Also on the panel were Nikki Glaser and Michaela Watkins.
At the age of 91, Brooks has not lost his comedic touch. He was very witty and contributed quite a bit in the questioning rounds.
On the other hand, Leachman IMHO didn't know how to play the game well. She didn't ask intelligent questions or even explain why she voted for a certain contestant in each spot. She lacked the qualifications that would make a good panelist. A good panelist for this format has to be bright witty and exhibit outstanding reasoning skills. If thre's one part of the game that stands out beside the extraordinary contestants, it's hearing the panelists give there reasons on why they voted for a certain contestant.
With this criteria, here's HSGN's list of the Top 10 To Tell the Truth Panelists of All-Time:
1. Kitty Carlisle. She was the most elegantly dressed of any panelist in the show's history and one of the best game players in the show's history. Carlisle played the game well and appeared as a regular in the first two incarnations as well as an occasional appearance in the other three until she passed away in 2007. One thing you would always notice about Carlisle is that whenever she voted for Number One, she always wrote the Roman Numeral I.
2. Peggy Cass. Another outstanding female player who ususally occupied the second position on the panel. Like Carlisle, she also appeared as a regular on the first two versions. She always asked good, intelligent questions of the contestants.
3. Bill Cullen. Not only was he a great panelist on the syndicated Garry Moore version, he would also occupy the host's chair when Moore was on vacation. He was also the interim host when Moore left the show in 1977 due to throat cancer and though he guided the show so well, he was moved back to his permanent spot on the panel because according to Gil Fates in his book about What's My Line? "his superlative gamesmenship was so missed on the panel."
4. Nipsey Russell. The "Poet Laureate of Television" was one of the best celebrities ever to appear on any game show, including To Tell the Truth. His wit and his ability to play the game was also a factor.
5. Tom Poston. A later regular on the original Bud Collyer version. He occupied the first seat on the panel.
6. Polly Bergen. One of the first regulars in the show's history, she appeared in the rarely seen pilot Nothing But the Truth, which recently aired on the diginet BUZZR. She added beauty and brains to the panel for five seasons. she also was a guest panelist on the Robin Ward hosted version in 1980.
7. Dick Van Dyke. Also appeared in the pilot. Before he became best known as Rob Petrie in his eponymous sitcom that debuted in 1961, he was an early regular who appeared in the first six episodes.
8. Orson Bean. One of the oldest surviving regular along with Van dyke, Bean brought humor to the proceedings.
9. Phyllis Newman. Along with Betty White, she made frequent appearances on game shows, especially as a regular on the early daytime episodes.
10. Mark Goodson. Not only did he produce the show, he appeared as a panelist on the Moore version and really knew how to play his own creation. He also had a couple of stints as host, the first in 1967 when he subbed for the ailing Collyer and in the 1990 version when Alex Trebek had to go to the hospital due to his wife giving birth.
So there's the top panelists in To Tell the Truth history. This post will close the way Collyer ended each spot "Goodbye and God bless you."
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