I love how the contestants dress up so glamorously and well for this show. First contestant is a gas station attendant, dressed in such a lovely dress. Guess different times...
TV was new, so being on television was considered a major event, and usually called for formal attire. This was also a time before people commonly wore modern casual clothing, such as t-shirts and denim.
I remember the Big Deal when rules changed so we could wear trousers to school. Going to church meant men wore suits and ties, and women wore dresses, hats, gloves, stockings and heels. I miss "getting dressed up" to go out, even to church. We're too casual these days -- I include myself -- IMHO.
I feel the same way! You can see a couple of arlenes movies on youtube i.e. “one two three” but i think that the plays would have been great. Might be able to scare up a few of dorothys columns, even in the books. Maybe some college has video of bennett in their archives but we wwould have to really dig for it. Bennett did do an oral history interview on WML, if you havent found it already. You can google john’s announcement re Pearl Harbor and it pops up. I can’t imagine how floored they would all be if they knew that decades after they passed, their fans would be just about rabid to get their hands on anything about them....and that WML would be so popular.
rolf78 - I know. It's tragic to become enamoured with a person or a group of people and know they all had been gone before I began watching them. I just started watching these films about a month ago and I am already addicted to them. Another of life's existential dillemas.
Here is an excerpt from a talk by Bennett Cerf: th-cam.com/video/J-zWzuc_oEI/w-d-xo.html Also on TH-cam, you can find a video of an interview that Mike Wallace did with him. I looked for Dorothy Kilgallen's columns for the New York Journal-American, but was not able to find them.
I give my immense thanks to the owner of the page for uploading these episodes. I am curious if a film will ever be dedicated to the show and the cast, to help the current generations to learn of the show and the interesting people here.
So glad you've been enjoying the channel! :) I've heard of talk over the years to do a biopic about Dorothy, which would likely have to at least touch on WML in some way, but all the talk has been about movies focused on her death. Other than Dorothy's untimely death in 1965, there isn't much scandal or drama to work with in WML's history to make a good movie about it. But the shows still speak for themselves, and people still love them. Thanks for your support.
I thank you for responding, though I do support either a film or documentary dedicated to the show and the staff will be helpful for current generations who have yet to learn of What's My Line and the cast.
A documentary would be great (though unfortunately, almost everyone directly associated with the show has passed away by now, which would make getting interviews tough). I guess I assumed you meant more of a scripted, fictionalized sort of movie. Someone produced a documentary about Arlene a few years ago, which her son was involved in, but it hasn't been released to the public due to legal complications. And we've been working on a new book about WML. I wish I had any idea when it will be done, though!
The following are interview transcripts with Bennett Cerf for the Oral History Research Office. They've proved a great resource for the show, its panel, and guests. Apparently, no one liked Hal Block, and he was fired in '53 and replaced with Steve Allen. Dorothy was liked all right, their feelings changed when she reported a story to a major paper about something she heard John Daly say in confidence. Her response was that she is and will always be a reporter first. So, the cast made it a point to stop talking whenever Dorothy walked in to a room. There's much more, but the stories are rife for the person with the interest to dig around. The _What's My Line?_ interviews begin where the following link begins to page 753. www.columbia.edu/cu/lweb/digital/collections/nny/cerfb/transcripts/cerfb_1_16_726.html
@@davidadams2395 I agree with you. Also Louie Untermeyer was fired because he was judged to be a communist and there were protesters outside the studio. Stopette, the sponsor, demanded that Louie be fired. Louie was so depressed about this, he stayed at home for a year.
There was a very odd, but interesting to me, irony in the selection of mystery guests for the previous (Aug. 3, 1952) episode and this one. They both had basically the same first name: Francis and Frankie (nee Francesco). One was a talking mule; the other had a number one record (the second of three in a row) in 1949 titled "Mule Train".
Well at least Hal did not kiss Frankie on the lips tonight. Hal asks asks very good questions. And it is obvious that he was the developer of the WML Gambit, not Steve Allen. His questioning of the gas station attendant is one of the funniest lines of questioning from the early period.
soulierinvestments i think Steve Allen created most of his most hilarious moments very consciously and without any help. He had a rare combination of high IQ, wit, and high creativity. He was an incredible individual.
I didn't like him at first, I admit. He grew into his role as well as other panelists did. I ended up enjoying him. Too bad he was relieved of his duties, as was Mr. Untermeyer. Give people a chance, I say.
6:18 >> this exchange between Hal and Dorothy gave me the shivers, given her later history. As to his warning to her about alcohol: "Depressive" is probably the more accurate word, but Dorothy herself never got a better or more prophetic piece of advise.
soulierinvestments i sometimes feel we all get a taste of what it is like to be God (no disrespect intended) because we in hindsight see “from above” the whole picture and the idiosyncrasies of history, human foibles and folly.
A bit strange, when watching these 1952 episodes, to consider that I was alive, but very nearly a newborn infant, much less than a year old. Interesting to see what people looked like in terms of hairstyles and clothing and, for example, to note that plastic containers were also in their infancy. Stopette anti-perspirant (it really wasn't a true deodorant), Poof powder and Finesse shampoo may well have been the first products that were packaged in polyethylene containers.
I remember my mom having a squeeze bottle like the one used by Stopette. It contained a liquid she sprayed on the lenses of her glasses to clean them. Since she didn't need to use it that often, she was using it long after the writing on the bottle wore off, so I don't remember the brand name.
I put this show on at night. My doggie won't eat w/o it (practically) anymore. I call it the "happy eating show". I love the banter. I was a little mystifyed by the skelleton sales man? Are they human skelletons? How does he aquire them? Neither of these questions were asked. This was always a little thing in the show that I would have changed had I produced it. They had to get all the guests out in time, so they never asked more than a question or two no matter how intreging or unusual the line of work was. Even with the big stars. The big stars disguiesed their voice, and sometimes you didn't really hear their real voice much at all!!!!!!!!!! Just a bunch of squeeks, taps or bells sometimes! Oh but I all in all, it was a wonderful, wonderful show and I love it and the people in it very, very much.
About the man who sold skeletons - I'm only guessing here, but I would imagine perhaps he sold them to schools, universities, physicians, and the like. As you stated, it would have been nice to have heard a bit about their professions.
Sadly, the last guest, Sidney T. Parr Jr. died tragically at 45 in a car wreck in 1974. He was trained as a lawyer, had a wife and children and coached hockey.
Interesting to know where so many of these contestants ended up, now that most people appearing on the show are no longer living. Sad he had a short life.
Mr. Foehl seems to be enjoying himself, which is always nice to watch. He was a gent with a bunch of life changes, over the years. Born in 1914, he got drafted into WWII, though there’s no clear evidence as to what he did in the war. (He was working for a baker at the time, though.) He was active in the Lutheran Church (which was evidently a family thing -- his sister was also active in the laity), and was, for 15 years, working for the Lutheran Church of America’s Laymen’s Association, fundraising. (So he started about two years after his appearance here.) He then, in 1969, moved to York, PA and became a director of institutional services for Lutheran Social Services, South Region. (He headed up a couple of expanding and changing “homes for the aged” in York and Gettysburg.) I’d be more tentative with the connection, since there’s no clear line from skeletons to fundraising to managing homes for the aged, but every reference to him says he was from Woodhaven, NY, so it seems fairly reasonable. He died in 1972, after what is characterized as “an extended illness,” otherwise known as cancer, usually. He was 58. He and his wife Hertha (who he married in 1931) had two kids, both of whom lived in New York at the time of his death. Hertha died in 1997.
It’s weird that Laine stumbled over Hal’s question of whether he had “a popular record today” 16:13 These were his 1952 releases that hit the Top Ten The Ballad of High Noon (Do Not Forsake Me, Oh My Darling). #13 for the entire year” peaked at #3 on the weekly charts. The Sugarbush Polka (with Doris Day) #40 for the year. Peaked at #6 on the weekly charts. He also charted with “There’s A Rainbow ‘Round My Shoulder” and “Tonight You Belong To Me”. Four Top Hits in one year and he still isn’t sure if he’s popular?
I wonder if anyone under 30 really understands what it meant to be a gas station attendant not so many years ago? It was more than sitting behind bulletproof glass.
Maybe even under fifty. I'm in my late forties and they were a rarity when I was a kid. Oregon and New Jersey still have them, by law in both states the driver can't pump gas.
But in NJ at least, you don't get the old fashioned service that we did years ago when a gas jockey would offer to look under the hood, check the oil and water, clean the windshield. And you could drink a bottle of pop right there at the station while waiting for the others to use the rest room (if they could heave the tire that the key was attached to).
Joe Postove Actually, the attendants in NJ will do all that stuff but you have to explicitly ask them to. At least that was true as of when I last lived in the NJ area (which was up till a few years ago.) Of course, if you do ask, I think the attendants expect to be tipped now, and having no idea whatsoever what to tip them, I almost never asked. :)
What's My Line? I used to go there from Virginia regularly, to see relatives and go to AC. I don't think they expect to be tipped. But a box of candy and flowers would be nice.
With the last guy, I think the panel was led a little astray when Mr. Daly failed to correct Hal Block. 22:57 Arlene Francis: "Is it something a woman would buy for herself?" (No.) Then Mr. Block asked whether a man could buy it for her (Yes) and marveled that a woman would not buy it herself -- not "for" herself as in buy it for her own use, but buy it herself as in being the one making the purchase -- going so far as to wonder just how expensive the item was. It seems that Mr. Block had mis-heard Miss Francis, not catching the "for" in her question. Mr. Daly is usually on the ball, but it looks like this slipped past him.
One of the earlier episodes where John has switched from telling the panel "10 nos and you've lost to game" to telling the contestant "10 nos and you've won the game."
Handsome couple ???? I would say this: In the event of this being a couple, one would, in this circumstance & prescribed event, ascertain that this couple would be Dad & daughter.
I'm guessing that, in 1952, there were no self-service gasoline stations or, if there were, they were few and far between. Back then, the attendant would come up to the driver's window on your car (after you pulled up to the pumps) and ask the standard question: "Regular or ethyl?" Or, if they said, "May I help you?" you'd say something like "Please fill it up with ethyl" or "I'd like $3 worth of regular, please." $3 would get you over 10 gallons of regular gas in those days. And they always checked your oil and radiator level for you and washed your windshield as part of the service.
The first self-service gas station opened in California in 1947 and eventually the idea spread across the country. I can still remember gas station attendants in the late 1950's, 60's and even sometime into the 70's in NY. It's difficult for me to remember when they phased out, however, since I live very close to the border of NJ and gas has always been cheaper in NJ than in NY. And NJ is still one of two states where it is illegal for customers to pump their own gasoline. (The other is Oregon.) I don't remember gas jockeys asking regular or ethyl. It was always regular or hi-test. The exception was Sunoco after it introduced custom blending in 1956, allowing customers to choose as many as 8 different octane levels from the same gas pump from Sunoco 190 (subregular) to Sunoco 260 (102 octane). They gradually phased out some of the intermediate levels but are still the only major retailer to sell four different grades as their proprietary pumps can blend regular (87 octane) with their Ultra (93 octane, formerly 94) to create Plus (89) and Premium (91). I can also remember as a child riding with a neighbor who owned a VW Beetle. She would buy 50¢ worth of gas some times when she was low on money. The attendants weren't too happy with all they had to do for such a small purchase and the pump was putting in less than 2 gallons.
When I was a kid in the 1950's, there were self-service gas stations here and there in Southern California with odd names that weren't those of major oil companies, such as Powerine, Power-Flyte, Urich, and others. All self-service pumps at such stations. If you drove up US 101 to San Francisco or on US 99 (or later, on I-5) you'd run into "Terrible Herbst" which eventually became "Rotten Robbie". My parents refused to buy off-brand gasoline back then, but eventually changed their minds. When I got my first car as a college student, I always bought self-serve off-brand gas. In fact, I found the cheapest around near U.C. Irvine over in Costa Mesa -- a "Coin-Op" self-serve station. You bought $1 tokens at booth, put them in the pump and when you shut the pump off, coins would come out of the side to give you your change. I also remember a strange brand, Hancock, whose stations had those pumps that could mix regular and "ethyl" (as premium gas was commonly called back then) to product 8 different blends, each at a different price depending on how much "ethyl" was in the blend.
I remember those days. We bratty kids would examine the windshield to ensure the glass was completely clean. If I recall, gas station attendants were tipped if they provided good service. Mom was certain self-serve gas stations would never catch on -- just like microwave ovens. She never pumped her own gasoline, I always did it for her. She did learn to appreciate the microwave, though.
How old are you? You must be very young. There were very few if any self service stations in 1952, not for at least 20 years. Most regular people pulled up and said, "give me a dollars worth if regular." Then the attendant would wash thevwinshield and ask, "how's that oil?". It was mostly hoping to sell some.
Hal was super sharp, and years ahead of his time. I think it was kind of sad that WML? wasn't quite ready for his brand of humor. However, it is nice to know that he did enjoy a rather successful writing career and was truly appreciated for his talent.
19:52 "King Farouk"? wow that's history... but i wonder, his reign ended just 3 weeks earlier with the revolution. I bet Block didn't even know about him before he heard it on the news.
Frankie Laine was known as the "cowboy singer" for singing the title songs in many western movies like Rawhide. That's why Mel Brooks chose him to sing the title song in Blazing Saddles. Laine was very active in the Civil Rights movement of the 1960s.
Panel and host are wearing informal (coat and tie) clothes, rather than formal clothes - the show has gone from informal to formal and is back to informal. Interesting to note radio was still widely heard in the early 1950s (or tv was still relatively new and was not necessarily widely available due to costs of the tv and/or due to broadcasts were still unavailable or limited in some locales) - on relatively recent shows, it was mentioned that Block had a radio show, and that What's My Line had a radio show.
Being last on the show is a big advantage if you want the money. Not sure how much $50 is in those days but it's prob a few hundred equivalent in today. Nothing mindblowing but pretty decent if you get the max amount.
Poor Hal Block. You either hate or love him. I liked him. Sure, he could be irritating but in a weird way, lovable too . Kinda like a drunken uncle at thanksgiving dinner.
Today's TH-cam Rerun for 5/6/15: Watch along and join the discussion! ----------------------------- Join our Facebook group for WML-- great discussions, photos, etc, and great people! facebook.com/groups/728471287199862/ To stay up to date with postings, please consider supporting the WML channel by subscribing. The WML channel already contains the complete CBS series, with new videos still being added on the weekends. th-cam.com/channels/hPE75Fvvl1HmdAsO7Nzb8w.html
Helsinki hosted the 1952 Summer Olympics. The ex-King of Egypt tipped the scales at 300 pounds on a good day. Fourth game: My. WML was always equal opportunity for panelists. Arlene certainly lights up when she gets to question young good-looking men. This happened enough to be noticeable through the years. I think of 1956 and that handsome young guy from Missouri who worked in a women's reducing salon. Both here and then in the future, Arlene looked as if she wanted to them out after the broadcast for drinks.
While they still sell skeletons -- they're expensive at something close to $5,000 -- for use in classrooms that teach biology, human anatomy, etc. (my high school owned one that was kept in one of the biology laboratory-classrooms), I note that nowadays, for a lot less money (but still not exactly cheap at close to $900), there are full-scale plastic replicas of human skeletons where all the bones are made in molds cast from a real human skeleton. Since you can't buy a cadaver, scientific supply companies have to obtain bones from a body donated for scientific purposes, perhaps after students at a medical school are done with it. A rather macabre business but necessary for proper training of students in various life sciences, especially medical students.
Lois Simmons -- Actually, for a long time there have been molded plastic life-sized replicas of human skeletons, far sturdier and way less expensive than trying to make on on a 3D printer. They only thing is, if you're teaching anatomy in a college classroom or in a medical school, there are things the plastic replicas can't quite get right.
Chris Barat What's My Line? There are self-serve gas stations in NY, but there are still plenty of full-serve stations, too, including several in my neighborhood.
I never knew that! Of course I've only been out of my home state once in the past 10 years and that was for an OCD conference in Atlanta. (I'm mentally ill, which bites.) And I went with my Dad. I took a couple of trips up to Syracuse when I was very small and I don't remember them. But I do know about gas station attendants from old footage from back in the day and also in movies. And I read up on the panelists last night (except Hal) on IMDb. Very interesting information on Dorothy. Creepy and scary. Whew! Poor Arlene had some tragedies in her time but she was a trooper! She knew how to light up a room! :) Classy.
I give John Daily a lot of credit, I could never do his job, I would give too much away. For example, the gas station attendant, and when Cerf asks, "So this is not something you would drink?" I would respond only if you want to go blind.
Laine should have stuck with the high toned voice. I could here his real tone a few seconds later. I'm a collector of early Jazz recordings of Laine's and belong to Frankie's fan club on FB. In other words MULE TRAIN & RAWHIDE is not of my main interest though he sings those songs those songs well too.
I agree, his normal voice definitely gave it away. "Moonlight Gambler" instantly came to my mind when he switched tone, although the song didn't come out until 1956. I don't care for his shtick in general, but Hal Brock gets points with me for being a Frankie Laine aficionado.
Dorothy and Frankie were born in the same year, but died 42 years apart… Dorothy was taken too soon… Also Frankie had a wonderful Italian name that he sadly anglicised…
John was confused as to what studio Frankie was making his next picture for. Wasn't it true in those days that Columbia was the poor sister of the seven major studios, and that Republic was the best off of those studios on "poverty row"?
Joe Postove I always thought it was United Artists that was the poor sister of the seven major studios during the Golden Age of Hollywood. The other six being Fox, Warner, Columbia, Paramount, RKO Radio, and Universal.
***** maybe someone could see about that, but I think Columbia was pretty far from the top of the list. BTW, Vahan I don't think RKO was a major studio. MGM belongs in there.
Joe Postove The major studios of the 30's and 40's were MGM, Warner Bros, Paramount, Fox, and RKO. RKO wasn't as big as the other 4 but big enough not to be considered a mid-tier studio like Columbia.
Joe Postove Dual discussion about this going on here and on Facebook. Repeating what I said on FB, I'm by *no means* an expert on Hollywood in general, but my understanding, and I'm pretty sure that this is accurate, is that UA was not originally a studio at all, it was a distribution company for independent productions, formed in the mid 1940s, that eventually *became* a studio. I believe that the "big five" were MGM, Paramount, Universal, RKO and Warners. I'm not clear on where Fox fit in, I think a bit below the others, but I have read in many places over the years that Columbia was much lower on the rungs than the top tier studios.
***** From the 40'-50's it was common to import human skeletons from India and China for sale to medical and educational institutions. In India it was forbidden to export them from the '80's, and China stopped in 2008. There are still skeletons for sale, and for the same purpose, but now described as coming from "strictly ethical sources". I wonder what those sources might be, though...
corner moose goldenthroat86 +What's My Line? I agree with all of you! The more I see of Hal Block, the more I like him. I understand the rationale behind his firing, and I'm glad that WML had the opportunity to have both Fred and Steve Allen as panelists later on -- as well as the many fun guest panelists who filled the "comedian's chair" at various times, but I wish they'd treated him better and left the door open for him to come back as a guest panelist now and then. The way things worked out, I think it left him very bitter toward the whole WML experience, and I can't say I blame him.
well I am sure theat no one took him bACK then AS being "obnoxious". He genuinely thought that he was being funny/humorous. He paSSED AWay back in 1981.
When I see Hal Block on the panel, I wonder how soon it will be before he offers some off-colour comment or leering question to an attractive female guest
She was a big flirt. Though her marriage was famous because they had a radio program together, neither Dorothy nor her husband were faithful to each other. Though with her fame, I doubt she would have been seeing the contestants in public, it would garner notoriety.
Someone can correct me if I'm wrong, but while this was before the quiz show scandals, I don't think WML ever was too bad at fixing episodes. I think at most, they would give a panelist a line of questioning that would be funny. It was misleading and controlling, but not technically cheating because the producers wouldn't share what the actual occupation is. But I agree that Bennett in this episode and the one right before this one seemed to figure it out pretty quick.
I don't like Bennet...his sarcasm, making fun of people's looks (weight, large nose, etc.), and most of all, I think he cheats...he gets on the right track way too fast.
Joe Postove "Oh, East is East, and West is West, and never the twain shall meet.." (Kipling) Bennett and Block; Two different worlds, and certainly two different ways of behaviour ;)
Elsie M. I don't know what Hal was really like off-camera or what type of relationships he had with any of the other panelists. It's true that Bennett said some not very nice things about him in that interview +Parker Allen mentioned, making his opinion of him loud and clear, but I don't know about the others. Certainly Arlene always seemed to be fond of him on the show. I know she was a trained actress and all, but I'd like to think she was sincere in this. As for me, the more I see of Hal Block, the more I like him. Yes, he had his "cloddish" and even inappropriate moments, and no, he didn't have the same class and sophistication as the other panelists, but I usually find him quite charming in his own way. And, as mentioned in another thread on this page, he could be both very funny and an excellent player. I've also noticed, in rewatching these early episodes with him, that he was very good at being a team player, often calling for conferences when he either needed help himself or had a suggestion to offer the other panelists.
Nick Mad Nick, the entire series of What's My Line is already posted on my channel. There's nothing left for me to post. There are playlists set up of every episode in the series in order which you can get to on the main channel page. Try this link: th-cam.com/channels/hPE75Fvvl1HmdAsO7Nzb8w.html
I can see how the producers thought Block a little racy. Even in 1952 if you ask a girl to wipe your windshield, my mind shudders (or jumps for joy, depending).
CC-Tron: I think that Republic had absorbed Monogram and some of the other poverty row studios by the early 50s. What ruined that studio was (1) the departure of John Wayne, (2) the coming of TV, which drastically affected the need for cheap program pictures.
Sadly ironic that I happened to be viewing this installment of WML on 3 June 2020, when Minneapolis has recently provided the nation with something completely opposite from the television appearance of a pleasant service station attendant in formal attire, in the opening segment. We're not much different now than things were then, for the wrong reasons.
Dorothy: Is there anything about this liquid that is good for people, even though it doesn't make them gay? Me: What liquid makes people gay? I must have had a lot of it when I was a kid, but I can't imagine what it was.
"Gay" never meant what you think it does, in the entire history of the word until the last 30-35 yrs. It didn't mean what you think it does when this program aired.
An Ombre Rose While Dorothy was most likely not using gay in its current meaning, the association of gay with homosexuality in mainstream language has been traced by etymologists as far back as the 1940's which is before this program aired. Use of the word by homosexuals to describe themselves dates back to at least the 1920's. And while Dorothy's usage was probably related to the meaning of the word to be joyful, merry, light-hearted and carefree, the connotation of the word with lewd and wanton behavior dates back to at least the 17th century and perhaps even to the time and writing of Chaucer. My source: www.etymonline.com/index.php?term=gay As far as what ToddSF 94109 meant, he is keeping his own counsel. But because of his vagueness and ambiguity, I played off of his name and gave him a Lisa Loopner line, as portrayed by one of my all-time favorite comediennes, Gilda Radner. www.nbc.com/saturday-night-live/video/the-nerds---broken-fridge/n8665
An Ombre Rose -- Oh yes it did. The term was in use by American heterosexuals to mean "homosexual" as early as the 1940's. At any rate, it means it now on a completely widespread basis, so anyone who hears it and wants to find humor in it is well within their license.
WoW! It surprises me to see how women had chutzpa in her choice of apparel in baring themselves from the bust up. The contestant looked as though she was naked sitting there. I thought women were more modest back in the '50's.
More on the obvious rigging of the early shows: I see that the practice of feeding a line of questioning to a panelist was called a "gambit" by the show's producer Gil Fates in his 1978 book. He claimed it wasn't technically cheating because the panelist wasn't told the actual occupation of the contestant, but was only given a "wrong" line of questioning that was sure to produce laughs from the audience. He also claimed that John Daly was not part of it and Fates wasn't sure if he ever knew of its existence. What's wrong with this explanation? 1. Leading the audience to believe that the panelists are coming up with their questions on the spot, while actually suggesting a line of questions in advance, is certainly deceiving and cheating the audience. 2. It's apparent that the practice went beyond merely suggesting a line of questioning. I could tell this immediately from Hal Block's question to the gas station attendant, "Are you standing while they're sitting down?" This has a very artificial quality as a genuine question, and would never be asked even if it was suggested he pose questions about bartending. But it's hilarious when imagining the comparison between the relative positions of a man in a car to the gas station attendant and a man at a bar to the bartender. This question had to be carefully formulated in advance. Further support comes from an internet source, Eric Paddon (on tvDOTcom), who writes, "Thanks to the high volume of B/W shows GSN has aired in the past, I discovered that the exact same comedy questions could end up being reused on different shows. For instance on this episode, there was a contestant with the occupation 'Repairs Zippers.' Steve Allen proceeded to ask questions that sent him on the wrong track to howls of laughter from the audience. ... Several months later on 'The Name's The Same,' there was a contestant named 'A. Zipper.' Gene Rayburn's questions were word-for-word identical to those Steve Allen had asked on WML several months before." I say the "gambit" questions were scripted, and that Fates's admission was a "limited hangout." 3. The claim that John Daly was not informed of the practice may be true, but to believe that he wouldn't catch on pretty quickly is ridiculous. The tactic is painfully obvious. The same goes for Dorothy Kilgallen and Arlene Francis. who would have been on to it in a second. Bennett Cerf is the only regular panelist possibly dumb enough not to know what was going on.
Hal Block struck me as being jumpy or on some prescription drug. His flirting was more like salivating in a creepy way. A woman would be afraid to be alone with him. Anyway, his behavior seemed out of step with the early days of tv. There are a few game shows that have made comebacks. They don't do justice to the originals, though. I often wondered if wml? could do the same but I'd be afraid of being disappointed.
I just started watching this show for the first time a few days ago. So far I've seen many and Hal looks like he could be a jerk. He flirts with ladies (and I don't think in a good way). He does have SOME funny moments, but I'd be really uncomfortable around him. (then again, that first lady was gorgeous, and I wouldn't have dressed as pretty as she did on here either)
To me it's obvious that these early shows were rigged. For Hal Block to ask such a series of questions about liquor that also fit gasoline in an amusing way shows that he must have been clued in on the line of the contestant and that his questions were prepared in advance. I've noticed this same "too good to be true" quality on other early shows. I believe it came out years ago that the hilarious and seemingly off-the-cuff interactions between Groucho and his guests on "You Bet Your Life" were also pre-written.
(a) The producer of WML has explicitly admitted to the use of gambits for the comic member of the panel, which was the suggestion of a line of questioning that was dead wrong but would produce laughs. It's only rigging in the sense of trying to boost the entertainment value of the show. It had absolutely no effect on the outcome of the game. (b) It's not even remotely new information that Groucho had pre-written jokes to fall back on for YBYL. There were articles when the show was still airing that revealed this. Robert Dwan (the director of YBYL) went into great detail about how this worked in his book on the series, "As Long As They're Laughing". Implying that it was all pre-written is pure nonsense. Almost invariably, the best bits on YBYL were the ones where Groucho was totally off script. Regardless, the quiz segments were totally above board, except to say that Groucho was often very, very lenient in the answers he would accept. If all you mean by "rigging" is that the producers wanted the shows to be more entertaining without affecting the game itself, then you're right. Why you're so utterly laser-beam focused on this as if it's a terrible thing, I don't understand. I really don't. Enough. Please. I get it.
![What's My Line? - Jean Hersholt; Artie Shaw [panel] (Aug 31, 1952)](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/IOef-5vI0V0/mqdefault.jpg)
![What's My Line? - Jean Hersholt; Artie Shaw [panel] (Aug 31, 1952)](/img/tr.png)
I love how the contestants dress up so glamorously and well for this show.
First contestant is a gas station attendant, dressed in such a lovely dress. Guess different times...
Also I think to throw off the panel, sometimes.
TV was new, so being on television was considered a major event, and usually called for formal attire. This was also a time before people commonly wore modern casual clothing, such as t-shirts and denim.
I remember the Big Deal when rules changed so we could wear trousers to school. Going to church meant men wore suits and ties, and women wore dresses, hats, gloves, stockings and heels. I miss "getting dressed up" to go out, even to church. We're too casual these days -- I include myself -- IMHO.
The minimum wage was better and people had full-time employments too, of course.
@@FOLIPE Not only that but most women could sew and knock up a dress easily
Hal Block gets so excited about where answers take his mind. Such an expressive face. LOL!
Questions around the first contestant was really hilarious, since we all knew where he was going with that..
I will never be able to read Dorothy's column, hear Bennett give a lecture, see Arlene in a play or watch John deliver a news bulletin :(
I feel the same way! You can see a couple of arlenes movies on youtube i.e. “one two three” but i think that the plays would have been great. Might be able to scare up a few of dorothys columns, even in the books. Maybe some college has video of bennett in their archives but we wwould have to really dig for it. Bennett did do an oral history interview on WML, if you havent found it already. You can google john’s announcement re Pearl Harbor and it pops up. I can’t imagine how floored they would all be if they knew that decades after they passed, their fans would be just about rabid to get their hands on anything about them....and that WML would be so popular.
rolf78 - I know. It's tragic to become enamoured with a person or a group of people and know they all had been gone before I began watching them. I just started watching these films about a month ago and I am already addicted to them. Another of life's existential dillemas.
Awww..... You never know!
🙏✨💟
@@shirleyrombough8173
I feel like I am (almost) a time traveller when I watch these wonderful programmes.
Here is an excerpt from a talk by Bennett Cerf:
th-cam.com/video/J-zWzuc_oEI/w-d-xo.html
Also on TH-cam, you can find a video of an interview that Mike Wallace did with him. I looked for Dorothy Kilgallen's columns for the New York Journal-American, but was not able to find them.
I give my immense thanks to the owner of the page for uploading these episodes. I am curious if a film will ever be dedicated to the show and the cast, to help the current generations to learn of the show and the interesting people here.
So glad you've been enjoying the channel! :) I've heard of talk over the years to do a biopic about Dorothy, which would likely have to at least touch on WML in some way, but all the talk has been about movies focused on her death. Other than Dorothy's untimely death in 1965, there isn't much scandal or drama to work with in WML's history to make a good movie about it. But the shows still speak for themselves, and people still love them. Thanks for your support.
I thank you for responding, though I do support either a film or documentary dedicated to the show and the staff will be helpful for current generations who have yet to learn of What's My Line and the cast.
A documentary would be great (though unfortunately, almost everyone directly associated with the show has passed away by now, which would make getting interviews tough). I guess I assumed you meant more of a scripted, fictionalized sort of movie. Someone produced a documentary about Arlene a few years ago, which her son was involved in, but it hasn't been released to the public due to legal complications. And we've been working on a new book about WML. I wish I had any idea when it will be done, though!
The following are interview transcripts with Bennett Cerf for the Oral History Research Office. They've proved a great resource for the show, its panel, and guests. Apparently, no one liked Hal Block, and he was fired in '53 and replaced with Steve Allen. Dorothy was liked all right, their feelings changed when she reported a story to a major paper about something she heard John Daly say in confidence. Her response was that she is and will always be a reporter first. So, the cast made it a point to stop talking whenever Dorothy walked in to a room. There's much more, but the stories are rife for the person with the interest to dig around. The _What's My Line?_ interviews begin where the following link begins to page 753. www.columbia.edu/cu/lweb/digital/collections/nny/cerfb/transcripts/cerfb_1_16_726.html
@@davidadams2395 I agree with you. Also Louie Untermeyer was fired because he was judged to be a communist and there were protesters outside the studio. Stopette, the sponsor, demanded that Louie be fired. Louie was so depressed about this, he stayed at home for a year.
Once again, Hal Block gets the panel off to a great start.
That might have been the high water mark of his one-liners -- "I think she's a bill collector and if she is you can call me Bill."
😮yeah he was good at this game and a very good person at heart through his way around pretty girls ia a big let-down
"If I drank enough of this liquid, would I come home loaded?" LOL.
You'd also come home... leaded.
Hilarious line of questioning!
Well you would😅.
And if you lit up a cigarette you'd come home exp-loded.
There was a very odd, but interesting to me, irony in the selection of mystery guests for the previous (Aug. 3, 1952) episode and this one. They both had basically the same first name: Francis and Frankie (nee Francesco). One was a talking mule; the other had a number one record (the second of three in a row) in 1949 titled "Mule Train".
I think Arlene was almost as naughty and flirty as Hal, however the difference is she was charming. But I like Hal.
Purple Capricorn arlene got away with some pretty sassy comments, all because she was a lady and her breezy and fun loving manner.
Hal was a good player but his inappropriate remarks got him booted. He was funny.
agreeeee
Bennett expressed similar sentiments in an interview available elsewhere on TH-cam
@@donaldmanthei1224Yet Arlene remained. One set of rules for one but not the other....
Nice to see these old shows made available
Well at least Hal did not kiss Frankie on the lips tonight.
Hal asks asks very good questions. And it is obvious that he was the developer of the WML Gambit, not Steve Allen. His questioning of the gas station attendant is one of the funniest lines of questioning from the early period.
I totally agree-- Block was good at gambits.
Yeah, I have to admit that the gambit he ran on the attendant was pretty darn good.
soulierinvestments i think Steve Allen created most of his most hilarious moments very consciously and without any help. He had a rare combination of high IQ, wit, and high creativity. He was an incredible individual.
I don't care what anybody says …. I like Hal Block! :-)
me to
So do I.
Me too
Actually, he was pretty good here.
I didn't like him at first, I admit. He grew into his role as well as other panelists did. I ended up enjoying him. Too bad he was relieved of his duties, as was Mr. Untermeyer. Give people a chance, I say.
6:18 >> this exchange between Hal and Dorothy gave me the shivers, given her later history. As to his warning to her about alcohol: "Depressive" is probably the more accurate word, but Dorothy herself never got a better or more prophetic piece of advise.
+soulierinvestments advice GN
soulierinvestments i sometimes feel we all get a taste of what it is like to be God (no disrespect intended) because we in hindsight see “from above” the whole picture and the idiosyncrasies of history, human foibles and folly.
Dorothy was light drinker. She was. DRUGGED TO DEATH
Research.
Thank you, Dad (RIP) for introducing me to these great programs!
A bit strange, when watching these 1952 episodes, to consider that I was alive, but very nearly a newborn infant, much less than a year old. Interesting to see what people looked like in terms of hairstyles and clothing and, for example, to note that plastic containers were also in their infancy. Stopette anti-perspirant (it really wasn't a true deodorant), Poof powder and Finesse shampoo may well have been the first products that were packaged in polyethylene containers.
I remember my mom having a squeeze bottle like the one used by Stopette. It contained a liquid she sprayed on the lenses of her glasses to clean them. Since she didn't need to use it that often, she was using it long after the writing on the bottle wore off, so I don't remember the brand name.
Yeah, a real blow to our invironment, those plastics.
I may be missing something, but if Hal drank it (gas), he would not be coming home at all.
I put this show on at night. My doggie won't eat w/o it (practically) anymore. I call it the "happy eating show". I love the banter. I was a little mystifyed by the skelleton sales man? Are they human skelletons? How does he aquire them? Neither of these questions were asked. This was always a little thing in the show that I would have changed had I produced it. They had to get all the guests out in time, so they never asked more than a question or two no matter how intreging or unusual the line of work was. Even with the big stars. The big stars disguiesed their voice, and sometimes you didn't really hear their real voice much at all!!!!!!!!!! Just a bunch of squeeks, taps or bells sometimes! Oh but I all in all, it was a wonderful, wonderful show and I love it and the people in it very, very much.
About the man who sold skeletons - I'm only guessing here, but I would imagine perhaps he sold them to schools, universities, physicians, and the like. As you stated, it would have been nice to have heard a bit about their professions.
Sadly, the last guest, Sidney T. Parr Jr. died tragically at 45 in a car wreck in 1974. He was trained as a lawyer, had a wife and children and coached hockey.
Did you know him?
Interesting to know where so many of these contestants ended up, now that most people appearing on the show are no longer living. Sad he had a short life.
That was a great first session and she was just adorable.
Mr. Foehl seems to be enjoying himself, which is always nice to watch.
He was a gent with a bunch of life changes, over the years. Born in 1914, he got drafted into WWII, though there’s no clear evidence as to what he did in the war. (He was working for a baker at the time, though.) He was active in the Lutheran Church (which was evidently a family thing -- his sister was also active in the laity), and was, for 15 years, working for the Lutheran Church of America’s Laymen’s Association, fundraising. (So he started about two years after his appearance here.) He then, in 1969, moved to York, PA and became a director of institutional services for Lutheran Social Services, South Region. (He headed up a couple of expanding and changing “homes for the aged” in York and Gettysburg.)
I’d be more tentative with the connection, since there’s no clear line from skeletons to fundraising to managing homes for the aged, but every reference to him says he was from Woodhaven, NY, so it seems fairly reasonable.
He died in 1972, after what is characterized as “an extended illness,” otherwise known as cancer, usually. He was 58.
He and his wife Hertha (who he married in 1931) had two kids, both of whom lived in New York at the time of his death. Hertha died in 1997.
It’s weird that Laine stumbled over Hal’s question of whether he had “a popular record today” 16:13
These were his 1952 releases that hit the Top Ten
The Ballad of High Noon (Do Not Forsake Me, Oh My Darling). #13 for the entire year” peaked at #3 on the weekly charts.
The Sugarbush Polka (with Doris Day) #40 for the year. Peaked at #6 on the weekly charts.
He also charted with “There’s A Rainbow ‘Round My Shoulder” and “Tonight You Belong To Me”.
Four Top Hits in one year and he still isn’t sure if he’s popular?
I wonder if anyone under 30 really understands what it meant to be a gas station attendant not so many years ago? It was more than sitting behind bulletproof glass.
Maybe even under fifty. I'm in my late forties and they were a rarity when I was a kid. Oregon and New Jersey still have them, by law in both states the driver can't pump gas.
But in NJ at least, you don't get the old fashioned service that we did years ago when a gas jockey would offer to look under the hood, check the oil and water, clean the windshield. And you could drink a bottle of pop right there at the station while waiting for the others to use the rest room (if they could heave the tire that the key was attached to).
Joe Postove I've not been there, so didn't know what is or isn't done.
Joe Postove Actually, the attendants in NJ will do all that stuff but you have to explicitly ask them to. At least that was true as of when I last lived in the NJ area (which was up till a few years ago.) Of course, if you do ask, I think the attendants expect to be tipped now, and having no idea whatsoever what to tip them, I almost never asked. :)
What's My Line? I used to go there from Virginia regularly, to see relatives and go to AC. I don't think they expect to be tipped. But a box of candy and flowers would be nice.
I have the title song from "Blazing Saddles" playing in my head now (which isn't bad).
Oh, how I *WISH* we could all see Daly's face from about 5:00-5:40!!
With the last guy, I think the panel was led a little astray when Mr. Daly failed to correct Hal Block. 22:57 Arlene Francis: "Is it something a woman would buy for herself?" (No.) Then Mr. Block asked whether a man could buy it for her (Yes) and marveled that a woman would not buy it herself -- not "for" herself as in buy it for her own use, but buy it herself as in being the one making the purchase -- going so far as to wonder just how expensive the item was. It seems that Mr. Block had mis-heard Miss Francis, not catching the "for" in her question. Mr. Daly is usually on the ball, but it looks like this slipped past him.
Our pops used to like Frankie Laine. He was a very big star in the 1950’s
Dorothys questions beginning at about 6:13 have a whole new meaning today!!!!!!
Frankie Lane mentioning his upcoming shows in my home of Glasgow, Scotland. He was very poppy here.
Love the wave in John's hair.
He had a toupee
One of the earlier episodes where John has switched from telling the panel "10 nos and you've lost to game" to telling the contestant "10 nos and you've won the game."
The first known time was 20 Jul 1952, episode 112.
Handsome couple ???? I would say this: In the event of this being a couple, one would, in this circumstance & prescribed event, ascertain that this couple would be Dad & daughter.
Great singer
Poor Hal Block. I heard he was eventually fired.
I think he’s rather fun.
I'm guessing that, in 1952, there were no self-service gasoline stations or, if there were, they were few and far between. Back then, the attendant would come up to the driver's window on your car (after you pulled up to the pumps) and ask the standard question: "Regular or ethyl?" Or, if they said, "May I help you?" you'd say something like "Please fill it up with ethyl" or "I'd like $3 worth of regular, please." $3 would get you over 10 gallons of regular gas in those days. And they always checked your oil and radiator level for you and washed your windshield as part of the service.
The first self-service gas station opened in California in 1947 and eventually the idea spread across the country. I can still remember gas station attendants in the late 1950's, 60's and even sometime into the 70's in NY. It's difficult for me to remember when they phased out, however, since I live very close to the border of NJ and gas has always been cheaper in NJ than in NY. And NJ is still one of two states where it is illegal for customers to pump their own gasoline. (The other is Oregon.)
I don't remember gas jockeys asking regular or ethyl. It was always regular or hi-test. The exception was Sunoco after it introduced custom blending in 1956, allowing customers to choose as many as 8 different octane levels from the same gas pump from Sunoco 190 (subregular) to Sunoco 260 (102 octane). They gradually phased out some of the intermediate levels but are still the only major retailer to sell four different grades as their proprietary pumps can blend regular (87 octane) with their Ultra (93 octane, formerly 94) to create Plus (89) and Premium (91).
I can also remember as a child riding with a neighbor who owned a VW Beetle. She would buy 50¢ worth of gas some times when she was low on money. The attendants weren't too happy with all they had to do for such a small purchase and the pump was putting in less than 2 gallons.
When I was a kid in the 1950's, there were self-service gas stations here and there in Southern California with odd names that weren't those of major oil companies, such as Powerine, Power-Flyte, Urich, and others. All self-service pumps at such stations. If you drove up US 101 to San Francisco or on US 99 (or later, on I-5) you'd run into "Terrible Herbst" which eventually became "Rotten Robbie". My parents refused to buy off-brand gasoline back then, but eventually changed their minds. When I got my first car as a college student, I always bought self-serve off-brand gas. In fact, I found the cheapest around near U.C. Irvine over in Costa Mesa -- a "Coin-Op" self-serve station. You bought $1 tokens at booth, put them in the pump and when you shut the pump off, coins would come out of the side to give you your change. I also remember a strange brand, Hancock, whose stations had those pumps that could mix regular and "ethyl" (as premium gas was commonly called back then) to product 8 different blends, each at a different price depending on how much "ethyl" was in the blend.
"regular or Ethyl?"
"Ethyl. if she's working tonight".
I remember those days. We bratty kids would examine the windshield to ensure the glass was completely clean.
If I recall, gas station attendants were tipped if they provided good service.
Mom was certain self-serve gas stations would never catch on -- just like microwave ovens. She never pumped her own gasoline, I always did it for her. She did learn to appreciate the microwave, though.
How old are you? You must be very young. There were very few if any self service stations in 1952, not for at least 20 years. Most regular people pulled up and said, "give me a dollars worth if regular." Then the attendant would wash thevwinshield and ask, "how's that oil?". It was mostly hoping to sell some.
Frankie Laine has to be the only mystery guest Hal Bloch ever guess correctly.
Hal was super sharp, and years ahead of his time. I think it was kind of sad that WML? wasn't quite ready for his brand of humor.
However, it is nice to know that he did enjoy a rather successful writing career and was truly appreciated for his talent.
It wasn't his humor, it was his inappropriate behavior of kissing and chasing the women .
Its not that WML wasn't ready, our Victorian raised parents and grandparents weren't ready.
He was not a good fit for the feel of the show and additionally tried too hard to fit it.
19:52 "King Farouk"? wow that's history... but i wonder, his reign ended just 3 weeks earlier with the revolution. I bet Block didn't even know about him before he heard it on the news.
He was on a “Farouk” roll by then. He used another lame joke about it right after the coup.
Frankie Laine was known as the "cowboy singer" for singing the title songs in many western movies like Rawhide. That's why Mel Brooks chose him to sing the title song in Blazing Saddles. Laine was very active in the Civil Rights movement of the 1960s.
"That's all right dear"
Panel and host are wearing informal (coat and tie) clothes, rather than formal clothes - the show has gone from informal to formal and is back to informal.
Interesting to note radio was still widely heard in the early 1950s (or tv was still relatively new and was not necessarily widely available due to costs of the tv and/or due to broadcasts were still unavailable or limited in some locales) - on relatively recent shows, it was mentioned that Block had a radio show, and that What's My Line had a radio show.
Being last on the show is a big advantage if you want the money. Not sure how much $50 is in those days but it's prob a few hundred equivalent in today. Nothing mindblowing but pretty decent if you get the max amount.
$5 back then would be around $50 now, so the total maximum prize would be equal to around $500 today
@@lennypearl Yea as I kinda expected. Very nice to have but of course nothing mind boggling. But thank you. :)
Poor Hal Block. You either hate or love him. I liked him. Sure, he could be irritating but in a weird way, lovable too . Kinda like a drunken uncle at thanksgiving dinner.
He's a pretty funny guy
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If i drank enough would i come home loaded ? Yeah Hal. More like Leaded!
Helsinki hosted the 1952 Summer Olympics.
The ex-King of Egypt tipped the scales at 300 pounds on a good day.
Fourth game: My. WML was always equal opportunity for panelists. Arlene certainly lights up when she gets to question young good-looking men. This happened enough to be noticeable through the years. I think of 1956 and that handsome young guy from Missouri who worked in a women's reducing salon. Both here and then in the future, Arlene looked as if she wanted to them out after the broadcast for drinks.
While they still sell skeletons -- they're expensive at something close to $5,000 -- for use in classrooms that teach biology, human anatomy, etc. (my high school owned one that was kept in one of the biology laboratory-classrooms), I note that nowadays, for a lot less money (but still not exactly cheap at close to $900), there are full-scale plastic replicas of human skeletons where all the bones are made in molds cast from a real human skeleton. Since you can't buy a cadaver, scientific supply companies have to obtain bones from a body donated for scientific purposes, perhaps after students at a medical school are done with it. A rather macabre business but necessary for proper training of students in various life sciences, especially medical students.
Pretty soon they will be making them with 3D printers, if they aren't doing so already.
Lois Simmons -- Actually, for a long time there have been molded plastic life-sized replicas of human skeletons, far sturdier and way less expensive than trying to make on on a 3D printer. They only thing is, if you're teaching anatomy in a college classroom or in a medical school, there are things the plastic replicas can't quite get right.
Also used by chiropractor and medical doctors 😊
The only gas station attendants I've seen in recent years have been the ones at the NJ Turnpike's service plazas.
All of NJ has gas station attendants-- self-serve is not legal in NJ.
Chris Barat What's My Line? There are self-serve gas stations in NY, but there are still plenty of full-serve stations, too, including several in my neighborhood.
I never knew that! Of course I've only been out of my home state once in the past 10 years and that was for an OCD conference in Atlanta. (I'm mentally ill, which bites.) And I went with my Dad. I took a couple of trips up to Syracuse when I was very small and I don't remember them. But I do know about gas station attendants from old footage from back in the day and also in movies. And I read up on the panelists last night (except Hal) on IMDb. Very interesting information on Dorothy. Creepy and scary. Whew! Poor Arlene had some tragedies in her time but she was a trooper! She knew how to light up a room! :) Classy.
Now I know what my parents were watching the night before my first birthday.
I give John Daily a lot of credit, I could never do his job, I would give too much away. For example, the gas station attendant, and when Cerf asks, "So this is not something you would drink?" I would respond only if you want to go blind.
Laine should have stuck with the high toned voice. I could here his real tone a few seconds later. I'm a collector of early Jazz recordings of Laine's and belong to Frankie's fan club on FB. In other words MULE TRAIN & RAWHIDE is not of my main interest though he sings those songs those songs well too.
I agree, his normal voice definitely gave it away.
"Moonlight Gambler" instantly came to my mind when he switched tone, although the song didn't come out until 1956.
I don't care for his shtick in general, but Hal Brock gets points with me for being a Frankie Laine aficionado.
What are on the ears of Miss Haskwitz? I’m really trying to figure it out. Love that she wanted to look beautiful
I think that a singer is also a musician.
That parading in front of the panel was so ridiculous; I’m glad they discontinued it.
Dorothy and Frankie were born in the same year, but died 42 years apart… Dorothy was taken too soon…
Also Frankie had a wonderful Italian name that he sadly anglicised…
I'm curious how they found these contestants from far and wide back in the day.
Frankie used his real voice. He also has acted. Lousy hair piece. I'm a big fan of his early work win Jazz & Blues.
John was confused as to what studio Frankie was making his next picture for. Wasn't it true in those days that Columbia was the poor sister of the seven major studios, and that Republic was the best off of those studios on "poverty row"?
Republic or maybe Monogram studios.
Joe Postove I always thought it was United Artists that was the poor sister of the seven major studios during the Golden Age of Hollywood. The other six being Fox, Warner, Columbia, Paramount, RKO Radio, and Universal.
***** maybe someone could see about that, but I think Columbia was pretty far from the top of the list. BTW, Vahan I don't think RKO was a major studio. MGM belongs in there.
Joe Postove The major studios of the 30's and 40's were MGM, Warner Bros, Paramount, Fox, and RKO. RKO wasn't as big as the other 4 but big enough not to be considered a mid-tier studio like Columbia.
Joe Postove Dual discussion about this going on here and on Facebook. Repeating what I said on FB, I'm by *no means* an expert on Hollywood in general, but my understanding, and I'm pretty sure that this is accurate, is that UA was not originally a studio at all, it was a distribution company for independent productions, formed in the mid 1940s, that eventually *became* a studio. I believe that the "big five" were MGM, Paramount, Universal, RKO and Warners. I'm not clear on where Fox fit in, I think a bit below the others, but I have read in many places over the years that Columbia was much lower on the rungs than the top tier studios.
Sells Skeletons. What an occupation that is.
"Do you suppose I have one of your product?" I would bet money on it.
***** From the 40'-50's it was common to import human skeletons from India and China for sale to medical and educational institutions. In India it was forbidden to export them from the '80's, and China stopped in 2008. There are still skeletons for sale, and for the same purpose, but now described as coming from "strictly ethical sources". I wonder what those sources might be, though...
***** imagine today an employee of Obscura("Oddities") appeared could have been quite interesting
What a shame about Block. When he wasn't being obnoxious, he could actually be a good player.
And funny, too. When he wasn't being obnoxious.
I rather enjoy how, when he gets that first or second yes answer he grins at the audience as if to say, "Hey, I got one right!"
corner moose goldenthroat86 +What's My Line?
I agree with all of you! The more I see of Hal Block, the more I like him. I understand the rationale behind his firing, and I'm glad that WML had the opportunity to have both Fred and Steve Allen as panelists later on -- as well as the many fun guest panelists who filled the "comedian's chair" at various times, but I wish they'd treated him better and left the door open for him to come back as a guest panelist now and then. The way things worked out, I think it left him very bitter toward the whole WML experience, and I can't say I blame him.
well I am sure theat no one took him bACK then AS being "obnoxious". He genuinely thought that he was being funny/humorous. He paSSED AWay back in 1981.
Steve Burrus Sadly, I'm afraid the producers found him _so_ "obnoxious" that they fired him. :(
When I see Hal Block on the panel, I wonder how soon it will be before he offers some off-colour comment or leering question to an attractive female guest
Frankie /1913 - 2007/ Hope he had good life.
I cannot take my eyes off Frankie Laine's wig.
The way that Dorothy feels up the male contestants makes me wonder how many of them that she met after the show.
simon tills - "Feels up?" I never saw that. Maybe you imbibed too much of Hal's gasoline.
I wondered that too and why she likes to see contestants hands as well…wonder why..?
@@Klm242 Most likely looking to see if they work with their hands or not. Or perhaps looking at rings?
She did often ask to feel the muscles of guests lol.
She was a big flirt. Though her marriage was famous because they had a radio program together, neither Dorothy nor her husband were faithful to each other. Though with her fame, I doubt she would have been seeing the contestants in public, it would garner notoriety.
I'm beginning to think Bennett knows the lines in advance.
Someone can correct me if I'm wrong, but while this was before the quiz show scandals, I don't think WML ever was too bad at fixing episodes. I think at most, they would give a panelist a line of questioning that would be funny. It was misleading and controlling, but not technically cheating because the producers wouldn't share what the actual occupation is. But I agree that Bennett in this episode and the one right before this one seemed to figure it out pretty quick.
I don't like Bennet...his sarcasm, making fun of people's looks (weight, large nose, etc.), and most of all, I think he cheats...he gets on the right track way too fast.
Bennett was a well educated man and had a sharp mind! 😊
Sunday night at 10:30 p.m. They sure had an unusual time slot.
Not really it was 7:30 on the west coast
Did Bennett dislike Hal Block? There seemed to be some distain there.
Yeppy Skeppy
Joe Postove "Oh, East is East, and West is West, and never the twain shall meet.." (Kipling) Bennett and Block; Two different worlds, and certainly two different ways of behaviour ;)
I think a better question is, who *didn't* dislike Hal?
There's a post-What's My Line? interview with Bennett on TH-cam where he refers to Hal Block as a clod. He didn't have the class of the others.
Elsie M. I don't know what Hal was really like off-camera or what type of relationships he had with any of the other panelists. It's true that Bennett said some not very nice things about him in that interview +Parker Allen mentioned, making his opinion of him loud and clear, but I don't know about the others. Certainly Arlene always seemed to be fond of him on the show. I know she was a trained actress and all, but I'd like to think she was sincere in this. As for me, the more I see of Hal Block, the more I like him. Yes, he had his "cloddish" and even inappropriate moments, and no, he didn't have the same class and sophistication as the other panelists, but I usually find him quite charming in his own way. And, as mentioned in another thread on this page, he could be both very funny and an excellent player. I've also noticed, in rewatching these early episodes with him, that he was very good at being a team player, often calling for conferences when he either needed help himself or had a suggestion to offer the other panelists.
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Nick Mad Nick, the entire series of What's My Line is already posted on my channel. There's nothing left for me to post. There are playlists set up of every episode in the series in order which you can get to on the main channel page. Try this link: th-cam.com/channels/hPE75Fvvl1HmdAsO7Nzb8w.html
Thank you so much
Nick Mad You're very welcome. :) I hope you enjoy the shows.
I like Hal block too. I think he is funny.
I can see how the producers thought Block a little racy. Even in 1952 if you ask a girl to wipe your windshield, my mind shudders (or jumps for joy, depending).
Real or plastic skeletons?
CC-Tron: I think that Republic had absorbed Monogram and some of the other poverty row studios by the early 50s. What ruined that studio was (1) the departure of John Wayne, (2) the coming of TV, which drastically affected the need for cheap program pictures.
Did Fra kis Laine sing the song to Rawhide?
Yes. Wasn’t it great? Never thought an Italian crooner would do that kind of music but he did sing that theme well.
Sadly ironic that I happened to be viewing this installment of WML on 3 June 2020, when Minneapolis has recently provided the nation with something completely opposite from the television appearance of a pleasant service station attendant in formal attire, in the opening segment. We're not much different now than things were then, for the wrong reasons.
I don't get the part where John says the baby bib is something a woman might wear at night. Wut?
That gown on the first contestant, well...you know...YOWSAH! And if she wanted to, she can check under the hood!
Joe Postove "Check under the hood" I'm walking in a dark forest of slang. But I'll maybe be better off without any explanation, I think...
SuperWinterborn Yes. You ARE better off :>)
Joe Postove Roger!
How did Arlene Francis ever come to marry a dork like Gabel?
@@kenretherford1197 Arlene was smart. She chose an intelligent, wealthy, respected GENTLEman who adored her, treated her well, and never cheated.
Dorothy: Is there anything about this liquid that is good for people, even though it doesn't make them gay? Me: What liquid makes people gay? I must have had a lot of it when I was a kid, but I can't imagine what it was.
+ToddSF 94109
Oh Todd!
"Gay" never meant what you think it does, in the entire history of the word until the last 30-35 yrs. It didn't mean what you think it does when this program aired.
An Ombre Rose While Dorothy was most likely not using gay in its current meaning, the association of gay with homosexuality in mainstream language has been traced by etymologists as far back as the 1940's which is before this program aired. Use of the word by homosexuals to describe themselves dates back to at least the 1920's. And while Dorothy's usage was probably related to the meaning of the word to be joyful, merry, light-hearted and carefree, the connotation of the word with lewd and wanton behavior dates back to at least the 17th century and perhaps even to the time and writing of Chaucer.
My source:
www.etymonline.com/index.php?term=gay
As far as what ToddSF 94109 meant, he is keeping his own counsel. But because of his vagueness and ambiguity, I played off of his name and gave him a Lisa Loopner line, as portrayed by one of my all-time favorite comediennes, Gilda Radner.
www.nbc.com/saturday-night-live/video/the-nerds---broken-fridge/n8665
An Ombre Rose
-- Oh yes it did. The term was in use by American heterosexuals to mean "homosexual" as early as the 1940's. At any rate, it means it now on a completely widespread basis, so anyone who hears it and wants to find humor in it is well within their license.
ToddSF 94109 And in keeping with the season ...
Deck the halls with boughs of holly,
Fa la la la la
La la la la
...
East coast elites.
Why was half block fired he was very funny. Also not smug as Bennett cerf. He always looks so smug
So weird to see Bennett Cerf in chair #2.
He was a guest back then, not a regular!😊
Didn't realize how women wore no shoulder dresses like that back then.
And your point?? 😮
WoW! It surprises me to see how women had chutzpa in her choice of apparel in baring themselves from the bust up. The contestant looked as though she was naked sitting there. I thought women were more modest back in the '50's.
No breast were shown, not considered naked!😊
More on the obvious rigging of the early shows:
I see that the practice of feeding a line of questioning to a panelist was called a "gambit" by the show's producer Gil Fates in his 1978 book. He claimed it wasn't technically cheating because the panelist wasn't told the actual occupation of the contestant, but was only given a "wrong" line of questioning that was sure to produce laughs from the audience. He also claimed that John Daly was not part of it and Fates wasn't sure if he ever knew of its existence.
What's wrong with this explanation?
1. Leading the audience to believe that the panelists are coming up with their questions on the spot, while actually suggesting a line of questions in advance, is certainly deceiving and cheating the audience.
2. It's apparent that the practice went beyond merely suggesting a line of questioning. I could tell this immediately from Hal Block's question to the gas station attendant, "Are you standing while they're sitting down?" This has a very artificial quality as a genuine question, and would never be asked even if it was suggested he pose questions about bartending. But it's hilarious when imagining the comparison between the relative positions of a man in a car to the gas station attendant and a man at a bar to the bartender. This question had to be carefully formulated in advance. Further support comes from an internet source, Eric Paddon (on tvDOTcom), who writes, "Thanks to the high volume of B/W shows GSN has aired in the past, I discovered that the exact same comedy questions could end up being reused on different shows. For instance on this episode, there was a contestant with the occupation 'Repairs Zippers.' Steve Allen proceeded to ask questions that sent him on the wrong track to howls of laughter from the audience. ... Several months later on 'The Name's The Same,' there was a contestant named 'A. Zipper.' Gene Rayburn's questions were word-for-word identical to those Steve Allen had asked on WML several months before."
I say the "gambit" questions were scripted, and that Fates's admission was a "limited hangout."
3. The claim that John Daly was not informed of the practice may be true, but to believe that he wouldn't catch on pretty quickly is ridiculous. The tactic is painfully obvious. The same goes for Dorothy Kilgallen and Arlene Francis. who would have been on to it in a second. Bennett Cerf is the only regular panelist possibly dumb enough not to know what was going on.
mozart40a Yes, it's an outrage.
No, just typical American free enterprise.
I am glad that Block was not on many times .His humor is mostly in bad taste or tackie
Hal Block struck me as being jumpy or on some prescription drug. His flirting was more like salivating in a creepy way. A woman would be afraid to be alone with him. Anyway, his behavior seemed out of step with the early days of tv. There are a few game shows that have made comebacks. They don't do justice to the originals, though. I often wondered if wml? could do the same but I'd be afraid of being disappointed.
He's an entertaining and funny guy
I just started watching this show for the first time a few days ago. So far I've seen many and Hal looks like he could be a jerk. He flirts with ladies (and I don't think in a good way). He does have SOME funny moments, but I'd be really uncomfortable around him.
(then again, that first lady was gorgeous, and I wouldn't have dressed as pretty as she did on here either)
Never mind. He was brought in to liven the show up.
Hal Block thought he was funny, Arlene actually was.
Block was a riot. A hoot. A very funny guy.
francis can not stand for not being the center of attention
That dark hair on the panel kept his questions dirty.
She sells skeletons by the sea shore........
Hal Block would have definitely ended up with his name on the #MeToo list - he harrassed every female guest, consistently.
Yeah great stuff
To me it's obvious that these early shows were rigged. For Hal Block to ask such a series of questions about liquor that also fit gasoline in an amusing way shows that he must have been clued in on the line of the contestant and that his questions were prepared in advance. I've noticed this same "too good to be true" quality on other early shows. I believe it came out years ago that the hilarious and seemingly off-the-cuff interactions between Groucho and his guests on "You Bet Your Life" were also pre-written.
(a) The producer of WML has explicitly admitted to the use of gambits for the comic member of the panel, which was the suggestion of a line of questioning that was dead wrong but would produce laughs. It's only rigging in the sense of trying to boost the entertainment value of the show. It had absolutely no effect on the outcome of the game.
(b) It's not even remotely new information that Groucho had pre-written jokes to fall back on for YBYL. There were articles when the show was still airing that revealed this. Robert Dwan (the director of YBYL) went into great detail about how this worked in his book on the series, "As Long As They're Laughing". Implying that it was all pre-written is pure nonsense. Almost invariably, the best bits on YBYL were the ones where Groucho was totally off script. Regardless, the quiz segments were totally above board, except to say that Groucho was often very, very lenient in the answers he would accept.
If all you mean by "rigging" is that the producers wanted the shows to be more entertaining without affecting the game itself, then you're right. Why you're so utterly laser-beam focused on this as if it's a terrible thing, I don't understand. I really don't.
Enough. Please. I get it.
Never understood how Hal Block got on that show...had no class..was rude and crude