A lighthearted 1950s gameshow is the last place most of us would look for Frank Lloyd Wright, America’s most well-known — only known? — architect. But in 1956, Wright appeared on the game show What’s My Line?, where he endured the indignity of being questioned by a bunch of randos with aplomb.
What’s My Line? — which ran for 17 years until 1967 — asked its panelists to establish the line of work of its notable guests through a series of yes-or-no questions. FLW, who clearly was having a hard time hearing the panel’s questions, was 89 here — but rose to the occasion with a few crotchety zingers, answering that his job “unfortunately” included dealing with law.
It’s an interesting little time capsule into both FLW and the way the average American saw him in the 1950s, when his reputation as a genius had long since been established. The building he mentions at the end, Price Tower, became a World Heritage Site a few years ago. [Architect]
Picture: Randy Lane/Flickr