You're in the Picture
Encyclopedia
You're in the Picture is an American
television game show
that aired on CBS
for only one episode on Friday, January 20, 1961 at 9:30pm, the evening of the Inauguration of John F. Kennedy.
The show, created by Don Lipp and Bob Synes, was an attempt by its host and star Jackie Gleason
to "demonstrate versatility" after his success with in variety show
s and The Honeymooners
. Gleason was joined by Johnny Olson
as announcer and Dennis James
doing live commercials for sponsor Kellogg's cereals.
Technically, the show could be said to have run for two episodes, since the following Friday, Gleason appeared at the same time, but in a studio "stripped to the brick walls" and using the time to give what Time
magazine called an "inspiring post-mortem", asking rhetorically
"how it was possible for a group of trained people to put on so big a flop." Time later cited You're in the Picture as one piece of evidence that the 1960-61 TV season was the "worst in the 13-year history of U.S. network television."
s were donated in their name; if they were stumped, the packages were donated in Gleason's name. Live music was provided by a Dixieland
band (supposedly arranged by Gleason himself) under the direction of Norman Leyden.
, Pat Carroll
, Jan Sterling
, and Arthur Treacher
.
Among the tableaux-like
backdrops featured in the premiere were a scene of Pocahontas
saving John Smith, a depiction of four playing card
s, and a scene of high school hurdlers
in a track meet.
The following Friday (January 27), instead of the game, the broadcast consisted of Gleason sitting in a chair on the now-bare stage and apologizing for the previous week's show. Stating that the series failed because of "the intangibles of show business", Gleason also noted that more than 300 combined years' worth of show business experience had been involved in the production.
He commented that the program "laid, without a doubt, the biggest bomb in history", adding that it "would make the H-Bomb look like a two-inch salute." Acknowledging the critics, he also stated that "You don't have to be Alexander Graham Bell
to pick up the phone and find out it's dead."
He also told stories of his other flops (adding at one point "I wish I didn't know so much about these things"), and had the John Smith/Pocahontas illustration brought out to show what the format was for those "fortunate enough not to see last week's show". He also fulfilled contractual obligations by incorporating live commercials into the broadcast. He also noted that nobody complimented on how the show itself was after it finished airing, instead mentioning how good the commercials were and that the show went off the air at the right time. He ended his commentary with "I don't know what we'll do, but I'll be back".
This comical half-hour apology got much better reviews than the game show, and Gleason finished out his series commitment by renaming the program The Jackie Gleason Show and turning it into a talk/interview show, which lasted until March 24, 1961. CBS was impressed enough with the makeshift effort that it picked up Gleason's talk show full-time in 1962 under the name American Scene Magazine; American Scene ran until 1970.
However, due to a moment during the apology in which Gleason hinted that the coffee cup he was sipping from wasn't really filled with "coffee" (he called it "Chock Full O'Booze
"), the show's original sponsor, Kellogg's, pulled out of the series a week later and publicly claimed, "This isn't the show we bought". They reportedly told CBS executives they were offended by the coffee cup reference, and wanted no further association with Gleason or the show after that. However, Liggett & Myers, the show's alternate sponsor, continued with the series until it ended.
ranked the series number 9 on its '50 Worst TV Shows of All Time' list.
. Both appear to be from the original broadcasts, as both have the original commercials intact.
A second episode of the game show format was recorded on videotape for a future airing, but it did not air due to the premiere's poor reception. It is unknown if this episode still exists. In a 1980s Tonight Show interview with Gleason, Johnny Carson
stated that he appeared on the program; surviving clips do not show him involved, however.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
television game show
Game show
A game show is a type of radio or television program in which members of the public, television personalities or celebrities, sometimes as part of a team, play a game which involves answering questions or solving puzzles usually for money and/or prizes...
that aired on CBS
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...
for only one episode on Friday, January 20, 1961 at 9:30pm, the evening of the Inauguration of John F. Kennedy.
The show, created by Don Lipp and Bob Synes, was an attempt by its host and star Jackie Gleason
Jackie Gleason
Jackie Gleason was an American comedian, actor and musician. He was known for his brash visual and verbal comedy style, especially by his character Ralph Kramden on The Honeymooners, a situation-comedy television series. His most noted film roles were as Minnesota Fats in the drama film The...
to "demonstrate versatility" after his success with in variety show
Variety show
A variety show, also known as variety arts or variety entertainment, is an entertainment made up of a variety of acts, especially musical performances and sketch comedy, and normally introduced by a compère or host. Other types of acts include magic, animal and circus acts, acrobatics, juggling...
s and The Honeymooners
The Honeymooners
The Honeymooners is an American situation comedy television show, based on a recurring 1951–'55 sketch of the same name. It originally aired on the DuMont network's Cavalcade of Stars and subsequently on the CBS network's The Jackie Gleason Show hosted by Jackie Gleason, and filmed before a live...
. Gleason was joined 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...
as announcer and Dennis James
Dennis James
Dennis James was an American television personality, actor, and announcer. He is credited as the host of television's first network game show, the DuMont Network's Cash and Carry in 1946...
doing live commercials for sponsor Kellogg's cereals.
Technically, the show could be said to have run for two episodes, since the following Friday, Gleason appeared at the same time, but in a studio "stripped to the brick walls" and using the time to give what Time
Time (magazine)
Time is an American news magazine. A European edition is published from London. Time Europe covers the Middle East, Africa and, since 2003, Latin America. An Asian edition is based in Hong Kong...
magazine called an "inspiring post-mortem", asking rhetorically
Rhetorical question
A rhetorical question is a figure of speech in the form of a question posed for its persuasive effect without the expectation of a reply. Rhetorical questions encourage the listener to think about what the answer to the question must be. When a speaker states, "How much longer must our people...
"how it was possible for a group of trained people to put on so big a flop." Time later cited You're in the Picture as one piece of evidence that the 1960-61 TV season was the "worst in the 13-year history of U.S. network television."
Gameplay
A four-member celebrity panel would stick their heads into a life-sized illustration of a famous scene or song lyric and then take turns asking yes/no questions to Gleason to try to figure out what scene they were a part of. If they were able to figure out the scene, 100 CARE PackageCARE Package
The CARE Package was the original unit of aid distributed by the humanitarian organization CARE...
s were donated in their name; if they were stumped, the packages were donated in Gleason's name. Live music was provided by a Dixieland
Dixieland
Dixieland music, sometimes referred to as Hot jazz, Early Jazz or New Orleans jazz, is a style of jazz music which developed in New Orleans at the start of the 20th century, and was spread to Chicago and New York City by New Orleans bands in the 1910s.Well-known jazz standard songs from the...
band (supposedly arranged by Gleason himself) under the direction of Norman Leyden.
Panelists
The celebrity panel for the premiere consisted of Pat Harrington Jr.Pat Harrington, Jr.
Pat Harrington, Jr., is an American voice, stage, and television actor most popularly known for his role as building superintendent "Schneider" on the CBS sitcom One Day At A Time. He is the son of Pat Harrington, Sr.- Biography :...
, Pat Carroll
Pat Carroll (actress)
Patricia Ann “Pat” Carroll is an American actress. She performed in numerous stage productions, and portrayed the roles of "Bunny Halper" on CBS's The Danny Thomas Show, Shirley Feeney's mother on ABC's Laverne and Shirley, and is the voice of the villainous Ursula in The Little Mermaid film...
, Jan Sterling
Jan Sterling
Jan Sterling was an American actress.Most active in films during the 1950s, Sterling received a Golden Globe Award for Best Supporting Actress for her performance in The High and the Mighty , and was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress for the same performance...
, and Arthur Treacher
Arthur Treacher
Arthur Veary Treacher was an English actor born in Brighton, East Sussex, England.Treacher was a veteran of World War I. After the war, he established a stage career and in 1928, he went to America as part of a musical-comedy revue called Great Temptations...
.
Among the tableaux-like
Tableau vivant
Tableau vivant is French for "living picture." The term describes a striking group of suitably costumed actors or artist's models, carefully posed and often theatrically lit. Throughout the duration of the display, the people shown do not speak or move...
backdrops featured in the premiere were a scene of Pocahontas
Pocahontas
Pocahontas was a Virginia Indian notable for her association with the colonial settlement at Jamestown, Virginia. She was the daughter of Chief Powhatan, the head of a network of tributary tribal nations in Tidewater Virginia...
saving John Smith, a depiction of four playing card
Playing card
A playing card is a piece of specially prepared heavy paper, thin cardboard, plastic-coated paper, cotton-paper blend, or thin plastic, marked with distinguishing motifs and used as one of a set for playing card games...
s, and a scene of high school hurdlers
Hurdling
Hurdling is a type of track and field race.- Distances :There are sprint hurdle races and long hurdle races. The standard sprint hurdle race is 110 meters for men and 100 meters for women. The standard long hurdle race is 400 meters for both men and women...
in a track meet.
Apology
The debut of You're in the Picture received negative reviews across the board.The following Friday (January 27), instead of the game, the broadcast consisted of Gleason sitting in a chair on the now-bare stage and apologizing for the previous week's show. Stating that the series failed because of "the intangibles of show business", Gleason also noted that more than 300 combined years' worth of show business experience had been involved in the production.
He commented that the program "laid, without a doubt, the biggest bomb in history", adding that it "would make the H-Bomb look like a two-inch salute." Acknowledging the critics, he also stated that "You don't have to be Alexander Graham Bell
Alexander Graham Bell
Alexander Graham Bell was an eminent scientist, inventor, engineer and innovator who is credited with inventing the first practical telephone....
to pick up the phone and find out it's dead."
He also told stories of his other flops (adding at one point "I wish I didn't know so much about these things"), and had the John Smith/Pocahontas illustration brought out to show what the format was for those "fortunate enough not to see last week's show". He also fulfilled contractual obligations by incorporating live commercials into the broadcast. He also noted that nobody complimented on how the show itself was after it finished airing, instead mentioning how good the commercials were and that the show went off the air at the right time. He ended his commentary with "I don't know what we'll do, but I'll be back".
This comical half-hour apology got much better reviews than the game show, and Gleason finished out his series commitment by renaming the program The Jackie Gleason Show and turning it into a talk/interview show, which lasted until March 24, 1961. CBS was impressed enough with the makeshift effort that it picked up Gleason's talk show full-time in 1962 under the name American Scene Magazine; American Scene ran until 1970.
However, due to a moment during the apology in which Gleason hinted that the coffee cup he was sipping from wasn't really filled with "coffee" (he called it "Chock Full O'Booze
Chock full o'Nuts
Chock full o’Nuts is a chain of lunch counters in New York City that spawned a brand of coffee.-History:The chain was founded by William Black , an American immigrant who sold nuts in Times Square to theater-goers. In 1926, he opened a store on Broadway and 43rd Street, and began selling coffee and...
"), the show's original sponsor, Kellogg's, pulled out of the series a week later and publicly claimed, "This isn't the show we bought". They reportedly told CBS executives they were offended by the coffee cup reference, and wanted no further association with Gleason or the show after that. However, Liggett & Myers, the show's alternate sponsor, continued with the series until it ended.
Reception
In 2002 TV GuideTV Guide
TV Guide is a weekly American magazine with listings of TV shows.In addition to TV listings, the publication features television-related news, celebrity interviews, gossip and film reviews and crossword puzzles...
ranked the series number 9 on its '50 Worst TV Shows of All Time' list.
Episode status
Both the premiere and Gleason's apology exist and are available for viewing at The Paley Center for Media in New York CityNew York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
. Both appear to be from the original broadcasts, as both have the original commercials intact.
A second episode of the game show format was recorded on videotape for a future airing, but it did not air due to the premiere's poor reception. It is unknown if this episode still exists. In a 1980s Tonight Show interview with Gleason, Johnny Carson
Johnny Carson
John William "Johnny" Carson was an American television host and comedian, known as host of The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson for 30 years . Carson received six Emmy Awards including the Governor Award and a 1985 Peabody Award; he was inducted into the Television Academy Hall of Fame in 1987...
stated that he appeared on the program; surviving clips do not show him involved, however.