Though battling deadlines and other pressures, I took time out last evening to attend What's My Line? Live on Stage, a local enterprise I've written about before…here, for instance. And here. Oh, and I wrote about it here, too. It's always a lot of fun and last night's installment (their 70th) was the best I've seen.
The panel consisted of Frank DeCaro, who's on Sirius Satellite Radio and who was on the recent revival of I've Got A Secret on GSN; comic actress Annie Wood; Oscar Nunez, who can be seen each week on The Office; and our lovely Matinee Lady, Teresa Ganzel. The first contestant was a woman who made doggie treats. The second contestant was a former Beverly Hills meter maid who'd been on the original What's My Line? back in 1964. (They showed a clip.) The third contesant signed in as "Mr. X" but I had a hunch he was my partner, Sergio Aragonés. DeCaro guessed that occupation — "draws for MAD Magazine" — and then Sergio gave a brief cartooning demonstration to the delight of the crowd.
I was there partly to see Sergio but also because the show's producers had told me that they had a super-spectacular Mystery Guest. They didn't tell me who — they're real good at keeping things secret — but did say I shouldn't miss it. So I didn't. I was there when Peter Falk entered and signed-in, please.
And boy, the place exploded. I was in the front row (with Scott Shaw!) and I could see how baffled the panelists, who of course were blindfolded, were as to what kind of celeb could be getting this incredible welcome. It went on and on…everyone in the house standing and cheering and clapping and just being thrilled to be in the same room with Columbo. Sergio had received a decent ovation when he entered and another, thunderous round when it was revealed to the audience just who he was and what he did. But for Peter Falk, they (we) took the roof off the dump, as it were. What a great moment. And after the panel guessed who it was — another point for Mr. DeCaro — host J. Keith van Straaten conducted a funny and charming interview with the man. Is anyone reading this surprised that Peter Falk was funny and charming? Actually, Keith is a superb emcee who could make any guest funny and charming but in this case, he didn't have to work so hard.
This current series of What's My Line? Live on Stage has two more Sundays to run and they may or may not do more after that. Next week's Mystery Guest probably won't be as wonderful as Peter Falk but the show will have Len Wein on the panel…and yes, I know that's like saying, "Sorry you missed Laurence Olivier but you can still catch George 'Goober' Lindsey," but the show will still be fun. You can get more info over at this website. If you're in or around Los Angeles, I highly recommend the outing. (Thanks to Chris Valada, who took the fine photo above.)
