I've Got a Secret: I had a date with Marilyn Monroe (and she paid for it)!

See also: • I've Got a Secret: I w...
Clip from the game show "I've Got a Secret", originally aired November 11, 1953. Contestant Gene Scanlon from Jersey City's secret is that he had a date with Marilyn Monroe, but she had to pick up the tab!

[@joniscanlon4515]

I’m his niece. A few things to set the record straight. He was a bit old because he served in the war (was at Pearl Harbor) before going back to college on the GI bill. As a journalist he was writing a series for Life Magazine about the generosity of everyday Americans. He and a colleague hitchhiked across America writing about the experience of getting by on the kindness of average Americans who put them up, fed them, and gave them odd jobs for pocket change. Marilyn was kind enough to feed them when they arrived in California. I’m sure her studio subsidized it. But really, the television show was all in fun. And P.S. Ive seen the photos of him with Marilyn.

[@SigmundJaehn]

Thanks for the info

[@arthurmorgan6594]

I hope this isn't too personal but could you please tell if he is still alive? What became of him later on? Thanks in Anticipation!

[@OfftheWallTales]

@@arthurmorgan6594 this was aired 1953. If he was 35 then (fought, got a degree, and then made a career... probably older but whatever), that means he'd be 103 right now. I doubt he is still around to tell this story. Edit: Never mind, he was still a college student here. The family's account is a bit out of order. But even if he was 25, he'd be 93 now. I highly doubt it

[@marilyn6979]

that is so cool:) thx for info@

[@VioletJoy]

That's really interesting! I loved this episode.

[@GenerationMarsOfficial]

It's funny because not to long after this, a president was sneaking out to see Marilyn Monroe...

[@philiphoward1731]

President John F Kennedy hooked up with about 100 different women when he was president I guess you could say he was a player

[@philiphoward1731]

Mark Richardson I’m sorry to say it was really true JFK did cheat on his wife with Marilyn Monroe but he was a good president please don’t hold that against him

[@Ferniverous]

@@philiphoward1731 don't hold it against his presidency*, I'm sure is what you mean

[@WhiteCamry]

Eight years after this, but who's counting?

[@spencerhugh9275]

a tip : you can watch movies on flixzone. Me and my gf have been using it for watching loads of movies lately.

[@joffercalifornia]

One panel member wondered whether this was something President Eisenhower would slip out to do. Eisenhower didn't, but apparently Kennedy might have....

[@francesfmoohimccarthy8192]

Y

[@francesfmoohimccarthy8192]

PM

[@georgestrum3478]

I wish Gary had the balls to tell the guy, "Now you can pay Marilyn back!"

[@NathTMcC]

in about 8-9 years the president would be sneaking away from the whitehouse to visit her haha

[@JackstonePictures]

That was so NICE and SWEET of marilyn monroe!

[@dalehall2067]

I think it was because Marilyn Monroe was a very sweet sweet sensitive person I was taking it vantage of by. Men

[@musicaltheatergeek79]

I love how that one guy references the infamous nude calendar photos that later became the first issue/cover/centerfold of Playboy. Incidentally, Playboy debuted a month after this aired.

[@tejaswoman]

musicaltheatergeek79 - Thanks, I did wonder where the calendar fit in.

[@hiyapal7719]

5:56 "You're Marilyn Monroe?!?" 😂😂😂

[@VioletJoy]

With the questions the panel asked, you'd think they were joking around. There were so many accidental innuendos. 🤣 The host and guest led them astray or they would have guessed it. Loved this episode.

[@Chapin-pc2kz]

This story inspired the 1993 film _Calendar Girl_ (starring *Jason Priestley* from _Beverly Hills, 90210_ and *Jerry O'Connell* from _Stand by Me)_ about some horndog buddies who travel to Hollywood in order to score a date with *Marilyn Monroe.*

[@beachchaos1863]

Oh wow

[@JSSTyger]

"We can't offer you Marilyn Monroe but we can offer you something long and slim and delightful" Wow...

[@altfactor]

Cavalier Cigarettes!

[@halffasthaiku7526]

Hardly seems like it was a “date”. He says we told her “we didn’t have any money “.Sounds like it was he, his buddy, and Marilyn grabbing a bite.

[@joevald3]

This show Was entertainment, at another level . Today you have to be a tattooed X gang banger fresh out of jail .It's amazing how dumb down we are .

[@Swampzoid]

they hand him cash and cigarettes and send him on his way.

[@conniecrawford5231]

You won- here’s your free carton of “ coffin nails”!!!!

[@c2itccase9]

Imagine a carton of cigarettes being the game show prize…

[@monkfan72]

The audience. LOL.

[@rust44]

With the money he won he could pay her back.

[@brendabenjamin155]

Marilyn is still great to the end and beyond

[@peternagy-im4be]

Which end?

[@Zombie81212]

These questions are amazing lmao

[@11redlions]

Marilyn had dinner with him, and she paid, I'm sure she forgot about it the next day.

[@stephenscheissloch818]

No, the day after this she had an abortion

[@romaneros4583]

@@stephenscheissloch818 hahahaha. So dark

[@SoapinTrucker]

Look at you calling her by her first name, you must be friends with her, yes? LoL 😂

[@SoapinTrucker]

Why would you discount their interlude and make a comment like that? Back in those days, that may have been a really good PR stunt, and on her mind for some time? LoL

[@ReMeDy_TV]

Oh man, he won a box of cigarettes on a game show?! No one in the U.S. could possibly think that's strange today!

[@zzzut]

I am sure the members of the panel were told the secret in advance and were requested to ask questions leading to some predictable double-entendres. Don’t forget this was around the quiz show scandal period.

[@zerotwoisreal]

don't think so

[@kingftw4798]

Idk seems hard for a show like this.

[@zzzsci]

i dont believe so, but i do think they ask certain questions that’d be ‘obvious’ for comedy value

[@11redlions]

Joan Bennett was beautiful.

[@Cacianvm]

OH boy Cigarettes - I thank you - my lungs and heart thank you and my future oxygen supplier thanks you.

[@donnawoodford6641]

I'd say, "Keep the carton of cigs, and give me money for the retail cost of the smokes." I'm sure the combined earnings would total over 100 bucks.

[@nowvoyagerNE]

@@donnawoodford6641: no. cigs were cheap back then...a couple of bucks a carton probably.

[@philiphoward1731]

Cavalier cigarettes does a good time back in the 1950s and when I go on a date I have to pay and pay and pay what it’s worth every penny

[@TheMarilyn1969monroe]

Gee never seen this one before ! tnx

[@Hugginsince79]

What a slick guy lol

[@michaelmapes4119]

She went from there to Darryl F. Zanuck's 'Casting Couch'.

[@The-Battle-Brother]

Michael Mapes The opposite, in fact. It was well known Zanuck and MM didn't get along because she WOULDN'T succumb to his advances. He famously never liked her because of that. It's why he underpaid her and refused to let her expand her range, so she quit the studio in 1954 and fled Hollywood to the Actors Studio in New York. Zanuck suspended her and when The Seven Year Itch was a box office success in 1955, he backed down and gave her a new contract, realizing he couldn't compete with her phenomenal popularity. Marilyn returned to Hollywood, triumphant. Before you post, do some basic research. It will stop you looking stupid. Hopefully.

[@robertsamson4610]

Before you go here's your carton of slim and delightful cancer sticks.

[@alevine1951]

Well it was a dinner but not a date per se.

[@jasonluong3862]

Instead of the show calling I've Got a Secret, they should call it I've Got a Secret and It's Lung Cancer. I was watching Mad Men and wondered if people in the 50s really smoked that much. I asked a few people old enough to remember those days, they all said yes, people were smoking like chimneys back then. Yikes.

[@oldfart4751]

Majority smoked back then, women as well as men, you were thought of as odd if you did not smoke.

[@11redlions]

YES all adults smoked, but they usually din't die of obesity.

[@MrSwifts31]

I am 71 (born 1947) and life even here in the UK,was a bit strange then (looking back) I have no doubt that in 2038 someone will be amazed at life now. As someone once said:~“The past is a foreign country; they do things differently there.”

[@cybersee9966]

Not everyone smoked. Most of my grade school teachers were nuns. None of them smoked. There were two lay teachers at the school. I never saw them smoke. My mother never smoked, and she made my father quit. My older sister smoked. She tried to get me to smoke, but I never did.

[@allisoncorona8162]

My mom smoked while she was pregnant with me. She told me that when I was three days old, I was screaming all day long. I don't think anyone thought that I was suffering from nicotine withdrawal. I have heard that it is a very difficult time.

[@timothyantoine5321]

Happy Birthday Mr . President !

[@ThankYouForTheMusic8]

to go all across the country and back on only 10 dollars...wish we could do that nowadays

[@tejaswoman]

ThankYouForTheMusic8 - if you did it the way he did it, you might.

[@HL-iw1du]

That would be about 100 to 110 dollars nowadays

[@nowvoyagerNE]

they got a lot of help and hand outs on the way there and back. they used only $10 of their *own* money.

[@HL-iw1du]

lol they gave him cigarettes as a present

[@nowvoyagerNE]

that was common back then. the sponsors wanted them to be offered as part of the advertising.

[@bobcrestwood740]

Yeah, it is pretty disgusting how much they pushed smoking on TV, especially on this show. But it didn't turn everybody into smokers. I grew up in the '50's, and nobody in my immediate family smoked. I certainly never smoked, which is why I'm still here. Most people didn't take seriously the commercials and plugs that were on "smellavision,' as many people called it back then. People knew that the sponsors paid those actors to smoke on smellavision to plug their product--they didn't fall for it.

[@jeffschwartz7923]

+Bob Crestwood You are putting today's knowledge to yesterdays morals - which is WRONG!!!!!!! The cigarette companies AND DOCTORS did not know that smoking was bad until the late 1950's - so smoking was generally seen as a very relaxing thing!!!!!! Some liked it - some did not - but NOBODY stopped smoking because it was bad for you - because nobody knew it was bad!!!!!!

[@11redlions]

My parents and adult relatives all smoked, none in our big family ever got cancer. Nobody was ever on welfare nor obese. Look at people today before you judge.

[@cybersee9966]

Cigarettes were given to soldiers during WWII with their rations. My uncle smoked. He died from a brain tumor. My older sister smoked. She quit, then got cancer.

[@armybeef68]

I remember reading an article from a "gentleman's magazine" decades ago where the author had gone on a date with her, but it wasn't really a date, it was more of a hook up, but the only thing I remember from the article is that he was a photographer and when they were done they went swimming in a pool, I think it was at a motel because I remember him saying something about being scared of getting caught, they were at the ladder of the deep end when out of the blue she went down of him, she stopped after a few minutes, pushed him out of the way, grabbed onto the ladder, laid on her back, spread her legs and said, "now do me" and he went down on her, doubt any of it was true but it was a good story for a teenage boy.

[@chumleyk]

Every man and his son had an 'i dated marilyn monroe' back then after she died. When someone dies young, famous and hot, there's no way to verify. Im sure her body count wasn't in the hundreds of thousands.

[@MrKane-jn1wq]

He is a fucking legend...

[@TheLordHighXcutioner]

Bill Cullen with hair.

[@janeiwasduncan8463]

And doesn't he look suave!!

[@alexberkman4809]

If this was from 1953, why is there a reference to the president..if the reference was about Kennedy, he wasn't president until 1960.

[@slade307]

They mention Eisenhower. Bill didn't know what he did when he made the comment. Bill was probably guessing golf or something like that. That's why he apologized at the end.

[@ky-gp4sz]

He literally said “president Eisenhower”

[@DottyGale8]

He was guessing golf. And the contestant even answered that by saying, "not golf."

[@halffasthaiku7526]

Alex Berkman Pay attention.

[@inspiringtone2975]

He joking about Truman not Kennedy

[@HgR_49]

I doubt that very much.

[@spikeitfool1]

I bet you're right especially given that he went across the US and back for 5 dollars, if we can believe him, that is. I wonder how they could verify such a secret was real? I mean, any guy would want to fake having a date with a babe and having her pay no less.

[@tejaswoman]

spikeitfool1 - it's not as if they couldn't ask her. She was still alive and likely you people involved with the show. Moreover, a lot of these stories they found out about from newspaper clippings, so it's possible that it had been covered by a newspaper and sent to them.

[@nowvoyagerNE]

the secret is MM paid for their meal when he told her they had no money....not whether or not they went across the use on $5 each.

[@pault8470]

Joan bennet was stunning

[@ewaf88]

I wonder how many contestants went down with lung cancer - including the host.

[@judydelisle5290]

Actors ...heck ever body smoked......and RJR was the big sponsor of this show.......so every one got cigarettes............no matter how you try ...you can't erase all this..... It happened

[@halffasthaiku7526]

Eisenhower may not have sneaked out of the White House for it but Kennedy sure did!

[@peternagy-im4be]

Allegedly

[@blueboyblue]

$80 and a Carton of Cigarettes - big stakes game their.

[@dalehall2067]

This was a funny show. Kind of slow but very funny

[@byHexted]

HOW. She literally KNOWS they did something together, nobody has said a DATE. Now she’s just naming all these specific things they do on dates like dancing and shit when all of that is covered in “did you go on a date”

[@sosterday123]

Sorry Ike we where a bit early We just didn't know congressman / senator Kennedy would years later

[@gggggggg3542]

I like these old shows, we never really got them here in UK. The one thing that astounds me nowadays - - - the sponsors. We don't get adverts like that here, not had any smoking adverts for decades, anywhere

[@colleencromwell7302]

I think he and his friend are just two more hustlers that took advantage of a woman's kindness.. Can you imagine Marilyn Monroe being kind enough to have lunch/dinner with them and as they're eating they tell her they had no money to pay for what they consumed? I find nothing Charming about this story!

[@suzannerobbins6293]

Lighten up! It was a fun story, and nobody took advantage of Marilyn! She probably got a good laugh out of it! Marilyn seemed like a sweet girl who would have found this story really cool! She was kind!

[@michaelmayoh656]

It was charming they wanted to see just how kind and generous the American public were

[@sassytbc7923]

I am sitting watching watch my line, and it looks almost exactly like I’ve got a secret!

[@TheCleaner76]

Yeah it was a spin off show

[@chumleyk]

Apparently, every Hollywood actor of this era has a story that they dated Marilyn. Obviously not true but at that time there were many many garnished anecdotes because they never thought they'd be verified.

[@romaneros4583]

College student? This guy looks like hes closing in on 40.

[@DrTolis]

Those two are not mutually exclusive. He may have gotten to university later in life. But also peopled looked older than they do today due to the way they dressed

[@romaneros4583]

@@DrTolis true. We use to have class.

[@peternagy-im4be]

He was still 25 here. A slightly mature student.

[@mattmammone2338]

god when he said 'well I stuck marylin monroe' I bit my lip

[@thomasjones7918]

Why whisper to the host. Just tell them before the show starts

[@franklegere6939]

The producers may have thought it would be beneficial to the panel to gauge Mr. Moore's initial reaction to each secret in real time. His response to this particular secret is more animated than usual. The more animated, the more unique or outrageous the secret. But that's just a guess.... (Weird how Mr. Moore is comfortable, casually smoking and handling that cig like it's a glass of water or gum🤔. Crazy how tobacco was a true TV star in the '50s🤪)

[@georgestrum3478]

Imagine a carton of cigarettes as a prize on tv back in the day. That wouldn't fly today.

[@tejaswoman]

George Strum - yeah, when Garry told him not to forget his money, I literally said out loud, "but feel free to forget the carton of cigarettes!"

[@MusicHandsAbrupt]

Thanks for the cigarettes. 😂😂

[@lucienvandegaart3611]

Just another lady

[@tomitstube]

lol, dude has dinner with marilyn monroe and they give him 80 bucks and a carton of cigarettes, it's like, "this is as good as it gets buddy, grab a bottle of whiskey and some porn mags, have the time of your life."

[@tjbnyc76]

How in the world did MM get saddled with this schnook? Even for one date?

[@byHexted]

God that first lady is so daft, she is just obsessed with the fact he’s a college student, so like whatever his secret is HAS to be college related, or something lots of college boys do it’s like when do they ever just have someone who’s secret is something normal that everyone does

[@justtalk5970]

That guy's in college? He looks like he's got 3 kids and a mortgage haha

[@peternagy-im4be]

He was 25 at the time

[@byHexted]

It’s so weird to like brag about making her pay for the check, like he had one chance to actually woo her and maybe even be with her and instead he not only had her pay, but like used it as a story lmao

[@allan5750]

Norma Jean Baker (aka Marilyn Monroe)

[@tazal5011]

and his prize was $80. you could buy a car with that back then! LOL

[@meltcmelinda4012]

This is supposed to be a show of comedy laughing all the time and they’re wasting your time is running away and I get buzzed all the time it’s a little redundant

[@nowvoyagerNE]

does your mind wander often?

[@mattmammone2338]

she "paid" for it? what's he got syphylis?

[@michaelwhisman7623]

I was kissed by Cheryl Holdridge.

[@christopherthorkon3997]

A whole carton of cigarettes and some money. Life in the 1950s.

[@Cablecol]

That's something memorable...I hope the freeloader got a good job eventually.

[@meltcmelinda4012]

Why would she pay for their dinner if he’s a gentleman he would’ve paid anyway I hope you had a good time and I’m sure she forgot all about it

[@nowvoyagerNE]

duh. *they had little to no money.* they were conducting a kind of experiment to see if strangers would be helpful or kind to them. try a dating service. many men join them when they can't even afford to pay for their own cup of coffee, let alone buy a lady lunch. i never expecting a man to buy me coffee or any part of a meal when i met them on a "blind date" through a dating service. if i offered to pay for their coffee, i paid. if i didn't offer and they had no money, they would have been washing dishes, mopping floors or cleaning the parking lot to pay back the restaurant. Marilyn certainly could have taken that option.

[@miketheyunggod2534]

College student?

[@peternagy-im4be]

Yes that's right.

[@randysills4418]

And let's be sure and give out those cancer sticks!

[@stevehinnenkamp5625]

Great fun, but seems planned and briefed to panel to get results to pay production costs The opposition WHAT'S MY LINE did not rely on gimmicks--more or intelligence--a true test of wit--far superior to this crash imitation.

[@nowvoyagerNE]

i think you mean "crass," Mr. Brainiac! I.D.I.O.T.

[@briandm33]

I never understood why everyone made a big deal out of Marlyn Monroe. What was the real big deal about her? Tell me. Thats what I thought. She's not any different from any other attractive women you meet in life. Honestly look at who she was with. Thats the biggest Joke I've ever known.

[@headiero]

Disgusting.

[@bigbrotherisasob]

Yah, sure kid. Sure ya did.