Quiz Kids’ Raymond Kanter of Norfolk, Connecticut challenges the panelists with American history questions
In its original incarnation, Quiz Kids debuted on the radio in 1942 and ran until 1953, the last four years also on television. A rotating panel of terribly bright youngsters would answer challenging questions sent in by listeners/viewers . At its peak, it was no less than a cultural phenomenon. Eight-year-old Raymond is part of a 1956 revival of the series. Here, the panel is given Quiz Kids-caliber material (To Jayne: "Name eight members of Eisenhower's cabinet") and generally fare poorly (Jayne could only come up with five). Henry, in full curmudgeon mode, does everything he can to distract and trip up young Raymond.
Special guest Agnes Moorehead is on the phone surveying homes about their evening’s TV viewing habits while playing the game
Morehead's part of the Secret is guessed quickly, but a phone bank of eight other researchers has also been making calls. Garry and Miss Moorehead compile that data and compare it to actual data gathered by a rating service. Both samples indicate that I've Got a Secret is watched by about half the viewing audience. It is not scintillating television. As colleague Marshall Akers said after viewing this episode, "there’s nothing quite like seeing Agnes Moorehead scrawl a bunch of numbers on a chalkboard on TV to confirm that watching fireworks while picnicking in the park would have been the right Fourth of July decision." Moorehead is in New York to discuss her part in a new stage production. This was probably The Rivalry (1959), a little-remembered play about the relationship between Abraham Lincoln and Stephen Douglas. Moorehead was to play Mrs Douglas. She would perform the role in pre-Broadway tryouts, but by the time the show reached Broadway some eighteen months later, Moorehead had left the project. The show would run on Broadway for two and a half months.
This episode has been reviewed at the Library of Congress, but is not generally available to the public.