MYSTERY GUEST: James Mason PANEL: Bennett Cerf, Carol Channing, Arlene Francis, Martin Gabel ---------------------------------- Join our Facebook group for WML-- great discussions, photos, etc, and great people! / 728471287199862
Definitely terrified. Can you imagine her life-size head in your living room with you, her eyes looking at you widely and the sheer volume of thst bizarre voice? Going on and on and on and on. I'd have to run away, sorry. :)
As a child in the 60s/70s, and a military USAF brat to boot, our family were huge followers of the space program. A great mourning for Gus Grissom, Senior Pilot Ed White, and Pilot Roger B. Chaffee who died in a fire aboard Apollo during what should have been a routine nonflight(plugs out) testing of the Apollo 1 capsule on January 27th, 1967, before it's launch in February of that year. Still thanks to engineers like Hello; throughout the program; Mercury to Apollo, that we ultimately took humanity to the Moon and returned them safely home. Prayers to the future Lunar astronauts that our new crop of engineers and flight crews can do the same. 🌕👍
My father worked on many missiles through the Air Force, and his name appears on the Department of Defense monument honoring those involved in the Gemini program. It's located in Titusville, and he loved working on many of the missiles launched from Cape Canaveral. We loved watching the launches, which were fabulous. We still joke about the Russians pretending to be shrimpers, always out of season for shrimping. Too obvious!
@@donnacook8994 Apart from a tour in Nam in the early 60's, Dad was assigned to different posts around the world where he could monitor Red Chinese and Soviet activity; so that a different breed of missiles wouldn't be launched; hopefully ever. As a family we travelled with him. He retired to the private sector in 1975 designing computer systems but still did work for the DOD.
@@waynezimmerman1950 Traveling and seeing new places, meeting different cultures, was one of the perks of being a military brat, I always thought. We spent 10 years in Florida before being transferred to Grand Forks in North Dakota. That was a culture shock.....It was about 70 degrees in Florida and below freezing in GF. Snow everywhere...we had to buy boots and winter gear.
Carol is adorable and the original Flavor Flav it seems. I can imagine James Mason's agent saying, "you need to go on WML again"..."Oh God"...looks like he had more fun this time though.
LOL!! The recently deceased CAROL CHANNING gave what must have been the all-time LONGEST and FUNNIEST introduction on this show. Such a talented and unique performer. RIP.
Taking a stand for Carol... I think she was charming and unique, I love her quirkiness. Her "ditzy" act was just that, an act. I bet she was quite a savvy person! #TeamCarol :-)
"Mr. Hello, would you say that the product you deal with is of a substantial monetary value?" "I would say so, yes." "So anything from Hello is a good buy."
Gil Fates in his book categorically branded Ms. Channing’s introduction [ 1:38 > 2:50 ] as the longest in the history of WML.. It’s a masterpiece of factual detail and balanced order. Bennett Cerf tends to get accused of long-winded introductions - Daly said as much on the final broadcast - but Bennett never did any WML intro on the magnitude of this oration.
By all means, all of us who are addicted to this show should read Gil Fates book. He helps us understand much of what happen on this show. It’s “What’s My Line: TV’s Most Famous Panel Show.”
@@scottpardee6303 I turned in Gils book at my local library and told them it needed some glue because it was coming undone at the spine I never saw it on the shelf again, I should have fixed it myself, I could have kicked myself!!!!
Didn't realize that James Mason was a conscientious objector from WWII. Wouldn't even do non-military service. But never heard why so vehemently against it.
You can read his explanation in his autobiography “Before I Forget”. Standard stuff, but I’m sure it wouldn’t have done his career much good in Britain if it had been public knowledge. As a Brit with parents and grandparents bombed in the Blitz, and who did army service myself, I’ve often found Conscientious Objectors to be brave and dedicated medics, ambulance drivers, air raid wardens, etc - but Mason refused any non-military war work whatsoever. In a country fighting for survival, as his was in 1939 - this is beyond the pale. I skipped his appearance here, because I don’t feel good seeing him. I’ve heard that many US vets have the same reaction to Jane Fonda. But at least she apologized.
In his book, Fates categorically declared this intro the longest in WML history. I consider "executive flu" a euphemism for illness brought on by overwork . . . or too much entertaining.
This is a baffling episode. Mysterious. Obviously, Carol Channing got called in as a last minute-replacement when Dorothy got ill. But why would the producer arrange a 2-man-2-woman panel boy-girl-girl-boy instead of the orthodox alternating pattern?? I suppose they might have just wanted to do something different. Well, it is. However - if Channing got her instructions mixed up, if she came to the studio assuming she was part of a 3-woman panel and would introduce Arlene, if she and husband-manager Charlie Lowe had cue cards ready for an introduction of Arlene and nothing prepared for an introduction of Bennett, then that might explain why this arrangement. Or maybe she insisted on introducing Arlene.
Dad(retired Major Wallace Zimmerman; of beloved memory )was a slide rule systems engineer for RCA, mid 70s to late 80s. He was always impressed; post silicon revolution, by the younger members of his team for being able to compose programs directly into the computer rather than write it out before hand.
I used to look forward not to James Mason on talk shows when I was a kid, but his wife Pamela, who was a show business Martha Mitchell (oh, gee, I know I'm dating myself). Does anyone here remember Pamela Mason?
Joe Postove - I recently heard James and Pamela Mason on a classic Old Time Radio show, they guest starred on a memorable episode of the Burns & Allen show where George collects cats, I think it’s called Impress the Neighbors. Lots of fun.
Mr.Joey, Yes, Pamela Mason was a very accomplished woman in her own right - she would later make several appearances on the WML panel. Later, when she and her longtime husband (James Mason) divorced, she took a few very public swipes at him - calling him out for his (paraphrasing) "futile attempt to recapture his youth." (He left her for a much younger woman). Well, I make no judgement here - it happens, however unpleasant it likely was at the time.
What a disorganized, yet entertaining show tonight. Numerous uncalled for "conferences," and the way Bennett had to keep feeding Carol questions was weird.
I feel Carol Channing was one of the few Show business personalities who did not transfer very well across the Atlantic to the UK. Generally she is regarded as immensely irritating, despite her immense popularity in the U.S.A.
ROY STORNAWAY I grew up to her appearances on television and there are a few things about her that cannot be denied. She was a one on a kind, a singer, dancer, actress, and comedienne. She was a sweetheart who wouldn't hurt a fly, and once she assumed a role all eyes were fixated on her. If that is not to your liking, that is your prerogative. Growing up in the late '50s and the '60s I was mesmerized by her and even had a crush on here.
@@richardlegault5644, watching it for the first time last night, I didn't catch Bennett Cerf's introduction of her, so during that long monologue of hers I almost thought she was a young Joan Rivers, because the voice reminded me of her, but I didn't think the age would've matched up. Was the kind of thing Joan Rivers would do, I thought though.
One of my favorite parts about watching these old WML is finding a celebrity or personality on an episode and then Googling them and discovering how wonderful they were! I now have a ridiculously huge crush on Robert Morse, all due to WML!
Sorry for the 2nd comment. Miss Brown was an extremely attractive young lady. Mr.Hello mentioned that he was working on the Gemini flight in which Gus Grissom was one of the two astronauts. A few years later, Mr. Grissom died in a very tragic accident when the capsule caught on fire and he was unable to escape along with Astronaut White.
I was wondering if anyone else caught that! How ironic that was even mentioned, given the time constraints of this show. We make plans all the time in life, never anticipating anything going wrong. Imagine the horror those who were involved in the flight must have felt! RIP, brave astronauts!
My dad was part of that program and we were devastated by the loss. I was just a kid but I remember it well. It was a terribly sad blow to all involved.
I always thought that the 'd' word, Lol! was prohibited from T. V. in those days. But Mr. Cerf described Miss Channing's outfit or apparel as such. :-)
Watching the James Mason segment makes me believe that when the panel puts their blindfolds on they lose all of their senses. They seem to lose track of everything!
At the end John confesses that he used time poorly and I think that's pretty much the truth. After the super long opening segment, he cuts off the engineer after just a few questions, but rather than using that as an opportunity to reclaim some time for the mystery guest, he proceeds to spend 2 minutes chatting. I think maybe Carol Channing got them all in a bit of a tiz.
James Mason was great in 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea and Journey to the Center of the Earth. It seems as if Carol Channings' elevator did not go up to the top. She was probably a very smart woman but she always bothered me. To each his owN. Thanks for the video.
12:00 - I love when, after hearing the guest's occupation, you see the panelists checking their notes - -hoping to find a question that they can argue about. Usually its Dorothy, but this time both Arlene and Martin did it.
Next week, they would continue to do live episodes, while also mixing in some pre-taped episodes. Like I said, they stuck with a pretty standard formula for the next few months: One pre-taped and then three live episodes; wash-rise-repeat.
Bill Engvall tells a joke about the words "Instructions: wash, rinse, repeat" appearing on shampoo bottles, saying that there's some guy out there who just keeps washing his hair ... here's your sign!"
As far as I know, an Aquarium is presently located in the St. Pete area perhaps in Clearwater or Tampa. There is no junior college here of which I am aware, but rather a branch of Florida State University exists. There had been talk of shutting down the satellite site after CoVid began; however I understand that the college of education will continue.
I'm a big James Mason fan and I have never been able to decide which of his movies is the greatest. Lolita, Desert Fox, Age of Consent, Heaven Can Wait, or Blue Max! He was also great as Joseph of Arimathea in Jesus of Nazareth (the best of all "Jesus" movies I would say then The Passion of the Christ and next would be King of Kings with Jeffrey Hunter. Love Max Von Sydow but The Greatest Story Ever Told is not one of my favorites).
Two notable items about this episode: First, this was a rare episode where a man (Bennett Cerf) was in the first seat (this would be the norm in the syndicated version that began in 1968). Second, Carol Channing is wearing pants, the first known instance of a woman wearing pants on the show. The only other time a female panelist wore pants that is known was Phyllis Newman in December 1966 and one time in 1967 you had a female contest wear pants (which would be more common in the syndicated version that aired from 1968-'75).
Frankly, those sack dresses Dorothy and Arlene wore get my vote as the damnedest outfits ever seen on Sunday Night WML. Carol's is the first pant suit on the program. I can think of only one other time that Bennett said *damn* on live TV -- and the censors tonight must have been purple.
In 1966 or so I was watching the daytime game show "You Don't Say!". One of the celebrity guests was the actor who played Dr. Smith on "Lost in Space". He missed a turn and clearly said the word "Damn", but the censors had cut the sound of it.
Actually a few years later (1967) The Beatles saw the Abbott & Costello potential in his name and wrote this song: ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-rblYSKz_VnI.html
I generally dislike it when guest panelists disrupt the normal flow of the game. But I thought that Carol C's appearance was absolutely delightful, making this an exception to my rule. I especially enjoyed it when when she asked Bennett the meaning of "tenuous." Bravo!
The latest weirdness with the YT comments system. I can't even count the number of comments already on this page, but the number next to the words, "ALL COMMENTS" at the top of the page currently reads "(8)"! (After I post this one, I assume [hope] it will change to (9). )
Does anyone know if (at the beginning when introducing Miss Channing), Bennett mentions her dress as "The damndest costume ", .......would that have been considered quite risqué for the time? Would the producers have said something to him afterwords? Just seems that pre-1970, almost anything close to bad language was strictly taboo...
The panel ends up remembering EVERY other supporting player except Mason in "Lord Jim" and his rather silent behavior after the game (just one word) suggests maybe he was slightly peeved by that development.
I didn't see Mr. Mason as peeved; I saw it more that he wasn't sure what he was suppose to do. As he stood shaking hands with Martin and even lingered to converse a bit, to me the body language doesn't read as being peeved. I thought he took the time for a few words with all the panel, looks more like he just wasn't sure what he was suppose to be doing. as proof he didn't know which way to exist the stage.
@@m.e.d.7997 I have read that the panel often knew directly who the MG was due to knowledge which celebrity was in NY for the moment to promote a movie or they recognised their voice. But usually they played along 2 or 3 rounds out of courtesy, that's why John Daley often starts with Bennett, since he was the most competitive panel member and would name the MG as soon as he could! Some guests seemed pleased at stunning the panel but I feel very sorry for the has-been or never-was people who ended up like a bunch of Totally Forgotten Stars.
@@Beson-SE They were not always has beens. Joanne Woodward and Paul Newman were never guessed and Shirley Jones had recently won an Oscar for playing prostitute Lula Blaine’s in ‘Elmer Gantry’ 1960 and the panel never guessed her. And James Mason was hardly a has been.
Yes--Ranger 8. The Ranger probes took photos before crashing into the moon's surface that helped pick Apollo landing sites. The first six missions failed.
They also sent up the Orbiters (which, no surprise, orbited the moon) and the Surveyors (which soft-landed). This show may have predated their debuts, though. I know that the Rangers came first.
Not that anyone would know, but I'd be very interested in knowing how offensive or risqué it was for CBS, for a panelist (Bennett) to use the word "damnedest" live on Prime time TV in 1965.......
Completely not allowed, at least not unless as some sort of hugely special exception, say a big moment in a prestigious drama. "Damn" and "hell" weren't said on TV until "All in the Family" debuted in 1970. In Groucho's 1959 appearance on WML, he sings a song that has had the word "hell" in it. I think they got away with this because it was a live show, and hugely popular. But I'm sure the network Standards & Practices division had a ministroke every time something like this happened (which was rare).
Paul Duca Well, why do you think the Art Linkletter thing was called "Kids Say the DARNEDEST Things"? It depends on the context. If the word was being used in its religious sense it was acceptable. Not in the way Bennett used it here.
I was thinking the same thing. He doesn't look at all well. I was going to bring it up, but I didn't want anyone thinking I was putting him down. I wonder if he was fighting an illness of some sort!?
@@karenmallonee3867 this is addressed in some earlier episode comments. Martin had to lose weight and grow his hair out for his role in that play Baker Street. It had a long run on Broadway so he kept up that appearance for a while.
Carol Channing is a doll and I love her (God bless her she's still with us) but I'll bet that introduction of Arlene, which must have run a minute or more, I'll bet (one of the gals can time it for us) had Gil Fates saying more than "damndest" in the booth. And what's this business of two ladies sitting side by side? Golly.
![What's My Line? - James Mason; Martin Gabel [panel]; Carol Channing [panel] (Feb 21, 1965)](/img/logo.svg){kind=logo}
