This has been a total joy and a labor of Love to have worked on this. I hope that John, Dorothy, Louis, Arlene and Hal are smiling from the clouds and are pleased that they are still beloved and admired by all the fans.
Well, I would say this: Dorothy & Arlene looked great with beautiful dresses. Hal was always amusing. Louis was so distracting visually and devoid of a panelist’s personality, so that many may not have noticed he also didn’t have the voice. In vocal parlance the term is a ‘connected' voice, which is clear and projects. A great example of this was Martin Gable.
@@krystonjones In addition to being one of the finest stage actors America has ever produced, Martin Gabel possessed one of the finest speaking voices of all time. He was up there with James Earl Jones, Richard Burton, Jeremy Irons, Alan Rickman, Geoffrey Holder, Jason Robards, Jr. et al. Mr. Gabel was among those who could compel your attention whilst he was reading the Manhattan white pages of the telephone directory to you.
I cannot believe the first guy had no idea how many legs the mosquito had. I love these vids. Plus Mr. Daily is smoking as I see the smoke rise against his jacket with the first guy. Blows me away.
Brilliant! I have a closet full of vintage dresses and accessories (circa 40’ - 60’s), gloves and all. I used to wear them daily about ten years ago. What better way to start working them back in to rotation. I wish I had seen your comment before Netflix discontinued The Andy Griffith Show. Be well, stay kind and blessings to all ~
Did anyone else let out an, "aww!" of disappointment when it came to an early end? :( Got to say though it was wonderful to see a new episode, especially an early one. Loved seeing an early John "freckles" Daly. :)
4:55 Arlene and Dorothy both laugh at Hal's suggestion to Louis to rephrase his question yet again. It's so cute that they do it almost in unison, and they sound a little alike too. Both such gorgeous, talented, and witty women!
@@Johnnycdrums And Hal Block who was sleazy, when not on the printed page, and all that prancing about and touchy, feely horse manure. I adore this show and did as a child in my ill-spent youth. But had I been a guest in these early shows I'd have probably said I am not a trained monkey nor do I wish to be touched by people I don't know, so I'll take my seat, thank you. And I say this as someone who has been in professional theater, acting.
I absolutely love watching these videos. They have it all -- history, well-loved personalities, humor, and the fun of watching the panel work toward their goal. They deserve a lot of credit. They make their task look easy, but it really isn't. And the greatest credit goes to you for your labor of love in bringing these gems to us. Thank you very much.
What a great, great joy it is to see this. Thank you so much to the folks behind this purchase in making it available, for public consumption as it should be. Such a coup! Call me nerdy, but it's thrilling to finally see.
I don't normally like the real early shows, but this was an absolute blast. I'm so glad it's in the hands of the fans. And, even though Steverino! was such a great talent, I always feel sorry for Louis Untermeyer when I see him. John looks like a kid here! Loads of fun, y'all.
I too prefer the "canonical" panel of Dorothy, Steve, Arlene, and Bennett, but I can't deny that Untermeyer was a very good game player! It was truly unfortunate how he got pulled from the show, due to what was essentially just mass paranoia.
Love all the panelist. They were full of class. Mr. Daly had such a warm and sincere smile. Everyone contributed a unique bright spot to the show's success!
I read that Hal Block was fired from the show in it's third season because of too many "risque" remarks. He looks like he was a heavy drinker as well. I also read that he died in 1981 from burns suffered in a fire at his Chicago apartment.. Poor Mr Untermayer was blacklisted because of his affiliation with Communist groups throughout his younger life.He passeed away in 1977. This show is kind of like a Rosetta stone of how people spokje and lived all through the 50's and 60's. Its an amazing show and all I can say is we have really gone down academically in todays world. The art of the spoken english language has really degenerated in todays society.
My grandparents had one of the first TVs in Akron Ohio in 1950. They said people would come to watch from all over the block ( tho maybe not at 10:30 at night!). Our old WML friends were here beginning the wonderment of a new and powerful entertainment era. Thanks for this window back in time! Imagine the people of Oct 1950 watching it for the first time, just like us today in 2016!
Andrew: Interesting you would mention Akron, I'm from Canton and am interested in Vintage Cleveland/Northeast Ohio TV in general from this era. Based on a small bit of research I've done, WXEL-TV 9 (Forerunner to WJW-TV 8) carried Whats My Line? in the early years but were an ABC/Dumont affiliate. However, this particular episode, because of earlier commitments on Sunday at 10:30 was not shown on October 1. October 8 and beyond..Whats My Line was back on the Schedule..
@@TimL2005 Does your interest extend to the 1960s? Specifically, do you remember Ghoulardi? I watched very little WML? while growing up, but my sister and I would not miss Ghoulardi on Saturday nights. We still laugh about his antics. Unfortunately, very little of his work was recorded and there is thus a relative dearth of his material on TH-cam.
My parents had the second television in the San Fernando Valley area of Los Angeles which they bought Easter weekend of 1946. There was only one station available and it broadcasted only a few hours per day. My father had about 200 feet of cable and had to walk over a lot of their yard before they could get the signal!
I discovered this channel a few weeks ago at 129K subs, and now it's at 131K. Such a fun show, and without massive explosions and people running and screaming. A refreshing change.
When this show debuted in February of this year it was rather stiff and stoic, but it didn't take long for Arlene to almost single handedly inject some fun and personality into it.
To be fair most if not all panel shows, up to the last twenty years or so, would start off rather stiff and introduce more levity as panellists got the performers got comfortable. I'm a 70s kid and I remember most shows going that way. I think in modern times the networks ensure this isn't the case.....though it isn't half as interesting, I like seeing early episodes of things where it's not quite firing on all cylinders yet.
@@stevefish3124 Wrong; all existing episodes of the original CBS run are kinescopes (even the last season's colour episodes are on black-and-white kinescopes). This is even though they would have started recording on videotape at that time.
Thank you for your time and money to bring us this episode. It's actually one of the most pristine copies of *any* show I've seen from that era. Kudos to you and the "magic pixies." 🤗
thanks for this gift. I am rather young and just discovered WML from the BUZR network but since they only show one season over and over I looked to the internet and found this channel a few months ago to satisfy my WML appetite. Thanks for assembling this for the younger generations to discover and the older generations to enjoy.
Ordinarily I'd remove a comment referencing that channel because of a long ugly history I have with its parent company (which you'd have no way of knowing about, I'm sure). . . but YOUR comment? This one I'm leaving. :) Yes, the TV channel that shall not be named has been showing the same 40 or so episodes over and over and over again ad nauseum since the channel launched in June. It defies reason, it really does. But the good news is that the entire series is posted to this TH-cam channel for anyone to view any time they want, at the pace they want, in the order they want, and for free: All 757 episodes of the show that have been in reruns on GSN, plus a few more like this one. Thanks for discovering this TH-cam channel!
@@WhatsMyLine Thank you so much for offering these precious episodes for our viewing pleasure. As it happens, I'm in my 70s and my family watched these regularly, back in the day. What you have given to me and others around my age is a chance to re-live some of our childhood memories, one episode at a time! Many thanks. 😘
@@marysterling691 I was curious how Gary got involved in a WML channel. He does us all a great service providing many hours of pleasure for free as he stated. He is a gentleman. I kinda like it when he dresses down a poster for good reason 100% of the time.
I LOVE old-time, New York-based LIVE TV from the Early Years. It's like taking a trip back in time. These WHAT's MY LINE episodes are Important Documents of both Historical and Social importance. And they're Entertaining too!!
Agreed! I'm trying to get my niece and nephew to watch WML because of all the historic figures who showed up! How I WISH we had these programs when I was growing up!!!!!!!!
As a huge fan of the show here In England, I really appreciate all those who were involved in finding this episode and, showing it to us. This is pure gold. From a time when family shows were just that and good clean fun and.great entertainment. I just love the fashion, the panel and guests. John Daily was the best. Love to see the old adverts too. Thank you so much. Greetings moog.
Thank you. I really enjoy watching these snapshots of history. I've been watching in order and will soon come up on my birthday, in November 1958. It'll be fun re-living my childhood. I used to beg my parents to let me stay up and watch this show, and then caught the re-runs after school in the early 70s. Oh yeah, and I remember reading Bennet's books from our local library. He totally inspired my sense of humor. Thanks again. You keep my memories alive!
This was just a brilliant job, well done! Thank you Stan and Gary for your endless devotion to something you love. This was an experience I will always remember; watching this debut with you guys, commenting in real time. I have to admit, that I am grateful for the stupid internet for a few things, like this.
Thank you so much. I get this twice a day 2:40 AM or sometime in the afternoon in DC and I always try to catch it. I grew up with this TV being the first in my house in 1950 and to see the first show again isa gift (as you probably well know!). I am starting at the beginning of your presentation. Some that I liked the most came after they changed formats ...there seem to be about 5 or 6 I can count when they stopped the guesses, then stopped the walk (hike) downs, etc. but never changed the 50 (10 questions). Some favorites include Joey Heatherton, (I'm a fan), Fred Astaire when he was asked to "do one dance step on the way out", the good scheme when Desi and Lucy came on, and of course when both Johnny Carson (briefly was a panelist along with Groucho. I better stop now since gathering up names is difficult for me at best. But THANKS THANKS THANKS and Goodnight Mrs. Callabash, wherever you are!
Amazing picture and sound, thank you, magic pixies! This is SO COOL. 65+ years now since the TV viewers across the USA saw this. WOW. It's fun to see JC Daly so young, along with Arlene and Miss Kilgallen.. I hope that sometime, some wonderful person might have FOUND other Lost episodes of WML? and share them with the planet. We need to see these! Thanks, to all involved in getting this on here. HOORAY!!
Must be a great show. I liked it as a kid in the fifties and I appreciated your work for bringing us this gift now. Enjoyed the comments, except from the newer generations nothing creepy about this show.Thank you for sharing.
This might be the most pristine episode of the original What's My Line that I've ever seen; and the audio sounds incredible; it actually sounds like it might have been recorded in the 1970's! Excellent post, my man!
Isn't it great to see a modern transfer directly from an original kinescope? So much of what we enjoy here has been through so many generations of copying, compression, and corrupting with cable channel announcements...we enjoy it anyway, but it doesn't come close to the quality seen here. Bravo to Gary and his merry band of collaborators! (see the intro paragraphs below the TH-cam title, when the video image is not full-screen)
Actually the audio is still not up to 1970 standards. We are hearing voice microphones that are picking up audio from the entire studio. Not good shotgun mics or mics close to their mouths.
How did I miss this when you first posted it six months ago? I'll add my name to the list of people in your debt for finding, restoring and posting this piece of history. THANKS! Also, in that first round, Hal Block was clearly working towards bartender, when Untermeyer jumped in and effectively stole his thunder. I think Hal showed a lot of good grace turning it into a self-deprecating joke,
I appreciate your commentary on these episodes as much as the program. For years, I could view these shows only if I were visiting the Museum of Television and Radio ( entitled differently nowadays ) in New York. Thank you, Sir.
That was really a great fun, to watch this episode. Thanks for providing this here on YT for the public. This was a very good episode (one exception is of course the walk of shame) A pleasure to see the panels good work, they worked quite a lot together in this episode and every time with great success. And for you Gary: I had a tiny bit of notion tonight, that the episode is on YT. And every time i looked on my phone while working, there was this pleasant anticipation: when I'm home, i'm going to see this new episode. What a joy for me all morning.
It's true that the panelists and contestants were well mannered, articulate and poised. But that applied mostly if one was white. There were few roles open to people of color in those days. John and the panelists did what they could to integrate the program. Many black performers were mystery guests: Harry Belafonte, Nat King Cole, Eartha Kitt, Sammy Davis Jr., Pearl Bailey, Johnny Mathis and others received the full respect of panel and moderator. It was only later that black people were on as regular contestants. And were treated with the utmost respect. An ugly episode occurred that demonstrated who John Daly was. He wanted a famous black singer on as mystery guest and apparently the powers at CBS refused to invite her. Too many people of color. The audience would object. John persisted, even threatening to quit over the dispute. The powers relented, the celebrity appeared and was greeted with thunderous applause. I was so proud of my WML performers. They did what they could to do what was right
Nice to see what the overhead mike looked like in 1950, even if it is a shadow. I do not remember mike shadows in the Gloria Swanson episode, but then I was looking for one either.
Thanks, this episode answers my question, ‘was JD a smoker?’ He always looked ill or extremely unhealthy, I suppose 77 years was a good innings considering. He left his legacy by naming all 4 of his boys John. Considering there is a drink named John Daly I presume he was also a big drinker. For me, his trademark will always be holding women’s hands whenever he could.
@@krystonjones "... whenever he could"?? People back then weren't afraid of sue-happy lunatics. Many people coming on the show were often not experienced in being in front of the camera, and came from smaller towns, and were nervous. John Daly comforted a nervous guest with hand-holding or an arm around the shoulders. That's the way it was back then.
@randysills4418 rember Mr Daly was a wartime correspondent and reporter. I'd bet he found something J EDgar Hoover kept hidden about Dorothy's death and it weighed heavily on him.
I note that the elimination of the wild guesses and the "Walk of Shame" is years away at this point. Eventually, they'd not only do that, but switch to a dark chalkboard with white chalk for signing in, and one built into a cabinet so it didn't move around. I think the white chalk on the dark background looked a lot better on television. Eventually, they'd also change the rules, years away, for questioning the mystery guest. But it's actually interesting to see WML in its "primitive" state. Also, the state of TV shows in general when the medium was in its relative infancy.
and thanks to Stan and thanx to Gary and those listed at the end for getting this landmark available for public view. It looks great, too. I was afraid it was stored somewhere where it got ratty -- but the picture and sound quality are first rate despite its age and the primitiveness of 1950 TV.
Interesting that at this point John is addressing the instructions about the game to the panel, not the contestant: "Ten flips and you lose the game." He said that twice. Later, of course, he addressed the contestant (who is the one who needed the briefing) and said "ten flips and you have won the game."
Woooowwww... What marvelous ladies in the episode !!! Wish I had been in the audience back then !!! Thank you for sharing with us the wonderful discovered gem. Cheers !!!!!
And most of the younger crowd has no idea that is where the term "care package" came from, as it's since been absorbed as an idiom for sending/giving necessary items to another person.
thanks so much for finding and putting forth the effort to restore and make available these treasured episodes. I only download YT vids because YT is unscrupulous/shady about removing things on a whim and I want to save them for viewing offline. edit: your watermark is indistinguishable and less annoying than tv channel ones.
Thanks, Jennifer (and sorry for the late reply)! I don't have any problem whatsoever with people downloading a copy of this video. I just don't want to see the video stolen by another TH-cam CHANNEL. Glad the watermark wasn't distracting. :)
I remember watching this video when it first appeared, I think it was at 10PM Sunday EST just like the original transmission. But I kept getting interrupted by a crazed family member that was going through one of their psychotic episodes. Did not enjoy watching this for the first time, unfortunately. But I’m glad it’s still on TH-cam. Thank you WML channel.
TV camera image tubes of the era tended to "burn in" if left pointed at a static image for a long period. I thought the "sign in" camera had such a burn until I realized that it is your WML channel watermark. Good idea - at least the "borrowers" will have to give you credit for this one, at least (and I expect they're too lazy to try to edit it out). Thanks for a really nice piece of TV history.
I noticed that Louis Untermeyer frequently calls for a conference, explains his thought processes, and often conveys the answer to the panelist about to ask a question. This led to exceptionally early winning by the panel and the guest receiving very little money. It's obvious that this was far less common in later years and wonder if this was realized and discouraged by Daly, staff, or G&T.
I'm fascinated, as are others, by the "HiFi" soundtrack. My guess is that this episode's sound may have been recorded onto audio tape (which was somehow preserved) and not, as I'm guessing was the usual practice, of recording the sound onto the optical track of the film. Either that or some great technique was employed which just isn't evident in most of the other films. It's great to have an extra episode of future Poet Laureate Louis Untermeyer. Such a loss to the show that he was sacked.
Thank you so much for this gem, and for the hard work to get it to us in such good shape. I've always wondered what Kathleen Winsor looked like. I read my parents' first edition of "Forever Amber" when I was sixteen, many decades ago, and it was really hot stuff.
+What's My Line? "Forever Amber" is laughably tame by today's standards. It follows the social rise of an English peasant girl and her star-crossed love for a Cavalier adventurer during Restoration England. Amber gains the world but loses her soul in the process. Winsor lived in my old Oakland, CA Rockridge neighborhood during WWII, with her soldier husband's family, and did her "Amber" research at Doe Library on the UC Berkeley campus. She does bring the 1660's vividly alive, as she shovels an exhaustive amount of detail on Newgate Prison, British theatrical customs, and Court Intrigue (Charles II) into her novel. In later life, she lived in the Elmwood district of Berkeley. Shortly before this WML appearance, she was married to Artie Shaw, among others. I've heard that the book was even racier, but her editors made her take out all references to homosexuality, which is hilarious given that Amber spends some time as an actress on the English stage. But, Winsor manages to infer a lot via her characterizations. The book was a red hot sensation in 1944, when first published, and it actually caused a scandal. Kathleen Winsor herself was notorious! Maybe that's what Benny and Allen are referring to. It's hard to believe that at 16 years old, I devoured the book! The movie, starring Cornel Wilde and Linda Darnell is a hoot, with both of them badly miscast in full 1940's glory.
lemorab1 I have a feeling there was a minor spike in Google searches on the name "Kathleen Winsor" as a result of this video surfacing! :) Yes, the jokes on the old radio shows were all about how racy the book was for its time.
this conversation is 2 years old. If anyone should read this now, 2018, The 1947 movie is here on youtube. I just watched 15 minutes of it because of this episode.
@@lemorab1 It's too bad that Bennett Cerf wasn't on the panel for this episode. He and Kathleen Winsor went on war bond tours together during WWII. In the 1960s, Bennett was closely involved in publication of another book by Winsor, "Wanderers Eastward, Wanderers Westward", a historical novel set in Montana in the 1860s.
What a shame that so many episodes after April 12 have been lost. As a baseball fan since the 1950s, it would have been especially great to see Dizzy Dean and Jackie Robinson as mystery guests.
Thanks for making this available. I was never a big fan of the "Walk of Shame" the guests did after signing-in, but asking the last guy, a bit chubby, to touch his toes went over the line. At least Dorothy approved of Cardinal of Windsor for his tie.A little background on the mystery guest. Kathleen Windsor.en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kathleen_Winsor
They would have never guessed in a million years that's 73 years later people would be watching this on their phones
These WML episodes are pure unadulterated You Tube crack. I can't stop watching these amazing time capsules. Thank you immensely for your efforts.
They are addictive to me as well. I always watch them, or the cat and otter videos, or Jay Leno's Headlines before I go to sleep. Better than Sominex.
Yes they’re simply addictive. 🤣
They are addictive.
Most of them were aired before I was born,1959
This has been a total joy and a labor of Love to have worked on this. I hope that John, Dorothy, Louis, Arlene and Hal are smiling from the clouds and are pleased that they are still beloved and admired by all the fans.
^^^ That's Stan's account, folks. Took me a few comments from "CharleyChase" before it registered for me, so I figured I'd point it out. :)
CharleyChase beautifully expressed....♥️
Well, I would say this: Dorothy & Arlene looked great with beautiful dresses. Hal was always amusing. Louis was so distracting visually and devoid of a panelist’s personality, so that many may not have noticed he also didn’t have the voice. In vocal parlance the term is a ‘connected' voice, which is clear and projects. A great example of this was Martin Gable.
@@krystonjones In addition to being one of the finest stage actors America has ever produced, Martin Gabel possessed one of the finest speaking voices of all time. He was up there with James Earl Jones, Richard Burton, Jeremy Irons, Alan Rickman, Geoffrey Holder, Jason Robards, Jr. et al. Mr. Gabel was among those who could compel your attention whilst he was reading the Manhattan white pages of the telephone directory to you.
Thanks Charley
Absolutely great game! What was your job in all of this?
"is he a mosquito doer-away-wither?" i love Arlene 😁
Many thanks to all who rescued this episode! Great Job!
I cannot believe the first guy had no idea how many legs the mosquito had. I love these vids. Plus Mr. Daily is smoking as I see the smoke rise against his jacket with the first guy. Blows me away.
I think he may have thought "yes, they have 4 legs, and then even more than that"
Fantastic! I dressed up in my best evening gown and diamonds for the occasion... :D
And that's something, considering you're a man! HAHA Just kidding.
Simmer down Frank.
Brilliant!
I have a closet full of vintage dresses and accessories (circa 40’ - 60’s), gloves and all.
I used to wear them daily about ten years ago. What better way to start working them back in to rotation.
I wish I had seen your comment before Netflix discontinued The Andy Griffith Show.
Be well, stay kind and blessings to all ~
Did anyone else let out an, "aww!" of disappointment when it came to an early end? :( Got to say though it was wonderful to see a new episode, especially an early one. Loved seeing an early John "freckles" Daly. :)
No, I was happy to see no more of that animal abuser.
Jonh was cute, love his laugher.
@@icturner23 To whom are you referring?
@@Jellyvibe I don't agree him about it, but it was the last guest, the Butcher, that L.C. Turner was referring to.
FYI, the description on this video explains the early end, if anyone was wondering.
Loving watching these shows. This one was 3 weeks before I was born!
I was 3 years old and if I remember correctly, we didn’t get a TV till 1951!
Thanks for sharing this historic episode. Pretty delightful!
4:55 Arlene and Dorothy both laugh at Hal's suggestion to Louis to rephrase his question yet again. It's so cute that they do it almost in unison, and they sound a little alike too. Both such gorgeous, talented, and witty women!
THIS IS IT! The very first weekly episode in its' Sunday night debut! Is anybody else STOKED?!
Good thing they got rid of Dr. Hoffman and Governor Hoffman.
@@Johnnycdrums And Hal Block who was sleazy, when not on the printed page, and all that prancing about and touchy, feely horse manure. I adore this show and did as a child in my ill-spent youth. But had I been a guest in these early shows I'd have probably said I am not a trained monkey nor do I wish to be touched by people I don't know, so I'll take my seat, thank you. And I say this as someone who has been in professional theater, acting.
@@philippapay4352 ; Yeah, and he wasn't funny either.
Stoked? WOWed!!! Pleased!!!!
There just ain't no words.😂😅
@@philippapay4352 I agree except for your “trained monkey” comment. It’s no more acceptable for monkeys to be treated in that way.
I absolutely love watching these videos. They have it all -- history, well-loved personalities, humor, and the fun of watching the panel work toward their goal. They deserve a lot of credit. They make their task look easy, but it really isn't. And the greatest credit goes to you for your labor of love in bringing these gems to us. Thank you very much.
I got addicted to these videos, every time I watch an episode I google up all the guests or even the panelist. Thank you from Indonesia.
What a great, great joy it is to see this. Thank you so much to the folks behind this purchase in making it available, for public consumption as it should be. Such a coup! Call me nerdy, but it's thrilling to finally see.
I don't normally like the real early shows, but this was an absolute blast. I'm so glad it's in the hands of the fans. And, even though Steverino! was such a great talent, I always feel sorry for Louis Untermeyer when I see him. John looks like a kid here! Loads of fun, y'all.
+Jake Mabe Me as well. He was smart and charming and would've been great as a long term panelist. And he out-lived Bennett! :)
cottagechskitty q pl
The unfair blacklisting of Untermeyer was unfortunate. But on the program, he was an egotistical bore.
Untermeyer didn’t deserve the black listing, but was he ever a stiff bore and seemed quite full of himself.
I too prefer the "canonical" panel of Dorothy, Steve, Arlene, and Bennett, but I can't deny that Untermeyer was a very good game player! It was truly unfortunate how he got pulled from the show, due to what was essentially just mass paranoia.
Kathleen Winsor’s novel will surely endure forever
Love all the panelist. They were full of class. Mr. Daly had such a warm and sincere smile. Everyone contributed a unique bright spot to the show's success!
I read that Hal Block was fired from the show in it's third season because of too many "risque" remarks. He looks like he was a heavy drinker as well. I also read that he died in 1981 from burns suffered in a fire at his Chicago apartment.. Poor Mr Untermayer was blacklisted because of his affiliation with Communist groups throughout his younger life.He passeed away in 1977. This show is kind of like a Rosetta stone of how people spokje and lived all through the 50's and 60's. Its an amazing show and all I can say is we have really gone down academically in todays world. The art of the spoken english language has really degenerated in todays society.
Tony Cevallos Watch a few episodes of "Judge Judy " for total language death.
Unfortunately, I think you're correct. Education and conversation are rarely valued in our society today. So sad!
He’s (Hal Block)not funny, that’s for sure.
Couldn't die in both 1981 AND 1977...seriously ? Let's make up our minds
@@gailsirois7175 Two different people, Hal died in 1981, Untermyer died in 1977
Worth the wait! Thanks to all that made this available 60 years later.
My grandparents had one of the first TVs in Akron Ohio in 1950. They said people would come to watch from all over the block ( tho maybe not at 10:30 at night!). Our old WML friends were here beginning the wonderment of a new and powerful entertainment era. Thanks for this window back in time! Imagine the people of Oct 1950 watching it for the first time, just like us today in 2016!
Andrew:
Interesting you would mention Akron, I'm from Canton and am interested in Vintage Cleveland/Northeast Ohio TV in general from this era. Based on a small bit of research I've done, WXEL-TV 9 (Forerunner to WJW-TV 8) carried Whats My Line? in the early years but were an ABC/Dumont affiliate. However, this particular episode, because of earlier commitments on Sunday at 10:30 was not shown on October 1. October 8 and beyond..Whats My Line was back on the Schedule..
Mr. Jingeling how you ringleing keeper of the keys lol
One episode later in the serious a 7:30pm time of airing was mentioned. I’m guessing Eastern time.
@@TimL2005 Does your interest extend to the 1960s? Specifically, do you remember Ghoulardi? I watched very little WML? while growing up, but my sister and I would not miss Ghoulardi on Saturday nights. We still laugh about his antics. Unfortunately, very little of his work was recorded and there is thus a relative dearth of his material on TH-cam.
My parents had the second television in the San Fernando Valley area of Los Angeles which they bought Easter weekend of 1946. There was only one station available and it broadcasted only a few hours per day. My father had about 200 feet of cable and had to walk over a lot of their yard before they could get the signal!
I am astounded that a tv recording that is over 70 years old looks and sounds so good.
thank you so much for your tireless work to bring these classic T V program for us to enjoy.
I discovered this channel a few weeks ago at 129K subs, and now it's at 131K. Such a fun show, and without massive explosions and people running and screaming. A refreshing change.
When this show debuted in February of this year it was rather stiff and stoic, but it didn't take long for Arlene to almost single handedly inject some fun and personality into it.
Eliminating two boring humorless men on the panel with way more interesting panelists really helped.
To be fair most if not all panel shows, up to the last twenty years or so, would start off rather stiff and introduce more levity as panellists got the performers got comfortable. I'm a 70s kid and I remember most shows going that way. I think in modern times the networks ensure this isn't the case.....though it isn't half as interesting, I like seeing early episodes of things where it's not quite firing on all cylinders yet.
That's what I was thinking. Arlene continued to add her piquant sense of humor throughout the run of this program.
Excellent point!
Terrible panelists surprised it survived them
To be honest, I'm amazed the sound quality is way better than those kinescopes from the mid-1960s!
Magnetic video tape was first used in 1958. Thus there was no need to film a video sreen ie. A kinoscope. There were no kinoscopes made in the 60's
@@stevefish3124 Wrong; all existing episodes of the original CBS run are kinescopes (even the last season's colour episodes are on black-and-white kinescopes). This is even though they would have started recording on videotape at that time.
Thank you for your time and money to bring us this episode. It's actually one of the most pristine copies of *any* show I've seen from that era. Kudos to you and the "magic pixies." 🤗
thanks for this gift. I am rather young and just discovered WML from the BUZR network but since they only show one season over and over I looked to the internet and found this channel a few months ago to satisfy my WML appetite. Thanks for assembling this for the younger generations to discover and the older generations to enjoy.
Ordinarily I'd remove a comment referencing that channel because of a long ugly history I have with its parent company (which you'd have no way of knowing about, I'm sure). . . but YOUR comment? This one I'm leaving. :)
Yes, the TV channel that shall not be named has been showing the same 40 or so episodes over and over and over again ad nauseum since the channel launched in June. It defies reason, it really does.
But the good news is that the entire series is posted to this TH-cam channel for anyone to view any time they want, at the pace they want, in the order they want, and for free: All 757 episodes of the show that have been in reruns on GSN, plus a few more like this one.
Thanks for discovering this TH-cam channel!
@@WhatsMyLine Thank you so much for offering these precious episodes for our viewing pleasure. As it happens, I'm in my 70s and my family watched these regularly, back in the day. What you have given to me and others around my age is a chance to re-live some of our childhood memories, one episode at a time! Many thanks. 😘
@@marysterling691 I was curious how Gary got involved in a WML channel. He does us all a great service providing many hours of pleasure for free as he stated. He is a gentleman. I kinda like it when he dresses down a poster for good reason 100% of the time.
The audio in this episode is even better than the audio from the early 60's episodes posted on TH-cam.
I LOVE old-time, New York-based LIVE TV from the Early Years. It's like taking a trip back in time. These WHAT's MY LINE
episodes are Important Documents of both Historical and Social importance. And they're Entertaining too!!
Agreed! I'm trying to get my niece and nephew to watch WML because of all the historic figures who showed up! How I WISH we had these programs when I was growing up!!!!!!!!
Your deranged capitalization is killing me.
I love these shows! Even the leetle commercials!😻
As a huge fan of the show here In England, I really appreciate all those who were involved in finding this episode and, showing it to us. This is pure gold. From a time when family shows were just that and good clean fun and.great entertainment. I just love the fashion, the panel and guests. John Daily was the best. Love to see the old adverts too. Thank you so much. Greetings moog.
Enjoyed it very much! Arlene is such a delight, as always. Dorothy and Louis Untermeyer played the game well.
~Sheilah
Wow! Precious footage! I can't thank you enough for sharing it!
What a great find! I thank you to all who helped put this together. May it be the first of many new lost episodes rediscovered.
Thank you. I really enjoy watching these snapshots of history. I've been watching in order and will soon come up on my birthday, in November 1958. It'll be fun re-living my childhood. I used to beg my parents to let me stay up and watch this show, and then caught the re-runs after school in the early 70s. Oh yeah, and I remember reading Bennet's books from our local library. He totally inspired my sense of humor. Thanks again. You keep my memories alive!
This was just a brilliant job, well done! Thank you Stan and Gary for your endless devotion to something you love. This was an experience I will always remember; watching this debut with you guys, commenting in real time. I have to admit, that I am grateful for the stupid internet for a few things, like this.
+Vicki Manager Thank you for the kind words.
Extraordinary! I'm sure watching the entire show, its a timeless and very entertaining experience😁
Thank you so much. I get this twice a day 2:40 AM or sometime in the afternoon in DC and I always try to catch it. I grew up with this TV being the first in my house in 1950 and to see the first show again isa gift (as you probably well know!). I am starting at the beginning of your presentation. Some that I liked the most came after they changed formats ...there seem to be about 5 or 6 I can count when they stopped the guesses, then stopped the walk (hike) downs, etc. but never changed the 50 (10 questions). Some favorites include Joey Heatherton, (I'm a fan), Fred Astaire when he was asked to "do one dance step on the way out", the good scheme when Desi and Lucy came on, and of course when both Johnny Carson (briefly was a panelist along with Groucho. I better stop now since gathering up names is difficult for me at best. But THANKS THANKS THANKS and Goodnight Mrs. Callabash, wherever you are!
This is GREAT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Been waitin !! Popcorn is in hand ... Jiffy Pop ...
Amazing picture and sound, thank you, magic pixies! This is SO COOL. 65+ years now since the TV viewers across the USA saw this. WOW. It's fun to see JC Daly so young, along with Arlene and Miss Kilgallen.. I hope that sometime, some wonderful person might have FOUND other Lost episodes of WML? and share them with the planet. We need to see these! Thanks, to all involved in getting this on here. HOORAY!!
Thank you for posting all the WML shows.
Must be a great show. I liked it as a kid in the fifties and I appreciated your work for bringing us this gift now. Enjoyed the comments, except from the newer generations nothing creepy about this show.Thank you for sharing.
Fantastic guys what a piece of history Amazing to see something so old restored and available I am forever grateful for your efforts and dedication
This might be the most pristine episode of the original What's My Line that I've ever seen; and the audio sounds incredible; it actually sounds like it might have been recorded in the 1970's! Excellent post, my man!
right¡
Isn't it great to see a modern transfer directly from an original kinescope? So much of what we enjoy here has been through so many generations of copying, compression, and corrupting with cable channel announcements...we enjoy it anyway, but it doesn't come close to the quality seen here. Bravo to Gary and his merry band of collaborators! (see the intro paragraphs below the TH-cam title, when the video image is not full-screen)
Actually the audio is still not up to 1970 standards. We are hearing voice microphones that are picking up audio from the entire studio. Not good shotgun mics or mics close to their mouths.
@@AllenFreemanMediaGuru For sure, it's easy to pick up the impromptu panel "conferences" from John Daley's microphone.
I would love to hear all the WML episodes In this incredible sound!
I’m so glad they soon got bit of that creepy bit at the beginning where they stared and poked at the guests doing this and that.
How did I miss this when you first posted it six months ago? I'll add my name to the list of people in your debt for finding, restoring and posting this piece of history. THANKS! Also, in that first round, Hal Block was clearly working towards bartender, when Untermeyer jumped in and effectively stole his thunder. I think Hal showed a lot of good grace turning it into a self-deprecating joke,
This is so cool! Thanks to everyone who made this possible......
This is the 17th of 877 episodes. The picture and audio quality is amazing, almost like video tape, which hadn't been invented yet.
This was such a fun experience. Thank you for all you did to make this happen!
Tv has evolved so fast from 1950 to the end of the decade. Early shows such as that one looked like radio with image.
I appreciate your commentary on these episodes as much as the program. For years, I could view these shows only if I were visiting the Museum of Television and Radio ( entitled differently nowadays ) in New York. Thank you, Sir.
That was really a great fun, to watch this episode. Thanks for providing this here on YT for the public. This was a very good episode (one exception is of course the walk of shame) A pleasure to see the panels good work, they worked quite a lot together in this episode and every time with great success.
And for you Gary: I had a tiny bit of notion tonight, that the episode is on YT. And every time i looked on my phone while working, there was this pleasant anticipation: when I'm home, i'm going to see this new episode. What a joy for me all morning.
This is hands down the best audio I have ever heard from a kinescope. I'm floored by how good it sounds.
This is so much fun!
Thanks, guys! Really enjoyed this.
+Rusty Frank Thanks Rusty!
thank you for taking the time and putting in the effort needed to post it. I quite enjoyed this. Each episode makes me wish I was born back then.
It's true that the panelists and contestants were well mannered, articulate and poised. But that applied mostly if one was white. There were few roles open to people of color in those days. John and the panelists did what they could to integrate the program. Many black performers were mystery guests: Harry Belafonte, Nat King Cole, Eartha Kitt, Sammy Davis Jr., Pearl Bailey, Johnny Mathis and others received the full respect of panel and moderator. It was only later that black people were on as regular contestants. And were treated with the utmost respect. An ugly episode occurred that demonstrated who John Daly was. He wanted a famous black singer on as mystery guest and apparently the powers at CBS refused to invite her. Too many people of color. The audience would object. John persisted, even threatening to quit over the dispute. The powers relented, the celebrity appeared and was greeted with thunderous applause. I was so proud of my WML performers. They did what they could to do what was right
God bless John Daly!
Thanks to all involved for providing us with this look into the past of my favourite TV show
The fidelity on this clip is fantastic! Most other Kinescopes are rather muffled sounding. This is very crisp.
Who knows maybe there's other episodes waiting to be unearthed...let's hope so!
Nice to see what the overhead mike looked like in 1950, even if it is a shadow. I do not remember mike shadows in the Gloria Swanson episode, but then I was looking for one either.
+soulierinvestments I noticed it too, I just chalk it up to early broadcasting problems.
I really enjoy watching these vintage shows. A lot of fun!
Nice job. Much thanks to all involved
+Dick Wilson Thank you.
Once again, thank You for posting WML shows.
the sound is fantastic
The quality of sound is so clear! Its unbelievable! Thank you for your preservation!
John Daly doesn't seem like he changed much over the years until you watch this old episode.
Thanks, this episode answers my question, ‘was JD a smoker?’ He always looked ill or extremely unhealthy, I suppose 77 years was a good innings considering. He left his legacy by naming all 4 of his boys John. Considering there is a drink named John Daly I presume he was also a big drinker. For me, his trademark will always be holding women’s hands whenever he could.
Yeah, he smokes in this episode.
After Dorothy Kilgallen died, John Daly suddenly looked so much older...kind of like me in the last four years!
@@krystonjones
"... whenever he could"?? People back then weren't afraid of sue-happy lunatics. Many people coming on the show were often not experienced in being in front of the camera, and came from smaller towns, and were nervous. John Daly comforted a nervous guest with hand-holding or an arm around the shoulders. That's the way it was back then.
@randysills4418 rember Mr Daly was a wartime correspondent and reporter. I'd bet he found something J EDgar Hoover kept hidden about Dorothy's death and it weighed heavily on him.
The quality of this video is amazing
Thank you . This is beyond a treat !!!!
I note that the elimination of the wild guesses and the "Walk of Shame" is years away at this point. Eventually, they'd not only do that, but switch to a dark chalkboard with white chalk for signing in, and one built into a cabinet so it didn't move around. I think the white chalk on the dark background looked a lot better on television. Eventually, they'd also change the rules, years away, for questioning the mystery guest. But it's actually interesting to see WML in its "primitive" state. Also, the state of TV shows in general when the medium was in its relative infancy.
and thanks to Stan and thanx to Gary and those listed at the end for getting this landmark available for public view. It looks great, too. I was afraid it was stored somewhere where it got ratty -- but the picture and sound quality are first rate despite its age and the primitiveness of 1950 TV.
+soulierinvestments It was an honor.
It was a stored 16mm black and white film (kinescope). The first black and white video tape recorder wouldn't be introduced until 1956.
What a pleasure watching this. Thank you.
Interesting that at this point John is addressing the instructions about the game to the panel, not the contestant: "Ten flips and you lose the game." He said that twice. Later, of course, he addressed the contestant (who is the one who needed the briefing) and said "ten flips and you have won the game."
Huh. I've watched this four times and never noticed that. I guess I'll keep an eye out for on the fifth viewing. Nice catch.
Noticed that as well, as someone who's watched the 1955 season a good deal and is now exploring the 1950 season, thanks to this channel.
Woooowwww...
What marvelous ladies in the episode !!!
Wish I had been in the audience back then !!!
Thank you for sharing with us the wonderful discovered gem.
Cheers !!!!!
The Care Package commercial was haunting. Europe was still recovering from World War 2!
And most of the younger crowd has no idea that is where the term "care package" came from, as it's since been absorbed as an idiom for sending/giving necessary items to another person.
This is truly a gem.
John typically hid his smoking on WML. This time out, the smoke gave it away :) Great post :) Hopefully we can discover more lost episodes
I’m sure I’ve seen him smoking on it loads of times.
He lit right up on screen several times, not necessarily this episode
Bennett Cerf, after being on the panel for years, wrote about the behind the scenes relationships between people. Very interesting -you’d never guess.
Considering this is off a 65 year old film it looks and sounds great. Any cleanup or restoration done before it was posted?
Yes.
By invisible magic pixies.
+balconi71 The sound is even more amazing than the picture!
the sound is so good you can hear a dolly or light stand screech loudly at 3:39
DTB1997 it’s possibly the dolly wheel on the camera stand since the camera jerked at the same time.
So enjoyable. Thank you!
thanks so much for finding and putting forth the effort to restore and make available these treasured episodes. I only download YT vids because YT is unscrupulous/shady about removing things on a whim and I want to save them for viewing offline. edit: your watermark is indistinguishable and less annoying than tv channel ones.
Thanks, Jennifer (and sorry for the late reply)! I don't have any problem whatsoever with people downloading a copy of this video. I just don't want to see the video stolen by another TH-cam CHANNEL. Glad the watermark wasn't distracting. :)
This is better than most stuff on TV today
I remember watching this video when it first appeared, I think it was at 10PM Sunday EST just like the original transmission. But I kept getting interrupted by a crazed family member that was going through one of their psychotic episodes. Did not enjoy watching this for the first time, unfortunately. But I’m glad it’s still on TH-cam. Thank you WML channel.
thank you for posting this - I keep asking myself how could I miss a show that was made before I was born -
Was Arlene giving it an "Arsenio Hall" move at the 1:00 minute mark. Maybe Arsenio stole it from her?
Thank You,for sharing/ showing these What's My Line shows! Merry Christmas!!
TV camera image tubes of the era tended to "burn in" if left pointed at a static image for a long period. I thought the "sign in" camera had such a burn until I realized that it is your WML channel watermark. Good idea - at least the "borrowers" will have to give you credit for this one, at least (and I expect they're too lazy to try to edit it out). Thanks for a really nice piece of TV history.
I noticed that Louis Untermeyer frequently calls for a conference, explains his thought processes, and often conveys the answer to the panelist about to ask a question. This led to exceptionally early winning by the panel and the guest receiving very little money. It's obvious that this was far less common in later years and wonder if this was realized and discouraged by Daly, staff, or G&T.
He was a poet and edited compilations of poetry...
Totally delightful. I was 6 months old when this show aired.
I'm so excited.
I like the intro on this earlier version. My grandmother loved this show.
Nice work getting and restoring this.
And, add me to the minority of Hal Block enjoyers. (Also Mr. Untermeyer.)
Glad you enjoyed it. Here's hoping more episodes turn up!
I will have to agree with you regarding Mr. Untermeyer -- I thoroughly enjoyed his unique addition to the show!
I'm fascinated, as are others, by the "HiFi" soundtrack. My guess is that this episode's sound may have been recorded onto audio tape (which was somehow preserved) and not, as I'm guessing was the usual practice, of recording the sound onto the optical track of the film. Either that or some great technique was employed which just isn't evident in most of the other films. It's great to have an extra episode of future Poet Laureate Louis Untermeyer. Such a loss to the show that he was sacked.
Thank you!!
Hal Block was crude and rude. Wonder if he could've touched his toes? And his look wasn't far from that of a "food taster at the A & P." !!
This is great Gary! You are doing great work, pal! I hope we can find some of the radio shows.
There have been very significant developments recently in this regard!
What's My Line? I hope you break the story soon!
Too soon to say anything more yet, but there's definitely news. The question is only just how good the news will end up being. :)
@@WhatsMyLine 5 years later, is it still too soon?
Thank you so much for this gem, and for the hard work to get it to us in such good shape. I've always wondered what Kathleen Winsor looked like. I read my parents' first edition of "Forever Amber" when I was sixteen, many decades ago, and it was really hot stuff.
I'm glad you enjoyed the video! I know of "Forever Amber" only via references made to it in jokes on the Jack Benny and Fred Allen radio shows. :)
+What's My Line? "Forever Amber" is laughably tame by today's standards. It follows the social rise of an English peasant girl and her star-crossed love for a Cavalier adventurer during Restoration England. Amber gains the world but loses her soul in the process. Winsor lived in my old Oakland, CA Rockridge neighborhood during WWII, with her soldier husband's family, and did her "Amber" research at Doe Library on the UC Berkeley campus. She does bring the 1660's vividly alive, as she shovels an exhaustive amount of detail on Newgate Prison, British theatrical customs, and Court Intrigue (Charles II) into her novel. In later life, she lived in the Elmwood district of Berkeley. Shortly before this WML appearance, she was married to Artie Shaw, among others. I've heard that the book was even racier, but her editors made her take out all references to homosexuality, which is hilarious given that Amber spends some time as an actress on the English stage. But, Winsor manages to infer a lot via her characterizations. The book was a red hot sensation in 1944, when first published, and it actually caused a scandal. Kathleen Winsor herself was notorious! Maybe that's what Benny and Allen are referring to. It's hard to believe that at 16 years old, I devoured the book! The movie, starring Cornel Wilde and Linda Darnell is a hoot, with both of them badly miscast in full 1940's glory.
lemorab1 I have a feeling there was a minor spike in Google searches on the name "Kathleen Winsor" as a result of this video surfacing! :)
Yes, the jokes on the old radio shows were all about how racy the book was for its time.
this conversation is 2 years old. If anyone should read this now, 2018, The 1947 movie is here on youtube. I just watched 15 minutes of it because of this episode.
@@lemorab1 It's too bad that Bennett Cerf wasn't on the panel for this episode. He and Kathleen Winsor went on war bond tours together during WWII. In the 1960s, Bennett was closely involved in publication of another book by Winsor, "Wanderers Eastward, Wanderers Westward", a historical novel set in Montana in the 1860s.
THANK YOU VERY MUCH FOR THAT ALL BUT LOST T.V. SHOW !
What a fabulous Find!! Thank You.
After watching this episode, I am now on page 675 of Forever Amber. It really is a page turner!
What a shame that so many episodes after April 12 have been lost. As a baseball fan since the 1950s, it would have been especially great to see Dizzy Dean and Jackie Robinson as mystery guests.
Thanks for making this available. I was never a big fan of the "Walk of Shame" the guests did after signing-in, but asking the last guy, a bit chubby, to touch his toes went over the line. At least Dorothy approved of Cardinal of Windsor for his tie.A little background on the mystery guest. Kathleen Windsor.en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kathleen_Winsor
How rude Hal. What are you talking about Cardinal?