What would game shows be without contestants? We watch them, cheer for them, and sometimes even compete with them. But we seldom know much about them. I recently had the opportunity to learn about one remarkable game show contestant.
Now Let’s Meet Our Contestant
Born in the early 1940s, Candy Lee demonstrated an aptitude for performance at a young age. With her mother, Vilma Laska, as her promoter, she won her first beauty contest at age three and was singing for a crowd of 15,000 people at age four!
But it was her unusual occupation that stumped the four celebrity panelists during her appearance on What’s My Line? in 1959. Candy Lee entered the world of broadcasting as a child. In the early 1950s she was one of the youngest disc jockeys in the nation. She hosted her own radio program Kiddie Korral at around eight years old for Cleveland, Ohio radio station WDOK. As Candy grew up and changed so did her radio show. As a preteen her program featured music and stories from popular western entertainers such as Gene Autry and Roy Rogers. When she was 13, she started a teen show called Soda Set that featured artists such as Perry Cuomo, Eddie Fisher, and more. The Candy Lee Show played rock and roll in the late 1950s to the early 1960s.
“The Final Contestant. Will You Come in and Sign in, Please? Candy Lee!”
On a trip to New York City in August 1959, Candy Lee, on a whim, became a contestant on the television panel show What’s My Line? Originally hosted by John Charles Daly, the show ran from 1950 to 1967, and featured a panel of four celebrities, including regulars like journalist Dorothy Kilgallen, actress Arlene Francis, and publisher Bennet Cerf. The panelists questioned contestants to determine their occupation. Panelists were only allowed to ask yes or no questions and could continue the line of questions until they received a “no” for an answer.
Candy Lee was the final contestant on the August 30, 1959, episode. Panelist Bennet Cerf’s line of questioning was getting close to identifying her occupation, when Daly called time and proclaimed the panel stumped. Candy Lee won $50 and got to meet the “Mystery Guest,” singer Rick Nelson.
What’s My Line? wasn’t Candy Lee’s first time as a contestant. In 1954 her mother signed her up to be a contestant on the short-lived game show, Judge For Yourself. Judge For Yourself (1953–1954) was a talent-comedy game show hosted by Fred Allen in which three contestants listened to songs written by amateur songwriters. The contestants then guessed which song the audience liked best. The contestant that guessed correctly won a part of the $1,000 jackpot.
Candy Lee appeared on Judge For Yourself on March 9, 1954, and was the first youth to appear on the show. She correctly guessed the song that the audience liked best and won the full $1,000 prize.
So how do we know so much about this one contestant? Candy Lee donated her photographs, ephemera, and newspaper clippings to The Strong in March 2025 to be added to the National Archives of Game Show History. Check out the recently published Guide to the Candy Lee Papers!
