Unidentified contestant: "I am the father of the first U.S. baby of 1954."
Each January 1st, local newspapers would breathlessly report on "stork derbies," rushing to identify the first baby born in a given hospital, town, county or state. Some newborn winners would be showered with gifts from local merchants. One wire story that appeared in papers around the country identified George Hayden Jr of Chicago as the national champion. Presumably time zones were taken into account. Whether Hayden Sr was tonight's guest, or whether Secret used different criteria to have a local contestant, remains unknown for now.
Unidentified female contestant from Pennsylvania: "I was kissed by Rin Tin Tin"
Long before Lassie, Rin Tin Tin was the international canine superstar of the silver screen. The original "Tinny", a German Shepherd born in France, starred in 27 films between 1922 and 1931. After the original's death in 1932, various offspring maintained the family name and legacy in films, radio and television for decades after. Though the original lineage was of course well documented, eventually other German Shepherds not related to the original Rin Tin Tin took over various roles. For instance, the original television series (1954-1959), though officially credited to Rin Tin Tin IV, rarely used that animal at all. (Also see
E249
)
Special guest George Jessel: "Eddie Cantor used to bathe me (as children)"
Though temperamentally and politically opposite in many ways, the two showbiz veterans were lifelong friends from an early age. Both were young vaudevillians. They first worked together when teamed on a revue called "Kid Kabaret" in 1912. Jessel would have been about thirteen and Cantor a few years older than that.
Joseph Vertullo from Piscataway, New Jersey: "I painted the wrong house"
Back in 1944, Vertullo had gotten about halfway done with his house-painting assignment when the client showed up and told him he should have been painting the house next door. And that's all there is to this story.
This episode has not been reviewed. ​Information comes from alternate sources, including Gil Fates' handwritten notes. Quoted secrets are based on those notes and are believed to be accurate.
This site was created with the Nicepage