What's My Line? Season 5 Episode 21

(1) Coincidentally, given that Cesar Romero is a guest panelist tonight, filling in for Bennett Cerf, the game-playing lineup -- a regular contestant, followed by two sets of mystery guests -- was exactly the same as on EPISODE #382 of September 29, 1957. On that fateful night, Bennett was the guest host in the first of four shows where regular panel moderator John Charles Patrick Croghan Daly had the night off in relation to his "other" duties as ABC News reporter/anchor -- and Mr. Romero was a guest panelist, once again sitting in Mr. Cerf's usual chair.
(2) MYSTERY GUEST DUO: Tonight's "predominantly lost" episode marked the first of a total of seven appearances -- between now and EPISODE #818 of June 19, 1966 -- of comedian and future writer/producer/director Jerry Lewis. Of these seven appearances, five (including this evening) were as a mystery guest and two were as a guest panelist. As for his then-partner Dean Martin, this was the only time the future "Rat Pack" member ever appeared on "WML?" Dino didn't even appear on the show within the last two years (1965-1967) of its run, when he was beginning to score huge ratings with his 1965-1974 variety series "The Dean Martin Show," which ran on the proverbial "other network" (aka NBC). At the time of tonight's show, their film "The Caddy" -- from which one of Mr. Martin's best-known hits, "That's Amore," first originated -- was still playing in theatres. A half a year from tonight's show, they would star in another picture, "Living It Up."
(3) MYSTERY GUEST: At the time of his only "WML?" appearance tonight, Guy Madison was in the middle of his run in the syndicated 1951-1958 TV series "The Adventures of Wild Bill Hickok," in which he played the title character. He also appeared in the 1954 motion picture, "The Command." - W-B (2008)

GSN also used pieces from the mystery guest segment in some of their early "Black and White Overnight" promotions. It's really a wonderful bit. Since his voice is so recognizable, Dean won't allow Jerry to answer. Ultimately, a frustrated Jerry yells something like, "How they supposed to know who we are when they have those blindfolds on?" The problem is likely that ONLY the Martin & Lewis segment exists. Many of the kinescopes were damaged when the producers made the 25th anniversary special "What's My Line? At 25" in 1975. If the Fates logs say the episode was accidentally destroyed, that's almost certainly when it happened. Naturally, if you're lucky enough to have a copy of the WML 25th anniversary show, the Martin & Lewis excerpt is featured in it too. - Matt Ottinger (2004)

The Martin & Lewis segment does survive on kinescope, and was excerpted in the 1984 Goodson-Todman produced special "TV's Funniest Game Show Moments." The same clip also aired during the "CBS 75th Anniversary Special" on November 2, 2003. - MikeH0714 (2003)