This Is Your Life was a television documentary series hosted by its producer, Ralph Edwards. It originally aired in the United States from 1952 to 1961, and again in 1972 on NBC.

The format of the show was simple: the host would surprise someone (usually a celebrity or public figure, occasionally an ordinary citizen) and, consulting his “red book”, conduct a biography of the subject in a television studio. The subject would be presented with family members and old friends, reunited with old acquaintances, and often shed a tear when a personal tragedy was recounted.

Advance planning for the broadcast meant that, inevitably, certain celebrities would know in advance about the surprise. Carl Reiner later admitted that he knew beforehand about his appearance. Only once was a celebrity told deliberately in advance when Eddie Cantor was chosen for an appearance. Cantor had a heart condition, so Edwards made sure that he knew everything about the show to avoid a possible relapse from shock.

Some celebrities were unpleasantly surprised. Angie Dickinson refused to appear, and Stan Laurel of Laurel and Hardy was angered by being “tricked” into what would be the team’s only American television appearance on December 1, 1954. The meticulous Laurel later said, “[Oliver Hardy] and I were always planning to do something on TV. But we never dreamed that we would make our television debut on an unrehearsed network program… I was damned if I was going to put on a free show for them,” although he mellowed in later years when so many viewers told him how much they enjoyed the show. Lowell Thomas was probably the most hostile and annoyed on-air guest. When host Ralph Edwards tried to assure him that he would enjoy what was to come, Thomas replied, “I doubt that very much.”

There was one celebrity who gave strict orders to never be made the subject of the show, and that was Ralph Edwards himself. He made it clear to his entire staff that they would all be terminated if they ever attempted to surprise him on his own show, which never happened.

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