You're in the Picture is an American television game show that aired on CBS for only one episode on Friday, January 20, 1961 at 9:30pm.
The show, created by Don Lipp and Bob Synes, was an attempt by its host and star Jackie Gleason to "demonstrate versatility" after his success within variety shows and The Honeymooners. Gleason was joined by Johnny Olson as announcer and Dennis James doing live commercials for sponsor Kellogg's cereals.
Technically, the show could be said to have run for two episodes, since the following Friday, Gleason appeared at the same time, but in a studio "stripped to the brick walls" and using the time to give what Time magazine called an "inspiring post-mortem", asking rhetorically "how it was possible for a group of trained people to put on so big a flop." Time later cited You're in the Picture as one piece of evidence that the 1960–61 TV season was the "worst in the 13-year history of U.S. network television."
Gameplay
A four-member celebrity panel would stick their heads into a life-sized illustration of a famous scene or song lyric with a hole cut out, then take turns asking yes/no questions to Gleason to try to figure out what scene they were a part of. If they were able to figure out the scene, 100 CARE Packages were donated in their name; if they were stumped, the packages were donated in Gleason's name. Live music was provided by a Dixieland band (supposedly arranged by Gleason himself, who had some experience in easy listening arrangements outside his television work) under the direction of Norman Leyden.
Panelists
The celebrity panel for the premiere consisted of Pat Harrington Jr., Pat Carroll, Jan Sterling, and Arthur Treacher.
Among the tableaux-like backdrops featured in the premiere were Pocahontas rescuing John Smith, three men ogling a girl in an "itsy bitsy teenie weenie yellow polka dot bikini", a depiction of four statues in The Metropolitan Museum of Art, and four members of Billy Watson's Burlesque Beef Trust.
In his book What Were They Thinking? The 100 Dumbest Events in Television History, author David Hofstede ranked the show at number 4 on the list.
Episode status
Both the premiere and Gleason's apology exist and are available for viewing at the Paley Center for Media in New York City. Both appear to be from the original broadcasts, as both have the original commercials intact. The apology episode is widely circulated on video-sharing sites such as YouTube.
In an October 18, 1985, Tonight Show interview with Gleason, Johnny Carson stated that he "was also a part of the show"; surviving clips do not show him, however. Pat Carroll confirmed that Carson had been involved in an episode but stated he left before taping: "Johnny Carson was supposed to be on it. But he did one rehearsal and we never saw him again. He knew better than we did. Ha!" Rumors of a second episode being taped but never aired appear to be untrue, as Carroll stated that she and the other panelists were ready to go on stage to tape the second episode but wound up instead being a backstage witness to the apology, causing her to wonder why she was even in the studio in the first place.