I've Got A Secret Website

[Matt Ottinger]

This isn't a show we talk about a lot here, which is one of the reasons I wanted to tackle it as my next big project.

I've been working on a Secret website in...well..."secret" for some time now, and I'm ready to unleash it on fans and newcomers alike.  Since this is an educated audience, I won't bore you with details about the show.  I WILL tell you that there are probably some things in here that you didn't know.  There's a story on how close Steve Allen was to becoming a US Congressman. (Very close.)  There's information about how runner Roger Bannister and sex symbol Jayne Mansfield were each supposed to have been on the series (separately) and why they weren't.  I also have some contrarian takes I'll be posting soon about how the show was originally sold to Goodson-Todman, what really happened on the last episode, and even why that nice old man who witnessed the Lincoln assassination might have been a great big liar.

Adam Nedeff and Mike Burger (mmb5 here) were most helpful in getting this project to the finish line, and it's not even the finish line because I intend there to be frequent updates.

I hope this audience in particular finds it interesting.  I am available for questions.  And podcasts.

http://ivegotasecret.website

[SuperMatch93]

Well, there goes any hope of being productive today. 

By the way, on the banner, where's the third logo on the left from? (The one that looks to be written in Futura Display) I haven't seen it in any episodes.

[Matt Ottinger]

Well, there goes any hope of being productive today. 

By the way, on the banner, where's the third logo on the left from? (The one that looks to be written in Futura Display) I haven't seen it in any episodes.

It was a bit of a cheat.  It appeared on a single episode, a Christmas one from a few years in, and I think only in the closing credits. 

What can I say?  I needed six.

[Otm Shank]

I also have some contrarian takes I'll be posting soon about how the show was originally sold to Goodson-Todman, what really happened on the last episode, and even why that nice old man who witnessed the Lincoln assassination might have been a great big liar.

Well, this sounds like a rabbit hole I'm about to be sucked into. Appreciate your dedicated work in compiling — wait, WHAT?!

Cancel my meetings for today. Bye, bye productivity!

[Matt Ottinger]

The piece about Mr Seymour and his nonagenarian memory is already posted in  the "History" section.  The stuff about the show's origins has been written but not posted yet.  And the stuff about the last episode has been researched (they absolutely had to know when they were taping it that it would be their last show) but not written yet.

[TimK2003]

I've been working on a Secret website in...well..."secret" for some time now, and I'm ready to unleash it on fans and newcomers alike.

Does that mean we now have to to call you the Modern Man and/or Kilroy???

Actually Matt, I will be looking forward to checking it out.  Thanks for the heads up.

[knagl]

As a tiny bit of constructive criticism, for folks visiting on a phone (which in 2023 isn't an insignificant percentage of people), the banner at the top causes a huge horizontal scroll bar on every page. Thankfully the content fills just the screen area, so it's only a minor inconvenience.

Overall I'm excited to check out all of the content!

[Matt Ottinger]

As a tiny bit of constructive criticism, for folks visiting on a phone (which in 2023 isn't an insignificant percentage of people), the banner at the top causes a huge horizontal scroll bar on every page. Thankfully the content fills just the screen area, so it's only a minor inconvenience.

Thanks.  I've been aware of the phone issues from the beginning.  Theoretically, the software is supposed to automatically adjust for the user's device.  In the real world, of course, some things "automatically adjust" better than others.  I've been able to work around a great many things, but I'm afraid I don't have a really good answer yet for the banner.  In a perfect world, there would be an option for a smaller alternate banner for smaller screens, and I'm sure there's some better software out there that does just that, but I'm happy enough with everything else this site does for me that I'm not going to go pursue one. 

[That Don Guy]

I'm glad to finally see some detailed information on the four-week CBS 1976 run.
One thing I remember about it that wasn't mentioned; in Charles Nelson Reilly's "Yankee Doodle Dandy" choir, one of the names - the one that sounds like "Came To" ("Yankee Doodle came to London...") - was sick, so they replaced him with someone whose last name was Blank.

[CarpetCrawler]

I'm one of the people who had contributed to the Goodson-Todman's wiki for figuring out the episode guide for the 1972-73 version of the show, and let me tell you, seeing a 100% complete episode guide on your site put one of the biggest smiles on my face that I've had all week.   Thank you so much Matt, and the people who helped you on that too!!  I've been wanting to see that happen for so long as one of the aforementioned people on that page that you've mentioned who that version of the show is popular with.  I am beyond excited for having a new work lunchtime destination to spend endless time on on my phone!!  I've got some pals who love game shows and are "new" to getting into the genre but aren't really in the fandom (and are just starting to learn about game show history) and they love I've Got a Secret, they're gonna be over the moon over this.

[Matt Ottinger]

I'm one of the people who had contributed to the Goodson-Todman's wiki for figuring out the episode guide for the 1972-73 version of the show, and let me tell you, seeing a 100% complete episode guide on your site put one of the biggest smiles on my face that I've had all week.   Thank you so much Matt, and the people who helped you on that too!!  I've been wanting to see that happen for so long as one of the aforementioned people on that page that you've mentioned who that version of the show is popular with.  I am beyond excited for having a new work lunchtime destination to spend endless time on on my phone!!  I've got some pals who love game shows and are "new" to getting into the genre but aren't really in the fandom (and are just starting to learn about game show history) and they love I've Got a Secret, they're gonna be over the moon over this.

Thanks so much!  A detailed examination of the 72-73 series is at the top of my list for updates.

[BillCullen1]

So they did 39 episodes for the '72-'73 season. Pat, Henry, Anita and Richard were the regulars but they mixed it up a little. Thanks for updating.

[Neumms]

Wonderful! An early gem I found is Faye Emerson's sideline project. At first I thought the guy behind these did it.
https://www.reddit.com/r/SFV/comments/ifkzoj/mickey_rooneys_potato_fantasy/

Congratulations, Matt.

[PPatters]

Thanks!! This is, IMO, easily the most perfect panel show (again, my opinion) because it’s so versatile and fun.

[Matt Ottinger]

Wonderful! An early gem I found is Faye Emerson's sideline project.

That was the first, "Wow, I didn't know that!" thing I found in my research, and it became a bit of a running joke.