I just finished watching this episode. From this moment on, there will be far less of any news programs for me, as I plan to watch ALL of WML episodes. This is a much better way to spend my spare evening time . Thanks a million times for making these wonderful old gems available. And now, I'm off to the next episode as I compress 17 years of programming into 4 months.
Many telephone booths in the 50’s and 60’s in New York did have a seat. So the contestant was correct in replying “Yes” to Arlene’s question. I also recall seeing several telephone booths in movies that clearly had seats.
I feel as though I am a bit late to the party. I have been enjoying WML episodes for months now. Great evening entertainment. Thank you, Mr. What’s My Line for all your hard work and care in posting these for us all to enjoy.
Marilyn Maxwell obviously had a good time and the audience had a great time. It's a mystery to me why she did not ever show up on WML again. This mystery guest sequence is quite memorable.
Johan Bengtsson But Johan, the public sphere leaves you open to the world. They can see and hear you all the time. EXCEPT in phone booths where Superman dresses.
Marilyn Maxwell was a close friend of Rock Hudson's, according to the book that says it's his story. She seemed so exuberant, so I can see why she'd be a favorite!
This is the last show with the old Panel desk. It had been in use since April 1950, and it looked like it could fall apart any minute. A newer and shiner desk with the Stopette and Finesse signs replaced it on the next episode.
Wrong. The old original desk last appeared Mar 8, 1953 with Jackie Gleason. This desk debuted the following week, Mar 15, 1953 with Fred MacMurray, which you pointed out on that episode: @VahanNisanian 9 years ago John Daly receives a shiny new desk, beginning with this episode.
Agreed, but I don't think he meant that in any sort of insulting way. He did phrase it poorly, but I think he just meant that ARLENE "had" (guessed) the wrong Marilyn, as she had guessed Marilyn Monroe during the mystery guest round.
Bennett said they had the wrong "Marilyn" that night. And I bet a lot of TV viewers were disappointed that when the name "Marilyn" appeared on the screen and it was not followed by "Monroe." But frankly, Bennett, Ms Maxwell was way more amusing than Ms. Monroe. Hers is one of the best \vocal disguises . . . . ever.
I saw the blonde hair and "Marilyn M..." being written on the chalkboard and for a second I thought it might be her. This is in spite of knowing she never appeared on the show, and the roar from the audience would have been deafening. To be fair, Bennett said "YOU had the wrong Marilyn tonight," referring to Arlene's guess.
Second game. The operator of a skirt blowing machine who appeared on WML in 1958 is widely mentioned as the most funny contestant in 1950s WML. This game is pretty funny in and of itself -- especially the way Dorothy gets the revelation and Arlene applies the weenie.
The second skirt-blower, Peter Lomagistro, not this gentleman, ranks with the funniest contestant of the fifties. You can find him in the June 1, 1958 episode. He was indeed a treat, and rightly an audience favorite.
According to Arthur Marx's Bob Hope biography The Secret Life of Bob Hope, Hope's long-term affair with Maxwell was so open that the Hollywood community routinely referred to her as "Mrs. Bob Hope."
They intrigue me too, @Kattie Q.! :-) I guess you must be 15 by now (YT says you left the above comment 2 years ago). Do you still enjoy watching "What's My Line?"
Props to Mr. York (the maker of telephone booths) 2:32. He showed ‘em how to win the full prize! Totally thwarted their sleuthing abilities!! 4:28 BENNETT: This product, has it ever been, or is it alive? MR YORK: Yes JOHN: Way-ay-ay-ait a minute! We better have a conference. 4:53 DORTHY: Is this anything that I might buy or use? MR YORK: No JOHN: (raising a finger to the air) Well, wait... MR YORK: Yes DOROTHY: This is the most indefinite product we’ve had in a long time! 6:14 DOROTHY: Would it be all right to expose this product to the elements? MR YORK: (Dumb silence) 7:11 DOROTHY: Uhh, does it give heat or light or pleasure of any kind? MR YORK: Yes JOHN: (gives a look of great consternation) Well now, we don’t want to confuse you... (Oh! But we do!!!!) 7:34 DOROTHY: Would you ever sit on this? MR. YORK: Yes. JOHN: (More discomfiture) ...We would not sit on it, no. (Turns a card) STEVE: Have you ever sat on it, Mr. York? MR YORK: I have, yes...but you wouldn’t! 8:33: BENNETT: Does it possibly contain live things? MR YORK: Yes BENNETT: (Eyes get very wide) Would these live things, uh, have any, uh, feathers at any time? MR YORK: No John determines, at 9:26, that he thinks “the panel ought to get medals for effort.” They met their match!!!
Marilyn Maxwell starred in the Fox production of the television series "Bus Stop". It was a short-lived drama series on ABC, and was loosely based on the Marilyn Monroe film of the same name. Maxwell was also a favorite of Bob Hope and his USO shows.
Marilyn Monroe deserved an Oscar nomination for her role in Bus Stop. She had the Southern accent down. I know as I am a Southerner. She never, while she was alive, got credit for her acting skills as far as the Oscars are concerned.
I like how John Daly will read someone’s name off the board and then say “is that right?” It’s rare to have beautiful handwriting, and writing on a blackboard does not help either.
Notice the last contestant's gloves? It was proper etiquette to wear gloves when going out, especially to church -- at least in the Bible Belt. Some of the elder ladies at church still dress up and carry/wear gloves on Sundays. IMHO church has become too casual. Which has nothing to do with anything. I was having a senior moment. ☺
Using a phone booth back in 1953 could be quite inexpensive (unless you were making a toll call or a long-distance call). In 1951, the cost of a local call from a payphone increased from 5 cents to 10 cents. So you could make a local call from a phone booth in 1953 for as little as one dime.
Although she did not get the righteous ovation that Lana Turner received on WML went they incorrectly guessed her name in the realm of WWII pin up girls when trying to guess Miss Turner. She did sing the Christmas classic song SILVER BELLS " in the Bob Hope picture The Lemon Drop Kid. She was her peak in the 1950s . She did not age well in the 1960s. with various health issues. She seemed to be more similar to a Mamie Van Doren type entertainer than to Marilyn Monroe .
Huh, I'm watching these in order, and it's the first one I've seen. Until I saw this episode, in fact, I had no idea such a thing existed outside of the infamous scene with Marilyn Monroe in _Seven-Year Itch_ over a subway grate. From the sound of discussion, it must have been a popular attraction, though I can't see what was in it for the women.
I've seen comments about people looking older compared to their actual age back in the 50's than they do now. There is a lot of variation among individuals, there are valid reasons we can point to for that phenomenon like cosmetic surgery, better lighting and camera techniques, etc. But for the first time I was really surprised to find out how young Marilyn Maxwell actually was: she's 31 years old at the time of this show. Maybe it's my own idiosyncratic perception, but she looks a lot older...and we all know how motivated and capable women are, particularly show business celebrities, to not look older.
I think one reason they look older to us is that they are wearing hairstyles and fashions that older people still wore even when fashions changed for younger people. For example, my grandmother’s hairstyle looked just like Marilyn Maxwell’s in this show, and it never changed from when I first remember her in the 1960s until her death in 1991 (at the age of 90).
At 5:18, Steve says, “It’s larger than a breadbox, I presume” (audience laughs) Then at 22:08, Dorothy asks, “Is it smaller than a breadbox?” (No laughter). These would be the 8th and 9th times the term is used. At 14:01, John said, “Dorothy just had a weenie.” This is the 9th time the term is used. John also said it in the blocked Anna Magnani episode. At 11:53, and at 13:19, is John communicating “blowing”?
The way Marilyn Maxwell died was nothing short of scary. From Wikipedia: "In 1972, Maxwell's 15-year-old son arrived home from school and found her dead at the age of fifty of an apparent heart attack, after she had been treated for hypertension and pulmonary disease. Bob Hope, Bing Crosby, Frank Sinatra, and Jack Benny were honorary pallbearers at her funeral."
Her son called Rock Hudson a close friend of his mother. Rock arriving at the scene picked up the grief stricken boy and took him to his home.Her son stayed with Rock until his father,who was out of town,could come and get him.Rock was a sweet man.
1:58 John Daly refers to Goodson and Todman as "these two young gentlemen". Seems odd to hear them called that by Daly who is a year older than Goodson and 2 years older than Todman, their birth years being 1914, 1915, and 1916, respectively. I guess a lot of my dislocation is because I consider them all ooooold.
5:30 Mr. Allen: *’Would it be used outside of the home more logically than in the home?’* Mr. Yorke: *’Yes.’* Doctor Who: *’Hold my sonic screwdriver.’* Dr. Spock: *’Your logic is flawed.’* Be well, stay kind and blessings to all~
Today's UA-cam Rerun for 10/9/15: Watch along and join the discussion! ----------------------------- 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
It's interesting that it was John who identified Dorothy's sudden inspiration as a "weenie." (14:04) Is this the first time that somebody other than Dorothy herself used that expression?
@@juanettebutts9782 You're right. I recall at least twice that "weenie" was used on earlier episodes of this show. I posted a comment on the first time I heard it used, but can't recall which episode that was, and I'm too lazy to search through all the comments of past episodes to find it.
Second game. A classic gambit arrangement from Steve Allen. He starts the game; he knows right from the beginning that he should ask if it is a service; he asks questions that technically can be answered yes but generate yocks.
Marilyn Maxwell may best be remembered today for her extramarital affairs with Frank Sinatra and Bob Hope. Between 1950-1954 Marilyn had an ongoing affair with actor/comedian Bob Hope. Although he was married at the time to singer Dolores Reade Hope, Bob and Marilyn's relationship was so open many in Hollywood referred to her as "Mrs. Bob Hope."
Martha Reynolds - The thing with actors is that there is often not a budget for wigs and so when you are in a play or film you will need to alter your hair to fit the role and hope that you can find a suitable street-wear hairdo for yourself to leave the theater each night out of whatever they've left you of your own style or color. However, Arlene is age 46 here and a mother only since age 40 and wife of the right man for her since age 39. If her family were prone to greying young, she might be considerable lighter under that hair coloring if the Kazanjians were white or light grey when aging. However, Arlene knew about style and that the rule of thumb would be to go lighter and straighter as you age. So, she may well have been trying out colors for herself that were not garish to see what worked. Even the Iron Lady, Margaret Thatcher, said as you age to go lighter and straighter. I suppose darker makes too much contrast to skin that is not as young and vibrant in tone anymore and curly hair can look too overdone and a bit silly.
@z I would not in any way have pretended to know the late great Arlene Francis, a woman I admire and would never malign. As a theater professional my whole life, I was pointing out to Martha Reynolds that there are often with actors odd hairdos or versions of their usual hairdos that directly relate to their current role, as opposed to a purposeful hair style chosen that season for their real life, as opposed to reel life. I am not British: did not care for Thatcher and certainly do not agree with BoJo at all. What she said once about hair as women age does tend to hold true for huge numbers of women. I was NOT suggesting this was the case with Arlene. I believe most of her hairdos were her current hairstyle for herself and only occasionally did she have a color or style change that seemed to have been promoted by her current role. She worked a lot. I was speaking of women in general and actors more specifically and thought that was clear from the start. I think so much of Arlene Francis that I feel compelled to respond to you so that others reading your vitriolic response to me will not misread what I wrote as actually being about Arlene Francis. It was intended as a comment in reply to someone who perhaps thought the hairdos of the actors on the panel were necessarily those they had chosen for themselves that season. I am unaware of anyone on the show with a wig. I was not speaking of individuals on the show. I was speaking in general about actors because I am in theater. You got personal and nasty and maligned me in an ugly fashion that I would never have applied to you or Ms. Francis or Martin Gabel. My clear English indicates I am speaking about actors in general, that Arlene could have been making the best of what her current role required her hair to look like for the performance, and I made it clear that some standards women follow do not work for all as they age. She was gorgeously coiffed and made-up and attired every time I ever saw her on this show, both then and now. So you misread the reply utterly. You read poorly, comprehend poorly, and embarrass yourself.
The great great Mr. Kenneth, Hairdresser to Marilyn Monroe and Jackie Kennedy amongst many many others, was a friend who said that as women get older, their hair should get shorter to bring their faces up and lighter so the gray wasn’t so noticeable. Another story, off subject, that I heard directly from Coral Brown, the Australian actress and wife of Vincent price, was about her role as Vera Charles in Mame. She wore a turban throughout the movie. Reason for the turban was she had been doing a movie or a play in England (I don’t remember which) and she had dark hair. She had to be blonde for Mame, so was bleached and bleached and her hair all fell out. That’s why she wore a turban! I know this has nothing to do with what’s my line but I always liked the story.
As kids, they served part in our treasure hunts too, as we'd check a # of booths to see if an adult left any change in the coin return. *It was far more profitable to collect bottles for spending money, but sometimes we'd check the phone booths, because a nickel could get you a candy bar or a single scoop ice cream cone.
Mrs Maxwell looked very nice (although she was way more attractive in Rock-a-Bye Baby with its longer hairstyle. It's hard to believe she was just 32 here?! Interesting how women from that era looked more mature than their real age, I'd say she was more like 50+ here.
Mindful of the occupation of the second challenger, it is so nice to see WML going in a much more high brow direction now that Hal Block is no longer on the panel. Now what is that sarcasm emoticon again?
Indeed. And don't forget Mr. Allen saying things like, "What are you doing after the show?" There are certainly things to enjoy about the show, but these folks certainly had flaws.
I had to look up "T-man", Dorothy's free guess at 3:25 which somehow threw off Steve Allen: It's a special law-enforcement agent of the U.S. Treasury, a term that entered the vocabulary in the 1930s.
@Karyn Greco There has been quite a bit of discussion about that on these UA-cam comments and also in the WML Facebook group. I'm not sure anyone has found what I consider a satisfactory answer as to _why_ Dorothy uses the word, "weenie," or whether there's any history of it being used the way she used it any time prior to WML, but it's pretty clear that she uses it to mean an idea about the contestant's line. Sometimes she exclaims it in a way that seems to mean, "I just got an idea!" In this case, I think John correctly interpreted Dorothy's wordless exclamation with regard to the skirt-blowing machine as Dorothy getting "a weenie." :-)
@@savethetpc6406 I'm sure it is a weird coincidence, but the Oxford English Dictionary defines "weening" as "The action of thinking, supposing, expecting, etc. In ME. often = mere opinion, surmise, or suspicion (as opposed to certain knowledge)." The most recent citation is from 1761.
Gil Fates wrote in his book that Ms. Maxwell's answer to Bennett's gender question probably gave the CBS office of standards a start. It certainly got a huge laugh, but I have heard more startlingly risque things on this program, notably from Hal Block and the Groucho Marx episodes. It would be interesting to know if WML producers ever got letters of warning or condemnation from the censors who in the 1950s were not only sensitive but humorless..
David Von Pein"S" is on the front half of "BS", David? Horsie style, ok, but in English I'd say it was on the backside, huh? I don't want to get sticky about all that, or is that slippery?
+soulierinvestments I found Miss Maxwell's answer sufficiently ambiguous that the interpretation would be in the mind of the beholder. For example, a person could check their drivers license or birth certificate. Of course when it comes to stuffed shirts at Standards & Practices and/or the Legal Dept., who knows what they will object to, especially at a time that they couldn't show Lucy and Ricky sleeping together or use "pregnant" in the script. Considering how much live television was being aired, monitoring the shows for objectionable content must have been harrowing.
Those early fifties hairdos were so unflattering to most women, even lovely ones. Maxwell looked much better with longer hair, which she went back to shortly after this.
Thank goodness they got rid of that undignified business of the contestants parading in front of the panel and then adding insult to injury, exiting behind John Charles Daly.
@anacarolinalopes8481 Ny daughter asked me to dye her hair red with the unsweetened Koolaid back in the day. She's 50 years old now, that was in the early 1980.'s You're right, it goes farther back than that. When I was growing up ladies dyed their hair blueish gray in their senior years. They got it done at the Beauty Parlor. It was very pretty I thought.
@joycejean-baptiste4355 yesss. saw some photos of girls with pink hair in the late 50s just the other day. read on malcolm x's biography about black women wearing colorful wigs too. its very cool!
@@anacarolinalopes8481 Yes, I remember about Malcolm X. I grew up during the riots and the Black Panthers and Angela Davis. There were food rations and the National Guard in our neighborhood. Rioting and looting. I was just a kid. I asked my dad to go and get us a T.V. from the furniture store we saw people looting. He said, " no baby., that's stealing.' I never forgot that. Thank you.
It would have been interesting except for the fact that Marilyn's iconic scene above the subway grate occurred in "The Seven Year Itch" which was filmed between 9/1/54 and 11/4/54 and not released until June 1955. There was a more risque stage version that ran on Broadway from November 1952 to August 1955. Marilyn was not in the stage production. Vanessa Brown played the role of "The Girl".
I wondered if the telephone booth maker in this episode was the inspiration for Dorothy's oft-asked question: "is it smaller/bigger than a telephone booth?" Her question to the ammunition inspector at 22:05 seems to confirm this theory -- unless she had already begun using it before this episode and just happened not to use it when it was most appropriate. I seem to remember a later episode with a contestant who had something to do with telephone booths, and I think in that one Dorothy actually *did* ask the question, and of course got a "no" answer -- and a lot of laughs. But my memory's been playing tricks on me lately, so maybe that's just what I imagined might happen in that episode.
It's amazing how often guests give obviously wrong answers such that a telephone booth "used to be alive". I think they are so nervous that can't function logically or don't quite understand what they are being asked.
@@billbryant7194 @Steven Chappell Yes, I was also thinking that the contestant might have had wooden parts in mind when he answered that it "ever had been" alive, not realizing that the WML "terms of reference" consistently determined that plant life/vegetation does not count as being or ever having been alive. This always irks me, but at least they were consistent about it, and there is even one later episode when Tony Randall, as guest panelist, specifically asks about that term of reference, and John explains it.
+just4mygrl She was born in 1946, and Sonny and Cher started becoming famous, probably around 1966. With the show's cancellation in 1967, there wasn't much overlap.
I don't know that anyone else has noted this, but Roswell Yorke has really fine bone structure in his face. It is a bit reminiscent of Errol Flynn in face shape and bone structure. He just misses being devastating handsome in the classical sense, as was Flynn. Nonetheless, the bone structure was finely carved by the hand of Mother Nature, God, his parents. His hairline is just a touch too high, his upper lip is just a tad too close to his nose, but the chiselled appeal.
@@peternagy-im4be LOL. To be sure. I'm afraid I am greatly drawn to fine or interesting bone structure in faces, possibly because I have a mushy mud face with no special features (except they all work as they were intended). So, I will spend a lot of time looking at a face across a room that is much like Abe Lincoln's or Sitting Bull or Barbra Streisand or Anjelica Huston. I cannot help but believe that Steve Perry's physiognomy aided his voice due to fabulous cheekbones and nose creating a cathedral inside his mouth. LOL. I find carved, craggy bone structure compelling as nature's artwork. Were I a plastic surgeon, we might all look like Cochise or Geronimo. LOL.
On the first guest, Dorothy's wild guess is, "I think he's a T-man" (meaning a Treasury Agent), and Steve Allen can't stop chuckling. The obvious supposition is that he was considering guessing "A-man". I didn't know the phrase "T and A" was that old. Or maybe Steve had something else entirely in mind that he decided against using?
+Reluctant Dragon I'm not sure what to think now after googling the phrase abbreviated as "T and A" (though I'll probably google it again to look at the pictures more closely. JK). I found two citations as to its origin: one said Lenny Bruce coined it in 1971, the other said it originated between 1970-1975. I can't think of anything else though to explain Steve Allen's behavior.
Bruce Alvarez It’s called ‘finesse’. Hal was such a relentless wolf that he made the women he was addressing (and everyone else, for that matter) uncomfortable-if not downright disgusted! Steve knew how to ‘win over’ a woman (and an audience) in a way that made his “innuendo” bearable and witty instead of creepy and tiresome. Watch the way John and MM laugh mirthfully 18:15 at Steve’s comment vs. how people reacted to Hal. Also notice that after Steve asked “are you married”, he let it go at that. Comedians make their jokes work by playing off the persona they consistently maintain. Steve’s persona was far more attractive than Hal’s. Interestingly, though, Steve does slip and descend to Hal’s level later on in the show. He makes an unfunny comment at 21:25 and gets the kind of reaction by the female contestant that Hal typically did. Good thing that Steve’s ‘slips’ were few and far between - or he would have followed Hal out the door!
SaveThe TPC Was he thinking of explosives which is not flammable, (of which there's a lot) or of e.g. black powder, whis is indeed flammable? Ammunition is usually flammable, as opposed to many eplosives which are not. I'm a little confused by this now.
SuperWinterborn I would have thought explosives were flammable too. Are you saying that when something explodes, as opposed to burns, it is not considered flammable? If that's true, then John's answer would make sense. Knowledge of science is not my strong point, but I would have thought that something which explodes or ignites would be considered flammable/inflammable. (Strange as it may seem, "flammable" and "inflammable" are synonyms in English.)
SaveThe TPC Now you have cleared up something I didn't understand; namely the difference in between "flammable" and "inflammable". I tell you, this gave me quite a headache, first when I heard it, then when I read your comment! No, not all explosives are flammable. They can explode if exposed to heavy pressure, by being shaken, or dropped down from a certain height. But not if you just stick a lighted match to it. But all of this can be discussed from different angles, and except for my lack of arguments in English, these explanations would take far too much space on a single page! ;)
SuperWinterborn I'll just have to do some more research on the flammability of ammunition, I guess... :) As for the confusion between flammable and inflammable, here are two good sources that I found. The first one is clearer and more concise, but the second gives a bit more background. 1)grammarist.com/usage/flammable-inflammable/ 2) www.differencebetween.net/science/difference-between-flammable-and-inflammable/
SaveThe TPC Tell me if you find something of interest regarding flammable/not flammable ammunition/explosives! My own search in English, (necessary, since I else wouldn't know how to translate it) didn't show much. This was something I've heard of long time ago. Thank you very muh for the links, of which the first one cleared it up very well, although the second was more thorough in it's explanation.:)
As a professional writer, Dorothy should know better than to use an adverb instead of an adjective to describe the way someone looks. 19:26 - "Do you look awfully well in a bathing suit?" and its follow-ups, should of course be, "Do you look awfully *good* in a bathing suit?" -- unless, of course, her question actually means either: 1) Do you look awfully *healthy* in a bathing suit? or: 2) Do you do an awfully good job of looking [for things? at things?] when you're wearing a bathing suit? (And I doubt very much that Dorothy meant either of those things!) I'm sorry to be such a stickler for grammar, but the whole panel, and Dorothy in particular, are usually so erudite and articulate that, coming from her, this really bothers me.
***** Well, no, not really. :) Savethe TPC is one of the most active and valued members of the community of people commenting on these videos. The comments sections on these videos benefit tremendously from her participation.
What's My Line? Thanks for your support and your kind words, Gary!☺ In *****'s defense, I suppose that particular comment *was* rather pedantic, which was why I added the apology at the end. Also, if he or she has happened upon any of my "n.b." messages to SuperWinterborn and doesn't realize that SW has asked for such corrections from me, I could see that they may come across as picky or even rude.
What's My Line? I heartedly agree with that. And it is interesting to see a correction of a person's grammar even if she is dead, TPC. Please, for my sake, don't apologize. I live in Israel and have already agreed to take the weight of the world upon my shoulders (after I take off some of this weight). I have worked in radio and written some and know that good grammar is often not practiced by those who you would think know best. My best friend is a retired English lit. professor and believe me, though she is the sweetest, most loving person I know, I still straddle the English highway, not wanting to embarrass her when she refuses to overturn my mistakes. I can see her turn red, but she will not, usually, correct me. So I know an old Arab lady who bakes hams in the local crematorium and ask her.
***** Yes, SaveThe TPC is "pedantic", and ought to be so. ;) This fact has in particular been a great benefit to me. If you're a regular viewer on this channel, you might also have seen, or will see, some of her personal comments to me, which usually begin with *NB!* or *Obs!*. They are meant as heads up to me and my poor English grammar. I asked for it myself, and do really appreciate these corrections, also her remark about Dorothy's use of adverb where it should have been an adjective.:) Not all of us have English as our first language, and I don't think I'm very wrong, in assuming I'm not the only one who finds this useful. :) PS. It wouldn't surprise me if this comment of mine would need a correction too, even after I've edited it myself more than once! ;D
![What's My Line? - Billy Rose (Aug 23, 1953) [CORRECTED]](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/OTllZZ4W18M/mqdefault.jpg)
I just finished watching this episode. From this moment on, there will be far less of any news programs for me, as I plan to watch ALL of WML episodes. This is a much better way to spend my spare evening time . Thanks a million times for making these wonderful old gems available. And now, I'm off to the next episode as I compress 17 years of programming into 4 months.
I hope you also try out 'I've Got a Secret' and 'To Tell the Truth'. They are also very informative as well as a lot of fun.
Likewise!
Many telephone booths in the 50’s and 60’s in New York did have a seat. So the contestant was correct in replying “Yes” to Arlene’s question. I also recall seeing several telephone booths in movies that clearly had seats.
I think John's no hinged on, well, the word "on." You could sit IN, as in inside, a phone booth, but you're not likely to sit ON, as in on top of, it.
@@TheCinematicPackrat1 25:52
5:48 - Arlene: "Is John dubious ?" John: "No no, I'm John Daley."
I feel as though I am a bit late to the party. I have been enjoying WML episodes for months now. Great evening entertainment. Thank you, Mr. What’s My Line for all your hard work and care in posting these for us all to enjoy.
Glad you enjoy the shows-- and thanks for the comment!
I watched this show when I was a kid way back.It was a good show.
HOOAH!
Marilyn Maxwell obviously had a good time and the audience had a great time. It's a mystery to me why she did not ever show up on WML again. This mystery guest sequence is quite memorable.
I loved the vocal disguise she used. It was clearly heard, funny and she was very consistent with it. It also disguised her voice completely.
This is my favorite group of panelists!
Loved Marilyn Maxwell! 🥰🥰👏👏
Thank you for sharing these shows; I'm going through some bad times in real life and it's so comforting to escape with all these wonderful episodes! ❤
I hope you get through your tough times. It’s nice to have channels like this to put us in a nice place. It certainly does for me.
Wow, Marilyn Maxwell is adorable 😍... looks and obviously a very fun personality ! Once again Dorothy Kilgallen is brilliant.
Watching these shows for the 1st time, as they aired before I was born. Thanks for posting them. I love watching these.
Bennett: “You are a female, I take it.”
Marilyn Maxwell: “Last time I looked.” 😂
It has been a long time since I've seen a phone booth. Even any kind of public phone has become scarce!
I often go into one when I use my cell phone. I still don't like to talk in public.
Johan Bengtsson But Johan, the public sphere leaves you open to the world. They can see and hear you all the time. EXCEPT in phone booths where Superman dresses.
I guess that Underdog finally DID destroy them all.
Chris Barat - You just made me laugh out loud! :D
Excellent quality television.
Yes, they are a fabulous team! Wish there were a similar program available today.
Marilyn Maxwell was a close friend of Rock Hudson's, according to the book that says it's his story. She seemed so exuberant, so I can see why she'd be a favorite!
It has been alleged that Rock Hudson paid for her funeral
Arlene: Is it anything unpleasant about this product?
Steve: Yes, we can't guessed it. 24:04
I was one year old when this was broadcast! I am old...
Me too!
My husband was born the same year as you. He isn't old...he is seasoned.
Aging is a blessing.
This is the last show with the old Panel desk. It had been in use since April 1950, and it looked like it could fall apart any minute.
A newer and shiner desk with the Stopette and Finesse signs replaced it on the next episode.
Wrong. The old original desk last appeared Mar 8, 1953 with Jackie Gleason. This desk debuted the following week, Mar 15, 1953 with Fred MacMurray, which you pointed out on that episode:
@VahanNisanian
9 years ago
John Daly receives a shiny new desk, beginning with this episode.
@@rotagbhd Yes, the moderator/contestant desk was replaced then. The panel(ists') desk was replaced next episode.
Dorothy and Arlene both look particularly lovely in this episode, imho.
Arlene is beautiful, Dorothy's jewelry is perfect 👌
Arlene: Is John dubious?
John: No, no, I'm John Daly. John Dubious is over there. :) 5:50
Bennett Cerf is never shocked by the guest's profession!
one of the best mystery stars and funny to the lovely Marilyn Maxwell.
That first job would mystify the heck out of a panel now!
Marilyn Maxwell is NOT the wrong Marilyn, Bennett. I doubt Monroe could have been more funny.
Agreed, but I don't think he meant that in any sort of insulting way. He did phrase it poorly, but I think he just meant that ARLENE "had" (guessed) the wrong Marilyn, as she had guessed Marilyn Monroe during the mystery guest round.
Marilyn Maxwell was absolutely delightful and so classy.
Her most famous duet with Bob Hope was of course, "Silver Bells" from "The Lemon Drop Kid". (except for
their affair I suppose).
Bennett said they had the wrong "Marilyn" that night. And I bet a lot of TV viewers were disappointed that when the name "Marilyn" appeared on the screen and it was not followed by "Monroe." But frankly, Bennett, Ms Maxwell was way more amusing than Ms. Monroe. Hers is one of the best \vocal disguises . . . . ever.
soulierinvestments I agree! I would add she’s considerably more attractive than chubby, false expressioned, Monroe!
@@oksills stop.
Bonnie Stop what? Having and expressing an opinion that is different than yours?
I saw the blonde hair and "Marilyn M..." being written on the chalkboard and for a second I thought it might be her. This is in spite of knowing she never appeared on the show, and the roar from the audience would have been deafening. To be fair, Bennett said "YOU had the wrong Marilyn tonight," referring to Arlene's guess.
Second game. The operator of a skirt blowing machine who appeared on WML in 1958 is widely mentioned as the most funny contestant in 1950s WML. This game is pretty funny in and of itself -- especially the way Dorothy gets the revelation and Arlene applies the weenie.
The guy with the glasses and the strong accent? I remember him as being pretty funny.
The second skirt-blower, Peter Lomagistro, not this gentleman, ranks with the funniest contestant of the fifties. You can find him in the June 1, 1958 episode. He was indeed a treat, and rightly an audience favorite.
According to Arthur Marx's Bob Hope biography The Secret Life of Bob Hope, Hope's long-term affair with Maxwell was so open that the Hollywood community routinely referred to her as "Mrs. Bob Hope."
Arthur Marx, to be fair, always wrote with a tad of bitterness.
Mary Todd Lincoln, always wrote with the bitterness of Tad.
Other than that +Joe Postove, how did you like the play?
Lois Simmons Too soon!
@@MrJoeybabe25 Great word play 👍
wait a minute I'm 13 how did i get here?! xD My interests intrigue me...
They intrigue me too, @Kattie Q.! :-) I guess you must be 15 by now (YT says you left the above comment 2 years ago). Do you still enjoy watching "What's My Line?"
Props to Mr. York (the maker of telephone booths) 2:32. He showed ‘em how to win the full prize! Totally thwarted their sleuthing abilities!!
4:28 BENNETT: This product, has it ever been, or is it alive?
MR YORK: Yes
JOHN: Way-ay-ay-ait a minute! We better have a conference.
4:53 DORTHY: Is this anything that I might buy or use?
MR YORK: No
JOHN: (raising a finger to the air) Well, wait...
MR YORK: Yes
DOROTHY: This is the most indefinite product we’ve had in a long time!
6:14 DOROTHY: Would it be all right to expose this product to the elements?
MR YORK: (Dumb silence)
7:11 DOROTHY: Uhh, does it give heat or light or pleasure of any kind?
MR YORK: Yes
JOHN: (gives a look of great consternation) Well now, we don’t want to confuse you...
(Oh! But we do!!!!)
7:34 DOROTHY: Would you ever sit on this?
MR. YORK: Yes.
JOHN: (More discomfiture) ...We would not sit on it, no. (Turns a card)
STEVE: Have you ever sat on it, Mr. York?
MR YORK: I have, yes...but you wouldn’t!
8:33: BENNETT: Does it possibly contain live things?
MR YORK: Yes
BENNETT: (Eyes get very wide) Would these live things, uh, have any, uh, feathers at any time?
MR YORK: No
John determines, at 9:26, that he thinks “the panel ought to get medals for effort.”
They met their match!!!
5:43 ARLENE: Would this, in any way, have moving parts?
MR. YORK: Yes.
ARLENE: is John dubious?
JOHN: Nooooo! I'm John Daly!!
"Is John dubios?"
"No, I'm John Daly."
At 5:50 LOL
Marilyn Maxwell starred in the Fox production of the television series "Bus Stop". It was a short-lived drama series on ABC, and was loosely based on the Marilyn Monroe film of the same name.
Maxwell was also a favorite of Bob Hope and his USO shows.
Maxwell had about a 20 year affair with Bob Hope
Marilyn Monroe deserved an Oscar nomination for her role in Bus Stop. She had the Southern accent down. I know as I am a Southerner. She never, while she was alive, got credit for her acting skills as far as the Oscars are concerned.
"The last time I checked." Rather risque for the 50s!
"Can it ever be eaten or taken internally?" Well, in could end up internal.
I like how John Daly will read someone’s name off the board and then say “is that right?” It’s rare to have beautiful handwriting, and writing on a blackboard does not help either.
Notice the last contestant's gloves? It was proper etiquette to wear gloves when going out, especially to church -- at least in the Bible Belt. Some of the elder ladies at church still dress up and carry/wear gloves on Sundays.
IMHO church has become too casual. Which has nothing to do with anything. I was having a senior moment. ☺
THis is at least the third skirt blowing machine operator I have seen in these clips. It must be a much more common occupation than one would expect.
One of the few occupations that I did not understand
@@jaysmith1408A woman would walk by and a burst of air would blow her skirt up in the air. Those were sexist times!
Using a phone booth back in 1953 could be quite inexpensive (unless you were making a toll call or a long-distance call). In 1951, the cost of a local call from a payphone increased from 5 cents to 10 cents. So you could make a local call from a phone booth in 1953 for as little as one dime.
ToddSF 94109
I remember using a pay phone in 1996 and paid...
...ten cents. I marveled that it was one thing that was impervious to inflation.
@@lottalady73 I know that the price eventually went up from a dime to a quarter, but I don't remember what year that happened.
Keep in mind that that's $1.11 in today's money
Although she did not get the righteous ovation that Lana Turner received on WML went they incorrectly guessed her name in the realm of WWII pin up girls when trying to guess Miss Turner. She did sing the Christmas classic song SILVER BELLS " in the Bob Hope picture The Lemon Drop Kid. She was her peak in the 1950s . She did not age well in the 1960s. with various health issues. She seemed to be more similar to a Mamie Van Doren type entertainer than to Marilyn Monroe .
your best bet to win is being the final contestant
@sandwichman100 I agree, it's an injustice to the other contestants!!😢
Dorothy is the smartest panelist
I think this was at least the third episode with a contestant who "Operates Skirt Blowing Machine" I've seen.
Wow; women and I guess men, too, looked much older back in the day. Marilyn Maxwell looked well over 40.
Thankfully, they finally realized that not only the celebrities should be shaking the panelists’ hands, but also the other contestants.
Guess you can never have enough skirt blowing machine operators 😂😂😂
Huh, I'm watching these in order, and it's the first one I've seen. Until I saw this episode, in fact, I had no idea such a thing existed outside of the infamous scene with Marilyn Monroe in _Seven-Year Itch_ over a subway grate. From the sound of discussion, it must have been a popular attraction, though I can't see what was in it for the women.
I've seen comments about people looking older compared to their actual age back in the 50's than they do now. There is a lot of variation among individuals, there are valid reasons we can point to for that phenomenon like cosmetic surgery, better lighting and camera techniques, etc. But for the first time I was really surprised to find out how young Marilyn Maxwell actually was: she's 31 years old at the time of this show. Maybe it's my own idiosyncratic perception, but she looks a lot older...and we all know how motivated and capable women are, particularly show business celebrities, to not look older.
I think one reason they look older to us is that they are wearing hairstyles and fashions that older people still wore even when fashions changed for younger people. For example, my grandmother’s hairstyle looked just like Marilyn Maxwell’s in this show, and it never changed from when I first remember her in the 1960s until her death in 1991 (at the age of 90).
At 5:18, Steve says, “It’s larger than a breadbox, I presume” (audience laughs) Then at 22:08, Dorothy asks, “Is it smaller than a breadbox?” (No laughter). These would be the 8th and 9th times the term is used.
At 14:01, John said, “Dorothy just had a weenie.” This is the 9th time the term is used. John also said it in the blocked Anna Magnani episode.
At 11:53, and at 13:19, is John communicating “blowing”?
Too bad no one asked "Is it bigger than a phone booth?"
The way Marilyn Maxwell died was nothing short of scary. From Wikipedia:
"In 1972, Maxwell's 15-year-old son arrived home from school and found her dead at the age of fifty of an apparent heart attack, after she had been treated for hypertension and pulmonary disease. Bob Hope, Bing Crosby, Frank Sinatra, and Jack Benny were honorary pallbearers at her funeral."
Oh, that's so sad! And it must have been traumatizing for her son! :'(
Her son called Rock Hudson a close friend of his mother. Rock arriving at the scene picked up the grief stricken boy and took him to his home.Her son stayed with Rock until his father,who was out of town,could come and get him.Rock was a sweet man.
Referencing Wikipedia, crowd sourced opinions moderated by a small group of far left activists, is the quickest way to lose all credibility.
In Hollywood Marilyn Maxwell was known as Mrs Bob Hope
Quite amusing to see Steve Allen's confusion over why the audience keeps laughing.
1:58 John Daly refers to Goodson and Todman as "these two young gentlemen". Seems odd to hear them called that by Daly who is a year older than Goodson and 2 years older than Todman, their birth years being 1914, 1915, and 1916, respectively. I guess a lot of my dislocation is because I consider them all ooooold.
5:30
Mr. Allen:
*’Would it be used outside of the home more logically than in the home?’*
Mr. Yorke:
*’Yes.’*
Doctor Who:
*’Hold my sonic screwdriver.’*
Dr. Spock:
*’Your logic is flawed.’*
Be well, stay kind and blessings to all~
Dorothy and Bennett really try hard to guess the occupation of the guest.
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***** It was just part of the overall format until 1956. You're far from alone in not liking the "Walk of Shame"-- no one does!
It's interesting that it was John who identified Dorothy's sudden inspiration as a "weenie." (14:04) Is this the first time that somebody other than Dorothy herself used that expression?
dizzyology -- I've been binge watching these so I can't tell you which episode, but "wheenie" is how it was described previously at least once.
@@juanettebutts9782 You're right. I recall at least twice that "weenie" was used on earlier episodes of this show. I posted a comment on the first time I heard it used, but can't recall which episode that was, and I'm too lazy to search through all the comments of past episodes to find it.
This is the 7th time the term was used. Dorothy said it twice (she used it first), Hal said it twice, and now John has said it 3 times.
Second game. A classic gambit arrangement from Steve Allen. He starts the game; he knows right from the beginning that he should ask if it is a service; he asks questions that technically can be answered yes but generate yocks.
Marilyn Maxwell may best be remembered today for her extramarital affairs with Frank Sinatra and Bob Hope. Between 1950-1954 Marilyn had an ongoing affair with actor/comedian Bob Hope. Although he was married at the time to singer Dolores Reade Hope, Bob and Marilyn's relationship was so open many in Hollywood referred to her as "Mrs. Bob Hope."
Is that why Dorothy mentioned him?
I see Arlene’s hair is very gradually getting lighter.
Martha Reynolds - The thing with actors is that there is often not a budget for wigs and so when you are in a play or film you will need to alter your hair to fit the role and hope that you can find a suitable street-wear hairdo for yourself to leave the theater each night out of whatever they've left you of your own style or color. However, Arlene is age 46 here and a mother only since age 40 and wife of the right man for her since age 39. If her family were prone to greying young, she might be considerable lighter under that hair coloring if the Kazanjians were white or light grey when aging. However, Arlene knew about style and that the rule of thumb would be to go lighter and straighter as you age. So, she may well have been trying out colors for herself that were not garish to see what worked. Even the Iron Lady, Margaret Thatcher, said as you age to go lighter and straighter. I suppose darker makes too much contrast to skin that is not as young and vibrant in tone anymore and curly hair can look too overdone and a bit silly.
@z I would not in any way have pretended to know the late great Arlene Francis, a woman I admire and would never malign. As a theater professional my whole life, I was pointing out to Martha Reynolds that there are often with actors odd hairdos or versions of their usual hairdos that directly relate to their current role, as opposed to a purposeful hair style chosen that season for their real life, as opposed to reel life. I am not British: did not care for Thatcher and certainly do not agree with BoJo at all. What she said once about hair as women age does tend to hold true for huge numbers of women. I was NOT suggesting this was the case with Arlene. I believe most of her hairdos were her current hairstyle for herself and only occasionally did she have a color or style change that seemed to have been promoted by her current role. She worked a lot. I was speaking of women in general and actors more specifically and thought that was clear from the start. I think so much of Arlene Francis that I feel compelled to respond to you so that others reading your vitriolic response to me will not misread what I wrote as actually being about Arlene Francis. It was intended as a comment in reply to someone who perhaps thought the hairdos of the actors on the panel were necessarily those they had chosen for themselves that season. I am unaware of anyone on the show with a wig. I was not speaking of individuals on the show. I was speaking in general about actors because I am in theater. You got personal and nasty and maligned me in an ugly fashion that I would never have applied to you or Ms. Francis or Martin Gabel. My clear English indicates I am speaking about actors in general, that Arlene could have been making the best of what her current role required her hair to look like for the performance, and I made it clear that some standards women follow do not work for all as they age. She was gorgeously coiffed and made-up and attired every time I ever saw her on this show, both then and now. So you misread the reply utterly. You read poorly, comprehend poorly, and embarrass yourself.
The great great Mr. Kenneth, Hairdresser to Marilyn Monroe and Jackie Kennedy amongst many many others, was a friend who said that as women get older, their hair should get shorter to bring their faces up and lighter so the gray wasn’t so noticeable. Another story, off subject, that I heard directly from Coral Brown, the Australian actress and wife of Vincent price, was about her role as Vera Charles in Mame. She wore a turban throughout the movie. Reason for the turban was she had been doing a movie or a play in England (I don’t remember which) and she had dark hair. She had to be blonde for Mame, so was bleached and bleached and her hair all fell out. That’s why she wore a turban! I know this has nothing to do with what’s my line but I always liked the story.
Arlene was such an attractive woman, and I think the lighter hair made her have more so
That makes her look younger, and more beautiful.
Ohhhh, that is why later on Dorothy is almost all the time asking - Is it bigger than a telephone booth?
Telephone booths; something on this show that has almost disappeared.
There's one in my neighborhood. It serves as a public free library. Take a book and/or leave a book(s).
As kids, they served part in our treasure hunts too, as we'd check a # of booths to see if an adult left any change in the coin return. *It was far more profitable to collect bottles for spending money, but sometimes we'd check the phone booths, because a nickel could get you a candy bar or a single scoop ice cream cone.
Telephone Booths: a thing of yesterday. 😢
Mrs Maxwell looked very nice (although she was way more attractive in Rock-a-Bye Baby with its longer hairstyle. It's hard to believe she was just 32 here?! Interesting how women from that era looked more mature than their real age, I'd say she was more like 50+ here.
Marilyn Maxwell, that is.
Mindful of the occupation of the second challenger, it is so nice to see WML going in a much more high brow direction now that Hal Block is no longer on the panel.
Now what is that sarcasm emoticon again?
Indeed. And don't forget Mr. Allen saying things like, "What are you doing after the show?"
There are certainly things to enjoy about the show, but these folks certainly had flaws.
Is it alive? Yes (telephone booth)
MAKES TELEPHONE BOOTHS
OPERATES SKIRT BLOWING MACHINE
INSPECTS AMMUNITION
Heat or light or pleasure. It's not just pleasure: telephone booths also have lights.
Marilyn Maxwell was 32 years old here.
Thanks Kenneth.
I had to look up "T-man", Dorothy's free guess at 3:25 which somehow threw off Steve Allen: It's a special law-enforcement agent of the U.S. Treasury, a term that entered the vocabulary in the 1930s.
Sometimes someone on the panel will say they have a "weeny." What is a weeny? From what is that use of this word derived?
It's a small query .
@Karyn Greco There has been quite a bit of discussion about that on these UA-cam comments and also in the WML Facebook group. I'm not sure anyone has found what I consider a satisfactory answer as to _why_ Dorothy uses the word, "weenie," or whether there's any history of it being used the way she used it any time prior to WML, but it's pretty clear that she uses it to mean an idea about the contestant's line. Sometimes she exclaims it in a way that seems to mean, "I just got an idea!" In this case, I think John correctly interpreted Dorothy's wordless exclamation with regard to the skirt-blowing machine as Dorothy getting "a weenie." :-)
SaveThe TPC,
Thank you, kindly, for your interpretation of this word.
Be well, stay kind and blessings to all ~
@@savethetpc6406 I'm sure it is a weird coincidence, but the Oxford English Dictionary defines "weening" as "The action of thinking, supposing, expecting, etc. In ME. often = mere opinion, surmise, or suspicion (as opposed to certain knowledge)." The most recent citation is from 1761.
Bless you and your tomatoes.
Gil Fates wrote in his book that Ms. Maxwell's answer to Bennett's gender question probably gave the CBS office of standards a start. It certainly got a huge laugh, but I have heard more startlingly risque things on this program, notably from Hal Block and the Groucho Marx episodes. It would be interesting to know if WML producers ever got letters of warning or condemnation from the censors who in the 1950s were not only sensitive but humorless..
soulierinvestments I did find a magazine piece from the early years of WML that included it in a list of "objectionable" programs.
David Von Pein"S" is on the front half of "BS", David? Horsie style, ok, but in English I'd say it was on the backside, huh? I don't want to get sticky about all that, or is that slippery?
David Von Pein I have trouble telling my left from my left.
+soulierinvestments
I found Miss Maxwell's answer sufficiently ambiguous that the interpretation would be in the mind of the beholder. For example, a person could check their drivers license or birth certificate. Of course when it comes to stuffed shirts at Standards & Practices and/or the Legal Dept., who knows what they will object to, especially at a time that they couldn't show Lucy and Ricky sleeping together or use "pregnant" in the script.
Considering how much live television was being aired, monitoring the shows for objectionable content must have been harrowing.
Those early fifties hairdos were so unflattering to most women, even lovely ones. Maxwell looked much better with longer hair, which she went back to shortly after this.
It even lasted into the late 50's. I agree unflattering to most women.
Chris N
Yes I think the tight short styles made everyone look older.
Marilyn died of a heart attack at age 50.
😳
Thank goodness they got rid of that undignified business of the contestants parading in front of the panel and then adding insult to injury, exiting behind John Charles Daly.
"Does the product have wheels?" "No" actually it has a rotary dial phone...a wheel.
Steve Allen mentioned green hair with Marion Maxwell. Little did he know that one day people would Dye their hair green, Lol!
People already were dying their hair unatural colors in the 50s.
@anacarolinalopes8481 Ny daughter asked me to dye her hair red with the unsweetened Koolaid back in the day. She's 50 years old now, that was in the early 1980.'s You're right, it goes farther back than that. When I was growing up ladies dyed their hair blueish gray in their senior years. They got it done at the Beauty Parlor. It was very pretty I thought.
@joycejean-baptiste4355 yesss. saw some photos of girls with pink hair in the late 50s just the other day. read on malcolm x's biography about black women wearing colorful wigs too. its very cool!
@@anacarolinalopes8481 Yes, I remember about Malcolm X. I grew up during the riots and the Black Panthers and Angela Davis. There were food rations and the National Guard in our neighborhood. Rioting and looting. I was just a kid. I asked my dad to go and get us a T.V. from the furniture store we saw people looting. He said, " no baby., that's stealing.' I never forgot that. Thank you.
I want to know what went through Mr. Daly's mind after Allen's question at 13:13 😂😂😂
I wonder if that's the voice Marilyn Maxwell used in her private moments with Bob Hope.
imagine if Marilyn Monroe was on the panel for the 2nd guest......
It would have been interesting except for the fact that Marilyn's iconic scene above the subway grate occurred in "The Seven Year Itch" which was filmed between 9/1/54 and 11/4/54 and not released until June 1955.
There was a more risque stage version that ran on Broadway from November 1952 to August 1955. Marilyn was not in the stage production. Vanessa Brown played the role of "The Girl".
First game: Gil Fates wrote that objects that people get into were always funny on WML.
I wondered if the telephone booth maker in this episode was the inspiration for Dorothy's oft-asked question: "is it smaller/bigger than a telephone booth?" Her question to the ammunition inspector at 22:05 seems to confirm this theory -- unless she had already begun using it before this episode and just happened not to use it when it was most appropriate. I seem to remember a later episode with a contestant who had something to do with telephone booths, and I think in that one Dorothy actually *did* ask the question, and of course got a "no" answer -- and a lot of laughs. But my memory's been playing tricks on me lately, so maybe that's just what I imagined might happen in that episode.
It's amazing how often guests give obviously wrong answers such that a telephone booth "used to be alive". I think they are so nervous that can't function logically or don't quite understand what they are being asked.
Steven Chappell It could have wooden parts. The last time I checked trees are living ( though not animate, for the most part).
@@billbryant7194 @Steven Chappell Yes, I was also thinking that the contestant might have had wooden parts in mind when he answered that it "ever had been" alive, not realizing that the WML "terms of reference" consistently determined that plant life/vegetation does not count as being or ever having been alive. This always irks me, but at least they were consistent about it, and there is even one later episode when Tony Randall, as guest panelist, specifically asks about that term of reference, and John explains it.
I worked in a stationary store early 50s it had 2 phone booths made out of wood!😊
Was Cher too young to be on the show? I would of loved to see her on here.
+just4mygrl She was born in 1946, and Sonny and Cher started becoming famous, probably around 1966. With the show's cancellation in 1967, there wasn't much overlap.
Cher was born May 20, 1946 she would have been eight years old
marilyn maxwell is 31 here.but she looks much older.
I don't know that anyone else has noted this, but Roswell Yorke has really fine bone structure in his face. It is a bit reminiscent of Errol Flynn in face shape and bone structure. He just misses being devastating handsome in the classical sense, as was Flynn. Nonetheless, the bone structure was finely carved by the hand of Mother Nature, God, his parents. His hairline is just a touch too high, his upper lip is just a tad too close to his nose, but the chiselled appeal.
Extraordinary comment
@@peternagy-im4be LOL. To be sure. I'm afraid I am greatly drawn to fine or interesting bone structure in faces, possibly because I have a mushy mud face with no special features (except they all work as they were intended). So, I will spend a lot of time looking at a face across a room that is much like Abe Lincoln's or Sitting Bull or Barbra Streisand or Anjelica Huston. I cannot help but believe that Steve Perry's physiognomy aided his voice due to fabulous cheekbones and nose creating a cathedral inside his mouth. LOL. I find carved, craggy bone structure compelling as nature's artwork. Were I a plastic surgeon, we might all look like Cochise or Geronimo. LOL.
is it me or does it seem Steve Allen almost always gets at least 1 big reaction from the audience during his questioning?
orgonko the wildly untamed No, it's not just you. Have you encountered comments yet talking about the "gambits"?
Watch her at the beginning of "Rock-a-bye Baby": ua-cam.com/video/uHCRY7AS4sY/v-deo.html
"Hey Boomer ... what's a telephone booth? ... "
My favorites Dorothy, Steve Allen and Bennett!!! The other one I detest and always have!
Died of a heart attack young age 50 .
AGAIN with Dorothy and her Label Obsession.....there has to be some name to this psychological need....LoL.......
That Telephone booth guy was six short of a dozen.
He was utterly clueless.
On the first guest, Dorothy's wild guess is, "I think he's a T-man" (meaning a Treasury Agent), and Steve Allen can't stop chuckling. The obvious supposition is that he was considering guessing "A-man". I didn't know the phrase "T and A" was that old. Or maybe Steve had something else entirely in mind that he decided against using?
I was wondering what was so funny! That could be it. I've never heard of an A-man, but I was thinking G-man, which isn't very funny.
+Reluctant Dragon I'm not sure what to think now after googling the phrase abbreviated as "T and A" (though I'll probably google it again to look at the pictures more closely. JK). I found two citations as to its origin: one said Lenny Bruce coined it in 1971, the other said it originated between 1970-1975. I can't think of anything else though to explain Steve Allen's behavior.
@@robertmelson2130Neither applied, this show 1953😅
🎨.😂😍
18:12 - that's Hal's line...
Yes and he got fired for it. Why can Steve Allen ask "innuendo" questions of the ladies but Hal lost his job?
Bruce Alvarez
It’s called ‘finesse’. Hal was such a relentless wolf that he made the women he was addressing (and everyone else, for that matter) uncomfortable-if not downright disgusted!
Steve knew how to ‘win over’ a woman (and an audience) in a way that made his “innuendo” bearable and witty instead of creepy and tiresome.
Watch the way John and MM laugh mirthfully 18:15 at Steve’s comment vs. how people reacted to Hal.
Also notice that after Steve asked “are you married”, he let it go at that. Comedians make their jokes work by playing off the persona they consistently maintain. Steve’s persona was far more attractive than Hal’s.
Interestingly, though, Steve does slip and descend to Hal’s level later on in the show. He makes an unfunny comment at 21:25 and gets the kind of reaction by the female contestant that Hal typically did.
Good thing that Steve’s ‘slips’ were few and far between - or he would have followed Hal out the door!
Good Grief, it looked like that guest was flashing at Dorothy. Cringe moment.
Anyone else notice the four letter word in the first ten seconds of the UA-cam auto captioning? (And now f***'s My Line)
Skirt bowling???
They could have asked Maxwell if she was currently having an affair with Bob Hope.
Pretty racy question and answer for 1953 at 16:26.
Ammunition is *not* inflammable, John? Huh?!!??
SaveThe TPC Was he thinking of explosives which is not flammable, (of which there's a lot) or of e.g. black powder, whis is indeed flammable? Ammunition is usually flammable, as opposed to many eplosives which are not. I'm a little confused by this now.
SuperWinterborn
I would have thought explosives were flammable too. Are you saying that when something explodes, as opposed to burns, it is not considered flammable? If that's true, then John's answer would make sense. Knowledge of science is not my strong point, but I would have thought that something which explodes or ignites would be considered flammable/inflammable. (Strange as it may seem, "flammable" and "inflammable" are synonyms in English.)
SaveThe TPC Now you have cleared up something I didn't understand; namely the difference in between "flammable" and "inflammable". I tell you, this gave me quite a headache, first when I heard it, then when I read your comment! No, not all explosives are flammable. They can explode if exposed to heavy pressure, by being shaken, or dropped down from a certain height. But not if you just stick a lighted match to it. But all of this can be discussed from different angles, and except for my lack of arguments in English, these explanations would take far too much space on a single page! ;)
SuperWinterborn
I'll just have to do some more research on the flammability of ammunition, I guess... :) As for the confusion between flammable and inflammable, here are two good sources that I found. The first one is clearer and more concise, but the second gives a bit more background.
1)grammarist.com/usage/flammable-inflammable/
2) www.differencebetween.net/science/difference-between-flammable-and-inflammable/
SaveThe TPC Tell me if you find something of interest regarding flammable/not flammable ammunition/explosives! My own search in English, (necessary, since I else wouldn't know how to translate it) didn't show much. This was something I've heard of long time ago. Thank you very muh for the links, of which the first one cleared it up very well, although the second was more thorough in it's explanation.:)
As a professional writer, Dorothy should know better than to use an adverb instead of an adjective to describe the way someone looks. 19:26 - "Do you look awfully well in a bathing suit?" and its follow-ups, should of course be, "Do you look awfully *good* in a bathing suit?" -- unless, of course, her question actually means either: 1) Do you look awfully *healthy* in a bathing suit? or: 2) Do you do an awfully good job of looking [for things? at things?] when you're wearing a bathing suit? (And I doubt very much that Dorothy meant either of those things!)
I'm sorry to be such a stickler for grammar, but the whole panel, and Dorothy in particular, are usually so erudite and articulate that, coming from her, this really bothers me.
SaveThe TPC People who know better make grammatical errors in speech all the time, though. You don't have the benefit of proofreading your remarks.
***** Well, no, not really. :) Savethe TPC is one of the most active and valued members of the community of people commenting on these videos. The comments sections on these videos benefit tremendously from her participation.
What's My Line?
Thanks for your support and your kind words, Gary!☺ In *****'s defense, I suppose that particular comment *was* rather pedantic, which was why I added the apology at the end. Also, if he or she has happened upon any of my "n.b." messages to SuperWinterborn and doesn't realize that SW has asked for such corrections from me, I could see that they may come across as picky or even rude.
What's My Line? I heartedly agree with that. And it is interesting to see a correction of a person's grammar even if she is dead, TPC. Please, for my sake, don't apologize. I live in Israel and have already agreed to take the weight of the world upon my shoulders (after I take off some of this weight). I have worked in radio and written some and know that good grammar is often not practiced by those who you would think know best. My best friend is a retired English lit. professor and believe me, though she is the sweetest, most loving person I know, I still straddle the English highway, not wanting to embarrass her when she refuses to overturn my mistakes. I can see her turn red, but she will not, usually, correct me. So I know an old Arab lady who bakes hams in the local crematorium and ask her.
***** Yes, SaveThe TPC is "pedantic", and ought to be so. ;) This fact has in particular been a great benefit to me. If you're a regular viewer on this channel, you might also have seen, or will see, some of her personal comments to me, which usually begin with *NB!* or *Obs!*. They are meant as heads up to me and my poor English grammar. I asked for it myself, and do really appreciate these corrections, also her remark about Dorothy's use of adverb where it should have been an adjective.:) Not all of us have English as our first language, and I don't think I'm very wrong, in assuming I'm not the only one who finds this useful. :) PS. It wouldn't surprise me if this comment of mine would need a correction too, even after I've edited it myself more than once! ;D
I thought Bennet's comment at the end about having the 'wrong Marilyn' was very insulting to the mystery guest.
Not at all.
Bash Hal Block all you want. Bennett Cerf is obnoxious and stuffy.