen Wyler as a Mystery Guest and having absolutely no idea who that was.
I felt the same way when I saw Eileen Fulton as a MG. She was on As The World Turns.
When you need 5 MGs a week, you're not always going to get an A-lister or someone who's very popular at the time.
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I met Eileen Fulton in 1979, and believe me, she was thought of and was treated like a star.
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My apologies for going a bit off-topic, but I wonder if anyone know for sure the answers to a couple questions, regarding pics of Wally Bruner.
1. In this picture, https://www.oocities.org/TelevisionCity/4439/markbillwally.jpg, the background wall is from the set of TTTT daytime, in its final season. It appears that Bruner is seated at the panelists' desk (with Mark Goodson and Bill Todman). Did he ever appear on the show in that capacity? Somewhere, too, I'd seen a similar photo, in which Bruner was seated at what I'm sure was Bud Collyer's hosting station, and wondered if Bruner ever guest-hosted TTTT?
2. While looking for other pics, I stumbled across this one: https://www.imago-images.com/st/0099740589, where they identify the man, second from our right, as Larry Blyden. I'm under the impression it's really political satirist Mark Russell, whom I know appeared on WML? occasionally. Anybody know for sure?
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Unquestionably that's Russell, not Blyden.
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1. In this picture, https://www.oocities.org/TelevisionCity/4439/markbillwally.jpg, the background wall is from the set of TTTT daytime, in its final season. It appears that Bruner is seated at the panelists' desk (with Mark Goodson and Bill Todman). Did he ever appear on the show in that capacity? Somewhere, too, I'd seen a similar photo, in which Bruner was seated at what I'm sure was Bud Collyer's hosting station, and wondered if Bruner ever guest-hosted TTTT?
It may have been from the last week or two of the daytime version. Wally did a celebrity spot promoting the new version of WML? wherein the panel was trying to find the real Natalie Bruner, to whom he had just married. I'm guessing they just did a variety of photos around the set.
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I can confirm that Wally Bruner's appearance on the daytime CBS TTTT was on 8/29/68 (show # 1619).
- Kevin