What's My Line? - Janet Leigh (Apr 4, 1954) [CORRECTED] 

1954 - Way back when Janet Leigh felt completely safe taking a shower

Janet Leigh is one of the loveliest women to ever grace the Silver Screen.

Movies and tv shows from the 50's painted a picture of women only working in the home. But "What's my Line" showed an equal number of men and women who had paying careers. Really nice to see.

This compilation is a treasure. To those who put it together, I say THANK YOU. PS, I've fallen in love with Arlene Francis !

I love watching these! People seemed so well-mannered, clean-spirited and polite back then. Makes one wish for simpler times. Thanks for posting.

Miss Desmond and Mrs. Bancroft were absolute pistols. They both had fantastic personalities and a sense of humor. Even Mrs. Bancroft schooled the panel a couple of times despite her laryngitis. Janet Leigh looked gorgeous and I liked her for greeting the panel despite spraining her ankle. What class! :)

I love watching this show for the style itself. I also appreciate the history from this show. A reminder of simpler times.

A girdle tester and a sword swallower--that is grandmaster-level WML.

The best part about Steve Allen on WML was that his gimmick was that he never got any better. I love how he works his jokes into his long line of questions that almost never ends up anywhere near the correct answer.

I love the fact that Arlene corrected herself when she directed the questioning to John instead of to the contestant.

Thank you super very much for "repairing" this video! We all appreciate the attention to detail and painstaking work you put into gifting us these time capsules of entertainment.

Janet seems very happy here! Like her life was good.

One interesting thing I noticed on rewatching this: Steve Allen's free guess in the final round is *exactly* the sort of remark that, if Hal Block had made it, we'd all be crying "clod" at: "I don't know what she does, but she can do it to me, I'll tell you that." So much of the effect of these lines depends on the delivery, and on our instinctive, gut reaction to the individual people, not entirely on the content of the line. From Steve, this comes off as simply a flippant joke; from Hal, we'd probably interpret it as an inappropriate come on.

4 years later Janet gives birth to Jamie Lee. Her daughter will receive an Oscar 2023 for best supporting actress.

Arlene had a great gift for recall belting things out non stop.

Have been watching these shows non-stop. LOVE IT!!!

I sometimes get the impression Daly just wants some of the guests to get the money. He seems very generous. He sometimes hurries things along in order for the guest to get the full amount. The first lady , the girdle woman, has a great personality.

Funny, I associate Janet Leigh so much with Psycho that it never even would've occured to me that she made movies this early.

Exactly one year before this broadcast that had Steve Allen & Janet - Janet did a movie with Donald O'Connor called Walking My Baby Back Home. There's a scene where Janet, The Modernaires (vocal group) and a GIGANTIC Dance Band are singing and playing South Rampart Street Parade - the old Bob Crosby record hit. Steve Allen had recently written the words for this long and complicated song - Steve must have been thrilled (and proud) to see this HUGE "production number" on the big screen so well played & sung (Modernaires sang great - Janet was not quite on the beat in spots) with his very clever words to this great (now) Jazz Classic song! And of course this movie was featured in the famous 1975 Columbo episode where Janet is a former singer losing her memory and watches her old films.

In case you didn't know... Janet Leigh is Jamie Lee Curtis's mother.

RIP Janet Leigh. Overdue condolences to the family :-(

Excellent actress Janet Leigh.

"Mrs. Bancroft has has throat problems, she's a sword swallower." Apparently John thought she's not a very good one. :-)

If someone else has already commented on this, pardon me, but it seems to me that Dorothy's "fit or inspect" guess was close enough to the first guest's job of testing the girdles.

imagine if this was one of the episodes that Tony Perkins was on the panel..................

Today's SPECIAL RU-vid rerun-- a new version of a previously glitched video! This is the last of the shows we had to get past in the daily reruns that had glitches, this one pretty hard to follow at points in the prior version, particularly the Janet Leigh segment. There were also LOTS of great moments lost along the way, so I really wanted to patch together a new version of this one for when we got to it in the reruns. There were somewhere on the order of 60 edit points required here, and that's with the entire Janet Leigh segment replaced wholesale! This took approximately forever to do, but I think you'll see it was worth it-- this was a particularly lively episode, with great contestants and a fun (if short) mystery guest round. Enjoy! -------------------------- 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 Join our Facebook group for WML-- great discussions, photos, etc, and great people! facebook.com/groups/728471287199862/

Janet Leigh is so cute it should be illegal

Betty Bancroft was born Elizabeth Jane Wrisley on January 15, 1902, and may have originally been from Ashtabula, Ohio (in some reports, she later claimed to be from North Hampton, MA where she may have been living at the time.) In 1926, under her married name Elizabeth Jane Housel gave birth to her daughter Betty Jane Housel. After marrying Fred Ford Bancroft (1885-1963), Elizabeth changed her daughter's name to Zoe Ann Bancroft. By the 1940s, Fred and Betty Bancroft of Forrest City, Arkansas owned their own sideshow "Fred Bancroft's Circus Side Show" and traveled with several different circuses throughout the years, performing under the names "Colorado Fred, the Knife Thrower", and "Buckskin Betty", or under the combined name as the "Shooting Stars". The highlight of their early act was when "Colorado Fred" threw knives at "Buckskin Betty" while she was spinning on the "Wheel of Death". Besides being an "impalement artist" and target for Fred, Betty also performed as trick rifle sharpshooter, a rope spinner, and whip artist, and later as a sword swallower. In 1940, they worked with Rowe Brothers Circus. In March, 1942 Fred Bancroft's Side Show performed in Louisiana; in June 1942, Fred and Betty Bancroft performed with the Golden West Shows in Minnesota. On October 16, 1942, their daughter Zoe Ann Bancroft married concessionaire William Brown. In 1943, Fred and Betty were signed to perform as the "Shooting Stars" as well as manage the office of their Bancroft's Side Show which toured Indiana and Illinois. On January 25, 1945, their daughter Zoe Ann Bancroft was married to Thomas P. Mangos in Pensacola, FL, but Zoe Ann continued to work the sideshow with her parents while her husband was deployed overseas. In May 1945, Fred Bancroft's Side Show worked the John Marks midway with "Buckskin Betty" sharpshooting, "Colorado Fred" doing impalement, and daughter "Zo Anne" Bancroft working the blade box. From 1944-48, the Bancrofts worked with Wallace Bros Shows, Cetlin and Wilson Shows and John R. Ward Shows, and with the Royal Crown Shows in 1948. According to the August 14, 1948 Billboard listing, "Mrs. Elizabeth Bancroft of the Circus Side Show with the Royal Crown Shows, writes denying any knowledge of an Ed S. Torbert, who it was reported in the Billboard, was employed by her and Fred Bancroft as a calliope player. She said she has no responsibility since May 30 for any salaries or any other indebtedness contracted by Fred Bancroft." In 1949, the Bancrofts worked with the Blue Grass Shows in Kentucky. In 1951, their daughter Zoe Ann was married to Jim Wolff. According to July 26, 1952 Billboard, "Fred and Betty Bancroft, also of the same back-end unit, took delivery of a Chevrolet town car recently." The first mention of Betty Bancroft performing as a sword swallower is in April 18, 1953 with the Dick Slayton show on the Ringling Brothers Barnum and Bailey Sideshow. Betty Bancroft first appears on the Ringling Brothers Barnum and Bailey Circus route book as their sword swallower in 1953 while her husband Fred Bancroft appears as the knife thrower with Betty as his target. According to the Dec. 5, 1953 Billboard, the 1953 Ringling Brothers season ended well, and Manager Dick Slayton has been signed for 1954 season. Fred and Betty Bancroft spend their winter quarters in Rattlesnake, FL. The Bancrofts returned again for a second season with Ringling Brothers again in 1954, when Betty performed as their sword swallower in Madison Square Garden in New York under the stage name "Lady Beth". She was also known to swallow a neon tube. In 1954, Elizabeth J. Bancroft appeared on episode #201 of the popular TV show "What's My Line?", filmed April 4, 1954, and aired a week later on April 11, 1954. A description of the TV episode says, "Mrs. Elizabeth J. Bancroft - "Sword Swallower" (salaried; she performs with the Ringling Brothers Circus which is currently in NY; from North Hampton, MA; She has such a severe case of laryngitis that she can barely speak!)" (video) In 1955, Fred and Betty Bancroft do their Wheel of Death knife throwing act in the Paul Flanagan show. Their son, Harry L. Bancroft, was a tattoo artist and had a trained chimp named "Cheeta" who was supposed to have been the offspring of Cheeta on Tarzan, and another son, Raymond Bancroft helped out with the show. Fred Ford Bancroft died on 23 Aug 1963 at the age of 78 in Houston TX. (grave) Elizabeth Jane Wrisley Hudson Housel Bancroft died on March 1, 1985 in North Fort Myers, Florida at the age of 83. (Could this be the grave of Elizabeth Jane Hudson Bancroft?)Seeking photos and more information on Elizabeth Jane Wrisley Hudson Housel Bancroft. Buckskin Betty Elizabeth Bancroft Timeline 1902: Jan 15: Born Elizabeth Jane Wrisley 19??: Marries Hudson 1924: Elizabeth Wrisley Hudson - Thomas Housel marriage 1926: Daughter Betty Jane Housel born 19??: Betty marries Fred Bancroft, changes daughter's name to Zoe Ann Bancroft 1936: June 23-27: Colorado Fred and Buckskin Betty perform in Massillon OH 1940s: Live in Forrest City, AR and own "Fred Bancroft's Circus Side Show" 1940: Rowe Brothers Circus 1940: July 27: Colorado Fred and Buckskin Betty perform in Harrisburg PA 1942: Feb 4-6: Colorado Fred and Buckskin Betty perform in Warren PA 1942: March: Fred Bancroft's Side Show performs in Louisiana 1942: June: Fred and Betty Bancroft perform with Golden West Shows in Minnesota 1942: October 16: Daughter Zoe Ann Bancroft marries concessionaire William Brown 1944-48: Bancrofts work with Wallace Bros Shows, Cetlin and Wilson Shows, John R. Ward Shows 1944: Aug 26: Fred and Betty Bancroft report good grosses with World's Fair Oddities 1945: Jan 25: Daughter Zoe Ann Bancroft marries Thomas P. Mangos 1945: Daughter Zoe Ann Bancroft marries Roy E. Deerman 1948: Royal Crown Shows 1949: Blue Grass Shows in Kentucky 1950: Live in Owensboro, KY 1951: Aug 14: Colorado Fred and Buckskin Betty perform in Monroe WI 1951: Daughter Zoe Ann Bancroft marries James Jimmie Ned Wolfe 1952: July: Fred and Betty Bancroft take delivery of a Chevrolet town car 1953: April 18: With Dick Slayton on Ringling Brothers Barnum and Bailey Sideshow 1954: Ringling Brothers Barnum & Bailey Sideshow Madison Square Gardens NY 1954: April: "What's My Line?", filmed April 4, 1954, aired on April 11, 1954 1954: Oct 2: Betty Bancroft slightly injured when knife board fell on her 1955: Fred & Betty Bancroft do Wheel of Death knife throwing act in Paul Flanagan show 1963: 23 Aug: Fred Ford Bancroft dies in Houston TX at 78 1985: 1 March: Elizabeth Jane Bancroft dies in Ft. Myers FL at 83 ????: Daughter Zoe Ann Bancroft Wolfe buried in Ellenton FL

What's my line was so long ago my grandparents used to tune to this

Thank you so much for posting these!

Whenever the sword swallower spoke, I visualized Linda Blair saying it.

Great renewed episode. Thanks for all the effort!

Screen legend Janet Leigh's falsetto in the Mystery Guest segment was hilarious! (She was great in "Psycho", too.)

Back in the day when men stood up when greeting women...

Thank you so much. These are so wonderful to watch.

I love this show and am delighted there are so many of them online. It was classy enough to attract the most distinguished guest celebrities. Also, I am so very glad that later, WML changed to (a) not having the contestants make some pointless initial greeting to the panel, and (b) let them greet them properly and shake their hands AFTER the round was finished, rather than having them scuttle off into the back exit behind John, which always looks so dismissive. Somebody in the production team was obviously very thoughtful.

Super show can,t stop watching

with the first contestant both arlene and steve guess incorrectly that she designs girdles and yet John doesn’t catch the repetition and counts steve’s guess and flips a card

Janet Leigh. Just amazing.

15:50 ... Get ready for one of the best reaction shots of all time...

As a French person, it's refreshing to hear Arlene pronounce "Lingerie" correctly. I don't understand why Americans these days call it Lawn-Jer-ay.

i like how in 1954, everyone was too polite to make any comments about the sword swallower. crowd just murmured.

The most unlikely looking sword swallower ever!

Janet Leigh is fantastic.

Mrs. Bancroft's voice may have been the result of years of sword swallowing.

I'm a big fan of WML and all the old stars. I seem to recall an episode where the panel guessed the profession on the 'free" guess they were given. Could you tell me which episode that was it does exist?

Janet Leigh didn't get the film roles she deserved after her initial success

I apologize to the person who took the time to put in the very interesting information about the dates the sword swallower was active. I clicked on it to try to read the whole thing and unfortunately that block thing for like, dislike, report as spam came up. I tried to cancel it and got a pop up saying that the message had been reported. I hope that when RU-vid investigates, they will see this and realize that it was an app error and I absolutely did not mean to report that comment as spam. It was a very good comment and I hope they will put it back where it was.

Janet Leigh was so beautiful. Her older daughter Kelly resembles her so much

I found it interesting that Arlene actually correctly pronounced "lingerie" (lan-zhuh-ree), closer to the original French, whereas most Americans today would pronounce it "lahn-zhuh-ray". I wonder if that was more common back then, or if it's just a product of her particular upbringing and training.

She's so beautiful, Janet Leigh!

Janet Leigh made a great Christmas movie with Robert Mitchum. She plays a young war widow with a small son and watch what happens when Robert Mitchum walks into their lives. Great holiday fun!

Precious Memories..Such a Beautiful Wholesome Family Show Blessing..Thankyou for Sharing..⚘🎚⭐🍑🦋

Bennett should have gotten a "no" when he asked if she was Janice Lay.

Knowing how smart the panel is, I'm surprised they got stumped by the sword swallower.

She's a doll.

This was aired the day before I was born.

Janet Leigh. She's adorable. 🤓😍.

I wonder why the women panelists didn't shake hands with the first female guest, but did with the other female guests.

I always wondered what would happen if some jerk in the audience decided to yell out the name of the mystery guest for the panel to hear (besides him being kicked out and banned forever from the show)...

Good episode.❤

17:07 I was worried about what he was going to say there

That is one beautiful woman

Arlene is wonderful ... so sharp, so amusing & so often right & never looks sulky when she is not unlike her female cohort on the panel ...

Bennett frequently gets the names wrong

she's so cute

Janet Leigh was only 27 here. She had been married to Tony Curtis(lucky stiff), for 3 years - and would stay married to him for another Eight. The last couple of years being hell on earth for Miss Leigh as Curtis' alcoholism and drug addiction worsened. One of the Top Three beautys in Hollyweird history ( In my humble opinion).

Miss Desmond was intriguing..

Janet and Tony , i love their daughter

So many people had real, physical, hands on jobs. I think that is so much better for you mentally than sitting behind a screen all day.

Woofta, there were a few questionabke comments from the men in this episode, also kind of sexist that Bennett guessed 'makes cream puffs' when in reality that #girlboss not only immigrated to a new country, but manages a whole factory. Let me be clear: I LOVE this show and all of the panelists, they are all quite lovely individuals. I think it's just interesting to see these beautiful humans be a bit of a product of their time

When John Daly selects a panelist to begin a new round of questions, does he do so randomly? Or is there a method to how he does it?

Is it just me or did that "boiler"lady from Austria bear a striking resemblance to another Austrian, Hedy Lamarr?

Ah, yes... John Charles Daly and his 'conferences'.

The last guest; Greta Morgan looked a little like Hedy Lamarr. And also from Austria like Lamarr. Daly is smitten and acted silly.

MAJOR hint from John at 10:40

Bennett's mispronunciation of Janet Leigh's last name was embarrassing. For someone who is supposed to be erudite and up on current entertainers, he really falls short.

I've never been the same after Psycho and Rudolph the red-nosed Reindeer.

The segment with the lady who tested girdles was a real ribtickler.

I can now see why Tony Curtis married Janet and created Jamie Lee.

I was 3 days old…

The sword lady gives this a thumbs up. And Janet. What the heck and the boiler lady.

Janet Leigh was the 6th MG guessed with $0. Miss Morgan was the 7th known regular guest from a foreign country. This is the 4th ladies night.

Apparently, I don't know what a boiler (game 4) is. Any clues?

I think Mrs Bancroft was putting on the laryngitis, as she spoke normally when leaving the show.

Is it just me, or does Mrs. Bancroft look like a female version of Bennett Cerf?

i watched a show once about people who do tricks like sword swallowing that no one believes they really do it, that it must be a trick. one sword swallower was challenged to have xrays taken while he swallowed the sword. they watched in disbelief as the sword went into his stomach. the xray techs said that was impossible.

The Austrian looks like Hedy Lamar!

What did Arlene ask Steve at the end of the show. I may have heard that wrong.

Janet always did wear a bra well.

The last contestant came all the way from Austria and then got short shrift.

Was Bennett being flip ? Janet Lay !

I love Miss Desmond's hat!

18:58 " Janet Lay " Is that the way it was pronounced back then ?

Oh the manerisms. Jaime Lee may look like Tony but she took after janet.

ms morgan resembles Vivien Leigh.

3:06 That almost like that android wisle i heard on phones often some years back, little different, maybe this inspired that, maybe a common tune on the continent overseas, who, knows, i anyhow don't.

The mother of Jamie Lee Curtis.

Bennett xerf

Testing - inspecting. Ehhhhh. Similar