It's a pity we don't have big name stars like that today in that league. I believe today's celebrities/move stars just don't have that type of glamour, style and star quality that Bob Hope and Lucille Ball had in their days.
Arlene is courteous and tactful as always, mentioning Bob and Lucy's movie at 16:45 then breaking in with a question for Lucy at 19:45 after John and Bob have mostly been talking over Lucy, nattering on about the USO show. Classic "hostess" etiquette, designed to make everyone feel a part of the conversation -- I'll bet her parties were memorable successes!
Mike James Szynalski Thank you, Mike. Probably goes without saying, I'm watching these videos constantly to keep up with postings, so I can't remember details most of the time from past shows.
+Warp Prime 42 I like how, when Lucy mentions Vivian Vance at 19:46, there is a genuine warmth in her voice. Apparently Lucy thought very highly of her TV side-kick.
I love the way Lucy tries to exhume Buddy Hackett's rib about inviting Hope to wash his windows. She was very gracious to him and you can see his appreciation when they shake hands at the end
Folks like Bob & Lucy and a thousand others spent their lives during the age of vaudeville, live radio and live TV, some while also working legitimate theater, and including a thousand live appearances for promotional purposes and the USO and, in some cases, rickety old opera houses in small towns from coast to coast. These people honed their craft working in front of live audiences. They were real performers, unlike most of todays' stars who wouldn't know what to do with a live audience. They had to be multi-talented, charming and professional. When vaudeville died and TV drew audiences of many millions per night, there was a great need for the old vaudevillians and live performers, and they made the Golden Age of Television golden. We'll not ever see the likes of them again.
This is just great. You can tell Lucy and Bob are having a ton of fun and the audience just loves it. Two of the greatest titans of show business ever. I own 'Critic's Choice' the movie they were 'promoting' together, and it's hilarious.
The worst movie that Bob and Lucille were ever in "Critics Choice"they thought the same and were out trying to gather interest in the movie - it didn't work!
Buddy Hackett's introduction routine was one of the funniest bits of business ever done in WML. And I don't remember any other time that someone else walked out for the guest panelist. Bishop had visited the panel fairly regularly in 1959 and 1960
steve Fowler Celebs from those days actually had talent and they worked extremely hard to keep their own star shining bright. Not a single entertainer from those days would get a foot in the door today because it's all about looks, sex and scandals.
C21L01 Hollywood was just as sleazy then as it is now. Many 'classic stars' got their foot in the door because they were pretty or they hooked up with someone who had the right connections. You're just more aware of it now because of the increase in media and availability of information.
@@C21L01 The Golden Age of Hollywood featured a lot of sleaze and scandal. They just kept it under wraps. And the casting couch in the studio executive's office was a real thing.
Stars were different then. First of all, always beautifully turned out. Second, poised, intelligent and amiable. I had friends who lived on the same elite street in Beverly Hills as Lucille Ball and was told it was a neighborhood the same as any neighborhood. Everyone knew everyone else, people went to each other's homes for dinner or just to visit, they were bringing up children and they belonged to churches and synagogues. When I met some of them I found them to be normal, gracious, warm and welcoming people. Who somehow knew who I--a teacher and writer from Chicago--was! I learned that Lucy drove herself to and back home from the studio every day! She once said the secret of her doing so many challenging things at the same time was she only focused on one challenge at a time and "when I am driving home I am concentrating totally on driving home." I never met any star, not one, who was aloof.
Jack Benny lived next door to Lucy on North Roxbury Drive. He kept publicity photos on his foyer table. And when a fan would ring his doorbell, Jack would often answer it himself. He would sign a photo for a fan and chat with them for a while. That was back in the days when it was safe for a star to do that. Not safe anymore.
Bob Hope and his frequent film co-star, Lucille Ball, have appeared more times as mystery guests on this show than anyone else (Bob Hope 5 times, Lucille Ball 6 times).
This is a special posting to this “channel”. Old films and early television must be saved and rebroadcasted to newer generations.’ As always, thanks’ for taking the time to support these films! And I support this site. ~M~
I wonder if we'll ever know the reason for Dorothy Kilgallen's untimely demise; she was such a sharp cookie who was known for her terrier-like approach to getting the full story. I always enjoy watching her. It's almost as if you can see her gears turning as she thinks up questions.
@@Nancy-er2bg She was focused on learning who killed JFK; and got too close to the answer.. She was warned off, but doggedly forged ahead. So they found a way to kill her and make it look like a suicide. I loved Dorothy and don't watch the episodes without her.
@@gbrumburgh It's not a theory. It's a fact that has been proven. You need to do proper research instead of being lazy and going by what the lying msm tells you. There were too many factors that didn't make any sense whatsoever for it to be a suicide. One one was " Why weren't her reading glasses near her if she suppose to have been in bed reading with her book with her?" There are a lot more things that didn't make any sense for it to be a suicide.
Aw, Bob and Lucy's picture, "The Facts of Life" was deserving of an Oscar nomination for both of those wonderful stars. My favorite picture of these two together!
Pause at 15:59 and forward one frame at a time by using the 'period'-key on your keyboard (use the 'comma'-key for reverse). Step by step you can see the reactions of Bob and Lucy when they realised they've been recognised. Quite a sight. "ski nose" hahaha.
Not sure if any one else commented on this, but when Johnny Olsen introduces Arlene Francis; the name plate in front of her says Miss Kilgallen and when Dorothy goes to her seat it says Miss Francis. Before the 1st contestant, someone on the staff must have noticed, because when they show the panel before the woman sits down, the name plates are in the right celebrities' places.
Well, in most of the episodes I've watched, Dorothy is in the first seat and Arlene is in the third seat. They must have had to switch places last minute for some reason.
Bob Hope was a legendary celebrity, bigger than life back in 1940's, 1950's, 1960's and 1970's, not to mention 1980's and 1990's. Like Picasso was in painting buisness. Witty, out- going, creative, hard-working, and ...nice fellow !!!
Lucy sold Desilu Studios to Paramount who was next door on the other side of the wall between them. When my mom was working at a dry cleaners in Clinton, Iowa, she waited on Bob Hope. I was in school at the time darn it.
I love what Lucy has on. Absolutely unmistakable voices - Bob's and Lucy's. Such a natural easy camaraderie between Bob, Lucy and the panel. I love love showbiz people.
My parents had a bookcase that was full by 1963. Pretty much the only thing they bought by this time was from the Readers' Digest Condensed Book series. So I was surprised at one point when Bob Hope's book mentioned on this episode, "I Owe Russia $1200" (paperback edition), appeared in in our home. I had no idea how it got there. I don't remember them buying it or receiving it as a gift. It was just there on a tea wagon in our foyer. I read it many times: a quick, easy and funny read. It deals with more than his trip to Russia. He talks about some of the interesting things that happened to him when visiting the troops and about the difficulties of making a film in France with all the holidays the crew could take. (Ironically, the name of the picture was "Paris Holiday". While in France, he had an unusual encounter that made a great impression on me, one of the main reasons I would go back and reread.
I’ll bet Arlene was watching Lucy while John and Bob talked about Bobs schedule. Lucy looked like she was starting to get irritated/angry that they weren’t talking to her. Then Arlene tactfully brought Lucy into the conversation. That was an elegant move.
I didn't see irritation. Those two had just put in 19 appearances in 2 days and could work perfectly well together. I saw Lucy yield the floor to a man whose legend was as big or bigger than her own. I also think it says something about Lucy that she could set aside whatever ego she had and give Bob the light. And you're right; that was pretty savvy and strategic of Arlene to give Lucy a question.
She and Dorothy did that quite often, especially with women. I loved it! One of the best was when Raquel Welch appeared -- they were in complete AWE and I thought they'd both flip over backwards in their chairs leaning back to watch her leave. Priceless! lol.
Lucy is just gorgeous here. The last time Lucy visited WML she was involved in a Broadway play and a movie with Bob Hope entitled "The Facts of Life." This time she is plugging "Critic's Choice:" which is a comedy about husband-wife writers and her new play At the time people generally did not think it was the funniest thing ever done in movies, though it was good. It emphasized some character development, which probably disappointed those who wanted a bunch of laughs.
Great show. Lucy really did look gorgeous and I'm glad John kept them there for a chat. I always hate when an MG has to run off as soon as they're discovered. And as much as I absolutely love JCD, Bob's name was NEVER Robert!
This is a bit random, and I can't believe it's taken me this long to notice, but the final guest after the mystery guest is always from the greater New York City area. I guess these were the people who didn't know if they would be on the show or not, and it only cost the producers a taxi fare and maybe some food to bring the potential guests to the theater. Hopefully these final guests got to meet the mystery guests backstage.
well..you wouldnt pay to bring someone there to just sit around...and if you think bob hope or any guest is greeting people off camera...well...did you notice they are only on the show to plug their careers?
Though I was a wee lad when originally aired, I enjoyed many of the re-runs and still do to this day. When adults ran the country and had an elegant, sophisticated, and erudite humor. Most everyone was courtly, respectful, and interested whatever it was you did, not your skin color (a$$holes are part of our existence, that will never stop, and some of them do it with racism, which is very rare now). Thank you so much for this upload. Paz y salud.
freeze at 1:33 -- as Joey Bishop goes back into the entrance, which like never happened except here -- a rare glimpse of what the inside of the entrance looks like.
I’m starting to think the legendary Mystery Guests tend to be the easiest to guess! It felt like the whole panel figured out it was Bob and Lucy after only a couple questions.
I was watching some Mysteries & Scandals episodes, and came across one of Dorothy. Steve Allen speaks of her, and it's got a few pictures I hadn't seen before. Also, I wonder if by any chance, the What's My Line logo and panelists desk behind the show's host are the originals? Dorothy Kilgallen "Mysteries & Scandals" Produced by Danny Schwartz, Alison Martino & Michael Danahy
When did this business of big stars like Lucy and Hope ACTUALLY going out to theaters to promote films stop (19 theaters in two days???)? I grew up in Virginia Beach/Norfolk, and I wouldn't have expected that in our little burgh. Did the stars going in person to theaters really help the box office, and my real question is what did they do when they got there? I can't imagine George Clooney going on tour to promote a film, or even Elvis, well not to the theaters themselves. Radio and tv promotion can be done from Hollywood and in Hollywood, anyway.
It is an unincorporated area. It is not an actual town or city. The DC area unlike the Northeast has many counties with no towns or villages in them. I am certain that very few people in the Washington area would be familiar with some of these very small communities. Notice that she was the dog catcher for Prince George's County and not for Forestville -- there is no municipal government in Forestville except for the county.
I've lived in the DC area for 40 years, including 17 years in Bowie, MD (in Prince George's County), and I have only a vague idea where Forestville is. There are lots of those little towns and hamlets that you hear the names of but don't know their exact location unless you have some relation to them.
Gil Fates in his book on WML wrote that he thought Larry Blyden was the best interviewer of the three WML hosts. Well, OK . . . . Daly did great interviews as well when time allowed. As examples, the questions he asks in the Lucy mystery guest segments illustrates that point.
When he wanted to, he sure could do a great interview. But it wasn't just a matter of time, though. This is my one big complaint against Daly: most often, even when there was plenty of time for chatter after the questioning segment, he essentially extolled the virtues of the guest in a monologue, leaving them to reply with the same "yes" and "no" answers they were restricted to before! It's more understandable with the non-celebrity guests, who might have been nervous, but to do this with established public personalities was a bit unnecessary. I do wish he'd have let them talk for themselves more often than he did.
Thank you for this! I consider the two best show moderators of television to be John Daly and Johnny Carson. But, Johnny knew how to shut up and let his guests talk, and how to ask leading questions to draw the guests out. He was a master at putting people at ease. John loves his own loquacious erudition too much and often I want to yell at my laptop, "John, just Shut Up!" He can't distinguish between the guests who need his verbosity and those who don't.
What bread is made from was alive, but bread itself is not, and has never been, alive. That said, on the show, they had some peculiar definitions. They usually did not include plants in living things, or bugs in animals.
monkeyg333 I was referring to the show members NOT the "wild New York" audience. New York is known for being WILD. But still whistling is much more respectful than rude comments or even physical assault which happens these days. Sadly the polite days of the WML era are gone. Now rudeness is the rule.
I sympathize! Even back in 1997, call me old fashioned, but I was showing up at a singles group meeting at a restaurant and there was no seat left at the large group of tables all put together by the restaurant to accompany our group. (I had found myself in the "dating world" again, unfortunately, after a recent divorce and I was in my very early 30s. So was everyone else in their late 20s or early 30s at the table.) Well, to my great surprise and disappointment of the "gentlemen" there, not even one of them gave up his seat for me, the lady who just arrived there!! :( It forced me to make one of three choices: wait there uncomfortably until someone actually displayed his good manners, sit nearby at a table alone, or just leave out of humiliation! Please, guys, don't justify and say that maybe I was fat or unattractive; I was neither! (Even for a person who has been properly trained by his parents on good manners toward a lady, this shouldn't be an excuse!) Well, needless to say, I was sadly forced to admit that dating again might be more of a chore for me than I had suspected it would be up until that moment! Fellas, politeness goes a long way! It is, by far, the EASIEST way to instantly gain a person's respect upon very first meeting! It is also, sadly, the easiest way to make the recipient wishful for a better situation to remember! I might add that as an elementary school teacher now, I often hear both parents and teacher's comment that when a child has good manners, it is very impressive and desirable. Let's teach our children when they are young!
She had huge social anxiety. For all of her comic talent (to some, not so much to me), she had great difficulty with one on one interractions and small group chitchat. Not unusual with some in the comedy field -- see Johnny Carson as another example.
Arlene is FUNNY. She looked that diet bread woman up and down as she walked off the set. Wow. I wonder what she was thinking. Arlene certainly isn't shy.
nonsense...he made a fortune off the wars and kept his career going by pushing war which he was highly paid for...not to mention all the tv shows he used war as a backdrop for......bob hope did more to make war fun and thus killed more young men then any single human being outside the president and those who planned war
@@jadezee6316 I believe that Hitler and Mao did a lot more to promote war than Bob Hope did. And I don't believe that Bob Hope made a fortune and kept his career going by entertaining the troops. Wars are started by governments, not by entertainers like Bob Hope.
It's unusual that Bob Hope did this, unscripted. Johnny Carson hated having him as a guest, because he demanded that everything had to go off of a script when he appeared.