February 2, 1950: "What's My Line?" Premieres

Back: John Charles Daly.

Front, left to right: Dorothy Kilgallen,

Fred Allen, Arlene Francis and Bennett Cerf

February 2, 1950: What's My Line? premieres on CBS. It was part game show, and part what we would now call a "reality show." On October 1, 1950, it was moved to Sunday night, where it stayed for the rest of its run.

On most episodes, the moderator was veteran radio and television journalist John Charles Daly. The show featured a panel of 4 celebrities who questioned the contestants. They took turns guessing clues as to the contestant's "line" of work, which would sometimes be unusual. (Or, perhaps, unusual for a woman. Or even unusual for a man.)

They had to ask questions that could be answered with a "Yes" or a "No" (although an answer of "Sometimes" or "Sort of" would usually be counted as a "Yes"). If, after 10 "No" answers, the job was not correctly guessed, Daly would reveal the contestant's job. For every question wrong, the contestant would win $5, up to $50. It doesn't sound like much now, but, in 1950, $50 was worth what $615 would be worth in 2022.

The 1st panel was Harold G. Hoffman, who served as Governor of New Jersey from 1935 to 1938, but would be posthumously revealed as terribly corrupt; Richard H. Hoffman, no relation, a well-known psychiatrist; Dorothy Kilgallen, author of the "Voice of Broadway" column in the New York Evening Journal; and Louis Untermeyer, a popular poet of the time.

Fred Allen, host of a popular radio show and a pioneer of television, was a regular panelist until his death in 1956. Steve Allen, no relation, the 1st host of The Tonight Show from 1954 to 1957, was an occasional panelist. From 1956 until 1965, the classic WML panel would be Kilgallen; Bennett Cerf, head of publisher Random House; actress and radio show host Arlene Francis; and a rotating 4th guest.

Francis' husband, actor-producer-director Martin Gabel, was also a frequent panelist. So was comedian Robert Q. Lewis. So were Jack Lemmon, who would go on to play Felix Ungar in the film version of The Odd Couple; and Tony Randall, who would go on to play Felix Unger on the TV version. (Yes, the spelling was changed.)

A main feature of the show was the mystery guest. The panel would put on blindfolds, and, like the non-famous contestants, the mystery guest would sign in, writing his or her name on a blackboard. Unlike with the non-famous, Daly would not then read the contestant's name. Sometimes, the audience would give the panel a head start on the mystery guest's identity: If it was an attractive woman, the applause would be joined by "wolf whistles."

To disguise their identities further, they would disguise their voices, especially if their real voices were distinctive: Argentine actor Fernando Lamas answered with a high-pitched "Yes!" and a basso profundo "Noooooooo." Arlene Francis figured out who he was, and asked, "Is your wife a real doll?" A play on her name: Arlene Dahl, an actress. (Their son is actor Lorenzo Lamas.)

The first question would almost always be, "Are in you show business?" or a variation thereon. But, sometimes, there would be celebrities from other walks of life, including athletes: The 1st-ever mystery guest was New York Yankees shortstop Phil Rizzuto. Politicians sometimes appeared, and former First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt did so. So did former First Daughter Margaret Truman Daniel. Only man who ever served as President did, though. As you might guess, it was then-actor Ronald Reagan.

Occasionally, Daly would play a trick on the panelists, by including a family member, such as a spouse or a grown child. This was done to Francis with Gabel, and vice versa, and both were surprised by their son, Peter Gabel, then a tour guide at the 1964 New York World's Fair, and later a lawyer and a magazine editor; and with Kilgallen's husband, actor Richard Kollmar.

Kilgallen died in 1965, the result of an apparently accidental mixture of alcohol and barbiturates, the same combination that had already killed Marilyn Monroe, and would go on to do the same to Judy Garland, Janis Joplin and Keith Moon. Her chair, like Fred Allen's, would be filled with rotating guests, most often actress Phyllis Newman. By this point, children's show host Soupy Sales had also become one of the rotating panelists.

CBS canceled the show in 1967, but it bounced right back in syndication the next year, and in color for the 1st time. Former ABC journalist Wally Bruner hosted through 1972, when heart trouble forced him to quit. He was perhaps the earliest American celebrity to receive a heart transplant, and it wasn't his new heart that eventually led to his death.

Tony Award-winning actor Larry Blyden became the new host, until the last taping on December 12, 1974. Just 6 months later, on June 6, 1975, while vacationing in Morocco, Blyden was killed in a car crash.

Among the regular panelists for the syndicated version were Francis and Sales. Cerf appeared a few times before ill health stopped him. Father-and-son actors Robert and Alan Alda were both panelists, although never on the same show. Several game show hosts were panelists, including Gene Rayburn and Bert Convy.

Rayburn had hosted Match Game from 1962 to 1969. When it was revived from 1973 to 1982, lots of panelists on that show were taken from What's My Line? panelists, including Francis, Sales, Convy, comedian Nipsey Russell, psychologist Dr. Joyce Brothers, and actors Henry Morgan, Jack Cassidy, Anita Gillette, Ruta Lee, Meredith MacRae, and the husband-and-wife team of Bobby Van and Elaine Joyce.

Both versions of What's My Line? can now be seen on Buzzr, a nostalgia network specializing in game shows. Harold Hoffman died in 1954, Richard Hoffman in 1967, Bennett Cerf in 1971, Martin Gabel in 1986, Louis Untermayer in 1987; John Charles Daly, Robert Q. Lewis and Bert Convy in 1991; Wally Bruner in 1997 (at the time, living 25 years with a heart transplant was considered extraordinary), Gene Rayburn in 1999, Steve Allen in 2000, Arlene Francis and Jack Lemmon in 2001, Tony Randall in 2004, Soupy Sales in 2009, and Phyllis Newman in 2019.

*

February 2, 1950 was a Thursday. Baseball and football were in their off-seasons. There were 5 games played in the NBA that night:

* The New York Knicks beat the St. Louis Hawks, 87-73 at the St. Louis Arena.

* The Baltimore Bullets beat the Rochester Royals, 79-69 at the Baltimore Coliseum.

* The Minneapolis Lakers beat the Fort Wayne Pistons, 79-78 at the gymnasium of North Side High School in Fort Wayne, Indiana.

* The Syracuse Nationals beat the Indianapolis Olympians, 73-67 at the Butler Fieldhouse (now the Hinkle Fieldhosue) in Indianapolis.

* And the Sheboygan Red Skins (yes, 2 words) beat the Washington Capitols (that was also the correct spelling, not "Capitals" like the current D.C. hockey team), 68-65 at the Sheboygan Municipal Auditorium.

And 1 game was played in the NHL: The Montreal Canadiens beat the New York Rangers, 4-1 at the Montreal Forum.