What's My Line? - Duke Ellington (Jul 12, 1953) 

I’m 38 and I’ve been addicted to watching this show for weeks now. Tremendous stuff. Beats some of the stuff on TV today

My family met Duke Ellington backstage in Montclair, NJ on April 5, 1967. The “Concert of Sacred Music” was sponsored by the Union Baptist Church. My father printed the posters.

The Duke was a class act. Revolutionized jazz music in early 1920s. Very talented and well liked man. 🎼🎹

The attorney is so glamorous!

Duke's whispering and flowery answers to the questions cracks me up every time I watch this. Even he couldn't help smiling. He had so much charm.

Hahahaha Arlene saying "Look here now!" I just adore her.

Duke was headed into low water in 1953. Before rock 'n roll hit in '55, big bands were already struggling after bebop and small groups invaded jazz. Ellington's lowest ebb is often cited as his appearances with the Ice Capades in the mid-Fifties, when he had no record deal; but in 1956 came his fabled comeback at the Newport Jazz Festival and 20 years of increasing recognition. IMHO he was second only to Gershwin among American composers, and the nation's greatest black artist in any field. The charm and geniality which earned Edward Kennedy Ellington his nickname as a small boy are on view here.

I love this show, probably because it reminds me of a simpler time, at least for me. I miss the hats, the trains, the huge department stores, and all the heroes we used to look up to.

Honestly for a 60 year old film THIS IS INCREDIBLE QUALITY

I love how all the 'stars' just get up and shake the panel's hands and leave...no fawning, chit chat, asking for autographs...real ordinary and respectful...no self obsessed meglomaniacs as either fans or artists no matter how successful or famous...

I love when Arlene used to say “Now look here.”

Duke Ellington's appearance is the best yet of a special guest.

Love Duke's music! He happens to be interred at Woodlawn Cemetary in The Bronx, just a few gravestones away from my grandparents! I've actually seen his gravestone many times, and was intrigued by it being so close to my loved ones!

Until I started watching these I didn't think I liked Steve Allen but now I definitely do.

Arlene was just cool as a cucumber!

The ONLY thing that I don't like about WML, is that there never seems to be enough time for the last guest.

What can you say about the great Duke Ellington... His influence on American music is second to none. And a man of great personal charm as well, as seen here. I only wish he had been on later in the series when they tended to chat more with the guest after the game.

Thank you for uploading all these shows. They are delightful.

I watched these as a kid..... all these people have assumed a larger than life persona to me because of their taste, class and ability to communicate. I've always thought the most humorous excitement and mental stimulation was when Steve Allen was on the panel. Many, like me have performed jazz for decades but can only now, barely grasp the brilliance of Duke Ellington. It's not just the songs we all know and love and/or his composing skills..... it's the arranging and that BAND...they seldom, if ever, lost a ''Battle of the Bands " contest and it's because of the depth of his individual players. What a joyous show.

I'm going chronologically through the series, and this is so far one of the very best. Thank you for your service both to cultural preservation and to good clean fun.

Duke was before my time. Never seen him in motion but only in photos..damn his smile is so mesmerizing!! I love his sense of humor.

Duke was so hilarious and had us in stitches! What a fine gentleman! 👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏

That federal prosecutor was quite smitten by John Daly.

This is the first known time that John eliminated both the walk of shame and the free wild guesses for the final contestant. It is the first time that Steve said, “Good night, boys.”

"Do you always talk that way?"LOL

I HAVE NEVER GUESSED ANY OF CONTESTANTS RIGHT YET,BUT MAYBE THAT'S HALF OF THE FUN WATCHING THIS SHOW !

Wow! The first contestant did not strike me as a Federal attorney at all. She was so "girlish" and flirtatious in her manner and voice! As for John, if I were Mrs. Daley, I'd be suspicious!

is it just me or was there an intense chemistry & attraction between the federal prosecutor lady and john daly? thought it was super cuteeee

THANKS FOR UPLOADING THIS episode of What's My Line. Just thrilling seeing the incomparable JAZZ ICON, Duke Ellington. Very happy now:)

This is my favorite episode so far (I'm going in chronological order), everyone seems charming and happy.

I"m in love with Arlene Francis

Small moment but I LOVE Dorothy looking over at Arlene and saying, "Oh, we would have gotten it!" after they run out of time with the last contestant.

Mr. Ellington was a heck of a piano player.

Steve Allen with a Kukla, Fran and Ollie joke!

I had the pleasure of attending a Duke E. concert at the University of North D.

When I was a child living in the Richmond Hill section of Queens, the closest train to my house was the A train. Whether we were going to Rockaway Beach, or my dad's job or my grandmother's apartment, we'd always start out on the A train (and to the beach, the entire trip was on the A once the Rockaway portion of the line was completed in June 1956). When we moved to the suburbs, the commuter bus would take us to the uptown terminal, first outdoors near Columbia Presybyterian Hospital and then over the approach to the George Washington Bridge. Either way, the train we'd take 99 times out of 100 was the A. When we'd go to a Rangers game, we'd take the A train (plus one local stop until the newest Madison Square Garden was built over Penn Station (a shame since the magnificent architecture of the upper level of Penn Station was lost forever as a result). When I worked at Federal Plaza, I took the bus to the downtown terminal and then took the A train. When I took the commuter train into Hoboken and then PATH into the World Trade Center station, my next train was often the A train. When I could go directly into Penn Station on the commuter train, often I would then go to the A train to get where I wanted to go. Yes, I have ridden just about every line in NYC, including some that no longer exist (like the Third Avenue el in the Bronx). But even living in the suburbs most of my life, my travel in NYC is so often connected to the A train and my love of the NYC subways certainly is. At one time, I could give you every stop in order from Lefferts Boulevard in Queens to 207th Street in Washington Heights. I'm a bit rusty on the stations in the Rockaways now, and in the Bedford-Stuyvesant section of Brooklyn, not having ridden that section in quite some time. The A train, also known in Manhattan as the 8th Avenue subway, was the signature first line of the new city-owned Independent (IND) subway that started operation in 1932. When Billy Strayhorn wrote "Take the A Train" in 1939 as a member of Duke Ellington's orchestra, the A was still the newest way to get to Harlem. It was also the fastest, having the fewest number of stations between midtown Manhattan and 125th Street. Out of town visitors to Harlem (as Strayhorn originally was when he came to NYC from Pittsburgh) would usually be instructed to "take the A train." Although Detroit's Joya Sherrill didn't write the lyrics to the song until 1944, they reflect the fact that the A was and still is the fastest way to Harlem. When there are no other trains ahead clogging the line, the non-stop ride between Columbus Circle and 125th Street, bypassing 7 local stations and mostly adjacent to the west side of Central Park, is one of the most exciting speed rides on the subway system. And to see the line go from four tracks across at Columbus Circle to a two level line with two tracks at each level and then back to four tracks across as it approaches the northern end of Central Park at 110th Street-Cathedral Parkway is an engineering delight. An extra added attraction is when the A (or any express train) and the local going in the same direction on the adjacent track pull out of the station (at most stations) at the same time. For a few seconds, the local often accelerates faster and it feels like your train is going backwards. Then the express picks up speed and accelerates faster and it looks like the local is going backwards. These are the kind of things that amuse an engineering mind.

11:25 Arlene asks John a question just when the second contestant signs in, causing him standing all alone waiting for John, while the cameraman moves his camera back and forth. :)

I just love when they lean in for a conference...it's so cute.

16:43 - Steve Allen: "I don't know. I just came in here 'cause it was warm" Haha

Mr. Pfeffer was a handsome easy going fella.

It looked like the first contestant and John were on a date.

Such intelligent, nice people.

WOW that first contestant! Just watch the way she writes her name! Class and beauty! Without doubt she could have been a film star.

He is so awesome. This is by far my favorite one.

Duke was one of the best celeb guests ever!

Arlene was a doll.

Duke was the greatest entertainer!!!!

John seems quite smitten by the first contestant. Lots of conferences!

In my opinion, this is one of my favorite panel.

Great show, what strikes me is that in all those years they never got the sound right - the panel and the candidate often can hear each other.

“I just came in here because it was warm.” 😆😆

All my favorite panelists are on this day.

"Tea-bag Inspector" would get laughs for a whole different reason in 2018. I love the guys polite wave to the panel though.

Don't think John realized it, but he was saying and doing everything the federal prosecutor, Mrs. Bulgrin, directed.

Joseph Wagner was adorable, trying to rush the card flipping.

What a treat!

Scrolled down for a while without finding any of those comments I always love where someone looked up whatever happened to the everyday contestants outside of the show. If there is one, can somebody repaste it here for me? Recovering from sinus surgery and really not up to doing my own research at the moment, particularly interested about the life of the federal prosecutor.

This episode displays one of the flaws of a live broadcast in that it cannot be edited. As a consequence, the final guest was rushed through in the one minute left in the broadcast. I always feel uneasy when there is so little time left.

8:45 A "yes" is probably in order here. As a US attorney she works within the Judicial system, but since she works for the Attorney General it's an Executive position.

The Duke!

I hate the walking by the panel and the free guess. I'm glad they were eliminated eventually. They never have time for the last guest and they wasted time on those.

Wonderful episode. The Duke seems a little hard of hearing. I have that trouble myself, so I turn on the computer generated captions. It comes up with some different captions at times. Some of the panel in this show were Bennett Syrup, Dorothy Killed and Darling Francis. In past shows Arlene has been called Miss Arlene Bastard, Bizarrely Francis, Miss Breakfast and Mr. President. In another show John asks a guest, "Is it Miss or Mrs?" and the computer says her answer was "Misery".

Mr. Pfeiffer has a great smile!

Mrs. Bulgrin was gorgeous.

In the early 1970s, Duke was featured in a documentary. Decked in a vibrant velvet suit, Duke paused before walking out onto the stage and said straight to the camera, "I like to dress conservatively."

I think Leila was Tipsy (lol), did they have a green room? I looked her up too and she made a great legal career for herself....and got busted five times for DUI along the way! What a woman.

Ms. Bulgrin eventually became a judge who got busted on a drunk driving charge in 1985.

I think Steve Allen had Brylcreem in his hair. Lol!

"Would you consider yourself an actor?" "I have been mistaken for an actor, yes." Duke's answer is misleading, though literally true no doubt.

23:52 Watch John Daly and Mr. Wagner both go through some elaborate gyrations with both hands, after which John, still not letting go, leads him to the desk. Kinda strange...maybe they're both members of a mystic order.

Today's RU-vid Rerun for 10/22/15: Watch along and join the discussion! Today's episode features my musical idol, the "Beyond Category" Duke Ellington. ----------------------------- 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: ru-vid.com/show-UChPE75Fvvl1HmdAsO7Nzb8w

At 1:00 Steve does not give Arlene the usual introduction "lovely lady of stage and screen" and instead says " One of the lovely ladies of radio and television. " She smiled but shot him a LOOK! haha it was great! She was always appearing in the theatre, I thought that was her main work.

Mrs. Bulgrin was a hot number.

Rarely does Bennett Cerf miss an opportunity, in the free guesses, to demonstrate his geographic knowledge. Recently, however, he seemed to slip up, when he suggested that a woman from Jacksonville, Florida, worked at the Navy's installation in Pensacola, more than 300 miles away. Since the 1940s, Jacksonville has had both Naval Station Mayport and Naval Air Station Jacksonville.

Do you need a college degree for a prosecuting attorney, and she says no !! Ha, ha.

The ladies look like they have Dippity-do in their lovely locks.

Dorothy Kilgallen got a little testy with the question asked to Duke Ellington about singing and dancing.

At 10:27 when John Daly flips the card, you can see writing on the back of it. I've noticed it in some of the other episodes too. Anyone know what it says?

Duke was the coolest

(2:30) One of the most awkward handshakes I've seen (yet) on WML.

He is grouse, Duke . . Hes fun as

Am I mistaken or was WML one of the first nationally broadcast shows that had a fair share of black guests?

"is it a pie-annie? - a WHAT?"

❤️❤️❤️

This was great. But what a treat it would have been if Billie Holiday could have made it around to the MG table.

Duke and the gang were wonderful, it was a great episode, but why bring on another guest with only one minute to go? Wouldn't an extra minute or two chatting with Duke had been much better?

Shades of Pete Townsend... it appears that the Duke had a bit of a hearing problem. Was it due to some kind of organic condition or did the man keep his head too close to Johnny Hodges' sax?

Arlene: " and isn't Prince...."

The last guest always get short shrift.

If Mr. Feffer makes seasick pills,could he be considered a pharmacist?

Frustrating on the second guest how many dumb and overly narrow questions they asked. If they had asked whether it relieves some kind of malady before asking about a specific one, one of Steve's no answers could have been saved. Then at the end, having already established it has no nutrient value, Arlene blows the last question by asking if it has any vitamin in it, which is not like her. She normally verifies what they've already established.

The first lady really gave some confusing answers, the questions asked were not that difficult to give a yes or no answer. Federal prosecuting attorney should not of been that difficult.

I don’t understand: she is prosecutor and she first, respond that she doesn’t need college?

ELINGTONIA!!!...BAR NONE!!!

I don't think he tried to disguise his voice very much.

Why did the 1st guest refuse to shake hands with.the rest of the Panel?😲 No COVID Rules! 😂 LOL!

The federal prosecuting attorney is an employee of the Federal Department of Justice, which is in the executive branch of the federal government. In that sense, denying that she is an executive is false.

The attorney lady didn't know her job description, and deliberately tried to mislead.

I must admit that I skip the Mystery Guests about 95% of the time. I just don't find celebrities making funny voices very entertaining. I've made exceptions, such as John Wayne, James Mason, Natalie Wood, etc. But I find the 'common' lines much more interesting.

He makes only sea-sik pills? How come? Every man in a factory, makes a diferent pill?