108     November 3, 1954
Bill, Audrey Meadows, Henry, Faye

Audrey fills in for her sister during an intriguingly complex moment in Jayne's stage career. Jayne has been in rehearsals for the play Lunatics and Lovers (1954-1955) and it had been widely reported that Audrey would take her place on the panel on a long-term basis beginning November 17.  Instead, Jayne pulled out of the play just weeks before its December 18 premiere and only missed this one week on the show.  Illness was given as the official reason for her withdrawal, and that certainly may have played a role.  Other reports say that she became concerned over her racy part, and the possible reaction of her conservative missionary parents.  Lunatics and Lovers would be a modest success on Broadway, running for over 300 performances through most of 1955.  It is somewhat noteworthy today as the Broadway debut of comic Buddy Hackett.

Several unidentified children: “Our dads were elected to Congress last night”
We have no idea which specific politicians these happened to be, but the midterm elections of 1954 were noteworthy in that Republicans lost the majority in both the House and the Senate.  They lost 18 seats to Democratic challengers in the House, and two in the Senate.  This despite the fact that Republican president Dwight Eisenhower remained highly popular and would easily win reelection in 1956.  Republicans would not retake control of the Senate until 1980 and would not retake control of the House until 1994.     

Unidentified contestant:  “I became a blonde today”   

Special guest Don McNeill:  “I am cooking breakfast for the panel, handcuffed to Garry”
McNeill is best-known as the host and driving force behind Don McNeill's Breakfast Club (1933-1968), an early-morning hour of talk, music and comedy on radio (and fleetingly on television) for 35 years.  The show's home base was Chicago, but they frequently ventured out for remote broadcasts in cities across the country.  McNeill would become a friend of Secret, filling in as host during Garry's summer vacations in 1955 and 1956.

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.