To Tell The Truth (1956)

To Tell the Truth, created by Bob Stewart and produced by Goodson-Todman Productions, premiered on Tuesday,December 18, 1956 on CBS in prime time (as Nothing But the Truth, but changed its name to To Tell the Truth the following week), and a daytime edition was introduced on Monday, June 18, 1962. Bud Collyer was the host of this version; major panelists by the 1960s included Tom Poston, Peggy Cass, Orson Bean and Kitty Carlisle. Earlier regular panelists had included Johnny Carson, Polly Bergen, Don Ameche, columnist Hy Gardner and Ralph Bellamy. The daytime show featured a separate panel its first three years with actress Phyllis Newman as the only regular. The evening panel took over the afternoon show in 1965 and in early 1968 Bert Convy replaced Poston in the first chair. In the prime time version, three panel games were played per show; that reduced to two games for the daytime show. Typically (but not always) one of the games would be played for laughs while the other two had more serious subjects. Each incorrect guess from the panel paid the challengers $250 on the primetime run for a possible $1000, but if the entire panel was correct, the challengers split $150. On the daytime run, each wrong vote paid the team $100. During the show's last year-and-a-half, the studio audience also voted, but the majority vote counted. If two or all three challengers tied for highest vote from the audience, that counted as an incorrect vote and a guaranteed $100 for the contestants. Bern Bennett, Collyer's announcer on Beat the Clock, was the lead voice of To Tell the Truth in the 1950s. Johnny Olson signed onto the show in 1960 and stayed with it through the end of its CBS runs. Other CBS staff announcers filled in as the show's voices during various times.