Television Game Shows

"I've Got A Secret": 1961 Appearance | 1963 Appearance  |  "Password" (1962)

"To Tell The Truth" (1965)  |  "What's My Line?": 1957 | 1961 | 1962 | 1964 | 1966

"I've Got A Secret"
Run time: 30 minutes
Network: CBS
The show's premise: The objective of the show's panel is to determine the guest's "secret," which ranges from their profession, to an achievement, to where the guest lives.

First Appearance
Premiered: October 23rd, 1961

Episode synopsis:
For Joan's appearance, instead of a "secret" for the panelists to solve, she assists during an experiment of the panelists to be over-the-phone salesmen. The twist is that the merchandise the panelists are challenged to sell is damaged (a space fan missing blades, half a canary cage, two left shoes and three raincoats that are stuck together).
The proceeds the panelists are able to sell the items for is donated to the United Nations Children Fund (UNICEF).
The panelists for this episode are: Bill Cullen, Betsy Palmer, Henry Morgan and Bess Myerson.

"Password"
Run time: 30 minutes
Network: CBS
Premiered: December 12th, 1962
The show's premise: The objective of the game is for teams to guess the password via one-word clues given by one teammate to the other before the opposition team can guess the password first.

Episode synopsis:
Joan appears as a guest panelist, along with actor Barry Nelson.
Joan's teammate for the first round is James Kelley Jr. from Montclair, New Jersey.
Joan's teammate for the second round is Richard Sampson from West Englewood, New Jersey. During the second round, a photo is taken of Joan and her teammate to promote the episode's sponsor, Polaroid, and the company's new 10-Second Automatic Camera. Also during the second round, Joan is cited twice for violating the game's rules when she unknowingly gives disallowed clues to her teammate.
Joan's teammate for the third and final round is Joel Friedman of Denver, Colorado. During her appearance Joan promotes her films "What Ever Happened to Baby Jane?," which had been released several weeks prior, and "The Caretakers," which would be released in theaters in 1963.

"To Tell The Truth"
Network: CBS
Premiered: November 8th, 1965 (canceled)
The show's premise: The objective of the show is for the panel to guess the identity of the real person out of three possible choices, two of which are impostors. This is achieved through a series of questions that, assuming, only the real person would be able to answer correctly.

Episode synopsis:
Joan appears as a mystery guest. The object of this episode is for the panelists to determine which masked guest is the real Joan Crawford through a series of questions posed to the three guests ,of which only the real Joan Crawford would know the answers. Actress Arlene Francis and reporter Dorothy Kilgallen are the imposers Joan Crawfords.
"To Tell The Truth" had two episodes per day, one afternoon episode, and one evening episode. Joan was to appear on the afternoon episode, with director Otto Priminger appearing as the guest for the evening episode.

Production:
The episode was pre-record on November 2nd, 1965 at CBS studio 51 in Manhattan, New York. This was to be Kilgallen's final recorded television appearance, she was found dead in her home six days after later on the morning of November 8th, 1965. It is reported in the biography "Kilgallen" by Lee Israel that Joan was scheduled to have lunch with Dorothy Kilgallen on November 9th, and arrived at Kilgallen's Manhattan townhouse to find the police investigating her death.

Following the sudden death of Dorothy Kilgallen, CBS decided not to show this scheduled episode. It is reported that no recording of this episode exists today. However, another source contradicts this information, claiming that following the episode's broadcast, CBS reporter Douglas Edwards noted Kilgallen's death.

The recording of this episode is missing from the show's available episodes, and is believed to be lost.

"What's My Line?"
Run time: 26 minutes
Network: CBS
The show's premise: The objective of the game is for the panel to identify the guest's occupation, achievement or identity via a series of questions to narrow down the possibilities to realize the answer.
Joan Crawford appears as a "mystery guest" on each of her appearances. The purpose of the mystery guest is for the show's panelists to identify who the mystery guest is (which is usually a person of fame) without benefit of seeing the person or hearing their true voice through a series of questions posed to the guest to determine their identity.

First Appearance
Premiered: December 8th, 1957
Episode synopsis: Joan's "phony voice" is very similar to her own. At the time of this appearance, Joan had semi-retired from the film industry, and when asked if she is still associated with the industry, she responds "Not anymore." Joan's identity is guessed by panelist Arlene Frances. Frances ask "If I were to say you were a Steele [pun intended], would I be right?" Following her reveal to the panel, host John Daly speaks of Joan's efforts for the International Adoption Agency (WAIF), and mentions a benefit showing of "Wild Is The Wind," which Joan is attending on December 11th for the organization.
The panelists for this episode are; Bennett Cerf, Arlene Frances, Peter Ustinov and Dorothy Kilgallen.
Also appearing on this episode as guest challengers are Edith Young and Phyllis Cerf (book authors) and a group of professional Santa Clauses.

Second Appearance

Premiered: May 27th, 1963

Episode synopsis:
Joan is the show's special guest, and her secret is that she is going to recite lines from a scene in "Queen Bee" with Joan's co-star in the film, and the show's panelist, Betsy Palmer. The objective is that Palmer isn't aware of this, and will have to rely on her own memory of the film's production to recite her lines. After the secret is revealed, the scene from "Queen Bee" is shown to the audience, followed by Joan and Palmer attempting to recite the lines. Also during Joan's appearance, it is mentioned that she will begin filming "Strait-Jacket" in June.
The panelists for this episode are; Bill Cullen, Betsy Palmer, Henry Morgan and Bess Myerson.
Other guests who appear on this episode are: A group who have ironic names for their professions; Dr. George Brain, Texas State Treasurer Jesse James, Ice Cream maker Bill Pickle and Gas station attendant Deloy Fillerup. The music group "The Cornells," who's "secret" is that four of its five members have a parent who is an established celebrity.

Second Appearance
Premiered: January 8th, 1961

Episode synopsis: For her phony voice, Joan imitates a soft southern accent. Panelist Bennett Cerf guesses Joan's identity, asking "Do you have any connection to a famous soft drink?" After being revealed, Joan mentions that she had returned from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania earlier in the day. Joan and her twin daughters had been in Philadelphia at the Albert Einstein Medical Center to assist in the unveiling of a plaque honoring Joan's late husband, Alfred Steele.
Host John Daly makes mention of Joan's upcoming television appearance on Zane Grey Theater, in the episode "One Must Die." Before leaving, Joan introduces her daughters, Cathy and Cindy, to the audience.
The panelists for this episode were; Bennett Cerf, Arlene Frances, Joey Bishop and Dorothy Kilgallen.
Also appearing on this episode as guest challengers are: Wilt "The Stilt" Chamberlain (A professional basket ball player); Emily V. McAvoy (a store detective) and Sasha Burland (A jingle writer who wrote the jingle theme for "What's My Line?")

Third Appearance
Premiered: October 14th, 1962

Episode synopsis: For her phony voice, Joan provides a Spanish accent, and provides her responses by addressing the panelists with "señor" and "señora." While questioning Joan in determining her identity, panelist Tony Randall asks if the new film she stars in is about a prize fighter, and Joan replies "Could be, Señor" and laughs, in reference to Bette Davis. Randall later guesses Joan's identity when she cites "no runaway productions" when she is asked if the film was made in America. This is in reference to the issue of film productions taking place in other countries for financial reasons.
After her reveal, Host John Daly makes mention of Joan's film "What Ever Happened to Baby Jane?" with Bette Davis, which was being released later in the month.
The panelist for this episode were; Bennett Cerf, Arlene Frances, Tony Randall and Dorothy Kilgallen.
Also appearing on this episode as guest challengers is Ann Elliott (A race track announcer) and Henry Makow (An advice writer for a parent's newspaper column)

Forth Appearance
Premiered: December 13th, 1964

Episode synopsis: For her phony voice to the panelist, Joan uses a southern accent. This is most likely due to her recent work on "Hush...Hush, Sweet Charlotte" several months prior. Panelist Arlene Frances guesses Joan's identity following Bennett Cerf's question asking if the guest is a "directoress" of a company outside of the entertainment industry. Following her reveal to the panel, Joan mentions that she did not attend a party in honor of the production of "Lord Jim" earlier that evening due to several of the panelists attending the party, and she didn't want to make herself fresh in their minds as they attempted to guess her identity on the show. The panelists for this episode were; Bennet Cerf, Arlene Frances, Victor Borge and Dorothy Kilgallen.
Also appearing on this episode as guest challengers is Phillippe de La Fayette (A champagne salesman), and Norman Yeend (Panelist Victor Borge's piano tuner).

Fifth Appearance
Premiered: July 3rd, 1966

Episode synopsis: For her "phony voice," she gives two voices; a high-pitched voice, and a very low-tone voice. This makes the panelists initially think there are two mystery guests. When panelist Tony Randell asks if the guest is a boy, Joan stands up to display her body, to which the audience laughs and cheers.
Joan's identity is guessed by panelist, Bennet Cerf, when he asks "Do you swizzle Pepsi-Cola?" After Joan reveal, she makes reference to Tony Randall, regarding him having guessed her identity on her previous appearance in 1962. The show's host, John Daly, makes mention of Joan's charitable work for the USO, and that she is the vice president of the organization's Manhattan chapter.
The panelist for this episode were; Bennett Cerf, Arlene Frances, Tony Randall and Aileen Mehle (aka Suzy Knickerbocker).
Also appearing on this episode as guest challengers is Bill Yerkes (A surfboard salesman), and Flossie Malott (A driver's license test examiner).

Candid photos of Joan signing autographs at the CBS stage door