I've Got a Secret

A panel show where contestants have a hidden secret (hence the title) which is usually a stunt or occupation.

Regular Panelists
Bill Cullen

Faye Emerson

Jayne Meadows

Betsy Palmer

Bess Myerson

Richard Dawson

Henry Morgan

Pat Collins

Elaine Joyce

Jim J. Bullock

Jason Kravits

Amy Yasbeck

Teri Garr

Billy Bean

Frank DeCaro

Jermaine Taylor

Suzanne Westenhoefer

Gameplay
A panel of four celebrity guests faced one contestant or a group of contestants. Each contestant that appeared had a weird, fabulous, laughable and/or unusual secret. When the game started after the contestant came out & introduced himself/herself, the contestant whispered the secret into the host's ear, and the home audience was shown the secret. After that, the host would give a clue to the panel concerning the secret; that's when the questioning began. Each panelist one at a time in turn asked yes or no questions to the contestant in an attempt to guess the secret. The panelist in control would have an unmentioned amount of time to question the contestant. When the time was called by the producers and the panelist in control did not guess the secret, the next panelist in line would do the questioning. The process went on until either the secret was guessed, or until the entire panel questioned the contestant. After the game, the contestant would talk about his/her secret via the host's interview and sometimes a video/movie clip or demonstration would be shown.

Also on I've Got a Secret, celebrity guests played the game themselves. At the start of each show, the celebrity guest in question would introduce himself/herself followed by saying, "...and I've Got a Secret." The game was pretty much the same as with the regular contestants, but sometimes the panel would be off-stage in preparation of the game. Sometimes the secrets would be a personal secret, or something they were going to do that day.

Payoffs
On some versions, contestants would win money for each panel that doesn't know the secret, and sometimes a grand prize for stumping the panel.


 * 50s Version - Each panelist stumped was worth $20 to the contestant for a top prize of $80. Originally it was $10 per stumped panelist, because each panelist took two turns instead of one.
 * 2000 Version - In the Oxygen revival, the contestant won $200 for each stumped panelist, and stumping the panel was worth a total of $1,000.
 * GSN Version - Stumping the panel in this version was worth $1,000 and dinner for two in Beverly Hills to the contestant who stumped them. Not stumping the panel won an unmentioned consolation prize to the contestant.

Notable Contestants

 * Colonel Harland Sanders - His secret was that he started his long-running restaurant chain Kentucky Fried Chicken (KFC) using his first security check.
 * Philo T. Farnsworth - The inventor of electronic television.
 * Pete Best - He used to be one of the Beatles.
 * Samuel Seymour - He was the last surviving eye witness to Abraham Lincoln's assassination (he was 5 years old when it happened).

Merchandise
A Board game was manufactured by Lowell in 1956. (NOTE: Host Garry Moore is on the box cover of the game.)

Carsey-Werner's unsold IGAS revival
In 1992, Carsey-Werner bought the right to the show as they originally wanted to pair it up with the Bill Cosby revival of You Bet Your Life in Syndication. Unfortunately, plans for it fell through thus the reboot has never been made.

Spinoffs
Figure it Out - a kid's version similar to I've Got a Secret except the Secret is on a game board. The panel still ask yes or no questions and the contestants win prizes instead of small cash.

Music
Main (1952) - "Plink, Plank, Plunk!" by Leroy Anderson

Main (1961) - Theme from A Summer Place by Max Steiner

Main (1962) by Norman Paris

Main (1972) - "This Could Be the Start of Something" by Steve Allen (Other cues by Edd Kalehoff)

Main (1976) by Score Productions (Later used on Second Chance)

Main (2000) by Tim Mosher & Stoker

Main (2006) by Alan Ett & Scott Liggett

Links
I've Got a Secret Online

I've Got a Secret @ Tim's TV Showcase

Rules for I've Got a Secret

"Official" website of the 2000-2001 Oxygen version of IGAS

IGAS Carsey Werner Website