Object of the Day: “I’ve Got a Secret” Home Game, c. 1952

This popular panel show of the 1950s originally ran from 1952 to 1973 and was hosted until 1964 by Garry Moore. The program has been resurrected several times, well into this century. The point of the program was to bring a contestant in front of a celebrity panel which often included Bill Cullen, Betsy Palmer and Bess Myerson. The contestant had a secret, and the panel had to guess what that secret was.

As was often the case with popular game shows—and remains so today—a home game was produced. Board games were much more popular in the era before everything went digital, so, of course, audiences wanted to be able to play their favorite game show in the home. And, here’s one of them. I must confess I’ve never played it. However, it really is very nifty looking and has all of its original pieces. Perhaps one of these days we’ll play it.

For those of you who’ve never had the chance to see I’ve Got a Secret, here’s a clip from the program. As you can see, they’re taking a good natured jab at another celebrity panel show To Tell the Truth with their opening shtick about, “Will the real…please stand up.”