What's My Line? Season 14 Episode 15

FLIP REPORT: In a surprise move, John did not flip the final card for the challenger who sold cow mattresses, even though Arlene phrased her final question before guessing the occupation in a way that merited a "no" answer. - agent_0042

For the first time tonight, guest panelist Alan King's nameplate on the panel desk reads as "MR. KING." In all his prior "WML?" guest panelist appearances, his nameplate had read "ALAN KING." - W-B

GSN broadcast this episode on January 1st, 2005 as part of a week-long celebration of the release of the new Bobby Darin biopic, "Beyond the Sea," starring Kevin Spacey. This was the fifth of Bobby's five What's My Line? appearances to be aired during the week between Christmas and New Year's Eve. - Garrison Skunk

The panel had a rather so-so evening this particular night. They were completely stumped by the tug boat cook from Montreal, though guest panelist Alan King had narrowed down her occupation to working on a boat. Arlene was the big heroine in the second game as she made the last-second guess that the contestant sold mattresses for cows. Alan made the successful guess in the mystery guest round when he said he thought the mystery guest was Bobby Darin. Earlier in the game, Alan had asked Bobby if they had worked together, and had received a "no." However, on his next turn, Alan was persistent and said that he still felt the guest was Darin, but he was confused over the earlier "no" answer, because they had indeed worked together. Having correctly identified Darin, the panel unmasked. Alan explained that he and Darin had worked together in Florida for a benefit. Darin apologized for his "no" answer, but explained that he was thinking in terms of a longer work engagement than a volunteer benefit. Alan humorously replied that he didn't have any long work engagements! So, after a slow start, the panel made good this particular evening. - Sargebri

As with his previous WML appearances, Bobby Darin attempted to fool the panel by using several good impersonations. Among the voices he used were Cary Grant, Clark Gable and Walter Brennan. At times, he also used a falsetto voice, a hillbilly accent and an English accent. At times, he squinted when looking toward the panel. This was possibly due to the fact that he wasn't wearing his glasses. His game was short, as Alan King identified him very swiftly. A funny moment came when Bennett Cerf asked if Darin had any relatives in show business. Darin first replied "no." Mr. Daly immediately called for a conference with Darin and they spoke privately for a few seconds. Darin then changed his response to "yes" and said that he'd "never thought of it that way," meaning that he'd never thought of his wife Sandra Dee as a relative! Darin promoted his 1962 film, "If A Man Answers," in which he stars with his wife. After his game, he shook hands with Mr. Daly and the panel. He turned toward the camera, said, "thank you" and departed. Darin will make two more appearances on What's My Line? - Suzanne Astorino and Tina MacGregor