To Tell the Truth

Packager Mark Goodson rightly called it the most golden game show idea of all. It's also one of Bob Stewart's masterworks, for Stewart created the Goodson-(Bill) Todman classic -- as he also did 'The Price Is Right' and 'Password'.

While the idea had roots in 'People Are Funny's Detecto segment, the Goodson-Todman crew developed a format in which not only the studio participants and the viewers could play along, but which still offers insights into human nature -- what better question to make people really think than 'which of these folks is lying?'

Stewart's ideas, Goodson's packaging, and the great supervision of executive producer Gil Fates meshed into a classic which lasts to this day, with the bright, polished John O'Hurley manning the moderator position first held by Bud Collyer (Mike Wallace did the pilot).

'Truth' is a timeless show that deserves to be one of two ('Price' is the other) to span six decades of national television.

First let me say that Bud Collyer is one of the worst game show hosts ever. He's an okay guy, but he lacks charisma and has little sense of humor.

As for the usual panelists, Kitty Carlisle is cut from the same cloth as Bud, but she does bring sophistication to the show. Tom Poston is likable, but not very funny. Peggy Cass, on the other hand, is a hoot. Orson Bean is a favorite of mine--clever, quick-witted and somewhat irreverent.

Overall, the show entertains, but it falls far short of some other game shows of its era. For example, "What's My Line?" always features an intelligent, funny panel and is hosted by John Daley, who has a corny but cute sense of humor combined with a cosmopolitan body of knowledge and real style.

My rating of "eight" refers to the Bud Collyer-hosted version from the '60s which I've been watching lately on Buzzr. I haven't really kept up with the show in its recent permutations.

I watched the show back in the day and loved it. I really like the re-runs today of the old programs; they're irresistible in terms of audience participation. Collyer is one of the two or three greatest game show hosts ever IMO - good-natured, disciplined, absolutely real. I believe he was quite a spiritual man and wrote a book or two about his faith. The go-to panel for me was (from left) Tom Poston, Peggy Cass, Orson Bean (who veered in his lifetime from being a disciple of Wilhelm Reich to being a fundamentalist Christian), and Kitty Carlisle; this panel got locked into place at some point in about '65 after a fair amount of experimentation and quite a few not-so-good panelists. (Buzzr rarely plays a show from 1964-65-66 - is it because they have trouble getting clearances from companies who sponsored the show then but don't want their old-fashioned ads shown today?) Don Ameche was a frequent panelist circa 1962; he often became Mr. Inquisitor, with a harsh tone to his questioning - Don, baby, it's a game show! Polly Bergen made a bit too much of her ditziness (ironically, she later became a strong feminist). Johnny Carson was still mastering the art of being magnetic on camera; he literally never looks at the camera on TTTT and comes across as your basic leering smart-ass (which of course he was; he later learned to ameliorate the smart-ass thing with greater approachability). Tom Poston was superb much of the time but occasionally seemed Tommy Smothers-like in his inability to speak a coherent sentence; long, long seconds of air time would pass as Poston tried to think of something to say. The most drop-dead gorgeous panelist in the history of the show was Dina Merrill who virtually glowed. (And was fabulously rich.)

The quality of the guests - well, it varies, but I'd say seven out of ten are interesting. Lots of guests from the Kennedy Administration, like for example a kid who joined the Peace Corps - everyone on the show just has huge admiration for this guy and for the idea of the corps. This is fascinating, historically - hard to remember, now, just how treasured the Peace Corps concept was circa 1961-63. Ancel Keys made an appearance - in the early '60s he was a supremely confident (in fact arrogant) researcher on nutrition, a hugely influential guy, but his reputation has taken major hits since then around the topic of fat. Science marches on.

One thing I'm confused about is the truth-telling of guests. In very early shows, Bud tells us that only the real person needs to tell the truth. Later on, this caveat is dropped completely.

I enjoyed these shows as a very young child. But looking at them again after 60 years, there's something fundamentally wrong with the show. The real Mr. or Mrs. X often tries to say or give as little information as possible, to the point of being disingenuous in their answers. Also, sometimes the subject is fairly obscure, yet the panelists -- especially Tom Poston -- seem to be able to ask highly specific questions. Maybe my suspicions are unfounded, but the whole exercise now seems somewhat unbelievable.

Goodson-Todman were the innovators in terms of game shows. This show, as well as What's My Line and I've Got a Secret, made up that company's great triumvirate of classic panel game shows. I grew up mainly looking at the syndicated version that was on during the 1970's with Gary Moore as host, but I've recently started looking at the original black and white version. Although I preferred the Gary Moore hosted version, the black and white version is still a treat to look at. Also, you get to see the two mainstays of the show, Peggy Cass and Kitty Carlisle when they were a little younger. Also, Tom Poston and Orson Bean were great on this show as well. Poston had pretty much a great deadpan style and Bean was pretty much the clown prince of the show. This show will always remain one of the classic games to ever appear on television.