The first contestant, Philip L. Rhodes (1895-1974), was an MIT naval architecture and marine engineering graduate, who had designed a wide variety of vessels from hydrofoil racers to giant motor yachts since 1934.
By 1962, contestant Joanna Lee had written two episodes for My Three Sons (1960) and three for 'The Flintstones (1960)'. Lee also had 13 credits as an actress, including the role of the female alien 'Tanna' in Plan 9 from Outer Space (1957), considered by some critics to be the worst film in the history of cinema.