Kitty Carlisle Hart, an actress also known for her appearances on game shows, has died. GSN is paying tribute in a very odd way. See after the jump …
Here's GSN's announcement:
GSN is honoring the life of Kitty Carlisle Hart, the beloved stage and film actress who appeared on TV game shows in six decades, in a special tribute late Sunday night April 22. Carlisle Hart, who died today at the age of 96 from pneumonia, was a frequent guest on “To Tell The Truth” beginning in the 50’s and GSN is showcasing two landmark episodes of her work on that show. She was the only guest who appeared in every version of “To Tell The Truth” from its original format to its last in 2001.
At 3:00 AM ET (Monday morning), GSN is airing Carlisle’s first appearance on “To Tell The Truth.” This classic black-and-white episode premiered March 5, 1957 and featured Bud Collyer as host. Other panelists joining Carlisle included Polly Bergen, Ralph Bellamy and Hy Gardner. Guests on this particular episode featured the personal barber to the president, a female blackjack dealer/mineral prospector and disc jockey Alan Freed, who is often credited as the radio father of rock ‘n’ roll.
At 3:30 AM ET, GSN is airing a very special “To Tell The Truth” which featured Carlisle’s son as one of the guest imposters. This color episode originally aired in 1973 and featured host Garry Moore. Panelists included Bill Cullen, Joe Garagiola and Peggy Cass. Guests were a New York City police detective who uses disguises and an executive who studies the impact of viewing television in addition to Carlisle’s own son in disguise.
"Honoring the life" at 3 a.m.?
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This is hardly anything new for GSN.
Their programming of "classic" game shows now is almost entirely limited to Match Game and Family Feud. The black-and-white programming they used to air weekends in prime-time was first shuffled off into the wee small hours, then decreased from two hours to one hour a night, and finally to one hour on Monday mornings. The regular schedule is What's My Line? followed by a rotating group of shows (To Tell the Truth, I've Got a Secret, and Password).
It's a shame that this is how GSN values the wonderful life and career of Kitty Carlisle (would there even be a GSN without the likes of Kitty Carlisle?), but it's not surprising. The only time in recent years the GSN "tribute" has aired outside of this time slot was when Johnny Carson died, and even that tribute aired on a Saturday morning when it didn't interfere with anything else . . .
What really bothers me about GSN's scheduling is the fact that they own the rights to rarely seen game shows like the color syndicated version of What's My Line? and the old black-and-white I've Got A Secret and yet they never air them. They only appear during a tribute showing to a performer who has recently died and only play late at night. I agree that their "tribute" to Kitty Carlisle is pretty shabby. However, it is indicative of GSN and many other cable stations belief that old shows are not the ratings-grabbers that newer series like The Amazing Race (which I don't even watch during its initial run) supposedly are.