Our Kitty - May 18

I want to apologize to all of my readers; I have been incredibly derelict in my duties in this arena. But real life comes first, and I had some business to attend to. Thankfully, I'm back to normal, and that means you'll be hearing from me again.

It's never easy to lose someone; whether you were close to them or not. While Kitty Carlisle-Hart died over a month ago, it's still settling in. Game show fans would know her best as the no-nonsense inquisitor from To Tell the Truth, but her performing life was much more. (And if you'd like to find out more, there's plenty of places online to look it up. And I recommend that you do so.)

To Tell the Truth is one of the only "panel shows" that I can stand to watch for more than a few minutes at a go. I never found it interesting to guess the occupation of a random stranger, or his "secret," and even less so who he shared a famous name with. But To Tell the Truth had a good game behind it. Part of the reason that game was so great was in part due to the play of Mrs. Hart. The celebrities of today would do well to take a lesson from her. Today, it seems like anyone looking to make scale and get some face time will grab a gig on a game show, with nary a thought to the fate of the contestant. But when Kitty was on that panel, she played for blood. Even on the two most recent revivals, Kitty managed to play the game with a passion that few have held, and with an air of class that, again, we could all use.

We probably won't see anything like the "panel games" from the days of old, but there will probably always be games where celebrities play along with contestants. Those celebrities should spend a bit of quality time with Game Show Network, so they can see the way that the stars of the show conducted themselves. I know I will.

Travis Eberle can be reached at traviseberle@gmail.com.