Yikes, harsh words! To each his own. Of the comedians in the 4th slot, I personally find Steve Allen the most consistently funny-- I've been a huge Fred Allen fan my whole life, but I'm surprised anyone thinks he was a better panel member than Steve Allen was. He looked so ill at ease most of the time, and was just hopeless at the game itself. Fred would usually get in maybe one or two funny comments per show, but for me, Steve could make an entire line of questioning hilarious.
What's My Line? Fred allen was funny enough, but not very good at actually playing the game. Steve allen was both funny and good at the game. My other fav panelist was Tony Randall, who was very clever and naturally comical..
I can recall trying to come up with a rare, almost unique reference (and who made it) to Hal Block on a show after his departure. This is it! 22:37 Steve Allen: "I think Mrs. Block is here looking for Hal." Remember the discussion, Dizzyology?
I was was 7 years old when Mayor Wagner's term ended and John Lindsay took office. Wow, where did the time go. Thanks for the history lesson. This show is so educational and informative, it's not just a game show to me. Thanks for the videos.
I grew up in NYC on East 88th street, 2 blocks from Gracie Mansion. As a kid I would walk Mayor Wagners' dogs. Later his wife and the maid would make me something to eat. I knew the cops who guarded the Mansion and would toss a football with them. On one Christmas, they had a live TV special from the Mansion and I was one of the kids invited to participate, I was the token Jew, lol. When Santa placed me on his knees and asked me what I wanted, I asked that the Mayor settle the Taxi strike. My Dad was on the board of directors for LOMTO, and I overheard him and his fellow cab drivers complain that the Mayor was holding things up in the negotiations. Needless to say, the LOMTO board of directors took me out to Jahn's for a well deserved banana split. At the Mansion I got to meet Roy Rogers and other guests who performed for the TV special. Great Memories.
I grew up on 90th Street bet. 1st and 2nd Avenues and spent many a day in Carl Schurz Park, where Gracie Mansion is located. I was also a kid when Mayor Wagner was in office.
19:28 Steve Allen: "Do you know where Judge Crater is?" On August 6, 1930, New York Supreme Court Justice Joseph Crater made plans to attend the Broadway play "Dancing Partner" - or so he told friends. Instead, he went to his office and removed various papers from his files, then cashed two large checks. Later that day, he was last seen leaving a restaurant on West 45th Street, stepped into a taxi and vanished without a trace. His disappearance created a public sensation. Some speculated that Crater was involved in illegal activities or had been murdered by organized crime, but no firm evidence was ever found. Nearly a decade later, he was finally declared legally dead. Crater never reappeared and his name became a pop culture synonym for mysterious disappearances and known as the "The Missingest Man in New York".
+oldfart4751 I have read some about Lord Lucan, most fascinating story. I think he's still not declared dead so his eldest son can't claim the Earldom.
@@Beson-SE They should have repealed the earldom after the 3rd Lord Lucan screwed up at Sevastopol during the Crimean War. Hundreds of men and horses died because of his incompetence, when he ordered The Charge of The Light Brigade. A hundred years later the 7th Earl, close to bankruptcy, kills his nanny and attempts to kill his wife. He was officially declared dead in 2016 - 42 years after disappearing. According to his wife, the long delay in her son claiming the title was deliberate, as they did not have enough money to pay the death duties and inheritance taxes, since the money was needed for the childrens’ schooling. Having myself been Executor of a Will in the UK, I can attest to how voracious and disgusting those taxes are. Imagine taxing money at a high rate when dead that has already been taxed at a high rate when living! Sorry - thinking of this, I’m now more angry at the British tax system than at the murderer Lord Lucan. But dammit - what a bunch of thieving jackals and hyenas! And it’s not like they can claim the excuse of having a Bolshie Labour Government. The Tories are in office - and they actually campaigned on *repealing* those insidious taxes! Okay, I’m ranting now - gotta go and cool down. G’night.
Interesting episode. Especially since polio was so rampant at those times. My mother is a "Polio Pioneer." She was given the vaccine as a child in the 50's. She doesn't mention it that much. I didn't even know she was one until I watched her rummaging through her dresser drawer one day and I saw the card. I asked her about it and she told me. I was in my late teens when she told me. I was surprised. And amazed.
It's very likely she was vaccinated twice. Most children were given the Salk vaccine (a series of shots) as soon as they were available, and the Sabin vaccine was given to the general public in the mid-sixties. The Sabin vaccine was handed over as a small sugar cube, and was much cheaper, so it was possible to vaccinate large numbers of people in a short period of time. Salk handed over the patent for his vaccine because he didn't want to profit from it. Money was raised, and he was eventually given his own laboratory, but he could have made a fortune from the serum, and he refused.
My family all went together for the cube vaccine in the earlly 50's. We lived in a rural area and they came to the gym at our school, seemed like everyone in the community came, seemed like we were in line forever. But being 8 years old it was probably only a few minutes. Polio was terrible before the vaccine became available.
@@kennethbutler1343 Polio was eradicated in the United States and most other countries, but it still exists in Afghanistan and Pakistan. The COVID-19 pandemic is complicating efforts to eradicate polio there.
Supposedly, Marilyn Monroe and her husband Arthur Miller were having dinner on the Sabbath at Samuel Goldwyn's house when Marilyn asked Arthur, "Honey, what are these things in the soup." "Those are matzoh balls," he replied. Marilyn made a face and said, "Couldn't they find some other part of the matzoh to eat?" (Sorry -- I couldn't resist telling that story given that the second contestant sold Marilyn Monroe calendars and the fourth contestant made matzoh balls.)
ToddSF 94109 ~ Loved your story!!! It’s not the same thing of course but, your story reminds me of the time Jessica Simpson thought Chicken Of The Sea was actually chicken.
My Grandpa was Rudolph Wagner..I am related to Senator Wagner. Cannot find any relatives left..only Duncan in NYC. We are on Long Island. Augustus Wagner was great grand pa.They had bowling alley and beer dist in Brooklyn. Please send me info.
Mayor Wagner not only became mayor of New York CIty when I was one year old, he stayed in office for 3 four-year terms, long enough to remember him very well when he would appear on the news or press conference. Therefore, I was surprised to see him so relaxed. Apparently he was more comfortable speaking extemporaneously. My recollection of him was that he was very stiff giving a speech, basically reading it from the paper in front of him without looking up very often. Wagner's best attribute was simply that he managed to get things done, finding ways to avert strikes at the last minute. Unfortunately the one thing he didn't accomplish was to find a way to bring Dodgers owner Walter O'Malley together with Robert Moses (commissioner of dozens of major agencies in NYC and NYS) to keep the Dodgers in Brooklyn.
Moving the Dodgers to LA was the result of the city of New York doing nothing to work with them for a new stadium. Ebbets Field was a dump, there was no parking (like Wrigley today but that doesn't hurt the Cubs!) and there were factions in the city government that didn't care about keeping the Dodgers in Brooklyn. Walter O'Mally saw the potential of being the first CA team, and LA gave him 300 acres for a new ballpark. All NYC would do was discuss them moving to Flushing, which is where the Mets ended up in 1962. My father grew up and Brooklyn and described the shock when it became obvious the Dodgers were leaving. They had been there since the 19th century.
Mystery guest Robert F. Walker Jr. would go on to marry Bennett Cerf's widow after his death in 1971. Cerf and Phyllis Cerf were married for 31 years. Her marriage to Walker would last for 26 years until his death in 1991. Phyllis herself lived to age 90 passing away in 2006 outliving both her husbands. Outlining Bennett Cerf by 35 years.
A fun episode. John seemed to be in a happy mood. By coincidence, I watched this right after an episode of Touched By An Angel (S2E19) and a woman on the show was wearing a heart necklace like Arlene's.
Mystery guest vs. Bennett Cerf: This encounter would have been amusing in its social awkwardness if anyone at the time known at the time that in the future the mystery guest would two decades into the future marry Bennett Cerf’s widow.
Probably not as awkward as you might think. I think it would have been way more awkward if Bennett had known he would die unexpectedly of a heart attack in 1971. At least Phyllis Cerf waited until 1975 to marry Robert F. Wagner, Jr., who himself died in 1991. I note Phyllis Cerf was 17 years younger than Bennett and she died in 2006 at age 90.
I agree: it was an unfortunate habit of WML for the contestants after the MGs to have very little time on stage. That being said, they received the full monetary prize for a couple minutes of "work." I'd like to get a nice chunk of money for 2 minutes. 😄
Judge Crater, to whom Steve Allen asks the mystery guest if he knows his wherabouts, was Judge Joseph Force Crater. A New York Supreme Court justice who disappeared on August 6th, 1930 and was never seen again. So captivating was the disappearance of Judge Crater that even a quarter-century later most people at the time knew exactly what Steve Allen was talking about.
The first time I heard that name, I was six years old, and watching The Dick van Dyke Show - it was a joke reference that I didn’t get. So I looked it up in our Funk & Wagnalls Encyclopedia. The knowledge didn’t change my life, but wow…it’s something I still remember from 60 years ago. And it happened 90 years ago. And every day, there are 40 stories in the Daily Mail that are much more bizarre, shocking, and mystifying than Judge Crater’s disappearance. The judge’s disappearance would be only a one-day wonder in today’s media cycle, if it were even mentioned at all. So why do we still remember this? Weird!
The previous commenters have mentioned the relationship between , Phyllis Fraser , her first husband Bennett Cerf , her second Mayor Wagner on this episode of WML Going further her grandparents had three daughters : the first her mother , the second daughter was the mother of Ginger Rogers , the third daughter was married to actor Vinton Hayworth who was the brother of Rita Hayworth's mother , her cousin by marriage . Even further her grandmother was born a Ball so there may have been some family connection with the famous TV star Lucille Ball , referred by some sources as a distant cousin of Ginger Rogers . Ms. Frasier was connected to many famous folks by marriage and by blood .
Despite herculean efforts, polio still exists in the world. Too many people in developing countries have been led to believe it is some kind of conspiracy plot against them. As a result, people are unnecessarily suffering. It could be entirely eliminated. And if the number of people in this country who refuse for irrational reasons to be vaccinated against various ailments continues to grow, other scourges may return to this country. Vaccines are only effective if enough people receive their shots.
Shirtless, Your comment may have been written immediate before the Covid epidemic. Now fears of disease is easy to imagine. Now, February 2021, about 70% of the population are fighting to be vaccinated, while 30% say they will avoid vaccination
LoL...that was the beginning of the 'Italian' look in hair styles....as the Italian Cinema was making in-roads into American Movie houses....the Hair stylist of the day went Gaga over it and hard sold it...on some women it looked good, really good...but on most--NOT. Can remember some of my Aunts and Sisters....sport'n it...There is even an ''I Love Lucy'' episode from that era where she wears one...'thinking' that she fools Ricky into making a 'pass' at her, while wearing it....
Too bad no one ever turned around when Dorothy asked "Can I feel your muscle?" and said, "No, that would actually be rude." Eliminating the "walk of shame" and the four wild guesses was one of the best changes WML ever made.
When they just shook hands it was okay. Asking to see clothing labels and feeling men's muscles really should have been stopped early on. It was definitely an improvement when they changed over to shaking hands on the way out.
Personally I liked the walk, but didn't like the free guesses. Everyone has different preferences. As far as being rude you have to remember this is 1954, Americans didn't have sticks up their asses like they do now. A lovely woman asking to feel a man's arm muscle isn't the same squeezing a woman's rear end. Now we live in an age of where everything is inappropriate and everyone is crying over personal space.
Dorothy asked to look at fingernails and feel hands for callouses. Here she was trying to confirm that he *didn't* have muscles, not that he did. That would be OK behavior for a police detective but it rude in AA social setting. Why not just poke his belly or examine his teeth?
Back in the day Mayor Wagner was considered a good , tough and effective mayor of NYC . I wonder how common it is for a man married to a woman shaking the hand of his wife's next husband ?
Many people have commented that the 'walk of shame' by the contestants and the free guesses are cringe-making by current standards. It's also a waste of time for John Daly to explain the scoring system repeatedly when a staff-member could do that backstage before the person goes on. Lastly, when we first see the panel together already seated, there is no suspense, no surprise and no movement. In fact they look like puppets with nothing to do except smile. Later the panellists walked on one by one and John Daly came on last. The show evolved perhaps by feedback from the viewers.
Problem on your end, I think. Sorry. Plays back fine for me, and there are almost 600 views with no complaints. I'd suggest checking back in a half hour or so. UA-cam can be glitchy this way sometimes, and it often resolves itself if you wait a while.
so, being a fan of such shows like opie and anthony, i enjoy the use of the "running gag", so for my money, watching these shows from the debut, i couldn't wait for steve allen to replace good ole hal.
+What's My Line? It is also a great help in making sure you haven't missed an episode. When I started to watch the videos on your You Bet Your Life channel, I happened upon a random one among the videos recommended to me by You Tube. And for a while, that's how I watched them. But I was also watching them from two different screen names. Plus occasionally, You Tube would offer me an episode posted by someone else. (I'm totally loyal to your videos now!) After a while, it became difficult to remember from the thumbnail description, "Did I watch that one already?" When I finally discovered that you posted them in chronological order, it made a world of difference. (And this is the only screen name I use now to watch your postings.)
Lois Simmons I am watching all the episodes in chronological order. I had a hunch you were doing that as well, as your comments all are made "3 weeks ago".. :)
+Lars Rye Jeppesen You are likely to catch up to me and pass me soon. I am responding to comments but won't watch any "new" episodes until I get past tax season (my primary means of earning income).
On that second guest that's the first time I've ever seen John Daly not even be able to keep a straight face when starting off the questioning because of what the line was
John 2:14 - “I haven’t had anybody run away from me in a long time. I can’t look that frightening - you look much more frightening than I do.” Wow! One of the rare instances of him being downright rude. He must have been real disgusted.
I hear "they look much more frightening than I do." [meaning the panel, which is a little more palatable as a comment than about the poor scared guest! She really looked uncomfortable to me.] It's difficult to hear precise words sometimes. :)
I wonder if the Marilyn Monroe calendar seller had to share his profits with Ms. Monroe and have copy right permission. Things have changed so much since then.
Robert wagoner’s speech patterns and appearance were similar to that of Bennett Cerf’s. Interesting to note he ended up marrying Bennett’s widow, Phyllis Cerf, several decades after this episode.
Today's UA-cam Rerun for 1/5/16: The first show of 1954! ----------------------------- Join our Facebook group for WML-- great discussions, photos, etc, and great people! facebook.com/groups/728471287199862/ Please click here to subscribe to the WML channel if you haven't already-- you'll find the complete CBS series already posted, and you'll be able to follow along the discussions on the weekday "rerun" videos: ua-cam.com/channels/hPE75Fvvl1HmdAsO7Nzb8w.html
I wanted more of Miss Block. She and John were having fun. (She got married later that year, to a gent named William Rogoff; they had a bunch of kids and both died in July of 2012, within 4 days of each other.) Findagrave: www.findagrave.com/memorial/195160425/gella-rogoff
I agree. It gets so tedious every time he puts his glasses over the blindfold and says "Now, let me see." I am big fan of Martin Gabel and wished that he was the fourth permanent member of the panel.
@@kristabrewer9363 Fred Allen replaced Steve Allen due to Steve's departure to commit to The Tonight Show, and when Fred passed away in 1956 his seat because a rotational seat instead of a permanent replacement with Cerf, Kilgallen, and Francis remaining the 3 permanent seats until Dorothy's unexpected passing in 1965 when her seat also became a rotational seat for the final 2 seasons.
![What's My Line? - Senator Karl E Mundt; Phyllis Cerf [panel] (Jun 27, 1954)](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/dun0FelT8Ys/mqdefault.jpg)
23:03 You gotta love the way Arlene engages in rapid-fire questioning when they are short on time!
I laughed about her chomping her teeth when asking if the first contestant was a dentist!
Favorite panel: Arlene, Bennett, Dorothy, and Steve Allen. :)
Mine too! Although I liked Tony Randall as well.
I agree. This is the best panel of all 👍
Yes🎉‼️💥‼️🎉🎊💕💕💥‼️
@@petermack2825 When I've seen him in interviews on shows like Letterman he was a lot of fun.
Yikes, harsh words! To each his own. Of the comedians in the 4th slot, I personally find Steve Allen the most consistently funny-- I've been a huge Fred Allen fan my whole life, but I'm surprised anyone thinks he was a better panel member than Steve Allen was. He looked so ill at ease most of the time, and was just hopeless at the game itself. Fred would usually get in maybe one or two funny comments per show, but for me, Steve could make an entire line of questioning hilarious.
They had different styles. I think Fred Allen was not well in some of these vids.
What's My Line? - Agreed! :D
What’s wrong with the playback
What's My Line? ~ Totally agree!!!
What's My Line? Fred allen was funny enough, but not very good at actually playing the game. Steve allen was both funny and good at the game. My other fav panelist was Tony Randall, who was very clever and naturally comical..
Oh I love Arlene Francis. That dry, bawdy wit is just brilliant!
It's really quite amazing. I can't believe she got away with it. Certainly her charm and class provided cover for the naughty humor.
Arlene Francis and Dorothy Kilgallen really seems to be what made the show
I love when Steve gets it right.
I love Steve Allen.
Abigal M. Me too!!!
Abigal M. - Love his quick wit, and the intuitive way he reacts to the audience.
Me too. And go get 'em, Tigers!
I can recall trying to come up with a rare, almost unique reference (and who made it) to Hal Block on a show after his departure. This is it! 22:37 Steve Allen: "I think Mrs. Block is here looking for Hal." Remember the discussion, Dizzyology?
I love that Dr. Shaw said goodbye to the panel when she left.
That showed that she was polite, thoughtful and had good manners😊.
I was was 7 years old when Mayor Wagner's term ended and John Lindsay took office. Wow, where did the time go. Thanks for the history lesson. This show is so educational and informative, it's not just a game show to me. Thanks for the videos.
Arlene's "Are you smaller than a breadbox" quip directed on behalf of Steve was hilarious!
I grew up in NYC on East 88th street, 2 blocks from Gracie Mansion. As a kid I would walk Mayor Wagners' dogs. Later his wife and the maid would make me something to eat. I knew the cops who guarded the Mansion and would toss a football with them. On one Christmas, they had a live TV special from the Mansion and I was one of the kids invited to participate, I was the token Jew, lol. When Santa placed me on his knees and asked me what I wanted, I asked that the Mayor settle the Taxi strike. My Dad was on the board of directors for LOMTO, and I overheard him and his fellow cab drivers complain that the Mayor was holding things up in the negotiations. Needless to say, the LOMTO board of directors took me out to Jahn's for a well deserved banana split. At the Mansion I got to meet Roy Rogers and other guests who performed for the TV special. Great Memories.
What nice memories!
How cool!
I grew up on 90th Street bet. 1st and 2nd Avenues and spent many a day in Carl Schurz Park, where Gracie Mansion is located. I was also a kid when Mayor Wagner was in office.
Thank you for sharing your wonderful memories.
HOOAH!
I love the Hal Block reference.
19:28 Steve Allen: "Do you know where Judge Crater is?"
On August 6, 1930, New York Supreme Court Justice Joseph Crater made plans to attend the Broadway play "Dancing Partner" - or so he told friends. Instead, he went to his office and removed various papers from his files, then cashed two large checks. Later that day, he was last seen leaving a restaurant on West 45th Street, stepped into a taxi and vanished without a trace. His disappearance created a public sensation. Some speculated that Crater was involved in illegal activities or had been murdered by organized crime, but no firm evidence was ever found. Nearly a decade later, he was finally declared legally dead. Crater never reappeared and his name became a pop culture synonym for mysterious disappearances and known as the "The Missingest Man in New York".
+oldfart4751 I have read some about Lord Lucan, most fascinating story. I think he's still not declared dead so his eldest son can't claim the Earldom.
Thank you! I was wondering what Steve meant.
@@Beson-SE They should have repealed the earldom after the 3rd Lord Lucan screwed up at Sevastopol during the Crimean War. Hundreds of men and horses died because of his incompetence, when he ordered The Charge of The Light Brigade. A hundred years later the 7th Earl, close to bankruptcy, kills his nanny and attempts to kill his wife. He was officially declared dead in 2016 - 42 years after disappearing. According to his wife, the long delay in her son claiming the title was deliberate, as they did not have enough money to pay the death duties and inheritance taxes, since the money was needed for the childrens’ schooling. Having myself been Executor of a Will in the UK, I can attest to how voracious and disgusting those taxes are. Imagine taxing money at a high rate when dead that has already been taxed at a high rate when living! Sorry - thinking of this, I’m now more angry at the British tax system than at the murderer Lord Lucan. But dammit - what a bunch of thieving jackals and hyenas! And it’s not like they can claim the excuse of having a Bolshie Labour Government. The Tories are in office - and they actually campaigned on *repealing* those insidious taxes! Okay, I’m ranting now - gotta go and cool down. G’night.
Interesting episode. Especially since polio was so rampant at those times. My mother is a "Polio Pioneer." She was given the vaccine as a child in the 50's. She doesn't mention it that much. I didn't even know she was one until I watched her rummaging through her dresser drawer one day and I saw the card. I asked her about it and she told me. I was in my late teens when she told me. I was surprised. And amazed.
It's very likely she was vaccinated twice. Most children were given the Salk vaccine (a series of shots) as soon as they were available, and the Sabin vaccine was given to the general public in the mid-sixties. The Sabin vaccine was handed over as a small sugar cube, and was much cheaper, so it was possible to vaccinate large numbers of people in a short period of time.
Salk handed over the patent for his vaccine because he didn't want to profit from it. Money was raised, and he was eventually given his own laboratory, but he could have made a fortune from the serum, and he refused.
My family all went together for the cube vaccine in the earlly 50's. We lived in a rural area and they came to the gym at our school, seemed like everyone in the community came, seemed like we were in line forever. But being 8 years old it was probably only a few minutes. Polio was terrible before the vaccine became available.
I wish the anti-vaccers were alive before the vaccine...eradicating polio was one on mankinds greatest 20th century accomplishments.
@@kennethbutler1343 Polio was eradicated in the United States and most other countries, but it still exists in Afghanistan and Pakistan. The COVID-19 pandemic is complicating efforts to eradicate polio there.
@@kennethbutler1343 Eradicated in the US but not the whole world
Supposedly, Marilyn Monroe and her husband Arthur Miller were having dinner on the Sabbath at Samuel Goldwyn's house when Marilyn asked Arthur, "Honey, what are these things in the soup." "Those are matzoh balls," he replied. Marilyn made a face and said, "Couldn't they find some other part of the matzoh to eat?" (Sorry -- I couldn't resist telling that story given that the second contestant sold Marilyn Monroe calendars and the fourth contestant made matzoh balls.)
+ToddSF 94109
Ah, I see. You're one of those people who can resist anything except temptation!
I don’t get it
Ben Davison She thought they were floating testicles.
ToddSF 94109 ~ Loved your story!!! It’s not the same thing of course but, your story reminds me of the time Jessica Simpson thought Chicken Of The Sea was actually chicken.
😄😄🙌
Eventually Mayor Wagner married Bennett Cerf's widow, Phyllis.
It's somewhat ironic that Bennett started the questioning of Mayor Wagner.
Bennett questioning his future widowed wife's husband is eerie...
@Brian Gomer That’s rather creepy.
Wow
@@pambayyari8573 what a weird and wonderful world
18:58 Arlene chimes in perfectly at the end 😂
“Are you smaller than a bread box?”
No.
My Grandpa was Rudolph Wagner..I am related to Senator Wagner. Cannot find any relatives left..only Duncan in NYC. We are on Long Island. Augustus Wagner was great grand pa.They had bowling alley and beer dist in Brooklyn. Please send me info.
Test
Mayor Wagner not only became mayor of New York CIty when I was one year old, he stayed in office for 3 four-year terms, long enough to remember him very well when he would appear on the news or press conference. Therefore, I was surprised to see him so relaxed. Apparently he was more comfortable speaking extemporaneously. My recollection of him was that he was very stiff giving a speech, basically reading it from the paper in front of him without looking up very often.
Wagner's best attribute was simply that he managed to get things done, finding ways to avert strikes at the last minute. Unfortunately the one thing he didn't accomplish was to find a way to bring Dodgers owner Walter O'Malley together with Robert Moses (commissioner of dozens of major agencies in NYC and NYS) to keep the Dodgers in Brooklyn.
Moving the Dodgers to LA was the result of the city of New York doing nothing to work with them for a new stadium. Ebbets Field was a dump, there was no parking (like Wrigley today but that doesn't hurt the Cubs!) and there were factions in the city government that didn't care about keeping the Dodgers in Brooklyn. Walter O'Mally saw the potential of being the first CA team, and LA gave him 300 acres for a new ballpark. All NYC would do was discuss them moving to Flushing, which is where the Mets ended up in 1962. My father grew up and Brooklyn and described the shock when it became obvious the Dodgers were leaving. They had been there since the 19th century.
Mystery guest Robert F. Walker Jr. would go on to marry Bennett Cerf's widow after his death in 1971. Cerf and Phyllis Cerf were married for 31 years. Her marriage to Walker would last for 26 years until his death in 1991. Phyllis herself lived to age 90 passing away in 2006 outliving both her husbands. Outlining Bennett Cerf by 35 years.
Wagner, not Walker.
A fun episode. John seemed to be in a happy mood. By coincidence, I watched this right after an episode of Touched By An Angel (S2E19) and a woman on the show was wearing a heart necklace like Arlene's.
Mystery guest vs. Bennett Cerf: This encounter would have been amusing in its social awkwardness if anyone at the time known at the time that in the future the mystery guest would two decades into the future marry Bennett Cerf’s widow.
Probably not as awkward as you might think. I think it would have been way more awkward if Bennett had known he would die unexpectedly of a heart attack in 1971. At least Phyllis Cerf waited until 1975 to marry Robert F. Wagner, Jr., who himself died in 1991. I note Phyllis Cerf was 17 years younger than Bennett and she died in 2006 at age 90.
Did he divorce his wife for the you get Phyllis?
Mayor Wagner's first wife died in 1964. He remarried the next year, and divorced in 1971. He married Phyllis Cerf in 1975.
Bennett died too young
Bennett was married previously to the actress Sylvia Sydney. They were divorced.
Mayor Wagner married Bennet Cerf's Wife Phyllis in 1975. (Bennett was gone by then). Who would have thought...
+poetcomic1 Correctly she would be Mr. Cerf's widow. Otherwise it sounds strange.
@@ludenasan1 pedant on stilts
Mayor Wagner seemed very nice man. Good for Phyllis Fraser. She was very beautiful actress.
They stayed married til 1991 mayor Wagner death.
Bennett gets to meet his wife's future husband.
I think they already knew each other!!!
This one also has audio/video dropouts. Missed two of Steve Allen's laugh-getter questions in a row, for example.
They couldn't talk to the mayor-elect for 2 minutes instead of bringing that poor lady in and giving her short shrift?
I agree: it was an unfortunate habit of WML for the contestants after the MGs to have very little time on stage. That being said, they received the full monetary prize for a couple minutes of "work." I'd like to get a nice chunk of money for 2 minutes. 😄
I really like Arlene's hair in this episode.
I wonder what Bennett Cerf's reaction would have been had he known that his wife, Phyllis, would become Wagner's third wife in 1975.
January 3, 1954 was my sister's 3rd birthday!
This is January 2019 so she just celebrated her 68th birthday. Happy birthday, Sis!
What's with the sound on this? It keeps breaking up.
I am so glad they did away with that run of the gantlet before the questioning. It was just embarrassing.
Judge Crater, to whom Steve Allen asks the mystery guest if he knows his wherabouts, was Judge Joseph Force Crater. A New York Supreme Court justice who disappeared on August 6th, 1930 and was never seen again. So captivating was the disappearance of Judge Crater that even a quarter-century later most people at the time knew exactly what Steve Allen was talking about.
I still knew what he was talking about. :)
The first time I heard that name, I was six years old, and watching The Dick van Dyke Show - it was a joke reference that I didn’t get. So I looked it up in our Funk & Wagnalls Encyclopedia. The knowledge didn’t change my life, but wow…it’s something I still remember from 60 years ago. And it happened 90 years ago. And every day, there are 40 stories in the Daily Mail that are much more bizarre, shocking, and mystifying than Judge Crater’s disappearance. The judge’s disappearance would be only a one-day wonder in today’s media cycle, if it were even mentioned at all. So why do we still remember this? Weird!
@@petemarshall8094 It was a by-word for an unexplained disappearance of a prominent figure, somewhat similar to the disappearance of Jimmy Hoffa.
what was with the basically reversed panel seating? Quite unexpected
I bet that first contestant was the only "Sydell" in the entire history of her high school.
The guy who sold Marilyn Monroe calendars had the bearing of a movie or TV department store floor walker.
Kind of a Frank Nelson type.
The previous commenters have mentioned the relationship between , Phyllis Fraser , her first husband Bennett Cerf , her second Mayor Wagner on this episode of WML Going further her grandparents had three daughters : the first her mother , the second daughter was the mother of Ginger Rogers , the third daughter was married to actor Vinton Hayworth who was the brother of Rita Hayworth's mother , her cousin by marriage . Even further her grandmother was born a Ball so there may have been some family connection with the famous TV star Lucille Ball , referred by some sources as a distant cousin of Ginger Rogers . Ms. Frasier was connected to many famous folks by marriage and by blood .
Rip dorothy
Polio was still a problem. Hard to imagine now.
Despite herculean efforts, polio still exists in the world. Too many people in developing countries have been led to believe it is some kind of conspiracy plot against them. As a result, people are unnecessarily suffering. It could be entirely eliminated. And if the number of people in this country who refuse for irrational reasons to be vaccinated against various ailments continues to grow, other scourges may return to this country. Vaccines are only effective if enough people receive their shots.
Shirtless, Your comment may have been written immediate before the Covid epidemic. Now fears of disease is easy to imagine. Now, February 2021, about 70% of the population are fighting to be vaccinated, while 30% say they will avoid vaccination
@@stevekru6518 Yes the comment was pre Covid. I meant that people in the US now do not understand what polio was like.
There are still some of us around! Post Polio is the trouble now, where the weakness comes back after thirty or forty years.
Dorothy is sporting the new star trekky look.
LoL...that was the beginning of the 'Italian' look in hair styles....as the Italian Cinema was making in-roads into American Movie houses....the Hair stylist of the day went Gaga over it and hard sold it...on some women it looked good, really good...but on most--NOT. Can remember some of my Aunts and Sisters....sport'n it...There is even an ''I Love Lucy'' episode from that era where she wears one...'thinking' that she fools Ricky into making a 'pass' at her, while wearing it....
Too bad no one ever turned around when Dorothy asked "Can I feel your muscle?" and said, "No, that would actually be rude." Eliminating the "walk of shame" and the four wild guesses was one of the best changes WML ever made.
When they just shook hands it was okay. Asking to see clothing labels and feeling men's muscles really should have been stopped early on. It was definitely an improvement when they changed over to shaking hands on the way out.
I agree whole-heartedly. That "Walk" was the biggest mistake ever made. Even bigger (slightly) than having Hal Block as a panelist!
Personally I liked the walk, but didn't like the free guesses. Everyone has different preferences. As far as being rude you have to remember this is 1954, Americans didn't have sticks up their asses like they do now. A lovely woman asking to feel a man's arm muscle isn't the same squeezing a woman's rear end. Now we live in an age of where everything is inappropriate and everyone is crying over personal space.
I would have asked her, "Will you show me your boobs?"
Dorothy asked to look at fingernails and feel hands for callouses. Here she was trying to confirm that he *didn't* have muscles, not that he did. That would be OK behavior for a police detective but it rude in AA social setting. Why not just poke his belly or examine his teeth?
Back in the day Mayor Wagner was considered a good , tough and effective mayor of NYC . I wonder how common it is for a man married to a woman shaking the hand of his wife's next husband ?
Mr Bennett question to Mystery guest -" Are you my widowed wife next husband?"
Oh right!!!! Good call.
Many people have commented that the 'walk of shame' by the contestants and the free guesses are cringe-making by current standards. It's also a waste of time for John Daly to explain the scoring system repeatedly when a staff-member could do that backstage before the person goes on. Lastly, when we first see the panel together already seated, there is no suspense, no surprise and no movement. In fact they look like puppets with nothing to do except smile. Later the panellists walked on one by one and John Daly came on last. The show evolved perhaps by feedback from the viewers.
Arlene also asked the audience and viewers at home to write in and ask for the walk and guess to be stopped.
Great cheap shot by Steve at 22:38
That dentist.. wow.. just wow
Apparently Sydell Shaw is 87 years old and still alive
www.bu.edu/dental/2010/06/01/gsdm-celebrates-dr-sydell-shaws-39-years-of-service/
She is still alive I talk to her often. She was the first female orthodontist, which was huge back then.
Dr Sydell Shaw passed away July 2 2018: www.legacy.com/obituaries/bostonglobe/obituary.aspx?pid=189445233
She was 88 when she passed away in 2018, so she must have been 23 at the time of this airing.
I'm not getting any sound :(
Problem on your end, I think. Sorry. Plays back fine for me, and there are almost 600 views with no complaints. I'd suggest checking back in a half hour or so. UA-cam can be glitchy this way sometimes, and it often resolves itself if you wait a while.
so, being a fan of such shows like opie and anthony, i enjoy the use of the "running gag", so for my money, watching these shows from the debut, i couldn't wait for steve allen to replace good ole hal.
Part of the reason I make sure to post the shows in order is so that folks can follow the running gags that pop up occasionally.
+What's My Line?
It is also a great help in making sure you haven't missed an episode. When I started to watch the videos on your You Bet Your Life channel, I happened upon a random one among the videos recommended to me by You Tube. And for a while, that's how I watched them. But I was also watching them from two different screen names. Plus occasionally, You Tube would offer me an episode posted by someone else. (I'm totally loyal to your videos now!) After a while, it became difficult to remember from the thumbnail description, "Did I watch that one already?" When I finally discovered that you posted them in chronological order, it made a world of difference.
(And this is the only screen name I use now to watch your postings.)
Lois Simmons I am watching all the episodes in chronological order. I had a hunch you were doing that as well, as your comments all are made "3 weeks ago".. :)
+Lars Rye Jeppesen
You are likely to catch up to me and pass me soon. I am responding to comments but won't watch any "new" episodes until I get past tax season (my primary means of earning income).
Lois Simmons See you soon then :)
I'm I the only one that thinks the "Monroe" calendar salesman looks like he could be Steve Allen's brother???
No way
No! I thought the exact same thing. I’m surprised there aren’t more comments here about it. They look so much alike!
On that second guest that's the first time I've ever seen John Daly not even be able to keep a straight face when starting off the questioning because of what the line was
Does it have anything to do with the choppers?
Dorothy looks very pretty here. Pregnancy apparently agreed with her.
She looked great all pregnancy.
Strange that everyone stood to shake Mayor elect Wagner's hand upon his departure - all except Dorothy.... ?
The calendar salesman was very effeminate.
John 2:14 - “I haven’t had anybody run away from me in a long time. I can’t look that frightening - you look much more frightening than I do.” Wow! One of the rare instances of him being downright rude. He must have been real disgusted.
I hear "they look much more frightening than I do." [meaning the panel, which is a little more palatable as a comment than about the poor scared guest! She really looked uncomfortable to me.] It's difficult to hear precise words sometimes. :)
He definitely said THEY, meaning the panel members.
I wonder if the Marilyn Monroe calendar seller had to share his profits with Ms. Monroe and have copy right permission. Things have changed so much since then.
That’s just weird ….. Bennett Cerf shaking the hand of his wife’s future husband !🤯. 😢
Robert wagoner’s speech patterns and appearance were similar to that of Bennett Cerf’s. Interesting to note he ended up marrying Bennett’s widow, Phyllis Cerf, several decades after this episode.
Just 21 years later.
Why is this a big deal ?
Art Gasior (the second contestant) bore a very striking resemblance to Steve Allen!
No
@@sandrageorge3488 I meant the second contestant! But you don't think so, I guess
I thought his line was going to be a Steve Allen look alike guy, when I saw him!
Someone commented about Dorothy's Star Trek hairdo but I'm sure it was her dress neckline that looked "Star Trekky"
The dentist was an odd & awkward one...
Or rather not actually.
Mayor Robert F.Wagner ,Jr / 1910 - 1991/ Mayor of New York 1954- 1965
Is it me or does the mask make Steve look alot younger
The glasses makes him look older.
Today's UA-cam Rerun for 1/5/16: The first show of 1954!
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Hard to imagine here, the widow Cerf marrying Wagner in the future.😢😢😢
I don't know if it's a product of film quality but Dorothy appears to me to be quite aged in this episode.
Geisha Boy? Does Bennett know something we don't? #Cerfing Dorothy doesn't stand for Democrats.
Does it have any moving parts? Hahaha
Wagner wincing having to field traffic Qs beyond his remit!
Bob Wagner was a good mayor last of Tammany hall
I wanted more of Miss Block. She and John were having fun. (She got married later that year, to a gent named William Rogoff; they had a bunch of kids and both died in July of 2012, within 4 days of each other.)
Findagrave: www.findagrave.com/memorial/195160425/gella-rogoff
How do you find these things out?
Wagner married cerfs widow after he died
After Wagner died?😄
We all know. It's been stated dozens of times
Mayor Robert F. Wagner married bent Cerf's wife after Cerf's death
she looks like lady gaga
I definitely prefer Fred Allen over Steve Allen... Steve Allen is the same every time.. he is so predictable that it gets dull after awhile..
I agree. It gets so tedious every time he puts his glasses over the blindfold and says "Now, let me see." I am big fan of Martin Gabel and wished that he was the fourth permanent member of the panel.
Steve Allen was one of the best. Is that who Fred Allen replaced? Why?
@@kristabrewer9363 Fred Allen replaced Steve Allen due to Steve's departure to commit to The Tonight Show, and when Fred passed away in 1956 his seat because a rotational seat instead of a permanent replacement with Cerf, Kilgallen, and Francis remaining the 3 permanent seats until Dorothy's unexpected passing in 1965 when her seat also became a rotational seat for the final 2 seasons.