Born October 20, 1907, that would make Arlene 56 years old. She was a very lovely woman who to my eyes never looked her age until late in her life. Her joie de vivre was certainly a factor in her charm
Is 1907 correct? She refers to her son in early 1960s and she was on in maternity clothes several shows. That would be quite old for childbearing, especially back then.
@@rah62She definitely looked better in the 1960’s shows than she did in the 1950’s. Possibly improvement in lighting, cameras and make-up helped. She was attractive, not a great beauty imo.
@@belindaalbright8798Her only child Peter Gabel was born in 1947 and she was 40 or close to it when she had him. I never saw her in any maternity clothes, perhaps it was a full skirted dress. You can look it up, she was born in 1907 and was several years older than her husband.
I like the fact that a lot of celebs watched What's My Line too. Every now and then celebs would say " I've been watching this show for (blankety-blank) years" or other sort of comments as such.
Bennett's final speech here is indeed heartwarming....as well as that though my heart goes out to those who mistake his banter with Daly as being based on a genuine dislike of each other. Can you imagine being that delicate and naive to think that??? Those poor people!!!
Perhaps but I think Daly hit a nerve with Cerf a few years before when he called him a boor. Cerf is boorish. He's always pontificating and showing off how much trivia he knows. Dorothy is really a much sharper person. She is cool and logical.
@@markthomas6703 Dorothy, RIP, nevertheless she often asked questions that showed she knew some particular thing that the others didn't. Things about her personal contact with someone famous. Ego.
During the Carol Lawrence segment, Bennett to John; feeling he was flirting too much, "John, not during business hours." (!) This show just continues to kill me! And she was just stunning.
RE: Singing "Happy Birthday" to Arlene. Really one of the most beautiful, humane moments of WML, even more poignant considering that she came close in May 1963 to not getting a 56th birthday. " . . . considering I am so young." LOL Yeah girl.
Only because they did not own it in 1963. Recently they've been pulling in ~$2 million a year doing exactly as you mentioned, up until last year when they lost their copyright through a suit by film director Jennifer Nelson. Warners had purchased it for ~$25 million in 1988 from some other company-or at least everyone thought so. In the trial it came out that Warners had only purchased certain rights & exactly who owned what rights became an issue-some rights apparently still owned by the Hill Foundation. Mildred & Patty Hill had created the song-sans "Happy Birthday" lyrics-in the 1890s & owned a 1935 copyright to it-with the lyrics. So back in 1963 if you put on a HS play & sang "Happy Birthday" it would have probably been someone connected with the Hill Foundation that would have come knocking at your door!
I've been watching in chronological order anxiously waiting till I was born, I'm 2 days old here! Love watching these great entertaining shows! Thank you so much!
The wife of my 1st cousin, twice removed (so, unfortunately not a blood relative of mine) had a niece named Carol Laraia that went on to become Carol Lawrence. My mother remembers her from her childhood. Both are alive today.
I can’t see how Dorothy identified the name of the contestant so quickly! In a sense, it slightly spoilt it, as I would have liked to see more of Carol Lawrence answering questions.
Joe Postove - Someone remarked about racism toward the black contestant but I never saw it. I think that the panel and moderator treated the contestant with utmost courtesy. I was gratified to see that this was the case.
@@waldolydecker8118 "Why?" hardly expresses "irritation". I guess you're just another leftist who feels righteous in attributing "RACISM" to others for reasons known best to yourself. Ditto Joe Postove.
Happy Birthday Dear Arlene. It didn't take much coaxing to have the audience in full throatyness chime in with the Happy Birthday song. She was and is mush beloved.
Funny fact: Arlene Francis was born a day before my niece (113 years ago), my niece was born the 21st of this year. Love Arlene she was so funny and beautiful inside and out 💖
This short "Happy Birthday" song seemed way more heartfelt than the current cake ceremonies we have for "celebs" or even news journos. So much pomp,very little heart.
I was curious about the heart pendant Arlene wears frequently, and Google revealed the following sad news story. From the New York Post, July 6, 1988: A diamond heart-shaped pendant and necklace that Arlene Francis has worn for more than 40 years was snatched from her neck by a thief as she walked down a midtown Manhattan avenue. The heart, a gift from her late husband Martin Gabel on their first anniversary, is ″very valuable,″ the 79-year-old radio and television personality said. But more important, she said, is the sentimental value she places on the necklace, stolen Tuesday. ″He’s gone, and now it, too, is gone,″ Ms. Francis told the New York Post. Ms. Francis, best known for her quarter-century stint as a panelist on the TV game show ″What’s My Line?″ said she never took the necklace off.
John Daily is cleverly "filling in time" in talking to Carol because of how quickly they guessed who she was. Carol Lawrence is stunning here and looks the picture of health with her dancer like body and figure. Had she starred in the movie, I would have watched it, no question about it.
Carol Lawrence was the original "Maria" in West Side Story on Broadway. Saw that show in 1959 and loved it. Too bad they didn't use her in the movie version.
I don't know why the supposed feud between John and Bennett had to be brought up after so long but actually they were instant best buds from the start of WML. Their personalities and commonalities along their high intellects made them the best of friends and they socialized quite a bid away from work.
John, in one episode, commented on this very thing. The show had received letters, and Joh was quick to assert that this was banter between the best of friends, all taken in good humor. He and Bennett were always the best of friends.
I love Arlene. Happy b day ! I was 7 months old when this came on in oct of 63. Wish i could do a do over in my life . I could have done better. Great show! I love falling asleep to these old shows. Very relaxing !
9:58 You learn a lot from these programs....always knew that after the accident, Sammy Davis had a glass eye, but never knew Arlene Francis had a glass bottom.
About a month before Kennedy was shot. Beatles came in. The world was about to change. Innocence gone. Things would never be the same again. I love this time in history. Everything was still good and life was alittle easier
I don't get it - Arlene wasn't being funny nor was there any accidental joke she made unless you count merely the word "bottom". Dorthy, on the other hand, could be seen as having made a joke if she meant "and it has no cracks" - as in, uncracked glass, and no butt-crack. But that isn't what she meant. I'm not even convinced she said "cracks".
Just three days earlier, across the Atlantic in London, England, The Beatles recorded their fifth single, "I Want to Hold Your Hand", which would launch The Beatles rocket in America in January 1964, becoming the groups' first American number one hit. The first time anyone ever mentioned The Beatles on this show was on 2/9/64.
Jim Stark Dunno but The Rutles played the London Palladium around about this time. On of the highlights was Dirk McQuickly singing "With A Girl Like You".
Art Linkletter. One of the great commercial spokespersons of that time. Almost on a level with Arthur Godfrey -- but with less ego issues. As to his funny comment that he remains 0 for 12 years -- he is amusing, which is certainly a plus in a guest panelist. I would not say he plays the game badly; he is just not quite good.
He aged incredibly well too. Although he doesn't look particularly young here, he's one of those people like Betty White who just seemed vaguely "old" for decades while remaining vibrant. I've seen video of him in the 2000s, in his 90s, looking not much worse than he does here, though with a few more wrinkles and liver spots. More importantly, he was still as energetic and lucid as the average 60-year-old. I'd love to know his secret! :)
Aw, shucks! This was Art Linkletter''s last appearance as a guest panelist on WML (though, according to IMDb, he would appear on the show once more as a mystery guest in June of 1965), and he never did win a game after all. I was hoping he would. I don't think his contributions to the panel were totally useless though. He often asked questions which advanced the information acquired to ultimately win the game -- he just never was the correct guesser himself. The only thing that bugs me a bit about his way of questioning is that sometimes he makes statements instead of asking questions.
It would take a lot of searching to find it, but I recall Art guessing one correctly a few appearances before this one. But it seems he had gotten into the habit of claiming to be always incorrect for so long that he went right back to it (his shtick?) in subsequent appearances.
Arlene Francis was known for wearing a heart-shaped diamond pendant, a gift from Gabel, which she wore on nearly all of her What's My Line appearances. A mugger robbed her of the pendant as she was leaving a New York City taxi in 1988.
Read the story sometime about how Steven Sondheim voluntarily gave up royalty rights to "West Side Story" as a young song writer despite being its brilliant lyricist.
@@robbob1234 I'll take your word on that. I'm not familiar with Anne Hathaway. I will say if she looks like either Carol or Jackie she is much better looking than Jane Hathaway.
Okay, before I make my remarks I want to say that I really am enjoying the shows. I remember watching them with my parents who really enjoyed them. Two observations though. Does It Strike anybody a little bit creepy the way Cerf and Daly Ogle the young pretty girls? It was a different time back then. Also does Bennett Cerf have a speaking disorder? Sometimes he sounds like he has a mouth full of marbles.
SuperWinterborn Dorothy did have a tendency to ask lots of terribly useless questions that were guaranteed to get a "yes" though, let's be honest. :) I find that she was more guilty of this in the 1950s than as the show moved into the 1960s, but she still does it a lot. That, and her insider-y questions during the mystery guest rounds ("Did you ever drop a wallet out of a helicopter?") are the two things I find most annoying about her. But again, I should re-emphasize, I feel Dorothy was a vital ingredient to the show's success. Even her tendency to annoy a sizable chunk of the audience was an asset to the show, the producers knew it, and they explicitly wanted her to fill that role.
What's My Line? This sounds crazy, but the whole sequence with Your, Debbie's, and my comments about "The friendly feud, Cerf/Daly" has disappeared from my computer. I've reloaded 5 times now, and it still doesn't appear!
SuperWinterborn Good grief-- do you know what happened here? In its infinite wisdom, YT decided to flag the original post by Debbie as spam hours after it was originally posted. It might have been triggered by her having made minor edits to her comment 33 minutes ago, but regardless, there's nothing *remotely* spammy about the content of her comment, then or now. The result is that all the comments responding got hidden as well. The thread is restored now. Thanks for the heads up.
Where did all these people talking to the horseshoe lady get lost out after Arlene narrows it down to it has to do with the feet and they all just totally missed that and are still talking around in circles. Dorothy is usually sharper than that.
Carol Lawrence. Wow. It looks like Arlene and Dorothy both checked out her chaise as she left. The newer models were hot that season. Parties at the Carol Lawrence -- Robert Goulet household must have been something to beyond, what with all the singing talent available.
It's a small world indeed. The racehorse-shoe lady was from my old hometown of Pine Bluff, NC. Not to be confused with the slightly better known Pine Bluff, Arkansas. Mr Daly was correct when he identified that the shoes made by Mrs Spence were especially for trotters..
Carol Lawrence played the original Maria in West Side Story, a landmark in Broadway musicals at the time. Separately, one month to the day after this broadcast, Carol Lawrence was in the White House with President Kennedy, DNC officials and others concerning a Democratic fundraiser to be held in January, 1964, to mark the third anniversary of JFK's inauguration. Kennedy was assassinated two days later. A picture of the group, with Carol Lawrence standing directly next to the President is available on wikipedia. Kennedy of course was always well groomed and well tailored, but in this picture, he is wearing an ill-fitting suit.
Amazing to me that they got away with singing "Happy Birthday" on this show. Perhaps this was before the copyright holders of that "song" began charging $10,000 a pop for permission to use it. (This is why so many TV shows and movies glaringly omit the birthday song from scenes that call for it.)
Here's an excellent capsule example of what's wrong with copyright law today (particularly the last paragraph): www.snopes.com/music/songs/birthday.asp
What's My Line? Thank you for that link! Copyright laws can be bizarre. I remember lots of interesting conversations about the topic on the old silent film group. (Wonder if that site has been archived, actually, because it contained a treasure trove of information and hilarity.)
Elsie M. You think that's bizarre? How about when a public domain song is removed from a particular movie or TV show, because the VERSION of that song is under copyright.
Far too often the celebrity guest was given a short, hurried slot at the end of the show. Also, far too often the panel, notably Bennett Cerf, was notorious for being tipped off to the identity of the celebrity, although in this case Dorothy identified Carol Lawrence very quickly. The tipping off spoilt the celebrity feature of the show, as the audience would like to have heard a lot more from the celebrity.
Did one of the camera lights go out on Bennett at about 14:20? Actually looking some of the others on the panel it looks more serious than that. Or is it the film?
The bulb went. Simple as that. Surprising how it doesn't happen more often on shows, come to think of it!! But then of course most shows from the 60s onwards would be pre-recorded...in that case, they could just stop to replace a bulb easily.
You may not know this but Warner Brothers has "Happy Birthday to You" copyrighted until 2030. 'Happy Birthday' and the Money It Makes". New York Times. 26 December 1989. Retrieved March 7, 2013.
Wow, did the audience of the day really think Cerf and Daly had genuine animosity towards each other? Seems obvious that it's friendly ribbing, but maybe it translated differently back then. I love their banter and good natured insults.
Yes, apparently many people really did think they disliked each other. I can hardly believe anyone believed it myself. As if any TV program back then, let alone one as genteel as WML, would have allowed two people who hated each other to hurl insults at each other willy nilly. It's ridiculous. They were *obviously* good naturedly kidding each other.
DebbieFaubion To us, who are watching this show 'in a row' many years later, it's easy to see this was a friendly feud. But for people at home that time, who only saw it once a week, it can't always have been that easy. I guess the reason for why they had to 'proclaim' their friendship on air, was because of all the letters this show must have received during the years. :)
SuperWinterborn I don't know. . . I pretty much think people really should have known better regardless. People on the same show did not feud publicly with each other back then. I don't think it really matters whether you saw the show once a week, or whether you happened to catch one of the shows where they made a sincere declaration of how much they genuinely liked each other. The exasperation that was displayed by John was to me so obviously played for comedy, and Bennett's reactions to John's insults were always greeted with a warm smile, and often outright laughter. This is the behavior of two people who could have hated each other? Bear in mind, there were lots of people then (and now, for that matter) who simply believe anything they see at face value. There were people who thought Carroll O'Connor must have been just like Archie Bunker in real life (he was the polar opposite), or that Groucho must really have ad libbed every joke on You Bet Your Life (they had a writing staff and about half of every show relied on prescripted jokes), or that Gracie Allen was really dumb. To me, anyone who couldn't see clearly that John and Bennett were friends engaging in harmless banter were being pretty seriously gullible.
What's My Line? You're right. I was only trying to be nice. I know that both then and now, TV-programs often get letters from people who obviously don't understand what's going on. Like at some sites here on Y.Tube I have visited during the years. The last one was a commenter who wrote ; "That woman deserved The Chair" below a Film Noir, where a a hysterical woman killed a man accidently...
What's My Line? True...I agree. Both Daly's face and Cerf's face have smiles on them and the audience is laughing. It's just hard to believe they had enough comments from the viewers that Cerf felt the need to address it. Personally, I think their banter is a high point of the show. =)
One thing that always strikes me about these early tv shows is how the women always stay seated when guests arrive for hand shakes. So much more reserved back then. Nowadays the women are always hugging and kissing.
Reluctant Dragon Sorry, I must sound like a pervert, but I've had a cruel vision of a whip, since Gary suggested I should join FaceBook, and it shows in my later comments. The first word in your username, is just a mild description of my feelings in this matter...
Joe Postove If you're talking about his new FB-site, I think this is intended to run along with his uploads on Y.tube. I do really hope he still wants to continue with his channel here! (Gary is offline by now. We have to wait for his answers)
Oh, rest assured, I'm not stopping the TH-cam posts! Perish the thought! And the Google+ notifications will still go out, as you know now. It's just that I find Google+ totally useless, and have seen that Facebook can sometimes, under the right circumstances, provide a space for the same level of discussions as we have on these videos. It's a good place, also, for people to be able to share related links, or articles, or whatever else tickles their fancy that relates to WML, without having to worry about their posts getting autoflagged as spam, and it's much, much easier to keep a discussion flowing on FB than it is on YT. Also, should some disaster happen, such as the channel getting deleted due to a spurious copyright claim that I can't fight, folks who sign on to the FB group will be able to still follow the show, since I'll start posting them on another platform like Vimeo (which I don't want to do-- this would only be a last resort).
SuperWinterborn It'll probably be a while before the activity there is frequent enough to be dangerous, but be prepared for a major time sink if you do join! I can't even begin to guess how many hours I've spent with the Marx Bros group. Probably more than I have on TH-cam! And I hope you do join. . . worst comes to worst, you don't have to pay attention if you don't find it worthwhile. But you're one of the most frequent and valued commenters here, so it would really be a shame if you didn't join.
![What's My Line? - Ethel Merman; Allen Ludden [panel] (Oct 27, 1963)](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/RAXVzFb5TBo/mqdefault.jpg)
![What's My Line? - Ethel Merman; Allen Ludden [panel] (Oct 27, 1963)](/img/tr.png)
![What's My Line? - Maureen O' Hara; Martin Gabel [panel] (Dec 27, 1959)](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/sso3PL-sLbk/mqdefault.jpg)
![What's My Line? - Shirley Jones; Abe Burrows [panel] (Aug 19, 1962)](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/53CL_gAuwyw/mqdefault.jpg)
![What's My Line? - Bert Lahr; Peter Ustinov [panel] (Jan 6, 1963) [UPGRADE!]](/img/n.gif)
Born October 20, 1907, that would make Arlene 56 years old. She was a very lovely woman who to my eyes never looked her age until late in her life. Her joie de vivre was certainly a factor in her charm
I think she had a little minor work done as she looked better at the end of WML's run than she did at the start in 1950.
Is 1907 correct? She refers to her son in early 1960s and she was on in maternity clothes several shows. That would be quite old for childbearing, especially back then.
@@belindaalbright8798 I don't think so. She had her only child in 1947. Perhaps it was the fashions.
@@rah62She definitely looked better in the 1960’s shows than she did in the 1950’s. Possibly improvement in lighting, cameras and make-up helped. She was attractive, not a great beauty imo.
@@belindaalbright8798Her only child Peter Gabel was born in 1947 and she was 40 or close to it when she had him. I never saw her in any maternity clothes, perhaps it was a full skirted dress. You can look it up, she was born in 1907 and was several years older than her husband.
Happy Heavenly Birthday to the delightful star of stage and screen, Miss Arlene Francis!
I like the fact that a lot of celebs watched What's My Line too. Every now and then celebs would say " I've been watching this show for (blankety-blank) years" or other sort of comments as such.
Arlene looks so glamorous, and great to see Art Linkletter on the show. Wonderful show!
Ok, the Bennett/John exchange at the end got me a little teary eyed
Bennett's final speech here is indeed heartwarming....as well as that though my heart goes out to those who mistake his banter with Daly as being based on a genuine dislike of each other. Can you imagine being that delicate and naive to think that??? Those poor people!!!
Perhaps but I think Daly hit a nerve with Cerf a few years before when he called him a boor. Cerf is boorish. He's always pontificating and showing off how much trivia he knows. Dorothy is really a much sharper person. She is cool and logical.
I said on another episode that I could easily see them married.
It’s always been very obvious to me that the two of them were good friends that knew they could kid each other.
@@markthomas6703 Dorothy, RIP, nevertheless she often asked questions that showed she knew some particular thing that the others didn't. Things about her personal contact with someone famous. Ego.
@David S Bennett and Daly were great friends and expressed their respect and admiration for each other many times. You are correct sir!
During the Carol Lawrence segment, Bennett to John; feeling he was flirting too much, "John, not during business hours." (!) This show just continues to kill me! And she was just stunning.
RE: Singing "Happy Birthday" to Arlene. Really one of the most beautiful, humane moments of WML, even more poignant considering that she came close in May 1963 to not getting a 56th birthday. " . . . considering I am so young." LOL Yeah girl.
+Jackie Phillips John surely did not realize that "Happy Birthday" was still under copyright-so they had to pay for this!
+Barry Kendrick Warner Bros wasn't pulling this crap of charging for every use of "Happy Birthday" back in 1963.
Only because they did not own it in 1963. Recently they've been pulling in ~$2 million a year doing exactly as you mentioned, up until last year when they lost their copyright through a suit by film director Jennifer Nelson. Warners had purchased it for ~$25 million in 1988 from some other company-or at least everyone thought so. In the trial it came out that Warners had only purchased certain rights & exactly who owned what rights became an issue-some rights apparently still owned by the Hill Foundation. Mildred & Patty Hill had created the song-sans "Happy Birthday" lyrics-in the 1890s & owned a 1935 copyright to it-with the lyrics.
So back in 1963 if you put on a HS play & sang "Happy Birthday" it would have probably been someone connected with the Hill Foundation that would have come knocking at your door!
Happy Heavenly Birthday Miss Arlene Francis🙏👰🎂💖🌷🌹💐🌼
So cute when Bennett says at the end that he and John love each other.
It made my day! I love love.
Back in 1963 56 year old women did not typically look like Arlene Francis! What a gorgeous babe!
Joe Postove So Joe has at last realized his own age? ;D
SuperWinterborn I always liked older women, SW!
Joe Postove Since when?
Since I was 6 and in love with Loretta Young too!
I think it was an inner sweetness Arlene possessed.
Carol Lawrence turned 88 years old on September 5th, 2020!
Carol Lawrence is the epitome of early '60s class. She's a stunner!
For some reason I had never heard of her. I like "discovering" these beauties via What's My Line.
@@richatlarge462 I only know her for her International Coffee commercials back in the day Lol
beauty and class
I worked with her in the 90s in Mame. She treated the crew badly and only showed up for half the performances.
i discovered her from saved by the bell as Ms. Wentworth on 1 episode. She was in her 60’s but was clearly still super hot 😂
I've been watching in chronological order anxiously waiting till I was born, I'm 2 days old here! Love watching these great entertaining shows! Thank you so much!
Rhonda Sewell 😂 awesome!
Same here. For me that moment arrived in August 1960.
The wife of my 1st cousin, twice removed (so, unfortunately not a blood relative of mine) had a niece named Carol Laraia that went on to become Carol Lawrence. My mother remembers her from her childhood. Both are alive today.
Now that is cool ! As a family historian, I find that interesting.
I can’t see how Dorothy identified the name of the contestant so quickly! In a sense, it slightly spoilt it, as I would have liked to see more of Carol Lawrence answering questions.
Nice to see a non-celebrity black person on the show. I can't recall seeing one lately.
Gee Willikers! I hope it wasn't tap dancing!
Joe Postove - Someone remarked about racism toward the black contestant but I never saw it. I think that the panel and moderator treated the contestant with utmost courtesy. I was gratified to see that this was the case.
Why ?
@@Baskerville22 - why not? you seem irritated at the expressed thought as if it was incongruous with your upbringing.
@@waldolydecker8118 "Why?" hardly expresses "irritation". I guess you're just another leftist who feels righteous in attributing "RACISM" to others for reasons known best to yourself. Ditto Joe Postove.
Happy Birthday Dear Arlene. It didn't take much coaxing to have the audience in full throatyness chime in with the Happy Birthday song. She was and is mush beloved.
You know I'm so happy to see the first guest I don't know what to do!!
Debra Battle So was I. He seemed to be a very nice man too. :)
Just because he's black?
Excellent episode, all of the panel contributed exceptionally well to the show as did the contestants and Mr Daly.
Funny fact: Arlene Francis was born a day before my niece (113 years ago), my niece was born the 21st of this year.
Love Arlene she was so funny and beautiful inside and out 💖
Hilarious!!
This short "Happy Birthday" song seemed way more heartfelt than the current cake ceremonies we have for "celebs" or even news journos. So much pomp,very little heart.
I was curious about the heart pendant Arlene wears frequently, and Google revealed the following sad news story. From the New York Post, July 6, 1988:
A diamond heart-shaped pendant and necklace that Arlene Francis has worn for more than 40 years was snatched from her neck by a thief as she walked down a midtown Manhattan avenue.
The heart, a gift from her late husband Martin Gabel on their first anniversary, is ″very valuable,″ the 79-year-old radio and television personality said.
But more important, she said, is the sentimental value she places on the necklace, stolen Tuesday.
″He’s gone, and now it, too, is gone,″ Ms. Francis told the New York Post.
Ms. Francis, best known for her quarter-century stint as a panelist on the TV game show ″What’s My Line?″ said she never took the necklace off.
so sad...
Carol Lawrence is one of the most beautiful women of all time.
Breaking Cycles - She was beautiful indeed. She must have done well in West Side Story. She'd have been a wonderful Maria.
John Daily is cleverly "filling in time" in talking to Carol because of how quickly they guessed who she was. Carol Lawrence is stunning here and looks the picture of health with her dancer like body and figure. Had she starred in the movie, I would have watched it, no question about it.
Wow, I remember Carol Lawrence was so beautiful and married to Robert Goulet. But I forgot just how beautiful she was!
1:36 Dotty Kilgallen rightfully gets a cat-call whistle after her introduction. She's looking sharp.
Spindly legs …
Carol Lawrence was so beautiful, and quite engaging! ❤️👏❤️👏 I also thoroughly enjoy the congenial banter between Bennett Cerf and John Charles Daly😂
Carol Lawrence was the original "Maria" in West Side Story on Broadway. Saw that show in 1959 and loved it. Too bad they didn't use her in the movie version.
Yes, because she is too old to reprise her role in the 1961 film version of the play
That date ... In a month the world would fall apart affecting Dorothy in a way no one could imagine.
I don't know why the supposed feud between John and Bennett had to be brought up after so long but actually they were instant best buds from the start of WML. Their personalities and commonalities along their high intellects made them the best of friends and they socialized quite a bid away from work.
John, in one episode, commented on this very thing. The show had received letters, and Joh was quick to assert that this was banter between the best of friends, all taken in good humor. He and Bennett were always the best of friends.
I love what Bennett says at the end in the goodnights!
I love that Arlene's birthday is 3 days after mine! I had just turned 3!
I love Arlene. Happy b day ! I was 7 months old when this came on in oct of 63. Wish i could do a do over in my life . I could have done better. Great show! I love falling asleep to these old shows. Very relaxing !
Carol Lawrence will be 82 on September 5th of this year.
She's still with us- and will be 88 this year.
Carol Lawrence is a class act.
9:58 You learn a lot from these programs....always knew that after the accident, Sammy Davis had a glass eye, but never knew Arlene Francis had a glass bottom.
Carol Lawrence was quite charming.
Ah the days when stars truly had class.
… and more than a glass.
Mr Cerf is consistently the more thoughtful with his intros than anyone else. (Except perhaps Ms. Channing. True WML super fans will understand).
Carol Lawrence did play the original Maria in the 1957 broadway play titled West Side Story
About a month before Kennedy was shot. Beatles came in. The world was about to change. Innocence gone. Things would never be the same again. I love this time in history. Everything was still good and life was alittle easier
10:25
Arlene's perfect reaction to Dorothy's "no cracks" comment
I don't get it - Arlene wasn't being funny nor was there any accidental joke she made unless you count merely the word "bottom". Dorthy, on the other hand, could be seen as having made a joke if she meant "and it has no cracks" - as in, uncracked glass, and no butt-crack. But that isn't what she meant. I'm not even convinced she said "cracks".
Yeah . glass bottomed boat is pretty innocuous even for 1963
Just three days earlier, across the Atlantic in London, England, The Beatles recorded their fifth single, "I Want to Hold Your Hand", which would launch The Beatles rocket in America in January 1964, becoming the groups' first American number one hit.
The first time anyone ever mentioned The Beatles on this show was on 2/9/64.
Can you imagine them as mystery guests??? Wow, that would have been wild!
Reluctant Dragon Beatles manager Brian Epstein was a mystery guest in game 1 on 10/18/64.
***** Oh wow-- I guess I haven't seen that one yet!
Jim Stark Dunno but The Rutles played the London Palladium around about this time. On of the highlights was Dirk McQuickly singing "With A Girl Like You".
What a lovely lady Arlene was.
Art Linkletter. One of the great commercial spokespersons of that time. Almost on a level with Arthur Godfrey -- but with less ego issues. As to his funny comment that he remains 0 for 12 years -- he is amusing, which is certainly a plus in a guest panelist. I would not say he plays the game badly; he is just not quite good.
I always enjoy his appearances on WML.
Liked him a lot in the 1960s and 1970s.
He aged incredibly well too. Although he doesn't look particularly young here, he's one of those people like Betty White who just seemed vaguely "old" for decades while remaining vibrant. I've seen video of him in the 2000s, in his 90s, looking not much worse than he does here, though with a few more wrinkles and liver spots. More importantly, he was still as energetic and lucid as the average 60-year-old. I'd love to know his secret! :)
Aw, shucks! This was Art Linkletter''s last appearance as a guest panelist on WML (though, according to IMDb, he would appear on the show once more as a mystery guest in June of 1965), and he never did win a game after all. I was hoping he would. I don't think his contributions to the panel were totally useless though. He often asked questions which advanced the information acquired to ultimately win the game -- he just never was the correct guesser himself. The only thing that bugs me a bit about his way of questioning is that sometimes he makes statements instead of asking questions.
It would take a lot of searching to find it, but I recall Art guessing one correctly a few appearances before this one. But it seems he had gotten into the habit of claiming to be always incorrect for so long that he went right back to it (his shtick?) in subsequent appearances.
Arlene Francis was known for wearing a heart-shaped diamond pendant, a gift from Gabel, which she wore on nearly all of her What's My Line appearances. A mugger robbed her of the pendant as she was leaving a New York City taxi in 1988.
Love when they have black guests. Don’t know how normal it was at the time for panel shows. Wish it had been more often. But still cool when they did.
Good God, that Art Linkletter sure is dense.
Carol Lawrence still alive till today. That'a great.
Happy 56th birthday, Arlene! Yeah, I know I'm 60 years behind my time but it's never to late for congratulations.
Read the story sometime about how Steven Sondheim voluntarily gave up royalty rights to "West Side Story" as a young song writer despite being its brilliant lyricist.
Stephen!!!
Just struck me as she walked out, Carol Lawrence looked at least a little bit like Jackie Kennedy back then.
In this segment she reminds me of Anne Hathaway as well.
@@robbob1234 I'll take your word on that. I'm not familiar with Anne Hathaway. I will say if she looks like either Carol or Jackie she is much better looking than Jane Hathaway.
Looks like my Auntie Ju-Ju …
Arlene Francis was robbed on her birthday by Bennett Cerf on the racing horse shoes. But he was the only one listening to her questions.
Okay, before I make my remarks I want to say that I really am enjoying the shows. I remember watching them with my parents who really enjoyed them. Two observations though. Does It Strike anybody a little bit creepy the way Cerf and Daly Ogle the young pretty girls? It was a different time back then. Also does Bennett Cerf have a speaking disorder? Sometimes he sounds like he has a mouth full of marbles.
Lawrence was married to Robert Goulet for 18 years
*_CAPTAIN OF GLASS BOTTOM BOAT (NAMED "ARLENE FRANCIS")_*
*_MAKES HORSE SHOES FOR RACE HORSES_*
Oh, Dorothy! No limits to getting a "yes"! "May I assume that the horse doesn't get up and buy this for itself?" ;D
***** We cannot compare Linkletter with Dorothy's brilliance. It wouldn't be fair. ;)
SuperWinterborn Dorothy did have a tendency to ask lots of terribly useless questions that were guaranteed to get a "yes" though, let's be honest. :) I find that she was more guilty of this in the 1950s than as the show moved into the 1960s, but she still does it a lot. That, and her insider-y questions during the mystery guest rounds ("Did you ever drop a wallet out of a helicopter?") are the two things I find most annoying about her. But again, I should re-emphasize, I feel Dorothy was a vital ingredient to the show's success. Even her tendency to annoy a sizable chunk of the audience was an asset to the show, the producers knew it, and they explicitly wanted her to fill that role.
What's My Line? This sounds crazy, but the whole sequence with Your, Debbie's, and my comments about "The friendly feud, Cerf/Daly" has disappeared from my computer. I've reloaded 5 times now, and it still doesn't appear!
SuperWinterborn Good grief-- do you know what happened here? In its infinite wisdom, YT decided to flag the original post by Debbie as spam hours after it was originally posted. It might have been triggered by her having made minor edits to her comment 33 minutes ago, but regardless, there's nothing *remotely* spammy about the content of her comment, then or now. The result is that all the comments responding got hidden as well. The thread is restored now. Thanks for the heads up.
What's My Line? Oh my...!
It looks like a light on the panel burned out during the second contestant's appearance. Live TV!
Where did all these people talking to the horseshoe lady get lost out after Arlene narrows it down to it has to do with the feet and they all just totally missed that and are still talking around in circles. Dorothy is usually sharper than that.
My thoughts exactly. I think maybe because she blurted out "she's a blacksmith" and didn't get a round of applause. Just a thought.
Carol Lawrence. Wow. It looks like Arlene and Dorothy both checked out her chaise as she left. The newer models were hot that season.
Parties at the Carol Lawrence -- Robert Goulet household must have been something to beyond, what with all the singing talent available.
My god Carol Lawrence was a hell of a good looking person
Carol Lawrence Born: September 5, 1932 (age 91 years), Melrose Park, Illinois, United States
It's a small world indeed. The racehorse-shoe lady was from my old hometown of Pine Bluff, NC. Not to be confused with the slightly better known Pine Bluff, Arkansas. Mr Daly was correct when he identified that the shoes made by Mrs Spence were especially for trotters..
Carol Lawrence played the original Maria in West Side Story, a landmark in Broadway musicals at the time. Separately, one month to the day after this broadcast, Carol Lawrence was in the White House with President Kennedy, DNC officials and others concerning a Democratic fundraiser to be held in January, 1964, to mark the third anniversary of JFK's inauguration. Kennedy was assassinated two days later. A picture of the group, with Carol Lawrence standing directly next to the President is available on wikipedia. Kennedy of course was always well groomed and well tailored, but in this picture, he is wearing an ill-fitting suit.
Wow. Arlene's birthday!
Amazing to me that they got away with singing "Happy Birthday" on this show. Perhaps this was before the copyright holders of that "song" began charging $10,000 a pop for permission to use it. (This is why so many TV shows and movies glaringly omit the birthday song from scenes that call for it.)
Here's an excellent capsule example of what's wrong with copyright law today (particularly the last paragraph):
www.snopes.com/music/songs/birthday.asp
Such a sweet gesture, their serenade! Arlene looked simultaneously teary-eyed, embarrassed AND honored! Awww.
What's My Line? Thank you for that link! Copyright laws can be bizarre. I remember lots of interesting conversations about the topic on the old silent film group. (Wonder if that site has been archived, actually, because it contained a treasure trove of information and hilarity.)
Elsie M. You think that's bizarre? How about when a public domain song is removed from a particular movie or TV show, because the VERSION of that song is under copyright.
Carol Lawrence had starred in Subways are for Sleeping in '61-'62 - much closer to this Briadcast than West Side Story
Sadly, Carol Lawrence and Robert Goulet divorced in 1981.
Sadly for whom? Carol Lawrence claimed that Goulet was an alcoholic who abused her.
@@preppysocks209 He had a hair trigger temper. He was a pimo dono. I felt sorry for her. She was a very sensitive soul.
I don't know Carol Lawrence at all, but she was adorable!
I thought that the lady who made horseshoes should've been for horses named Arlene
Carol Lawrence is 90 years old as of 2023.
Now she’s 92.
Far too often the celebrity guest was given a short, hurried slot at the end of the show. Also, far too often the panel, notably Bennett Cerf, was notorious for being tipped off to the identity of the celebrity, although in this case Dorothy identified Carol Lawrence very quickly. The tipping off spoilt the celebrity feature of the show, as the audience would like to have heard a lot more from the celebrity.
It was rigged from the beginning. There is no way Dorothy could have guessed Carol that quickly !!!
"spoilt?"
Daly to Contestant: Do you know how we keep score?
Contestant: Yes, Mr Daly … but, clearly you don’t!
Farriers trim hooves and shoe horses. Blacksmiths literally make/fashion horseshoes. If Mrs. Spence makes horseshoes, how is she not a blacksmith???
Did one of the camera lights go out on Bennett at about 14:20? Actually looking some of the others on the panel it looks more serious than that. Or is it the film?
Yes, looks like a studio lighting problem to me rather than an issue with the film exposure.
The bulb went. Simple as that. Surprising how it doesn't happen more often on shows, come to think of it!! But then of course most shows from the 60s onwards would be pre-recorded...in that case, they could just stop to replace a bulb easily.
You may not know this but Warner Brothers has "Happy Birthday to You"
copyrighted until 2030.
'Happy Birthday' and the Money It Makes". New York Times. 26 December 1989. Retrieved March 7, 2013.
Yes, there's already a long, long thread about this you must have missed. It starts with a comment from Vahan Nisanian, "Wow. Arlene's birthday!"
Art Linklater's question methodology irks me. It's like he's never even seen the show.
Wow, did the audience of the day really think Cerf and Daly had genuine animosity towards each other? Seems obvious that it's friendly ribbing, but maybe it translated differently back then. I love their banter and good natured insults.
Yes, apparently many people really did think they disliked each other. I can hardly believe anyone believed it myself. As if any TV program back then, let alone one as genteel as WML, would have allowed two people who hated each other to hurl insults at each other willy nilly. It's ridiculous. They were *obviously* good naturedly kidding each other.
DebbieFaubion To us, who are watching this show 'in a row' many years later, it's easy to see this was a friendly feud. But for people at home that time, who only saw it once a week, it can't always have been that easy. I guess the reason for why they had to 'proclaim' their friendship on air, was because of all the letters this show must have received during the years. :)
SuperWinterborn I don't know. . . I pretty much think people really should have known better regardless. People on the same show did not feud publicly with each other back then. I don't think it really matters whether you saw the show once a week, or whether you happened to catch one of the shows where they made a sincere declaration of how much they genuinely liked each other. The exasperation that was displayed by John was to me so obviously played for comedy, and Bennett's reactions to John's insults were always greeted with a warm smile, and often outright laughter. This is the behavior of two people who could have hated each other?
Bear in mind, there were lots of people then (and now, for that matter) who simply believe anything they see at face value. There were people who thought Carroll O'Connor must have been just like Archie Bunker in real life (he was the polar opposite), or that Groucho must really have ad libbed every joke on You Bet Your Life (they had a writing staff and about half of every show relied on prescripted jokes), or that Gracie Allen was really dumb. To me, anyone who couldn't see clearly that John and Bennett were friends engaging in harmless banter were being pretty seriously gullible.
What's My Line? You're right. I was only trying to be nice. I know that both then and now, TV-programs often get letters from people who obviously don't understand what's going on. Like at some sites here on Y.Tube I have visited during the years. The last one was a commenter who wrote ; "That woman deserved The Chair" below a Film Noir, where a a hysterical woman killed a man accidently...
What's My Line? True...I agree. Both Daly's face and Cerf's face have smiles on them and the audience is laughing. It's just hard to believe they had enough comments from the viewers that Cerf felt the need to address it. Personally, I think their banter is a high point of the show. =)
One month later...
Carol Lawrence and the actress, Ina Balin, resemble each other.
Yay! Happy Bday to Arlene, she was so special!
Carol Lawrence was so lovely. But anorexic-looking and very jittery! Bet she was a spark plug onstage.
People use horseshoes to play, well, horseshoes.
Oh, her version were too light for the game of horseshoes. I stand corrected.🤭
Someone should have told Dottie that she’d left her hair rollers in …
I only know of Art Linkletter because of Diane Linkletter. 😐
I only know of them both because of doing joined up writing with the big crayons in the big house.
Interesting
Geritol has 12% alcohol in it plus B vitamins.
The lighting at about 14:00 is a bit dark. Is that the film, or the lights?
Maybe one of the lights went out? Because now that you mention it Dorothy and Bennett do look less than well-lighted.
arlene must be one years old now
One thing that always strikes me about these early tv shows is how the women always stay seated when guests arrive for hand shakes. So much more reserved back then. Nowadays the women are always hugging and kissing.
Carol Lawrence 90
How did Dorothy guess Carol so quickly ?
Here’s a big secret … the show is rigged.
Who is the one loser?
francis can not shut her mouth
Why did she say? 10:23
I could use some Geritol...
Be careful, it can give you palpitations and nightmares featuring a monstrous amalgam of Cerf/Daly
Carol Lawrence looked a bit like Lynda Bird Johnson, LBJs daughter.
✝️👀
Who is this "Miss Lead" that John refers to all the time?
Joe Postove I was wondering myself, but I guess she's wearing black leather, holding a whip in her hand...
YIKES and double YIKES!
SuperWinterborn What is it with you and whips?! :P
Reluctant Dragon Sorry, I must sound like a pervert, but I've had a cruel vision of a whip, since Gary suggested I should join FaceBook, and it shows in my later comments. The first word in your username, is just a mild description of my feelings in this matter...
SuperWinterborn I like the whip:) You mean for whipped cream, of course.
Does this mean I will not get posts in my gmail?
Joe Postove If you're talking about his new FB-site, I think this is intended to run along with his uploads on Y.tube. I do really hope he still wants to continue with his channel here! (Gary is offline by now. We have to wait for his answers)
I gots my answer, SW. I got this in my email!
Oh, rest assured, I'm not stopping the TH-cam posts! Perish the thought! And the Google+ notifications will still go out, as you know now. It's just that I find Google+ totally useless, and have seen that Facebook can sometimes, under the right circumstances, provide a space for the same level of discussions as we have on these videos. It's a good place, also, for people to be able to share related links, or articles, or whatever else tickles their fancy that relates to WML, without having to worry about their posts getting autoflagged as spam, and it's much, much easier to keep a discussion flowing on FB than it is on YT.
Also, should some disaster happen, such as the channel getting deleted due to a spurious copyright claim that I can't fight, folks who sign on to the FB group will be able to still follow the show, since I'll start posting them on another platform like Vimeo (which I don't want to do-- this would only be a last resort).
What's My Line? Well.. I'm not on FB, and intended not to join the club there, but now I'm in doubt. Yiiikes!
SuperWinterborn It'll probably be a while before the activity there is frequent enough to be dangerous, but be prepared for a major time sink if you do join! I can't even begin to guess how many hours I've spent with the Marx Bros group. Probably more than I have on TH-cam!
And I hope you do join. . . worst comes to worst, you don't have to pay attention if you don't find it worthwhile. But you're one of the most frequent and valued commenters here, so it would really be a shame if you didn't join.