Guest panelist Ray Bolger would soon start rehearsals for his upcoming Broadway musical 'All American', which would premiere at the Winter Garden Theatre on March 19, 1962, and run for 86 performances.
Margaret McKean, the first contestant, was a dance instructor who taught the twist, which was a worldwide dance craze in the early 1960s, enjoying immense popularity while drawing controversies from critics who felt it was too provocative.
Simone Signoret was in New York City accompanying her husband Yves Montand, who was starring in his one-man Broadway show 'An Evening with Yves Montand', at the John Golden Theatre, which had opened on October 24, 1961.