I read recently he was the first black millionaire actor in Hollywood..happy for him, or any hard working person, to have achieved that comfort in their later years.
@@richardbullis6263 STEPN FETCHIT is too damn funny. I can't believe how freaking funny he is, playing that ridiculous stereotype. Lincoln was a comedy legend and genius.
@Paula Johnson it’s possible that you may not see this reply but it’s really not just for you. If you’re from the U.S. we need to have more serious discussions about race in this country. Mr. Anderson’s wife succumbed to cancer at age 43. I brought up race because the stereotype of his era was to be childlike, irresponsible, or problem free. The comments in the post say “unfriendly and rarely seen”. To be fair a hard working well travelled black entertainer making over $100k during his time (~1937 to 1972) could be rarely seen by neighbors and that would be okay. As for “friendly”, sadly the list is far too long of friendly black entertainers and athletes who went broke so perhaps he chose to socialize wisely. As for trick or treating, low hanging fruit there - not every African Americans (especially older ones) favorite “holiday” for good reasons. More should be known about him though because he broke a lot of barriers in radio and television.
@@theronedawson3236 Art and theater classes and schools should be more responsible for getting these legends out to the young; what I notice is how precise their timing and delivery to make the jokes hilarious, pure comic legends and pioneers.
What a great show WML was. Simple as hell, but always classy. Everything was prim and proper. Oh how those days are missed! Anderson was a magnificent prize, sassy and always had the upper hand on Mr. Benny. Rich as hell, too!
Eddie Anderson adopted the name Rochester....he was known to be called Eddie "Rochester" Anderson. As far as I'm concerned, the name Rochester was quite distinguished.
I was listening to Jack Benny (otr) last night when Phil Harris told him that Frank Remley was going on What's My Line, Jack said, "good they will never guess his occupation because he's a bum...and he can use the Stopette!" oooohhh Rochester!! love it.
@@davestianson518 Jack would get every single laugh out of a joke, he'd squeeze that sucker, be patient and wait on that one peculiar laugh from the audience while basically allowing himself to be the butt of his own joke. My parent's hipped me to him when I was a little kid. Comedic timing, not rushing the joke like these So called comedians of today.
@@aarondigby9859 There's a wonderful documentary about Rose Marie available on the internet called "Wait For the Laugh." It's her life story, and like Mr. Benny, boy, was she right!
As much as I knock Hal for being too crass, boorish and all-round creepy for the show, he really was a clever quipster. 3:31 “I think he’s a pan handler in a pie factory.” Not too shabby.
That really was a pretty solid quip. I saw somebody point out that he normally wrote jokes rather than told them, and I think that would be consistent: he has lots of ideas, and only about 5% of them are really good jokes. He just doesn't know which 5% on a moment's notice, so he throws them all out there (which is the right way about it for somebody who brainstorms jokes). That just makes him kind of a broken record player when he's live, and we're not fond of the particular record groove that he tends to catch in.
Lotta Lady Miss Double LL, I like to make an observation. At 17:17, I thought that Mr. Daly flipped the card unfairly due to a casual remark by Mr. Bloch. That really was not meant to be a question.
@@davidsanderson5918 I like the Hal. My Mother was a WWII Gen said, "Bob Hope is not funny." I listen to him on Sirius/Xm Old Radio Classes CH 148. My Mother was right; he's not funny
They never ONCE called him Eddie Anderson? -. Yeesh. - Well: all honor, praise and RESPECT to you, ultra- ( OK: to an otherworldly degree, I’d say) -gracious Eddie Anderson. Thanks for the exquisite laughs ! ❤ ♥️ 💕😍 🙏🏼 👊🏽 ✌🏽. Xo, MidlanticTheatre, Newark, NJ
@@saran3214 how you know it's a he, could be a she or possibly a gender bender ..IJS, as a forensic pathologist let's do an accurate and thorough investigation.
@@aarondigby9859 At the time the mugger identified as a he, but fenced the necklace, used the money to trans. She got too old to snatch and run so she switched to swimming and now wins the female senior swim events, stealing the prize money.
When I was young, all ladies dressed like the lady who was the costume designer. My grandmother went downtown on the bus in a dress with heels, wearing a hat and gloves. It was a more gentile time of life where men always tipped their hats to all ladies even young girls. Every once in a while a gentleman tips his hat to me and I always greet him with a smile and a “good morning or good afternoon .” Wonderful memories and I love WML. The panel is so clever!
Jonathan Fairbank She truly was brilliant, and the show was honest. The panelists had a special sense and brainy instinct that picked up on subtleties that clued them in to the identities of guests, Dorothy most of all.
Today's RU-vid Rerun for 5/28/15: Watch along and join the discussion! If you're a fan of Jack Benny, this episode is real treat-- Rochester! If you're a fan of mustard on pretzels, however, prepare to get very ticked off at John for his answer to one of the questions in this show. . . ;) Eddie Anderson must have had one of the least disguisable voices of any mystery guest on the program, right up there with Louis Armstrong and George Burns. (Incidentally, we're now in the midst of a LONG string of episodes that were posted over a year and a half ago when I first started the WML channel, and don't have a lot of comments added. I really look forward to more discussion this time around!) ----------------------------- Join our Facebook group for WML-- great discussions, photos, etc, and great people! facebook.com/groups/728471287199862/ To stay up to date with postings, please consider supporting the WML channel by subscribing. The WML channel already contains the complete CBS series, with new videos still being added on the weekends. ru-vid.com/show-UChPE75Fvvl1HmdAsO7Nzb8w
What's My Line? Yes, I did yell at John when he gave a "no" to mustard on pretzels! Having lived in Philadelphia for several years during college and grad school, I am a great fan of mustard on soft pretzels -- yum! And I think some people might dip hard pretzels in mustard, too. And yes, as a fan of Jack Benny and his programs, It was indeed a treat to see Eddie "Rochester" Anderson -- and amazing that he was able to fool the panel for so long!
I love Eddie Anderson! I laughed to see that he was the mystery guest. Indeed his voice is distinct and hard to disguise. What is the high pitched sound in the beginning of the program I wonder?
+What's My Line? Not that it matters, but I think John's distinction was you wouldn't put mustard /and/ chili-type sauce on a pretzel. If they'd stuck to mustard...
Back in the 1950's they did not put anything on the pretzel. Laugh at this.... They put mustard on Hamburgers and Malt Vinegar on fries. Cotton candy was place on a long cone stick; made of paper.
Isn't it wild that back then no one considered mustard on a pretzel? The 'All in the Family' episode where Archie chastised Mike for doing it comes to mind.
In an idle moment I looked up the final guest and found an obituary. He was a fighter pilot during WWII and later pals with Tom Landry, the legendary coach of the Dallas Cowboys, and others in the Cowboys organization. He's 31 here. Typically people on this show appear, to my eyes anyway, older than do people of the same age now, but this person looks, again to my eyes, a bit younger.
I dont think Eddie Anderson was in any of the Charlie Chan movies ... you're probably confusing him with the Birmingham Brown character played by Mantan Moreland.
This is a shout out to watchers from the UK....isn't it a shame there aren't more episodes from the popular UK version? Enjoyable though this programme most certainly is, sadly the US celebrities from television are unknown to this fifty-four year old, I'm sorry to say. I'd have loved to see the UK television celebrities of the time.
I'm surprised John Daly didn't announce Rochester's real name, Eddie Anderson. On the other hand, he signed in as Rochester, so maybe he wanted to be known only by the name of the character through which he became famous - still, quite unusual.
The first guest was a pretzel twister. With factories being automated we tend to forget that manufacturing of all types was largely done by hand. Pretzel twisters still exist but will likely in time become a lost art. I notice many jobs or products represented on these old shows no longer exist. Thank you for the lovely look back at early television and simpler times, when intelligence and respect still existed. Watching these shows so many years ago, we never noticed the class, respect, proper speech, pride in appearance because they were simply part of our daily life. Looking back with appreciation at what mattered most; we have deteriorated rather shamefully as a society.
I live in Germany and the baked pretzels are done by hand by the baker here. I think my husband knows how to do it, though not sure because he worked in a bakery a long time ago in north west Germany and pretzels were mostly a thing in Bavaria then.
@@waynemarvin5661 You know what? No. I was raised by my grandmother and watched The Jack Benny Program on the Antenna TV cable channel and here on RU-vid now. Purely for my own enjoyment now, along with The Munsters and Addams. More from my generation should give the oldies a chance.
This episode certainly gave a lot of new twists to WML, as well as to the great pretzel w/mustard debate. I've already added my 2¢ to the discussion on that topic, so I won't repeat myself.
Has anyone done stats on how many Arlene and Dorothy guess correctly on this show as they always seem to get so many correct And I am trying to find out the info you wanted on broadcast in Australia of this show
Much appreciated! Anything you can find would be helpful-- I've read what there is to read at Wikipedia. As for stats on who "wins" the rounds, I've thought about this a lot and I don't think there's any good way of doing it. Without getting into a long-winded explanation, it's not always clear who should be properly given credit for solving a round. The person who asked the last question? The one who got the essential nature of the line? A panelist who shouted out an answer when it wasn't his/her turn? It's a lot more complicated than it would seem to be, or I think someone in the dedicated fan community would surely have undertaken this task already. It is an intriguing notion, though.
I wonder if by November 1952, Eddie Anderson was known well upon seeing him? Jack Benny was still rather infrequently on television, only 4 times in the 1950-51 season and once every 6 weeks in the 1951-52 season. So I wonder if would have been instantly recognizable. There seemed to be a bit of hesitation among the audience until he signed his name.
On yes, I'm sure most of the public knew who he was. Even a bigger revealer than movies and television were the radio guides that were available to the public. Later they became radio and television guides. In addition to including a complete schedule of radio programs, they also included feature articles, anecdotes, behind-the-scenes information, etc. Eddie Anderson was the subject of a number of these write-ups over the years.
Each time I hear Scranton, PA I think of "the Office". It's usual for pretzels to have mustard as a topping ... I'm surprised he said no, but maybe I'm only thinking of soft pretzels.
9:16 When Hal wonders whether Mrs. Alexander is mother to “Grover Cleveland” he’s referring to Hall of Fame pitcher Grover Cleveland Alexander who pitched in the National League from 1911-1930. This begs the question, “Why would people be thinking about Grover Cleveland Alexander in 1952?” The answer is that the movie “The Winning Team” which chronicled Alexander’s sometimes triumphant and sometimes tragic life, had been released five months before this episode aired and, since it starred Ronald Reagan and Doris Day, Hal could reasonably expect that people were familiar with the name It really is a terrible film. Baseball guru Bill James called it "an awful movie, a Reader's Digest movie, reducing the events of Alexander's life to a cliché." Nonetheless it’s one of my favorite baseball flicks. Interesting anecdote: when Reagan was first introduced to the White House in 1981 he was shown President Grover Cleveland’s desk and said, “Oh. I played him once on film.” He had to be corrected. No studio would ever have thought to cast Reagan as a president - he simply wasn’t the type.
It depends upon what kind of pretzels he twisted. If it is the thin, crispy kind that you buy in the snack section of the supermarket or find in a dish at a local tavern, the answer would be no to mustard. But if he twisted the large, doughy kind, those are famous for people to put mustard (usually yellow) on them in the Philadelphia area, usually sold from a pushcart on the streets.
Hal just had a good one and it was missed by the other ("more sophisticated") panelists. Arlene guess that the last contestant may be in oil...and Hal Block says that may be pretty boring! That's worthy of Fred Allen.
Eddie Anderson was a fantastic actor but it's sad that the black community look down on him because of the roles he played but he used the "times" to his advantage. I also believe Jack Benny treat him as an equal.
This was when guests made their exit by walking behind John Daly. Rochester walked over to the panelists and shook hands, then bowed to the audience before exiting. A classy gentleman.
The audience reaction to "are you a brunette" pretty much told the panel that the mystery guest was a black man. Considering how many blacks were on tv at the time, it could only have been Rochester (who was never referred to by his real name of Eddie Anderson).
PRETZELS: As for the first contestant and the question whether one put mustard on a pretzel or not. I've noticed several comments on this page regarding this topic. Since none are in a thread easy to follow up, I dare put my comment on this separately. I don't know pretzels. I've never seen or tasted one. I understood that it was made of wheat flour, salt and water and that the taste was mainly salty. My conclusion is, that Block should have gotten a "yes" or "it's possible one could do, yes." to his question "would one put mustard or chili sauce on it?" (even if he was thinking of hot dogs). If you have a salty edible product which ingredients else are of a neutral character, you can add whatever you want to it, only depended on personal taste.
SaveThe TPC We have something similar, like salty sticks. Made of the same ingredients, but too small to put either mustard or chili sauce on. ;) As for both bold and italics; did you use both underscores and asterisks, if so, in which order? I'll try underscore first, then asterisk; *_really_*? Then asterisk first, so underscore; *_really_*?
SuperWinterborn How cool is *_that_*?! I did it with underscore asterisk WORD asterisk underscore, but extra cool to know that it works both ways! I'm trying it the other way this time. As for pretzels, I guess I thought they were universal, having started in Europe (Bavaria?) and being so ever-presently popular in the U.S. There are so many different shapes and sizes and styles of pretzels now, but the classic is a twisted shape with 3 sections. See this link for an image: images.search.yahoo.com/images/view;_ylt=AwrB8pQJ1GpVkAgAlVqJzbkF;_ylu=X3oDMTIzOWUyNmluBHNlYwNzcgRzbGsDaW1nBG9pZAM4MmUyOTlkNDBmOGY1OWNkY2M5YTBmZGNjYjA0YjFmNQRncG9zAzE5BGl0A2Jpbmc-?.origin=&back=https%3A%2F%2Fimages.search.yahoo.com%2Fsearch%2Fimages%3Fp%3Dpretzels%26fr%3Dush-mailn_02%26fr2%3Dpiv-web%26tab%3Dorganic%26ri%3D19&w=1072&h=1000&imgurl=blog.timesunion.com%2Fnorder%2Ffiles%2F2010%2F10%2FPretzel1.jpg&rurl=http%3A%2F%2Fblog.timesunion.com%2Fnorder%2Fon-beer-pretzels-and-archival-research%2F57%2F&size=78.7KB&name=On+beer%2C+%3Cb%3Epretzels%3C%2Fb%3E%2C+and+archival+research&p=pretzels&oid=82e299d40f8f59cdcc9a0fdccb04b1f5&fr2=piv-web&fr=ush-mailn_02&tt=On+beer%2C+%3Cb%3Epretzels%3C%2Fb%3E%2C+and+archival+research&b=0&ni=21&no=19&ts=&tab=organic&sigr=12c97lnd4&sigb=136bsic08&sigi=11lv2nkpj&sigt=11ff3ntgi&sign=11ff3ntgi&.crumb=lOgxIpuY0Qm&fr=ush-mailn_02&fr2=piv-web. I think the contestant on this episode twisted hard pretzels like those in the image linked above, which are smaller and less likely to be served with mustard than the soft kind, but still could be. New York soft pretzels look more like this: images.search.yahoo.com/images/view;_ylt=AwrB8pQJ1GpVkAgAo1qJzbkF;_ylu=X3oDMTIzcDE2OHZnBHNlYwNzcgRzbGsDaW1nBG9pZANmM2ZlZjEzNjhjYTIxMzNhZTczNTYwMjU4NmQ1N2ViMwRncG9zAzMzBGl0A2Jpbmc-?.origin=&back=https%3A%2F%2Fimages.search.yahoo.com%2Fsearch%2Fimages%3Fp%3Dpretzels%26fr%3Dush-mailn_02%26fr2%3Dpiv-web%26tab%3Dorganic%26ri%3D33&w=400&h=350&imgurl=www.theboobirds.com%2Fimages%2Fsoft-pretzel.jpg&rurl=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.theboobirds.com%2Fpretzels.htm&size=38.8KB&name=%3Cb%3EPretzels%3C%2Fb%3E&p=pretzels&oid=f3fef1368ca2133ae735602586d57eb3&fr2=piv-web&fr=ush-mailn_02&tt=%3Cb%3EPretzels%3C%2Fb%3E&b=0&ni=21&no=33&ts=&tab=organic&sigr=117pdhqi2&sigb=136il7462&sigi=11bhl23uh&sigt=10fdebm1c&sign=10fdebm1c&.crumb=lOgxIpuY0Qm&fr=ush-mailn_02&fr2=piv-web Mustard on pretzels is much more popular in Philadelphia, but it has become accepted in NY too nowadays. The Philadelphia-style soft pretzels look more like this (with mustard) : images.search.yahoo.com/images/view;_ylt=AwrB8pH01GpV20IASRCJzbkF;_ylu=X3oDMTIzOWZoc2Y0BHNlYwNzcgRzbGsDaW1nBG9pZAMzMTIwMjFmZGRkZWEyMjIwNzcyYzc5YWNhMDZjM2Y2NgRncG9zAzExBGl0A2Jpbmc-?.origin=&back=https%3A%2F%2Fimages.search.yahoo.com%2Fsearch%2Fimages%3Fp%3Dphiladelphia%2Bsoft%2Bpretzels%26n%3D60%26ei%3DUTF-8%26fr%3Dush-mailn_02%26fr2%3Dsa-gp-images.search.yahoo.com%26tab%3Dorganic%26ri%3D11&w=471&h=354&imgurl=eatyourworld.com%2Fimages%2Fstaff_food_entries%2Fsoft-pretzel.jpg&rurl=http%3A%2F%2Featyourworld.com%2Fdestinations%2Funited_states%2Fpennsylvania%2Fphiladelphia%2Fwhat_to_eat%2Fsoft_pretzel&size=79.5KB&name=%3Cb%3EPhiladelphia%3C%2Fb%3E+%3Cb%3Esoft%3C%2Fb%3E+%3Cb%3Epretzel%3C%2Fb%3E+with+mustard+from+a+street+cart.&p=philadelphia+soft+pretzels&oid=312021fdddea2220772c79aca06c3f66&fr2=sa-gp-images.search.yahoo.com&fr=ush-mailn_02&tt=%3Cb%3EPhiladelphia%3C%2Fb%3E+%3Cb%3Esoft%3C%2Fb%3E+%3Cb%3Epretzel%3C%2Fb%3E+with+mustard+from+a+street+cart.&b=0&ni=160&no=11&ts=&tab=organic&sigr=135moib94&sigb=14se2g0ip&sigi=11rpbothc&sigt=12fja33ok&sign=12fja33ok&.crumb=lOgxIpuY0Qm&fr=ush-mailn_02&fr2=sa-gp-images.search.yahoo.com or this (the way they are baked and before they are pulled apart into individual, separated pretzels): images.search.yahoo.com/images/view;_ylt=AwrB8pH01GpV20IAUhCJzbkF;_ylu=X3oDMTIzbnJoYTVvBHNlYwNzcgRzbGsDaW1nBG9pZAMyZTQ0M2JjMTVlZDE5YzY5MTc3MjEyOTVhNGI3Y2I3MgRncG9zAzIwBGl0A2Jpbmc-?.origin=&back=https%3A%2F%2Fimages.search.yahoo.com%2Fsearch%2Fimages%3Fp%3Dphiladelphia%2Bsoft%2Bpretzels%26n%3D60%26ei%3DUTF-8%26fr%3Dush-mailn_02%26fr2%3Dsa-gp-images.search.yahoo.com%26tab%3Dorganic%26ri%3D20&w=1300&h=559&imgurl=phillypretzelfactory.com%2Fwp-content%2Fuploads%2F2014%2F06%2Fpretzels_header-lores-1300x559.jpg&rurl=http%3A%2F%2Fphillypretzelfactory.com%2Fabout%2F&size=168.9KB&name=Home+of+the+Real+%3Cb%3ESoft%3C%2Fb%3E+%3Cb%3EPretzel%3C%2Fb%3E&p=philadelphia+soft+pretzels&oid=2e443bc15ed19c6917721295a4b7cb72&fr2=sa-gp-images.search.yahoo.com&fr=ush-mailn_02&tt=Home+of+the+Real+%3Cb%3ESoft%3C%2Fb%3E+%3Cb%3EPretzel%3C%2Fb%3E&b=0&ni=160&no=20&ts=&tab=organic&sigr=1168m65jm&sigb=14san1okm&sigi=12m58tldm&sigt=11bduhje4&sign=11bduhje4&.crumb=lOgxIpuY0Qm&fr=ush-mailn_02&fr2=sa-gp-images.search.yahoo.com .
People often comment that the 'walk of shame' is a waste of time in a time-limited show but also the photo at the end is not likely to be remembered a week later. It was probably meant to be a cliff-hanging puzzle which forced us all to tune in for the next episode, but who would care that much except the person in the photo? Another small thing: John Daly needs a tailor because his jacket rides up behind his head so as to make him resemble a turtle. Bennett Cerf was probably richer, so his tailor did a more skilful job. Hal Bloch has no visible neck, so for him it's not an issue.
That's one of the very, very few times we might be able to say that John Charles Daly was being unfairly misleading, except that no one objects in the episode, right (I haven't rewatched it recently)? Maybe no one put mustard on pretzels in the 50s. Seems like something Ed Norton would do, though.
I think Ed Norton would eat his pretzels like he did just about everything in life: with great relish (and a lot of hand flourishes). Art Carney was one of the great sidekicks of all time, as well as a great actor (whether comedy or not - his Twilight Zone episode was brilliantly heartwarming). There came a time when Jackie Gleason was willing to do Honeymooner skits with a new Alice and a new Trixie, but I doubt he would have ever considered doing them without Carney. And like Carney, Eddie Anderson was top rate as a sidekick. He played off of Jack Benny's character marvelously.
Daly was amazingly quick witted. When being asked about a fire hydrant... Dorothy: "Does it have anything to do with the elements?" Daly: Hesitates for 5 seconds. "You mean with rain, wind, snow, sunshine?" Dorothy: "Yes." Daly: "That would make it 4 down and 6 to go." Whenever people talk about a modern version of this show, I don't think it would be possible for two reasons: 1. To my knowledge, you would really struggle to find another host this quick. Panelists have time to setup their answers, the host does not. 2. Celebrity publicists would never let their big name clients go on in fear of the panel not guessing who it was. The game would have to be rigged, and the public would spot that and wouldn't buy in for long.
***** Well observed. Daly was an excellent moderator! I think your theory about why a modern version of this show won't work today, seems quite plausible too. :)
I know this is late, but.... They did do a modern version of it I n 70's. Arlene Francis was on it. It was bad for anyone who grew up on the original. Arlene was the only sharp tack on the panel, the rest were nice, but sharp as a chunk of cheese. The moderator was NOT a John Charles Daly, he went out of his was to help the panelists, unlike John :) For number 2, are you kidding?? Free publicity?? Remember, back in the 50's publicists were a lot more concerned about the behavior of their clients than today.
I'll add another reason why the celebrity part wouldn't work well today: celebrity was a much narrower and more uniform field back then. Now there are so many niches of celebrity that it would be hard to have four people who could collectively know a fair amount about most celebrities, and it would be hard to come up with celebrities that a high fraction of the population would know. I guess you could go more niche and target the show at a narrower demographic, but somehow that seems a lot less appealing. And yes, John Daly is phenomenally quick, and spectacular at tracking his hidden information versus what the panel might be thinking. I feel like anybody these days who appears to even come close, is actually getting a significant technology assist (some kind of teleprompter or other extra data feed).
Eddie Anderson often included his character's name (Eddie "Rochester" Anderson) in credits AND in life... Sadie Marks (Mrs. Benny) changed her name to Mary Livingston... Jack himself was born Benjamin Kubeksky...
Interestingly, I see that if the guest is a humorist, then the people laugh at all the replies, rather than just funny ones. Francis, the talking mule, Eddie and Victor Borge, didn't say anything funny in their replies but the audiences laughed. I'm surprised the panel didn't pick this up.
