WHAT’S MY LINE?-First Taped Episode (TAPE: 7/9/68, Aired 9/9)
Host: Wally Bruner
Announcer: Johnny Olson
Celebrity Panel:
- Soupy Sales
- Meredith MacRae (Petticoat Junction)
- Gene Rayburn (Match Game)
- Arlene Francis
FIRST GUEST: Perle Epstein (New York City)
She’s salaried, dealing in service
Arlene: Work for a profit-making organization?
Yes
Work indoors?
Usually
Do people come to you for your service?
They can
Available to both men and women?
Yes
Regular hours, 9 to 5?
It could be, but not too important
Do you move around in your job?
Yes
Are you in a form of vehicle?
No $5
Soupy: Do you wear a uniform, other than street clothes?
Yes
Is it for decoration or keeping from getting messed up?
Ah, not a yes or no question. “I just like to get a right answer”
Is there a product involved?
No $10
Meredith: Would I come out with a degree, are you instructing me?
One question at a time: The Instructing one
Yes
What about that degree, like judo for example?
No $15
Gene: Is the uniform all white?
No $20
Arlene: This instruction useful?
Yes
Is it athletic?
In a broad sense, Yes
Do you touch a person in any way?
In this case, No $25
Soupy: You would never come to my house for this service?
Perle doesn’t know, but more likely for a handsome gentleman like you
Would it make me physically better?
Yes
A type of exercise?
Could be
Would it help me from the waist up?
Yes, the whole body (“I don’t know what it is, but I need it”)
Would I use it to lose weight?
It might, Pass
Meredith: Would it take place in a gymnasium?
It could
Teach/instruct a personal fitness class?
No $30
Gene: Could the panel come as a group and work all at once?
Yes
Do you ever wear a tutu?
No $35 (You’ve never seen Gene in a tutu and you never will)
Arlene (who’s got a gleam in her eye): Do you ever work on or near water?
No $40 (Down to 30 seconds)
Soupy: Do you come in contact with the body?
Yes
Are you a masseuse?
No, Wally gives it up here
Meredith guesses wrong with fencing instructor. Perle is a YOGA INSTRUCTOR. (She did a demonstration, but it was clipped off by Buzzr)
SECOND GUEST: Henry Parcell (Manawon, NJ, near the shore in Central NJ)
He’s salaried and deals in a product
Soupy: Would I come to you?
Possibly
As opposed to coming to my house?
Yes, way to sneak two questions in and stay in control.
Would I feel better?
No $5
Meredith: Used by both men and women?
Yes
Does it come in contact with the body?
Yes
Above the waist?
No $10
Gene: Would it increase my physical well-being in any way? (uproar of laughter)
No $15
Arlene: Product for anything other than the human race?
No $20
Soupy: Stuck on not helping Gene, something I would use in the house?
Yes
In one particular room or floor?
No $25
Meredith: Is one is able to wear this product?
Yes
Is it an undergarment?
Yes, generally
Is it a girdle?
No $30
Gene: Must be something women wear more than men?
NO $35
Arlene: Breaking down who and what can wear it. Do we rule out the Animal Kingdom?
Yes
Also from the waist up?
Still No $40
Soupy: Something to help me walk or dance better?
No $45
Meredith: Worn more by children?
Yes, wants to pass to Arlene, but Gene’s in the way
He blurts out “It’s Diapers” And Henry SELLS THEM.
Mr. Parcell works for the National Account Executive for Chicopee Mills Incorporated, a division of Johnson & Johnson.. All kinds of diapers, as long as they’re white. Soupy has a new slogan “We never mangle your baby’s triangles”
MYSTERY GUEST:
Meredith: Are you in the entertainment field? Yes (sounds of country bumpkin with a hiccup)
Gene: Are you currently in New York? Yes
Arlene: Are you playing in a Broadway play? Yes
Soupy: Is there just one of you? Yes
Meredith: Are you known for comedy as opposed to drama? No
Gene: In your current appearance, do you sing? Yes
Arlene: Is your wife in the show with you? No
Soupy: Is there another male as your co-star? No
Meredith with a guess: Joel Grey…RIGHT!
From one hit play to another “Cabaret” to George M”, it’s been a good year. Grey’s been in the business for 25 years, since age 11.
Closing: A chat with Meredith after figuring out who the mystery guest was. This was her first time on a game show panel. Meredith has also recorded her first record with her “Petticoat Junction” sisters along with solo records and live performances. It all started with “My Three Sons”, then a soap opera before “Petticoat” now in her third year. And it’s only her fifth year in show business.
What’s my Line? is owned by Fremantle.