Watch Salvador Dalí’s Surreal 1957 Game Show Appearance

In the 1950s and ‘60s, What's My Line? was one of the most popular game shows on U.S. television. Its premise was appealingly simple: Celebrity panelists would ask yes-or-no questions in order to determine guests’ professions. Most episodes consisted of several rounds of questioning everyday folks with quirky jobs—weight-lifters, giraffe-wranglers, dice-makers, and so on—and concluded with a celebrity guest round, during which panelists were often blindfolded. 

Much of the time, the celebrity guest round was the easiest. Even blindfolded, panelists could recognize the voices of famous actors and performers, putting a quick end to the guessing. But on January 27, 1957, the panel was nearly stumped by a particularly mysterious guest: surrealist painter Salvador Dalí.

Dalí, who for the purposes of the show described himself as a “self-employed artist,” answered nearly every yes-or-no question in the affirmative. When asked whether he was an artist, performer, writer, comic strip illustrator, and athlete, Dalí replied “yes” each time. But despite—or perhaps because of—Dalí's mischievous answers, the panel finally figured him out. The final question that confirmed their hunch: “Have you a mustache that is rather well-known?” You can see Dalí's surreal game show appearance in the video above.