Jerry Lewis was freaking awesome!!! What a funny, spectacular, dynamic, super talented guy he was! And being absolutely killer handsome didn't hurt at all!!
You think humiliating that woman on National television is funny???? You’re a bigger A-hole than he was. I really hope you are humiliated like that someday. Let’s see if you still think it’s funny.
More than most What's My Line clips on TH-cam, this one illustrates why WML was so popular for so long. Here is a contestant with an offbeat interesting job who also makes a funny visual comparison contrast. Next, they put on her live TV with a smart comic panel member who is great at spontaneous humor. The producers then hope for the best and Jerry Lewis did not disappoint. He probably thought he was being a wise guy and that makes the result more funny. Thanx for posting this classic
It can't be denied that the way he reacted could certainly have hurt the lady's feelings but it's obvious that it came from his heart, spontaneously i mean. And i think everybody on this show was thinking the same but today noone would ever say such a thing in public.
LMFAO!! I remember the first time I saw this on GSN. The reaction on Jerry Lewis's face when he realized he was right had me rollin 3:00 in the morning!! And for the record she does not look bad at all. Perfectly fine in my 21st Century mind of course.
People forget that years ago people could laugh at themselves & have a sense of humor about themselves. Nowadays Jerry would get sued the producers of the show would get sued. It's a pity that things have to be so politically correct.
if people stopped being snowflakes all the time they would see being funny isnt illegal now lmao if anything if this happened nowadays itd probably make top 20 trending and end up in more “try not to laugh” clips than a family feud vid
We’re too sensitive? Women literally took speed to lose weight for extra pounds so they would be regarded as equal human beings and they shamed a woman more than once for her look.
Of course she was embarrassed, you D*ck. Wouldn’t you be embarrassed if he said On National television that you were so fat that with a little more weight you could play for a football team???
Has it occurred to ANYONE that the lady might be able to laugh at herself and not take someone saying a simple joke at her expense as "humiliating". I have friends who make jokes at my expense and I just laugh right along with it. All these comments saying "humiliating! humiliating! humiliating!". She didn't look "humiliated" to me; she seemed fine. She seemed like someone who could take a simple joke and be fine with it. She wasn't "humiliated", someone told a joke about her. She's fine.
Ms Lawrence was on national tv interacting with the stars and she was awarded the full $50 for being a good sport about it. It worked out fine for her.
Something quite similar happened to Buddy Hackett when he was on the panel one night. The mystery guest was Liberace and during the questioning, when it was his turn, he cried "Liber'ace'!" And boy was he surprised when he found out he was right.
Some of the Jerry Lewis Tv shows (With the stage floor that raised and lowered) had some audience participation, and one day two kids stood up and did a devastating double Jerry Lewis imitation in perfect harmony...It was one of the most amazing things I ever saw on TV. Do you remember, Jerry?
When I watch this clip and listen to Jerry Lewis - I can see where today's comedian, Mario Cantone gets some of his inspiration. They are very similiar in mannerisms and delivery,.
I wish times were more like this. I rarely ever watch tv with my parents because I'm so nervous with the inappropriate vulgar comments and what we accept on tv these days. I wish it was still funny but at the same time something you could watch with your parents.
Everybody saying this is rude or offensive, you people are exactly the reason why TV and almost everything in general is so toned down and everything has to be politically correct on it. "Oh no don't make a joke about the lady, you might hurt her feelings", everybody is so sensitive nowadays. Look how much fun they're having in the video, he's joking around, the audience is laughing, she's loving it herself! You people really must be the life of the party.
It's not comedy or insult to say you're a hectoring fool who does not recognize that the reason the woman was on the show in the first place was precisely because of the weight-based humor involved, and she was in on the joke. Did you even see the show, Missy? No. But you have an opinion about everything, don't you? And you type fat. (Now, that's comedy.)
Have to agree with Indygoguy and 646guy. Jerry's reaction was priceless. And his line after that was something that the person watching would probably say, even today. One can imagine someone like Letterman doing that same line. And as 646guy mentioned, the lady clearly GOT the joke. As someone who is a bit large himself, I have often used that size as a point of humor. Just good natured fun.
Classic stuff. This was in a time when a sense of humor was valued by all. If someone tried Lewis's jokes today, an apology would be demanded, and there would be a bidding war among lawyers.
Jerry was just being Jerry and while his comment was rude and very un-PC it was very in character for Jerry and for the times. Clearly Mrs. Lawrence was not upset by the jokes and the smile on her face throughout the entire segment is a testament to it. It was clearly a joke on Jerry's part because his reaction when he is revealed to be correct is more of shock. You see him break character before getting back into form.
If you watch Mad Men on HBO there is a "jerky comic" (I forget the character's name) who I swear was based on Jerry Lewis from this period...watching Jerry on this I can definitely see the similarity.
Fates wrote that the producers would provide a funny line of questioning -- "gambit" -- only to comedians, only to bright comedians, and only to bright comedians whose egos inclined them to laughs rather than solutions. They would do this only with one game in a broadcast and they would not tell the comedian what the line was. From 1954 to 1959, when Daly calls upon a guest comic to start the questioning, you can bet that the producers have provided him with a gambit.
Fates wrote that John Daly was not a part of the gambit, and Fates claimed that he was not sure that Daly knew it was going on. (Daly was observant, I suspect he knew what was going on behind his back.) The gambits worked because the producers could count on Daly reacting to any question with a completely literal interpretation.
Thanks to kirkba and to crepehanger for posting and packaging these clips of this Nov 1956 landmark broadcast. You have to admire WML's producers and the interesting people they put together on one broadcast -- Jerry Lewis promoting contributions to muscular dystrophy research, a professional mind reader, this hilarious sequence topped by Walt Disney's mystery guest appearance. Let's see the comedy network try and top that!
hilarious! i don’t know about offending her....it seems obvious the visual of a larger person and diet pills is part of the joke/puzzle going into it. in any case, his wit and reactions are priceless.
Lewis's guessing the occupation was not rocket science. Cerf almost had it. Lewis adding the zinger was brilliant. It worked because the contestant was laughing too. After all, she added that she had already lost 40 lbs, which actually topped Lewis's line. Had she acted hurt, there would have been a problem that the always firm and classy Daly would have taken care of. (See his reaction when Henry Morgan disses Daly's friend Cerf on another clip.)
Bennett certainly is diplomatic -- robust healthy, versus Jerry who can be best described as rude, which is unusual for WML, which was known for its urbanity and good manners.
They were prescription weight loss pills, but maybe they were. "Are you going to take some at any time?" I bet Jerry found his tires slashed when he went to his car.
At the time this episode originally aired, the Borden Dairy Company was looking to name their new advertising mascot, which was a happy and smiling cow. After seeing this, the executives at Borden named the mascot "Elsie" after Mrs. Lawrence.
Yeah, there's a definite meanness to his comedy. You can be very funny and still be gracious and warm: just look at Arlene! Recently, on Mad Men, there was a total jerk of a comic that seemed to be based on Jerry Lewis. Anybody else notice the similarity?
@Indygoguy Not crystal meth, actually it was a weak form of amphetamines. My grandma apparently used to take them, and she said that her house had never been so clean.
Notice that Daly started with Kilgallen (who never needed a gambit even on her worst day) and not with Lewis, so this game has no gambit. Lewis's ego would incline him to solutions anyway.
![What's My Line? - Jerry Lewis; Paul Winchell [panel]; Vivian Blaine [panel] (Jul 22, 1956)](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/lyj4iIeSOQ0/mqdefault.jpg)
![What's My Line? - Jerry Lewis; Paul Winchell [panel]; Vivian Blaine [panel] (Jul 22, 1956)](/img/tr.png)
![เบิ้ล ปทุมราช - อ้ายกินดอง น้องลาบงัว ft. สแน็ก อัจฉรีย์ [OFFICIAL MV]](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/-OK--KaSPcI/mqdefault.jpg)
Jerry's expression when he realized he was correct, cracked me up.
Jerry Lewis was freaking awesome!!! What a funny, spectacular, dynamic, super talented guy he was! And being absolutely killer handsome didn't hurt at all!!
OMG!!!! LOL. "doesn't she take em at any time?"
hahaha i lLLOOOVEEE jerry. only he could get away with saying that!
You think humiliating that woman on National television is funny???? You’re a bigger A-hole than he was. I really hope you are humiliated like that someday. Let’s see if you still think it’s funny.
Jerry Lewis is among the great artists of the 20th century.
i LOVE jerrys face at 4:43 when he looks at her in horror
Thought I come on here and watch my favorite WML Reaction. RIP JERRY LEWIS THANKS FOR THE LAUGHS!!!
This show seems like a lot of fun to have been involved with.
More than most What's My Line clips on TH-cam, this one illustrates why WML was so popular for so long. Here is a contestant with an offbeat interesting job who also makes a funny visual comparison contrast. Next, they put on her live TV with a smart comic panel member who is great at spontaneous humor. The producers then hope for the best and Jerry Lewis did not disappoint. He probably thought he was being a wise guy and that makes the result more funny. Thanx for posting this classic
Thanks for the video. TV was so much better back then. People actually had TALENT.
"Doesn't she take 'em at any time?" Lol.
LOL!
i love this woman! she was such a great sport about everything
this shows his great comedian acting and style Rest in peace jerry the world has lost another great Actor and Person
He was a major A-hole. Just like you for thinking humiliating that woman on national television was funny.
It can't be denied that the way he reacted could certainly have hurt the lady's feelings but it's obvious that it came from his heart, spontaneously i mean. And i think everybody on this show was thinking the same but today noone would ever say such a thing in public.
Jerry Jerry Jerry.. Hahaha he always makes me laugh
LMFAO!! I remember the first time I saw this on GSN. The reaction on Jerry Lewis's face when he realized he was right had me rollin 3:00 in the morning!!
And for the record she does not look bad at all. Perfectly fine in my 21st Century mind of course.
The look on Jerry's face
JUST GREAT! I LOVE JERRY!
RIP Big guy :'( You could always make me laugh.
This is my new favorite clip of all time!
People forget that years ago people could laugh at themselves & have a sense of humor about themselves. Nowadays Jerry would get sued the producers of the show would get sued. It's a pity that things have to be so politically correct.
Oh come on. People kid around all the time and nobody gets sued. I think you’re too sensitive.
if people stopped being snowflakes all the time they would see being funny isnt illegal now lmao
if anything if this happened nowadays itd probably make top 20 trending and end up in more “try not to laugh” clips than a family feud vid
We’re too sensitive? Women literally took speed to lose weight for extra pounds so they would be regarded as equal human beings and they shamed a woman more than once for her look.
04:40 ooohh I love his face!!
Celeb panelists in tuxes and pearls!! Not ripped jeans and mesh shirts! LOL Classy time!
Also, how good does he look?!! She wasnt offended so lighten up.
Of course she was embarrassed, you D*ck. Wouldn’t you be embarrassed if he said On National television that you were so fat that with a little more weight you could play for a football team???
This episode aired November 11th, 1956. That's the only Jerry Lewis clip I have.
And it’s a doozy :)
ooh, that was so funny, and so nostalgic, which is kinda strange since I wasn't born yet !
Has it occurred to ANYONE that the lady might be able to laugh at herself and not take someone saying a simple joke at her expense as "humiliating". I have friends who make jokes at my expense and I just laugh right along with it. All these comments saying "humiliating! humiliating! humiliating!". She didn't look "humiliated" to me; she seemed fine. She seemed like someone who could take a simple joke and be fine with it. She wasn't "humiliated", someone told a joke about her. She's fine.
Ms Lawrence was on national tv interacting with the stars and she was awarded the full $50 for being a good sport about it. It worked out fine for her.
Something quite similar happened to Buddy Hackett when he was on the panel one night. The mystery guest was Liberace and during the questioning, when it was his turn, he cried "Liber'ace'!" And boy was he surprised when he found out he was right.
well, also add to the fact that Daly mentioned that she had already lost 40 pounds.. I think that was a nice comeback..
Jerry is so handsome
Some of the Jerry Lewis Tv shows (With the stage floor that raised and lowered) had some audience participation, and one day two kids stood up and did a devastating double Jerry Lewis imitation in perfect harmony...It was one of the most amazing things I ever saw on TV. Do you remember, Jerry?
When I watch this clip and listen to Jerry Lewis - I can see where today's comedian, Mario Cantone gets some of his inspiration. They are very similiar in mannerisms and delivery,.
i loveeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee Jerry hahahahah
Well, I think the other genleman on the panel was rude with the lady but Jerry was only gofing as usually.
And his surprised face is priceless!
But Mrs. Lawrence was polite and played along.
RIP Jerry...
its jerry lewis!!!!! what do you expect!!!! lol
jerry's voice alone makes me smile
they should play reruns of this!
I wish times were more like this.
I rarely ever watch tv with my parents because I'm so nervous with the inappropriate vulgar comments and what we accept on tv these days.
I wish it was still funny but at the same time something you could watch with your parents.
I agree and this comment made me laugh hysterically.
Hahaha.
I hear ya. Say, if so many of us feel this way why is the world like this? Must be those loud-mouthed liberals ;) Love Jerry SO adorable!
NICE LAAADYY!!
Everybody saying this is rude or offensive, you people are exactly the reason why TV and almost everything in general is so toned down and everything has to be politically correct on it. "Oh no don't make a joke about the lady, you might hurt her feelings", everybody is so sensitive nowadays. Look how much fun they're having in the video, he's joking around, the audience is laughing, she's loving it herself! You people really must be the life of the party.
+MxJx S Added to which she (through John) put Jerry in his place when it was revealed that she had lost forty pounds..
We would like it, if there were some element of humour to it. Please learn the difference between comedy & insulting.
It's not comedy or insult to say you're a hectoring fool who does not recognize that the reason the woman was on the show in the first place was precisely because of the weight-based humor involved, and she was in on the joke. Did you even see the show, Missy? No. But you have an opinion about everything, don't you? And you type fat. (Now, that's comedy.)
4:25: "She makes DIET PILLS!"
Have to agree with Indygoguy and 646guy. Jerry's reaction was priceless. And his line after that was something that the person watching would probably say, even today. One can imagine someone like Letterman doing that same line.
And as 646guy mentioned, the lady clearly GOT the joke. As someone who is a bit large himself, I have often used that size as a point of humor. Just good natured fun.
Classic stuff. This was in a time when a sense of humor was valued by all. If someone tried Lewis's jokes today, an apology would be demanded, and there would be a bidding war among lawyers.
Jerry was just being Jerry and while his comment was rude and very un-PC it was very in character for Jerry and for the times. Clearly Mrs. Lawrence was not upset by the jokes and the smile on her face throughout the entire segment is a testament to it. It was clearly a joke on Jerry's part because his reaction when he is revealed to be correct is more of shock. You see him break character before getting back into form.
oh and i love dalys reaction to jerrys laugh at 5:00.
k im done.
:D
I think Arlene said something to him right before the second ohh that makes him realize how mean he came across.
solid!
If you watch Mad Men on HBO there is a "jerky comic" (I forget the character's name) who I swear was based on Jerry Lewis from this period...watching Jerry on this I can definitely see the similarity.
"She's lost 40 pounds!"
Fates wrote that the producers would provide a funny line of questioning -- "gambit" -- only to comedians, only to bright comedians, and only to bright comedians whose egos inclined them to laughs rather than solutions. They would do this only with one game in a broadcast and they would not tell the comedian what the line was. From 1954 to 1959, when Daly calls upon a guest comic to start the questioning, you can bet that the producers have provided him with a gambit.
hahahaha!! freaking histerical!!
Great Stuff!
Fates wrote that John Daly was not a part of the gambit, and Fates claimed that he was not sure that Daly knew it was going on. (Daly was observant, I suspect he knew what was going on behind his back.) The gambits worked because the producers could count on Daly reacting to any question with a completely literal interpretation.
Thanks to kirkba and to crepehanger for posting and packaging these clips of this Nov 1956 landmark broadcast.
You have to admire WML's producers and the interesting people they put together on one broadcast -- Jerry Lewis promoting contributions to muscular dystrophy research, a professional mind reader, this hilarious sequence topped by Walt Disney's mystery guest appearance.
Let's see the comedy network try and top that!
This is not Jerry perse, but more "the kid" character he used to portray in the Martin & Lewis partnership.
hilarious! i don’t know about offending her....it seems obvious the visual of a larger person and diet pills is part of the joke/puzzle going into it. in any case, his wit and reactions are priceless.
4:33 and after. lmao
She was teed off so that she didn't even bother to shake the hands of the panel at the end. She just got the heck out of there.
Aw... Jerry bad boy...
omg jerry lewis is sooooooooooooo mean!!! hahahahahah
so ironically, Jerry got fat in old age ( albeit medication caused ) Old Jerry did not always think before he spoke.
Get a life
He's not a New Yorker, he's a Jersey boy who was living in CA at the time.
that was awesome is there anymore wit jerry lewis?
jajajaja Jerry se ve bastante bien aqui.
RIP Jerry Lewis
Thats was so wonderful. Would you have the one of Montgomery Clift episode 648. 196. I would love to see it.
It's always open season on big people. Nobody thinks twice about insulting them. It's the last acceptable prejudice.
there wasnt as much of a stigma about it back then
LOL..thats rich...(to coin a phrase from the day)
It appears to me that Arlene Francis tells Jerry Lewis to cool it at 5:02. He did ... for a bit.
Lewis's guessing the occupation was not rocket science. Cerf almost had it. Lewis adding the zinger was brilliant. It worked because the contestant was laughing too. After all, she added that she had already lost 40 lbs, which actually topped Lewis's line. Had she acted hurt, there would have been a problem that the always firm and classy Daly would have taken care of. (See his reaction when Henry Morgan disses Daly's friend Cerf on another clip.)
@Messaiiina Exactly!
heyy do you have anymore clips of jerry lewis on these kind of shows ??? plz :P
Bennett certainly is diplomatic -- robust healthy, versus Jerry who can be best described as rude, which is unusual for WML, which was known for its urbanity and good manners.
thats the one time...jerry is funny
The free wheelin' '50's, devoid of political or any other correctness!
Jerry Lewis: "Doesn't she take them at any time?" LMAO!
They were prescription weight loss pills, but maybe they were.
"Are you going to take some at any time?" I bet Jerry found his tires slashed when he went to his car.
@Messaiiina Exactly.
At the time this episode originally aired, the Borden Dairy Company was looking to name their new advertising mascot, which was a happy and smiling cow. After seeing this, the executives at Borden named the mascot "Elsie" after Mrs. Lawrence.
"Elsie the cow" was used before WWII, actually.
Hey baby...
Yes it was, starting in 1936.
My comment was meant as a satirical one. In any event, thanks for taking the time to reply to it.
Michael Mantle
I know what you mean, but satire should be witty. Thanks for trying, though.
Oh Jerry
Funny
I have posted this on tumblr and it's my most popular post at this moment.
I wonder if these "pills" were the pre-cursor to the whole amphetamine housewife thing...
They were!
Yeah, there's a definite meanness to his comedy. You can be very funny and still be gracious and warm: just look at Arlene!
Recently, on Mad Men, there was a total jerk of a comic that seemed to be based on Jerry Lewis. Anybody else notice the similarity?
@Indygoguy Not crystal meth, actually it was a weak form of amphetamines. My grandma apparently used to take them, and she said that her house had never been so clean.
1956
what year was this?
What date was this show aired?
@sanzNOR The L.A. Rams, an American football team now located in St; Louis.
Now they're back in Los Angeles !!!!!
Was this the same episode as the one with Walt Disney?
Notice that Daly started with Kilgallen (who never needed a gambit even on her worst day) and not with Lewis, so this game has no gambit. Lewis's ego would incline him to solutions anyway.
Doubt that, its just the quality of the celebrities that has been reduced.
Before Jerry Says What The Woman Does For Work, The Guy Asking the Questions Calls Him "GARY" Listen Closely....
I don't think she went on the show not knowing the irony. She was obviously in on the joke.
I just have one, well two questions, who's fates, and whats a gambit???
LOL that was so rude!! 8-P
@TheMashuggina cheers :D x