Henry wasn’t expected to be on the panel this week but his summer stock appearance was canceled. (He's been starring in Father of the Bride on various East Coast stages.) Faye is appearing in Witness for the Prosecution in New York and in Connecticut. She would not miss any panel time.
Mr X: “My sister won the World Tennis Championship last Saturday”
Daniel Gibson Jr is not famous in his own right, but his surname may have been too big a clue. Althea Gibson, already a groundbreaking international tennis star, had just won the women’s singles title at Wimbledon. Gibson defeated Darlene Hard in the singles final, and also won the women's doubles title with Hard as her partner. Gibson would win eleven Grand Slam titles in her career and earn a reputation as one of the greatest players of all time. Her mother and sister are recognized in the audience. Garry notes that Althea herself almost appeared on the show tonight but was ultimately too tired to make it.
Mrs George Kartinos from San Francisco, California: “My husband looks just like Steve Allen”
Mr Kartinos is brought out following the game, of course, and the resemblance to Steve Allen really is uncanny. Jayne gets up to greet both husband and wife, and Bill observes how strange it must be for anyone that tuned in late to see a visibly pregnant Jayne and “Steve” shaking hands. Kartinos will show up again seven years later for Steve Allen’s first show as host (
E575).
Special guest Lawrence Welk conducts an orchestra filled with people called up from the audience
With the panel in their soundproof room, Welk names various musical instruments and people who play those instruments walk from the audience to the bandstand behind the curtain and sit in the appropriate chair. Garry, of course, gets to play drums. The panel gets nowhere, but the point of the game was the musical entertainment and the assembled group was pretty good. After four years on local Los Angeles TV, The Lawrence Welk Show and its "Champagne Music" aired on ABC from 1955 until 1971. After being dropped by the network, Welk would create his own production company and sell new shows directly to individual stations in syndication until 1982. (The country variety show Hee-Haw followed a similar success path.) Reruns of The Lawrence Welk Show continue to air on a handful of PBS stations today.
Finally, Garry announces the names of the winners of the "Why I would like to marry Henry Morgan" contest – Louise Becker of Denver, Colorado; Jo Anne Jones of Macon, Georgia; and Florence Korsh of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. They’ll all appear on the show next week.
This episode has been reviewed but is not generally available to the public.