History Trivia / WhatsMyLine

** On the 10 May 1959 episode, at the end of the Mystery Guest segment featuring Milton Berle, a man rushed onstage, shaked hands with Berle and disappeared as quickly as he came in. Berle ad-libbed that it was his agent, then asked the question everybody had on their minds: "Who was he?"

** Apparently, a similar situation happened upon Dorothy Kilgallen's death in 1965; TV Guide reported there was a search to replace her as a regular panelist. As with Mr. Allen, her seat became a rotating one.

* WhatCouldHaveBeen: After Fred Allen's death in 1956, Goodson-Todman were ready to sign Ernie Kovacs up as a regular panelist, but he eventually decided he wasn't interested. Therefore, the second male seat became a rotating seat.

* {{Blooper}}: During the Mystery Guest segment on the 7 October 1962 episode, an intruder managed to get into the soundstage while the panelists were blindfolded. He was quickly removed from the stage by Johnny Olson and Gil Fates, and after a brief explanation from John Daly, the round proceeded as normal, with guest panelist Creator/VictorBorge joking about the incident on his next question. According to [[WordofGod Gil Fates]], the intruder was supposedly trying to promote a personal dating service. [[https://youtu.be/LDAi8WI2PUw?t=19m Here's the video of the incident (starts at 19:00)]]

* HeyItsThatGuy:
** A pre-''Series/{{Star Trek|The Original Series}}'' Creator/WilliamShatner appeared as a panelist in a few CBS episodes.
** Dick Cavett also appeared as a guest panelist and even commented on how unknown he was.
** Creator/LeonardNimoy was a Mystery Guest during the final syndicated season.
** UsefulNotes/RonaldReagan, UsefulNotes/JimmyCarter, and UsefulNotes/GeraldFord all made appearances before they became President — Reagan was both a Mystery Guest and a guest panelist on the CBS version, Ford a Mystery Guest on a 1969 Bruner episode, and Carter as "[[LetXBeTheUnknown Mr. X]]" during a Blyden episode taped slightly more than a year before he ran for President. The panel, not wearing their blindfolds as it was a regular round, had no idea who Carter was.
** Music/FrankSinatra was both guest and panelist on one of the last CBS episodes, having more or less snubbed the show prior due to his feud with Dorothy Kilgallen.
** Creator/SalvadorDali appeared as a Mystery Guest.
** Colonel Harland Sanders appeared in an earlier installment, unrecognized by anyone and as a standard guest before becoming the face of Kentucky Fried Chicken (KFC).
** Creator/JacquesCousteau appeared before he got his first TV show. The contestants couldn't tell who he was, but after he was revealed, Cerf recognized him for his book ''The Silent World''.

## Virtually all of the footage (except for a clip introducing then-sitting President GeraldFord) came from the original CBS run (and all in black-and-white kinescope);

Their value became apparent in 1975 when many episode segments were compiled for the special ''What's My Line? At 25'', and again in the mid-1990s when the series became the backbone of Game Show Network. In total, of the 876 episodes that the original series shot from 1950 to 1967, about 763 of them circulate among collectors. The remaining 113 have been lost to the ravages of time.\\\

* MilestoneCelebration: For its 25th anniversary as a series, a special two-hour retrospective aired in May 1975 on ABC Late Night. It was interesting in a number of respects: 1. The show's presence on ABC, given that the network originally was CBS (a rival) and currently in syndication; 2. Virtually all of the footage (except for a clip introducing then-sitting President GeraldFord) came from the original CBS run (and all in black-and-white kineoscope); 3. The special was hosted by original host John Daly (who was not present at all during the syndicated run), although Arlene Francis and co-creator Mark Goodson were there; and 4. The syndicated version, which had been airing since 1968, was about to wrap up its successful seven-year run. Additionally, everyone who appeared on the show -- celebrities and regular contestants alike -- had to sign a release giving Goodson-Todman permission to air clips featuring them (even Goodson and Bill Todman). Despite all these quirks, it was critically well received and seen as a very nice celebration of television's then-longest running game show.
* MissingEpisode: Most of the first two-and-a-half years are lost because at the time they were judged worthless and unfit to rerun (the only reason kinescopes were made in the first place was as proof that sponsors' ads were shown correctly) and destroyed for their silver content. (An exception was made for the February 2, 1950 premiere, which can be seen [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uxMBDPoeL_A here.]] As its copyright was not renewed, it's in the public domain.) For obvious reasons, magazines such as ''TV Guide'' didn't list the Mystery Guest's identity, and producer Gil Fates' work notes are the only resource as to the content of these early missing episodes. This went on until about July 1952, when Fates learned of the practice and saw to it that the films be saved and stored. Their value became apparent in 1975 when many episode segments were compiled for the special ''What's My Line? At 25'', and again in the mid-1990s when the series became the backbone of Game Show Network. In total, of the 876 episodes that the original series shot from 1950 to 1967, about 763 of them circulate among collectors. The remaining 113 have been lost to the ravages of time. The original American version fares far better than many international versions, however. Only a handful of complete editions of the British ''What's My Line?'' from 1951-63 are known to survive - so, for example, in the "cultural exchange" in 1953 which saw British ''Line'' regular Barbara Kelly appear on the American version while Arlene Francis appeared on the British version, the episodes with Kelly on the American panel have survived, but those with Francis on the British panel have not.

** The January 6, 1952 show is available at the Paley Center for Media. Mystery Guest: Oscar Hammerstein II (One half of the songwriting team of Rodgers & Hammerstein)

** Only a portion of the January 24, 1952 show is known to survive, which was best-known for having Dean Martin & Jerry Lewis as Mystery Guest duo. It was seen in ''What's My Line? At 25'', and it is believed that it got destroyed during the assembling of the special. The complete episode is rumored to exist in Jerry Lewis' collection, and people even claimed to have seen the ''full'' segment, with Dean & Jerry signing in, but nothing has been proven yet.

* MissingEpisode: Most of the first two-and-a-half years are lost because at the time they were judged worthless and unfit to rerun (the only reason kinescopes were made in the first place was as proof that sponsors' ads were shown correctly) and destroyed for their silver content. (An exception was made for the February 2, 1950 premiere, which can be seen [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uxMBDPoeL_A here.]] As its copyright was not renewed, it's in the public domain.) For obvious reasons, magazines such as ''TV Guide'' didn't list the Mystery Guest's identity, and producer Gil Fates' work notes are the only resource as to the content of these early missing episodes. This went on until about July 1952, when Fates learned of the practice and saw to it that the films be saved and stored. Their value became apparent in 1975 when many episode segments were compiled for the special ''What's My Line? At 25'', and again in the mid-1990s when the series became the backbone of Game Show Network. In total, of the 876 episodes that the original series shot from 1950 to 1967, about 763 of them circulate among collectors. The remaining 113 have been lost to the ravages of time.

*** The original American version fares far better than many international versions, however. Only a handful of complete editions of the British ''What's My Line?'' from 1951-63 are known to survive - so, for example, in the "cultural exchange" in 1953 which saw British ''Line'' regular Barbara Kelly appear on the American version while Arlene Francis appeared on the British version, the episodes with Kelly on the American panel have survived, but those with Francis on the British panel have not.

* MissingEpisode:
** Most of the first two-and-a-half years are lost because at the time they were judged worthless and unfit to rerun (the only reason kinescopes were made in the first place was as proof that sponsors' ads were shown correctly) and destroyed for their silver content. (An exception was made for the February 2, 1950 premiere, which can be seen [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uxMBDPoeL_A here.]] As its copyright was not renewed, it's in the public domain.) For obvious reasons, magazines such as ''TV Guide'' didn't list the Mystery Guest's identity, and producer Gil Fates' work notes are the only resource as to the content of these early missing episodes. This went on until about July 1952, when Fates learned of the practice and saw to it that the films be saved and stored. Their value became apparent in 1975 when many episode segments were compiled for the special ''What's My Line? At 25'', and again in the mid-1990s when the series became the backbone of Game Show Network. In total, of the 876 episodes that the original series shot from 1950 to 1967, about 763 of them circulate among collectors. The remaining 113 have been lost to the ravages of time; not even audio-only versions of those missing episodes exist.
** The original American version fares far better than many international versions, however. Only a handful of complete editions of the British ''What's My Line?'' from 1951-63 are known to survive - so, for example, in the "cultural exchange" in 1953 which saw British ''Line'' regular Barbara Kelly appear on the American version while Arlene Francis appeared on the British version, the episodes with Kelly on the American panel have survived, but those with Francis on the British panel have not.

** Hal "Dimples" Block was the panel's original "comic relief", the most likely to ask silly or suggestive questions. However, he was also the most likely to be warned by the network for inappropriate behaviour on air, and after ignoring one warning too many, he was fired in 1953 and replaced by Steve Allen.[[note]] As Steve Allen had already been sitting in for an absent Bennett Cerf on Block's final show, his dismissal had the interesting side effect of shifting Cerf from the seat between Dorothy Kilgallen and Arlene Francis to the far right seat, where he remained for the next fourteen years.[[/note]]

** Hal "Dimples" Block was the panel's original "comic relief", the most likely to ask silly or suggestive questions. However, he was also the most likely to be warned by the network for inappropriate behaviour on air, and after ignoring one warning too many, he was fired in 1953 and replaced by Steve Allen.[[note]] As Steve Allen had already been sitting in for an absent Bennett Cerf on Block's final show, his dismissal had the interesting side effect of shifting Cerf from the seat between Dorothy Kilgallen and Arlene Francis to the far right seat, where he remained for the next sixteen years.[[/note]]

** Hal "Dimples" Block was the panel's original "comic relief", the most likely to ask silly or suggestive questions. However, he was also the most likely to be warned by the network for inappropriate behaviour on air, and after ignoring one warning too many, he was fired in 1953 and replaced by Steve Allen.

** Most of the first two-and-a-half years are lost because at the time they were judged worthless and unfit to rerun (the only reason kinescopes were made in the first place was as proof that sponsors' ads were shown correctly) and destroyed for their silver content. (An exception was made for the February 2, 1950 premiere, which can be seen [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uxMBDPoeL_A here]]. As its copyright was not renewed, it's in the public domain.) For obvious reasons, magazines such as ''TV Guide'' didn't list the Mystery Guest's identity, and producer Gil Fates' work notes are the only resource as to the content of these early missing episodes. This went on until about July 1952, when Fates learned of the practice and saw to it that the films be saved and stored. Their value became apparent in 1975 when many episode segments were compiled for the special ''What's My Line? At 25'', and again in the mid-1990s when the series became the backbone of Game Show Network. In total, of the 876 episodes that the original series shot from 1950 to 1967, about 763 of them circulate among collectors. The remaining 113 have been lost to the ravages of time; not even audio-only versions of those missing episodes exist.

* MissingEpisode: Most of the first two-and-a-half years are lost because at the time they were judged worthless and unfit to rerun (the only reason kinescopes were made in the first place was as proof that sponsors' ads were shown correctly) and destroyed for their silver content. (An exception was made for the February 2, 1950 premiere, which can be seen [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uxMBDPoeL_A here]]. As its copyright was not renewed, it's in the public domain.) For obvious reasons, magazines such as ''TV Guide'' didn't list the Mystery Guest's identity, and producer Gil Fates' work notes are the only resource as to the content of these early missing episodes. This went on until about July 1952, when Fates learned of the practice and saw to it that the films be saved and stored. Their value became apparent in 1975 when many episode segments were compiled for the special ''What's My Line? At 25'', and again in the mid-1990s when the series became the backbone of Game Show Network. In total, of the 876 episodes that the original series shot from 1950 to 1967, about 763 of them circulate among collectors. The remaining 113 have been lost to the ravages of time; not even audio-only versions of those missing episodes exist. (Although that's a much higher survival rate than, for example, the British version, of which only a handful of complete episodes remain.)

* ThePeteBest: Hal "Dimples" Block.

* ActorAllusion: When Bob Hope appeared as the Mystery Guest, Arlene asked several questions that showed she was closing in on the correct answer, then went for the laugh by guessing "[[Film/RoadTo Bing Crosby]]". It got a massive reaction, partly because, unbeknownst to the blindfolded panel, Hope had signed in using Crosby's name instead of his own.

* MissingEpisode: Most of the first two-and-a-half years are lost because at the time they were judged worthless and unfit to rerun (the only reason kinescopes were made in the first place was as proof that sponsors' ads were shown correctly) and destroyed for their silver content. (An exception was made for the February 2, 1950 premiere, which can be seen [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uxMBDPoeL_A here]]. As its copyright was not renewed, it's in the public domain.) For obvious reasons, magazines such as ''TV Guide'' didn't list the Mystery Guest's identity, and producer Gil Fates' work notes are the only resource as to the content of these early missing episodes. This went on until about July 1952, when Fates learned of the practice and saw to it that the films be saved and stored. Their value became apparent in 1975 when many episode segments were compiled for the special ''What's My Line? At 25'', and again in the mid-1990s when the series became the backbone of Game Show Network.
** In total, of the 876 episodes that the original series shot from 1950 to 1967, about 763 of them circulate among collectors. The remaining 113 have been lost to the ravages of time; not even audio-only versions of those missing episodes exist.

** JacquesCousteau appeared before he got his first TV show. The contestants couldn't tell who he was, but after he was revealed, Cerf recognized him for his book ''The Silent World''.

** RonaldReagan, JimmyCarter, and GeraldFord all made appearances before they became President — Reagan was both a Mystery Guest and a guest panelist on the CBS version, Ford a Mystery Guest on a 1969 Bruner episode, and Carter as "[[LetXBeTheUnknown Mr. X]]" during a Blyden episode taped slightly more than a year before he ran for President. The panel, not wearing their blindfolds as it was a regular round, had no idea who Carter was.