Believe it or not, they actually did this on PURPOSE. Director Franklin Heller was said to have "invented" a special chair to seat two contestants close enough together to be framed efficiently by the camera.
@@WhatsMyLine I don't doubt this, but it doesn't seem to be necessary. The mystery guest never sat in a special chair with John Charles Daly, but the camera never had a problem showing both of them at the same time.
As time went by, this show changed as it reflected the style and character of New York elites. In the late '50 and early '60's they were well mannered, reserved, and well spoken. Urbane is the word. By the late '60's and beyond, it, like society itself, became crass and vulgar.
Thank-you for keeping this film production alive; Live TV must be saved for generations’ to come. As always, thanks’ for taking the time to make this video! And I support this site. ~M~
Thank you, Mike! I'm glad you're enjoying the videos. It's a shame the show hasn't really been in reruns for the last 6-7 years, but I'll always be grateful to GSN for rerunning them in the first place, or most of us who weren't alive when the show was originally airing would never have seen it. And to the producer of WML, Gil Fates, for making sure that Goodson-Todman kept its own archive of the films after he learned that CBS was discarding them.
Like so many of the old live-broadcast of the day, many were lost or 8mm or 16mm shot just off camera. Where these films shot from the teleprompter or direct from the control-room? The quality is outstanding. As always, thanks’ for taking the time to make these films available! And I support this site. ~M~
Mike A Drover All the CBS episodes of WML are B&W kinescopes, 16mm film recordings of the live broadcast signal as it appeared on specially tuned, high intensity studio video monitors. The final season was in color and recorded temporarily on videotape, but as far as we know, no color videotapes survive.
Thanks for the explanation. I noticed that John commented at 11:27 that "we'll be in colour in the fall", which made me wonder since I see that the thumbnails of the remaining episodes are in black and white. (Which may be just as well - the early color tv I've seen has aged worse.)
That was the style then. My mom was a cosmetologist, and many of her clients wore their hair that way for as long as it was in fashion, especially younger women.
Did anyone else notice that Bennet got by with speaking out of turn, which assisted the panel, and they hadn't requested a conference, nor did they get penalized.
I saw that also. I think his book company was a sponsor for all those years and he could probably do what he wanted. I get the impression that Bennett Cerf knew the mystery guests before the show. His questions appeared to be a form of stalling until the end of the show.
In Carol’s final appearance on Sunday-WML, her husband-manager Charles Lowe, as usual, holds up cue cards to help her with her introduction. Fortunately her introduction of Mark Goodson did not turn into that marathon of an introduction she bestowed on the ever-lovin’ Arlene Francis in February 1965.
What a terrific show, Carol Channing always seemed as if she were putting on an act, to see her long before I would have known she existed dispels that idea. She is unique but she is being real. The lady from Oz had the oddest hair style I would not have dreamed you could do something like that, unless she was wearing a wig, regardless I bet she would have looked great in color
It's interesting to see an Australian and Australian wines treated as exotic novelties, perhaps because travel to Australia was much more difficult and expensive than today. It's good too that the wine stewardess was given a chance to speak on the show - in other episodes John Daly ushers the contestants out of their seat as soon as the puzzle is solved.
16:04 Interesting to watch the Fondas defer to each other. Henry prevailed, getting Peter into the hotter seat next to John that would likely get more camera time. Well, that, or introvert that he was, he just preferred to stay out of the spotlight. If Henry isn't relaxed here, this is further proof of his skill as an actor. He and Peter seem very much at ease and comfortable around each other. Given all the stories about how cold and distant Henry was with his children, this vignette must be an anomaly.
From 1962 to the present only Dorothy, Arlene, Phyllis Newman, and now Carol Channing sat in the first chair. This is the last of 12 appearances she made on the panel WML-Sunday from 1962 to 1966.
soulierinvestments I'm sure I saw Tony Randall sit in the first chair a few episodes this one. Indeed it's the one where Bennett mutters 'let's get on with the game' when Tony's enjoying small talk with a guest for too long.
@@davidsanderson5918 yep : the ones where ms Knickebocker and ms Newman ( not Randy's sis ) appeared for the 1st time - so they could be guided by Arlene , as some commenters suggested
David Merrick was the most successful Broadway producer in that period, notably “Hello Dolly!” which opened two years before and was still running with Ginger Rogers as Dolly. Gil Fates wrote in his book of David Merrick’s 12 June 1966 appearance that Merrick was not an actor so he arrived early and was in time to watch from the control booth part of the videotaping of the 28 August 1966 show that featured Pearl Bailey as mystery guest. After his appearance, he and Pearl went somewhere for supper and started discussing his idea for a retooled “Hello Dolly!” set in Harlem. That eventually happened about two years later.
Fonda's play "Generations" ran from Oct 06, 1965 -Jun 25, 1966 for 300 performances. Actor Barnard Hughes was standby for this production's lead performer Henry Fonda, while simultaneously performing off-Broadway in Hogan's Goat at the American Place Theatre. Hughes only appeared in the first act of Hogan's Goat, which began at 7:00pm and ended at 8:00pm; this allowed him to arrive in time for the Generation's 8:30pm curtain at the Morosco Theatre. He went several times for Fonda, including opening night of Hogan's Goat.
9:17 - Nice to see a contestant from my home country :) I think there have been at least two other Australian-based contestants (a Miss Australia contestant and - from an episode someone sent to me - a jam maker).
I used to think I'd dislike Carol Channing, and admit I prejudged her. Every episode I've seen with her, she's so delightful and such fun, she's so bubbly (RASPBERRIES!) - I underestimated her charm and thought she'd be a bubblehead. I quite like her.
Cat Weasle It looked in the beginning of this episode that Bennett had new glasses, a much darker frame. But after the first mystery guest, it looked like he went back to the old, lighter frames. Just an observation.
+Charles Henry You're exactly right. Great catch! Since he read off of a piece of paper for John Daly's introduction (which he normally doesn't do) I wonder if the darker framed glasses were some sort of "reading" glasses and he replaced them with his regular glasses when he didn't need the others to read anymore? Just speculating.
Here's one episode that illustrates why WML should have gone to color as soon as possible. Carol's dress must have been something to behold in color. This episode, incidentally, what with Goodson's appearance in it, would be a likely candidate for a videotape copy . . . of which there are none in WML-Sunday night.
The White Stallion dude ranch in New York State is long gone. There is one with the same name in Arizona, apparently no connection to Mrs. Kastner's ranch. A bit of trivia: her husband George appeared as a decoy contestant on "To Tell The Truth" on June 5, 1961. As for the career of Mrs. Maria Kastner, in 1949 she was the subject of a photo essay by a photographer for Look Magazine from The Bronx who was only four years out of high school. He would go on to much fame in Hollywood. His name was Stanley Kubrick. She was a showgirl at the time and her name in the documentary (and perhaps her stage name) was Rosemary Williams. She was born in July 1927 (nee Williamson), may have married a French citizen and moved to that country for a time, returned in 1958 and by 1966 had married George. Her mother's name was Marie and at various times she was known as Rosemary, Rose Marie and Maria. She died in Santa Barbara (CA) in 2002. A link to an article about Stanley Kubrick that includes a great deal of information about Maria Kastner, including surprise that her career wasn't more successful. There are many photographs of her at the tender age of 21-22. idyllopuspress.com/idyllopus/film/killers_kiss_showgirl.htm Kubrick's Look Magazine photographs had been on exhibition from May 2018 to January 2019. There is a companion book for sale as well as the possibility to bring them to other public libraries and venues elsewhere. A link to the Museum of the City of New York that has these photographs and had the exhibition that closed earlier this year. www.mcny.org/exhibition/through-different-lens
I know where Hillsdale is and immediately thought "Dude Ranch???---Huh??" The White Stallion Ranch in Arizona was even at this time well known. I wonder if they sued? Hillsdale isn't far from Catamount in MA so it's an area more suitable for skiing than ropin' and ridin'...
Great post "Whats My Line host".....I was never crazy about Henry Fonda (from an interview point of view)..he always seemed so full of himself...nothing of course to do with his wonderful craft of acting.
The hugely successful but equally greedy David Merrick was largely responsible for the ballooning cost of theater prices when he took advantage of the rave reviews for "Hello Dolly" and jacked up the ticket prices for that show by more than 25%. an avalanche of higher ticket prices followed rapidly.
I've heard about people buying a pig in a poke, but that's the first time I've seen someone poked by a story about a pig (Bennett's introduction of John Daly).
"The Wild Angels" was directed by Roger Corman and co-starred Nancy Sinatra, Bruce Dern and Dianne Ladd (the latter two Laura's parents). Three years later, Peter would do the most famous Biker film of all: "Easy Rider".
William F. Buckley's famous quote (Joe avoiding brick bats) about "Easy Rider"...."He didn't know why people didn't like it, after all it had a happy ending".
Done live, right after the August 28, 1966 episode that was posted because of Betty White's 93rd birthday. Out with Allen and Betty, and in with the long-winded (but in a funny way) Carol Channing, and Mark Goodson. Also, Carol Channing, Pearl Bailey, David Merrick, and Ginger Rogers, all have one thing in common: They were all tied to the musical, "Hello, Dolly!'.
Arlene didn't seem to be on her best game tonight during the introductions. She sounded uncertain as to what she wanted to say and then her inflection when she said Bennett's name made it sound like she had something more to say. Instead she came to an abrupt halt. There was a noticeable pause before Bennett hesitantly came out.
maybe he farted or maybe he suggested a ménage à deux later that evening , just b4 she went on stage - or maybe she found out about his crooked Famous Writer School scheme shortly b4 the episode
Regarding Channing and Merrick having a slight on-camera disagreement regarding the duration of her upcoming absence, Stan Freberg devoted an entire chapter in his book to what an evil, sadistic, manipulative putz David Merrick was.
My heavens; it's David Margoloistu! Further, @ 10:44, Mr. Goodson should have been admonished, by Mr. Daly, for consultation. Oh and, Australian wines are fine.
Merrick was known for his love of publicity stunts. one famous stunt promoted the poorly-reviewed 1961 musical Subways Are For Sleeping. Merrick found seven New Yorkers who had the same names as the city's seven leading theater critics: Howard Taubman, Walter Kerr, John Chapman, John McClain, Richard Watts, Jr., Norman Nadel, and Robert Coleman. Merrick invited the seven namesakes to the musical and secured their permission to use their names and pictures in an advertisement alongside quotes such as "One of the few great musical comedies of the last thirty years" and "A fabulous musical. I love it." Merrick then prepared a newspaper ad featuring the namesakes' rave reviews under the heading 7 Out of 7 Are Ecstatically Unanimous About Subways Are For Sleeping. Only one newspaper, the New York Herald Tribune, published the ad, and only in one edition; however, the publicity that the ad garnered helped the musical remain open for 205 performances (almost six months).
Yes, a great and true story. Note the year it happened -- 1961. Amidst the furor surrounding that ad, Merrick was quoted as saying, "I would have done this years ago, but I could never find anyone named Brooks Atkinson." Atkinson was the theatre critic of the New York Times for many years (one of the Broadway theaters was named for him), and he retired shortly before Merrick was able to finally do this. Merrick's obituary in the New York Times was one of the most remarkable I have ever read. Despite his good humor here, he was an extremely unhappy man, so much so that his remarkable success in show business never could overcome his deep depression.
Not one of the best movies ever made, but Peter Fonda in The Trip made a lasting impression on me......especially his nude scene. Sorry if that was too crude.
I just read his memoir, he spoke about the hippy dippy movie , "The Trip". It came out the year I was born. I wonder how their dad felt about his kids doing racy movies in that era. Those screwy Fonda kids. RIP Peter, Henry, and Peter's half sis Pan, and their mom. A talented but tragic family.
As much as I love Carol Channing as a performer, she was never a good panelist, yet they kept asking her on. Also. the contestant who was a wine steward really looked a lot like Elizabeth Taylor.
John makes a rare geographical mistake when he suggests at 14:18 that French wines would have to travel sixteen thousand miles to Australia. The earth is about 25,000 miles in circumference, so by air no place is more than 12,500 miles away. Even by ship, it's about 13,750 miles from Plymouth in the UK to Sydney; French ports would be closer.
@@loissimmons6558 Port wine is shipped from Porto in Portugal, not France. I like puns, too, but I've not yet found a French or California "port-style" wine that compares to the real thing.
+Neil Midkiff I don't drink any alcoholic beverages (not since 1986 when I gave it up to be supportive of a friend who was starting AA and then I realized I didn't miss it). And I was never a wine connoisseur. So I don't know such details. But I never let facts get in the way of a good (or bad) pun. Besides, I am right-handed, so I am more familiar with throwing from the starboard side.
George Hanson: (Jack Nicholson) What does he mean "dude"? Dude ranch? Wyatt: (Peter Fonda) "Dude" means a nice guy, you know? "Dude" means a regular sort of person. ....from EASY RIDER
If anyone wonders what the term "big hair" connotes, they have but to look at Miss Golby, the second contestant. Hers is the veritable epitome of big hair.
4 minutes and 05 seconds to get to John Daly, what with Channing going on and on and Bennett with that charming pig letter. Where's Henry Morgan when you need him?
Carol I like too -- but her intros do go over the board. And . . . it occurs to me -- When Goodson first appeared as a panelist on WML, Daly's timing went way off. Daly had to close the broadcast by himself. Here, the second time Goodson is on the panel, Daly's timing gets thrown off again. Again he has to close the broadcast on his own. Goodson might have gotten the wrong impression from all this that Daly was intimidated by Goodson. Daly was close to Todman.
soulierinvestments I thought it was hilarious the first time she did one of her satirically overextended intros. I thought it was funny the second time. I thought it was amusing the third time. By this point, the joke has worn thin and is just wasting program time, I agree. But I do love Carol on WML.
"Uncertain stomach." Wow. Thank heaven this product was not WML's sponsor in the days of Hal Block. I hate to think what sort of jingle he'd come up with.
Magnesia is just the "mineral" name for magnesium hydroxide, so that word is usable by anyone. "Milk of" is a brilliant way to name the product: not merely a white liquid suspension of particles of magnesia, but evoking the healthful, calming qualities of dairy milk. If that phrase was once a trademark, it has expired in the US, as multiple brands of milk of magnesia are now sold as an antacid and laxative. Phillips' is still the most widely advertised, and their brand name appears with the ® symbol.
@@neilmidkiff please correct me if this is wrong, but in the US Trademarks do not expire as long as the trademark is being actively used. For statutory trademark protection a section 8 filing is required after the first five years and every ten years thereafter. A common law trademark is more difficult to enforce but continues as long as the name is used, provided it does not become generic, like saying Kleenexor Formica for every tissue or laminated surface.
@@stevekru6518 I'm not a lawyer, but what you say is consistent with my general understanding. It probably would have been more accurate for me to say that if 'milk of magnesia' had ever been a trademark, it has become generic. Only the Phillips' brand name seems to be registered at present.
Henry was the Famously Talented Actor but Peter was the business man by spending $360-400,000 to make Easy Rider which grossed over $60 Million in 1969 ($500 Million in 2023!!!)
Jane's life has not been a party either. Wow 3 divorces! I never knew Henry suffered from substance issues. I'm not surprised regarding his emotional health. Estranged relationship with his eldest kids, 2 ex-wives killed their selves, 5 marriages , according to Peter's autobio, his 4th wife Alfera or Aldera was a hoy mess. She later wrote a memoir herself. I never knew Peter was manic depressive, but I'm not surprised.
@gcjerryusc That was sad. I was 8 when Bing died. I have vague memories of the orange juice commercials in the early 70's. I liked some of his movies as a kid.
The wine merchant lady, talk about helmet head. Wow!!! Her hair is ginormous!!! I wonder if that was a wig or her real hair? How could anyone have so much hair?!!!! -enough for 20 extra people.
I had thought that Carol Channing was a drag queen ( or a character similar to Dame Edna Everage) when I saw her on tv in the 1970s. The Aussie female guest had a big hairdo or it looked like a wig. She had that distinct Aussie accent that my immigrant father had assumed it was high class British person. No one talks like that anymore in Australia.
