What's My Line? - ALL Correct Free Guesses! [CLIPS VIDEO]
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 5 ก.ย. 2024
- Since this comes up all the time in discussion, I thought it would be a good idea to put together a video of all the times a panelist correctly got a contestant's line during the free guesses. So here's every (surviving) instance of a correct free guess before the questioning started!
Note that there were actually 3 more correct free guesses than we have available to see today, as they took place in very early episodes considered to be lost. This video contains the 6 instances that do survive. It's small wonder that the free guesses were dispensed with, considering they could torpedo an entire round before it even started. The wonder is that it took until April, 1955 for the producers to make the change! If there's any plus side to this, it's that it granted John Daly the opportunity to wax eloquent to fill the program time.
With many thanks to Suzanne Astorino for compiling the information on the correct free guesses, not to mention everything else WML-related, direct from producer Gil Fates's production notes. The voluminous and unbelievably detailed episode log can be found at tv.com. For more info on these correct free guesses, including descriptions of the early lost shows, scroll down to "FREE WILD GUESS WIN HISTORY FOR WHAT'S MY LINE?" on this page: www.tv.com/show...
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I dearly loved this show. May they all rest in peace. 🙏
Me too....Loved them...
These shows never fail to make me smile. This was real entertainment, with good humor and class. Thanks so much for all you do!
...like hanging out with old friends.
@Jackalofdeath 🙄
Arlene was a machine. Wow!
Armenians are psychic.
@@Miatacrosser truth
Notice the smile fading on the lifeguard's face when Arlene makes her wild guess.
That clip is probably playing in one of those "Watch people die inside" videos.
Watch her be born again when she gets 50$
I can’t stop laughing 😂
@Bussiness Name All the participants that showed up were actually paid far more substantial amount of money than the possible prize.
This show is so addictive! And classy time well spent!
Agreed!
Arlene Francis - 3
Dorothy Kilgallen - 1
Bennett Cerf - 2
There seems to have been an atomic scientist guessed, that is not in this list. Must be on one of the lost episodes.
@@tubularap Yes, and TWO umpires.
I think Arlene is the only one who always took the guess seriously. Dorothy and Steve would sometimes joke instead. Bennett would sprinkle in some puns. Hal and Fred were always joking with theirs thus they would never get one right.
I think a big part of the reason they kept the free guesses as long as they did was specifically because it gave the comic panelists an opportunity to make wisecracks (sometimes they didn't get much chance during the actual game).
Arlene must have been drunk the day she married Gabel.
KEN RETHERFORD yeah, who would want a charming, bright, loving, eloquent spouse?
@@su8483 yeah martin was awesome and they had a great marriage .
This ken is just a Hater
@@WhatsMyLine Nah. Back then it was about love. Ava Gardener dated a man several inches shorter than her and loved her. Our world has been awful.
I like the right wild guess for the Slotmachine Repairman. That man is still figuring out the odds of the panel finding out his profession immediately.
Thanks for posting these! Your service to "What's My Line" fans is immeasurable!
Considering how disruptive this must have been to the live production of the show, it is amazing they kept doing this as long as they did!
I enjoy it! Thanks for the comment. :)
How fortunate we all are that you do.
I would love to see a compilation video of all the oddly specific questions Dorothy asked of the mystery guests. E.G. "Have you ever sat on Bennett Cerf's lap?"
That's a great idea for a video, I agree, but it would be pretty hard to do without going through hundreds of episodes. :)
You mean "Is it squishy" or "Is it bigger than a bread box"?
Where you ever in Ed's Bar in San Diego? I may have the bar and city wrong, but it was something to that effect.
"Have you ever lost your address book in a helicopter over the Greek Islands?" (asked of Gene Kelly, to which the answer was no.)
@@jeh32 Have I ever seen you in a lobby in Lancaster hotel in Paris
I love this show because of how polite everyone was.
The trapeze artist is hot 💖
@@charleskeller8748 - Very 😁
I guess I am in the minority. But I always liked the free guesses. Since there were only 9 correct guesses in a period of close to 5 years, a correct guess only happened twice a year on average. And it was always a pleasant surprise when they occurred.
I'm with you on that. Pretty cool when they guessed it!
I've often wondered if they ever got one on a free guess. I was excited to see this video. Thanks so much for posting!!
Arlene Francis was the definition of class.
She was. She was absolutely beautiful as well.
Many thanks, Gary, for a much-needed compilation. It answers the frequent question about how often the panel guessed correctly on the freebies (there were 3 more correct guesses on lost episodes, some of which are referred to here). And seeing all of these occasions together like this actually revises my opinion of the free guess concept. I had always regarded it as a misguided idea, becsuse if the panel was successful, the spot fizzled with no fun for anybody -- the panel felt apologetic, the guest left emptyhanded, and the audience got little enterrtainment from the whole thing. But looking at the juxtaposition of these events, we see that in fact, John often flipped some or all of the cards, the panel's apologies were gracious and often amusing in themselves, and the audience got the thrill of being present for an occasion that very rarely happened. It might be compared to the YBYL idea of saying the Secret Word --- it very seldom happened but it always might, and the evening was special if it did.
On balance, I still think the producers were right in abolishing the free guesses. But I now have a better idea why they were retained so long. Another option might have been to change the rules so that if the panel guessed correctly on a free guess, the contestant would automatically win DOUBLE the maximum prize -- i.e. $100. That would have accelerated the transition of the show from a game of contestant vs. panel to a game in which the real contest is between the panel and the production team (those who select the occupations) -- with the actual contestants being more passive contributors to (and beneficiaries of) the process.
+dizzyology Interesting perspective, and I see what you mean, but I still think the game was more fun without the free guesses. Double the money for a correct free guess? The producers would not have gone for that, and it would have complicated and perhaps corrupted the game. Contestants might have wanted to _try_ to look like what their occupations were so that they _would_ be guessed early!
Yes, I think it played out fine for the audience when the free guesses were correct, as a sort of freak thing, but it must have sent the producers into a state of near-panic when it happened. One difference versus the Secret Word on YBYL is that they actually **wanted** the contestants to say the Secret Word, to add excitement to the programs, and sometimes just cause they took a liking to a contestant and wanted to give away $100 without affecting the quiz. They'd go as far as to outright rig the Secret Word at times, choosing a word that they knew in advance would be bound to come up during the interview. I'd guess that around half of YBYL episodes have a contestant saying the Secret Word, where correct free guesses on WML were **very** rare, and I don't think it's what the producers were aiming for, so much as providing an opportunity for the comic panelists to make a wisecrack.
The fact that it comes off as entertaining is due, I feel, entirely to the powerhouse charm of the cast, who could even manage to make moments like the panel desk catching on fire during a show entertaining. Arlene's delight in particular when she stumbled on a correct guess is irresistible.
That said, if it had been a disaster the first couple of times a correct free guess was made-- as it well might have been with a different cast-- I'm sure the producers would have dropped the free guesses like a hot potato a lot sooner than 1955! :)
Yes, I basically agree. The free guesses were a poor tactic, and it was good they were eliminated. But I see more of the positive side to them after watching all these events together. I agree the charm of the cast -- including JCD, who had to control the situation and fill time skilfully-- had a lot to do with the longevity of the technique, as did the opportunity for panel wisecracks. It's probably no accident that they were dropped just a month after Fred Allen died -- he probably milked more humor out of the wild guesses than anybody else.
My overall thought, however, is that we see here more of the growing awareness on the part of the producers that, whereas the show was originally conceived as a contest between the panel and the contestant (who wanted to "fool" them to earn prizes), that was never the real game. The prizes were too small, and there was very little the contestant could do to affect the guessing (though John's obscurantism could and did). The contestant was really almost a prop. The real contest was whether the production team could come up with occupations that the panel "ought to be able to guess" (a professional Santa at Christmas time, an umpire during the world series) but failed (or succesed) at. Very different from TTTT, say, where the contestants really tried to fool the panel. The fun came from outside the game itself -- from the way the panel used audience reaction and other metaclues. The real key to the show's success was in the fact that the audience knew the occupation in advance (unlike TTTT, again). Gradually the producers caught on to this (probably unconsciously), and adjusted the procedures to take advantage of this reality. When they had, let's say, a very sharp contestant who could inject some personality and attempts at deceit into the questioning, that was a nice bonus -- but it wasn't very common, and the show worked because it found a way to make it unnecessary.
When I figure out how to say this more elegantly, I'll call it a book chapter.
dizzyology All excellent points, but one clarification is in order: The free guesses were dropped in April 1955, the same time they went to one-question-per-panelist-in-turn during the mystery guest rounds. The Walk of Shame is what was dropped shortly after Fred's death, but I think a lot of the same reasoning applies. The WOS seems to me like it was intended to give the comics a chance to make cracks (at least, after they moved past the humiliating requests for demonstrations from the contestants!) Some of Fred's and Steve Allen's funniest quips came during the WOS. Fred often had some funny free guesses too, but I suppose they weren't quite funny enough often enough to keep going with them for the last year he was on the show!
Oops -- of course, you're right on the dates. Got my '55s and '56s mixed up there.
Thanks for all the WML videos. They are like a mini vacation from today's hectic world. I watch one clip every evening to relieve work stress.
James U I can’t stop with just one! I find myself watching for hours!
I wonder if Arlene was ever approached by a government intelligence organization. She could read people very well.
What a great idea for a compilation! Thanks for this and everything else you've assembled here - a lot of hard work and very much appreciated!
I don't think Bennett's idea of "fixing" slot machines was actually the same as the guy actually fixing slot machines.
Indeed. Bennett meant 'fixing' as manipulating the machines so as to control the odds of a win.
@@tubularap Yes, different purpose but the same item and same physical exercise. Close enough.
I love when at 4:05 Dorothy gets it right she says "oh no" because the contestant didn't get any money.
Gary, this is one of my favorite compilations. I enjoyed rewatching, yet again. Thank you, Alison from WML Facebook group
What a remarkable compilation; almost as much fun as the shows themselves. Thanks!
Arlene was half Armenian. Her father was Armenian and was studying art in Paris when he learnt that his family had been slaughtered by the ottomans in the Hamidian massacres. The murders didn’t stop until 1923. Over 1.5 million Armenians perished.
Been binge watching WML and was wondering if they ever got the free guesses correct. Glad I found this video!
same!
And don't forget. . . this is the WML "Summer of Upgrades"! Every Sunday this summer, I'll be posting significant upgrades of episodes already posted here on this channel. Tonight's video replaces a prior version that didn't include the original commercials. Future videos may add the original commercials, upgrade the video quality, or fill in missing portions of incomplete episodes.
If you're not already a member of our Facebook group, now is a great time to join! Every Sunday evening (10:30pm NYC time, naturally) a bunch of us watch an episode at the same time so we can chat about it as we watch. We've been doing this all year, and it's always a blast-- the time ***flies*** by. If you're interested, please check out the group and join in the live chat tonight! And if you are interested in joining in, you'll probably want to delay watching this episode till the chat starts tonight! (There's more information in the group.)
Link to the WML Facebook group: 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
Thanks for the upgrades! I love watching these old shows with the original commercials included. That really makes it feel like a genuine journey back in time.
+Jim Bohannon Glad you're enjoying them, Jim! This weekend's show upgrades an episode with a/v dropouts, but there are no commercials available to me to add. It's a significant upgrade, though. The old copy was barely watchable-- the new one is quite good quality. Thanks for the comment!
Oh, I understand not all of them will have the old commercials. Upgrading audio and video problems is fine by me. Thanks for the effort you put into this labor of love for us!
I love the original commercials. Thanks for posting these.
The show was actually much improved when they eliminated this part of the show, as well as the "walk of shame" - parading in front of the panel before the questioning.
I agree. It was a waste of time.
I like it so there.
@@pearldiver1006 Cool. It was a great show.
The free guesses are fun but the walk was dumb
I'm sure Mr. Hollingsworth was extremely careful to describe his occupation as "repairing" slot machines, not "fixing" them - there is a subtle difference. Daly could have pointed that out, but it would have been a lot less fun. Thanks for the compilation, Gary.
Yes, I noticed that, too-- "fixing" implies "rigging"! :)
Especially in light of what Bennett Cerf said in his free guess.....
I think John Daly made the distinction well enough, but still gave it to Bennet because having that out there as wrong would likely sway the panelists in an unfair manner.
Thank you for this compilation, I always wondered if anyone ever got the free guess right, even if by accident
I feel bad for all these contestants, but especially for poor Miss Marlowe; she seemed so excited and eager to go on, even with little time left, and then it was over in a snap. I know she was performing in New York at the time, but still... :(
At least they got to be featured in a highlights video-- 60 years later. :)
+What's My Line? Haha, true!
This is great. I have been watching regular episodes and decided to google to find out if the "wild guesses" were ever correct. Perfect video.
So glad you appreciated it-- and thanks for leaving the comment! :)
I'm glad they were still able to make something of a game out of the acting coach.
I see Daly didn't want to let them see her more closely so they would recognize her, but still couldn't fool Bennett Serf.
Oh I’m glad I found this and thank you for putting it together. I’ve been addicted to these. I happened upon the dramatic coach one but hadn’t seen the others.
Loved this more every time I watch it! Don't know how many times over all these shows I've said of Arlene "How in THE WORLD did she do that!" on guessing regular occupations, not to mention getting them on the free guesses. Thanks again for posting these.
The score on the ones we have:
Arlene 3
Dorothy 1
Bennett 1
Bennett & Robert Q. 1
Those short chairs for guest and daly crack me up.
Thanks for this video! It answered the question that came to mind after reading the question on the Facebook WML group.
Woof, you can certainly see how the build of a football player has changed over the past half century from the first clip. That man's shoulders are tiny by today's standards!
shevegen An emphasis on higher protein in our diet and weightlifting helped.
They hadn’t discovered weight training yet.
@@SonnyBubba Or steroids.
After Arlene guessed the lifeguard, the panel reviewed past occurrences. Arlene mentioned Santa Claus, but he was a MG, so no free guesses. He was probably guessed immediately by the first panelist. Three other contestants were guessed during the lost episodes. Arlene guessed a motorcycle cop on 24 May 1950. Dorothy guessed the atomic scientist on 13 Sep 1950. In this compilation video, Steve says they guessed 2 umpires. A total of 4 baseball umpires were contestants during the lost episodes. I believe the 4th umpire, featured on 15 Jun 1952, was the one guessed because Steve was on the panel that day, so he remembered it (and maybe guessed it).
The tally: Arlene 4, Dorothy 2, Bennett 2, unknown 1. Bennett gets honorable mention for an _interesting answer_ when he guessed Ringling Brothers Circus for the trapeze artist. There were 10 other known _interesting answers that were not absolutely correct_ .Arlene got 4 of those, Steve & Dorothy each got 2, and Bennett & Richard Hoffman got 1 each.
One "interesting answer" was Dorothy guessing Department Store Santa on a man that taught his own professional Santa Claus school and then, having first spot on the panel, questioned him into a corner and nearly got him. I saw your post on that ep, saying hers was the tenth "interesting answer"; was that the last of the series?
th-cam.com/video/I9rHUHkp6IM/w-d-xo.html
Loved this show as a kid. I think CBS had Candid Camera at 10 pm and WML at 10:30 pm Sunday nights (West Coast time). Thanks for all these uploads.
Thanks for putting this together.
Thanks for posting this! I've been watching so many of these this past week and have been wondering if they ever got it on the free guess round.. Figured it was inevitable that it would happen some time.
Came here all the way from California
"Well bye then, all the way back to California for you"
But no of course I'm happily glad Mr Daly provided a second opportunity for our talented facial expressionist coach, really shows the improvisation they include not to overwhelm their talent'el, and keep them around oh just a tad bit longer.
Some of these are just insane
Thanks for showing this...this is wonderful!
I began watching WML early in 1953. The contestants would first walk in front of the panel to give them a chance to look for clues to their occupations. Ladies, perhaps Dorothy, would ask to examine their hand--- so often that one man smiled and offered his hands voluntarily one night. Most of the opportunities to guess contestants' were humorously outrageous stabs that were meant to be entertaining. But one night an attractive young lady's walk was so precise and graceful that after she sat down, the panel abandoned their usual wild, creative humor and made their guesses more accurate. She was a fashion model.
YES! Thanks for all you do.
That was fun!!!!! I think I've seen a couple of those before (Ed Hurley and Natasha Lytess; maybe Walt Hollingsworth, too), but I appreciate the time and effort that you put into putting all of the remaining correct free guesses together. Thank you very much - and keep up the great work.
Glad you appreciated it, jmmcracken1963! And thanks for the comments, as always.
What's My Line? - Artie Shaw (Mar 2, 1950) the first contestant was House Detective. 2 panelists guessed Detective on the Free Guess, but John Daly continued on with the game anyway.
byte01010101me Sort of. It can be argued-- but it's not a strong point, I admit-- that a private detective is not the same thing as a house detective. You can catch John hesitate a moment before continuing with the free guesses after the "detective" guess, but he clearly did a quick mental calculation and decided to go ahead (otherwise the whole segment would have been spoiled.) The funny thing is, TWO of the panelists guessed "Detective", and John still went on with the game! :)
It’s amazing to me how many of these were in mid September
God I wish they would make this show again. And keep it classy like the original.
I wonder if Arlene really went to the game 🤔
That was amazing!!! Thank you so much! 💗🙏🏼
I always liked the free guesses, too.
Excellent compilation very entertaining.
Arlene seems psychic
That's her Armenian heritage.
@@Miatacrosser ahhhhh
Wow, the umpire and lifeguard gave death stares. Their eyes went cold just watch them.
They immediately lost their 15 minutes of fame and chance for $50.
I'd be a little mad too
I guess they finally realized the one free guess spoils it when they get it right.
I’m hooked watching these...they were just having fun, an it was great to watch..thanks
Great and I mean GREAT SHOW!!!!
Very entertaining compilation!
Great, absolutely GREAT!
Love this clip compilation!!
The baseball umpire (Ed Hurley) was the plate umpire in the 1951 game where midget Eddie Gaedel came to bat.
I read somewhere that even later on panelists sometimes knew either the line or who the mystery guest was but kept playing anyway just for fun. I love how classy the 50s version was
I was born October 4, 1953. Dorothy guessed the umpire’s occupation that evening. Interesting to see what other events occurred at the time of my birth. This being one of them. Really enjoy this show.
You are 4 days younger than me
Why was John Daly wearing an arm band during the taping of the trapese artist?
+What's My Line? You're the best, Gary! Thanks so much for creating and uploading this video, which comes as a delightful surprise! I haven't even had a chance to watch it yet, but I know I'm going to love it, and I wanted to be the first to officially "like" and post a comment on this video! :) I've already frittered away far too much time on WML-related stuff this morning, so I'll save the watching of this video as a treat for myself _after_ I actually get something productive accomplished today! ;)
"Frittered away far too much time on WML-related stuff" applies to just about every day for me. :)
Thanks for leaving the first comment!
Thank you for posting
1954 was a good year for them...lol I was 3 years old when this was filmed.
That was fun to watch. I can't believe they got some of those on the first try
I thought I'd seen every episode posted here, but I swear there were 2 or 3 in your awesome compilation that didn't ring any bells at all,
Time for a re-watch?
With 758+ episodes, I think you could watch this series every day of your life and still not be able to remember most anything by the time you get back around to the beginning. :)
I love these old clips
Great job putting this together Gary! How in the world did you find all of these instances? Did you have to go through every single episode or did you have some sort of search engine that helped you?
"What's my lineman" lol
I think Bennet knew who Natasha Lytess was . He was married to Ginger Rogers cousin . Natasha was in a movie with Ginger prior to being Marilyn's acting coach. i know Bennett always hinted at wanting Marilyn on the show. I wonder if he ever got to meet her otherwise. Ginger was in 2 movies with Marilyn and Marilyn living in NYC for a year so a possibility
I always wondered why they never had Marilyn on. Maybe they asked and she was too shy to be on television?
The way Ed Hurley was looking in the direction of the panel made me think he was suspicious of Dorothy’s random guess? He appeared to be a bit miffed?
Wow! I’m totally impressed!! Arlene got like 4 of them??!!
Yikes!!
I’ve been looking for this video!
Thanks for this post!
thanks for posting this
Oh Gary, thanks for this funny element for a quiet evening at home. I enjoyed it very much.
And yes, the slot machine man seemed badly disappointed.
To quit this habbit of the free guesses was a very good step in WML history
Glad you enjoyed it, Sabine! What's amazing is how many years it took for them to decide to make these tweaks: dropping the Walk of Shame and the free guesses, and changing the pattern for the questioning during the mystery guest rounds. WML was around 5 years old before they started making any of these very called-for changes-- most shows don't get 5 weeks to refine themselves!
Thanks for posting this. I'll bet that some of the missing episodes had more of these.......
Yes, there were at least three correct guesses in lost shows. (See the video description for more info!)
in the second guess in this video they said it was the 3rd correct guess, one of them is from a lost episode
"Miss Rubin gave Steve rather an odd look just now; I think she must be a mind-reader."
"I tell ya: I got an odd look, but she didn't give it to me."
I wouldn’t want to be a contestant. These people were UNCANNY. You don’t stand a chance.
Guest enters
"Well, it was nice seeing you."
I love WML and have wondered if they ever guessed after the introduction.
Don’t know if I’d give the “fixes slot machines so folks lose” a total win. Maybe “repair” is more accurate. Amazing group!!
It wasn't completely accurate, but the key words were there to an extent where it would influence their future questioning. On top of that, I think John Daly was waiting for an excuse to throw some zingers at Bennett Cerf.
Wow two uploads in 24 hours, thanks
Ha! :) Well, the Bennett Cerf audio clip was only a minute long, so that hardly even counts. But there are new video upgrades of already posted episodes every Sunday night this summer!
Great fun! Thank you.
Thanks for putting this out. On a What's my line fix here and was just wondering this very thing.
Maybe I missed it somewhere in the comments, but what was the white arm band for on John Daly, 1953.
I like hearing mr Geary call a slot machine a "one armed bandit"
$50 in 1955 is worth $450 in 2017
I am glad they eventually discontinued the free guesses. Interesting, but it's better when they only ask the questions. Just my opinion.
The dramatic coach could be a cousin to Nancy Culp. LoL!
Awesome idea!
Thanks, Pat! :)
I think you should have included Robert Q's 1st Question Right Guess with the Pretzel Company
2:19 What does Mr Daly have around his left elbow ?
In one of the episodes they mentioned some of the wild guesses from the missing episodes. Atomic scientist and another umpire.
I think when a contestant got his line guessed correctly by the panel by the free guess, John Daily felt bad and I believe, I might be wrong but its free guess on my part, that is what led Daily to flip the cards after the line was guessed.
The free guesses were fun but the "walks of shame" were awful.
agreed
I liked the free guesses.