Agreed, and Dorothy Kilgallen as well. If she was still alive then, I have no doubt she would have been a panelist with Arlene in the colour version. Hell, I'm sure Bennett would have joined as well.
I just finished Gil Fates' (Producer) book on WML. He makes no bones about it, the daytime 5x a week syndicated show wasn't intended to be the same game.
This is the version of "What's My Line" that I remember but it's funny how these color episodes now have a tacky game show vibe. The originals seemed more like a urbane cocktail party.
You hit the nail on the head. This looks, plays and feels like a game show. The original felt like a bunch of people at a cocktail party in NY society and you were able to peek in on them playing a game.
Markxxx Oh, you are so correct. If you watch both It's clear that the '50s and '60s panelists had a higher intelligence and base of knowledge. Nooo doubt about it.
While I agree with all of the comments on the original being better, one thing you have to admit, Goodson-Todman were very good at adapting to a changing American mindset. Look at the few surviving "Match Game" episodes from the 1960's vs. those of the 1970's.
Personally I would have not run the show in syndication after 1967. I would have kept it in the exact live format it had began with in 1950 until retiring the show in it's 25th year. In Dorothy's situation it was death but the show should have continued at least 6 more years after 1967 with John Daly hosting and Arlene Francis along with Bennett Cerf until his death in 1971. It would have been difficult the last two years after Bennett's death for John Daly hosting and Arlene Francis on the panel. Personally I would have retired the show in 1975 just as I would have done with the Ed Sullivan until the show's 25th anniversary in 1973. Two fantastic shows that ended their long run too soon.
The final 2 season of the original WML were in color. But the videotapes of those shows weren't preserved. What exists from those years was Mark Goodson's kinescopes from his personal collection, which were shot on B&W film (even though the show was in color).
Cerf’s hated Dorothy because she was so much smarter than him and he had nothing good to say about her even though she was dead in his oral history recorded interview at Columbia. you can read the transcript. It’s over 1000 pages because he was never one to shy about talking about himself.
When Ford won his congressional district election in 1972, he planned on it being his last election and he was going to retire from public service after 1974. Plans definitely played out much different for him, and the nation will always be indebted.....he was the right man at the right time.
Such a treat seeing Bennett & Gene Rayburn on the same show. Both were great!! I agree that no one could replace John Daly....not even Bruner, who had a similar news background.
I agree. There is no replacement for Dorothy Kilgallen who died in 1965 and Bennett Cerf who died in 1971 but I would have kept the show running in the exact format live as it had in 1950 with John Daly hosting and Arlene Francis on the panel having someone such as Steve Allen take over Bennett Cerf's spot after Bennett's death and Phyllis Newman in Dorothy Kilgallen's spot after her death the remainder of the show run until its 25th anniversary and end of run in 1975. Soupy Sales added in 1967 until end of run in 1975. Colour added in 1965 as had with the Ed Sullivan Show.
I’m pretty sure the thousands of people that Cerf scammed out of millions of dollars with his “famous writers school” scam muss their money more than they miss him
Bennett made a good point that the product (popsicle sticks) are NOT eaten. I wonder how John Daly would have handled that? I think he might not have let it slip through in the first pace.
Great point. I think he would have clarified that what she carried out was a service. She wasn't involved in either the manufacturing of the treats nor the sticks, but operated conditions by which they were inserted (if my understanding is correct). She was also involved in the creating of the product "in a general sense".
Anybody that’s ever watched many WML reruns with open eyes has figured out that Cerf will do anything to get more camera time. He should be fond of John Charles Daly because he allowed him to plug his publishing company constantly.
This was back in the day when a politician of either major political party would be respectfully welcomed, whenever they would appear on a show such as WML. I am happy that I can clearly recall those days - something sadly lacking today.
When asked if he was in sports, Ford should have answered "Not any more". He was an All-American football player at Michigan and had offers to play in the NFL. But in those days (1930's), pro football didn't pay all that well, so he accepted a scholarship to Yale Law School instead (he also was an assistant football coach while at Yale).
He was a model in his time away from law school... in those days, suits and other formal business wear were a much bigger deal than they are in today's USA. He was even part-owner of a modeling agency for years (not the Ford Agency... that was Eileen Ford's baby, and her husband Jerry was no relation to Gerald).
Good to see Bennett Cerf again. Sorry that John Daly was not hosting the show. The show in Black and White always had the panelists in formal dress as well as John Charles Daly which provided class to the show where the color version was informal. Liked the Black and White version better. The background music was also informal. I do not believe John Daly would have approved the new format. I do miss all the old panelists.
When WML was revived as a weekday syndicated show, it was shot during the day, twice a week, 5 shows per taping, two weeks a month. This conflicted with Bennett's business schedule and speaking tours. But he still tried to squeeze in a taping session, whenever his schedule allowed, until his death.
steeveomatic Agreed. I remember how vicious the Democrats were toward him, calling him dumb, and a “plodder”. Look up Lyndon Johnson’s quote about him.
These days on Buzzr, the opening part with Johnny Olsen introducing the first member of the panel and the rest introducing themselves are all cut out and begins with Larry Blyden entering the studio. They also fade out as the contestant gets up from the chair and greets the panel. Oh well--I guess we're lucky to have any form of this in 2020.
I went in the military in 1974 Nixon was President for about a week then we had a new Commander in Chief Gerald R Ford. Very decent man I always believed if he had an extra week of campaigning he would of beat Carter his momentum was on the upswing that final week.
The time filler at the end was a little clumsy and embarrassing. Also, two screw ups by Wally: 1. Popsickle sticks are not eaten. 2. Asked Bennett a question during time filler segment, and did not give him chance to answer it.
So the episodes changed with the times. It was a typical morning show. So what? I accept these as time capsules. It was still fun and no need to beat up on Wally Bruno. After all, Arlene and Bennett often asked for guests to perform. Perhaps the producers took that into consideration. All in all Bennet Cerf was just a charming and intelligent man. No matter the era. RIP Bennett. Ps I once interviewed Brenda Vaccaro on the set of Airport ‘77. She was energetic, funny and charming too. It was a fun interview!
Most game shows in that era did...Match Game, The Dating Game, the Newlywed Game, etc. I think most of them had also been Goodson-Todman productions, come to think of it...
+YouzTube99 I agree. I thought Bennett looked pretty damn healthy. Imagine anyone these days being employed to put sticks in popsicles? I'd be driven mad with that job after about 10 minutes...
Bruner asks Cerf an important question then doesn't answer it saying they don't have time and then engages in mindless banter which was all the time Cerf would have needed. A sign of the dysfunctional '70s and the inferiority of Wally Bruner. Sad to see in retrospect the degradation of society from when you were born (the late '50s) to the '70s. Really quite sad to see the greased downward slope society in general had now found itself on.
Cerf saidsomething that kind of explains what you said - all the panelists had full time jobs and were professionals, while some of the later panelists may have been famous for a while, but really weren’t doing anything now. That kind of made sense to me. Look at Arlene. She was always performing in plays, having to learn her lines, her brain always “on” as it were. Bennett constantly worked with professional businessmen. Hope you understand what I’m trying to say.
Nice, to see Bennett Cerf-and, Wally Bruner, the host, with whom I grew up, as a viewer. Having viewed, now, numerous episodes of the John Daly incarnation, I find I prefer it. I concur, with its description, as put forward by tomchris60, three years ago.
I love the old black snd white shoes with Arlene, Dorothy, snd Bennet, love John Charles Daley! They were so funny and respectful, beautiful clothes, best show ever
Somebody asked who Joanna Barnes is. She's best known as Brian Keith's girlfriend in the original "Parent Trap" and the girls' grandmother in the remake. She also played Peter Falk's ex-wife on the short-lived but critically-acclaimed "Trials of O'Brien" in 1965-66 and hosted a short-lived daytime talk show, "Dateline: Hollywood," in 1967. She's also a writer; she used to write a newspaper column, "Touching Home," and has written some romance novels. I could easily have seen her taking Dorothy's chair on the Sunday-night show but "O'Brien" was in production when Dorothy passed away. For those who don't think the syndicated show was as good as the network version, while I tend to agree, Gil Fates and Bob Bach wanted to make the daytime show more informal, with the panel dressed more casually and the sorts of demonstrations that characterized "I've Got A Secret." The idea of demonstrations was something John Daly refused to have any part of, and it would have been difficult to get the panel involved what with their formal attire. I do like Larry Blyden as host of the daytime show better than I do Wally Bruner, who I think was simply trying to copy Daly's mannerisms.
Very poor production. Rushed through games so they could a guy wrestle alligators and then questions for the panel about what they are doing, (here come the plugs).. The elegant atmosphere of the original show went out the window with the garish set.
Brenda Vaccaro was not only an actress in films, tv series, and broadway plays, she was also a voice actress in The Jetsons, The Critic, Johnny Bravo, Summer Camp Island and other shows.
To Joseph Kearny, I think a lot of critics and those who've seen the 1958 Rosalind Russell version of "Auntie Mame" would agree with you. I just tend to think mainly of "The Parent Trap" and "Trials of O'Brien" when I think of Joanna Barnes because those are what I've seen (as well as five guest appearances on "Maverick" and a brief role in John Wayne's "The War Wagon," for which he was her guest on "Dateline: Hollywood" for an entire week in 1967. A most underrated talent, both as actress and author.
Who could have known that this man would become Vice President and then President in such a short time -- without having been elected to either office!
This was in between the original Match Game and the "new" Match Game (started in 1973). Gene lived in New York, so it was easy for him to be a WML panelist. He commuted to California for the twice monthly for weekend tapings of the new MG.
Gene Rayburn's serious incarnation overlapped most of the original WML (both timeframe and NYC). Gene was a DJ on NBC Radio's Monitor, which was the last live nationwide network radio program.
Back when politics wasn’t so violently oppositional and both sides really cared for the country as a whole. We have never been this insanely divided in memory of anyone I know at 60 years old. I hate the way we are now, and am very ashamed at how we have lost sight as a united people. The election of 2024 has not happened yet but many people predict that within months of the election that we will be a very different country. It’s July now, 2024.
Republican Minority Leader Ford thanking Democrat Speaker McCormack and Democrat Majority Leader Albert for their cooperation with Republican President Nixon. Can you imagine hearing something like that today? Ford was a good, decent man.
I’m guessing this was late 1969 early 1970. The midi skirts arrived late in 1970 then hot pants had about six months of acceptability. Between 1965 and 1972 you could date fashionably dressed people within a range of one year.
Since Bennett died in August 1971, this had to be before that. Although Bennett's death was sudden (heart attack) and he was ill for only a few days before his death, this could have been as late as the Summer of 71, since taping usually began for the new season in July.
gorgeous alligator. love the line, "you can't train an alligator..." he should have said if you pull your finger from an alligators mouth that would mean the finger is still in it. all i've been able to ascertain is this is 1969, the american alligator would have been put on the endangered species list in 1967 but not protected until the "endangered species act" of 1973.
+tomitstube and how odd is that a republican (nixon) signed the epa into law the following year (1970)? it's amazing just how radicalized the republican party has become since ronnie ray-gun in 1980. unbelievable really.
After the alligator wrestler segment when the panel was all blindfolded in anticipation, it would have been a real scream if the mystery guest had been the alligator itself.
It's great seeing Bennett Cerf back as a panelist. I think he would have been on more often, but his health was actually already failing or shortly would according to Gil Fates' book.
18:49 - Sigh. I miss the days when legislators actually worked together and passed bills, even if they had to compromise. And Wally's follow up comment is consistent with the general perception of Gerald Ford: "A very very nice man". He was so respected by the majority Democrats that his was the only name they gave to Nixon when he asked who they wanted to replace Agnew. Too bad he was left in such a horrible situation when he became President.
Wally was wrong. She did not make a product, she provided a service, putting the sticks in Popsicles. John would never have made that mistake! ;>) Mr Cerf put him right, though!
13:24 - geez the producers have more courage than I do to bring a live alligator that might get aloose in studio -- with a future president in the wings for a snack yet. The beauty of video tape: if something went wrong, the disaster could be erased and bring on another contestant. Gil Fates mentioned in his WML book that a contestant who did some act with fire set himself alight accidentally and pretty much traumatized the audience. The producers cut that from the episode and replaced it.
The early 70's version of this show was nowhere near as good as the original. The mystery guest part of the show was always running out of time before the panel had a chance to guess who it was.I loved the original WML.
My guess is that is she was probably in California when this was taped for a film or TV part/appearance. Arlene was available for MOST of the syndication tapings but did had to miss a few tapings for that reason.
