What's My Line? - Spring Byington; Ernie Kovacs [panel] (Oct 27, 1957)
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- Опубліковано 18 лис 2024
- MYSTERY GUEST: Spring Byington [TV/film actress, best remembered for the sitcom "December Bride"]
PANEL: Arlene Francis, Ernie Kovacs, Dorothy Kilgallen, Bennett Cerf
What a great lady. I love Spring Byington.
Spring Byington was so very cute and joyful, loved seeing her!
Spring Byington is 71 years old here! ❤️
I know nothing of Ms. Byington's life, but I have the feeling she was as lovely at home as she was in the theater; movies and TV. A real classy 'dame'.
Spring Byington and her sister were raised by relatives while their mother went to medical school and graduated in about 1896. She was one of the first female M.D.'s in the United States. She went into private practice with another woman doctor in Colorado. She died in about 1907. Spring began her stage career about that time. My favorite film roles were Marmee in the 1933 "Little Women;" Mrs. Vanderhoff in "You Can't Take It With You" in 1938; and Lily Ruskin in "December Bride" on TV in the 1950's.
Spring Byington was a phenomenal actress. I remember her in The Enchanted Cottage and You Can’t Take it With You.
@@K2Gardens One of my favorite movies with a great message altho don't usually like "message" movies.
She was in s9 e delightful movies.
If you ever get the chance try to see “You Can’t Take It With You”. It is a great screwball comedy from 1938. Heart warming and very funny. James Stewart, Jean Arthur and Lionel Barrymore costar.
Spring Byington starred in a charming movie called "Louisa" . Her final performance was in an episode of "Batman" as J.Pauline Spaghetti. This episode featured Catwoman and The Sandman. Highly recommended
Spring Byington was such a lovely lady. Enjoyed watching her show.
She worked in many, many movies, she worked with Bette Davis in Jezebel, with Joan Crawford in When Ladies Meet, and so many more. Wonderful actress.
She was delightful In " You Can't Take It With You "
Mrs Byington was a superb character actress. She had a very long and successful career.
Spring Byington was my grandfather's mistress in the 1930s and yous't to come up to Santa Clara CA in her 1933 white Cadillac convertible every Christmas with gifts to the 9 children. I have since learned that she was a lesbian and have wondered about what kind of
relationship
Spring born 1886, my grandmother 1896 and Pop 1893 had?!!....
@@vanessadillon2101 That is one of those mysteries that everyone probably took to their graves. I have read that Spring and Marjorie Main had a long relationship. Spring was raised by her maternal grandparents while her mother went to medical school and became one of the first woman M.D.'s in the 1890's. I've also read that Spring and Marjorie, along with Gable and Lombard, owned cottages in the Angeles Crest Forest in the 1930's, where they stayed weekends and on the way home from Santa Anita Racetrack. I loved "December Bride," starring Spring Byington as Lily Ruskin, when I was growing up in the 1950's.
Mrs Byington was a regular on the Western Laramie with John Smith and Robert Fuller
I like that show
I have a DVD of the 1940s movie "In the Good Old Summertime" which starred Judy Garland, Van Johnson, Spring Byington, S. Z. "Cuddles" Sakall, Buster Keaton, etc. I just adore that movie, one of my favorites! I love many of the old movies because they were without the vulgar language, promiscuity that exists in the movies of today!
All on utube 😊
I enjoy the closing credits where the character's line matches the credits. A person directing the bull is the director. The rich guy is the executive producer. The mail carrier is the address where to send your letters to. Also, later they would include an artist for set designer. Very clever, creative, and most of all amusing.
What a wonderful show. Spring Byington couldn't have been more enthusiastic about being there. She has an interesting history.
mr. walsh looks great for 81, he seems athletic and just a bit dotty
Always nice to see someone else from British Columbia as I am!😊
AND......I forgot to mention that Miss Byington was in tv's " Laramie " , too !!!!
Miss Daisy Cooper.
Loved seeing Spring Byington. In addition to all the movies she was in, we used to watch December Bride every week. Such a lovely woman.
It's so awesome to see these shows, thank you so much!
A perhaps-surprising sidelight on Spring Byington: she was a science fiction fan, and once did a testimonial in a print ad for The Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction.
I believe she donated her body to medical research.
@@Kendell062 That was something I thought about but was concerned that those silly immature students would make silly immature remarks and the body would not be treated respectfully.
There are new cartoon images behind the closing credits in this episode. Under "Executive Producer Gil Fates" is a tycoon with money to burn. Under "Goodson" and "Todman" are two army generals. Under the director's name is a matador. Pretty funny.
I'm quite certain they all knew who she was lol. Spring Byington was an excellent actress. She appeared in many classic movies as well as stage productions, and December Bride was a very popular TV show at the time and ran for several yrs. One of my favorite... I wish it was in youtube.
moontheloon5 There are quite a few episodes of December Bride on youtube as of July 14th 2015 - just search on December Bride
moontheloon5 I was only about 10-11 yrs old when this episode aired but I knew Spring Byington very well from December Bride and from classic movies. Each member of the panel should have been very familiar with her, even then, long and distinguished career.
Nah, her disguised voice was too different from her usual light soprano banter. Brilliant!
She was the matriarch, Mrs. March, in "Little Women" (with Katherine Hepburn as her daughter Jo)... and in later years, she was Major Nelson's mother in "I Dream of Jeannie." She had a ton of great roles! I love her fun energy in this episode!
I love how Spring was excited about the game. 😃
Like Ernie Kovacs, Steve Allen and Fred Allen also were known to ask silly questions. But they were much quicker at following them up with a legitimate question. Ernie just lets it lay there. As his run on WML progresses, it almost looks like he doesn't want to play the game, or even be there at all. Perhaps his heart being set on going back to the West Coast (he mentions going back there during this episode) was a part of that. Perhaps his friendship with Dorothy Kilgallen (which is mentioned on a prior episode) and her contretemps with John Daly at the time also played a part in his attitude.
Even so, I did enjoy it when (21:18) Dorothy asks for a conference and Ernie and Dorothy ask about each other's spouses before the actual conference about the MG begins. With Arlene and Bennett being close friends and neighbors, it must have been nice for Dorothy to also have a panelist who she had a close friendship with. And Dorothy would be even more isolated when Martin Gabel joined Bennett as the other male panelist. I know what it is like to be part of a group, but a relative outsider compared to the other people in the group. It isn't always a warm, fuzzy feeling.
Lois Simmons you really hit the nail on the head. i think that’s why ernie kovavcs’ jokes are seen as more disruptive than those of other comedian guests. i don’t understand the hate, maybe the annoyance at him, but i personally like him fine as a guest.
I agree. I love the show, love Kovacs, but it seemed in most of his appearances he was more interested in making his own jokes than really making any effort at the game. He's a genius, but his actions as shown in his episode sort of disrupted the show a bit when the questioning came 'round to him. Thanks for posting these shows....
Ernie did not want to be on the show, he wanted to and did produce his own shows, they were abstract/surrealist and a bit ahead of his time. It was sad that he did not have a long life so more people could have enjoy his comedy.
Exactly agree totally 😊
I loved her in PLEASE DON'T EAT THE DASIES. have been fascinated with her ever since.
Q
Spring Byington was the happiest mystery guest I have ever seen. She radiates joy!
She was definitely fun to watch. She had a good time. If you haven’t seen it, Hedy Lamar had a really fun time, too.
Spring. Amazing actress. Thank you for your art and your spirit
John made no acknowledgement of Bennett's reference to him as a car counter. Maybe he was distracted or maybe he didn't like the subject being brought up.
For some reason, I find it hilarious that Miss Byington wore her coat onstage. Also, she was having pantloads of fun. Engaging woman.
I prefer to think of it as a "cloaking device". :-)
I read that she took flying lessons in the later years of her life...
Pantloads?
I still laugh when I think about her character in "You Can't Take It With You" back in 1938. I think she was writing a play called "Sex Takes A Holiday."
soulierinvestments - In 1938 she was writing a book with "sex" in the title? I guess we aren't as randy a society in the 2000s as we all think.
@@shirleyrombough8173 Mae West wrote, directed, and starred in a Broadway play called "Sex" in 1926. Thurber and White wrote a satiric/comic spoof of Freud called "Is Sex Necessary?" in 1929. Not only did all of our ancestors have sex (by definition...they wouldn't have descendants had they not), but they talked about it and wrote about it during most eras. Yes, during some periods like the Victorian era, public discussion was mostly suppressed, but behind a veil of politeness, an undercurrent of explicit literature flourished even then. The Edwardian era (first decade of the 20th century) saw a loosening of Victorian prudery, and the cultural shock of the first World War knocked out a lot of what remained.
@@neilmidkiffThank you for a very helpful message. Of course if our ancestors didn't have sex we would not be here. Elementary. I read that during Victorian times people used to cover their piano legs (they did not call them legs) with crochet covers. Egads - what a time they must have had with Michelangelo's David. I need to find that spoof of Freud, "Is Sex Necessary?" By Thurber and White, you say. I'll look for it.
@@shirleyrombough8173 I've read somewhere that the piano leg cover story was made up by a later writer attempting to paint the Victorians as ludicrously prudish. I don't have a source that I can quote just now, though. I can say that I've seen the plaster cast of "David" in the Victoria & Albert Museum in London; nearby they have the plaster fig leaf that was made to cover its private parts when the Queen visited. The implication is that at other times it was shown entire. There was a near-nude statue of Caractacus (ancient Briton warrior) on public display at the Mansion House; this is the background for "I can tell you every detail of Caractacus's uniform" in the Major-General's patter song in "The Pirates of Penzance." If Victorians could enjoy realistic depictions of the male form in sculpture, it hardly seems likely that they'd be embarrassed by their furniture.
Actually it seems to have been made up by a British writer satirizing Americans.
knowledgenuts.com/2013/07/21/the-victorians-didnt-cover-their-table-legs/
I just recently got into Ernie Kovacs and I have spent my break watching several of these episodes with him. Bravo
For those of us who are “Liners” (lol), I’m sure you will probably agree with me, John Daly was not having a great day… you can see it in his face throughout the whole episode. Something must have been going on with him before the show…
I thought that, as well. I could especially notice it during the first contestant.
RIP Ernest Edward Kovacs (January 23, 1919 - January 13, 1962) (aged 42) you will truly be missed and my prayers go out to you and your family. Kovacs lost control of his Chevrolet Corvair station wagon while turning quickly and crashed into a power pole in Beverly Hills.
She was a great actress, and funny. anyhting she did was great...
Second straight episode where the panel was clueless. This time, they could not even guess the mystery guest and were nowhere close. I guess even the best can have a slump.
So much for cheating, or getting answers ahead of time😂
Mr Walsh is just so cute I want to adopt him as my grandpa
If they had said he was 50, I would have believed them. Seems the audience tittered when he signed in.
@@jerrylee8261 I think he was the only guest who had dropped the chalk, at least so far.
Kovacs didn't want to play. Just as well....
She was one of those wonderful character actresses, you would see in a lot of movies, but not recognise it was her. Later in life she played a leading role in several movies.
She got an Academy Award nomination for her role as Jean Arthur's ditzy mother in 1938's Best Picture Oscar winner , ''You Can't Take It With You.''
Bennett missed a chance for some wordplay in introducing John. After detailing John's first job estimating passenger counts on trolley cars, he could have said, "And here he is, the estimable John Charles Daly."
+Neil Midkiff
It appears you overestimated Bennett's abilities.
Or he could have said, "Here's the one we all count on."
He could have said, “Now John is off his trolly!”
Or other Random remark.
The Detroit Stamping Company, manufacturers of the anti-snoring device associated with the second challenger, is now known as DESTACO, a subsidiary of Dover Company. They were acquired by Dover in 1962, who changed the name to DE-STA-CO. The current HQ is located in the Detroit suburb of Auburn Hills. Auburn Hills is also the location of Chrysler's HQ, as well as the sports arena that used to be the home of the Detroit Pistons (NBA) and the Detroit Shock (WNBA).
DESTACO doesn't mention an anti-snoring device in either its current product line or its company history. Of course wives have had an effective anti-snoring device for millennia. It's called an "elbow".
😂
The panel seemed rather aloof about Ms. Byington.
They are sore losers.
She's been around for decades and faded from their minds😢
My earliest recollection of TV Is " December Bride " - Spring Byington and Harry Morgan were on It
12:30 How did the second challenger not know if her product was solid rather than liquid? Dorothy seems understandably incredulous upon receiving a very hesitant answer. That goes way beyond the lack of scientific knowledge often demonstrated by John and the panel members.
Well, the batteries have liquid in them (maybe) ...
I thought that was odd too, except maybe it could be interpreted as solid vs. hollow (instead of solid vs. liquid)... and maybe the snoring device had some sort of open or hollow interior. Otherwise... baffling!
I thought the "delightful" Miss Kilgallen's remark "don't you know?" to be sarcastic.
My guess, it was the first or second question, she just got a little stage fright, and her mind went into a brief haze.
5:57. At first I thought Ernie was trying to make up a word when he said “serve - i - cal” but after watching it again, I am convinced he knew exactly what he was doing, since he offered to write it down and suggested John use it on another show. John Daly was adept at managing errant comedians. “Don’t you think once was enough?” That is why this show was so popular with highly intelligent people.
The first game with the golf caddy was hilarious. He was quite a character with his answers "Oh no!". Ernie asked some bizarre and funny questions and got some equally funny answers in return. 4:53 After the game mr Walsh didn't exit like all the others, he went back through the curtain. :) 10:45 John can't keep a straight face and you can hear Arlene's sweet laughter in the background.
Hasn't Ms Byington got lovely skin? And she would be over 70 here. She must have had a wonderful life....
What A LOVELY Name.
🎨
Mr. Walsh was a delight.
You're soo right.... he "made the show" for me !! 😊👍
Arlene acted like she didn't know who Spring Byington was .
Jealous snubbing.
The reason is Spring was around for 50 years and had been forgotton😢
13:05 The second challenger was asked by Dorothy if her product would be found in more than one room in the home. She receives an affirmative answer. Other than the fact that there is more than one bedroom in the typical American home, in what room other than the bedroom would an anti-snoring device typically be found?
Perhaps wherever the garbage bin is found ...
@Lois Simmons
An anti-snoring device would be found, wherever a napping/sleeping person who snores, would be laying down.
@@jenniferyorgan4215Exactly😊
So much hate for Ernie Kovacs in these commas. I loved him.
Spring Byington was a regular on the weekly tv western Laramie in its later years.
Grace Peterson’s handwriting is perfect and beautiful!
Spring was a lovely lady. I recall reading she was in a long-term relationship w/wonderful character actress Marjorie Main.
@lasuvidaboy I read that on the unreliable internet. Both women died without publicly discussing the matter.
@@davidhenschel1990: Wikipedia quotes Marjorie Main as more or less confirming it.
?
I remember as a girl thinking Ernie was so funny - I think he and Eadie Adams we’re on his show... but as an old fart, wow,,, he had it going on in the looks department.;)
There... There... There... There... There...There... There... There... Dear!
🙂
👍
Spring is great!
GOLF CADDY
MAKES ANTI-SNORING DEVICE
Hal Simms is the announcer. 0:37
Where do the women get their gowns. Do they have to keep them?
I'm 99% these are their own gowns. They were fairly wealthy public figures, after all.
@@WhatsMyLineExactly 😊
Miss Byington was a fabulous and fantastic talent and personality as well as Miss Marjorie Main's main squeeze........December Bride - search the tv show; it's wonderful.
December Bride also starred another grand old Hollywood lesbian, Verna Felton, as Lily's best pal Hilda Crocker. I first saw Harry Morgan as Pete Porter on December Bride. I read that Spring was raised by her grandmother so that her mother could go to medical school back in the 1890's. She was one of the first woman M.D.'s in the United States.
I'm wondering what may be your documentation for Miss Felton's sexuality. I'm her biographer, and I never ran across any such evidence.
I'm afraid my documentation isn't up to scratch. Okay, here goes. My mom's best friend, Fern, played bridge for years with Dottie, widow of one of Disney's original Nine Old Men. Dottie was quite a gossip and seemed to have lots of inside Hollywood dirt on the Golden Age actors. A mutual friend of mom and Fern, Lucy, was a bit part actress in the forties and fifties (occasionally she might speak a line or two) who also loved to gossip. Lucy worked with all the legends and was on many sets. According to Dottie, Lucy was a Hollywood lesbian. Lucy, like so many, led a public life and a secret life. My parents were friends with Lucy and her (beard?) husband Tom (quite a ladies man) for about ten years and they never suspected anything. The information about Verna Felton, true or not, comes from Dottie. I grew up watching Verna Felton and would love to read your biography if it is available. My dad was an entertainer and was also on film sets during this era.
Yes, my bio is available on Amazon or directly from the publisher BearManor Media. In the book I did profile several of Verna's canasta playing cronies, including two ladies who were longtime partners, Mary Edith Stahl and Katie Robinson. I can tell you more but not on this site. If possible, send me a private message here or at oldhat81@hotmail.com Thanks.
PS The biography is simply titled VERNA FELTON.
How could that lady NOT know whether an anti snoring device was solid or liquid? 😆She seemed unsure of how to answer.
It was both😊
is it just me or did the panel not know of spring byington i sure didnt.
Being she was in show business for 5 decades they had forgotten about her 😢
6:02. Wonder why it was a good idea to use the word "servical" just once? LOL
70 years ago that word was acceptable 😊
I loved the dear old golf caddy.
At 16:18 it looks like John is writing a note for the contestant to read. Anyone have any idea what it was about?
It looks as though he wanted to be on the same page as the contestant. Apparently, the anti-snoring device is normally used with a battery, but it can be adapted to plug into an electrical outlet.
Ernie..."can you paint it green"..😂
Mr Walsh was quite charming (and funny)!
Rikard Peterson and not that bright
Born in the 1870😮
Does anyone know what Mr. Kovacs' question was about, regarding the "Polish scientist Howard Koznowski"?
Only Mr Kovacs knows
kovacs enjoyed being annoying. i guess he thought the audience ate it up.
He would be wrong 👎🏼👎🏼👎🏼
Kovacs was #1 comedian at this time😊
Mr. Walsh looked pretty good for 85, especially in those days when everybody seemed to look older than their age. The poor man left out of the wrong exit.
Think they said he was 81
@@marymarysmarket3508 rather 91
@@peternagy-im4beNo😊
If Ernie hadn't died young as he did, I think he would have been a long haired guy in 1970. Carlin like.
Cool
Mr. Walsh is so cute. Love him
Since I was a very young boy (b. ‘61), I was drawn to Spring Byington and Celeste Holm.
Does that seem odd?
Not at all😊
I guessed jockey when he first came in. I was close.
😂
Digo a todos em todo canto tem um BR
6:09, John does not look pleased.
Ernie Kovacs is brilliant.
11:13 Well Ms. Peterson wins the penmanship award....
Ernie doesn't seem to know, or simply doesn't care how annoying that cigar of his is.
Annoying to you, no one was offended 😊
Sorry, but Ernie Kovacs was particularly annoying on this episode. He is a very talented comedian, but here he is asking ridiculous, not amusing, questions.
I couldn't agree more. I much prefer guest panelists that work with the others to keep the game-flow moving. A lot of the comedians, especially, seemed to show up thinking they were supposed to be doing a stand-up routine and it always throws off the pace.
Yup. I've found him annoying on every episode of WML here he's appeared, both as a guest panelist and a mystery guest. A lousy guest panelist in every way, egotistical with a sense of entitlement, too. Everyone was privileged to experience his disruption of the game.
Ernie normally was funny. This time he just seemed like he wished he were somewhere else. But...the good news is that Wally Cox wasn't on the panel. If so, I wouldn't even have watched
I agree one billion percent!
Just on THIS episode?! I wish he'd GET OFF THE SHOW!!
I appoint these to be Ernie's most unexpected and useless questions! :) 12:19 and 15:26
I love the dash of surrealism Ernie brought to the show. I wish he had become a regular, or at least a semi-regular, but he never appeared on WML again after this spate of great shows in 1957.
What's My Line? He was charming and unpredictable. A warm personality with a big heart, that is my impression of Ernie Kovacs.
Johan Bengtsson There's an episode of You Bet Your Life where Groucho pulls Ernie out of the audience, one of my all time favorites. Unfortunately, I can't post that one to the YBYL channel because it's one of the 36 episodes released by Shout Factory in their two fantastic DVD sets from over a decade ago. I wouldn't be surprised if it's already been posted on UA-cam by someone else long ago, though.
What's My Line? I have the DVDs, must see it! :)
Johan Bengtsson They're fantastic DVD sets. I was so excited when they released a second volume, thinking the releases would continue, but that's all we ever got, two sets. The rest of the YBYL DVDs out there are all cheapo public domain sets of the same episodes over and over again, with no identifying information, edited, and in generally lousy video quality.
Kovacs asked particularly irritating questions, merely to get a laugh. He seemed uninterested in guessing the identify of the mystery guest.
Most times he's a pain in the arse
Or uninterested.
Better than Paul Anka being there later, that's for dang sure.
Your from another era and don't appreciate his humor 😊
If Cerf was witty, he would have said ' estimable'
I hope I’m not the only one with this opinion...I found Earnie to be one of my least favorite of all the guest panelists. He was annoying to say the least.
Leonard was worse but not by much.
Yes me too. He asks stupid questions that don't help the rest of the team. He's an idiot & wastes a lot of time being stupid.
Henry Morgan and Hal Block are my least favorites.
Ernie Kovaks will never be asked to come back!
Yes he was. Everyone is entitled to a bad day once in awhile
John Daly should have said Mr. Walsh is 81 years young (not 81 years old). Looks pretty spry here to me! Mr. Walsh was a character.
Saying some is so-and-so many "years young" is extremely condescending.
Barbara K ... Not to me it isn’t.
@@dianefiske-foy4717 I realize people who say it think of it as a compliment; some don't, but I can appreciate that people mean well when they say it.
Barbara K ... I’m almost 67 and would very much appreciate it if someone said I was 67 years young. And I would hope they’d think the same thing if I made it as far as 81. I know my mom and sister who died at 56, would’ve loved it to have lived to 81 and heard someone say “She’s 81 years young”. It all depends upon how you look at it.
@@dianefiske-foy4717 I am also 66 and still coming to terms with being over 65. :) (Getting a Medicare card was somewhat traumatic.) I do appreciate it when people are surprised at my age. I mostly think of the nursing homes I have worked in over the years and how "cute" some people thought older people were; what about showing a little respect for their dignity and life experience?
Shampoo plus egg. Why not just call it egg shampoo🤔❓
Because you don't shampoo an egg with it.
They did back in the 60s
Ernie Kovacs makes it abundantly clear that he does not want to be there. Why is he taking up a seat someone more enthusiastic could occupy?
Spring Byington’s deep disguised voice is appropriate she was a lesbian!
🤣That’s a good one Robert
Very inappropriate 😢
@@robertjean5782: Quite appropriate.
Kovaks asking of silly questions was very annoying in this episode.
Ernie Kovacs is an absolute joke on this game show. He is almost as bad as Groucho Marx who had no business being on any game show
except the one he hosted.
Buffoon.
He didn't even have any business being in that. The Marx Brothers just never were very funny.
@@ModMokkaMatti beg to differ...the tv show “You Bet Your Life” (on radio and tv for 16 years) was one of the funniest and most wonderful slices of Americana ever produced,
Eddie. Try another line.
10:00 it looks as she is a statue , so creepy
iHelloway - Who are you describing as creepy?
Cerf being creepy
“I hope to see you there. 😏”
Please don't be so silly.
WAS IT NECESSARY FOR KOVACS TO SMOKE A DISGUESTING CIGAR NECT TO TWO LADIES???? HOW RUDE AND VERY NASTY OF HIM......
Smoking was permitted on TV and Arlene and Daly did also when the cameraman was pointing in another direction.😅
Don't like Kovacs on the show...he just annoys me..don't find him as funny as he does
The first two contestants are daft
The audio quality of this episode is horrific
Kovac wasted time.
Spring was one of the few celebrity guests that seemed to WANT to not be guessed.
An MG from a few months earlier, Sal Mineo, also wanted to stump the panel. He answered every question as if he were Edward G. Robinson. They didn't have a chance.
A lot of celebrity guests allow their egos to take over and feel insulted if they aren't guessed while panelists NOT guessing the MG is a lot more fun for me.
9:09. Wait. A golf caddy has wheels!
No😊