What's My Line? Season 13 Episode 28

As Rosa Kohl, the banana peeler, makes her exit, singing sensations Tony Randall and Bennett Cerf render the first line of the chorus of the 1923 Frank Silver & Irving Cohn song, "Yes, we have no bananas. We have no bananas today!" This song was also popular during the rationing days of WWII. - Lee McIntyre

The associate director for tonight's show was Ed Waglin, who was substituting for Alvin R. Mifelow, as indicated in the end credits. Mr. Waglin had been associate director of another Goodson-Todman game show, "To Tell the Truth," in the early years of its run, and would go on to become associate director and associate producer of Jackie Gleason's 1962-1970 incarnations ("Jackie Gleason and His American Scene Magazine," 1962-1966; "The Jackie Gleason Show," 1966-1970) of his long-running variety show. - W-B

This episode can be summed up with just two words, angelic and bananas. Angelic for the way Dorothy introduced Tony and for how he introduced Arlene, and bananas not just for the second contestant, but also for how wild this episode was. In the first game, the panel was blindfolded due to the fact that the first contestant was the head of the Peace Corps, and Kennedy in-law, Sargent Shriver. The panel did have some difficulty, but Dorothy correctly identified him. In fact, Bennett was the one who opened the door, but he mistakenly called the future vice-presidential candidate by the name of Shriver's other famous brother-in-law, Bobby Kennedy. After the game, Mr. Shriver brought up the fact that the Corps recently celebrated their first anniversary. Also discussed was the fact that the Corps was continuing the work of former WML mystery guest, Dr. Tom Dooley. After that rather serious moment, things broke down in a big way when the second contestant hit the stage. Bennett correctly guessed that she had something to do with bananas, but the panel never did figure out that she peeled them for Sara Lee. For some reason, the fact that she had something to do with bananas caused the audience, as well as the panel, to really loosen up. In the mystery guest round, Arlene correctly identified former guest panelist Van Cliburn, who used an English accent in an attempt to fool the panel. Van was on the show to promote his upcoming appearance at the opening of the 1962 World's Fair in Seattle, Washington. He also said that because of his engagement in Seattle, as well as an upcoming engagement in Mexico City, that he was forced to miss the Tchaikovsky Competition, where he first became famous. This truly was a very fun night. - Sargebri

As Van Cliburn mentioned, he was going to be appearing at the opening of the 1962 World's Fair in Seattle. The fair was a major success and there are still a couple of reminders of that great event. One is the monorail that transports people throughout downtown Seattle. However, the most famous reminder of the fair is one of the great landmarks of the city, the Space Needle. - Sargebri

Sargent Shriver was the husband of Eunice Kennedy Shriver, sister of President John F. Kennedy. His daughter with Eunice, Maria Shriver, eventually became a highly successful reporter for NBC News. She later became First Lady of California when her husband, actor Arnold Schwarzenegger, was overwhelmingly elected Governor of California in a 2003 recall election that ousted the then-current underperforming Governor Gray Davis. - Sargebri

Milton Katims conducted the Seattle Symphony Orchestra in a "World's Fair Gala" at opening night in the Opera House, featuring pianist Van Cliburn playing Rachmaninoff's Third Concerto. After the intermission, composer Igor Stravinsky conducted his "Firebird" suite. Violinist Isaac Stern also played during the fair, as did the Philadelphia Orchestra under Eugene Ormandy. The fair was open from April 21, 1962 to October 21, 1962. - Suzanne