USAF Lt. Colonel Jack Albert, the first contestant to appear, was the voice that was heard during the countdown prior to liftoffs of the project Gemini-Titan II launch vehicles. Spaceflight Gemini 6 had landed on December 15, 1965, three days before Gemini 7. In a controlled orbit, both spacecrafts came as close as one foot (30 cm) from one another.
Polly Bergen was about to begin an engagement at the Persian Room, in The Plaza Hotel, a popular nightclub with socialites and fashion trendsetters. The club was closed in 1978.