To Tell the Truth (1956–1968)

Classic game show in which a person of some notoriety and two impostors try to match wits with a panel of four celebrities. The object of the game is to try to fool the celebrities into ... See full summary »

Stars:

Bud Collyer, Kitty Carlisle, Tom Poston

Nominated for 1 Primetime Emmy.

Cast

Series cast summary:
Bud Collyer	...	Himself - Host (400 episodes, 1956-1968)
Kitty Carlisle	...	Herself - Panelist (359 episodes, 1957-1968)
Tom Poston	...	Himself - Panelist (296 episodes, 1959-1967)
Polly Bergen	...	Herself - Panelist (165 episodes, 1956-1961)

Storyline

Classic game show in which a person of some notoriety and two impostors try to match wits with a panel of four celebrities. The object of the game is to try to fool the celebrities into voting for the two impostors. Each wrong vote would be worth $250 ($100 in the daytime version).

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Plot Keywords:

quiz | non fiction

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Genres:

Family | Game-Show

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Certificate:

TV-G

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

18 December 1956 (USA)

Filming Locations:

CBS Television City - 7800 Beverly Blvd., Fairfax, Los Angeles, California, USA

Company Credits

Production Co:

Columbia Broadcasting System (CBS), Truth Productions LLC, All American Television

Technical Specs

Runtime:

30 min 25 min (1962-1968) 30 min (1956-1967)

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Black and White (1956-1966) Color (1967-1968)

Did You Know?

Trivia

Orson Bean's father, George Burroughs, once appeared on the show. He was the chief of the campus police at Harvard University. As a result, Bean had to disqualify himself from the game.

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Quotes

Host Bud Collyer: [at the end of every show with a giggle and a smile] Don't you forget to tell the truth!

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Connections

Referenced in Piñero (2001)

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Soundtracks

"Peter Pan"
(1956-1962)
(Theme 1)
Composed by Dolf van der Linden (ASCAP)
Original Publisher: W. Paxton & Co., Ltd. (ASCAP)
Current Publisher: Novello Special Account c/o G. Schirmer, Inc.

User Reviews

Still one of the best

Packager Mark Goodson rightly called it the most golden game show idea of all. It's also one of Bob Stewart's masterworks, for Stewart created the Goodson-(Bill) Todman classic -- as he also did 'The Price Is Right' and 'Password'.

While the idea had roots in 'People Are Funny's Detecto segment, the Goodson-Todman crew developed a format in which not only the studio participants and the viewers could play along, but which still offers insights into human nature -- what better question to make people really think than 'which of these folks is lying?'

Stewart's ideas, Goodson's packaging, and the great supervision of executive producer Gil Fates meshed into a classic which lasts to this day, with the bright, polished John O'Hurley manning the moderator position first held by Bud Collyer (Mike Wallace did the pilot).

'Truth' is a timeless show that deserves to be one of two ('Price' is the other) to span six decades of national television.