"I've Got a Secret" TV game show; Steve Allen; early '70's

Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share
1

The secret was that a guest on the program (Charles Nelson-Reilly, maybe) had brought together a bunch of people on stage, and when their names were sung, they would be the words (sorta) of a well-known song.

Each person held a big card (like a cue card) with their name on it–but turned around so that you couldn’t read it.

The 4 celebrity contestants would each pick a person, who would would turn their card around. After 4 were turned around, the celbrity contestants would try to guess the name of the song, from the names (corresponding to words) that were now displayed.

Their only instruction was that they couldn’t pick the first four cards.

I don’t remember which ones they picked, but I don’t think that they nailed the song.

When they couldn’t guess the name of the song, everyone turned their cards around they started singing the song–one “name” at a time by that specific person. That is, the whole group didn’t sing–only the person whose name corresponded to that word in the song. He/she would lift up their card and “sing” their name.

Here were the names (the song and tune should be obvious–specific names separated by semicolon):

"Eimer;Yankee;Tuttle;Dundee.
Yankee;Tuttle;Dewar;Dye.
A. Reel;Life;Nephew;Hofmeyer;Unger, Sam.
Bjornson;LeForte;July.
Agotta;Yankee;Tuttle;Sweet;Hart.
Cheesemeyer;Yankee;Tuttle;Joye.
"Yankee;Tuttle;Winter;London;Justin;Rider;Pony.
I. Hammer;Yankee;Tuttle;Boy

There was only one person per name, so when a name was reused, that person would just hold up their card again and sing.

How’s that for pointless???

2

How about when Steve Allen would ask people on the street if they would vote for a candidate who was an “admitted heterosexual”, and just about all of them said no because they didn’t approve of that lifestyle? Great stuff.

“My hovercraft is full of eels.”

3

You young whipper-snappers! I’ve Got A Secret proper would be hosted by Gary Moore!
Back when it had a single sponser the people’s names were:
Winston, Taste, Good, Lika, C. Garret, Shultz (They couldn’t find a “Should”).
Not only pointless, but toxic, too.

4

I remember -

“Inda, Goode, Olde, Somerstein”

And they did the whole song. Mr. Somerstein sang his name loudly and off-key which was very funny.

Sometime in the past 15 years I saw a repeat of a really intersting show. One old man’s secret turned out to be that he had been present at Lincoln’s assassination! (seeing the play at Ford’s theater as a young boy, obviously.)