Shelley Berman to challenger - "Have you passed the bar"?….Arlene's reply - "Haven't we all" - L O L Arlene was hilarious. One of hundreds of great retorts she came up. Love you Arlene
I attended an Italian American dinner back in the 70’s and Fabian was the guest. My cousin and I met him afterwards and we both kissed him on the cheek at the same time. He was very gracious and polite.
Tab Hunter, who had similar fame as Fabian Forte was a closet homose•ual...Tab eventually got married to a man when the laws against same sex marriages were relaxed.
You talk about "Fabian" as if he's Marlon Brando, Elvis, or the Beatles....geez, its only 'Fabian' for crying out loud, a totally industry-manufactured pop idol. Couldn't point to any of his work (music/movies) that has had any multi-generational appeal/impact past its initial marketing period of popularity and past the teens who contemporaneously consumed/swallowed it.
Thank you for these videos, I wasn't born during this time and now have become addicted to these shows and a BIG fan of Arlene's, love Dorothy, Bennett and John Daly. And getting used to seeing Martin Gabel, he seemed like a nice man.
+just4mygrl me too! i was not even an egg cell, waiting for fertilization! I'll just say this - these Ricky Nelson and Fabian characters - what guy would not have a fantastic life would if they looked like these dudes!?!?
@@lang-ed3bk Who is Fabian!!!? My goodness! 😳 He was an actual teen idol! He might not have been the best singer, but he was so good looking tbe teenage girls didn't care. He was up there with Bobby Rydell, Frankie Avalon and Paul Anka. All of them were in their teens in competition with Elvis Presley.
2:24 Judge Juanita Kidd Stout...first African American woman elected judge in the United States and the first African American woman appointed to a state Supreme Court (PA 1988). Attended Lincoln Univ, Univ of Iowa, Howard University with a JD and MA of Laws from Indiana University Law School. American pioneer and role model in her field.
Sadly, the day this episode aired was also the day the Clutter family (subject of Truman Capote's book 'In Cold Blood' ) was murdered in Holcomb, Kansas. ' In Cold Blood' would later be published by Bennett Cerf's Random House. I was about 15 hours old when this show aired.
My mom may have been in the hospital watching this as I was born two days earlier. I am also very well acquainted with Truman Capote's book as that event happened that weekend.
The panel was simply great! Often funny as hell . Thanks for these memories. A time when celebrities actually had a talent or a reason for their fame! I've keep going back to this show daily. They should air it on TCM to honor all the celebrities in all the arts, sports, politics etc that appeared . Just having them in one place just for the memories is a joy. Just seeing them laughing , joking, and at various ages is the most wonderful time capsule. Especially the couples -those who stayed married as well as those who didn't. Debbie Reynolds (the guest) & Eddie Fisher (bought out to surprise the panel) were on 4 yrs years before he left her for Elizabeth Taylor. Taylor appeared on the show in Nov 1954 , 3 months after Debbie.
I've keep going back to this show daily. They should air it on TCM to honor all the celebrities in all the arts that appeared just to have them in one place just for the memories. Just seeing them laughing , joking, and at various ages is the most wonderful time capsule. Especially the couples -those who stayed married as well as those who didn't. Debbie Reynolds (the guest) & Eddie Fisher (bought out to surprise the panel) were on 4 yrs years before he left her for Elizabeth Taylor. Taylor appeared on the show in Nov 1954 , 3 months after Debbie.
Here it is 4:00 a.m. (in the new month of October, 2024...and, oddly, with 105 degree days presently), and I can't sleep, so I am watching "What's My Line." And in this episode I was laughing so much because it was so entertaining, so delightful, so humorous, and Arlene Francis was "at her best!" I also looked up Mrs. Stout on Wikipedia and was quite amazed at all of her accomplishments in the field of law and justice, especially as a Black woman in her era. And I also now found a three-part recorded interview that was done with her through the University of Virginia Library (via the Avalon Media System), but it's too early in the morning to have the kind of concentration to appreciate all that she had to say, so I'm saving it for a more lucid time to listen to (and that would be later today, as it is going to be another scorching day here in Sonoma County!)
Interesting that Ricky Nelson and Fabian were scheduled as mystery guests back to back. Considering their teen idol status, that this didn't fall on any school holidays, and that the show was broadcast at 10:30pm on Sunday nights, there must have been a lot of heartbroken 'tweens and teens who found out on Monday what they'd missed!
I reached the ripe old age of 7 the day after this show aired. I was in the second grade class of Mrs. Helen Headley in Queens that school year. It was a good year, I liked her as a teacher. She also happened to be the first black person I ever met. (This was before school busing and I had no black classmates ... in fact none in three different schools in grades K-12.) So it has special meaning for me to see that Judge Stout was on this particular episode of WML. (Being a Dodger fan and proud of their role in bringing Jackie Robinson into the major leagues is also connected to this.)
@@debbiecarroll5672 I moved to the suburbs in November of my third grade year. I never had to deal with the principal. I know the name and I think there is a rubber stamp of his signature on my report cards, and that's about my only recollection of him.
@Lois Simmons the fantastic days of Ozone Park .we did the opposite..moved from the suburbs back to Queens.but I eventually came back to the suburbs after I married..
They might have called it "chemistry". The Oxford English Dictionary has this quote from George Bernard Shaw in 1898, "No, no, no. Not love: we know better than that. Let's call it chemistry...Well, you're attracting me irresistibly--chemically."
I had no idea he was only 16. He does have a commanding presence. I was impressed also. I have heard he name before but I am not familiar with him or his career.
I hope it's clear I was kidding about "Mr. Line"! :) My name's Gary, if anyone wants to call me that. And you're very welcome, Dixie. I appreciate the comments you've been leaving.
Does our Mr. Daly seem more animated and jovial than usual? He had several bouncy, hearty laughs, and I enjoyed his good natured threat to backhand Bennett at 15:20. :D
Shelley Berman. Funny funny man. He appeared fairly regularly on WML from 1959 through 1961. As a game player he was pretty good, though it is his asides that kept him coming back for more.
Shelley kept working well into his eighties on TV. He played Larry David's father on Curb Your Enthusiasm. Funny episode where he uses medical marijuana. He died recently at 92.
Arline always wore a diamond heart pendant. Note that it is no longer visible. Apparently, she was mugged when exiting a cab. She suffered a broken collarbone, injuries, and a concussion when her necklace was torn from her. Sad. She looks lovely again. 🏵
You're mixing a couple of incidents together. The pendant wasn't stolen until the 1980s, after her husband's death. The injuries were suffered when her car was forced into oncoming traffic on a highway, killing one of the passengers in the car she hit. That was in '63.
+Antonio Caban As far as I saw, he still performs but he doesn't record music any more. You might say that he is semi-retired as he deliberately limits his appearances. It sounds like he wouldn't want to do the type of touring required to promote a new album.
*_Judge_* *_Makes Horse Liniment_* This episode dispels the myth that Arlene *_NEVER_* removed her heart pendant. She clearly didn't wear it that night.
Bennett wrote in the introduction to one of his books that one measure of the quality of a pun was the depth of the groans it elicited (paraphrasing from memory). He certainly had every right to be proud of this one, by those standards.
Ouch! Shelley Berman: "If your product fell out of a window and fell on me would it kill me?" About 7 months later a tourist was struck and killed by a dumbbell falling from Arlene and Martin's 8th floor apartment.
AmeRicanItalian Israel When Raquel Welsh walked off the last lady on the panel had her eyes wide open at Raquels short dress....:) It is on RU-vid,. worth watching.
18:45 - Another example of Cerf pronouncing words in a way nobody else does. AB BORE ZCENE instead of AB SORB BEAN. I will file this with PIT ZAH for PIZZA.
Arlene's mention of Fabian earlier in the year was in the August 1959 episode with the writers Max Shulman, Dorothy, and Bennett, Senator Long of Hawaii -- and Rick Nelson..
He was like Cher or Madonna in more recent decades. Most people only know them by their first name and have never heard the last name unless, these days, they google them.
Nondescript If it were *on* the camera lens it would be so far out of focus that it couldn't be seen. And it wasn't present in the main studio TV camera at all, and quite possibly didn't exist until the kinescope film of this episode was converted to video for cable TV in recent years. The hair is in the film gate: the metal frame through which the film passes between the lamp and the lens. It wasn't there when the animation was originally put on film, because that is shot frame by frame rather than in real time, and the tuft of hair is dancing about and leaving the film gate just as it does during film projection. Also, the animation would have been re-shot to eliminate the hair. It could have been present in the film chain (a combination film projector and TV camera) just as the broadcast of the show was beginning, while the filmed animation was being played back before switching the broadcast source to the studio cameras. This would have been a lapse from broadcast quality standards; I'll bet they cleaned the film gate before every live show. Most likely the hair was sticking to the decades-old kinescope film at the time that it was converted to video for cable TV.
First of all, John, at 17:38 or so, seems to be saying he himself got spavins. That is a horse thing, John-of-the-past! You do not get spavins, human! (Probably I am misunderstanding him, but it amused me.) Second of all, Mr. Wishart was the son of a Scottish immigrant, grew up in MA, went to BU School of Communications, was Director of Radio Gypsy in the Korean War, and probably sooner rather than later became Kendall's Managing Director. With a 30 mile or so commute to Griswoldville. (Also wrote for Yankee, was a volunteer firefighter, and did local theater.) After a career change, retired in 1992, moved to South Carolina, had a life there, died in 2014, had 3 kids and a wife. Obit: www.goldfinchfuneralhome.com/obituaries/Robert-Wishart/#!/Obituary
+Jade Shannon That's basically how he was discovered and chosen: for his looks. The owners of the record company that first signed him felt he had the looks to become a teen idol (he just needed to grow out his hair from crew cut to pompadour). The quality of his voice was an after thought.
Shelley’s question about the object falling out of a window was spooky, in light of that unfortunate incident a few years later, involving Arlene’s window.
the end: it would be darned interesting to know why this episode does not end with the musical piece known as "Roller Coaster." I wonder if they somehow lost the recording or had to get it replaced and for whatever reason the music was not on hand, so they got something else for this broadcast. Or if the producers were thinking of getting a new closing signature and tried this on for size.
I have been trying to find out if Arlene had a grandson. Google said, "yes" but I can't find out anything about him. I was a member of the What's My Line Facebook but haven't heard from them for a long time
I was ready to be annoyed at Shelley Berman's question "If your product fell out of a window and fell on me would it kill me?" since many of us WML viewers know about the 8-pound dumbbell that fell off Arlene Francis' and Martin Gabel's apartment windowsill and killed a passer-by on the sidewalk below. But that didn't happen until late June in 1960, so Mr. Berman couldn't have been referring to that incident in mid-November of 1959.
@gcjerryusc There was no indication of criminal intent in that incident and no criminal charges were ever filed. Arlene and Martin were liable in tort for the actions of their employees in the course of their duties, as was the owner of the building to a lesser degree for his own negligence.
You'd never hear such an abrupt PSA on diabetes today. We are more aware of it now and how to manage it. It was kind of taboo among people then a bit, especially among athletes like Ron Santo of the Cubs.
i wonder if Fabian is a kin-relative of the female singer "Marsha Ambrosius"... I immediately thought of her when i saw him in this video icon picture.. wow they look a like!
My mom didn't think much of Fabian, either, as she preferred classical music and opera. When I read the comment I decided to listen to a few of this young man's songs. Yes, you're right: looked good but could not sing. Give me opera any day! Thank you for these MARVELOUS videos!! Your hard work and dedication bringing hours of enjoyable programming to us is greatly appreciated!!
There was also a _Laverne & Shirley_ episode where they were desperate to meet Fabian but could not get concert tickets, so they devised a plan to sneak into his hotel room, instead. Hilarity ensues.
I realize it's late at night so my hearing is probably tricking me, but when John Daley said "Shelley Berman" I could have sworn, for real, that what he actually said was "Jelly Bean."
Fabian Forte, Fabian, was only 16 here, he seems very poised for his age. Very handsome, but I was disappointed after hearing him sing, I guess his looks floated what musical career he had, but he seems a very nice person.
![What's My Line? - Fabian; Shelley Berman [panel] (Nov 15, 1959)](/img/logo.svg){kind=logo}
