 | What's My Line?: Encyclopedia II - What's My Line? - Alternate versions
What's My Line? - Alternate versions
What's My Line? - Versions in the United States
A weekly American CBS radio version of What's My Line? was produced from May 1952 until July 1953. The regular panelists Dorothy Kilgallen, Bennett Cerf, Arlene Francis and Hal Block, along with host John Daly, premiered the radio version of their show on Tuesday May 20, 1952, while still performing the Sunday telecast. The debut mystery guest, in her only What's My Line? appearance, was Marlene Dietrich. Marlon Brando made his only What's My Line? appearance on the radio program that aired on December 3, 1952. The radio show continued through the "Hal Block era" into the "Steve Allen era" while once moving its broadcast to Wednesday. The finale was broadcast on July 1, 1953. It is unknown whether any recordings of this year-long radio version are in existence. The radio shows were thought to have been recorded, and rumor has it that several are buried somewhere in the Library of Congress in Washington, D.C. It is also currently unknown how the producers let the audience know what the contestants' occupations were. Possibly, announcer Lee Vines, who was that era's TV and radio voice of WML, might have delivered the contestants' occupations or the names of the mystery guests in a low voice, sotto voce. If the producers followed a format similar to the TV show, this method would have informed the radio listeners of the facts. If this were the case, it predated by nine years what Goodson-Todman Productions did with the password on their television series Password.
An American syndicated weekday version of What's My Line? ran from 1968 to 1975, with game-play largely identical to the original version. Wally Bruner was the original host and was succeeded by Larry Blyden in 1972. Arlene Francis and comedian Soupy Sales were regular panelists; Bennett Cerf continued to make frequent appearances until his death in 1971.
Other panelists included Alan Alda, Kitty Carlisle, Bert Convy, Elaine Joyce, Ruta Lee, Meredith MacRae, Gene Rayburn, Gene Shalit and Dana Valery. Contestants on this version of WML frequently demonstrated their skill or product during their segment (often with the help of the panelists, often with hilarious results).
Also, a new "Who's Who" feature was played on occasion; four audience members stood on stage, and it was the panelists' job to match their careers with the contestants. The audience member team split $25 for each celebrity that failed to correctly match their careers, with $100 possible.
On this version, while the main game was played as before, the dollar signs for the "no" answers -- which were retained early in the Bruner era -- were eventually removed and replaced by sequential numbers by the end of the run.
While widely praised among fans and critics, there was one point of contention during the series' seven-year run. Cerf died in 1971, and had taped several shows just prior to his death. Television stations continued to air shows where he was a panelist, sometimes up to 18 months after his death. This resulted in confusion among some less-sophisticated fans, who were seeing "new" episodes with Cerf, long after hearing about his death; apparently, not everyone understood the workings of television syndication, which was much different in the 1970s than today. This prompted producer Gil Fates – who recalled the incident in his book, "What's My Line?" – to send a letter to fans who had written in requesting an explanation about Cerf. He explained that Cerf indeed had died, but television was practicing a time-honored tradition of celebrating one's work long after their passing.
New versions of "WML" were planned as early as 1981, with actor Harry Anderson (of "Night Court" fame) announced as the host of a 2000 revival. However, none of these versions made it to air.
Beginning in November 2004 and continuing into 2006, Jim Newman and J. Keith van Straaten have produced one-hour live stage versions of the show at the Acme Comedy Theatre in Los Angeles, California, titled What's My Line? - Live On Stage. Their web site, linked below, lists the previous and upcoming panelists and mystery guests.
Live on Stage panelists have included, among others, Wil Wheaton, Ann Magnuson, Troy McClain, Danny Goldman, Andy Zax, Alison Arngrim, Annabelle Gurwitch, Barry Saltzman, Gary Anthony Williams, Marcia Wallace, Patt Morrison, Jimmy Pardo, Paul Goebel, Greg Proops, Kate Linder, Lee Meriwether, Carlos Alazraqui, Rick Overton, Nancy Pimental, Charles Phoenix, David L. Lander, April Winchell, Cathy Ladman, Marty Ingels, Debra Wilson, E.G. Daily, Lisa Jane Persky, Mariette Hartley, Ann Magnuson, Marty Ingels, Mink Stole, Andy Dick, Elaine Hendrix, Nicole Sullivan, Matt Walsh and Jayne Meadows.
Live on Stage mystery guests have included, among others, Tara Lipinski, Rose Marie, José Canseco, Stephen Bishop, Nanette Fabray, Mr. Blackwell, Dick Van Patten, Sean Young, Sally Struthers, Wink Martindale, Judy Tenuta, Noah Wyle, LeVar Burton, Andy Dick, Hector Elizondo, Kathy Kinney, Brett Butler, Ed Begley, Jr., Lindsay Wagner, Wil Wheaton, Rip Taylor, Drew Carey, Bruno Kirby, Lisa Loeb, Alan Thicke and Jill Kollmar, daughter of Dorothy Kilgallen and Dick Kollmar.
What's My Line? - Versions around the world
A British version of What's My Line? ran from 1951 to 1963 on BBC Television (now BBC One) and was briefly revived in 1973. It was revived again by ITV (produced by Thames Television) from 1984 to 1990. Eamonn Andrews was the host for the original British series, except in the first episode where the host was Gilbert Harding. In the UK, the host's position was called the "chairman."
Panelists included Elizabeth Allan, Lady Isobel Barnett, Jerry Desmonde, Gilbert Harding, Barbara Kelly, Marghanita Laski and David Nixon. Eamonn Andrews returned to host the revived series, with panellists including Penelope Keith, Angela Rippon, Ernie Wise and Jilly Cooper; after Andrews died, Penelope Keith took over as host. The show was revived once again by Meridian Television in the mid-1990s, hosted by Emma Forbes. A special one-off edition hosted by Hugh Dennis was produced for BBC Four in 2005, as part of a season about British culture in the decade immediately following World War II. An edition of the original series (from 5 October 1957) was also shown on BBC Four as part of this season.
The German version was called Was bin ich? which translates from German to English as What am I? and was hosted by Bavarian Robert Lembke. The show ran from 1955 to 1958 and again from 1961 to 1989. It was broadcast on the TV station ARD (First German Television). Lembke, at that time head of the news division of the Bavarian Radio (BR), bought the rights to the television format during a visit to the English BBC in 1954. Lembke later was the head of the German Olympic Centre for the Olympic Games at Munich, 1972.
The best-known German panel consisted of district attorney Hans Sachs, actress Marianne Koch, TV announcer Annette von Aretin, TV announcer Anneliese Fleyenschmidt, and Guido Baumann, head of the Swiss radio and TV station "DRS". The guests received 5 Deutschmarks (DM) for each "no" answer, for a total prize of 50 DM if their profession was not guessed by the time the panel had given 10 "no" answers.
The French Canadian version of What's My Line? was called Chacun son Métier. In the French language, the full phrase is either "à chacun son métier" or "chacun à son métier," but the program was simply called Chacun son Métier which translates from French to English as To Each His Job or To Each His Trade. In 1959, the host of the French Canadian version, Louis Morisset, appeared as a contestant on the American version, on EPISODE #448 on January 18, 1959. This alternate Canadian version was aired in Canada from 1954 to 1959.
The Brazilian version of What's My Line? was called Adivinha o que ele Faz? which translates from Portuguese to English as Guess What He Does? In 1956, the host of the Brazilian version, Heloísa Helena, appeared as a contestant on the American version, on EPISODE #341 on December 16, 1956.
In 1963, a panelist on the Korean version, Miss Keun Oh Kin, appeared as a contestant on the American version, on EPISODE #674 on July 28, 1963. The Korean version began in 1956, and was owned by the Korean government and run as a non-profit organization.
The Venezuelan version of What's My Line? was called Mi Trabajo y I which roughly translates from Spanish to English as My Job and I. In 1961, the director and moderator of the Venezuelan version, Jacques Lemoine, appeared as a contestant on the American version, on EPISODE #594 on December 24, 1961.
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 Adapted from the Wikipedia article "Alternate versions", under the G.N U Free Docmentation License. Please also see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki |
