What's My Line?: Encyclopedia II - What's My Line? - Style of the show

What's My Line? - Style of the show

What's My Line? is remembered as a celebration of urbanity and good manners in television. In the early years, business suits and street dresses were worn by the host and panelists, but starting in the mid-1950s, the host and male panelists wore black tie while female panelists donned formal gowns and often wore short gloves. The two exceptions to this formal dress code were in the shows immediately following the deaths of Fred Allen and Dorothy Kilgallen, when the male cast members wore straight neckties instead of bow ties.

Starting in 1954, the panelists were introduced in a unique way, being presented one by one as if at a formal affair. Off-camera, the studio announcer would introduce the first panelist, who would walk onstage through the curtain entrance and take his or her seat. For example, during the broadcasts of the late 50s and early 60s, the first regular panelist was usually introduced with a dramatic flair, wherein the announcer would intone: "And now, here's the nationally syndicated columnist whose Voice of Broadway appears coast to coast, Miss Dorothy Kilgallen." Then, each panelist would announce the next in turn as they came out, usually with a pithy reference as to their latest endeavor. Bennett Cerf was almost always the last panelist introduced, giving him a chance to make some mild joke or pun at the expense of host John Daly while introducing him.

At the beginning of a round, Daly would invite the next contestant to "Come in and sign in, please." In late 1960, his mantra evolved to the more familiar phrase, "Enter and sign in, please." The contestant would write his or her name on a small sign-in board which was attached to the wall. In reality, it was not a chalk board they signed, but separate panels of black art paper which were saved for posterity. Daly would then introduce the contestant to the panel. If the contestant were female, Daly asked if she should be addressed as "Miss" or "Mrs." As a sign of the time, attractive female contestants often elicited wolf-whistles from the studio audience. In addition, Daly would usually ask the guest what city he or she hailed from.

During the game, the polite, well-spoken Daly would generally address the panelists as "Mr. Cerf" or "Miss Francis." Despite his responsibility to keep things moving, Daly was not above trading bon mots with the panelists during the game. Daly also loved to make funny faces. Occasionally a panelist would pose a problematic question leading to an equivocal answer. Daly would step in to clarify matters, but his penchant for long-winded overanalysis often left the panelists more confused than before. On more than one occasion, Daly "led them down the garden path," a favorite phrase they used when they felt they had been purposely misled.

While ostensibly a game show, What's My Line? also was an opportunity to interview celebrities and people with interesting occupations. The guessing game had an air of formality and adherence to rules, but Daly was clearly on the contestants' side and wanted them to win as much money as possible. If the occupation was guessed early, Daly would often "flip all the cards" and give the contestant the full $50 anyway, especially if the contestant had come from a long way away or was planning to give the money to charity. Unknown to the public, mystery guests were paid $500 as an appearance fee, whether they won or lost the game. This was in addition to the maximum $50 game winnings, which they sometimes donated to charity. Guest panelists were paid $750 as an appearance fee. The regular panelists were under contract and were paid "much more," according to executive producer Gil Fates in his 1978 What's My Line? book.

Adapted from the Wikipedia article "Style of the show", under the G.N U Free Docmentation License. Please also see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki