As I've written here in the past (here and also here), there's a wonderful little show every Wednesday night at the Acme Comedy Theater up in Hollywood. The venerable game show called What's My Line? comes back from the dead as a very much alive live show. Your host is J. Keith van Straaten who may not know as many polysyllabic words as John Daly but he's a lot funnier. He presides over a nice clone of the old series, including four celebrity panelists, three "guess my occupation" guests, a lovely hostess, a one-piece band, and the special feature of the program, the appearance of the Mystery Guest for which the panelists are always blindfolded.
A packed house had a great time last night, in part because the panel included two real heavyweight stars — Rip Taylor and Jayne Meadows. Mr. Taylor entered (you may find this hard to believe) in a shower of confetti. Ms. Meadows entered to a standing ovation in recognition of her standing as a genuine legend in the field of game shows. She and her late husband Steve Allen often adorned the panel of the original What's My Line?, though they could more often be found over on its sister show, I've Got a Secret. A bit later, when she posed Steve's famous question about a contestant's product ("Is it bigger than a breadbox?"), the audience broke into even more applause.
Also on the panel were Alison Arngrim, who's best known for her years on Little House on the Prairie, and comic actor J.P. Manoux, who's presently seen on The Disney Channel's Phil of the Future. They were both quite funny but I think they'd agree that the evening belonged to Jayne and Rip.
The first guest's occupation, which the panel had to guess, was "makes confetti." The questioning started with Rip Taylor…and ended with him, as well. He guessed what the producers were up to and nailed it in three or four quick questions. The next two contestants didn't go as rapidly.
Noted science-fiction author Richard Matheson signed in as "Mr. X" and the panel failed to guess him as a top novelist and writer for shows like The Twilight Zone and Star Trek. The third contestant was a man who eats light bulbs — an odd feat which he proceeded to demonstrate, much to the squeamish of some. Then came the Mystery Guest…Larry King.
There was an explosion of applause as The Iron Horse of Broadcasting entered and signed in, please. It took about ten questions before Jayne Meadows named him, and he was a charming guest in the post-game interview. Matter of fact, it was kind of funny. King is a little too used to being the host and not to answering the questions of others. But J. Keith rose to the occasion and at the end, Jayne Meadows remarked that Mr. van Straaten's quick wit reminded her of her late husband. If there's a better compliment you can pay a game show host, I can't imagine what it might be.
Some quick plugs: Ms. Meadows spoke proudly of a forthcoming book, Inventing Late Night: Steve Allen and the Original Tonight Show by Ben Alba. Sporting an intro by Jay Leno, it details the early days of that venerable television institution. You can advance order a copy here, which I have not done because Jaynie-Bird will be appearing in November at several Los Angeles bookstores to autograph it, and I think I'd rather wait and get one signed. I'll let you know the Where and When of the signings, or you might keep your eye on her website.
You might also keep an eye on Rip Taylor's website, especially to see when he'll next be doing his one-man autobiographical show. Rip has had an amazing career — done everything, worked with everyone — and he's a genuinely nice, funny man. His website is filled with reports of where he's been, who he's met, etc. Alison Arngrim has a nice website, too. And J.P. Manoux has maybe the best "actor's" website I've seen. Check it out and make sure you hit the page where you can play "Six Degrees of Separation" from him.
So it's a fun evening and one I recommend highly. The only downside is that the show is about to lose its incredible musician, Adam Chester. He's the guy in the back row, far right, in the photo above and he's off to the East Coast to play some gigs in Elton John's band. (Here's Adam's website, which plays some of his music.) I'm sure they'll have a decent replacement but Adam is darned good.
What's My Line? Live on Stage plays every Wednesday night at the Acme Theater through the middle of November. If you're not sick of links by now, visit J. Keith van Straaten's page for details on upcoming performances. I'd suggest phoning early for reservations as they sold out tonight and I have the feeling that's going to be the norm for the rest of the run.