Dorothy Kilgallen was the mystery guest on the February 5, 1961 telecast. She had been hospitalized and missed the previous two broadcasts. Newspaper reports of the time revealed nothing about her condition, nor was it discussed on-air. In 1976 her personal chauffeur, Roosevelt Zanders, revealed that he had driven Kilgallen from New York to Washington during a blizzard so she could report on the JFK inaugural festivities for her newspaper. Immediately after the new president was sworn in (January 20, 1961), Zanders drove Kilgallen directly to a New York hospital. Asked by a biographer (in 1976) if his client's condition was alcohol-related, Zanders replied, "I don't say 'drunk.' One of the things that brought it about was having one or two drinks and not eating. Her system ran down that way." On February 5, 1961, with
Bennett Cerf on vacation,
Arlene Francis went on live TV assuming Kilgallen was still in the hospital only to discover that she was the mystery guest. During an earlier absence from the show in 1958, Kilgallen had reportedly suffered (according to a newspaper wire service) from "exhaustion and anemia." When she missed several shows in 1965,
John Daly said on-air that she had injured herself tripping on a rug. She returned to the show with her arm in a sling and then appeared on every telecast for six months, including a live appearance on the night of her death.
