Many don’t know Paul Anka wrote the best popular music ever written: PUPPY LOVE, PUT YOUR HEAD ON MY SHOULDER, DIANA, MY WAY, THE TONIGHT SHOW theme, THE LONGEST DAY movie score and lyrics …and so many more. . He was teenage genus.
@@mona2242 Sorry Mona. Frank Sinatra's hit song, New York, New York was written by John Kander and Fred Ebb. MAYBE you are confusing it with Paul Anka's hit for Frank, I Did It My Way.?
I have watched probably 100 of these old episodes now and I love how a great deal of them has me googling things that occurred in history, be it an unknown famous mystery guest, the timing of big events vs the air date of the episode, or some other nugget of history dropped in the episode. This one, was the Scopes evolution lawsuit. Interesting stuff.
I remember Paul Anka from when I was in elementary school. And as some one else was saying, this program makes me look up people to see more about them and I did not know Paul Anka was still performing and traveling. WOW. And he wrote songs for many people as well as himself.
That was a good show. Paul Anka does a good job disguising his voice. He almost sounded like Louis Armstrong. I always mention how good looking Paul was when he was young. He always carried himself like a true gentleman , with class.
I got curious and looked up what songs he wrote. One was made very popular by Sinatra, "My Way" and another was "the times of our lives" that I associate with commercials now. Rather talented.
I rlly only came here for paul anka and the way he disguised his voice and he was funny too he was soo cute I wish I had a time machine lol such a heartthrob.
19:38 Hopefully, Anka kept in mind that this was a taping for a future broadcast, when he said that he opened at the Sands tomorrow. He either opened at the Sands on June 8, 1964, or August 31, 1964.
John's comments re "long hot summers" is sadly ironic considering that the first urban riots of the 60s were taking place around the time this episode was broadcast (eg in Philly).
This comment is directed at Zonefighter1, but you may never see it as for some reason your comment isn't allowing me to replay to it. Anyway, they're not saying "spawn" candy, they're saying "spun" candy. It's the manner in which Cotton Candy is made.
The charm of racing pigeons is lost on me, but it sure was popular once. I had neighbors who raised them in the early '70s, though I think the sport was pretty dead by then. But I remember that flock of pigeons flying around in a circle over the neighborhood every day for years, around and around, seemingly nonstop. .
It's interesting that the musicians who guested on the show are so rarely the ones most people today associate with the sixties. I wonder at the time did people think the selection odd or quaint.
Taste in musical genres did not overlap in the 60's as well as they do today. Basically most folks over 30 y/o, who were brought up on swing and popular jazz had no use for rock and roll. Similarly, young folks who adopted rock & roll as the sound of their generation had no interest in the softened up versions of popular jazz that were prevalent at the time. You can tell which audience WML targeted by their sponsors such as Geritol and Allstate Insurance.
It sees like most of the musicians that did WML were also crossover artists in theater or film. That kind of a career meant they could be available to do appearances in NYC for promotional purposes. Many of those that were strictly musicians were more likely to be touring and were often part of a group.
Ah, yes...COTTON CANDY! I remember as a kid in the 60s going to a local carnival and buying it and asking my mother if we could get a cotton candy machine for home. I believe at the time they only made them for commercial use, but I'm not certain of that. However, nowadays people sell EVERYTHING and home cotton candy machines are available now.
I thought he was pretty good as a panelist, and quite clever as a mystery guest. He did a terrific job of flummoxing the panel in this episode -- even if he did cheat a little with his "No" answer to the "silver screen" question.
1:33 -- oh no. That . . . thing -- that striped gown on Dorothy. Again. ! And its associated around Paul Anka's two 1964 appearances. I really will not be too critical. Dorothy looks great in this episode.
Dorothy has many laudatory attributes including intelligence, perceptiveness, nice personality. She’d make a wonderful friend. But to me, her physical appearance could never be described as great. Beauty must truly be in the eye of the beholder. I wouldn’t write critically of her looks if she were alive; would not want to offend or her her feelings. In contrast, Arlene was shockingly beautiful.
@@stevekru6518 Hi, yes, different interpretations of beauty! I think your comparison of Dorothy and Arlene was rather extreme! Understandable from the "classic beauty" viewpoint but not an absolute true assessment. Also, I know for a fact that different lighting, makeup, newer cameras and different angles, timing, etc. can all skew TV appearance!
Paul Anka, Rick Nelson, Elvis Presley all started their careers and all became hot stuff in the 1955-7. Presley took a sabbatical for the Army at about the time Rick Nelson showed up for his mystery guest appearance at age 19. So at the time, the three of them were all big in show biz. Only now is it clear: Presley is the legend and Anka’s career lasted the longest.
This episode was broadcast within a few days of the death and funeral of Gracie Allen. Earlier in the year, around the time Paul Anka appeared, George Burns showed up as mystery guest. Martin was on that panel and asked George if he were Paul Anka. All Martin was -- was prophetic.
I think that Paul Anka was the hottest white male solo rock and roll performer from 1957 to 1960+ something. Rick Nelson was a close second. I wasn't clear in what I meant.. Martin was just "prophesying" as it were George Burn's later WML appearance.
Bad math alert: At 13:50, Daly said the second contestant's father was a contestant "14 years ago in 1952". And sadly, it is a lost episode. It was June 29, 1952, episode #109, Game 4.
SaveThe TPC Two, actually! I can only find these things thanks to the searchable listings at tv.com: What's My Line? - Spike Jones; Steve Allen [panel] (Jul 4, 1954) What's My Line? - Willie Mays; Paul Anka; Tom Poston [panel] (Jul 15, 1962)
Paul Anka in his early luscious period. Oh my yes. He was a little older than Sue Lyon, older than Rick Nelson when he appeared, much older than Eddie Hodges. Still at 22ish, he is one of the younger mystery guests.
Martin Gabel compares Dorothy's cross-examination with that of Clarence Darrow, who in 1925 defended John T. Scopes for teaching of "the Evolution Theory" in a school in Dayton, Tennessee. Darrow lost the case. 9:17
@@neilmidkiff doubtful -- that case was a set up from the start. I am not sure if Darrow handled the appeal, but Scopes' conviction was overturned on appeal for reasons having nothing to do with the truth or falsity of evolution. Scopes appeared on one of the G-T game shows in the 1950s.
Bu 1964 Paul Anka had appeared in several films, so he was a bit disingenuous in his no answer in making his mark in movies. He had made a little mark to say the least.
No. America as a country composed of the United States. Canada is not one of those states. Canada and the USA are both part of the continent of North America, but that doesn't make Canadians, Americans.
The one thing I did not like about the game was when the panel was allowed to do those "conferences" among themselves. At times, that was unfair to the contestant and kept them from winning the game the way it was supposed to be played. The conferences should have never been allowed.
Having watched the 1950s episodes and now seeing this one from 1964, there are two things that strike me. John Daly is less cheerful and at one point pauses and at another looks unwell - apparently he had stomach problems and might be suffering during the broadcast. The other thing is that Dorothy has chosen a weird dress that is perhaps intended to disguise her lower body. Of the panel members, she is the one to whom age is most cruel. In fact Bennett Cerf looks better than is the earlier episodes.
I don't know why John goes out of his way to refer to August, the air date, when the show was taped in June. It's a minor thing, but as a newsman he should know better.
This was intentional-- to give the impression that the broadcast was live. It was a fairly common practice across many different series, especially for shows pre-recorded for the holiday season, so that the holiday could be mentioned on air as if the show was being broadcast live.
What's My Line? But as minor as it is, it is outside of broadcasting ethics. When I worked in radio I learned that the smallest of lies is impermissible. This may not seem like much but newsmen are not to lie, even when it is an innocent white lie.
Joe Postove In this case Joe, John isn't acting in the capacity of a newsman. He is simply the host of a television game show. Two completely different roles, in my opinion.
Gully R. True, two different roles, and a minor point. But I think a broadcaster should not say it's August when it's June. If hiding the fact that the show is taped (which I don't think hardly anyone would care about) is not good TV or radio ethics. Which reminds me of another question. I'm glad the show was live all those years, but I wonder if the GT ever considered going to tape (Sunday night at 11 in NYC was not prime time street time) for the convenience of the panel and John, and why they did not.
Joe Postove The show aired at 10:30pm on Sundays. Popular game shows tended to air later at night, including the $64,000 Dollar Question (Tuesdays at 10pm) and Twenty One (10:30pm Wednesdays). What's My Line was scheduled for a time after the theaters completed their shows for the night (around 10pm) so that guest stars could make an appearance on the show.
Holy Moly! So many cracks about Dottie's striped gown! I read them before watching, now don't see such a big deal. It's got the then-trendy empire neckline, puff sleeves, doesnt engulf her, flows gracefully...and tonite, her hairdo is more artistically designed, becoming to the whole look, and she seems quite relaxed here. So there! However I do disagree with the monster eyelashes, often back in style now, 2020 and on, I think due in part to the pandemic mask rule. Nails also have become crazy wild! Oh yeah, and tattoos also!
I am correct in assuming that Anka appeared as a mystery guest in an 9:45 p.m. taping session and then appeared as the panelist in the 10:30 p.m. live broadcast?
Maybe for a year. Fashion trends changed rapidly in the 60s and 70s. TV shows like American Bandstand made it possible for kids in middle America to know what was considered fashionable in other parts of the country or in Great Britain which had a big influence on American teen culture in the 60s.
That was the fashion. We teased our hair to make it puff out and then formed it into a smooth shape. It was still popular in the mid to late sixties (I graduated in 67).
Again so annoying that John Daly answers every question; guests are hardly needed. Much better when guest host Eamonn Andrews asked guests to personally explain their line to the panel
+What's My Line? Zero Mostel certainly would not have been a Mystery Guest on WML? in the 1950s because he was blacklisted from movies, TV, and radio for almost the whole decade (because of his membership in the Communist Party USA). He would have made a good Mystery Guest, had he appeared (either very early on in the 1950s or in the 1960s, during his Brodaway runs in "A Funny Thing Happened On The Way To The Forum" and "Fiddler On The Roof").
I find eastern people trying to explain western cities. Once had a person tell me he had a weekend off and wanted to see Disneyland Hollywood tour eat at Fisherman’s Wraf I explain that California was as long as 3 state of Illinois
I never liked Paul Anka! He comes from my home town of Ottawa. I am 57 and he is in his 80's. I have heard about people who went to high school with him and they didn't have anything good to say about him. He has always been a cocky little twerp and I never thought he was a good singer. He was friends with Sinatra and Paul was probably(is) mixed up with the mafia the same way Sinatra was!
Paul Anka!😍😍😭👏👏👏 Did Paul ever star in any movies if he did or not he would've made a great actor at his age even tho he's pretty much aged now tho lol I like his version better of she's a lady than Tom jones Cover be cuz Paul has a more vocal singing voice I'm jst saying..xD
Niko here From IMDb.com: "Canadian-born Paul Anka first achieved success in the 1950s as a teenage singing star (and, for the times, an unusual one in that he wrote many of his own songs). Although he appeared in several films, and was quite believable as a nervous, hyper young soldier in The Longest Day (1962) (for which he also composed the theme music), Anka's main interest was music, and he concentrated his efforts into composing (he wrote lyrics for Frank Sinatra's classic "My Way") and nightclub appearances in Las Vegas." That's why John apologized for misleading the panel by allowing Paul's "no" answer to having appeared on the silver screen.
Paul Anka also appeared in the 1959 film "Girls Town" with Mamie Van Doren and her husband at the time Ray Anthony. Mel Torme also appeared in the movie.
Isn't it a shame that Paul Anka, who had a wonderful head of hair is now mostly bald. I think by this time in 1964 he was yesterday's news, a victim of the British Invasion, but remained a popular figure on the club scene. He was no Chubby Checker.
Paul Anka was still a popular recording artist in the 70s. He had hit records with Having My Baby (which went to #1 in 1974), One Man Woman/One Woman Man (w/ Odia Coates), I Don't Like To Sleep Alone, I Believe There's Nothing Stronger Than Our Love (all 3 in 1975), and Times Of Your Life (in 1976).
Joe Postove From: paulanka.com/biography/: "By the time the Beatles arrived in the sixties, Anka had another tool in his survival kit. “After a few hits,” he says, “I knew I was a writer, and with writers, the power was always in the pen. When I started writing for Buddy Holly and Connie Francis, I felt that it made me different for people - they’d say, ‘Hey, you can write, you can fall back on something.” Among his proudest accomplishments was writing the Academy Award-nominated theme for The Longest Day, the 1962 film in which he also starred." Also, the audience reaction seems to indicate that he was still quite popular when this episode was taped. If the photos on his website are current, I'd say he looks pretty darn good for 73! His hairline had already receded quite a bit by the 1970s, if I'm remembering correctly, but it doesn't look all that much worse now. Of course, I don't know how much of it is natural, and he probably colors it, but that's showbiz.... I think he looks great!
Dear Mr. Massaro - two things. 1) Get your tailor to drop your pant leg about two or three inches. 2) Save the white socks for your tennis matches, not national television with dark slacks.
Judging from the female panelists, the dresses from the early 1960's were often already in steep decline compared to the glam of the 1950's. Especially Dorothy looks ridiculous. No wonder Frank Sinatra was making fun of her in a not to galant way (either)....
Dorothy and Frank had been good friends for a number of years but when she wrote something he didn't like. He often referred to her in his live shows but never by name. He called her, "the chinless broad".
![What's My Line? - Paul Anka; Martin Gabel [panel] (Aug 30, 1964)](/img/logo.svg){kind=logo}
