I've Got a Secret facts for kids

Quick facts for kids I've Got A Secret
Genre	Game show
Created by	Allan Sherman
Presented by	Garry Moore (1952-1964) Steve Allen (1964-1973) Bill Cullen (1976) Stephanie Miller (2000-2003) Bil Dwyer (2006)
Composer(s)	Leroy Anderson Norman Paris Steve Allen
Country of origin	United States
No. of episodes	CBS, 1976: 4 GSN, 2006: 40
Production
Producer(s)	Mark Goodson Bill Todman Allan Sherman Chester Feldman
Running time	30 minutes
Release
Original network	CBS (1952-1967, 1976) Syndicated (1972-1973) Oxygen (2000-2003) GSN (2006)
Audio format	Mono
Original release	June 19, 1952 – June 9, 2006
Chronology
Related shows	What's My Line?

I've Got a Secret was a popular game show that aired on CBS television. It was a panel game show. This means it had a host, guests, and a group of people called panelists. These panelists acted like judges. The show was created by comedy writers Allan Sherman and Howard Merrill. It was similar to another game show called What's My Line?.

The first episode of I've Got a Secret aired on June 19, 1952. The show ran for many years until April 3, 1967. At first, the show was in black and white. It started showing in color in 1966. After being canceled in 1967, the show came back a few times. It aired from 1972-1973 and again in the summer of 1976. Later, a new version aired on the Oxygen cable channel from 2000 to 2003. GSN also brought it back for a short time in 2006.

Meet the Hosts and Panelists

The first host of I've Got a Secret was Garry Moore. He was a well-known radio and TV personality. After a few months, the show chose a regular group of panelists. These included game show host Bill Cullen, comedian Henry Morgan, TV hostess Faye Emerson, and actress Jayne Meadows.

In 1958, Faye Emerson left the show. She was replaced by actress Betsy Palmer. The next year, Jayne Meadows moved away. Former Miss America Bess Myerson took her place. Sometimes, other famous people filled in as guest hosts or panelists.

Garry Moore left the show after the 1963-64 season. He decided to retire from television to travel. Steve Allen took over as host on September 21, 1964. Steve Allen also hosted the show when it returned in 1972-1973. Former panelist Bill Cullen hosted the show for its short run in 1976. The panelists for this version included Richard Dawson, Henry Morgan, Pat Collins, and Elaine Joyce.

The Oxygen channel version of the show was hosted by Stephanie Miller. Its panelists included Jim J. Bullock, Jason Kravits, Amy Yasbeck, and Teri Garr. The GSN version was hosted by Bil Dwyer. Its panelists were Billy Bean, Frank DeCaro, Jermaine Taylor, and Suzanne Westenhoefer.

How the Game Was Played

Each episode of I've Got a Secret usually featured two regular contestants. After them, a celebrity guest would play. Sometimes, if there was extra time, a third regular guest would appear.

Guessing the Secrets

Each round was a guessing game. The panel tried to figure out the contestants' "secrets." A "secret" could be almost anything. Secrets were always meant to be unusual, amazing, embarrassing, or funny. They often involved something that happened to a person, something they owned, their job, a hobby, a success, or a special skill.

A contestant would come onto the stage. The host would say their name and where they were from. Then, the host would ask them to "whisper your secret to me." While the contestant whispered, the audience and TV viewers would see the secret written on the screen. After that, the host would give the panel a clue. For example, "the secret concerns something that happened to [Contestant's Name]." Then, a panelist would start asking questions.

When the show first began, each panelist had 15 seconds to ask questions. This would happen twice. For every 15 seconds that passed without the secret being guessed, the contestant won $10. A guest could win up to $80. In 1954, they changed the rules. Each panelist only had one question period. The prize money became $20 per period, so the top prize stayed at $80. The time limit for questions was no longer exact. A buzzer would sound to end the questioning. This helped the live show stay on time. Sometimes, the buzzer would go off if the panelists were getting too close to the secret or if it would make people laugh.

After the secret was discovered, the host would often ask the contestant more about it. Sometimes, the contestant would even demonstrate their secret. The host or panelists might even join in the demonstration!

Many famous people appeared on the show with secrets. For example, Colonel Harland Sanders, who started Kentucky Fried Chicken, had the secret: "I started my restaurant with my first Social Security check." Philo Farnsworth, who invented electronic television, had the secret: "I invented electronic television." Pete Best, a former member of The Beatles, had the secret: "I used to be one of THE BEATLES." An elderly man named Samuel Seymour was the last person alive who saw Abraham Lincoln's assassination when he was five years old.

Celebrity Guest Rounds

In most episodes, a celebrity guest would appear with a secret. The celebrity would usually walk out and say, "my name is [Name] and I've Got a Secret!" Sometimes, they would say, "and this is I've Got a Secret!" At first, celebrities had personal secrets, just like other contestants. Other times, their secret was about something they were there to do. The celebrity part of the show often showed off new technology or a new product.

Later, celebrities often challenged the panel to a different game. This became the main focus of the celebrity part of the show. They no longer pretended to have a secret. Instead, the celebrity would just come out with a challenge for the panel. Some of these challenges later became ideas for other game shows. For example, Woody Allen once challenged the panel to guess words based on what children said they meant. This idea later became the show Child's Play. Another challenge with Peter Falk and Soupy Sales involved the panel guessing who a celebrity was from photographs of them as a baby and as an older person. This idea was later used for the show Face the Music.

Show Style and History

I've Got a Secret was more informal than its sister show What's My Line?. The panel and host used each other's first names. The time limits for questions were often changed to make the show more entertaining. The men on the panel usually wore suits or sport jackets. Both Henry Morgan and Garry Moore sometimes wore bow ties instead of regular ties. In the early years, Moore and the panelists even smoked cigarettes on air!

The host would introduce the panel at the start of each episode. He often used a pun (a play on words) related to their names. Panelists were supposed to ask only yes-or-no questions, but this rule was often relaxed. Unlike What's My Line?, the host would give hints if the panel was completely lost. Also, panelists were not allowed to work together to guess secrets. However, later in the series, no one stopped them if they whispered ideas to each other.

The show started in black-and-white. It only switched to color in 1966. When old episodes are shown again, even the color ones are often in black and white. This is because the color versions were not always recorded. For many years, the show had a commercial sponsor. The opening of the show would feature an advertisement for that company. Signs on the set also promoted the products. Sometimes, sponsors gave samples of their products to each contestant. Later in the series, the show stopped having a main sponsor.

An Australian version of the show was also made. It aired in Brisbane from 1967 to 1973. Newsreader Don Secombe hosted it. It also had regular celebrity panelists like Ron Cadee, Babette Stevens, and Joy Chambers.

Changes in Later Versions

1970s Revivals

The versions of the show in the 1970s were very similar to the original series. However, celebrity secrets were brought back, instead of just challenges.

Oxygen Revival

On the Oxygen revival, contestants won $200. If no one on the panel guessed their secret, they won a $1,000 prize. Stephanie Miller hosted this version. The show's set was designed to look like a fancy city apartment.

GSN Revival

On GSN's revival, each panelist had 40 seconds to ask questions. They were allowed one group discussion. If a contestant stumped the entire panel, they won $1,000 and "dinner for 2 in Beverly Hills." Losing contestants also received some gifts. Several minor show business professionals performed their acts on the show. For example, piano juggler Dan Menendez appeared. The host, Bil Dwyer, was introduced as "the straight man to the panel."

Episode Availability

Like What's My Line?, some early episodes from the first season in 1952 seem to be lost. However, most episodes from late 1952 until the 1967 cancellation still exist. They are usually digital copies of the original black-and-white films.

GSN stopped showing reruns of I've Got A Secret on July 13, 2008. They had started showing episodes from late 1961 or early 1962. Many episodes of the series are unlikely to be shown again. This is because the show was sponsored by Winston cigarettes for a long time. It is not clear if this is a legal rule or just GSN's choice. Also, the network skipped some episodes that were known to be skipped in previous airings. This might mean other episodes are lost or in bad condition.

All later versions of Secret (from the 1970s, 2000s) still exist completely. GSN has sometimes shown single episodes from the 1972-1973 season. For example, an episode with Bob Barker as the celebrity guest was shown when he retired from The Price Is Right in 2007. GSN also sometimes adds reruns of its 2006 version to its schedule.

Theme Music

The first theme music for the show, used from 1952 to 1961, was "Plink, Plank, Plunk!" by Leroy Anderson.

The second theme, used from 1961 to 1962, was a lively version of the Theme to "A Summer Place" by Max Steiner.

The third theme was used from 1962 to 1967. It was a cheerful, bouncy march with piccolo and xylophone. The show's music director, Norman Paris, composed it. It used a familiar tune that children often sing when teasing, like "I've got a secret!"

Steve Allen's song "This Could Be the Start of Something" was used as the opening theme in 1972. The closing theme for the 1972 version was written by Edd Kalehoff. The theme from the 1976 version with Bill Cullen was later used on another game show called Second Chance. A remixed version of that theme was also used in the Australian version of Family Feud.

Tim Mosher and Stoker are credited with the 2000 theme. Alan Ett and Scott Liggett created a lively jazz theme for Bil Dwyer's 2006 version of the show for GSN.

Images for kids

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  Celebrity guest Hermione Gingold with host Garry Moore

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  The large logo on the set in 1972

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  The neon logo used on the 1976 revival