Miss Arlene

The object of many John Daly compliments on What's My Line, Arlene Francis added a clever combo of elegance and everywoman to a lot of game shows. Of course, she was best known for WML but her IMDb page lists a slew of classic Goodson-Todman shows, from I've Got a Secret to Match Game.

Born Arline Francis Kazanjian in 1907, Arlene worked for many years as a Broadway actress. She made her way to radio and then to the box with pictures in the 1950s. Her big break was no doubt WML. The show gave her a national audience and a forum for marital discussions with her second husband and frequent WML guest panelist, Martin Gabel.

Although not particularly known for movie roles, she did score a nice part as Jimmy Cagney's wife in Billy Wilder's Cold War comedy (not a contradiction in terms) One, Two, Three. In her final years she suffered from Alzheimer's before her death in 2001 at age 93. She'll get yet another turn on GSN in the upcoming Christmastime run of What's My Line, and YouTube offers endless clips of her work in the genre.