''Masquerade Party'' is an American television game show. During its original run from 1952 to 1960, the show appeared at various times on

ABC ABC are the first three letters of the Latin script. ABC or abc may also refer to: Arts, entertainment and media Broadcasting * Aliw Broadcasting Corporation, Philippine broadcast company * American Broadcasting Company, a commercial American ...

NBC The National Broadcasting Company (NBC) is an American commercial broadcast television and radio network serving as the flagship property of the NBC Entertainment division of NBCUniversal, a subsidiary of Comcast. It is one of NBCUniversal's ...

, and

CBS CBS Broadcasting Inc., commonly shortened to CBS (an abbreviation of its original name, Columbia Broadcasting System), is an American commercial broadcast television and radio network serving as the flagship property of the CBS Entertainme ...

. A syndicated revival was produced for one season in 1974–75. The gameplay consisted of a panel of celebrities attempting to guess the identity of a celebrity who was disguised with heavy make-up and/or a costume. The disguise would provide clues as to the celebrity's actual identity. For example, actor

Gary Burghoff Gary Rich Burghoff (born May 24, 1943) is an American actor who is known for originating the role of Charlie Brown in the 1967 Off-Broadway musical '' You're a Good Man, Charlie Brown'', and the character Corporal Walter Eugene "Radar" O'Reill ...

appeared in 1974 as a robot with a

radar Radar is a system that uses radio waves to determine the distance ('' ranging''), direction ( azimuth and elevation angles), and radial velocity of objects relative to the site. It is a radiodetermination method used to detect and track ...

, alluding to his role as

Radar O'Reilly This is a list of characters from the ''M*A*S*H'' franchise created by Richard Hooker, covering the various fictional characters appearing in the novel '' MASH: A Novel About Three Army Doctors'' (1968) and its sequels '' M*A*S*H Goes to Main ...

on ''

M*A*S*H ''M*A*S*H'' (an acronym for Mobile Army Surgical Hospital) is an American media franchise consisting of a series of novels, a film, several television series, plays, and other properties, and based on the semi-autobiographical fiction of Richa ...

''. The panel asked yes-or-no questions of the disguised celebrity, after which they were given another clue. They then had one last chance to guess the identity, after which the celebrity revealed their true identity.

1952–1960

The original show had several well-known celebrities on its panel including

Pat Carroll Patricia Ann Carroll (May 5, 1927 – July 30, 2022) was an American actress and comedian. She is best known for providing the voice of Ursula in ''The Little Mermaid''. She made guest appearances in many popular television series including '' ...

Ilka Chase Ilka Chase (April 8, 1905 – February 15, 1978) was an American actress, radio host, and novelist whose career spanned stage, film, and television. Born into a well-known New York family, she made her stage debut as a child and later became a ...

Buff Cobb Buff Cobb (born Patrizia Cobb Chapman, October 19, 1927 – July 12, 2010)Hevesi, Dennis ''The New York Times'', July 21, 2010. was an Italian-born American actress and, with then-husband Mike Wallace, host of one of television's first talk-sho ...

, Dagmar,

Sam Levenson Samuel Levenson (December 28, 1911August 27, 1980) was an American humorist, writer, teacher, television host, and journalist. Personal life Born in 1911, he grew up in a large Jewish immigrant family in Brooklyn, New York. He graduated from B ...

Audrey Meadows Audrey Meadows (born Audrey Cotter; February 8, 1922 – February 3, 1996) was an American actress who portrayed the deadpan housewife Alice Kramden on the 1950s American television comedy ''The Honeymooners''. She was the younger sister of H ...

Ogden Nash Frederic Ogden Nash (August 19, 1902 – May 19, 1971) was an American poet well known for his Light poetry, light verse, of which he wrote more than 500 pieces. With his unconventional rhyme, rhyming schemes, he was declared by ''The New York T ...

Betsy Palmer Betsy Palmer (born Patricia Betsy Hrunek; November 1, 1926 – May 29, 2015) was an American actress known for her many film and Broadway roles, television guest-starring appearances, as a panelist on the game show '' I've Got a Secret'', and la ...

, and

Jonathan Winters Jonathan Harshman Winters III (November 11, 1925 – April 11, 2013) was an American comedian, actor, author, television host, and artist. He started performing as a stand up comedian before transitioning his career to acting in film and te ...

. Comedian

Allan Sherman Allan Sherman (born Allan Copelon or Allan Gerald Copelon; November 30, 1924 – November 20, 1973) was an American musician, satirist, and television producer who became known as a song parodist in the early 1960s. His first album, '' M ...

was the producer, and Stefan Hatos was

executive producer Executive producer (EP) is one of the top positions in the production of media. Depending on the medium, the executive producer may be concerned with management accounting or associated with legal issues (like copyrights or royalties). In film ...

. The show's theme music was "The Comedians", an orchestral composition by

Dmitry Kabalevsky Dmitry Borisovich Kabalevsky ( ; – 14 February 1987) was a Soviet composer, conductor, pianist and pedagogue of Russian gentry descent. He helped set up the Union of Soviet Composers in Moscow and remained one of its leading figures during ...

. The oversensitivity of the show towards advertisers, and political correctness complaints, made it fall into a hoax of the satirical magazine ''

The Realist ''The Realist'' was a magazine of "social-political-religious criticism and satire", intended as a hybrid of a grown-ups version of ''Mad'' and Lyle Stuart's anti-censorship monthly ''The Independent.'' Edited and published by Paul Krassner, ...

'' in 1960.Michael DooleyJuly (2000
Here Lies Paul Krassner
at ''AIGA Journal of Graphic Design'', vol.18, no. 2, 2000Paul Krassner (1960)

', ''The Realist'' #16, March 16, 1960, pp.5-6Paul Krassner (1960)
Case History Of a TV Hoax
', ''The Realist'' #18, June 18, 1960, pp.1, 3-4 This incarnation was ranked eighth on ''

TV Guide TV Guide is an American digital media In mass communication, digital media is any media (communication), communication media that operates in conjunction with various encoded machine-readable data formats. Digital content can be created, vi ...

''s 2001 list of "The 50 Greatest Game Shows of All Time".

Episode status

Five episodes are known to survive. Three exist among traders and are from 1955, 1957 and 1959 (Donald, Bracken, and Parks respectively). The 1955 episode features George DeWitt (then hosting ''

Name That Tune ''Name That Tune'' is an American television music game show. Originally created and produced by orchestra conductor Harry Salter and his wife Roberta Semple Salter, the series features contestants competing to correctly identify songs being p ...

'') as a guest. The

UCLA Film and Television Archive The UCLA Film & Television Archive is a visual arts organization focused on the film preservation, preservation, film studies, study, and appreciation of film and television, based at the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA). As a nonpro ...

holds episodes dated October 6, 1954 and May 5, 1955 (the latter also in the trading circuit

Critical response

A review in ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...

'' in 1953 said that the show "has a mildly entertaining gimmick". The review complimented the craftsmanship of the costumes ("what makes the show"). It suggested that the program would be more entertaining for viewers if disguised guests were not identified on-screen as soon as they appeared.

1974–1975

In 1974, ''Masquerade Party'' was revived for syndication by

Stefan Hatos-Monty Hall Productions Stefan Hatos-Monty Hall Productions is a television production company responsible for producing several American game shows in the 1970s and 1980s. The company is best known for its hit series ''Let's Make a Deal'', which aired in several company- ...

and aired weekly for one season.

Richard Dawson Richard Dawson (born Colin Lionel Emm; 20 November 1932 – 2 June 2012) was an English-American actor, comedian, game-show host, and panelist. Dawson was well known for playing Corporal Peter Newkirk in ''Hogan's Heroes'', as a regular panel ...

hosted the revival with Jay Stewart announcing. The basic premise was the same as the original show.

Bill Bixby Wilfred Bailey Everett Bixby III (January 22, 1934 – November 21, 1993) was an American actor and television director. His career spanned more than three decades, including appearances on stage, in films, and on television series. He is known ...

Lee Meriwether Lee Ann Meriwether (born May 27, 1935) is an American actress and the winner of the 1955 Miss America pageant. She has appeared in many films and television shows, notably as Betty Jones, the title character's secretary and daughter-in-law in th ...

, and

Nipsey Russell Julius "Nipsey" Russell (September 15, 1918 – October 2, 2005)Nipsey J. Russell, born September 15, 1918, died October 2, 2005. Social Security Administration. ''Social Security Death Index'' (Death Master File).U.S. Census, January 1, 1920, st ...

were regular panelists. Col. Harland Sanders of

Kentucky Fried Chicken KFC Corporation, doing business as KFC (an abbreviation of Kentucky Fried Chicken), is an American fast food restaurant chain specializing in fried chicken and chicken sandwiches. Headquartered in Louisville, Kentucky, it is the world's s ...

fame made an appearance as a celebrity guest. A reference to this version was made in a final-season episode of ''

The Odd Couple Odd Couple may refer to: Neil Simon play and its adaptations * ''The Odd Couple'' (play), a 1965 stage play by Neil Simon ** ''The Odd Couple'' (film), a 1968 film based on the play *** ''The Odd Couple'' (1970 TV series), a 1970–1975 televis ...

''. Felix asks Oscar what he is watching on television, and Oscar reports, "''Masquerade Party'' with Richard Dawson." Felix, who said he knew Dawson in the Army, replies "That man ruined my life!"

Episode status

Two episodes are known to exist. One is a studio master taped July 10, 1974 featuring

Allen Ludden Allen Ellsworth Ludden (born Allen Packard Ellsworth; October 5, 1917 – June 9, 1981) was an American television personality, actor, singer, emcee, and game show host. He hosted various incarnations of the game show ''Password'' between 1 ...

(disguised as a Southern judge) as a guest; the UCLA Archive lists an episode dated July 9, 1974. The other was recorded July 13, 1974 featuring

William Shatner William Shatner (born March 22, 1931) is a Canadian actor. In a career spanning seven decades, he is best known for his portrayal of James T. Kirk in the ''Star Trek'' franchise, from his 1966 debut as the captain of the starship USS Enterpri ...

(disguised as a riverboat captain),

Charles Nelson Reilly Charles Nelson Reilly (January 13, 1931 – May 25, 2007) was an American actor, comedian, director and drama teacher. He performed in the original Broadway casts of ''Bye Bye Birdie''; '' Hello, Dolly!''; and '' How to Succeed in Business With ...

Howard Duff Howard Green Duff (November 24, 1913July 8, 1990) was an American actor. He started in radio during World War II before appearing in many Hollywood features and television programs from 1947 to 1990. He also directed for television. His career ...

and

Carolyn Jones Carolyn Sue Jones (April 28, 1930 – August 3, 1983) was an American actress of television and film. She began her film career in the early 1950s, and by the end of the decade had achieved recognition with a nomination for an Academy Awa ...

. This episode was shared to the public by the YouTube channel of

Wink Martindale Winston Conrad "Wink" Martindale (December 4, 1933 – April 15, 2025) was an American disc jockey, radio personality, game show host and television producer. Regarded as a pop culture icon, he was known for his outgoing and jovial demeanor and ...

and his production company in 2020, and is a studio recording featuring studio commentary not meant for broadcast.

References

External links

* * {{IMDb title, id=00140747, title=Masquerade Party (1974–1975 version) 1952 American television series debuts 1960 American television series endings 1974 American television series debuts 1975 American television series endings 1950s American game shows 1960s American game shows 1970s American game shows American panel games American Broadcasting Company game shows Black-and-white American television shows CBS game shows American English-language television shows First-run syndicated game shows NBC game shows Lost television shows Television series by CBS Studios Television series by Stefan Hatos-Monty Hall Productions Television series by 20th Century Fox Television