As we mark the 23 January anniversary of Don Walsh’s historic 1960 bathyscaph dive to the deepest part of the ocean, the Naval History research team has unearthed a long-forgotten appearance of the deep-sea pioneer on the hit TV game show To Tell the Truth.
The young Lieutenant Walsh appeared on the show on 27 March 1961, a little over a year after his history-making dive.
One of the most beloved game shows of its era, To Tell the Truth would feature three guests, two of them impostors, one of them the real McCoy. The panel of celebrity contestants would grill the trio with probing questions in an effort to deduce who was really who they said they were.
As the sprightly introductory theme music played, the curtain would rise on three silhouetted figures. The announcer would intone iconically, “WHAT . . . is your name, please?” Each, in turn, would identify himself as the same person. Then it was up to the celebrity panel to sort out who the two liars were.
In the episode now rediscovered, the announcer declares, “One of these men has been as deep beneath the sea as man can ever go! WHAT . . . is your name, please?” As the spotlight illuminates the first guest, we see the smiling face of the real Don Walsh, clearly having the time of his life, dapper in a fancy plaid vest, asserting, “My name is Don Walsh.” Then the lights go up on player number two, who likewise states, “My name is Don Walsh,” then onto number three: “My name is Don Walsh.”
After the bow-tied, ever-affable host Bud Collyer makes the requisite sponsor plug for Dristan Nasal Mist, the panel gets down to the interrogation. The very first question, from panelist Betty White, goes to the real Don, who answers deftly, but briefly, not wishing to be too obviously the right choice. He continues to hold his own with the other panelists, Tom Poston, Pat Carroll, and Don Ameche.
Do the panelists guess correctly in the end? Well, watch for yourself—at either Amazon Prime or YouTube. Here are the links:
But we have to give one spoiler: One of the female panelists, torn between whom to pick, ultimately goes with the real Don because of his “gorgeous red vest.” You have to credit her instincts!
