''You're Putting Me On!'' is an

NBC The National Broadcasting Company (NBC) is an Television in the United States, American English-language Commercial broadcasting, commercial television network, broadcast television and radio network. The flagship property of the NBC Enterta ...

game show in which celebrities tried to communicate the identities of famous people through odd and interesting clues.

Bill Leyden William Leyden (February 1, 1917,Born in 1917 peSocial Security Death Index under name William Leyden/ref> in Chicago, Illinois – March 11, 1970, in Hollywood, California) was a television game show host and announcer who emceed six game shows ...

was the original host, with

Larry Blyden Ivan Lawrence Blieden (June 23, 1925 – June 6, 1975), known as Larry Blyden, was an American actor, stage producer and director, and game show host. He made his Broadway stage debut in 1948 and went on to appear in numerous productions on ...

taking over halfway through the run. The program was broadcast from June 30 to December 26, 1969, at 1:30 pm.

Gameplay

Three teams, composed of a "regular" celebrity and a guest celebrity, were each given 100 points to start the game. Each team played for a member of the studio audience. In each round, Leyden began by listing four famous people as possible answers. One member of each team was given a card with one of those famous people on it, and that player would have to assume the identity of that famous person (more than one team could have the same famous person). In other words, they would be "putting on" a different identity. Leyden would then ask a bizarre or amusing question to each clue giver, who would answer in character to hint at their secret identity. For example, if a celebrity was given the identity of

Robert Goulet Robert Gérard Goulet (November 26, 1933 October 30, 2007) was an American and Canadian singer and actor of French-Canadian ancestry. Goulet was born and raised in Lawrence, Massachusetts until age 13, and then spent his formative years in Cana ...

and was asked, "If you were to have a human transplant, what part of your body would be transplanted?", a good clue would be to deepen their voice and answer, "My larynx." Or, if the celebrity was given the identity of

Soupy Sales Milton Supman (January 8, 1926 – October 22, 2009), known professionally as Soupy Sales, was an American comedian, actor, radio-television personality, and jazz aficionado. He was best known for his local and network children's television serie ...

and asked "If you were a billboard, what would be on you?", they could use wordplay by saying, "A little boy and girl sitting next to a shiny aluminum can" (alluding to a "soup" can). In the first part of each round, Leyden posed two questions to each clue giver. Then, based on their confidence, the clue giver's partner could bet up to half of their points on one of the four possibilities. In the second part of each round, the partners switched roles, this time only one question being played. Again, up to half the team's points could be bet. Before the final question in each round, Leyden informed one of the three teams that getting the next question correct would win the chance to play "Bonus Characters". In Bonus Characters, a deck of cards with various famous people or characters on them was placed between the teammates. They alternated taking a card and trying to communicate that person's identity using any means necessary (except names). The team had 45 seconds to give as many answers as possible, each one adding 20 points to the team's final score. A different team had the chance to play each round. After three rounds, the team with the highest total won $500, second place $250, and last place nothing.

Hosts

was the original host, with Larry Blyden,

Bill Cullen William Lawrence Francis Cullen (February 18, 1920 – July 7, 1990) was an American radio and television personality whose career spanned five decades. His biggest claim to fame was as a game show host; over the course of his career, he host ...

and

Peggy Cass Mary Margaret "Peggy" Cass (May 21, 1924 – March 8, 1999) was an American actress, comedian, game show panelist, and announcer. She was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress and a Golden Globe Award for Best Supporting ...

as regular panelists. Blyden took over as host after Leyden relinquished his duties in September 1969. Although the official reason given for Bill Leyden leaving the show was because its "production schedule caused him to have to commute weekly between his

Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world' ...

home and New York", in reality, Leyden had suffered a

cerebral hemorrhage Intracerebral hemorrhage (ICH), also known as cerebral bleed, intraparenchymal bleed, and hemorrhagic stroke, or haemorrhagic stroke, is a sudden bleeding into the tissues of the brain, into its ventricles, or into both. It is one kind of bleed ...

which would ultimately claim his life several months later.

Broadcast history

This program was one of several shows which NBC attempted to program in the 1:30–2:30 slot against

ABC ABC are the first three letters of the Latin script known as the alphabet. ABC or abc may also refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Broadcasting * American Broadcasting Company, a commercial U.S. TV broadcaster ** Disney–ABC Television ...

's ''

Let's Make a Deal ''Let's Make a Deal'' (also known as ''LMAD'') is an American television musical comedy variety-game show that originated in the United States in 1963 and has since been produced in many countries throughout the world. The program was created an ...

'' (which began its run on NBC) and

CBS CBS Broadcasting Inc., commonly shortened to CBS, the abbreviation of its former legal name Columbia Broadcasting System, is an American commercial broadcast television and radio network serving as the flagship property of the CBS Entertainm ...

' ''

As the World Turns ''As the World Turns'' (often abbreviated as ''ATWT'') is an American television soap opera that aired on CBS for 54 years from April 2, 1956, to September 17, 2010. Irna Phillips created ''As the World Turns'' as a sister show to her other soa ...

'' between 1968 and 1975. As with almost all of them, ''You're Putting Me On'' was a distant third in the ratings and lasted only six months. Its predecessor was the

soap opera A soap opera, or ''soap'' for short, is a typically long-running radio or television serial, frequently characterized by melodrama, ensemble casts, and sentimentality. The term "soap opera" originated from radio dramas originally being sponsored ...

Hidden Faces People often see hidden faces in things. Depending on the circumstances, this is referred to as pareidolia, the perception or recognition of a specific pattern or form in something essentially different. It is thus also a kind of optical illusion ...

'', and the replacement program was a comeback attempt by

Art Linkletter Arthur Gordon Linkletter (born Gordon Arthur Kelly or Arthur Gordon Kelly; sources differ; July 17, 1912 – May 26, 2010) was a Canadian-born American radio and television personality. He was the host of ''House Party'', which ran on CBS radio a ...

that also included his son

Jack Jack may refer to: Places * Jack, Alabama, US, an unincorporated community * Jack, Missouri, US, an unincorporated community * Jack County, Texas, a county in Texas, USA People and fictional characters * Jack (given name), a male given name, ...

. Two years later, another of Stewart's programs, ''

Three on a Match ''Three on a Match'' is a 1932 American pre-Code crime drama released by Warner Bros. The film was directed by Mervyn LeRoy and stars Joan Blondell, Warren William, Ann Dvorak and Bette Davis. The film also features Lyle Talbot, Humphrey Boga ...

'', was shown in the time slot for three years.

Episode status

The show is considered to be lost. A few episodes are held by the

UCLA Film & Television Archive The UCLA Film & Television Archive is a visual arts organization focused on the preservation, study, and appreciation of film and television, based at the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA). Also a nonprofit exhibition venue, the archiv ...

References

{{Reflist

External links

''You're Putting Me On'' on IMDb
Television series by Bob Stewart Productions Television series by Sony Pictures Television English-language television shows NBC original programming American panel games 1960s American game shows 1969 American television series debuts 1969 American television series endings