What's My Line? (1968–1975)

Five-day-a-week syndicated update of the longtime CBS game show, wherein celebrity panelists guess occupations of the contestants.

Stars:

Arlene Francis, Soupy Sales, Wally Bruner

Cast

Complete series cast summary:
Arlene Francis	...	Herself - Panelist (17 episodes, 1968-1974)
Soupy Sales	...	Himself - Panelist (15 episodes, 1968-1974)
Wally Bruner	...	Himself - Moderator (9 episodes, 1968-1971)
Larry Blyden	...	Himself - Moderator (8 episodes, 1972-1974)
Joanna Barnes	...	Herself - Guest Panelist (7 episodes, 1968-1972)
Johnny Olson	...	Himself - Announcer (7 episodes, 1968-1971)

Storyline

In this five-day-a-week update of the 1950-1967 game show, four celebrity panelists tried to determine through questioning the occupation and/or related secret of the contestant. The panelists could only ask questions that could be answered yes, no or similar answer, with the contestant winning $5 per "no" answer (at least in the early years, this method of scoring was dropped after Larry Blyden became moderator). The game ended either upon 10 "no" answers, a panelist correctly guessing the player's secret or at the discretion of the moderator. The contestant often demonstrated his skill or product, though on many occasions the panelists were invited to try out the skill. During the final segment of the day, the panelists (now blindfolded) tried to determine the identity of a mystery guest who, as before, disguised his voice in an attempt to avoid being identified. On occassion, a new segment, "Who's Who?" required the panelists to correctly match occupations with four audience ...

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Plot Keywords:

quiz show | non fiction

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Genres:

Family | Game-Show

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Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

9 September 1968 (USA)

Filming Locations:

NBC Studios - 30 Rockefeller Plaza, Manhattan, New York City, New York, USA

Company Credits

Production Co:

Mark Goodson-Bill Todman Productions

Technical Specs

Runtime:

30 min 30 min (1315 episodes)

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.33 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Future president Jimmy Carter appeared on the show while he was still governor of Georgia.

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Connections

Referenced in Rowan & Martin's Laugh-In: Episode #1.9 (1968)

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Soundtracks

"What's My Line?"
Composed by Robert A. Israel (BMI)

User Reviews

Wish I liked it More

I really wish I liked the show more and I might have if I wasn't familiar with the original. But the original has real advantages over the remake 1. The panelists were better. Dorothy Kilgallen, Arlene Francis and Bennet Cerf were with the show for years and became like members of our family. We knew we would see them live every Sunday night - they were dressed beautifully and brought a sense of elegance and sophistication to the show.

2. The moderator was better. I don't know if anyone could have successfully succeeded John Daly (he was asked back for the syndicated show but turned it down). I don't know who Wally Bruner was but he was no John Daly and the same goes for Larry Blyden - they completely lacked the sophistication, elegance (and vocabulary) of John Daly.

3. The fact it was syndicated took away the "special" event that the original show was- knowing it was live on Sunday night was unique.

Again if I didn't know the original show I might like the remake better but its hard to accept ginger ale once you had champagne. Jay Kauffman