Free association in the manner of To Tell the Truth was the name of this daytime game show from NBC, hosted by Bill Leyden.
A panel of three celebrities attempted – via question-and-answer rounds and their “first impressions” – to identify a mystery celebrity guest (hidden away in a soundproof isolation booth) from among five possibilities.
Panellists Dennis James and comedy writer George Kirgo were regulars in the first year. James continued as a regular in 1963 even while hosting People Will Talk on the NBC daytime schedule 90 minutes after Your First Impression aired.
A few celebrities spent extended weeks on the panel, including Betty White from December 1962 to January 1963 and Jayne Meadows in January 1963. A most unusual guest panellist was Richard Nixon in 1962 when he was running for Governor of California.
Mystery guests included Joan Crawford, Charles Bronson, Barbara Eden, Rod Serling, Julie London, Lee Marvin, Don Adams, George Peppard, Frank Gorshin, Johnny Weissmuller and Mickey Rooney.
Although Your First Impression was a Monty Hall production, its creator and associate producer was Nat Ligerman, a laundrette operator in New York City who told Hall about his concept in 1958. CBS was approached first but let its option drop, resulting in an audition for NBC, which bought the show.
A short-lived British version, entitled First Impressions, debuted on the BBC on 27 October 1964.
