As you know I am a big fan of the original "What's My Line?" and I have been taping them and saving them to dvd for several years now. Today I was dubbing off the episode in which they announced the sad death of the great Fred Allen. Mr Allen (as John Daly called him) died the night before during his nightly "midnight walk". He suffered a heart attack while walking near his New York city home. This was episode #302 in the 7th season. Now this is an unusual episode with the passing of Fred Allen but the contestants in this episode are remarkably famous group and not just the usual "celebrity mystery guest". The show started out with future hockey Hall of Fame goaltender Jacque Plante. The Canadiens were in town for a game against the NY Rangers. The panel of course didnt know him on sight but it didnt take long for Bennett Cerf to figure out since he was from Montreal that he might play hockey. The next conestant was of all people, Ann Landers or as she signed as Mrs Jules Lederer. The panel took a little longer but did guess her line fairly quick. Up next was the celebrity mystery guest and it was the incredibly beautiful Cyd Charisse, the film star and dancer.
Below I have posted the opening of this episode where John Daly talks about the passing of Fred Allen and the fact that his widow ask them to do a regular show as a tribute to Fred's professionalism, the show must go on mentality that he carried all of his career.
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