What's My Line? (1950)

What's My Line?
Premiere	February 2, 1950
Finale	September 3, 1967
Host	John Charles Daly
Network/Provider	CBS
Style	30-minute game show
Company	Mark Goodson-Bill Todman Productions, CBS
Seasons	18
Episodes	876
Origin	USA

What's My Line? is a game show that aired on CBS.

Called Occupation Unknown in development the show had a panel of noted personalities asking yes-or-no questions to a contestant in trying to find out his/her unusual line of work. A panelist continued to ask questions as long as "yes" answers were given. "No" answers awarded the contestant $5 a piece and the questioning passed to the next panelist. Up to ten "no" answers are allowed.

The last segment was the "Mystery Guest," in which the panel--now blindfolded--had to use their questioning to determine the identity of a famous celebrity. The celebrity guest would usually disguise his/her voice to make it less easy for the panel.

A year after its 17-year run on CBS, What's My Line? returned as a five-day-a-week syndicated series. Original panelist Arlene Francis returned, and a new regular panelist, comedian Soupy Sales, joined. Wally Bruner hosted this version from 1968 to 1972. Larry Blyden replaced him in the final three seasons.

Cast

Person	Role	Duration
Main Cast
Arlene Francis	Panelist	1950-1967
Dorothy Kilgallen	Panelist	1950-1965
Louis Untermeyer	Panelist	1950-1951
Hal Block	Panelist	1950-1953
Bennett Cerf	Panelist	1951-1967
Steve Allen	Panelist	1953-1954
Fred Allen	Panelist	1954-1956
Lee Vines	Announcer	1950-1955
Hal Simms	Announcer	1955-1961
Ralph Paul	Announcer	1961
Johnny Olson	Announcer	1961-1967
Dick Stark	Substitute Announcer	1955
Bern Bennett	Substitute Announcer	1958-1960

Seasons

Season	Premiere	Finale				#
CBS
Season One	February 2, 1950	August 30, 1950				15
Season Two	September 13, 1950	August 26, 1951				50
Season Three	September 2, 1951	August 31, 1952				53
Season Four	September 7, 1952	August 30, 1953				52
Season Five	September 6, 1953	August 29, 1954				52
Season Six	September 5, 1954	August 28, 1955				51
Season Seven	September 4, 1955	August 26, 1956				52
Season Eight	September 2, 1956	August 25, 1957				52
Season Nine	September 1, 1957	August 31, 1958				53
Season Ten	September 7, 1958	August 30, 1959				49
Season Eleven	September 6, 1959	August 28, 1960				49
Season Twelve	September 4, 1960	August 27, 1961				50
Season Thirteen	September 3, 1961	August 26, 1962				50
Season Fourteen	September 2, 1962	August 25, 1963				50
Season Fifteen	September 1, 1963	August 30, 1964				50
Season Sixteen	September 6, 1964	August 29, 1965				51
Season Seventeen	September 5, 1965	August 28, 1966				49
Season Eighteen	September 4, 1966	September 3, 1967				48

In-Depth

• At a Glance: Additional information about the series

DVD Releases

There are no DVD releases for this show.