The show was originally a game show called "You're in the Picture". Celebrity guests put their heads into oversized cardboard cutout pictures, like those at amusement parks, and had to guess what the picture was. Jackie Gleason felt the premiere went so badly that he spent the entire next episode apologizing to the viewers and studio audience for "that bomb". He filled the time slot with a celebrity-interview format under a new title, but the show was canceled after two months.
Premiered on CBS on January 20, 1961, immediately following the inauguration of John F. Kennedy.
A second episode with the game show format was filmed but never aired. Johnny Carson stated that he appeared in that episode.
The debut episode of the game show "You're in the Picture" received negative reviews across the board. Figuring that the show would be canceled, Jackie Gleason used the second episode for a half-hour apology to the audience. The self-deprecating humor of the apology was much better received.