To Tell the Truth
Encyclopedia
To Tell the Truth is an American
television
panel game
show created by Bob Stewart and produced by Goodson
-Todman
Productions that has aired in various forms since 1956 both on networks
and in syndication. Along with The Price Is Right
and Let's Make a Deal
, it is one of three game shows in the United States to have aired at least one new episode in at least six consecutive decades. A total of 25 seasons of the various versions of To Tell The Truth have been produced, just exceeding the 24 of What's My Line?
and the 20 of I've Got a Secret
.
The show features a panel of four celebrities
attempting to correctly identify a described contestant who has an unusual occupation or experience. This central character is accompanied by two impostors who pretend to be the central character. The celebrity panelists question the three contestants; the impostors are allowed to lie but the central character is sworn "to tell the truth". After questioning, the panel attempts to identify which of the three challengers is telling the truth and is thus the central character.
about the central character.
The panelists are each given a period of time to question the challengers. Questions are directed to the challengers by number (Number One, Number Two and Number Three), with the central character sworn to give truthful answers, and the impostors permitted to lie and pretend to be the central character.
After questioning is complete, each member of the panel votes on which of the challengers they believe to be the central character, either by writing the number on a card or holding up a card with the number of their choice, without consulting the other panelists. Any panelist who knows one of the challengers or has another unfair advantage is required to recuse himself which, for scoring purposes, is counted as an incorrect vote.
Once the votes are cast, the host asks, "Will the real [person's name] please stand up?" The central character then stands, often after some brief playful feinting and false starts among all three challengers. The two impostors then reveal their real names and their actual occupations. Prize money is awarded to the challengers based on the number of incorrect votes the impostors draw.
in prime time
as Nothing But The Truth, but the program title was changed, To Tell The Truth, during the following week. The series was recorded in New York City; initially at CBS-TV Studio 52, moving to Studio 50
late in its run.
Bud Collyer
was the show's host (Mike Wallace
hosted the pilot); recurring panelists by the 1960s included Tom Poston
, Peggy Cass
, Orson Bean
, and Kitty Carlisle. Earlier regular panelists had included Johnny Carson
, Polly Bergen
, Jayne Meadows
, Don Ameche
, Hy Gardner
, Dick Van Dyke
, Hildy Parks
, John Cameron Swayze
, and Ralph Bellamy
. Bern Bennett
, Collyer's announcer on Beat the Clock
, was the lead voice of To Tell The Truth in the 1950s. Upon Bennett's transfer to CBS' Los Angeles
studios, Johnny Olson
joined the show in 1960 and remained through the end of its CBS runs.
Three games were played per episode. Each wrong vote from the panel paid the challengers $250 on the prime-time run, for a possible $1,000; a consolation prize of $150 was awarded if there were no incorrect votes. A design element in the set for this series was a platform directly behind and above emcee's desk. The contestants stood on this platform during their introduction allowing the camera to pan directly down to the host. They then traveled down a curved staircase to the main stage level to play the game.
On Monday, June 18, 1962, a daytime five-day-per-week edition was introduced, running at 3 p.m. Eastern, and 2 p.m. Central. Also hosted by Collyer, the daytime show featured a separate panel for its first three years, with actress Phyllis Newman
as the only regular. The evening panel took over the afternoon show in 1965; in early 1968, Bert Convy
replaced Poston in the first chair.
The daytime show was reduced to two games to accommodate a five-minute news break towards the half-hour mark. On the CBS daytime run, each wrong vote paid the team $100. During the show's final year and a half, the studio audience also voted, with the majority vote counting equally with that of each of the celebrity panelists. If there was a tie for the highest vote from the audience, that counted as a wrong vote.
One CBS daytime episode featuring Dorothy Kilgallen
, best known as a regular panelist on What's My Line?
, was broadcast on the East Coast on Monday, November 8, 1965, as news of her sudden death was circulated by wire services. The breaking news story prompted CBS newscaster Douglas Edwards
to announce her death immediately after To Tell The Truth ended. She had videotaped the program six days earlier, according to the New York Herald Tribune
. The newspaper added that Kilgallen and Arlene Francis
both pretended to be Joan Crawford
while sitting next to the real Crawford in a celebrity segment that the daytime series featured regularly starting in 1965. The episode was one of the large majority of To Tell the Truth daytime episodes that were destroyed because of the common practice of wiping
videotape prior to the invention of the videocassette. This was a different half-hour telecast from the 1962 prime-time episode on which Kilgallen can be seen and heard as one of the panelists. GSN repeated that episode decades later.
The prime-time show ended on May 22, 1967, with the daytime show ending on September 6, 1968. The show was replaced by the expansions of Search for Tomorrow
and Guiding Light
to 30 minutes, in a scheduling shuffle with The Edge of Night
, The Secret Storm
, and Art Linkletter's House Party
.
Metropole Orchestra leader Dolf van der Linden
composed the show's first theme, "Peter Pan", used from 1956–1961. From 1961–1967, the show switched to a Bob Cobert
-penned theme with a beat similar to "Peter Pan", and then to a Score Productions
tune during its final CBS daytime season.
Most episodes of the original nighttime run of the series were preserved on black and white kinescope
, along with a few color kinescope episodes. Only a handful of shows remain from the CBS daytime series' first three years because of a then-common practice of wiping
videotapes and reusing them to save money and storage space. Many daytime episodes (including some in color) from 1966-1968 exist, including the color finale.
To Tell The Truth returned only a year later, in autumn of 1969, in first-run syndication. During the early years of its run, the syndicated Truth became a highly-rated component of stations' early-evening schedules after the Federal Communications Commission
imposed the Prime Time Access Rule
in 1971, opening up at least a half hour (a full hour, usually, on Eastern Time Zone stations) to fill with non-network fare between either the local or network evening newscast and the start of the network's primetime schedule for the evening. Still other stations found success running the program in place of a daytime network game or soap opera
, or in the afternoon "fringe" time period between the end of network daytime programming at 4:30/3:30 Central and the evening newscasts. This edition of the show was again based at the New York CBS-TV Studio 50
until 1971, when it moved to NBC
Studio 6-A in Rockefeller Center
.
Each wrong vote in this version was worth $50 to the challengers. Fooling the entire panel won the challengers a total of $500. There were two games per episode, and there was often a live demonstration or video to illustrate the contestant's story after many of the games.
The show was first released to local stations on September 8, 1969, on the same day original emcee Bud Collyer
died of complications from a circulatory disorder. A total of 1,715 episodes of this version were produced, with the series ending in September 1978. Some markets that added the series after its 1969 release opted to carry the show for another season or two in order to catch up on the episodes that had not aired in their viewing area.
According to Garry Moore, the first choice of producers Mark Goodson and Bill Todman was the host of the original version of the show, Bud Collyer. He declined due to his ailing health, saying "I'm just not up to it." Garry Moore
was then called, and he came out of retirement to host the show until 1977. Regular panelists included Orson Bean
during the first year, Peggy Cass
, Kitty Carlisle and Bill Cullen
, who substituted for Moore when needed. Many regulars from the original run appeared, including Tom Poston
and Bert Convy
.
In late 1976, Moore was diagnosed with throat cancer
. His place was taken originally by Bill Cullen. However, Mark Goodson noted how Cullen being the host and not a panelist hurt the chemistry he had with Cass and Carlisle. Joe Garagiola was then hired and took over on an interim basis, stating that he was "pinch-hitting" for Moore. At the beginning of the 1977–1978 season, Moore appeared for one final time to explain his sudden absence, banter with the panel after the first game, and formally hand the show over permanently to Garagiola. Moore's introduction that day prompted a loud applause and standing ovation. After this episode, Garagiola hosted the program for the remaining season of its run.
Johnny Olson stayed with To Tell The Truth when it moved to syndication. He left in 1972, when he moved to Los Angeles to announce the Goodson-Todman revivals of The Price Is Right
and I've Got a Secret
. NBC staff announcer Bill Wendell
replaced Olson from 1972–1977, with Alan Kalter
taking over during the final season. Don Pardo
, also an NBC staff announcer, served as backup announcer to Wendell and Kalter.
To Tell The Truth used three distinctive sets throughout its nine-year syndicated run. The first, designed by Theodore Cooper and dubbed by some as the "psychedelic" set was used for the first two seasons and the first four weeks of the third; with one man on the door a toned-down set with two additional men added on the door was used from the fifth week of the third season through the first 30 weeks of the fourth. The longest-lived set — a blue-hued, gold-accented, block-motif set — was used for the remainder of the run, also designed by Cooper. The show was the only edition of Truth to feature a theme song with lyrics. The theme was written and composed by Score Productions
chief Robert A. Israel and Truth producer Paul Alter, along with veteran theme composer Charles Fox
. The bulk of this version is intact. However, the current status of the first season is unknown, and is presumed to be lost to wiping
. GSN
has never rerun the first season of the show, and had always begun with the second season. One episode from the first season exists in the UCLA Television and Film Archive.
-like" music. Canadian TV personality Robin Ward hosted this version. It had no regular panel though Cullen, Cass, Carlisle, Soupy Sales
, Dick Clark
, and others showed up occasionally. Alan Kalter
returned to announce this revival, with a few fill-in episodes done by Chet Gould. The show was again recorded at Studio 6-A at Rockefeller Center. Along with the concurrent The $50,000 Pyramid, this version of Truth were the last New York City
-based game shows to air on broadcast television (as opposed to cable
) until Who Wants to Be a Millionaire?
in 1999 on ABC
-TV. The show's theme song was again provided by Score Productions
. All episodes of this series exist and have aired on GSN in reruns.
Each wrong vote paid the challengers $100, and $500 was awarded if all the votes were wrong. In addition to two regular games, a minigame called "One-On-One" was added to each episode. In One-On-One, the four impostors from the previous two games returned. A fact about one of them was purposely withheld from the panel in their previous introductions. After hearing that fact, each panelist questioned the impostor seated directly across from them. After 20 seconds, the panelist was asked whether they thought that challenger was the one to whom the fact applied. As in the regular panel rounds, each wrong vote was worth $100 and four wrong votes was worth $500 to be split among the four imposters.
in Burbank, California
. The show's theme music was an orchestral remix of the 1969–1978 theme (minus the lyrics), and the show utilized the block-letter logo from 1973–1978. Burton Richardson was its main announcer; however, Charlie O'Donnell
also substituted on occasion. All episodes of this series exist and have aired on GSN in reruns.
In its short run, the series had three hosts: Gordon Elliott
, Lynn Swann
and Alex Trebek
. In addition, the show's two pilots were hosted by Richard Kline
, and two episodes were guest hosted by Mark Goodson
. One of Kline's pilots was aired on the premiere date in East Coast markets.
Elliott left the program eight weeks into his run following a contract dispute with his former employers, and because of this dispute, Elliott could not appear on television for some time. Swann had formerly been a panelist and took over as host in the interim. After 14 weeks as emcee, owing to scheduling conflicts with his job as an ABC Sports commentator, Swann was replaced by Trebek. Trebek, at the time, was already hosting Classic Concentration on NBC and Jeopardy!
in syndication; adding To Tell The Truth made Trebek the first (and only) person to host three national American game shows simultaneously. Shortly after becoming host, Trebek's wife went into labor, prompting 76-year-old producer Mark Goodson to step in as host for the first two episodes of a taping day. This was Goodson's final appearance on the show before his death in 1992.
The celebrity panelists for To Tell The Truth during this period included Carlisle and other stalwarts like Bean, Bergen and Cass. By the end of the run, Ron Masak
and Orson Bean alternated at the downstage end of the panel desk, with Carlisle regularly in the upstage seat. Also serving were Dana Hill
, Mary Ann Mobley
, Cindy Adams
, Betty White
, David Niven Jr., Polly Bergen
, Morton Downey Jr.
, Dorothy Lyman
, Vicki Lawrence
, Gloria Allred
, Sarah Purcell
, Dr. Ruth Westheimer and Tom Villard
. The panelists were introduced in twos with the male panelists escorting the female panelists down the staircase, followed by the host.
Fooling the whole panel won the challengers $3,000. Three wrong votes won $1,500, while any less than that awarded $1,000. Two games were played followed by a reworked "One On One" feature. In this version of the game, one contestant (unrelated to the previous games) presented two stories about themself, only one of which was true. Each panelist asked the contestant one question about each story. Then, a member of the audience, introduced by the announcer, had to guess which story was true. If they were correct they won $500, otherwise the contestant received $1,000 for stumping that audience member. Occasionally, celebrities whose faces were not well known would attempt to stump the audience during this part of the game. For example, Hank Ketcham
, creator of Dennis the Menace
, tried during one episode to convince an audience member that he was really the songwriter to Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer
(in reality Johnny Marks
), but was unsuccessful in doing so.
hosting, and Burton Richardson returning as the announcer. The series was again produced at NBC Studios
in Burbank, California
.
Actor Meshach Taylor
was the only regular to appear on every episode of this edition, while Paula Poundstone
was a regular during the first season. Following Poundstone's departure, several actors sat in Poundstone's former chair, including Kim Coles
, Jackée Harry
, Mother Love
, Liz Torres
, and Hattie Winston
. The show's website touted Coles and Brooke Burns
as regulars for season two, though neither panelist was featured in every show that year. Kitty Carlisle appeared as a panelist for one episode of the series, making her the only panelist to appear on all 5 incarnations of this show, spanning 6 decades.
As at the end of the original CBS run, the studio audience voted. Each wrong vote awarded the challengers $1,000 meaning that $5,000 could be split by the challengers for fooling the panel. In the first few weeks of the series, stumping the entire panel, including the audience, won the challengers $10,000. Gary Stockdale
supplied the music for this edition.
According to Steve Beverly's tvgameshows.net, this edition of Truth never received a rating
higher than 1.8. It was cancelled in late 2001, only 65 episodes into its second season. However, repeats continued to air through March 15, 2002. All episodes of this series exist and have aired on GSN in reruns.
started a series of commercials spoofing the show featuring Alex Trebek
(who hosted the show in 1991) as the host, and the show's 1973-1978 set and logo. A closely sounding instrumental variation of the 1969-1978 theme music was used. The four "panelists", who were not celebrities, were guessing who was telling the truth among three contestants representing DirecTV
, "the Cable Company," and DirecTV's rival, Dish Network
. The commercials are not entirely true to the show, as the contestants are shown only standing up (the commercials open showing they are not sitting), although the "panelists" are clearly sitting.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
television
Television
Television is a telecommunication medium for transmitting and receiving moving images that can be monochrome or colored, with accompanying sound...
panel game
Panel game
A panel game or panel show is a radio or television game show in which a panel of celebrities participates. Panelists may compete with each other, such as on The News Quiz; facilitate play by guest contestants, such as on Match Game/Blankety Blank; or do both, such as on Wait Wait.....
show created by Bob Stewart and produced by Goodson
Mark Goodson
Mark Goodson was an American television producer who specialized in game shows.-Life and early career:...
-Todman
Bill Todman
William S. "Bill" Todman was an American television producer born in New York City. He produced many of television's longest running shows with business partner Mark Goodson.-Early life:...
Productions that has aired in various forms since 1956 both on networks
Television network
A television network is a telecommunications network for distribution of television program content, whereby a central operation provides programming to many television stations or pay TV providers. Until the mid-1980s, television programming in most countries of the world was dominated by a small...
and in syndication. Along with The Price Is Right
The Price Is Right
The Price Is Right is a television game show franchise originally produced by Mark Goodson and Bill Todman, and created by Bob Stewart, and is currently produced and owned by FremantleMedia. The franchise centers on television game shows, but also includes merchandise such as video games, printed...
and Let's Make a Deal
Let's Make a Deal
Let's Make a Deal is a television game show which originated in the United States and has since been produced in many countries throughout the world. The show is based around deals offered to members of the audience by the host. The traders usually have to weigh the possibility of an offer being...
, it is one of three game shows in the United States to have aired at least one new episode in at least six consecutive decades. A total of 25 seasons of the various versions of To Tell The Truth have been produced, just exceeding the 24 of What's My Line?
What's My Line?
What's My Line? is a panel game show which originally ran in the United States on the CBS Television Network from 1950 to 1967, with several international versions and subsequent U.S. revivals. The game tasked celebrity panelists with questioning contestants in order to determine their occupations....
and the 20 of I've Got a Secret
I've Got a Secret
I've Got a Secret is a panel game show produced by Mark Goodson and Bill Todman for CBS television. Created by comedy writers Allan Sherman and Howard Merrill, it was a derivative of Goodson-Todman's own panel show What's My Line?...
.
The show features a panel of four celebrities
Celebrity
A celebrity, also referred to as a celeb in popular culture, is a person who has a prominent profile and commands a great degree of public fascination and influence in day-to-day media...
attempting to correctly identify a described contestant who has an unusual occupation or experience. This central character is accompanied by two impostors who pretend to be the central character. The celebrity panelists question the three contestants; the impostors are allowed to lie but the central character is sworn "to tell the truth". After questioning, the panel attempts to identify which of the three challengers is telling the truth and is thus the central character.
Game play
Three challengers are introduced, all claiming to be the central character. The announcer typically asks the challengers, who stand side by side, "What is your name, please?" Each challenger then states, "My name is [central character's name]." The celebrity panelists then read along as the host reads aloud a signed affidavitAffidavit
An affidavit is a written sworn statement of fact voluntarily made by an affiant or deponent under an oath or affirmation administered by a person authorized to do so by law. Such statement is witnessed as to the authenticity of the affiant's signature by a taker of oaths, such as a notary public...
about the central character.
The panelists are each given a period of time to question the challengers. Questions are directed to the challengers by number (Number One, Number Two and Number Three), with the central character sworn to give truthful answers, and the impostors permitted to lie and pretend to be the central character.
After questioning is complete, each member of the panel votes on which of the challengers they believe to be the central character, either by writing the number on a card or holding up a card with the number of their choice, without consulting the other panelists. Any panelist who knows one of the challengers or has another unfair advantage is required to recuse himself which, for scoring purposes, is counted as an incorrect vote.
Once the votes are cast, the host asks, "Will the real [person's name] please stand up?" The central character then stands, often after some brief playful feinting and false starts among all three challengers. The two impostors then reveal their real names and their actual occupations. Prize money is awarded to the challengers based on the number of incorrect votes the impostors draw.
1956–1968, CBS
To Tell The Truth premiered on Tuesday, December 18, 1956, on CBSCBS
CBS Broadcasting Inc. is a major US commercial broadcasting television network, which started as a radio network. The name is derived from the initials of the network's former name, Columbia Broadcasting System. The network is sometimes referred to as the "Eye Network" in reference to the shape of...
in prime time
Prime time
Prime time or primetime is the block of broadcast programming during the middle of the evening for television programing.The term prime time is often defined in terms of a fixed time period—for example, from 19:00 to 22:00 or 20:00 to 23:00 Prime time or primetime is the block of broadcast...
as Nothing But The Truth, but the program title was changed, To Tell The Truth, during the following week. The series was recorded in New York City; initially at CBS-TV Studio 52, moving to Studio 50
Ed Sullivan Theater
The Ed Sullivan Theater, located at 1697-1699 Broadway between West 53rd and West 54th, in Manhattan, is a venerable radio and television studio in New York City...
late in its run.
Bud Collyer
Bud Collyer
Bud Collyer was an American radio actor/announcer who became one of the nation's first major television game show stars...
was the show's host (Mike Wallace
Mike Wallace (journalist)
Myron Leon "Mike" Wallace is an American journalist, former game show host, actor and media personality. During his 60+ year career, he has interviewed a wide range of prominent newsmakers....
hosted the pilot); recurring panelists by the 1960s included Tom Poston
Tom Poston
Thomas Gordon "Tom" Poston was an American television and film actor. He starred on television in a career that began in 1950...
, Peggy Cass
Peggy Cass
Mary Margaret “Peggy” Cass was an American actress, comedian, game show panelist, and announcer.A native of Boston, Massachusetts, Cass became interested in acting as a member of the drama club at Cambridge Latin School; however, she attended all of high school without a speaking part...
, Orson Bean
Orson Bean
Orson Bean is an American film, television, and Broadway actor. He appeared frequently on televised game shows in the 1960s, 1970s, and 1980s, including being a long-time panelist on the television game show To Tell the Truth....
, and Kitty Carlisle. Earlier regular panelists had included Johnny Carson
Johnny Carson
John William "Johnny" Carson was an American television host and comedian, known as host of The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson for 30 years . Carson received six Emmy Awards including the Governor Award and a 1985 Peabody Award; he was inducted into the Television Academy Hall of Fame in 1987...
, Polly Bergen
Polly Bergen
Polly Bergen is an American actress, singer, and entrepreneur.-Career:Bergen appeared in many film roles, most notably in the original Cape Fear opposite Gregory Peck and Robert Mitchum...
, Jayne Meadows
Jayne Meadows
-Early life:Jayne Meadows was born as Jayne Cotter in Wu-ch'ang, in Heilongjiang, China, to Episcopal missionary parents, the Rev. Francis James Meadows Cotter and his wife, the former Ida Miller Taylor, who had married in 1915. Meadows is the older sister of the late actress Audrey Meadows. She...
, Don Ameche
Don Ameche
Don Ameche was an Academy Award winning American actor with a career spanning almost sixty years.-Personal life:...
, Hy Gardner
Hy Gardner
Hy Gardner was a columnist for the New York Herald Tribune, host of The Hy Gardner Show, and a regular panelist on the first incarnation of To Tell The Truth. In 1957 Gardner also appeared on the show made up as a clown along with guest challenger Paul Jung...
, Dick Van Dyke
Dick Van Dyke
Richard Wayne "Dick" Van Dyke is an American actor, comedian, writer, and producer with a career spanning six decades. He is the older brother of Jerry Van Dyke, and father of Barry Van Dyke...
, Hildy Parks
Hildy Parks
Hildy Parks was an American actress and writer.Born in Washington, D.C., Parks pursued acting following her graduation from the University of Virginia...
, John Cameron Swayze
John Cameron Swayze
John Cameron Swayze was a popular news commentator and game show panelist in the United States during the 1950s.- Early life :...
, and Ralph Bellamy
Ralph Bellamy
Ralph Bellamy was an American actor whose career spanned sixty-two years.-Early life:He was born Ralph Rexford Bellamy in Chicago, Illinois, the son of Lilla Louise , a native of Canada, and Charles Rexford Bellamy. He ran away from home when he was fifteen and managed to get into a road show...
. Bern Bennett
Bern Bennett
Bern Bennett is an American radio and television announcer. For nearly sixty years, beginning in 1944, he was a staff announcer at CBS. In the 1940s and 1950s he was closely associated with Bud Collyer, as announcer on three Collyer-hosted game shows: "Winner Take All", "Beat the Clock", and "To...
, Collyer's announcer on Beat the Clock
Beat the Clock
Beat the Clock is a Goodson-Todman game show which has aired on American television in several versions since 1950.The original show, hosted by Bud Collyer, ran on CBS from 1950–1958 and ABC from 1958–1961. The show was revived in syndication as The New Beat the Clock from 1969–1974, with Jack Narz...
, was the lead voice of To Tell The Truth in the 1950s. Upon Bennett's transfer to CBS' Los Angeles
Los Angeles, California
Los Angeles , with a population at the 2010 United States Census of 3,792,621, is the most populous city in California, USA and the second most populous in the United States, after New York City. It has an area of , and is located in Southern California...
studios, Johnny Olson
Johnny Olson
John Leonard "Johnny" Olson was an American radio personality and television announcer. His work spanned 32 game shows produced by Mark Goodson and Bill Todman from the late 1950s through the mid 1980s...
joined the show in 1960 and remained through the end of its CBS runs.
On Monday, June 18, 1962, a daytime five-day-per-week edition was introduced, running at 3 p.m. Eastern, and 2 p.m. Central. Also hosted by Collyer, the daytime show featured a separate panel for its first three years, with actress Phyllis Newman
Phyllis Newman
Phyllis Newman is an American actress and singer. She was nominated twice for the Drama Desk Award and won the Tony Award for Best Featured Actress in a Musical.-Early life:...
as the only regular. The evening panel took over the afternoon show in 1965; in early 1968, Bert Convy
Bert Convy
Bernard Whalen "Bert" Convy was an Emmy Award winning American actor, singer, game show host and panelist known for his tenure as the host for Tattletales, Super Password, and Win, Lose or Draw.-Early life:...
replaced Poston in the first chair.
The daytime show was reduced to two games to accommodate a five-minute news break towards the half-hour mark. On the CBS daytime run, each wrong vote paid the team $100. During the show's final year and a half, the studio audience also voted, with the majority vote counting equally with that of each of the celebrity panelists. If there was a tie for the highest vote from the audience, that counted as a wrong vote.
One CBS daytime episode featuring Dorothy Kilgallen
Dorothy Kilgallen
Dorothy Mae Kilgallen was an American journalist and television game show panelist. She started her career early as a reporter for the Hearst Corporation's New York Evening Journal after spending only two semesters at The College of New Rochelle in New Rochelle, New York...
, best known as a regular panelist on What's My Line?
What's My Line?
What's My Line? is a panel game show which originally ran in the United States on the CBS Television Network from 1950 to 1967, with several international versions and subsequent U.S. revivals. The game tasked celebrity panelists with questioning contestants in order to determine their occupations....
, was broadcast on the East Coast on Monday, November 8, 1965, as news of her sudden death was circulated by wire services. The breaking news story prompted CBS newscaster Douglas Edwards
Douglas Edwards
Douglas Edwards was America's first network news television anchor, anchoring CBS's first nightly news broadcast from 1948–1962, which was later to be titled CBS Evening News.-Early life and career:...
to announce her death immediately after To Tell The Truth ended. She had videotaped the program six days earlier, according to the New York Herald Tribune
New York Herald Tribune
The New York Herald Tribune was a daily newspaper created in 1924 when the New York Tribune acquired the New York Herald.Other predecessors, which had earlier merged into the New York Tribune, included the original The New Yorker newsweekly , and the Whig Party's Log Cabin.The paper was home to...
. The newspaper added that Kilgallen and Arlene Francis
Arlene Francis
Arlene Francis was an American actress, radio talk show host, and game show panelist...
both pretended to be Joan Crawford
Joan Crawford
Joan Crawford , born Lucille Fay LeSueur, was an American actress in film, television and theatre....
while sitting next to the real Crawford in a celebrity segment that the daytime series featured regularly starting in 1965. The episode was one of the large majority of To Tell the Truth daytime episodes that were destroyed because of the common practice of wiping
Wiping
Wiping or junking is a colloquial term for action taken by radio and television production and broadcasting companies, in which old audiotapes, videotapes, and telerecordings , are erased, reused, or destroyed after several uses...
videotape prior to the invention of the videocassette. This was a different half-hour telecast from the 1962 prime-time episode on which Kilgallen can be seen and heard as one of the panelists. GSN repeated that episode decades later.
The prime-time show ended on May 22, 1967, with the daytime show ending on September 6, 1968. The show was replaced by the expansions of Search for Tomorrow
Search for Tomorrow
Search for Tomorrow is an American soap opera which premiered on September 3, 1951 on CBS. The show was moved from CBS to NBC on March 29, 1982. It continued on NBC until the final episode aired on December 26, 1986, a run of thirty-five years. At the time of its final broadcast it was the...
and Guiding Light
Guiding Light
Guiding Light is an American daytime television drama that is credited by the Guinness Book of World Records as the longest running drama in television and radio history, running from 1937 until 2009...
to 30 minutes, in a scheduling shuffle with The Edge of Night
The Edge of Night
The Edge of Night is an American television mystery series/soap opera produced by Procter & Gamble. It debuted on CBS on April 2, 1956, and ran as a live broadcast on that network until November 28, 1975; the series then moved to ABC, where it aired from December 1, 1975, until December 28, 1984...
, The Secret Storm
The Secret Storm
The Secret Storm is a soap opera which ran on CBS from February 1, 1954 to February 8, 1974. The series was created by Roy Winsor, who also created the long-running soap operas Search for Tomorrow and Love of Life...
, and Art Linkletter's House Party
Art Linkletter's House Party
House Party is an American radio daytime variety/talk show that aired on CBS Radio and on ABC Radio from January 15, 1945 to October 13, 1967...
.
Metropole Orchestra leader Dolf van der Linden
Dolf van der Linden
David Gysbert van der Linden was a Dutch conductor of popular music with a reputation which extended beyond the borders of the Netherlands....
composed the show's first theme, "Peter Pan", used from 1956–1961. From 1961–1967, the show switched to a Bob Cobert
Robert Cobert
Robert "Bob" Cobert is an American musical composer who has written for television and movies. He is best known for his work for the TV mini-series The Winds of War and War and Remembrance. Together, the film scores for these two movies constitute the longest film score ever written for a movie...
-penned theme with a beat similar to "Peter Pan", and then to a Score Productions
Score Productions
Score Productions is an American musical production company specializing in background music and themes for television programs. Started in 1963 by music producer Robert A...
tune during its final CBS daytime season.
Most episodes of the original nighttime run of the series were preserved on black and white kinescope
Kinescope
Kinescope , shortened to kine , also known as telerecording in Britain, is a recording of a television program made by filming the picture from a video monitor...
, along with a few color kinescope episodes. Only a handful of shows remain from the CBS daytime series' first three years because of a then-common practice of wiping
Wiping
Wiping or junking is a colloquial term for action taken by radio and television production and broadcasting companies, in which old audiotapes, videotapes, and telerecordings , are erased, reused, or destroyed after several uses...
videotapes and reusing them to save money and storage space. Many daytime episodes (including some in color) from 1966-1968 exist, including the color finale.
1969–1978, Syndication
Federal Communications Commission
The Federal Communications Commission is an independent agency of the United States government, created, Congressional statute , and with the majority of its commissioners appointed by the current President. The FCC works towards six goals in the areas of broadband, competition, the spectrum, the...
imposed the Prime Time Access Rule
Prime Time Access Rule
The Prime Time Access Rule was instituted by the Federal Communications Commission in 1970 to restrict the amount of network broadcast programming that a local television station, Owned-and-operated station by or affiliated with a television network may air during "prime time"...
in 1971, opening up at least a half hour (a full hour, usually, on Eastern Time Zone stations) to fill with non-network fare between either the local or network evening newscast and the start of the network's primetime schedule for the evening. Still other stations found success running the program in place of a daytime network game or soap opera
Soap opera
A soap opera, sometimes called "soap" for short, is an ongoing, episodic work of dramatic fiction presented in serial format on radio or as television programming. The name soap opera stems from the original dramatic serials broadcast on radio that had soap manufacturers, such as Procter & Gamble,...
, or in the afternoon "fringe" time period between the end of network daytime programming at 4:30/3:30 Central and the evening newscasts. This edition of the show was again based at the New York CBS-TV Studio 50
Ed Sullivan Theater
The Ed Sullivan Theater, located at 1697-1699 Broadway between West 53rd and West 54th, in Manhattan, is a venerable radio and television studio in New York City...
until 1971, when it moved to NBC
NBC
The National Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network and former radio network headquartered in the GE Building in New York City's Rockefeller Center with additional major offices near Los Angeles and in Chicago...
Studio 6-A in Rockefeller Center
Rockefeller Center
Rockefeller Center is a complex of 19 commercial buildings covering between 48th and 51st streets in New York City, United States. Built by the Rockefeller family, it is located in the center of Midtown Manhattan, spanning the area between Fifth Avenue and Sixth Avenue. It was declared a National...
.
Each wrong vote in this version was worth $50 to the challengers. Fooling the entire panel won the challengers a total of $500. There were two games per episode, and there was often a live demonstration or video to illustrate the contestant's story after many of the games.
The show was first released to local stations on September 8, 1969, on the same day original emcee Bud Collyer
Bud Collyer
Bud Collyer was an American radio actor/announcer who became one of the nation's first major television game show stars...
died of complications from a circulatory disorder. A total of 1,715 episodes of this version were produced, with the series ending in September 1978. Some markets that added the series after its 1969 release opted to carry the show for another season or two in order to catch up on the episodes that had not aired in their viewing area.
According to Garry Moore, the first choice of producers Mark Goodson and Bill Todman was the host of the original version of the show, Bud Collyer. He declined due to his ailing health, saying "I'm just not up to it." Garry Moore
Garry Moore
Garry Moore was an American entertainer, game show host and comedian best known for his work in television...
was then called, and he came out of retirement to host the show until 1977. Regular panelists included Orson Bean
Orson Bean
Orson Bean is an American film, television, and Broadway actor. He appeared frequently on televised game shows in the 1960s, 1970s, and 1980s, including being a long-time panelist on the television game show To Tell the Truth....
during the first year, Peggy Cass
Peggy Cass
Mary Margaret “Peggy” Cass was an American actress, comedian, game show panelist, and announcer.A native of Boston, Massachusetts, Cass became interested in acting as a member of the drama club at Cambridge Latin School; however, she attended all of high school without a speaking part...
, Kitty Carlisle and Bill Cullen
Bill Cullen
William Lawrence Francis "Bill" Cullen was an American radio and television personality whose career spanned five decades...
, who substituted for Moore when needed. Many regulars from the original run appeared, including Tom Poston
Tom Poston
Thomas Gordon "Tom" Poston was an American television and film actor. He starred on television in a career that began in 1950...
and Bert Convy
Bert Convy
Bernard Whalen "Bert" Convy was an Emmy Award winning American actor, singer, game show host and panelist known for his tenure as the host for Tattletales, Super Password, and Win, Lose or Draw.-Early life:...
.
In late 1976, Moore was diagnosed with throat cancer
Esophageal cancer
Esophageal cancer is malignancy of the esophagus. There are various subtypes, primarily squamous cell cancer and adenocarcinoma . Squamous cell cancer arises from the cells that line the upper part of the esophagus...
. His place was taken originally by Bill Cullen. However, Mark Goodson noted how Cullen being the host and not a panelist hurt the chemistry he had with Cass and Carlisle. Joe Garagiola was then hired and took over on an interim basis, stating that he was "pinch-hitting" for Moore. At the beginning of the 1977–1978 season, Moore appeared for one final time to explain his sudden absence, banter with the panel after the first game, and formally hand the show over permanently to Garagiola. Moore's introduction that day prompted a loud applause and standing ovation. After this episode, Garagiola hosted the program for the remaining season of its run.
Johnny Olson stayed with To Tell The Truth when it moved to syndication. He left in 1972, when he moved to Los Angeles to announce the Goodson-Todman revivals of The Price Is Right
The Price Is Right
The Price Is Right is a television game show franchise originally produced by Mark Goodson and Bill Todman, and created by Bob Stewart, and is currently produced and owned by FremantleMedia. The franchise centers on television game shows, but also includes merchandise such as video games, printed...
and I've Got a Secret
I've Got a Secret
I've Got a Secret is a panel game show produced by Mark Goodson and Bill Todman for CBS television. Created by comedy writers Allan Sherman and Howard Merrill, it was a derivative of Goodson-Todman's own panel show What's My Line?...
. NBC staff announcer Bill Wendell
Bill Wendell
Bill Wendell was an NBC television staff announcer for almost his entire professional career.-Biography:...
replaced Olson from 1972–1977, with Alan Kalter
Alan Kalter
Alan Kalter is an American television announcer from New York City. He is best knownas the announcer for the Late Show with David Letterman since September 5, 1995.-Career:...
taking over during the final season. Don Pardo
Don Pardo
Dominick George "Don" Pardo is an American radio and television announcer. He is best known as the voice of the long-running late night sketch comedy show Saturday Night Live....
, also an NBC staff announcer, served as backup announcer to Wendell and Kalter.
To Tell The Truth used three distinctive sets throughout its nine-year syndicated run. The first, designed by Theodore Cooper and dubbed by some as the "psychedelic" set was used for the first two seasons and the first four weeks of the third; with one man on the door a toned-down set with two additional men added on the door was used from the fifth week of the third season through the first 30 weeks of the fourth. The longest-lived set — a blue-hued, gold-accented, block-motif set — was used for the remainder of the run, also designed by Cooper. The show was the only edition of Truth to feature a theme song with lyrics. The theme was written and composed by Score Productions
Score Productions
Score Productions is an American musical production company specializing in background music and themes for television programs. Started in 1963 by music producer Robert A...
chief Robert A. Israel and Truth producer Paul Alter, along with veteran theme composer Charles Fox
Charles Fox (composer)
Charles Ira Fox is an American composer for film and television. His most heard compositions are probably the "love themes" , and the dramatic theme music to ABC's Wide World of Sports and the original Monday Night Football.....
. The bulk of this version is intact. However, the current status of the first season is unknown, and is presumed to be lost to wiping
Wiping
Wiping or junking is a colloquial term for action taken by radio and television production and broadcasting companies, in which old audiotapes, videotapes, and telerecordings , are erased, reused, or destroyed after several uses...
. GSN
Game Show Network
The Game Show Network is an American cable television and direct broadcast satellite channel dedicated to game shows and casino game shows. The channel was launched on December 1, 1994. Its current slogan is "The World Needs More Winners"...
has never rerun the first season of the show, and had always begun with the second season. One episode from the first season exists in the UCLA Television and Film Archive.
1980–1981, Syndication
On September 8, 1980, Mark Goodson produced another revival of Truth without Bill Todman (who had died in July 1979). It ran only a year until September 11, 1981. This version featured a red and white set and "discoDisco
Disco is a genre of dance music. Disco acts charted high during the mid-1970s, and the genre's popularity peaked during the late 1970s. It had its roots in clubs that catered to African American, gay, psychedelic, and other communities in New York City and Philadelphia during the late 1960s and...
-like" music. Canadian TV personality Robin Ward hosted this version. It had no regular panel though Cullen, Cass, Carlisle, Soupy Sales
Soupy Sales
Soupy Sales was an American comedian, actor, radio-TV personality and host, and jazz aficionado. He was best known for his local and network children's television show, Lunch with Soupy Sales; a series of comedy sketches frequently ending with Sales receiving a pie in the face, which became his...
, Dick Clark
Dick Clark (entertainer)
Richard Wagstaff "Dick" Clark is an American businessman; game-show host; and radio and television personality. He served as chairman and chief executive officer of Dick Clark Productions, which he has sold part of in recent years...
, and others showed up occasionally. Alan Kalter
Alan Kalter
Alan Kalter is an American television announcer from New York City. He is best knownas the announcer for the Late Show with David Letterman since September 5, 1995.-Career:...
returned to announce this revival, with a few fill-in episodes done by Chet Gould. The show was again recorded at Studio 6-A at Rockefeller Center. Along with the concurrent The $50,000 Pyramid, this version of Truth were the last New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
-based game shows to air on broadcast television (as opposed to cable
Cable television
Cable television is a system of providing television programs to consumers via radio frequency signals transmitted to televisions through coaxial cables or digital light pulses through fixed optical fibers located on the subscriber's property, much like the over-the-air method used in traditional...
) until Who Wants to Be a Millionaire?
Who Wants to Be a Millionaire (US game show)
Who Wants to Be a Millionaire is an American television quiz show which offers a maximum prize of $1,000,000 for correctly answering 14 consecutive multiple-choice questions of random difficulty. Until 2010, the format required contestants to correctly answer 15 consecutive questions of increasing...
in 1999 on ABC
American Broadcasting Company
The American Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network. Created in 1943 from the former NBC Blue radio network, ABC is owned by The Walt Disney Company and is part of Disney-ABC Television Group. Its first broadcast on television was in 1948...
-TV. The show's theme song was again provided by Score Productions
Score Productions
Score Productions is an American musical production company specializing in background music and themes for television programs. Started in 1963 by music producer Robert A...
. All episodes of this series exist and have aired on GSN in reruns.
Each wrong vote paid the challengers $100, and $500 was awarded if all the votes were wrong. In addition to two regular games, a minigame called "One-On-One" was added to each episode. In One-On-One, the four impostors from the previous two games returned. A fact about one of them was purposely withheld from the panel in their previous introductions. After hearing that fact, each panelist questioned the impostor seated directly across from them. After 20 seconds, the panelist was asked whether they thought that challenger was the one to whom the fact applied. As in the regular panel rounds, each wrong vote was worth $100 and four wrong votes was worth $500 to be split among the four imposters.
1990–1991, NBC
To Tell The Truth returned again for a run that lasted just nine months from September 3, 1990 to May 31, 1991. After spending many years originating from New York, the show originated for the first time from NBC StudiosNBC Studios
The NBC Studios in New York, New York is located at 30 Rockefeller Plaza in Manhattan, the historic GE Building houses the headquarters of the NBC television network, its parent General Electric, and NBC's flagship station WNBC , as well as cable news channel MSNBC.When NBC Universal relocated,...
in Burbank, California
Burbank, California
Burbank is a city in Los Angeles County in Southern California, United States, north of downtown Los Angeles. The estimated population in 2010 was 103,340....
. The show's theme music was an orchestral remix of the 1969–1978 theme (minus the lyrics), and the show utilized the block-letter logo from 1973–1978. Burton Richardson was its main announcer; however, Charlie O'Donnell
Charlie O'Donnell
Charles John "Charlie" O'Donnell was an American radio and television announcer, primarily known for his work on game shows...
also substituted on occasion. All episodes of this series exist and have aired on GSN in reruns.
In its short run, the series had three hosts: Gordon Elliott
Gordon Elliott
Gordon Elliott is a British-born Australian journalist and producer. He is the executive producer of ABC's daytime program The Chew, but is probably better known for his 1990s TV talk show program, The Gordon Elliott Show....
, Lynn Swann
Lynn Swann
-Collegiate:Swann attended the University of Southern California, where he was an All-American on the Trojans football team. He played under legendary coach John McKay, including the 1972 undefeated and national championship season. McKay said of Swann, "He has speed, soft hands, and grace." He...
and Alex Trebek
Alex Trebek
George Alexander "Alex" Trebek is a Canadian American game show host who has been the host of the game show Jeopardy! since 1984, and prior to that, he hosted game shows such as Pitfall and High Rollers. He has appeared in numerous television series, usually as himself...
. In addition, the show's two pilots were hosted by Richard Kline
Richard Kline
Richard Kline is an American actor and television director. He is best known for playing the sleazy neighbor and used car salesman, Larry Dallas, on the sitcom, Three's Company.-Early life:...
, and two episodes were guest hosted by Mark Goodson
Mark Goodson
Mark Goodson was an American television producer who specialized in game shows.-Life and early career:...
. One of Kline's pilots was aired on the premiere date in East Coast markets.
Elliott left the program eight weeks into his run following a contract dispute with his former employers, and because of this dispute, Elliott could not appear on television for some time. Swann had formerly been a panelist and took over as host in the interim. After 14 weeks as emcee, owing to scheduling conflicts with his job as an ABC Sports commentator, Swann was replaced by Trebek. Trebek, at the time, was already hosting Classic Concentration on NBC and Jeopardy!
Jeopardy!
Griffin's first conception of the game used a board comprising ten categories with ten clues each, but after finding that this board could not be shown on camera easily, he reduced it to two rounds of thirty clues each, with five clues in each of six categories...
in syndication; adding To Tell The Truth made Trebek the first (and only) person to host three national American game shows simultaneously. Shortly after becoming host, Trebek's wife went into labor, prompting 76-year-old producer Mark Goodson to step in as host for the first two episodes of a taping day. This was Goodson's final appearance on the show before his death in 1992.
The celebrity panelists for To Tell The Truth during this period included Carlisle and other stalwarts like Bean, Bergen and Cass. By the end of the run, Ron Masak
Ron Masak
Ron Masak is an American actor. He began on stage and much of his work is in theater. His first screen role was as the Harmonica Man in "The Purple Testament," an episode of The Twilight Zone in 1960...
and Orson Bean alternated at the downstage end of the panel desk, with Carlisle regularly in the upstage seat. Also serving were Dana Hill
Dana Hill
Dana Hill was an American actress and voice actor with a raspy voice and childlike appearance, which allowed her to play adolescent roles into her 30s...
, Mary Ann Mobley
Mary Ann Mobley
Mary Ann Mobley is a former Miss America, actress, and television personality.-Career:After serving her reign as Miss America 1959, Mobley embarked on a career in both film and television...
, Cindy Adams
Cindy Adams
Cindy Adams is an American gossip columnist and writer. She is the widow of comedian and humorist Joey Adams.-Early life and education:Born an only child in New York City, she was one year old when her parents divorced...
, Betty White
Betty White
Betty White Ludden , better known as Betty White, is an American actress, comedienne, singer, author, and former game show personality. With a career spanning seven decades since 1939, she is best known to modern audiences for her television roles as Sue Ann Nivens on The Mary Tyler Moore Show and...
, David Niven Jr., Polly Bergen
Polly Bergen
Polly Bergen is an American actress, singer, and entrepreneur.-Career:Bergen appeared in many film roles, most notably in the original Cape Fear opposite Gregory Peck and Robert Mitchum...
, Morton Downey Jr.
Morton Downey, Jr.
Morton Downey, Jr. was an American singer, songwriter and later a television talk show host of the 1980s who pioneered the "trash TV" format on his program The Morton Downey Jr. Show....
, Dorothy Lyman
Dorothy Lyman
Dorothy Lyman is an American television actress, director and producer. She is most commonly known for her work as architect Gwen Parrish Frame in Another World and in All My Children as Opal Sue Gardner, and on the syndicated sitcom Mama's Family, as Naomi Harper.Lyman was born in Minneapolis,...
, Vicki Lawrence
Vicki Lawrence
Vicki Lawrence is an American actress, comedienne, and Billboard Hot 100 #1 singer, who was frequently a game show panelist in the 1970s and 1980s...
, Gloria Allred
Gloria Allred
Gloria Rachel Allred is an American lawyer noted for taking high-profile and often controversial cases, particulary those involving the protection of women's rights.-Early life:...
, Sarah Purcell
Sarah Purcell
Sarah Purcell is an American former talk show host, game show host, and panelist.She was co-host of The Better Sex , Real People , America , and The Home Show , and made guest appearances on several TV dramas. She also co-starred in the 1981 film Terror Among Us with Tracy Reed...
, Dr. Ruth Westheimer and Tom Villard
Tom Villard
Thomas Louis Villard was an American actor. He is best known for his leading role in the 1980s series We Got it Made as Jay Bostwick, as well as roles in feature films One Crazy Summer, Heartbreak Ridge, My Girl, and Popcorn.-Early life:Tom Villard was born on November 19, 1953, in...
. The panelists were introduced in twos with the male panelists escorting the female panelists down the staircase, followed by the host.
Fooling the whole panel won the challengers $3,000. Three wrong votes won $1,500, while any less than that awarded $1,000. Two games were played followed by a reworked "One On One" feature. In this version of the game, one contestant (unrelated to the previous games) presented two stories about themself, only one of which was true. Each panelist asked the contestant one question about each story. Then, a member of the audience, introduced by the announcer, had to guess which story was true. If they were correct they won $500, otherwise the contestant received $1,000 for stumping that audience member. Occasionally, celebrities whose faces were not well known would attempt to stump the audience during this part of the game. For example, Hank Ketcham
Hank Ketcham
Henry King "Hank" Ketcham was an American cartoonist who created the Dennis the Menace comic strip, writing and drawing it from 1951 to 1994, when he retired from drawing the daily page and took up painting full time in his studio at his home. He received the Reuben Award for the strip in 1953...
, creator of Dennis the Menace
Dennis the Menace (U.S.)
Dennis the Menace is a daily syndicated newspaper comic strip originally created, written and illustrated by Hank Ketcham. It debuted on March 12, 1951 in 16 newspapers and was originally distributed by Post-Hall Syndicate...
, tried during one episode to convince an audience member that he was really the songwriter to Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer
Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer
Rudolph the Red-nosed Reindeer is a fictional reindeer with a glowing red nose. He is popularly known as "Santa's 9th Reindeer" and, when depicted, is the lead reindeer pulling Santa's sleigh on Christmas Eve. The luminosity of his nose is so great that it illuminates the team's path through...
(in reality Johnny Marks
Johnny Marks
Johnny Marks was an American songwriter. Although he was Jewish, he specialized in Christmas songs and wrote many standards, including "Rudolph, the Red-Nosed Reindeer" , "I Heard the Bells on Christmas Day" , "Rockin' Around the Christmas Tree" , and "A Holly...
), but was unsuccessful in doing so.
2000–2002, Syndication
The show then had a two-year run in syndication starting in 2000 with John O'HurleyJohn O'Hurley
John George O'Hurley is an American actor, voice actor, and television personality. He is known for the role of J. Peterman on the NBC sitcom Seinfeld and was the host of the game show Family Feud from 2006 to 2010.-Early life:...
hosting, and Burton Richardson returning as the announcer. The series was again produced at NBC Studios
NBC Studios
The NBC Studios in New York, New York is located at 30 Rockefeller Plaza in Manhattan, the historic GE Building houses the headquarters of the NBC television network, its parent General Electric, and NBC's flagship station WNBC , as well as cable news channel MSNBC.When NBC Universal relocated,...
in Burbank, California
Burbank, California
Burbank is a city in Los Angeles County in Southern California, United States, north of downtown Los Angeles. The estimated population in 2010 was 103,340....
.
Actor Meshach Taylor
Meshach Taylor
Meshach Taylor is an American actor.He is perhaps best known for his role as Anthony Bouvier on the sitcom Designing Women. He also had a major role on the sitcom Dave's World, playing Sheldon Baylor, and appeared in Buffalo Bill.-Personal life:Taylor was born in Boston, Massachusetts, the son of...
was the only regular to appear on every episode of this edition, while Paula Poundstone
Paula Poundstone
Paula Poundstone is an American stand-up comedian.- Early life :Poundstone was born in Huntsville, Alabama, and her family moved to Sudbury, Massachusetts. Poundstone attended Lincoln-Sudbury Regional High School, but dropped out to pursue a show business career...
was a regular during the first season. Following Poundstone's departure, several actors sat in Poundstone's former chair, including Kim Coles
Kim Coles
Kimberley "Kim" Coles is an American actress and comedian.-Career:Coles has appeared on many television shows, including Frasier , Six Feet Under, Celebrity Mole and The Geena Davis Show...
, Jackée Harry
Jackée Harry
Jacqueline Yvonne "Jackée" Harry , better known by her professional name Jackée, is an American actress and television personality, primarily known for her roles on sitcoms and other types of television shows...
, Mother Love
Mother Love
Mother Love is an American entertainer. From 1998 to 2000, she was the original host of Forgive or Forget. In addition, she has hosted on radio in Los Angeles radio stations KLSX, KACE FM, and a show on KFI. She came from Cleveland OH radio. She also appeared in such films as Volcano, Mr. Nanny and...
, Liz Torres
Liz Torres
Elizabeth "Liz" Torres is an actress, singer, and comedienne of Puerto Rican descent.-Early years:Torres was born in the Bronx borough of New York City where her parents had settled after moving from Puerto Rico. There she received her primary and secondary education...
, and Hattie Winston
Hattie Winston
Hattie Mae Winston is an American television, film and Broadway actress best known for her role as Margaret on Becker and as a prominent cast member of the PBS children's series The Electric Company.-Early career:...
. The show's website touted Coles and Brooke Burns
Brooke Burns
Brooke Elizabeth Burns is an American actress and former fashion model. She began her career on the popular TV series Baywatch and Baywatch Hawaii.-Early life:...
as regulars for season two, though neither panelist was featured in every show that year. Kitty Carlisle appeared as a panelist for one episode of the series, making her the only panelist to appear on all 5 incarnations of this show, spanning 6 decades.
As at the end of the original CBS run, the studio audience voted. Each wrong vote awarded the challengers $1,000 meaning that $5,000 could be split by the challengers for fooling the panel. In the first few weeks of the series, stumping the entire panel, including the audience, won the challengers $10,000. Gary Stockdale
Gary Stockdale
Gary Stockdale is an American musical composer and a two-time Daytime Emmy winner. He has composed music for television shows such as Sabrina, the Teenage Witch; They Came from Outer Space; To Tell the Truth; Comedy Central’s Last Laugh; Cowboy U; Hayley Wagner, Star!; A Home for the Holidays , and...
supplied the music for this edition.
According to Steve Beverly's tvgameshows.net, this edition of Truth never received a rating
Nielsen Ratings
Nielsen ratings are the audience measurement systems developed by Nielsen Media Research, in an effort to determine the audience size and composition of television programming in the United States...
higher than 1.8. It was cancelled in late 2001, only 65 episodes into its second season. However, repeats continued to air through March 15, 2002. All episodes of this series exist and have aired on GSN in reruns.
Notable contestants
A number of notable contestants have appeared on the show during a time when they, or at the very least their faces, were not well known.- Some celebrities have also dressed up as impostors. Soupy SalesSoupy SalesSoupy Sales was an American comedian, actor, radio-TV personality and host, and jazz aficionado. He was best known for his local and network children's television show, Lunch with Soupy Sales; a series of comedy sketches frequently ending with Sales receiving a pie in the face, which became his...
, Bill TodmanBill TodmanWilliam S. "Bill" Todman was an American television producer born in New York City. He produced many of television's longest running shows with business partner Mark Goodson.-Early life:...
, Tom PostonTom PostonThomas Gordon "Tom" Poston was an American television and film actor. He starred on television in a career that began in 1950...
, Henry MorganHenry Morgan (comedian)Henry Morgan was an American humorist. He is remembered best in two modern media: radio, on which he first became familiar as a barbed but often self-deprecating satirist, and on television, where he was a regular and cantankerous panelist for the game show I've Got a Secret...
, Joe Garagiola Jr., Christopher HewettChristopher HewettChristopher Michael Hewett was an English actor and theatre director best known for his role as Lynn Belvedere on the ABC sitcom Mr. Belvedere.-Career:...
and Rip TaylorRip TaylorCharles Elmer "Rip" Taylor, Jr. is an American actor and comedian.-Early life:Taylor was born in Washington, D.C., the son of Elizabeth, a waitress, and Charles Elmer Taylor, Sr., a musician. As a young man, Taylor served in the Korean War while in the U.S...
all dressed up in costumes.
1956-1968
- West VirginiaWest VirginiaWest Virginia is a state in the Appalachian and Southeastern regions of the United States, bordered by Virginia to the southeast, Kentucky to the southwest, Ohio to the northwest, Pennsylvania to the northeast and Maryland to the east...
governor Cecil H. UnderwoodCecil H. UnderwoodCecil Harland Underwood was an American Republican Party politician from West Virginia, known for the length of his career. He was the 25th and 32nd Governor of West Virginia from 1957 until 1961 and from 1997 until 2001. He ran for reelection in 2000 but was defeated by Bob Wise...
was To Tell The Truths very first central character. He was the youngest person ever elected governorGovernorA governor is a governing official, usually the executive of a non-sovereign level of government, ranking under the head of state...
in West Virginia. He would go on to be not only the oldest person elected governor in West Virginia in 1997, but also the oldest person ever to be elected governor of any state in US history. - British crime reporter and author Percy HoskinsPercy HoskinsPercy Kellick Hoskins was the chief crime reporter for British newspaper the Daily Express in the 1950s. He also provided stories for radio and television crime shows such as Whitehall 1212....
appeared in 1957. - Berry Gordy Jr.Berry GordyBerry Gordy, Jr. is an American record producer, and the founder of the Motown record label, as well as its many subsidiaries.-Early years:...
, founder of the Motown Records label, appeared in 1965 - and fooled the entire panel. The SupremesThe SupremesThe Supremes, an American female singing group, were the premier act of Motown Records during the 1960s.Originally founded as The Primettes in Detroit, Michigan, in 1959, The Supremes' repertoire included doo-wop, pop, soul, Broadway show tunes, psychedelic soul, and disco...
were there as well. - John E. DuPontJohn Eleuthère du PontJohn Eleuthère duPont was an American multimillionaire and member of the prominent du Pont family who was convicted of murder in the third degree...
, the heir to the DuPontDuPontE. I. du Pont de Nemours and Company , commonly referred to as DuPont, is an American chemical company that was founded in July 1802 as a gunpowder mill by Eleuthère Irénée du Pont. DuPont was the world's third largest chemical company based on market capitalization and ninth based on revenue in 2009...
fortune, appeared in 1966. He was training in the sport of modern pentathlonModern pentathlonThe modern pentathlon is a sports contest that includes five events: pistol shooting, épée fencing, 200 m freestyle swimming, show jumping, and a 3 km cross-country run...
and hoping to make the 1968 Olympics1968 Summer OlympicsThe 1968 Summer Olympics, officially known as the Games of the XIX Olympiad, were an international multi-sport event held in Mexico City, Mexico in October 1968. The 1968 Games were the first Olympic Games hosted by a developing country, and the first Games hosted by a Spanish-speaking country...
team that was to compete in Mexico CityMexico CityMexico City is the Federal District , capital of Mexico and seat of the federal powers of the Mexican Union. It is a federal entity within Mexico which is not part of any one of the 31 Mexican states but belongs to the federation as a whole...
. He later would gain infamy for murdering Olympic wrestling champion Dave SchultzDave Schultz (amateur wrestler)David Leslie Schultz was an Olympic and world champion freestyle wrestler.-Early life:...
. - Rock and RollRock and rollRock and roll is a genre of popular music that originated and evolved in the United States during the late 1940s and early 1950s, primarily from a combination of African American blues, country, jazz, and gospel music...
impresario and deejay Alan FreedAlan FreedAlbert James "Alan" Freed , also known as Moondog, was an American disc-jockey. He became internationally known for promoting the mix of blues, country and rhythm and blues music on the radio in the United States and Europe under the name of rock and roll...
was correctly guessed by two of the panelists, including Polly BergenPolly BergenPolly Bergen is an American actress, singer, and entrepreneur.-Career:Bergen appeared in many film roles, most notably in the original Cape Fear opposite Gregory Peck and Robert Mitchum...
, in a 1950s episode. - Famed ice hockeyIce hockeyIce hockey, often referred to as hockey, is a team sport played on ice, in which skaters use wooden or composite sticks to shoot a hard rubber puck into their opponent's net. The game is played between two teams of six players each. Five members of each team skate up and down the ice trying to take...
player Jean BeliveauJean BéliveauJean Arthur "Le Gros Bill" Béliveau, is a former professional ice hockey player who played parts of 20 seasons with the National Hockey League's Montreal Canadiens. As a player, he won the Stanley Cup 10 times, and as an executive he was part of another seven championship teams, the most Stanley...
appeared on November 19, 1957. - Irish sports commentator Eamonn AndrewsEamonn AndrewsEamonn Andrews, CBE , was an Irish television presenter based in the United Kingdom.-Life and career:...
made two appearances in 1957; his first was as a subject. Shortly thereafter, he appeared again as a guest panelist. He went on to become the host of the British version of the show, as well as one of the hosts of the British version of What's My Line?What's My Line?What's My Line? is a panel game show which originally ran in the United States on the CBS Television Network from 1950 to 1967, with several international versions and subsequent U.S. revivals. The game tasked celebrity panelists with questioning contestants in order to determine their occupations.... - Penelope Anne CoelenPenelope Anne CoelenPenelope Anne Coelen was Miss World 1958.In 1958, the Miss World Pageant was still in its early years. Its eighth pageant was a great success, attracting 22 contestants from Europe, the Americas, Asia and Africa. Europeans dominated the semi-finals with 9 out of 12 places secured by women from the...
, winner of the Miss World 1958Miss World 1958Miss World 1958, the 8th annual Miss World pageant, was held on October 13, 1958 at Lyceum Theatre, London, United Kingdom. 22 contestants competed for the Miss World...
pageant, appeared as a contestant on November 25, 1958. - Famed aviatorAviatorAn aviator is a person who flies an aircraft. The first recorded use of the term was in 1887, as a variation of 'aviation', from the Latin avis , coined in 1863 by G. de la Landelle in Aviation Ou Navigation Aérienne...
Douglas CorriganDouglas CorriganDouglas Corrigan was an American aviator born in Galveston, Texas. He was nicknamed "Wrong Way" in 1938. After a transcontinental flight from Long Beach, California, to New York, he flew from Floyd Bennett Field in Brooklyn, New York, to Ireland, though his flight plan was filed to return to Long...
appeared in 1957, one day shy of 19 years after his famous flight "the wrong way" (to CaliforniaCaliforniaCalifornia is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...
) via IrelandIrelandIreland is an island to the northwest of continental Europe. It is the third-largest island in Europe and the twentieth-largest island on Earth...
. - Singer and future Sesame StreetSesame StreetSesame Street has undergone significant changes in its history. According to writer Michael Davis, by the mid-1970s the show had become "an American institution". The cast and crew expanded during this time, including the hiring of women in the crew and additional minorities in the cast. The...
actor Bob McGrathBob McGrathRobert Emmet "Bob" McGrath is an American singer and actor best known for playing the human character Bob on Sesame Street. He was born in Ottawa, Illinois. McGrath was named for Irish patriot Robert Emmet....
appeared in 1966 due to his fame in JapanJapanJapan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
at the time. He was correctly guessed by all four panelists. - Bud Collyer's son Michael appeared as an impostor, along with the daughter of baseballBaseballBaseball is a bat-and-ball sport played between two teams of nine players each. The aim is to score runs by hitting a thrown ball with a bat and touching a series of four bases arranged at the corners of a ninety-foot diamond...
great Phil RizzutoPhil RizzutoPhilip Francis Rizzuto , nicknamed "The Scooter", was an American Major League Baseball shortstop. He spent his entire 13-year baseball career for the New York Yankees...
. His brother Richard V. "Dick" Heermance appeared as a central character. - American author Hunter S. ThompsonHunter S. ThompsonHunter Stockton Thompson was an American journalist and author who wrote The Rum Diary , Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas and Fear and Loathing on the Campaign Trail '72 .He is credited as the creator of Gonzo journalism, a style of reporting where reporters involve themselves in the action to...
appeared on the show shortly after writing his book Hell's Angels: The Strange and Terrible Saga of the Outlaw Motorcycle Gangs (1968). - In a 1962 episode, the panel was informed that the subject was Bob Miller, a pitcherPitcherIn baseball, the pitcher is the player who throwsthe baseball from the pitcher's mound toward the catcher to begin each play, with the goal of retiring a batter, who attempts to either make contact with the pitched ball or draw a walk. In the numbering system used to record defensive plays, the...
for the New York MetsNew York MetsThe New York Mets are a professional baseball team based in the borough of Queens in New York City, New York. They belong to Major League Baseball's National League East Division. One of baseball's first expansion teams, the Mets were founded in 1962 to replace New York's departed National League...
. At the conclusion of the game, the panel was surprised when two subjects stood up, leaving just one impostor. The Mets at the time had two pitchersBob Miller (1953–1962 pitcher)Robert Gerald Miller was a pitcher in Major League Baseball. He played for three different teams during his major league career...
with the same name.
1969-1978
- Frank Abagnale Jr. appeared on the show years after he had given up his con artistry. The bio-pic based on his life, Catch Me If You CanCatch Me If You CanCatch Me If You Can is a 2002 American biographical comedy-drama film based on the life of Frank Abagnale Jr., who, before his 19th birthday, successfully performed cons worth millions of dollars by posing as a Pan American World Airways pilot, a Georgia doctor, and a Louisiana parish prosecutor...
, opens with his appearance on the show, featuring actors (Leonardo DiCaprioLeonardo DiCaprioLeonardo Wilhelm DiCaprio is an American actor and film producer. He has received many awards, including a Golden Globe Award for Best Actor for his performance in The Aviator , and has been nominated by the Academy Awards, Screen Actors Guild and the British Academy of Film and Television...
playing Abagnale) taking the place of the contestants, interwoven with footage of panelist Carlisle and host Garagiola from the original episode. - American popcornPopcornPopcorn, or popping corn, is corn which expands from the kernel and puffs up when heated. Corn is able to pop because, like sorghum, quinoa and millet, its kernels have a hard moisture-sealed hull and a dense starchy interior. This allows pressure to build inside the kernel until an explosive...
promoter and guru Orville RedenbacherOrville RedenbacherOrville Clarence Redenbacher was an American businessman most often associated with the brand of popcorn that bears his name.-Early life:...
was first seen on national television in 1973, long before his signature commercial appearances promoting his gourmet kernels. Redenbacher appeared on an episode of the show and he stumped the panelists (Kitty Carlisle, Bill CullenBill CullenWilliam Lawrence Francis "Bill" Cullen was an American radio and television personality whose career spanned five decades...
, Joe Garagiola, and Peggy CassPeggy CassMary Margaret “Peggy” Cass was an American actress, comedian, game show panelist, and announcer.A native of Boston, Massachusetts, Cass became interested in acting as a member of the drama club at Cambridge Latin School; however, she attended all of high school without a speaking part...
), all of whom were shown eating and enjoying samples of Redenbacher's then "new" novelty popcorn flavors including "chili" and "bar-b-que". - Caroll SpinneyCaroll SpinneyCaroll Edwin Spinney, sometimes credited as Carroll Spinney or Ed Spinney , is an American puppeteer most famous for playing Big Bird and Oscar the Grouch on the children's television show Sesame Street.-Life and career:...
, better known as the man in Big BirdBig BirdBig Bird is a protagonist of the children's television show Sesame Street. Big Bird, like many of the other Sesame Street characters, is a Muppet character. He is sometimes referred to simply as "Bird" by his friends....
ever since the beginning of Sesame StreetSesame StreetSesame Street has undergone significant changes in its history. According to writer Michael Davis, by the mid-1970s the show had become "an American institution". The cast and crew expanded during this time, including the hiring of women in the crew and additional minorities in the cast. The...
, appeared in 1971. - A rare and early television appearance of Garry TrudeauGarry TrudeauGarretson Beekman "Garry" Trudeau is an American cartoonist, best known for the Doonesbury comic strip.-Background and education:...
, writer of the comic strip DoonesburyDoonesburyDoonesbury is a comic strip by American cartoonist Garry Trudeau, that chronicles the adventures and lives of an array of characters of various ages, professions, and backgrounds, from the President of the United States to the title character, Michael Doonesbury, who has progressed from a college...
, was as a guest 1971, where all but one of the panelists failed to guess his identity. - Actress Alexandra Elizabeth "Ally" SheedyAlly SheedyAlexandra Elizabeth "Ally" Sheedy is an American film and stage actress, as well as the author of two books. She is best known for her roles in the Brat Pack films The Breakfast Club and St. Elmo's Fire.-Early life:...
appeared in 1975 when she was twelve years old, in a story about a book that she wrote. The book, titled She Was Nice to MiceShe Was Nice to MiceShe Was Nice To Mice: The Other Side of Elizabeth I's Character Never Before Revealed by Previous Historians is a children's book written by Alexandra Elizabeth Sheedy at the age of 12...
, later became a bestseller. This was well before she became famous as an actress. Later on, Sheedy even became a panelist for a few episodes. - Mad Magazine publisher William M. Gaines appeared in 1970 thanks to Dick DeBartolo, a writer for both Goodson-Todman Productions and Mad who persuaded Gaines to come on the show. In part because the famously-casual Gaines appeared without a necktie, all four celebrities voted for a more stylishly-dressed impostor. Years later, DeBartolo remembered Kitty Carlisle telling him after the taping, "I never figured it was him. I mean look at the way he's dressed. I was looking for someone who ran a very successful magazine, so I thought it couldn't be him!"
- Jack MercerJack MercerJack Mercer was an American animator, storyman and voice actor. He is best known as the voice of cartoon character Popeye the Sailor...
, the voice of PopeyePopeyePopeye the Sailor is a cartoon fictional character created by Elzie Crisler Segar, who has appeared in comic strips and animated cartoons in the cinema as well as on television. He first appeared in the daily King Features comic strip Thimble Theatre on January 17, 1929...
the Sailor from 1936 to 1982, was a guest in 1975. After the game ended, he engaged the audience with the signature theme "I'm Popeye the Sailor Man." - Stan LeeStan LeeStan Lee is an American comic book writer, editor, actor, producer, publisher, television personality, and the former president and chairman of Marvel Comics....
, the creator and writer of many famous Marvel ComicsMarvel ComicsMarvel Worldwide, Inc., commonly referred to as Marvel Comics and formerly Marvel Publishing, Inc. and Marvel Comics Group, is an American company that publishes comic books and related media...
including Spider-ManSpider-ManSpider-Man is a fictional Marvel Comics superhero. The character was created by writer-editor Stan Lee and writer-artist Steve Ditko. He first appeared in Amazing Fantasy #15...
, X-MenX-MenThe X-Men are a superhero team in the . They were created by writer Stan Lee and artist Jack Kirby, and first appeared in The X-Men #1...
, and AvengersAvengers (comics)The Avengers is a fictional team of superheroes, appearing in magazines published by Marvel Comics. The team made its debut in The Avengers #1 The Avengers is a fictional team of superheroes, appearing in magazines published by Marvel Comics. The team made its debut in The Avengers #1 The Avengers...
, as well as the Chairman and Editor-In-Chief of Marvel, appeared twice. He first appeared in 1970, and then in 2002. In the latter, he and the other impostors all wore disguises lest the panel recognize him. - Famous cartoonist William HannaWilliam HannaWilliam Denby Hanna was an American animator, director, producer, and cartoon artist, whose film and television cartoon characters entertained millions of people for much of the 20th century. When he was a young child, Hanna's family moved frequently, but they settled in Compton, California, by...
and Garry TrudeauGarry TrudeauGarretson Beekman "Garry" Trudeau is an American cartoonist, best known for the Doonesbury comic strip.-Background and education:...
appeared with other impostors in an episode from 1975, which ended with a person in a Yogi BearYogi BearYogi Bear is a fictional bear who appears in animated cartoons created by Hanna-Barbera Productions. He made his debut in 1958 as a supporting character in The Huckleberry Hound Show. Yogi Bear was the first breakout character created by Hanna-Barbera, and was eventually more popular than...
costume (consultant Dick DeBartoloDick DeBartoloDick DeBartolo is an American writer. He has most notably written for Mad. He is occasionally referred to as "Mads Maddest Writer," this being a twist on Don Martin's former status as "Mads Maddest Artist." DeBartolo served as the magazine's "Creative Consultant" from 1984 to 2009.Mad has long...
) picking out Hanna, and Daws ButlerDaws ButlerCharles Dawson "Daws" Butler was a voice actor originally from Toledo, Ohio. He worked mostly for Hanna-Barbera and originated the voices of many famous animated cartoon characters, including Yogi Bear, Quick Draw McGraw, Snagglepuss, and Huckleberry Hound.Daws Butler trained many working actors...
provided the voice of Yogi as he introduced the panel in a cartoon. - Actor David ProwseDavid ProwseDavid Prowse, MBE is an English former bodybuilder, weightlifter and actor, most widely known for playing the role of Darth Vader in physical form. In Britain, he is also remembered as having played the Green Cross Code man...
, the British actor who wore the costume of Darth VaderDarth VaderDarth Vader is a central character in the Star Wars saga, appearing as one of the main antagonists in the original trilogy and as the main protagonist in the prequel trilogy....
in Star Wars, appeared on the show in 1977. He was correctly chosen by Peggy Cass. - Journalist Anderson CooperAnderson CooperAnderson Hays Cooper is an American journalist, author, and television personality. He is the primary anchor of the CNN news show Anderson Cooper 360°. The program is normally broadcast live from a New York City studio; however, Cooper often broadcasts live on location for breaking news stories...
, then 9 years old, appeared as an impostor.
1980-1981
- CartoonistCartoonistA cartoonist is a person who specializes in drawing cartoons. This work is usually humorous, mainly created for entertainment, political commentary or advertising...
Chuck JonesChuck JonesCharles Martin "Chuck" Jones was an American animator, cartoon artist, screenwriter, producer, and director of animated films, most memorably of Looney Tunes and Merrie Melodies shorts for the Warner Bros. Cartoons studio...
appeared as a subject on the show's second episode. - Mary Kay Cosmetics founder Mary Kay AshMary Kay AshMary Kay Ash was an American businesswoman and founder of Mary Kay Cosmetics, Inc.-Early life:Mary Kay Ash, born Mary Kathlyn Wagner in Hot Wells, Harris County, Texas, was the daughter of Edward Alexander and Lula Vember Hastings Wagner. She attended Reagan High School in Houston, and graduated...
was also a subject on the same episode. - Thomas BradenThomas BradenThomas Wardell Braden was an American journalist, best remembered as the author of Eight is Enough, which spawned a popular television program, and was co-host of the CNN show Crossfire...
, CIA operative and journalistJournalistA journalist collects and distributes news and other information. A journalist's work is referred to as journalism.A reporter is a type of journalist who researchs, writes, and reports on information to be presented in mass media, including print media , electronic media , and digital media A...
whose book Eight is EnoughEight Is EnoughEight Is Enough is an American television comedy-drama series which ran on ABC from March 15, 1977 until August 29, 1981. The show was modeled after syndicated newspaper columnist Thomas Braden, a real-life parent with eight children, who wrote a book with the same name...
later spawned a hit TV series, appeared as a subject. - Rosa ParksRosa ParksRosa Louise McCauley Parks was an African-American civil rights activist, whom the U.S. Congress called "the first lady of civil rights", and "the mother of the freedom movement"....
appeared as a subject and stumped two of the three voting panelists (Nipsey RussellNipsey RussellJulius "Nipsey" Russell was an American comedian, best known today for his appearances as a guest panelist on game shows from the 1960s through the 1990s, especially Match Game, Password, Hollywood Squares, To Tell the Truth and Pyramid...
, the fourth, knew who she was and disqualified himself -- he explained he met her when they protested together in the Selma to Montgomery marchesSelma to Montgomery marchesThe Selma to Montgomery marches were three marches in 1965 that marked the political and emotional peak of the American civil rights movement. They grew out of the voting rights movement in Selma, Alabama, launched by local African-Americans who formed the Dallas County Voters League...
). - Then a small-time radioRadioRadio is the transmission of signals through free space by modulation of electromagnetic waves with frequencies below those of visible light. Electromagnetic radiation travels by means of oscillating electromagnetic fields that pass through the air and the vacuum of space...
host, Larry KingLarry KingLawrence Harvey "Larry" King is an American television and radio host whose work has been recognized with awards including two Peabodys and ten Cable ACE Awards....
was a subject later in the show's run. The same episode featured future figure skatingFigure skatingFigure skating is an Olympic sport in which individuals, pairs, or groups perform spins, jumps, footwork and other intricate and challenging moves on ice skates. Figure skaters compete at various levels from beginner up to the Olympic level , and at local, national, and international competitions...
world champion Elaine ZayakElaine ZayakElaine Kathryn Zayak is an American figure skater. She is the 1981 U.S. national champion and the 1982 World Champion. She is a 1984 Winter Olympian.-Personal life:...
in the first game. - Former Tic Tac Dough champion Thom McKeeThom McKeeThom McKee is a former United States Navy officer who was a long-running contestant on Tic Tac Dough, an American game show, in 1980. He set a number of game show records for the time, appearing on forty-six episodes of the series and winning $312,700 in cash and prizes...
appeared as a subject. - John McLaughlinJohn McLaughlin (host)John McLaughlin is an American television personality and political commentator. He created, produces and hosts the long-running political commentary series The McLaughlin Group as well as John McLaughlin's One On One....
, future host of TV's The McLaughlin GroupThe McLaughlin GroupThe McLaughlin Group is a syndicated half-hour weekly public affairs television program in the United States, where a group of five pundits discuss current political issues in a round table format. It has been broadcast since 1982, and is currently sponsored by MetLife...
, was a subject. - Tony La RussaTony La RussaAnthony "Tony" La Russa, Jr. is a former Major League Baseball manager and infielder, best known for his tenures as manager of the Chicago White Sox, Oakland Athletics, and St. Louis Cardinals...
appeared as a subject on the show. At the time, he was the manager of the Chicago White SoxChicago White SoxThe Chicago White Sox are a Major League Baseball team located in Chicago, Illinois.The White Sox play in the American League's Central Division. Since , the White Sox have played in U.S. Cellular Field, which was originally called New Comiskey Park and nicknamed The Cell by local fans...
and was the youngest manager in Major League BaseballMajor League BaseballMajor League Baseball is the highest level of professional baseball in the United States and Canada, consisting of teams that play in the National League and the American League...
at that time. None of the panelists correctly identified him.
1990-1991
- Randy WestRandy WestRandy West is an American television personality who is best known for his work on game shows. He has been an announcer on American television game shows since 1990, with credits including Supermarket Sweep, Trivial Pursuit, Hollywood Showdown, and a substitute role on The Price Is Right.West's...
, later a well-known game show announcerAnnouncerAn announcer is a presenter who makes "announcements" in an audio medium or a physical location.-Television and other media:Some announcers work in television production , radio or filmmaking, usually providing narrations, news updates, station identification, or an introduction of a product in...
, was an imposter during the show's first week in 1990. - Exploitation film producer and pioneer David F. FriedmanDavid F. FriedmanDavid Frank Friedman was an American filmmaker and film producer.-Life and career:Friedman first became interested in entertainment after spending part of his childhood in Birmingham and Anniston, Alabama, traveling carnival sites. He met exploitation film pioneer Kroger Babb during his stay in...
appeared on the 1990 edition of the show, during the release of his memoir A Youth in Babylon; Kitty Carlisle was horrified at the nature of his salacious claims to fame, though on-air she expressed her reservations as humorously as possible. - Actress Catherine BellCatherine BellCatherine Lisa Bell is an American actress known for her role of Lieutenant Colonel Sarah MacKenzie of the television show JAG from 1997 to 2005...
appeared as an imposter on the show in 1990. - Composer of There She Is, Miss America (Bernie Wayne), appeared in the "One on One" portion on Thanksgiving Week 1990.
- Hank KetchamHank KetchamHenry King "Hank" Ketcham was an American cartoonist who created the Dennis the Menace comic strip, writing and drawing it from 1951 to 1994, when he retired from drawing the daily page and took up painting full time in his studio at his home. He received the Reuben Award for the strip in 1953...
, creator of the Dennis the MenaceDennis the Menace (U.S.)Dennis the Menace is a daily syndicated newspaper comic strip originally created, written and illustrated by Hank Ketcham. It debuted on March 12, 1951 in 16 newspapers and was originally distributed by Post-Hall Syndicate...
comic strip, appeared in the "One on One" portion in Christmas 1990. - Original announcer Bern BennettBern BennettBern Bennett is an American radio and television announcer. For nearly sixty years, beginning in 1944, he was a staff announcer at CBS. In the 1940s and 1950s he was closely associated with Bud Collyer, as announcer on three Collyer-hosted game shows: "Winner Take All", "Beat the Clock", and "To...
was a "central subject" in 1991. - Joan Howard MaurerJoan Howard MaurerJoan Howard Maurer is the daughter of Moe Howard of the Three Stooges. She has written several books on the Three Stooges and appeared in a few films.She was married to cartoonist/director Norman Maurer until his death in 1986....
, daughter of The Three Stooges' Moe HowardMoe HowardMoses Harry Horwitz , known professionally as Moe Howard, was an American actor and comedian best known as the leader of The Three Stooges, the farce comedy team who starred in motion pictures and television for four decades...
, appeared during the Alex Trebek era in 1991. - Doug Heir, Paralympic Champion, appeared on an episode in 1990.
2000-2002
- Mikki PadillaMikki PadillaMikki Padilla is a Spanish American actress, model and writer. She is best known for being the co-host/card dealer on GSN's Catch 21....
- Later became the card dealer on Catch 21Catch 21Catch 21 is an American game show centered around blackjack, created by Merrill Heatter and taped at the Hollywood Center Studios...
; two of the four celebrities identified her, plus the audience. - Zack HampleZack HampleZachary Ben Hample is an American sports writer and Major League baseball collector. He is best known for having caught more than 5,000 baseballs in the stands at Major League stadiums.-Writing:...
- Collector of Major-League baseballs and author of the book How To Snag Major League Baseballs; stumped two celebrities plus the audience. - Christina CrawfordChristina CrawfordChristina Crawford is an American writer and actress, best known as the author of Mommie Dearest, an exposé of alleged child abuse by her mother, actress Joan Crawford.-Early life and education:...
- Daughter of actress Joan CrawfordJoan CrawfordJoan Crawford , born Lucille Fay LeSueur, was an American actress in film, television and theatre....
. - John PetermanJohn PetermanJohn Peterman is a catalog and retail entrepreneur from Lexington, Kentucky, who operates The J. Peterman Company.Peterman graduated from the College of the Holy Cross in 1963 and played third base on Holy Cross baseball teams that went to the College World Series in 1962 and 1963...
- Catalog and retail entrepreneur; put in his affidavit that the host "John O'Hurley" was an imposter, holding up a picture of him, as an inside joke in reference to O'Hurley's J. Peterman character on SeinfeldSeinfeldSeinfeld is an American television sitcom that originally aired on NBC from July 5, 1989, to May 14, 1998, lasting nine seasons, and is now in syndication. It was created by Larry David and Jerry Seinfeld, the latter starring as a fictionalized version of himself...
. - Sergey BrinSergey BrinSergey Mikhaylovich Brin is a Russian-born American computer scientist and internet entrepreneur who, with Larry Page, co-founded Google, one of the largest internet companies. , his personal wealth is estimated to be $16.7 billion....
- Co-founder of GoogleGoogleGoogle Inc. is an American multinational public corporation invested in Internet search, cloud computing, and advertising technologies. Google hosts and develops a number of Internet-based services and products, and generates profit primarily from advertising through its AdWords program...
; appeared on the February 21, 2001 episode. - Tracy GriffithTracy GriffithTracy Griffith is an American actress and chef. She is the daughter of actor and producer Peter Griffith and model/actress Nanita Greene, and the older sister of production designer and set decorator Clay A. Griffith. She is also the half-sister of actress Melanie Griffith...
- Actress, chef, and half-sister of actress Melanie GriffithMelanie GriffithMelanie Richards Griffith is an American actress. She is an Academy Award nominee and Golden Globe winner for her performance in the 1988 film Working Girl...
; stumped the entire panel (two of whom didn't vote) and the audience. - Margo Howard - Advice columnist for Dear PrudenceDear Prudence (advice column)Dear Prudence is an advice column appearing weekly in the online magazine Slate and syndicated to over 200 newspapers.The column was initiated on 20 December 1997. "Prudence" was a pseudonym, and the author's true identity was not revealed at the time...
and daughter of Ann Landers; stumped two celebrities and the audience. - Willie AamesWillie AamesWillie Aames is an American actor, film and television director, television producer, and screenwriter. He played Tommy Bradford on the 1970s’ Eight Is Enough and Buddy Lembeck on the 1980s’ Charles in Charge.-Early life:...
- Actor; The former child actor was currently playing the lead character in BiblemanBiblemanBibleman is an American video series with an evangelical superhero character . The series includes videos, books and live shows, where they tour locations around North America.-Bibleman Live:...
, and each contestant appeared in the Bibleman costume to obscure their identity. - Todd Greene - Inventor; founder of HeadbladeHeadbladeHeadBlade is a head shaving razor brand. Founded by Todd Greene, a 1989 graduate of Bowdoin College, HeadBlade is headquartered in Culver City, California.- Design :...
, each contestant pretended to be the inventor of the head razor he invented.
DirecTV commercials
Beginning in February 2010, DirecTVDirecTV
DirecTV is an American direct broadcast satellite service provider and broadcaster based in El Segundo, California. Its satellite service, launched on June 17, 1994, transmits digital satellite television and audio to households in the United States, Latin America, and the Anglophone Caribbean. ...
started a series of commercials spoofing the show featuring Alex Trebek
Alex Trebek
George Alexander "Alex" Trebek is a Canadian American game show host who has been the host of the game show Jeopardy! since 1984, and prior to that, he hosted game shows such as Pitfall and High Rollers. He has appeared in numerous television series, usually as himself...
(who hosted the show in 1991) as the host, and the show's 1973-1978 set and logo. A closely sounding instrumental variation of the 1969-1978 theme music was used. The four "panelists", who were not celebrities, were guessing who was telling the truth among three contestants representing DirecTV
DirecTV
DirecTV is an American direct broadcast satellite service provider and broadcaster based in El Segundo, California. Its satellite service, launched on June 17, 1994, transmits digital satellite television and audio to households in the United States, Latin America, and the Anglophone Caribbean. ...
, "the Cable Company," and DirecTV's rival, Dish Network
Dish Network
Dish Network Corporation is the second largest pay TV provider in the United States, providing direct broadcast satellite service—including satellite television, audio programming, and interactive television services—to 14.337 million commercial and residential customers in the United States. Dish...
. The commercials are not entirely true to the show, as the contestants are shown only standing up (the commercials open showing they are not sitting), although the "panelists" are clearly sitting.
External links
- To Tell the Truth on the Web - offers a look at the various versions over the years. Contains an episode guide for the 1990-91 and 2000-02 series.