"a great comedy writer." Then, in his book What's My Line? TV's Most Famous Panel Show, Gil Fates wrote, "You couldn't teach the meaning of good taste to Hal, any more than Star Kist could teach it to Charley the Tuna." Assessing Block's contribution to What's My Line?, Fates summed it up as "Hal had served his purpose when the program was young." However, writer and journalist Bob Considine wrote in 1969 that Block "was to mean so much to the early success of television's What's My Line?" What's My Line? was on the air for 17 years and became the longest running game show in U.S. primetime history, while Block returned to anonymity. Notes References External links Block's final What's My Line? appearance 1913 births 1981 deaths Accidental deaths in Illinois American radio writers American television personalities American male comedians Deaths from fire in the United States Writers from Chicago University of Chicago alumni Comedians from Illinois 20th-century American comedians