To Tell the Truth

I have been obsessively watching this on Buzzr and truly enjoying it, as I was just a mere child back when it was first aired. You just have to hand it to the two impostors, they have an incredibly challenging role and they never are professional actors! When they each reveal their true identity and occupation it is always something mind bogglingly normal like store clerk or small business owner and they always do an exceptional job of throwing off that wonderful panel of judges. How amazing were Peggy Cass and Kitty Carlisle Hart with their perfect precise questions?? It is always so dramatic at the conclusion when the "real" John Jones must stand up, ahhh what a great show!

This is a truly great version of the classic game show. The thing that you really have to enjoy about it is the classic contrasts in personalities between the Boston bred Peggy Cass and the Southern belle Kitty Carlisle. Also, the the wild set helped to give the show a more contemporary feel and probably helped to attract a lot of younger viewers to the show.Gary Moore also made this show fun as the host. And who could ever forget that theme song. That had to be one of the best ones ever written for a game show. Too bad Game Show network doesn't show this version. I think that showing this version along with the black and white version they show now would be a real treat for all the fans of this classic game show.

One year after Mark Goodson and Bill Todman rescued their company from potential layoffs with a daily revival of "What's My Line?" they struck gold again with a new version of "To Tell the Truth." To me, it had all the qualities for a hit, a simple format that was popular in the original Bud Collyer run that stayed the same and perfect casting. Garry Moore was outstanding as the show's new host, replacing Collyer who passed away the day TTTT returned and the panel with regulars Bill Cullen, Peggy Cass and Kitty Carlisle had outstanding chemistry, even with the banter between them and Moore. What also made this version of TTTT stand out was like "What's My Line?", there were demonstrations and film clips after the game.

The show had a good healthy run until Moore developed throat cancer, sending him out of action. Bill Cullen did a great job filling in for him and should have become the new host but the producers didn't want to ruin the panel's chemistry so that's why Joe Garagiola was brought in to replace Moore. He wasn't a bad host but it came at a time when the show pretty much ran its course. Nine years was an outstanding run for a syndicated game show.

I'll wrap this up by mentioning the show's theme song was one of the few that had lyrics. It is best remembered for its Britishlike beat.

I was on the program with Gary Moore, Bill Cullen, Kitty Carlisle, Peggy Cass and I don't recall the fourth.

I was an impostor for a man who, blinded at birth by an accident, had his sight restored at about age 27 or 28 (also my age then).

Prior to the restoration, he had graduated college, met and married, had two kids and one dog. He had no memory of seeing a cloud, his family, a dog, a car, a tree, a house, as a Jew a Star of David, a globe of the Earth, a sunrise or sunset, the Moon; the list was endless.

I got two votes, Kitty and Peggy.

Does anyone know how to get a kinescope of the program?

It was great fun although as a stutterer I was afraid I'd be found out. The puce shag carpeting fixed that, as any contestant will confirm, and since it was a live broadcast, that was really important.

Nifty.

My rating of this timeframe of the series is extremely variable. I watch this program when I was quite young, and in my adult and senior years.

I consider this to be an iconic series, in most cases showing respect for everyone, even when it wasn't exactly the norm.

In my later years I found the lies and corruption with many of the panelists, the show, and a few of the contestants.

The feminist opinions of Peggy Cass and, especially, Kitty Carlisle, in several episodes were extreme. They did not ask questions, they gave their opinions. Carlisle, a self-proclaimed feminist, would state "you are too pretty to be a whatever". Ridiculous. She had her kids in boarding schools, always gave the impression of being a good mother, had dealings with Bennett Cerf, involved in The Famous Writers School scam, raking in at least $48 MM.

The show showed a significant amount of history. It is a pleasure to watch how life has both progressed ... and not.