LUCY on WHAT’S MY LINE?

1954-1965

“What’s
My Line?” was
a panel game show that aired on television from 1950 to 1967 on CBS.
The game requires celebrity
panelists
to
question a contestant in order to determine his or her occupation
with panelists being called on to identify a weekly celebrity mystery
guest.
Guests entered and signed-in on a chalk board. The contestants’
occupations were seen by the home and studio audience. Cards flipped by the host told the audience how much money
the contestant had earned by stumping the panel. It was traditional
that the panel introduced each other in turn.

For
all of its 17 years on the air, the show aired on Sunday evenings at
10:30pm from CBS Broadcast Center in New York City.  

For all but four
episodes, John Charles Daly was the host. It was directed by Franklin
Heller for all but a handful of its 870 episodes. 

Arlene Francis was
panelist for 824 of those episodes, the most of any panelist.
Several mystery guests appeared seven times: Hedda Hopper, Peter
Lawford, and Jerry Lewis.  

As
a rule, a person could not appear as a Mystery Guest more than once in a calendar year. However, there were four exceptions:

• Paul
  Newman
  on January 25 and November 8, 1959
• Carol
  Burnett on
  May 7 and December 17, 1961
• Steve
  Allen on
  March 8 and October 4, 1964
• Lucille
  Ball
  on March 7 and July 25, 1965

“What’s
My Line?” is the longest-running
prime time network television game-show in history.
The show won
three Emmy
Awards
for
Best Quiz or Audience Participation Show in 1952, 1953, and 1958 and
the Golden
Globe
for
Best TV Show in 1962.
In
2013,TV
Guide
ranked
it #9 in its list of the 60 greatest game shows ever.

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February
21, 1954 ~ S5;E25, #195

Although sponsored by Remington-Rand, the program ends with a live commercial for Stopette Deodorant, their associate sponsor.  

The Panel (left to right)

• Dorothy
  Kilgallen is a popular columnist whose “Voice of Broadway”
  appears in the Journal American and papers coast to coast.
• Steve
  Allen a humorist who stars in his own television show on another network
  five nights a week. More than thirty years later, Allen would guest
  star as himself on “Lucy Calls the President” (1977). 
• Arlene
  Francis has her own show “Talent Patrol” on another network on Thursday
  nights.
• Deborah
  Kerr (Guest
  Panelist) is the star of the film From
  Here to Eternity
  and the play Tea
  and Sympathy.
  She is sitting in for regular panelist Bennett Cerf, who is
  California. Kerr appears on behalf of the New York Lighthouse for the
  Blind.

John
Daly (Host)
was previously a news reporter for CBS radio’s “You Are There.”
As an actor, he also played a news reporter in the short-lived TV
series “The Front Page” (1949-50).  

Dick
Stark
(Remington-Rand Spokesperson)

Arlene
Gray
(Stopette Deodorant Spokesperson)

The Contestants

• Frances
  Vaughn sits
  on the movie censor board in Kansas. Mrs. Vaughn stumps the panel and
  wins $50.
• Clifford
  Olson from North Carolina sells maternity clothes. Deborah
  Kerr guesses his occupation but Daly gives Olson the full prize
  anyway.  
• Tom
  Wiswell from
  Brooklyn is a World Champion checkers player. They run out of time
  before the panel can guess, so Daly gives him the full prize. 

The Mystery Guest

Lucille
Ball uses the same voice she created when she played a Martian at
the top of the Empire State Building in “Lucy is Envious” (ILL
S3;E23). Daly tells the panel that Lucy is speaking Martian. The
episode was filmed on February 16, 1954 just five days before this
appearance. It aired on March 29, 1954. When Dorothy Kilgallen asks
Lucy if she sings, Lucy says “eeew” and shakes her head no.
Arlene Francis (in collaboration with Deborah Kerr) guesses that it
is Lucy by asking if she’s lately had to take advantage of the last
contestant’s products [maternity clothes]. The year prior, Lucy Ricardo gave birth to
Little Ricky and Lucille Ball to Desi Arnaz Jr. Lucy puts in a pitch
for donations to the Heart Fund. After Lucy leaves, Daly reminds the
audience that Desi Arnaz was also on the show [November 2, 1952].

---

October
2, 1955 ~ S7;E5, #278

In
1955 the panel’s ‘pre-guesses’ have been eliminated and the main
questioning begins immediately.

Guest air transportation was supplied by American Airlines.

The Panel (left to right)

• Dorothy
  Kilgallen  is a
  popular columnist whose “Voice of Broadway” appears in the
  Journal American and papers coast to coast.
• Robert
  Q. Lewis (Guest Panelist) is
  the star of his own show on this network everyday [“The Robert Q.
  Lewis Show”]. He is substituting for Fred Allen.  
• Arlene
  Francis promotes the new home game What’s My Line.
• Bennett
  Cerf is a columnist and publisher who was mentioned on “I
  Love Lucy” in “Lucy
  Writes a Novel” (ILL S3;E24):
  “You
  had your chance, Bennett Cerf!”  In
  two episodes of the series a
  copy of Cerf’s book Try and Stop Me (1944) can be seen among
  the Ricardo’s reading matter.

John
Daly
(Host)

Dick
Stark (Remington-Rand
Spokesperson)

The Contestants

• Raymond
  Fadden operates
  the scoreboard at Brooklyn’s Ebbetts Field. Dorothy Kilgallen guesses
  Mr. Fadden’s occupation and says he must be very busy these days as
  the New York Yankees and Brooklyn Dodgers are in the midst of the
  World Series. [The Brooklyn Dodgers will go on to win their one and
  only series against the Yankees.]  
• Victor
  G. Perry is from
  London, England. He
  is a professional pickpocket in a nightclub act. The panel is
  stumped. Daly flips the cards over when Mr. Lewis blurts out that Mr.
  Perry is a pickpocket. Mr. Perry wins by default and Daly relates
  that Mr. Perry performed for Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth, who
  quipped “Wonderful.
  It’s a good thing you’re honest.” Before
  leaving, Perry returns Daly’s billfold.

The Mystery Guests

Lucille
Ball and
Desi
Arnaz. Robert
Lewis succeeds in identifying Lucille Ball, but the panel can’t
discern that there are two people. Mr. Lewis is so sure he’s seen
Lucille Ball on television earlier in the evening, but it’s Miss
Francis who identifies the couple. In conversation with Mr. Daly, the
Arnaz’s mention that the fifth season of their hugely popular “I
Love Lucy” sitcom will premiere the following evening [“Lucy
Visits Grauman’s”
ILL S5;E1].
The couple says that Mr. Lewis was correct – there was a rerun of an
“I Love Lucy” episode earlier that day. They were in New
York City to appear on “The Ed Sullivan Show” earlier that
evening.  

After
Lucy and Desi leave, Dorothy Kilgallen (mindful of black and white
television) tells female viewers that Lucy’s blouse was pink mink. Humorously, Robert Lewis tells the male viewers that Desi’s tie was blue.

---

January
1, 1961 ~ S11, #545

This
is the first show to be sponsored by All-State Insurance.

Due to Faye Emerson’s leg injury, the panel does not enter and stays seated throughout. 

The Panel (left to right)

• Arlene
  Francis is billed as
  the “delightful star of stage and television.”
• Shelley
  Berman is a comedian
  opening at the Empire room in New York City. 
• Faye
  Emerson (Guest Panelist) was an
  actress who did a play at the Bucks County Playhouse with Shelley
  Berman in the summer of 1960. Emerson is substituting for Dorothy
  Kilgallen, who has a sore shoulder. Emerson was
  mentioned in “Lucy Does a TV Commercial” (ILL S1;E30) in 1952 by
  Fred Mertz (William Frawley).  
• Bennett
  Cerf is a columnist
  and publisher who was mentioned on “I Love Lucy” in “Lucy
  Writes a Novel” (ILL S3;E24):
  “You
  had your chance, Bennett Cerf!”  In
  two episodes of the series a
  copy of Cerf’s book Try and Stop Me (1944) can be seen among
  the Ricardo’s reading matter.

John
Daly (Host) talks briefly about
his recent trip to Hawaii.

The Contestants  

• Ike
  Eisenhower
  and John
  Kennedy are girdle salesmen, their high-profile names
  notwithstanding. In January 1961, Massachusetts politician John F.
  Kennedy was just three weeks away from his inauguration as the 35th President of the United States. Dwight D. Eisenhower (aka Ike) was
  his predecessor in the White House. Faye Emerson guesses their jobs
  correctly.
• Ruby
  Logsdon is a house wrecker (not a home wrecker!) from
  Louisville, Kentucky. She owns the Blue Grass Wrecking Company.
  Arlene Francis guesses it very quickly.  Almost too quickly!
• Mary
  and
  Creighton Coleman are husband and wife judges. Mary Coleman was also a Miss University
  of Maryland. Time runs out, but Faye Emerson guesses correctly at the
  last minute. Emerson is in disbelief: “That
  lady’s a JUDGE!?!?”  

The Mystery Guest

Lucille
Ball uses a
low, hushed voice to answer. At the time, Ball was appearing on
Broadway in the musical Wildcat.
Faye Emerson guesses by saying “Are
you a red-headed wildcat?”
Lucy says she’s lost twelve pounds doing the musical. She says how
much she owes to “I Love Lucy.” Faye Emerson reminds everyone
that Lucy and Bob Hope have a new film coming out, The
Facts of Life.  Emerson
suggests it could be up for an award.  [The film later earned five Oscar nods – none for acting – and won for Edith Head’s costumes. Ball and Hope were nominated for Golden Globes for their performances.]

---

May
5, 1963 ~ S14

The
show has a new main sponsor (Geritol) and a new set.

The Panel (left to right)

• Arlene
  Francis is introduced by Johnny Olson as starring in the Broadway play
  Tchin-Tchin.
  [She had taken over two weeks earlier from the play’s original star,
  Margaret Leighton. The play closed two weeks later.]
• Buddy
  Hackett is a
  comedian opening soon in Philadelphia. Joey Bishop
  walks out instead. Hackett tells him he’s on next week. Bishop shrugs
  and leaves without a word. The evening prior, Hackett guest starred
  as himself on NBC’s “The Joey Bishop Show” which also featured
  Corbett Monica. Hackett says that he and Bishop are in town to see
  Monica perform at The Latin Quarter. [Five years later, Hackett will
  play a scam artist on a 1968 episode of “The Lucy Show” (S6;E19)].
• Dorothy
  Kilgallen is a
  nationally syndicated columnist for the Journal American.
• Bennett
  Cerf is introduced
  as “the publisher panelist.” He was mentioned on “I Love Lucy”
  in “Lucy
  Writes a Novel” (ILL S3;E24):
  “You
  had your chance, Bennett Cerf!”  In
  two episodes of the series a
  copy of Cerf’s book Try and Stop Me (1944) can be seen among
  the Ricardo’s reading matter.

John
Daly (Host)
mentions the New York Mets at the end of the show. The team had just
started its second season of play, their final at the Polo
Grounds before moving into Shea Stadium in 1964. On May 5, 1963 the
Mets played a double header, winning their evening game against the
San Francisco Giants.

Johnny
Olson
(Announcer)

The Contestants

• Sonja
  Tyler gets a few wolf whistles from the studio audience. She is a dog
  catcher in Prince George’s County, Maryland. Bennett Cerf guesses it
  just before the cards are turned over.
• Eleanor
  Hansberry also gets some wolf whistles on her entrance. From
  Hollywood, Florida, Mrs. Hansberry makes ‘diet bread.’  Arlene
  Francis guesses bread, but not that it is diet bread. Hansberry says
  it has 46 calories and contains 7 vegetables.
• William
  Olsen works for the city of New York buildings department
  inspecting and testing rides at Coney Island Amusement Park. Time
  runs out so Daly turns over all the cards.  

The Mystery Guests

Bob
Hope and Lucille Ball sign in as Bob Ball and Lucy Hope. Dorothy
Kilgallen guesses correctly on the third question:“Is one of you red-haired and the other ski-nosed?” They
are there to promote their new film Critic’s
Choice, which premiered
three weeks earlier. Lucy and Hope are on a promotional tour, the
eleventh of their 19 cities. Cerf also plugs Hope’s new book I
Owe Russia $1,200. A
week earlier, the final episode of the first season of “The Lucy
Show” was aired but Lucy says she is going back [to Hollywood] to
do “her show” with Vivian [Vance]. [Lucy and Hope had just come
from being on “The Ed Sullivan Show” earlier that evening, also
to promote Critic’s
Choice.]

---

March
7, 1965 ~ S16;E27, #754

The
show is sponsored by Supp-Hose Stockings. There is no advertising on
the panel’s desk or on the cards.

The Panel (left to right)

• Arlene
  Francis is introduced by Johnny Olson as the
  “delightful star of stage and television.”
• Buddy
  Hackett is starring
  in the musical comedy hit I
  Had A Ball on Broadway.
• Dorothy
  Kilgallen is a
  nationally syndicated columnist for The New York Journal American.
  Hackett says she has never abused the freedom of the press.  
• Martin
  Gabel (Guest Panelist) is
  starring in the hit musical Baker
  Street. He is
  substituting for Bennett Cerf, who is on vacation. [Gabel played Moriarty to Fritz
  Weaver’s Sherlock Holmes. The musical won a Tony Award for
  costumes.]  

John
Daly (Host) Gabel introduces
him as the “Rolls Royce of moderators.”  

Daly says he is going to write a new musical called “I Had a Ball on Baker Street.”

Johnny
Olson (Announcer)

The Contestants

• Pete
  Sa from Edison,
  New Jersey, makes pizza. He owns a business called ‘Wot A Place: Pete
  Sa’s Pizza’ in Metuchen, NJ. Buddy Hackett guesses right.
• Scott
  Tutt is 19 years old
  and originally from Doylestown, PA, but now working in New York City.
  He makes artificial snow for Metropolitan Ski Slopes, Inc. which
  fabricates snow for use at Van Courtland Park, NY. No one guesses it
  and Daly turns over all the cards.  
• Benita
  Caress is an agent in
  the US Passport Office in Rockefeller Center. She is from from Little
  Neck, Long Island. Time runs out and Daly turns over all the cards
  without anyone on the panel venturing a guess.

The Mystery Guest

Lucille
Ball signs in
merely as ‘Lucy.’ She does a nasal Woody Woodpecker-type voice,
even doing the character’s unique laugh from time to time. Buddy
Hackett asks her if she’s a male. She replies “Mostly no.” Lucy
admits she has a television show on at present and Arlene Francis
guesses that it is “dazzling redhead” Lucy Ball. Daly tells the
audience that she is this year’s Easter Seals Chairman. Lucy says
she had to beg to get on the show because there were a lot of stars
in town. Lucy tells a story of her visit to the White House on behalf
of Easter seals to meet President Johnson. She relates that she
stood in a long receiving line practicing her thank you speech, but
LBJ shook his hand and moved onto the next guest before she could get
the first word out. Lucy and Daly put in a pitch for Easter Seals
donations. [The next day, “The Lucy Show” aired “Lucy and
Arthur Godfrey” (S3;E23). Also, a half hour after “The Lucy
Show,” Ball appeared on “I’ve Got A Secret,” a sister show to
“What’s My Line?” which was also was done in New York City.]  

---

July
25, 1965 ~ S16;E47, #774

The
show is sponsored by Poli-Grip.  

The Panel (left to right)

• Dorothy
  Kilgallen is introduced by Johnny Olson as a popular columnist whose
  “Voice of Broadway” appears in papers coast to coast.
• Mike
  Douglas (Guest
  Panelist) is introduced by Kilgallen as the “delightful star of
  television and records.” This is Douglas’ first appearance on the
  show.
• Arlene
  Francis is introduced by Douglas as having spent a week with him on his show
  [“The Mike Douglas Show”] and opening at the Mount Tom Playhouse
  in Massachusetts in the new play Mrs.
  Dally Has a Lover.
  [When the play moved to Broadway in September 1965, the title was
  shortened to Mrs.
  Dally.
  It ran 60 performances and earned a Drama Desk Award. It was
  produced by former “What’s My Line?” panelist Martin Gabel.]
• Bennett
  Cerf is introduced by Francis as one of the “joys of Sunday night” and
  Random House publisher.  

John
Daly (Host)
hosted the Miss Universe pageant in Miami the previous evening.  

Johnny
Olson (Announcer)

The Contestants

• Drew
  Frazer sells
  Sauna Baths (Finnish Dry Heat Baths). He works for The Viking Sauna
  Company in New York City and his saunas sell for $1200 to $2500 and
  reach an average temperature of 185F to 190F.  Arlene Francis says
  that he builds them, but Cerf quickly capitalizes on her error and
  guesses he sells them.
• Edward
  Arenson Jr. makes fudge at the New York World’s Fair. He is known as ‘Eddie the Fabulous
  Fudge Maker’ and his candy business is in the Wisconsin Pavilion. He is originally from Toledo, Ohio, and
  is a pre-med student at Cornell University. The show runs out of time
  and no one correctly guesses. [The World’s fair opened in April 1964
  and closed in October 1965. The Fair was mentioned in episodes of
  “The Lucy Show” as well.]

The Mystery Guests

Ginger
Rogers and
Carol
Channing are there to promote the fact that Rogers is replacing Carol
Channing in the leading role of Broadway’s Hello,
Dolly!
Their names are already on the chalk board as they enter and they
put a check mark in a box above their name. The pair alternate
answering in a squeaky, high pitched “Oui!” and “Non!”
Bennett Cerf’s wife is Rogers’ niece, so when Cerf (not knowing it is
two people) asks if she is related to his wife, Phyllis Fraser,
Channing squeaks “Non!” The Broadway-savvy panel finally guesses
it is a duo and their proper identities. Daly adds that while Ginger
holds down the Broadway company, Channing will go on tour with the show, eventually
to London. Ginger notes that they made the film The
First Traveling Saleslady (1956)
together. Carol says it was a terrible picture. She says they called
it “Death of a Saleslady” and that they succeeded in closing RKO.
“That’s
not easy for two little girls to do all by themselves.”  [In
1957, Lucille Ball and Desi Arnaz bought RKO studios, renaming it
Desilu.] Cerf requests that the pair sing the last line of “Hello,
Dolly!” together, which they do (in two vastly different keys).
Carol credits Thornton Wilder (the playwright who created the
character), Gower Champion (their director), and David Merrick (their
producer) for their success.  

[In
November 1965, Lucille Ball will impersonate Channing as Dolly Levi
on “The Lucy Show” (S4;E10). Lucy Carmichael dressed in the
character’s costume and even sang a bit of the show’s title song.
Ball and Rogers did five films together at RKO in the 1930s. She
would play herself on a 1971 episode of “Here’s Lucy” (S4;E11).]

Lucille
Ball signs in with her full name. She answers the
questions with the same voice she used as Queen of the Gypsies in
“The Operetta” (ILL S2;E5) and the fairy tale witch in “Little
Ricky’s Pageant” (ILL S6;E10).  Dorothy Kilgallen asks if she has
bright red hair and Mike Douglas guesses Lucille Ball. Lucy is in
New York City to work on the series premiere of “The Steve Lawrence
Show.” [Airing September 13, 1965, the show only lasted seven
episodes. Lawrence will appear on “Here’s Lucy” with with his
wife Eydie Gorme in 1973]. Daly tells viewers that Lucy’s show
[which he mistakenly calls “The Lucille Ball Show”] will be on a
half hour earlier in the fall, moving from 9pm Mondays to 8:30pm.  

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