I vote for Dick Cavett's story of he and Groucho being at a very boring party and almost making it out the door, when they were confronted by the host, asking, "Leaving so early, Groucho?" To which Groucho replied, "I've had a wonderful evening - but this wasn't it..."
@Harold Potsdamer Let's say: someone, who speaks a good high-german has the best chance to understand "jiddisch" (that's how germans spell yiddish). On the other hand: A yiddish-speaker from New York city (f.e.) might have a very hard time to cope with the swabian, bavarian or saxonian dialects... ...as do all the other germans.
He was one of the greatest comedians to have ever lived. I feel sorry for people today who cannot appreciate the great vaudeville-background comedians.
Because today's young people 35 and under Don't care about anything or anyone from the past, famous or not good or not because it's not interesting enough and that is very sad and unforgivable!!!!!
@@scottmiller6495I showed my sons "Duck Soup" when they were adolescents and they know the value of Groucho's shtick. I will admit frustration in listening to the youngest take in podcasts now, that couldn't deliver on Mr. Marx's order on their best day! "The One, The Only, GROUCHO!!!"
As far as I'm concerned, this is *the* best clip of the entire history of What's My Line. Only Groucho could do improv comedy in the 1960s that every single human could find hilarious in 2017
He was the absolute master of the ad lib, which is why he was seen so often on television during its first two or three decades. Remember, this was live television.
Delightful! What fun to watch Groucho and John Charles Daly playing off each other..and the panelists trying their darndest to guess the mystery guest. Groucho sure could light up a room, couldn't he?! One of a kind for sure! Thank you for posting this classic video!
I’m surprised they didn’t get it. He slipped into his normal voice a few times. And that he was unable to confine himself to simple yes/no answers and almost immediately hijacked the show was pure Groucho.
Man, oh man. Was there ever anybody like Groucho? Or will there ever be again? Incredible. So much stage experience compressed in that man. He takes the entire roof off as easily as though he were straightening his tie. Effortlessly funny.
This was back when television was clean and funny and made all the sense in the world. Groucho was the king of comedy in my book. You laugh, laugh and laugh.
nobody was ever anywhere *near* as fast as groucho with the quick line. he was always instantly making witty remarks that most of us would take a *month* to think of, if we could at all.
I remember reading a story by Jess Oppenheimer (who wrote for I Love Lucy) when he was dating one of the Marx Bros.' daughters & they all went to a Chinese restaurant in LA & when the time came for the bill, the old waiter added up the talley on an abacus. Groucho took it from him, shook it like a tamborine, and came up with a different total. He & the waiter (who was unsmiling) kept this up (with a different total by Groucho every time) until the patrons were in hysterics. Love that guy!
I have all the brilliant Marx Brothers movies on DVD. His show ‘You Bet Your Life’ was the best show of its time and is now the best and funniest show on UA-cam !
Groucho Marx and his awesome wit…… man never went on to a show with out his trade mark cigar…… man is a wonderful comic…… haven't had such a good laugh in ages……
@@robdewey317 His voice was very recognizable, though. But of course they wouldn't end the segment too early. They were having fun with it. I doubt they brought him on to really fool anyone. It's like the surviving clip with Dean and Jerry where Jerry ends up using his high-pitched voice and calls Dean by name on purpose to turn it into a funny reveal. It was a bit more than an actual game sometimes.
The funniest man in the history of comedy. Man what I wouldn't give to have met him in real life, bummer that I was only a year and a half when he passed away :/
Imagine the time when an American tv-host and his guest could spontaneously engage in a conversation in a second language (to both of them). God, those were the days.
Live every Sunday night at 10:30pm for over 17 years except for a few rare occasions where it was taped or filmed in advance. This was one of the joy's of WML as being live almost anything could happen.
My parents raised me to stand up when I shake hands with a man, you never see that anymore. So cool to see that at the end of this! Thanks for posting this.
Seriously, I was thinking the same thing. I almost expected Bennett to say “Well, by the smell of your cigar you are either George Burns or Groucho Marx?”
Here we have the start of humor as far as i´m concerned. When it comes to snappy oneliners,no one and nothing came close! I´ve been a fan since i was 12,and i will love you always Groucho,cause it´s part of my sanity clause!
Actually, in this clip, John Daly didn't screw up. Before he said Groucho's name, he did say that he was throwing over all the cards and ending the game. However, there was one instance where he did screw up royally when they had Steve Allen, often a panelist, as the mystery guest. Daly accidentally blurted out Steve Allen's name and blew the entire segment. In fact, this incident is in one of the WML compilation clips here on youtube.
I love how Groucho's fake voice was so good that he was able to go on and on and on with his schtick and no one on the panel realized that it was him. He was great in this clip!
In case anybody is interested in it: I speak german, and Groucho asks the game master "Was hat er gesagt?" which means "What did he say?". Later he says "Ich bin von Deutschland, Salzburg Festival" = "I am from Germany, Salzburg Festival" (altough Salzburg is in Austria, not Germany). Then he says "Das versteh ich nicht" which means "I don´t understand that".
HR1 Did Groucho live in Germany before or he just studied the language? I checked his bio but all it said he was from the US .Thats Wikipedia though and can't always trust that.
Yiddish is(/was) the language of the german and east-european jews - it most closely resembles standard high-german of the 18th/19th century (if there was such a thing) and can be quite easy be understood by germans. So much for another folly of the totalitarian national-socialists around Mr. Schickelgrubel...
Calm Pluto Nooooo! Groucho and his brothers grew in Brooklyn! They were speaking really Yiddish, which was a offshoot of German.such blessed nutty folks, we are all so grateful for their talent.
I think they knew; there is an interview with Bennett somewhere online where he says sometimes they could tell right away but let it go on because it was funny stuff. I think Bennett knew in this case.
John Davis was just great with this show. Kept everyone involved and the bannter was terrific. I remember asking my mom, pleading with her, to watch it every week it came on... And yes Groucho Marks was as good as it gets. I can only imagine what Thanksgiving dinner was like with that family!
Thanks for posting. Groucho used to do a German dialect in Vaudeville, but WWI made that no longer feasible. So it's nice to get some idea of his old schtick
I just read Arthur Marx book, My Life with Groucho". He did this in everyday life. One day he was in his yard trimming his hedges. A lady puled up and asked "Oh Mr. Gardener, how much do you charge an hour?" He said I don't get any money, but the lady of the house lets me sleep with her".
As a news reporter Dorothy knew a lot of trivia about showbizia. She once asked Tallulah Bankhead if she had a parakeet named Gaylord. In the early 1960s she would every so often ask if a mystery contestant had lost an address book over Greece from a helicopter, though she never asked the right person who was Anthony Perkins. She once asked Gene Kelly if she had bought him a tie. When she thought the guest might be Casey Stengl, she would ask if he studied dentistry.
There is no way the panel did not know this was Groucho. He's barely disguising his voice, and it was obvious the mystery guest was a professional comedian. Although I can believe that Tony Randall was clueless enough to not know.
Arlene Francis is great. She's gorgeous, talented, and funny. Her personality on the show draws you into it and I don't know what it is about the look she gives from 2:55 to about 2:58 but it certainly draws me in. *swoon* I'm weird. It's okay.
I think she knew. She often did. But she either didn't let on, or used it as an opportunity to be even funnier. Like the question if the guest is ever a stand-up comic. I think she knew, and knew it would be a funny retort. She was great in "One, Two, Three" with James Cagney. CONTROVERSY Note: At 1:33, Daley responds to Groucho's talking about the "Strassburg (he meant Salzburg) Festival" by saying, "they wanted to see the red caps (or red tops)." He says it in German. THEN at 2:05 Dorothy asks if the guest is RED Buttons, and Groucho has a funny line regarding red tops (the pimple like thing we get more of every year). Rehearsed? You be the judge!
That's the only time I ever saw John Daly screw up & say the name of the mystery guest & give it away. I don't know how they didn't figure it out as this is the best panel they ever had & I'm guessing Bennett Cerf would've figured it out on the next question especially since he knew Groucho well.
If Harpo had been on this the panel wouldn've got any answers at all so the show might have gone all night till they found out who it was.....if they did.!!!
A good comment and explanation. People do not do search, do not educate themselves. In summary they don't think. My grand-, grand- mother smoked cigars, drank a small glass of vodka or whisky every day and she died absolutely in perfect health at the age of 97. She just felt asleep and never woke up. No pesticides in her food and drink.
And the first known case of News Gothic Bold being used on the program as an onscreen overlay font - if only, in this case, as a lower-third. This typeface would be the standard overlay font for "WML?" in its 1968-75 syndicated incarnation.
"Well, this has been a waste of an evening."
Greatest exit line of all time!
I vote for Dick Cavett's story of he and Groucho being at a very boring party and almost making it out the door, when they were confronted by the host, asking, "Leaving so early, Groucho?"
To which Groucho replied, "I've had a wonderful evening - but this wasn't it..."
@@DrDespicable I've had a wonderful time. It seems like a lifetime
As only Grouch could
Just about to say same! I’m going to save that one😂
⁶55⁵
I love when Groucho and Daly start bantering in German, priceless!
Groucho is actually speaking I think in Yiddish.
@@josephpinard6523 No, it's german - even though there are only little differences between the two.
@Harold Potsdamer Let's say: someone, who speaks a good high-german has the best chance to understand "jiddisch" (that's how germans spell yiddish). On the other hand: A yiddish-speaker from New York city (f.e.) might have a very hard time to cope with the swabian, bavarian or saxonian dialects...
...as do all the other germans.
Daly is speaking Afrikaans, Groucho Yiddish and then both in English, the trio are Germanic languages.
@@ricardorojas5045 Yes, I was wondering if Daly was speaking Afrikaans because I knew he was originally from South Africa.
He was one of the greatest comedians to have ever lived. I feel sorry for people today who cannot appreciate the great vaudeville-background comedians.
Because today's young people 35 and under Don't care about anything or anyone from the past, famous or not good or not because it's not interesting enough and that is very sad and unforgivable!!!!!
@@scottmiller6495That was true when I was young I was ridiculed by others my age for liking performers who were before my time.
@@scottmiller6495I showed my sons "Duck Soup" when they were adolescents and they know the value of Groucho's shtick. I will admit frustration in listening to the youngest take in podcasts now, that couldn't deliver on Mr. Marx's order on their best day! "The One, The Only, GROUCHO!!!"
I’m 28 and me and my twin sister love the Marx brothers and also Martin and Lewis ❤❤
There was only ONE Groucho ! we will never see the likes of his talent again.
He never stops! My GOD, he's nonstop! He's a bulldozer of comedy! The most amazing, astounding, unstoppable comedian ever.
And clever
Groucho is one of the funniest natural comedians ever.
Tony Randall got unusually quiet once he knew it was Groucho. I think he was in awe.
Classic! When Groucho got rolling, he was unstoppable.
The man WAS a national treasure, a true wit who could think on his feet.
As far as I'm concerned, this is *the* best clip of the entire history of What's My Line. Only Groucho could do improv comedy in the 1960s that every single human could find hilarious in 2017
it's kinda meh by 2020
And 2135 too....
Oh who give's a fuck? Best newscaster in several generations interviewed, perhaps, the best comedian ever
He was the absolute master of the ad lib, which is why he was seen so often on television during its first two or three decades. Remember, this was live television.
Delightful! What fun to watch Groucho and John Charles Daly playing off each other..and the panelists trying their darndest to guess the mystery guest. Groucho sure could light up a room, couldn't he?! One of a kind for sure! Thank you for posting this classic video!
I’m surprised they didn’t get it. He slipped into his normal voice a few times. And that he was unable to confine himself to simple yes/no answers and almost immediately hijacked the show was pure Groucho.
and the cigar as well
One of the best who ever lived period. He was so funny that no one could control him. SMF
Man, oh man. Was there ever anybody like Groucho? Or will there ever be again? Incredible. So much stage experience compressed in that man. He takes the entire roof off as easily as though he were straightening his tie. Effortlessly funny.
Gotta love how the audience absolutely LOSES THEIR SHIT when he signs in!
That's disgusting.
This was back when television was clean and funny and made all the sense in the world. Groucho was the king of comedy in my book. You laugh, laugh and laugh.
OMG I laughed from beginning to end. Groucho Marx's wit never ceases to amaze me.
Same here!
"Do you ever make any after-dinner speeches, in the course of your operation?"
"Yeah, only before dinner."
-Classic
nobody was ever anywhere *near* as fast as groucho with the quick line. he was always instantly making witty remarks that most of us would take a *month* to think of, if we could at all.
I still say he and Robin Williams would b like a 9.0 quake in SF 🌹💖 they would tear the place up
Happy Birthday Groucho - may your wit never fae from the memory of the world
There will never be another Groucho. he was a wonderful terror.
This one still cracks me up with Groucho Marx just destroys the panel.
I remember reading a story by Jess Oppenheimer (who wrote for I Love Lucy) when he was dating one of the Marx Bros.' daughters & they all went to a Chinese restaurant in LA & when the time came for the bill, the old waiter added up the talley on an abacus. Groucho took it from him, shook it like a tamborine, and came up with a different total. He & the waiter (who was unsmiling) kept this up (with a different total by Groucho every time) until the patrons were in hysterics. Love that guy!
I have all the brilliant Marx Brothers movies on DVD. His show ‘You Bet Your Life’ was the best show of its time and is now the best and funniest show on UA-cam !
Arlene looks just fabulous !!! Pure class
Groucho was the sharpest and fastest wit of them all.
The master of the ad lib.
He called Tony Randall stupid!!!! And did he say this was a wasted evening? LMAO!!!! 🤣🤣🤣🤣 Ridiculously hilarious!
Whenever Im having a bad day, I watch this, you just have to laugh out loud. Wonderful !
It Was Soooo Obvious How Much Groucho Enjoyed BEING Groucho !!!!!..
Just one of a million reasons why he is Groucho. Amazing!
Groucho was funny!In my opinion The Marx Brothers were the best comedians on earth and I will always say that!
Who doesn't love Groucho, He's amazing.
Groucho, The Man, The Legend!!
Could u imagine Groucho and Robin Williams?? On stage together. OMFG. there'd b NO CHANCE 😸🌹💖🤣😂😅
Groucho had a lovely evening, but this didn't appear to be it.
😂
LOL...classic Groucho!
*smiles* Groucho was a national treasure. We are all diminished by his passing.
Too bad he died the same week as Elvis Presley. Groucho's death was sadly overshadowed.
Groucho Marx and his awesome wit…… man never went on to a show with out his trade mark cigar…… man is a wonderful comic…… haven't had such a good laugh in ages……
His show u bet ur life was a class act in itself
looking back on this i'd bet everyone on the panel knew who this was first by the smell of his cigar and then by his voice.
theID2 George Burns, Jack Benny and others smoked cigars
@@robdewey317 His voice was very recognizable, though. But of course they wouldn't end the segment too early. They were having fun with it. I doubt they brought him on to really fool anyone. It's like the surviving clip with Dean and Jerry where Jerry ends up using his high-pitched voice and calls Dean by name on purpose to turn it into a funny reveal. It was a bit more than an actual game sometimes.
Wow. I would have known him the second he opened his mouth. Such an iconic voice.
I think they did too, especially with the cigar smoke. But it wouldn't be as funny if they guessed right away.
I agree, Groucho was in a league of his own. I think Dorothy asked about teabags in his pockets was to set up a hilarious moment.
Groucho is Awesome, he revolutionized comedy!!
The funniest man in the history of comedy. Man what I wouldn't give to have met him in real life, bummer that I was only a year and a half when he passed away :/
Imagine the time when an American tv-host and his guest could spontaneously engage in a conversation in a second language (to both of them). God, those were the days.
John Daly even added "ne ponimayu" in Russian.
You know they were talking gibberish don’t you?🙄
@@pattimaeda6097it’s german dumbass
@@pattimaeda6097its german
yes, I could listen to him all day long too--what a super quick wit he was!
It's clear how Woody Allen has been inspired by Groucho Marx, when they invited him, he signed himself as "Cary Grant". Geniuses.
If this happened with one Marx brother, can you imagine what happened when they all got together. Total pandemonium, and I love it!
The quick wit of this man is scary.
I love how he basically sabotizes the entire questioning. Great comedian!
Live every Sunday night at 10:30pm for over 17 years except for a few rare occasions where it was taped or filmed in advance. This was one of the joy's of WML as being live almost anything could happen.
wow- great clip. Please keep them coming... I love this show!
My parents raised me to stand up when I shake hands with a man, you never see that anymore. So cool to see that at the end of this! Thanks for posting this.
Man functions on a different level....a much higher level. Thxs Groucho.
With that cigar, they should be able to figure it out pretty fast.
Seriously, I was thinking the same thing. I almost expected Bennett to say “Well, by the smell of your cigar you are either George Burns or Groucho Marx?”
His voice is also very recognizable even with the accent. I'm guessing they padded out the time and knew from the beginning.
@@Fardawg Not just the accent, but the entire ad-lib routine. I can't think of anyone else who sound like that AND do that.
How I would have loved to spend a day with this man. So much he could teach us...
Especially you
Here we have the start of humor as far as i´m concerned. When it comes to snappy oneliners,no one and nothing came close! I´ve been a fan since i was 12,and i will love you always Groucho,cause it´s part of my sanity clause!
Actually, in this clip, John Daly didn't screw up. Before he said Groucho's name, he did say that he was throwing over all the cards and ending the game.
However, there was one instance where he did screw up royally when they had Steve Allen, often a panelist, as the mystery guest. Daly accidentally blurted out Steve Allen's name and blew the entire segment. In fact, this incident is in one of the WML compilation clips here on youtube.
Best quick off the cuff comedian that ever lived. Wit and great intellect!
Mr. and Mrs. John Smith
LoL!!!
Absolutely uproarious! Thank you for sharing this.
I love how Groucho's fake voice was so good that he was able to go on and on and on with his schtick and no one on the panel realized that it was him. He was great in this clip!
In case anybody is interested in it: I speak german, and Groucho asks the game master "Was hat er gesagt?" which means "What did he say?". Later he says "Ich bin von Deutschland, Salzburg Festival" = "I am from Germany, Salzburg Festival" (altough Salzburg is in Austria, not Germany). Then he says "Das versteh ich nicht" which means "I don´t understand that".
HR1 Did Groucho live in Germany before or he just studied the language? I checked his bio but all it said he was from the US .Thats Wikipedia though and can't always trust that.
All the brothers were born in the U.S. but his parents were German Jewish immigrants, and they spoke German at home growing up.
Yiddish is(/was) the language of the german and east-european jews - it most closely resembles standard high-german of the 18th/19th century (if there was such a thing) and can be quite easy be understood by germans.
So much for another folly of the totalitarian national-socialists around Mr. Schickelgrubel...
The Marx family spoke Platt Deutsch.
Calm Pluto Nooooo! Groucho and his brothers grew in Brooklyn! They were speaking really Yiddish, which was a offshoot of German.such blessed nutty folks, we are all so grateful for their talent.
i think in his later years he answered the phone "hello this is groucho the living legend".
I love Groucho, I love him, I love him..... the best.....
What a great show, takes you down memory lane.
All of the Marx Brothers were Outstanding. Sooo Funny 😅
I think they knew; there is an interview with Bennett somewhere online where he says sometimes they could tell right away but let it go on because it was funny stuff. I think Bennett knew in this case.
I agree , Bennett said they knew which Hollywood stars were coming to town and had an idea who the mystery guest would be.
Groucho, I salute you!
Just what I was thinking. And I was baffled that they were asking about him being a singer, etc. when he was so obviously a comedian.
I could watch these clips all day long...and I will if my wife lets me.
She makes you beg for everything
John Davis was just great with this show. Kept everyone involved and the bannter was terrific. I remember asking my mom, pleading with her, to watch it every week it came on... And yes Groucho Marks was as good as it gets. I can only imagine what Thanksgiving dinner was like with that family!
Thank you for this post.
This clip is HILARIOUS!!!!! Thanks for sharing!!!!!
Thanks for posting. Groucho used to do a German dialect in Vaudeville, but WWI made that no longer feasible. So it's nice to get some idea of his old schtick
Yiddsh
Thanks for posting this. Groucho is fantastic!
Priceless
I just read Arthur Marx book, My Life with Groucho". He did this in everyday life. One day he was in his yard trimming his hedges. A lady puled up and asked "Oh Mr. Gardener, how much do you charge an hour?" He said I don't get any money, but the lady of the house lets me sleep with her".
Good book, I highly recommend it.
I would've known by the first "Whaddaya say!?" that it was Groucho.
Yeah, I'm absolutely shocked that they didn't recognize him immediately! :)
Groucho should have been allowed to finish. How do you cut short such a great man?
Well, the show did have a time limit
No one could crack a pun like Groucho could.;-D
The world best comedian ever ❤
This is just great! He's so hilarious!
I have a letter from Groucho. My most prized possession.
oh my frelling god, I love Groucho Marx!
This TRULY had me rolling on the floor!!!!
As a news reporter Dorothy knew a lot of trivia about showbizia. She once asked Tallulah Bankhead if she had a parakeet named Gaylord. In the early 1960s she would every so often ask if a mystery contestant had lost an address book over Greece from a helicopter, though she never asked the right person who was Anthony Perkins. She once asked Gene Kelly if she had bought him a tie. When she thought the guest might be Casey Stengl, she would ask if he studied dentistry.
"Say da secret woid and pick up an extra 50 dollars."
Yes, Groucho was a true legend . The world could use a few more like him!
How many?
There is no way the panel did not know this was Groucho. He's barely disguising his voice, and it was obvious the mystery guest was a professional comedian. Although I can believe that Tony Randall was clueless enough to not know.
+driver3596- It almost seems the more he talks, the more he confuses the panel- (most guests try to not speak, and also disguise their voice).
@@josephpalermo4538 Not nice.
Gott, that was so funny!!!!!and John starting talking German ROFL!!priceless :) and what a group of talented, classy people.
Loved it when Daly stole Groucho's punchline about being a standup comic: "Only if he can't sit down or lie down."
A lot of celebrities now have been quoted as begging their parents to stay up late on Sundays just to watch this "grown up" show!
Brilliant Brilliant Brilliant
He looked pretty darn good for 73 and quick as a whip with his come backs, comedians of today couldnt cant wouldnt and wont compare to this guy!!!
Groucho was a professional singer.
"Memoirs of a mangy Lover" 😂😂😂
Arlene Francis is great. She's gorgeous, talented, and funny. Her personality on the show draws you into it and I don't know what it is about the look she gives from 2:55 to about 2:58 but it certainly draws me in. *swoon* I'm weird. It's okay.
I think she knew. She often did. But she either didn't let on, or used it as an opportunity to be even funnier. Like the question if the guest is ever a stand-up comic. I think she knew, and knew it would be a funny retort.
She was great in "One, Two, Three" with James Cagney.
CONTROVERSY Note: At 1:33, Daley responds to Groucho's talking about the "Strassburg (he meant Salzburg) Festival" by saying, "they wanted to see the red caps (or red tops)." He says it in German.
THEN at 2:05 Dorothy asks if the guest is RED Buttons, and Groucho has a funny line regarding red tops (the pimple like thing we get more of every year).
Rehearsed? You be the judge!
Given half a chance, I would have eaten her up.
Oh Please!!! Arlene Francis was a phony and ass-kisser ....she was an Armenian from Boston...
Joseph Palermo What does her being Armenian have to do with literally anything?
@@candicehoneycutt4318 Exactly!
That's the only time I ever saw John Daly screw up & say the name of the mystery guest & give it away. I don't know how they didn't figure it out as this is the best panel they ever had & I'm guessing Bennett Cerf would've figured it out on the next question especially since he knew Groucho well.
If Harpo had been on this the panel wouldn've got any answers at all so the show might have gone all night till they found out who it was.....if they did.!!!
A good comment and explanation. People do not do search, do not educate themselves. In summary they don't think. My grand-, grand- mother smoked cigars, drank a small glass of vodka or whisky every day and she died absolutely in perfect health at the age of 97. She just felt asleep and never woke up. No pesticides in her food and drink.
I don't know how they didn't recognize that voice and wit right away.
And the first known case of News Gothic Bold being used on the program as an onscreen overlay font - if only, in this case, as a lower-third. This typeface would be the standard overlay font for "WML?" in its 1968-75 syndicated incarnation.
"This was a wasted evening" We're still enjoying it almost a hundred years later. Nothing went to waste there.
You wrote this comment in 2011, which was less than 50 years after the show aired. So no, you're off by quite a bit.
from Turkey with love💕