Steve Allen: (right before the commercial break) Well Lynn this was a fascinating idea, and I do hope you’ll join us again soon, and play this game again with us. At the moment, we’ll be right back after this message.

(commercial break)

Steve Allen: Well sir…(looks offstage) Mark Goodson, I’ll get you for this (laughs). Oh, hello there folks! Say, that wraps up I’ve Got a Secret for tonight, as a matter of fact, it wraps up I’ve Got a Secret. Uh, this is our fifteenth and final season on the air and this of course is our final program. So, for all of us, here, around the old camp fire…meaning Betsy Palmer, and of course, the ever popular Bill Cullen, and Bess Myerson, and Henry Morgan. And if any of you incidentally care to make any statements, I think now would probably be as INappropriate a time (laughs)…as I can think of.

Betsy Palmer: Well, just remember that when you close a door, a new one opens…each and every one of you. And I would like to say thank you to all the people out there who have made my life so happy these last eleven years, and I’ll see you around!

Bill Cullen: And I’ve been on fifteen years, and haven’t done one moment’s work. I admit that, and I apologize for stealing the money. (looks offstage) Sorry about that Mark! (laughs)

Bess Myerson: And it’s been glorious fun, and I think that we’ve enjoyed it as much as you have, I hope.

Henry Morgan: I had a nice time. (audience laughs)

Steve Allen: We all did indeed, and we’re very indebted, not only to our fine audiences over all these years, but to the wonderful people that you don’t see on camera. The staff, and all the members of our production team have worked so hard that we have the easy part here on the air, they work hard all week to put it together and it’s been great fun working with all of you. Good night, we’ll see you soon!

Voice-over: Miss Palmer’s gown by [???????].

Pass the word, next week in this time period Allen Ludden will be here with passwords galore. Words like fun, games, entertainment, all describing America’s favorite game Password. Join the fun next Monday night.

This program was pre-recorded. This is John Cannon speaking.

JohnXXVII:
That was a very unsatisfying finale to IGAS. It ran as a general run of the mill episode with no mention that this was the finale until the last minute and a half. It was probably taped that way; I don’t think, as they were doing it, that Steve and the gang knew that this would actually be the final episode. They were taping episodes in advance, CBS was airing them out of order, and the cancellation probably came very quick. If there’s any blame for the lame way IGAS ending its run, it probably should be levelled at CBS.

Wallyhorse:
I suspect it’s possible they didn’t know until after they taped the last IGAS that it would turn out to be such. If you listen at the end, they noted that Password was scheduled to take over the slot the following Monday (April 10), so that’s why I think they didn’t know at the time the show was taped (especially with the way Steve Allen talked with Lynn Redgrave). If that was the case, it’s possible they had everyone come back wearing what they wore on the taping of the episode to tape a new ending (that show was on tape), noting it was the last episode of IGAS.

This in a way marked the beginning of the end of game shows in prime time for a long while, as while “Password” did take over the time slot, What’s My Line would end its long run in its prime-time slot a few months later. While I do remember as a kid in the early ’70s ABC running some of its game shows in prime time on Saturday nights, by I guess 1973 that was done with outside of syndication.