“She had different set of ideas than we did on Senator McCarthy and other key issues… we just didn’t think alike.” Back when you can disagree with people on politics and remain civil and adult about it! Such a mature approach to different ideals among friends that many these days can learn from.
I have become addicted to watching clips of "What's My Line?" and a big fan of Bennett Cerf . To hear him speak so freely about his experiences has been a treat...Thank You
How touching, his remarks about Fred Allen. You hear it in his voice : " What a wonderful man! What a wonderful man! " What a wonderful memoir. Thank you, hifithepanda. Thank you.
There is about another 20 minutes or so where he talks about WML, so I will put these up. If you want more of Bennett... search his name and "Notable New Yorkers" on Google. There are literally DOZENS of hours of him being interviewed about his life and career, in realaudio format.
This is really excellent., especially the information about Dorothy being a What's My Line outsider. The way in which the video ended (abruptly) gives me hope that there is at least one more installment coming. :-)
RE Fred Allen: Fred was the golden age of WML. I liked Steve's bright witty humor, but love Fred Allen. 6:45 onward Dorothy Kilgallen the reporter. What did they expect from a reporter? Did they tell her from day one that WML was a gossip free reporter free zone? As for Daly -- who knew the game -- I wonder if he didn't speak to Bob Bach for six months as well since Bach spilled the news to Dorothy.
I appreciate the criticism. Some people seem to like it, but I guess I might have gone overboard. There's a version on here with better audio and more static pictures you might want to check out.
Soulier, it is a hard call. I would say if you were not Dorothy and were meeting with her in an informal situation not intending to give information for publication, it would be reasonable to assume that you could talk freely. The fact that Daly, himself a journalist, was also irked at her behavior, agrees with this. I suppose Dorothy, as a gossip columnist, assumed her work never ended and any situation was fodder. At the very least, she clearly was not trying to ingratiate herself with them.
It's a great book. A quick and enjoyable read. I have to admit I was a little disappointed there wasn't more about "What's My Line?" If you're interested in books and the publishing world, you should read it.
Sound observations. If I were Daly, I would have been ticked at DK attributing a quote to me without interviewing me, which is apparently what she did.
its hard to imagine john daly "in a rage", he seemed so even keel on the show & a nice guy. its sad dorothy went and made enemies out of those who were her friends
Hal Block was the original "Blockhead". You can see examples of his boorish behavior on the clips- inclduing trying to kiss attractive female contestants on the mouth.
