Fun fact: Leta Thomason, the piccolo player, was actually my grandmother! Her musical talent has been passed down through our family and it's one of our strongest attributes, along with our extra height!
How neat to hear from a relative of the contestants. I'm surprised that the panel showed restraint and never mentioned her height - I don't know about Robert Q but John and Bennett were both around 6'1" and she was taller than them. Often that would bring about a lot of jokes but I like that they left it alone. :)
Looking at Suzy Parker's 1959 hairstyle, it is so unusual to me in that it DOESN'T look like it's from that era. It actually looks like Jaclyn Smith's hairstyle from the 1970s. I don't think any female on What's My Line, contestant or panelist, had a hairstyle like that. Maybe because she's a model, she was very trendsetting.
I agree and it got me wondering about a late 50s version of Charlie's Angels where Suzy Parker plays Kelly, Anne Francis as Jill/Chris, Mary Tyler Moore as Sabrina, Kurt Kaznar as Bosley and STILL John Forsythe as the voice of Charlie.
Anna Magnani in The Rose Tattoo, released around this time, sported feathered bangs, hair parted in the middle which became the staple hair trend in the 1970's. Amazing.
Suzy Parker was drop dead glamorous - notice how she tossed her hair as she sat down and the way she held her head as well as her posture. She knew where the cameras were and she delivered the goods. That said she was a difficult subject for the judges as the word "fashion" never once came up.
Suzy Parker was one of the most famous super model .... Her beauty and sophistication is forever missed .... She was so beautiful and so classy.... Suzy Parker is my all time favorite model ...
Love being able to see these old WML episodes, I have memories of seeing the show as a youngster (yes, 10:30 PM was past my bedtime then). This episode aired the very day my twin sister and I were born...when there were but 49 states in the USA!
Suzy Parker was a hard mystery challenger as I think models were not as famous in the late 50'-60's as they are today - still Suzy did a great job and my god was she stunning....
Suzy Parker epitomized the model glamour of the Fifties and early Sixties, even more so than her older sister, Dorian Leigh, also a famous model, who paved the way, most generously, for Suzy. never again will we see that, so we had better be grateful for these clips. for sure. did well in some pics, including Best of Everything, and Ten North Frederick, and one or two others. they should have worked with her more. people wanted to see her. she was an event, all by herself, just to look at, and she was pretty nice, and pretty smart. Bradford Dillman knew how lucky he was when she married him.
I'm 63, and I don't know some of these famous guests at all. It's really fun and informative to look them up on Wikipedia. Suzy Parker was a HUGE celebrity, and the panel was totally stumped trying to figure out her "other" occupation!
Love Suzy Parker! I’m too young to know who she was but now read up on her. This was a great celebrity guest episode. Suzy is gorgeous & love when the celebrity guest stumps the panel.
I don't know what they see, when they get down on a knockout, but it was a hilarious moment, when Robert Q. asked Archie Moore; "Do you have something to do with Outer Space?" and he replied "YESS!"
Man, Suzy Parker was really beautiful, if I was around that time I would of got to her before her husband did, she was a very stunning model and actress!
Suzy Parker is also on the album cover of JAZZ: RED HOT AND COOL - THE DAVE BRUBECK QUARTET Featuring Paul Desmond (Columbia CL-699) [1955] and THE MOST HAPPY PIANO - THE ERROLL GARNER TRIO (Columbia CL-939) [1957].
In my view, Suzy parker is the most beautiful model in history. There are no words in the English letters that do her justice. It kills me just to look at her..
This is August 18, 1959, 6 days after Archie won his rematch against Yvon Durelle with a 3rd round KO. CBS Studio 59: With the history of bad acoustics, I'd assumed they filmed this in a theater not really appropriate for television. But if it's a studio, why are the acoustics so bad?
Someone has mentioned that the stage and building were closely located to a subway line, and that frequently trains caused poor sound, and why everyone had difficulty hearing questions and answers. Also, this studio was near a major NYC thoroughfare, and that I have detected sirens during these broadcasts.
Archie Moore was one of the most respected fighters in the history of boxing. MC Daly gives you a taste of that respect at 7:35. His longevity, endurance, and tremendous fortitude are legendary. After boxing, he had a 25 year movie and TV career born largely out of the respect that he garnered from those who observed him over the years. Ranked pound-for-pound, the 3rd best boxer of all time
The Piccolo player has to be over 6' . I found her sooo cute. Archie Moore was a great addition and all those knock outs. Marciano and him, beat the HELL out of each other. They blocked punches with their faces. Suzy Parker was excellent in THE BEST OF EVERYTHING.
The future Dr. Leta (Thomason) Carson was my college flute professor decades later. She was 6'1". I'm 5'10" and had never previously routinely felt "short" around another woman! She was a strong, intelligent, remarkable woman. She told us about this occasion, remarking that Suzy Parker was the most breathtakingly gorgeous person, male or female, that she had ever seen.
I saw The Best Of Everything, 30 years ago, and thought that Suzy Parker seemed like 1990 and out of sync with the late 50s. I’m looking at this, right now thinking the same thing. She seems like 2022 and completely contemporary. How is that possible?
A couple of Twilight Zone connections here. Archie Moore was originally cast in the 1st Season TZ episode "The Big Tall Wish," but was unable to take the role, so they cast Ivan Dixon instead. And Suzy Parker was in the 5th Season episode "Number 12 Looks Just Like You" playing every single adult female character in the piece, and the Night Gallery episode "The Housekeeper." She would later marry Bradford Dillman.
B Wayland;Arlene was attractive too. Back then women had such class. Dressed up to go grocery shopping. My mom dressed like that. Always Lipstick and powder. 💄👗👠Not like Buffalo Girls at Walmart now. 😂
It had been a hot day indeed, with a high of 89 degrees F and a mean temperature seven degrees above normal for that date. It had been above 80 and humid since noon. No wonder the panel weren't at their sharpest.
If the date is right here, Suzy Parker is five months pregnant and still recovering from injuries she received in a car crash that took her father's life the previous year.
George "Superman" Reeves tragically died exactly 2 months before this airing.Reeves was scheduled for some kind of charity boxing match with Archie Moore.
"Superman" Reeves was a boxer as a young man . Hence his flattened nose . Similarly like the old crooner Dean Martin with his split lip and crooked fingers .
@@alansorensen5903 Alan you probably already know these but others on the vlog would know that George Montgomery , Scott Brady , villains' actor Victor Jory, and even comic Johnny Carson were boxers In Carson's case on his ship during WWII he was the ships champion in his weight class . Quite a few Like Danza continued to box while acting like Ryan O Neal , not to mention the old time actor. the ill fated Tom Neal . I am sure there are others maybe somebody would like to add their knowledge . Thanks .
Funny remark about Archie Moore wearing Bermuda shorts with a formal jacket. (7:16) Later in his career, he became known for wearing long boxing trunks and was sometimes known as "Long Pants Archie".
It is interesting to note that basic human nature doesn't change. The panelists moan, whine, and complain about the heat and the "discomfort" of wearing a blindfold, when everyone knows summers are hot and blindfolds are part of the show!
TerriJo Massey -- They had air conditioning in the 1950's. It had been around for quite a while by then. People who didn't have it at home often went to see a movie in a theater that advertised prominently "Cooled by Refrigeration" during the summer months. I think they must have had it in the studio -- the heat from the studio lighting grid alone was horrible and A/C was necessary due to that alone. Also, I don't see sweat rolling down anyone's face on the panel or at the moderator's desk.
FergusMcDopey -- I think it was probably just in need of repair, perhaps a recharge of Freon, which was in use back then, or perhaps the main compressor had broken down mechanically.
+ToddSF 94109 I don't think it was a break-down -- they consistently had over-heating issues in the studio in the summer months. I can buy that they had A/C but the lighting overwhelmed it, though.
***** -- Yes, quite possibly the A/C system in place was simply inadequate to the task, especially with the lighting grid, which would have generated a huge amount of heat. But air conditioning in the 1950's was definitely capable of dealing with the situation. In fact, movie theaters used to put up huge banners on the side of the building or adjacent to the marquee advertising "COOLED BY REFRIGERATION" in the summer months -- it was a great inducement to get people to come and see a movie during periods of hot weather -- even hot and humid weather. Pay the cost of admission to see the movie and if it was a double feature, you got four or five hours of comfort not available at home to many people.
Arlene and Suzy are beautiful; both are 10s. What befuddles me is that many viewers include Dorothy, who has little physically in common with the beauties, as attractive. All three have terrific personalities. If I had been around in the late 50s and were given the opportunity to choose one of the three ... I’d have been a very lucky man
This is about Arlene Frances: Even though her flaunting of wealth back in those days, I now feel that she was only trying to keep up with the Jones's. I got that feeling from her not knowing she received a yes answer. 💖
The piccolo segment was oddly chaotic: Arlene, referring to the weather, "Are the elements that have to do with your job above the ground?" , also seeming out if it when she got a yes. Lewis really incoherent for a while. And what on earth was Bennett talking about at the end of the segment? it was a very hot night and I think that had drained much of the usual wit from the panel.
I love Arlene's dress here, very pretty. Piccolo player was as pretty as she was tall. Suzy's pearls did not go with her suit, She should have worn a black scarf or a jet statement necklace.
How passing is Glory! I had never heard of either Archie Moore or Suzy Parker until watching this episode, and needed to look them both up on Wikipedia to find out who they were.
Archie Moore later became a fine actor. He can often be seen on TCM, and Parker is a virtual synonym for "high fashion model" even today. Often photographed by Bert Stern and Richard Avedon. Look 'em up. I wouldn't exactly describe any four of these folk as passed. Stop listening to so much rap and watch TCM occasionally. Just a thought. There are recent medical studies that suggest that non-stop usage of Google in order to remember or learn something with a flick of the index finger is causing a certain lobe of the human brain to shrink over the long haul of evolution.
First of all, I *never* listen to rap "music." Secondly, I don't live in the United States, so I don't even know what TCM is. And what's more, I haven't even got a cell-phone, let alone a "smartphone"--and have no intention of ever getting either. One of my favorite aphorisms comes from Thoreau's "Walden": "We have become the tool of our tools." Stop making assumptions regarding people whom you know nothing about. --Finis
Suzy Parker was a fashion model known for her cover photos with Vogue magazine and others in the late '50s and early 60s. Don't really remember her in cinema.
Because I had to look it up: Bennett's reference to Three-Ring Pete at 1:55 or so seems to actually be to Ballantine Beer ads. Most of the ads rely on the the 3 rings of the logo, and how it means Purity, Body, and Flavor, and I can't actually find any that have Three-Ring Pete as the logo from the 50s, but there's a 1971 ad that refers to it in a nostalgic kind of way. /Why/ Bennett is referring to Daly as a beer advertisement is less clear to me. Other than, 'It's Bennett, ours is not to reason why.' The first ad has the reference. ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-mCm3UEfRQv0.html
That brought back a lot of memories. For many years (when beers were allowed to be advertised on television and radio) Ballantine was the beer that sponsored the Yankee games. Any kid growing up in NYC in the 50's who was also a baseball fan knew that Ballantine was the Yankees, Schaefer was the Dodgers and Knickerbocker was the Giants. Later, Rheingold became the sponsor for the Mets.
Leta was my mother and she was 6' 1". I had forgotten about the story of her being on this show once and my aunt reminded me. I found this the same day and I'm amazed. I've never seen this before.
nyhank1814 I noticed the same thing . She was at the height of her Stardom, & had made quite a successful transition from Top Model to appearing in A list films, w/A list Stars like Cary Grant & Gary Cooper.
I always wondered why they couldn’t hide the mystery guest behind a curtain instead of wearing the masks, why understanding the scoring wasn’t worked out ahead of time, why Mr. Daily didn’t get the name and hometown information before hand and why the prize money was so low……but I guess all these elements awkward as they may seem by today’s standards add to its charm as a classic game show…..I agree with others Suzy Parker is beautiful and her look is years ahead of her time.
I think the masks were because if the guest were behind a curtain, they would lose the audience "participation". The prize money seems low to us, but when the show started, $50 could have been a mortgage payment. As for explaining the rules on stage, it was probably for the sake of transparency. The contestant couldn't say they didn't understand if they were explained on camera in front of an audience.
Actually the money then would be 10 times that amount today. So every $5 is worth $50 today-the top prize of $50 is worth $500 today. $500 isn’t bad I think.
Many of these suggestions were not implemented because television production was in its pre-adolescent years and hadn’t been existent long enough to have reached the level of sophistication expected by contemporary audiences. That said, blindfolds alter the dynamics of the panel more than a screen would; Daly inquiring about knowledge of scorekeeping was more for the audience than the contestants; answering hometown and similarly easy questions calms the contestants; and low prize money even when multiplied by 8 as adjustment for inflation, wasn’t the primary motivation for the game. This episode the primary motivation for half the audience was to gaze at Suzy Parker, but even in her absence there was Arlene.
I was really worried when Suzy gave out that handy piece of info about the Southern accent rather early. Bit surprising that she still managed to stump the panel.
For those interested in the Moore-Yvon Durelle fight mentioned: ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-XTtzltIK2ng.html For the weak at heart, skip it! Moore is unconscious for most of round 1 & in modern times the fight would have been stopped then. As all championship fights were then, it was scheduled for 15 rounds...
I've noticed on many occasions that John and Bennett both pronounce "Broadway" with the accent on the second syllable. John does it here at 24:08. Wonder if that was the typical New York pronunciation in those days?
