1962 — Chiropractic received a boost of the finest quality Sunday, January 7, when 19 million viewers of “What’s My Line?” on CBS television saw Dr. Norma Godfrey of Anchorage, Alaska, stymie the award-winning panel at guessing her occupation — chiropractor.

Shrewd questioning by the panel quickly identified her as “doctor,” narrowed her field to a specialty, determined that she uses x-ray in her professional work, and then ran out of chances on the verge of the correct answer.

From the first appreciative whistle from the audience when she signed in as “Norma Godfrey” — to the final handshake with each panel member, the profession could not have had a more gracious representative.

Accompanied by her husband, Dr. Keith M. Godfrey, the contestant arrived in New York in the nick of time to appear as scheduled, having been delayed by weather conditions. They set a new record for contestants to the show from the United States, traveling more than 9,000 miles on the round trip.

Genial host and moderator John Daly introduced Dr. Godfrey to the panel and the questioning began with Bennett Cerf, Random House publisher, followed by Arlene Francis and Richard “Palladin” Boone, guest panelist. Dorothy Kilgallen, syndicated columnist of the New York Journal American, elicited the information that the challenger’s work was connected with science, the Cerf ferreted out her association with health improvement.

Arlene Francis scored heavily by identifying the contestant as “doctor,” determining that she touches people in her work and is associated with an x-ray machine.

The responsive studio audience roared when Cerf asked, “…since you do sometimes touch people below the waist, may we rule out dentistry?”

He learned that examining the bone structure is part of Dr. Godfrey’s work, and then the panel floundered in a sea of wild guesses.

With an incredulous note in his voice, Daly rescued the panel with “The one that would come most quickly to your tongue — chiropractor.”

He then gave a rather learned, if brief, discourse, on the value of x-ray to the chiropractor in response to Cerf’s statement that he did not know that chiropractors use x-ray machines.

Dr. Godfrey, in answer to questions by Daly, said that she studied at Palmer College of Chiropractic, Davenport, Iowa, and that the course of study is four years, plus additional training.

Her son, Keith Jr., is a student at Palmer College. Dr. Godfrey is a “Fellow” of International Chiropractors Association, a Representative Assemblyman for Alaska, and was recently appointed to the Alaska Board of Chiropractic Examiners by Gov. William A. Egan.

The busy doctor, who holds a private pilot’s license, is also active in civic affairs.

Alert programmers for “What’s My Line?” took advantage of recent publicity linking chiropractic with a new dance rage by having as a mystery guest the famous entertainer Sammy Davis Jr., who is dancing the “Twist” nightly at the Copacabana. One of the panelists suggested that he should have a chiropractor waiting for him in his dressing room after each performance.

After the show, Dr. Norma presented each panel member with as ivory Bilikin, Alaska’s good luck charm. She and Dr. Keith Godfrey reported having an interesting discussion with the panelists about Alaska and chiropractic.

Bennett Cerf, at one point, put his arm around Dr. Norma and said to the large group in the studio, “There’s no doubt but that Dr. Godfrey is the prettiest chiropractor in the world, and if that had been the subject matter, I would have guessed it easily.”