That's My Line
Encyclopedia
That's My Line was a summer CBS
reality show developed by Mark Goodson
, one of the creators of What's My Line?
The show highlighted the unusual occupations of ordinary people, but unlike What's My Line? it had no panel or game components; the show was rather along the same lines as NBC
's Real People
and ABC
's That's Incredible!
It was hosted by Bob Barker
and announced by Johnny Olson
, both associated with Goodson-Todman's hit game show, The Price Is Right
. The series was co-hosted by Suzanne Childs and Tiiu Leek, and joined during the 1981 run by Kerry Millerick. The thrust of the show during the 1981 season also changed from unusual occupations to an emphasis on the funny, bizarre, or ridiculous.
Notable moments included voice artist Mel Blanc
having a contest with an audience member on who does voice acting the best (the "audience member" being his son Noel) and magician James Randi
, who contested James Hydrick
's psychic abilities.
CBS
CBS Broadcasting Inc. is a major US commercial broadcasting television network, which started as a radio network. The name is derived from the initials of the network's former name, Columbia Broadcasting System. The network is sometimes referred to as the "Eye Network" in reference to the shape of...
reality show developed by Mark Goodson
Mark Goodson
Mark Goodson was an American television producer who specialized in game shows.-Life and early career:...
, one of the creators of What's My Line?
What's My Line?
What's My Line? is a panel game show which originally ran in the United States on the CBS Television Network from 1950 to 1967, with several international versions and subsequent U.S. revivals. The game tasked celebrity panelists with questioning contestants in order to determine their occupations....
The show highlighted the unusual occupations of ordinary people, but unlike What's My Line? it had no panel or game components; the show was rather along the same lines as NBC
NBC
The National Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network and former radio network headquartered in the GE Building in New York City's Rockefeller Center with additional major offices near Los Angeles and in Chicago...
's Real People
Real People
Real People is an NBC reality television series that aired from 1979 to 1984, on Wednesday and then Sunday nights. Its initial episodes aired live in the Eastern and Central Time Zones.-Synopsis:...
and ABC
American Broadcasting Company
The American Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network. Created in 1943 from the former NBC Blue radio network, ABC is owned by The Walt Disney Company and is part of Disney-ABC Television Group. Its first broadcast on television was in 1948...
's That's Incredible!
That's Incredible!
That's Incredible! was an American reality television show that aired on the ABC television network from 1980 to 1984.-Synopsis:In the tradition of You Asked For It, Ripley's Believe It or Not! and Real People, the show featured people performing stunts and reenactments of allegedly paranormal events...
It was hosted by Bob Barker
Bob Barker
Robert William "Bob" Barker is a former American television game show host. He is best known for hosting CBS's The Price Is Right from 1972 to 2007, making it the longest-running daytime game show in North American television history, and for hosting Truth or Consequences from 1956 to 1975.Born...
and announced by Johnny Olson
Johnny Olson
John Leonard "Johnny" Olson was an American radio personality and television announcer. His work spanned 32 game shows produced by Mark Goodson and Bill Todman from the late 1950s through the mid 1980s...
, both associated with Goodson-Todman's hit game show, The Price Is Right
The Price Is Right (U.S. game show)
The Price Is Right is an American game show which was created by Mark Goodson and Bill Todman. Contestants compete to identify the pricing of merchandise to win cash and prizes. The show is well-known for its signature line of "Come on down!" when the announcer directs newly selected contestants to...
. The series was co-hosted by Suzanne Childs and Tiiu Leek, and joined during the 1981 run by Kerry Millerick. The thrust of the show during the 1981 season also changed from unusual occupations to an emphasis on the funny, bizarre, or ridiculous.
Notable moments included voice artist Mel Blanc
Mel Blanc
Melvin Jerome "Mel" Blanc was an American voice actor and comedian. Although he began his nearly six-decade-long career performing in radio commercials, Blanc is best remembered for his work with Warner Bros...
having a contest with an audience member on who does voice acting the best (the "audience member" being his son Noel) and magician James Randi
James Randi
James Randi is a Canadian-American stage magician and scientific skeptic best known as a challenger of paranormal claims and pseudoscience. Randi is the founder of the James Randi Educational Foundation...
, who contested James Hydrick
James Hydrick
James Alan Hydrick is a former American performer and self-described psychic. Hydrick claimed to be able to perform acts of telekinesis, such as his trademark trick involving the movement of a pencil resting at the edge of a table...
's psychic abilities.