He’s the best. Watch the one where Peter Lorre (born Laszlo Lowenstein is the mystery guest. The first contestant is an Austrian who is associated with the Olympics. Steve Allen well have you in Stitches!
This is before my time however it makes me realize what my parents and family meant when they said it was a more respected generation, I really do enjoy watching all these, and each time I do watch, I see the genuine, decent human beings that where out there then. Hurrah for back then, no comment for todays!!!
Just because they never saw “bad” stuff in television doesn’t mean it never existed. Drug addiction, alcoholism, promiscuity, rape, debauchery were present behind the scenes in the entertainment industry.
George Raft was also a GREAT dancer(all forms).You will be pleasantly surprised at his agility by staying with You Tube and punching in "George Raft dancing" There are about a dozen different clips.I said WOW many times
I never understood what was so likeable about Steve Allen until I saw these shows in re run. I had only seen Steve and his beautiful wife on the game show Tattletales with Bert Convy in the 70's. Steve was a great panelist on WML. I am thankful for all these vintage shows....thanks to everyone who shares them online!🎉❤😊
I met Mr.Allen many times while working at a hotel in Boston. In fact, I met many famous people.He may have been the very nicest.He had no airs at all.He even goofed on me once. Exactly as he seems on WML.
Thanks for posting these shows. They were all created long before I was born, but I enjoy watching them here.......back in the days when shows used a little intellect in their creation, and stars were civilized and refined. This really is good old fashioned entertainment. Thank you
I like it when Kilgallen's questions get a laugh. She's so dry and factual being of course the great writer of fact that she was. So it's great when she inadvertantly teeters upon the realms of the surreal.
And to have a Bio written on him before he died. That's because George Raft's real life read better then any movie or book. He was an interesting man with a complicated life.
Amazing! Very privileged to see something so good after so many years. Just think, these shows (and To Tell the Truth) could have been disposed of years ago and never seen again. How tragic that would have been!
I think it's interesting that women in the 50s carried purses with their ensemble. When I was 5 my mother dressed me well and put a little purse on my arm lol 😊
Humphrey Bogart became a big star by accepting roles that George Raft turned down. The lead roles in High Sierra, The Maltese Falcon, and reportedly even Casablanca! He was also offered the lead role in Billy Wilder's 1944 film noir classic Double Indemnity which then went to Fred MacMurray..
+002DrEvil I think he was just kidding about the "has-been" stuff. Just check out his IMDb listing to prove the point! www.imdb.com/name/nm0706368/ In 1953 he starred in the motion picture, _The Man From Cairo_ and also in a television series, _I'm The Law_, and with the exception of 1957 he was in at least one major motion picture per year (often more) throughout the 1930s, 40s and 50s.
6:25 i'm guessing the panel didnt have the same view(or wasn't looking at the contestant at that moment) because you can clearly see him mouth the word "bats"
George Raft didn't just play tough guys in films. He was the driver for Owney "The Killer" Madden and maintained life-long friendships with many gangsters.
Martha Reynolds, (5 years later) "Engaging", yes! Raft had a long, successful career as a " tough guy" in films but was also known for his dancing skill! Started out in Vaudeville but became notorious for his sizzling style of Bolero dance. Try TH-cam and watch him with Carole Lombard (lovers at the time) in the film "Bolero." Lots of criticism for his stiff acting style, but women loved him. Easy, with those eyes and that voice and apparently, he was respectful as well as seductive. Yiiiikes!
The first time I saw "Some Like it Hot" I had no appreciation for who George Raft was; only later did I understand him and how he turned his droll performance as Spats into comedic genius by playing it straight. Someone once said of Raft about "Some like it Hot"--"No one told George Raft this was supposed to be a comedy."
Steve Allen didn't forget. He had it right because George Raft danced in almost every movie he made even if it was only a dance with the leading lady. He was known as the "Gangster who Danced". Go watch" Loan Shark" made in 1952 as one example. Cagney stopped dancing until he made "Yankee Doodle Dandy" and then stopped again.
Thank you for posting this show. I enjoy George dancing, he sure should have gotten more opportunities to color movies/dancing, he sure was type cast. Mucho sad, it was before my time, but will try to get a black/white movie. Fr CA USA Greetings/HNY
The dates actually aren't wrong; the real mistake here is that I accidentally added three episodes from 1954 (including Fred Allen's debut) out of order. This is all thanks to a certain clunkiness in the youtube interface which led me to mistakenly believe that those 1954 shows were the next in order to post, which they clearly aren't. Thanks for the heads up, or I probably wouldn't have noticed this at all.
@Aritosthenes I like her. I have always been a big fan of classic movies and I find today's celebrities such a turn off that I have been watching a lot of the old sitcoms, classic cowboys shows, etc. No political jabs, etc. Just plain fun entertainment.
Johan Bengtsson "Who has the courage to wear a fedora nowadays?" Hipsters, whatever they are. Indiana Jones. And me, though mine has a wider brim than those ridiculous hipster things. It's even a bit wider than Indy's. It approaches the hat known around these parts as a "stockman's" hat. I been wearing hats since the 1960's, depression caps, stetsons, derbys, fedoras, all kinds. It doesn't take any courage, just a head.
Roger Thornburgh Justvintedge - This was so much fun. Then John Daly added to the hilarity with “have you ever never ever”... I laughed out loud in my kitchen. :D
@@TheCometHunter Above all Bennett Cerf loved words, which is why he was a publisher, writer, columnist, punster, and won one of the largest First Amendment cases before the Supreme Court in the early 20thc. that related to literature. He also created the American version of the OED. Part of his job on the panel was to add to the entertainment. People complained about Herb Block and he eventually was outta there. Cerf met people all over the country in his travels to promote reading at libraries through talking about and offering his books. He was a true fan of writers and respected and helped his along. The producers knew what they were getting. One time on the TV series "The West Wing" President Bartlet, who was a college professor prior to political life, wondered in his love of words why anyone would use 5 words when they could say it with 20. LOL. It is the comment of a word lover. But John did this, as well. Bennett knew it was part of his shtick and John's. No lover of language/words, though, would ever forsake clarity and the useful understanding of the listener just to be verbose. They would add words to make a statement more elegant and musical to the ear or for the fun and comedic effect of it. Edwin Newman handles these matters beautifully in his books on English that are quite humorous. I find that those who read Bennett's "The Cerf Board" regularly were also regular readers of author, columnist, lexicographer William Safire's column "On Language," which was erudite and hilarious.
@@philippapay4352 So glad I'm not the only one who remembers Edwin Newman's books, "Strictly Speaking" and "A Civil Tongue". They were brilliantly entertaining. I can imagine how he would have responded to some of today's language, such as "price point" versus the equally expressive but more straightforward "price".
@@mikejschin I actually mourned Edwin Newman's passing. I loved his books. He had a wonderful story in one of them about the dock workers strike in the early-mid1960s in Britain when a reporter of some ilk asked the strikers why they were voting against the incumbent regime and their reply was, "to get the buggers out." Perfect English, exquisite use of language, as it turns out: colorful and extraordinarily clear. And price point presents a problem because the seller is often speaking of the price and the buyer is often speaking of his/her budget limit. So pleased you are enjoying the WML wordplay.
Jennifer Yes,I would call Steve Allen " a cutie" as well as a very handsome looking person.He was such a kind,decent person,and he was in an accident,which resulted in his death.I think,he was attempting to help someone in distress,and was injured in the process.
@@nancysanders2398 from Wikipedia: "Allen died on October 30, 2000, at the age of 78. At first, it was suspected he had suffered a fatal heart attack while napping at his son's Los Angeles area home. However, a Los Angeles Coroner's spokesperson later said autopsy results showed the real cause of death was a ruptured blood vessel caused by chest injuries he did not realize he had sustained in a minor traffic accident earlier in the day.[39] According to Jayne Meadows, "Typical of Steve, [who] was the dearest, sweetest man: He was hit by a man, backing into him, breaking all of his ribs, that pierced his heart ... and when he got out of the car, he said to the man, 'What some people will do to get my autograph'."[40]"
Interesting how this time frame has John Daly going back and forth between the walk of shame and eliminating it. I assume they were looking to see how much time they’d save by eliminating the pointless walk.
It always seems like they are out in left field but then someone magically guesses who the star is at the last minute. I don't see how Steve Allen got that one at all. What made him ask about tough guy roles when everyone was going in the opposite direction the whole time?
@@ChrisHansonCanada, Mr. Hanson IF you go back and see how Miss Dorothy would use her tie on eye covering in some of the earlier episodes, she had the left side of the covering mostly resting on her nose but she had plenty of room to see out of her right eye. Both Miss Dorothy and Miss Arlene should have been required to wear the same type of eye coverings as the men wore.
I never knew that Raft did have real contact, shall we say, with gangsters. From Wikipedia... "When James Cagney became president of the Screen Actors Guild in 1942 for a two-year term, he took a role in the guild's fight against the Mafia, which had taken an active interest in the movie industry. Cagney's wife, Billie, once received a phone call telling her that Cagney was dead. Cagney alleged that, having failed to scare him and the guild off, they sent a hit man to kill him by dropping a heavy light onto his head. On hearing about the rumor of the hit, George Raft made a call, and the hit was supposedly cancelled." The Mafia. Anyone who gets close to exposing them...
George Raft successfully tapped into his inner tough guy and had terrific style, charisma, and presence, but he wasn't truly a great actor like some others he worked with and knew well, such as Humphrey Bogart, Jimmy Cagney, Edward G. Robinson, and Paul Muni. But he knew the gangster and tough-guy life better than any of them because he came very close to becoming a gangster in real life and had tried his hand at professional boxing. But as far as prizefighting was concerned, he eventually discovered that his dance moves would be better deployed on the stage and screen than in the ring. And one of his closest childhood friends was Benjamin Siegel, better known as "Bugsy" Siegel, and they remained close friends throughout their lives.
George Raft helped run the Capri Hotel casino in Havana, Cuba on 01 January 1959.First day of Fidel Castros revolution. He saved the casino from being wrecked bythe mobs.
@@hopelewis5650 How kind of you to notice. I kept tally of many aspects of the show as I watched each episode in order precisely because so many people asked these questions.
@@Queenofnite1 Born the same year as Valentino...looked a lot like him, too...and really could do amazing dance numbers. He was aging well....wonder how Valentino would have aged....and if he could have even transitioned to the talkies with his accent. Raft followed and didn't have that problem.
One of mankind's many mistakes: to cease the teaching of cursive writing in elementary schools. The sign-in handwriting is another interesting part of WML, but alas, computers have made another human trait obsolete.
Steve Allen wearing his eyeglasses overtop his mask was like a child telling the same "knock knock" joke over and over and expecting everyone to laugh every time. SNORE.
George Raft was well-known as an inveterate gambler by this time. Leo Durocher's close friendship with Raft contributed to Durocher being suspended from baseball for one year in 1947. Raft was known to stay at Leo's midtown Manhattan apartment. While there he conducted high stakes crap games and upon a complaint, the Manhattan DA looked into the games being fixed with the story reported in the newspapers by Westbrook Pegler. Raft like to hang out with mobsters, including his best friend, Bugsy Siegel. To return the favor for using his Manhattan apartment, Raft allowed Leo to live in his house in the L.A. area during the off season. And when he was in NYC during baseball season, Raft was a frequent visitor to the Dodger clubhouse. There's no betting on the outcome of a movie, and no one tries to fix the outcome. But lots of people bet on baseball games. With some, big stakes are involved. After it became known that some of the Chicago White Sox players conspired with gamblers to throw the 1920 World Series, those in charge of baseball have been focused on anything that would give the public the impression that the game was not on the up and up. It didn't help Durocher that at this time, there were a number of other publicized incidents of gamblers trying to bribe athletes to fix sports contests. A number of players and a manager on a low level minor league team were banned from baseball in early 1947 for that reason. A couple of days later, Rocky Graziano told the Manhattan DA that he had been offered $100,000 to throw a fight against a fighter who wasn't in Graziano's class. And in March, a few days before Durocher's suspension, a news story broke about players on the New York football Giants team being involved in gambling including a possible plot to fix the championship game between the Giants and the Chicago Bears. The relationship between Raft and Durocher had little consequence for Raft. But it added to some major consequences for Durocher. However, it wasn't like Durocher had never been warned. He was warned repeatedly.
@@dcasper8514 Yikes! You're right. Chalk it up to a brain fart. The team I root for, the Dodgers, was in the 1920 Series. Most likely I was thinking of the fact that the story broke and the players were suspended at the end of the 1920 season after lots of rumors for nearly a year. Soon after, newly appointed Commissioner Landis banned all 8 players for life.
That was unfortunate. It almost looked like she was rescuing Bennet who was having trouble making eye contact with a commoner. I always enjoyed him as a panelist but I don't think he was the person he can across as when the lights went off
Actually ALL of the panelists were rude and treating the first contestant with disdain as he walked by their table, BUT the contestant was ONLY respectful while being questioned, he even replied to both Dorothy and Arlene with “yes ma’am, no ma’am”. That first contestant had AND showed REAL CLASS.
24:18 The worst groaner I have ever heard Bennett come out with imo: "I certainly got caught in a raft out there tonight" as he turns up the collar of his jacket. No one reacted, though possibly because there had just been an outburst from the audience. I'm not sure what the audience member yelled during the goodnights, but Arlene certainly reacted to it, and it may have distracted from Bennett's quip.
+Robert Melson I thought Bennett's "Raft" remark was in response to the audience's outburst. It could be that he had thought up the joke right after the mystery guest was revealed and saved it for the goodnights, though.
Today's TH-cam Rerun for 12/28/15: Watch along and join the discussion! ----------------------------- Join our Facebook group for WML-- great discussions, photos, etc, and great people! facebook.com/groups/728471287199862/ Please click here to subscribe to the WML channel if you haven't already-- you'll find the complete CBS series already posted, and you'll be able to follow along the discussions on the weekday "rerun" videos: th-cam.com/channels/hPE75Fvvl1HmdAsO7Nzb8w.html
All television was mono back then, so even if some of these episodes were captured from more recent cable broadcasts with only one channel connected, you're not missing any audio information. Even on the episodes with audio in both channels, it's exactly the same signal in both: mono sound played in both ears of your headphones.
@ 23:49 "The only tough dancer I can think of is George Raft" I guess he never heard of James Cagney who was a way bigger star than George Raft ever was.
@@lauracollins4195 Quite correct; listen starting at 17:17 where Arlene asks for a conference about moving parts and Dorothy mentions lid and handles. Steve also mentions flies!
In "They drive by night",Raft was the main man,Bogart played his brother,and was only in the first half of that great movie. Ann Sheridan, ahhhh, was the love interest. Ida Lupino,hmmm,also appeared and gave Raft a tough time. There is no doubting that Raft was a bigger name than Bogart pre Casablanca. But I loved them both. Plus James Cagney,of course. What a trio.
I remember hearing that the reason the studio decided to replace Raft with Bogart was that Raft was getting too egotistical, since he knew he was a star. They had trouble keeping him civil, so they replaced him. But he also made some really bad choices - he decided to turn down the roles in Casablanca and The Maltese Falcon that ended up going to Bogart. I like both Raft and Bogart, but I feel like Raft's acting (being earlier) had too much silent-movie-era technique. It feels like he's always in heavy makeup and really exaggerating his movements/facial features. But what do I know. If you REALLY want to see Bogart get treated like a secondary actor, watch some of the old Cagney or Robinson movies. Bogart's in like 30 of them, and is constantly getting gunned down by Cagney in particular.
Aaron Sakulich Or you could watch a movie that stars both Raft and Bogart. "They Drive byNight" 1940. Raft is the star and Bogart has a supporting role as his brother. Pretty good noir movie.
![What's My Line? - Helen Traubel; Wally Cox [panel] (Feb 28, 1954)](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/lTVGwStHXxc/mqdefault.jpg)
I love Steve Allen, he's hilarious!
He’s the best. Watch the one where Peter Lorre (born Laszlo Lowenstein is the mystery guest. The first contestant is an Austrian who is associated with the Olympics. Steve Allen well have you in Stitches!
@@leesher1845 "You gotta watch those cheesy hotels..." :)
George Raft, one of Hollywoods authentic tough guys...if you haven't seen him dance though, you're in for a treat!
Definitely. He was good friends with Ben Siegal and Myer Lansky and other mafia people.
@@sosumi_rogue not sure that has anything to do with his dancing talent🤨
George Raft was one of the great ones!
This is before my time however it makes me realize what my parents and family meant when they said it was a more respected generation, I really do enjoy watching all these, and each time I do watch, I see the genuine, decent human beings that where out there then. Hurrah for back then, no comment for todays!!!
Agreed!
Just because they never saw “bad” stuff in television doesn’t mean it never existed. Drug addiction, alcoholism, promiscuity, rape, debauchery were present behind the scenes in the entertainment industry.
That's awesome people were kind and respectful now there animals no respect it's scary 😢
Lynchings, segregation and KKK rallies were "respectful"? Are you kidding?
@@ChrisHansonCanada I would never let you know. LOL
George Raft was also a GREAT dancer(all forms).You will be pleasantly surprised at his agility by staying with You Tube and punching in "George Raft dancing" There are about a dozen different clips.I said WOW many times
This is one of the most delightful episodes. The panel wins some, the panel loses some, but everyone has a great time!
Always enjoyed Mr. Raft in the movies: a tough guy with a curious sensitivity about him and as a hoofer, he was tops
I never understood what was so likeable about Steve Allen until I saw these shows in re run. I had only seen Steve and his beautiful wife on the game show Tattletales with Bert Convy in the 70's.
Steve was a great panelist on WML. I am thankful for all these vintage shows....thanks to everyone who shares them online!🎉❤😊
I met Mr.Allen many times while working at a hotel in Boston. In fact, I met many famous people.He may have been the very nicest.He had no airs at all.He even goofed on me once. Exactly as he seems on WML.
Dorothy looks positively witchy and autumnal with her hair and outfit. Wish George Raft had time to chat.
WML not a talk show😊
Just Love This Old Show
Love these old videos!! Love George Raft too!!
Thanks for posting these shows. They were all created long before I was born, but I enjoy watching them here.......back in the days when shows used a little intellect in their creation, and stars were civilized and refined. This really is good old fashioned entertainment. Thank you
Tons of intellect still goes into modern TV… it’s just usually not what’s actually on display, like it was here
I like it when Kilgallen's questions get a laugh. She's so dry and factual being of course the great writer of fact that she was. So it's great when she inadvertantly teeters upon the realms of the surreal.
I agree! 😊
Dorothy was a investigative reporter 😊
I like George Raft's eyes.
And what a dancer! George Raft and Carole Lombard burn up the screen in "Bolero" 1934.
He only danced the close ups apparently. The long distance shots are of a different dancer whose name escapes me. Still a great dance sequence though.
They burn down New York City.....They are HOT
HOOAH! Another great show thank you for all the hard work you did for posting these shows.
George Raft is ( still today ) one of the very Rare Screens LEGEND to have his own story on Film when alive ( RayDanon playing G.R. ) !!!!!!
richie downik
And to have a Bio written on him before he died. That's because George Raft's real life read better then any movie or book. He was an interesting man with a complicated life.
Who??
Excuse me, Richie, but I believe you meant Ray Danton.
@@Queenofnite1 ---among other distinctions he was an astoundingly successful "ladies man!"
Amazing! Very privileged to see something so good after so many years. Just think, these shows (and To Tell the Truth) could have been disposed of years ago and never seen again. How tragic that would have been!
I think it's interesting that women in the 50s carried purses with their ensemble. When I was 5 my mother dressed me well and put a little purse on my arm lol 😊
Interesting that George Raft considered himself a has-been 6 years before starring in Some Like it Hot, which was probably his most famous picture!
Humphrey Bogart became a big star by accepting roles that George Raft turned down. The lead roles in High Sierra, The Maltese Falcon, and reportedly even Casablanca! He was also offered the lead role in Billy Wilder's 1944 film noir classic Double Indemnity which then went to Fred MacMurray..
002DrEvil He was a has been
LOA1955 Back Then ......George Raft was a HUGE Star
+002DrEvil I think he was just kidding about the "has-been" stuff. Just check out his IMDb listing to prove the point! www.imdb.com/name/nm0706368/ In 1953 he starred in the motion picture, _The Man From Cairo_ and also in a television series, _I'm The Law_, and with the exception of 1957 he was in at least one major motion picture per year (often more) throughout the 1930s, 40s and 50s.
He was no "has been".
6:25 i'm guessing the panel didnt have the same view(or wasn't looking at the contestant at that moment) because you can clearly see him mouth the word "bats"
This might be the funniest episode yet!
George Raft didn't just play tough guys in films. He was the driver for Owney "The Killer" Madden and maintained life-long friendships with many gangsters.
😳
dats not true brudda
I wish that John had not hustled George Raft off so quickly. I know time was short, but I would have enjoyed hearing him speak for a minute or two.
karlakor Could it be even that he had a problem with his throat that night?
WML Not a talk show😊
Watch George Raft on the Merv Griffin program in 1980 - Guest stars - George Jessel, Molly Picon and Rudee Vallee. Amazing talents, all.
What a time to live in
Brilliant show alot of memories thank you for showing it
That was a heck of a long minute John gave the panel for the garbage can lady.
George Raft was unfamiliar to me. What a charismatic, engaging man.
He was one of a kind.
Often played gangsters-starred in Billy Wilder’s 1959 classic comedy “Some Like it Hot” with Jack Lemmon and Tony Curtis 👍🏻
And definitely a man you didn’t want to cross. He didn’t just play gangsters- he was one!
Martha Reynolds, (5 years later) "Engaging", yes! Raft had a long, successful career as a " tough guy" in films but was also known for his dancing skill! Started out in Vaudeville but became notorious for his sizzling style of Bolero dance. Try TH-cam and watch him with Carole Lombard (lovers at the time) in the film "Bolero." Lots of criticism for his stiff acting style, but women loved him. Easy, with those eyes and that voice and apparently, he was respectful as well as seductive. Yiiiikes!
The first time I saw "Some Like it Hot" I had no appreciation for who George Raft was; only later did I understand him and how he turned his droll performance as Spats into comedic genius by playing it straight. Someone once said of Raft about "Some like it Hot"--"No one told George Raft this was supposed to be a comedy."
Steve Allen forgot that Jimmy Cagney was a "tough guy" dancer too.
+John Fuentes
Well, he only said that George Raft was the only one he could think of at the moment. Lucky thing he guessed the right tough guy! :-)
Steve Allen didn't forget. He had it right because George Raft danced in almost every movie he made even if it was only a dance with the leading lady. He was known as the "Gangster who Danced". Go watch" Loan Shark" made in 1952 as one example. Cagney stopped dancing until he made "Yankee Doodle Dandy" and then stopped again.
On being told that he was a tough guy, Jimmy Cagney replied that if you want to know who in Hollywood was the real tough guy it was George Raft.
Cagney was such a great dancer.
Cagney also sang, that tough old Yankee doodle dandy guy.
Thank you for posting this show. I enjoy George dancing, he sure should have gotten more opportunities to color movies/dancing, he sure was type cast. Mucho sad, it was before my time, but will try to get a black/white movie. Fr CA USA Greetings/HNY
And a fantastic singer he was ❤
GEORGE RAFT Famous dance scene is in the movie BOLERO with CAROLE LOMBARD
My favorite.
Vinings, GA .... brings back memories.
Near Buckhead..I'm from Vidalia.
The dates actually aren't wrong; the real mistake here is that I accidentally added three episodes from 1954 (including Fred Allen's debut) out of order. This is all thanks to a certain clunkiness in the youtube interface which led me to mistakenly believe that those 1954 shows were the next in order to post, which they clearly aren't. Thanks for the heads up, or I probably wouldn't have noticed this at all.
I like he said he squandered money on women, booze, horses, they rest I spent foolishly. Love it.
Always loved that quote
Spent, not squandered (squandered spoils the joke).
He still looked good.
@Aritosthenes An attractive man, and from what i read a real gentleman with the ladies.
@Aritosthenes I like her. I have always been a big fan of classic movies and I find today's celebrities such a turn off that I have been watching a lot of the old sitcoms, classic cowboys shows, etc. No political jabs, etc. Just plain fun entertainment.
@Aritosthenes Gunsmoke and The High Chaparral, both have great casts.
I remember landmark books..they were great...wow
Ah, that is one name you hardly ever hear anymore, my Grandma's old favorite department store, Montgomery Wards.
That, Sears and JC Penney stores. Those were the days!
Sears and Montgomery Wards catalogues were a very big deal. My mother would order items from those catalogues, especially for Christmas.
My parents met when both were working at a Monkey Ward ( that's what we called Montgomery Wards back In those days)
Today all this LINES are done in China.🙂
Tiny Trivia: George Raft's Leading Lady, more than once, Sylvia Sidney, was married to Bennett Cerf around the same time. 🤔
candy9986, Wow! I've watched many of Raft's films and in at least two, Sylvia Sidney was his leading lady.
She was a versatile and authentic actress.
@@aileen694 an underrated actor
I like George Raft's whispering voice and that he had the self-irony to call himself a "has-been". 21:08
Self deprecation is a great attribute. He was a class act,and nobody wore a fedora quite like he did.
Who has the courage to wear a fedora nowadays?
Good question. Most of the leading men back in the day wore one. Fashions change,I guess.
Johan Bengtsson "Who has the courage to wear a fedora nowadays?" Hipsters, whatever they are. Indiana Jones. And me, though mine has a wider brim than those ridiculous hipster things. It's even a bit wider than Indy's. It approaches the hat known around these parts as a "stockman's" hat. I been wearing hats since the 1960's, depression caps, stetsons, derbys, fedoras, all kinds. It doesn't take any courage, just a head.
Before 1960 everybody word a fedora; then Kennedy became president and the fedora went out of fashion because Kennedy did not wear a had!
At 21:45 it's funny listening to Cerf fool around with the semantics of the English language in order to avoid getting a no to his answer.
It's funny for you.....I see it as frustrating and annoying. He's always using 21 words where others would use only 7.
Roger Thornburgh Justvintedge - This was so much fun. Then John Daly added to the hilarity with “have you ever never ever”... I laughed out loud in my kitchen. :D
@@TheCometHunter Above all Bennett Cerf loved words, which is why he was a publisher, writer, columnist, punster, and won one of the largest First Amendment cases before the Supreme Court in the early 20thc. that related to literature. He also created the American version of the OED. Part of his job on the panel was to add to the entertainment. People complained about Herb Block and he eventually was outta there. Cerf met people all over the country in his travels to promote reading at libraries through talking about and offering his books. He was a true fan of writers and respected and helped his along. The producers knew what they were getting. One time on the TV series "The West Wing" President Bartlet, who was a college professor prior to political life, wondered in his love of words why anyone would use 5 words when they could say it with 20. LOL. It is the comment of a word lover. But John did this, as well. Bennett knew it was part of his shtick and John's. No lover of language/words, though, would ever forsake clarity and the useful understanding of the listener just to be verbose. They would add words to make a statement more elegant and musical to the ear or for the fun and comedic effect of it. Edwin Newman handles these matters beautifully in his books on English that are quite humorous. I find that those who read Bennett's "The Cerf Board" regularly were also regular readers of author, columnist, lexicographer William Safire's column "On Language," which was erudite and hilarious.
@@philippapay4352 So glad I'm not the only one who remembers Edwin Newman's books, "Strictly Speaking" and "A Civil Tongue". They were brilliantly entertaining. I can imagine how he would have responded to some of today's language, such as "price point" versus the equally expressive but more straightforward "price".
@@mikejschin I actually mourned Edwin Newman's passing. I loved his books. He had a wonderful story in one of them about the dock workers strike in the early-mid1960s in Britain when a reporter of some ilk asked the strikers why they were voting against the incumbent regime and their reply was, "to get the buggers out." Perfect English, exquisite use of language, as it turns out: colorful and extraordinarily clear. And price point presents a problem because the seller is often speaking of the price and the buyer is often speaking of his/her budget limit. So pleased you are enjoying the WML wordplay.
They had their George Rafts and we have our Tom Cruises?! Something has gone seriously astray...Men, a seemingly extinct species...
George Raft. Interesting actor.
Arlene didn't know the term "garbage can", only the term "garbage pail". ???
I expected Arlene to come up with a more elegant term, perhaps referring to it in French.
George Raft did not like to watch himself acting on film. I think I remember him telling Merv Griffin that when Raft was on Merv's show.
At a pool bar George Raft beat Forrest Tucker. You do the math.
Am I the only one who think Steve Allen is a real cutie???
I always liked Steve Allen I don't know about a real cutie but he was good looking.
Jennifer Yes,I would call Steve Allen " a cutie" as well as a very handsome looking person.He was such a kind,decent person,and he was in an accident,which resulted in his death.I think,he was attempting to help someone in distress,and was injured in the process.
could be...
Jennifer Ms.Jennifer, at the end someone in the audience thought so also.🥰
@@nancysanders2398 from Wikipedia: "Allen died on October 30, 2000, at the age of 78. At first, it was suspected he had suffered a fatal heart attack while napping at his son's Los Angeles area home. However, a Los Angeles Coroner's spokesperson later said autopsy results showed the real cause of death was a ruptured blood vessel caused by chest injuries he did not realize he had sustained in a minor traffic accident earlier in the day.[39] According to Jayne Meadows, "Typical of Steve, [who] was the dearest, sweetest man: He was hit by a man, backing into him, breaking all of his ribs, that pierced his heart ... and when he got out of the car, he said to the man, 'What some people will do to get my autograph'."[40]"
TH-cam timer doesn't lie! John Daly you said they could have 10 seconds and you gave them 8 seconds and cut them off.
Super excellent make-over for the girls. No time to talk to Raft, darn it.
WML NOT A TALK SHOW 😊
Interesting how this time frame has John Daly going back and forth between the walk of shame and eliminating it. I assume they were looking to see how much time they’d save by eliminating the pointless walk.
Raft was an excellent dancer..
It always seems like they are out in left field but then someone magically guesses who the star is at the last minute. I don't see how Steve Allen got that one at all. What made him ask about tough guy roles when everyone was going in the opposite direction the whole time?
The voice?
Steve had his head cocked sideways to peek through the space beside his nose.
@@ChrisHansonCanada, Mr. Hanson IF you go back and see how Miss Dorothy would use her tie on eye covering in some of the earlier episodes, she had the left side of the covering mostly resting on her nose but she had plenty of room to see out of her right eye. Both Miss Dorothy and Miss Arlene should have been required to wear the same type of eye coverings as the men wore.
No one peeked,they had integrity!!😊@@listeningeyes3298
I never knew that Raft did have real contact, shall we say, with gangsters. From Wikipedia...
"When James Cagney became president of the Screen Actors Guild in 1942 for a two-year term, he took a role in the guild's fight against the Mafia, which had taken an active interest in the movie industry. Cagney's wife, Billie, once received a phone call telling her that Cagney was dead. Cagney alleged that, having failed to scare him and the guild off, they sent a hit man to kill him by dropping a heavy light onto his head. On hearing about the rumor of the hit, George Raft made a call, and the hit was supposedly cancelled."
The Mafia. Anyone who gets close to exposing them...
George Raft successfully tapped into his inner tough guy and had terrific style, charisma, and presence, but he wasn't truly a great actor like some others he worked with and knew well, such as Humphrey Bogart, Jimmy Cagney, Edward G. Robinson, and Paul Muni. But he knew the gangster and tough-guy life better than any of them because he came very close to becoming a gangster in real life and had tried his hand at professional boxing. But as far as prizefighting was concerned, he eventually discovered that his dance moves would be better deployed on the stage and screen than in the ring. And one of his closest childhood friends was Benjamin Siegel, better known as "Bugsy" Siegel, and they remained close friends throughout their lives.
0
Dont Forget about James Cagney, Steve
Would have thought they would have mentioned of the recent Thanksgiving (or, I could have easily missed such).
Landmark books! We had many of them!!!
George Raft helped run the Capri Hotel casino in Havana, Cuba on 01 January 1959.First day of Fidel Castros revolution. He saved the casino from being wrecked bythe mobs.
Too bad he didn’t dance with Jimmy Cagney. It would have been fun!
They did briefly dance together...! th-cam.com/video/rru8FwpZ4lE/w-d-xo.html
An interesting anecdote...George Raft did own a raft.
12:00 The 27th use of breadbox (& 2 breadboxes)
23:37 9th time Steve wore his glasses over his mask
Who cares?
@@hopelewis5650 How kind of you to notice. I kept tally of many aspects of the show as I watched each episode in order precisely because so many people asked these questions.
His best movie? The main bad guy in Some Like it Hot (1959)
' They drive by night ', with Humphrey Bogart, Ida Lupino, and Ann Sheridan, is a great film.
If there is such a thing as reincarnation, I want my name in my next lifetime to be Serafino Turiello.
Such a name might cause you to stutter.
A typical Ozarks name!!!
She had to think about IT being alive... Many are not very clear about their business. Panel is good but the Duo and Audience give a lot away.
He doesn't look bad for his age then.
He is only 52-53 then....
+Forensource Check him out years later in Some Like It Hot - he looks even better.
He was 58 he was born in 1895.
@@Queenofnite1 Born the same year as Valentino...looked a lot like him, too...and really could do amazing dance numbers. He was aging well....wonder how Valentino would have aged....and if he could have even transitioned to the talkies with his accent. Raft followed and didn't have that problem.
Mr Allen another tough guy dancer is Jimmy Cagney
“Would you put a baby into it?”
😢
George Raft ... his chances of making it in the movies were a
Flip Of A Coin ...
July 6 2021 (2141 hrs)
Clever remark..
New cards with the dollar sign because the old ones got ripped apart at the previous episode.
Tough dancer; how about James Cagney, Steve?
Were all of them so rich that they never had to deal with their own garbage before?
One of mankind's many mistakes: to cease the teaching of cursive writing in elementary schools. The sign-in handwriting is another interesting part of WML, but alas, computers have made another human trait obsolete.
Steve Allen wearing his eyeglasses overtop his mask was like a child telling the same "knock knock" joke over and over and expecting everyone to laugh every time. SNORE.
Today, as I watch this is Global Garbage Man Day.
This is hard to believe that I was born a few days before I was born
A garbage can has moving parts... The handles.
His line was that raft was packin an anaconda river snake in his trousers
George Raft was well-known as an inveterate gambler by this time. Leo Durocher's close friendship with Raft contributed to Durocher being suspended from baseball for one year in 1947. Raft was known to stay at Leo's midtown Manhattan apartment. While there he conducted high stakes crap games and upon a complaint, the Manhattan DA looked into the games being fixed with the story reported in the newspapers by Westbrook Pegler. Raft like to hang out with mobsters, including his best friend, Bugsy Siegel. To return the favor for using his Manhattan apartment, Raft allowed Leo to live in his house in the L.A. area during the off season. And when he was in NYC during baseball season, Raft was a frequent visitor to the Dodger clubhouse.
There's no betting on the outcome of a movie, and no one tries to fix the outcome. But lots of people bet on baseball games. With some, big stakes are involved. After it became known that some of the Chicago White Sox players conspired with gamblers to throw the 1920 World Series, those in charge of baseball have been focused on anything that would give the public the impression that the game was not on the up and up.
It didn't help Durocher that at this time, there were a number of other publicized incidents of gamblers trying to bribe athletes to fix sports contests. A number of players and a manager on a low level minor league team were banned from baseball in early 1947 for that reason. A couple of days later, Rocky Graziano told the Manhattan DA that he had been offered $100,000 to throw a fight against a fighter who wasn't in Graziano's class. And in March, a few days before Durocher's suspension, a news story broke about players on the New York football Giants team being involved in gambling including a possible plot to fix the championship game between the Giants and the Chicago Bears.
The relationship between Raft and Durocher had little consequence for Raft. But it added to some major consequences for Durocher. However, it wasn't like Durocher had never been warned. He was warned repeatedly.
And George beat Forest Tucker.
The thrown world series known as the "Black Sox scandal " was 1919. Not 1920.
@@dcasper8514 Yikes! You're right. Chalk it up to a brain fart. The team I root for, the Dodgers, was in the 1920 Series.
Most likely I was thinking of the fact that the story broke and the players were suspended at the end of the 1920 season after lots of rumors for nearly a year. Soon after, newly appointed Commissioner Landis banned all 8 players for life.
This one has audio/video dropouts.
At about 2:57 -- yet another horribly awkward "Walk of Shame" moment -- perpetrated by *_Arlene_* no less! :O
That was unfortunate. It almost looked like she was rescuing Bennet who was having trouble making eye contact with a commoner. I always enjoyed him as a panelist but I don't think he was the person he can across as when the lights went off
@@earthvessel9010, It is still referred to as “snobbery, looking down your nose at others, being uppity, I am better than most people” etc.
Actually ALL of the panelists were rude and treating the first contestant with disdain as he walked by their table, BUT the contestant was ONLY respectful while being questioned, he even replied to both Dorothy and Arlene with “yes ma’am, no ma’am”. That first contestant had AND showed REAL CLASS.
24:18 The worst groaner I have ever heard Bennett come out with imo: "I certainly got caught in a raft out there tonight" as he turns up the collar of his jacket. No one reacted, though possibly because there had just been an outburst from the audience. I'm not sure what the audience member yelled during the goodnights, but Arlene certainly reacted to it, and it may have distracted from Bennett's quip.
+Robert Melson I thought Bennett's "Raft" remark was in response to the audience's outburst. It could be that he had thought up the joke right after the mystery guest was revealed and saved it for the goodnights, though.
+Robert Melson She Yelled out "Good night, Steve!"
I thought a better one was "what are you trying to incinerate?" at 16:51
Today's TH-cam Rerun for 12/28/15: Watch along and join the discussion!
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George Raft danced???
He certainly did. Lots of videos on here to prove it.
What are the moving parts of a garbage can ?
+Roger Maxwell The lid, and sometimes the handles. "Moving parts" doesn't necessarily mean that the parts move on their own (at least not on WML).
When Dorothy and Arlene were talking about lids and handles, Steve suggested flies. Good line.
Are some of these in mono? I noticed that some episodes of these the audio only plays out of one side of my headphones?
All television was mono back then, so even if some of these episodes were captured from more recent cable broadcasts with only one channel connected, you're not missing any audio information. Even on the episodes with audio in both channels, it's exactly the same signal in both: mono sound played in both ears of your headphones.
George Raft 1901 - 1980
melianna999, I believe the most recent confirmed dates are 1895 to 1980 for George Raft.
@ 23:49 "The only tough dancer I can think of is George Raft"
I guess he never heard of James Cagney who was a way bigger star than George Raft ever was.
They've eliminated James Cagney, who was a song and dance man . . . there was a question asked if he (Raft) sang ...
Then he should have said "the only tough-dancer-not-a-singer I can think of is George Raft".
Bigger, yes, but I wouldn't go so far as to say WAY bigger.
George Raft was a real gangster and saved James Cagney's life.
An Aunt Jemima reference at 3:25... enjoy this episode while you still can, folks! Cancel Culture strikes again...
Wrong again. Ignore them all.
It's time to make a product with a scurvy riddled, inferior Limey sailor as it's mascot. Agree?
Only heard the last couple of seconds; no sound for most of the video.
no volume on this video?
What is the moving part on a garbage can? I think this was misleading.
Jonathan C - The garbage can lid can be moved, so can the handles. I think that’s what they mean. :)
@@lauracollins4195 Quite correct; listen starting at 17:17 where Arlene asks for a conference about moving parts and Dorothy mentions lid and handles. Steve also mentions flies!
Yt took alot out on this
Sometimes some of the questions were long winded.
How could anyone think he was better than Humphrey Bogart?
+SUPERSPORTS who said he was? no one in this thread
orgonko the wildly untamed
Warner Bros Studios had Raft as their top star and Bogart was just a secondary actor until Casablanca made Bogart a star
In "They drive by night",Raft was the main man,Bogart played his brother,and was only in the first half of that great movie. Ann Sheridan, ahhhh, was the love interest. Ida Lupino,hmmm,also appeared and gave Raft a tough time.
There is no doubting that Raft was a bigger name than Bogart pre Casablanca. But I loved them both. Plus James Cagney,of course. What a trio.
I remember hearing that the reason the studio decided to replace Raft with Bogart was that Raft was getting too egotistical, since he knew he was a star. They had trouble keeping him civil, so they replaced him. But he also made some really bad choices - he decided to turn down the roles in Casablanca and The Maltese Falcon that ended up going to Bogart. I like both Raft and Bogart, but I feel like Raft's acting (being earlier) had too much silent-movie-era technique. It feels like he's always in heavy makeup and really exaggerating his movements/facial features. But what do I know. If you REALLY want to see Bogart get treated like a secondary actor, watch some of the old Cagney or Robinson movies. Bogart's in like 30 of them, and is constantly getting gunned down by Cagney in particular.
Aaron Sakulich
Or you could watch a movie that stars both Raft and Bogart.
"They Drive byNight" 1940. Raft is the star and Bogart has a supporting role as his brother. Pretty good noir movie.
"YES MAM".. come on, 1st contestant.. after 10 "YES MAM", maybe you could just say "Yes" or "No"
It's called good manners, pity you are unfamiliar with them sir.
Hey, "Lars". Why don't ya build yourself a friggin' time machine and go back to that time to tell them all about it. And do us a favor, STAY THERE!
@@ElCid48 Let's keep it civil.
What a stupid part of the show (meet and greet). It was ludicrous to allow the panel to ask any questions at this point.
agreed it also wasted time & the abolished it around the 7th season(better late than never)