@@hairyscotman, nope, my bad, it was HOUSTON until she was 9 then L.A. after that. She was born near NACOGDOCHES, TX. in a spot in the road "town" called CHIRENO. Meanwhile, I was thinking of another actress who appeared in a lot of westerns and eventually married a big director/producer. They physically in the face favored each other a bit. For the life of me I CANNOT remember that Western actress's name.
How cool is that, to watch them discussing the game the next day, which unbeknownst to them would turn out to be arguably the most famous game in World Series history.
@kasperjoonatan6014 The next day was October 8th, 1956, which was Game 5 of the World Series, in which Don Larsen pitched a perfect game. Sal Maglie was the opposing pitcher, and did a good job, giving up two runs in eight innings, but got the loss.
A dancer Ann Miller is now regarded one of the grandest stars in the musical history. She co-starred with Judy Garland and Fred Astaire in Easter Parade !!!! Not to mention her wonderful performance in Kiss me Kate along with Bob Foss !!! A legendary socialite and a witty persona. RIP Ann Miller !
Great show with a lot of baseball history here. At this point the 1956 World Series between the New York Yankees and the Brooklyn Dodgers was tied 2-2, the Yankees having won Game 4 earlier that day.. First mystery guest Sal Maglie would be the starting pitcher for the Dodgers the next day. Maglie would pitch a fine complete game, allowing only 2 runs off 5 hits (including a solo home run by Mickey Mantle). Unfortunately for Dodgers fans, Yankees starter Don Larsen would pitch his legendary perfect game. The Yankees would go on to win the Series in 7 games, while the Dodgers would play in Brooklyn one more season before moving to Los Angeles. Panelist Phil Rizzuto had just been cut from the Yankees a few weeks earlier (August 25), which was an unpopular move with many fans (as John and some of the panel note). Rizutto himself was naturally unhappy about it, but a former teammate advised him not to badmouth the Yankees, as it would hurt his chances later for a non-playing job with the organization. Phil followed this advice, later saying it was the best decision he ever made, becoming a broadcast legend as "the voice of the Yankees" from 1957 to 1996.
Great post! I noticed the date of the broadcast just toward the end of the video and thought wow, the day before the perfect game. I didn't know or maybe had forgotten that Phil was cut from the team in August of 56, although I did know prior to watching the video that Phil only played in 31 games that final season of his. I'm so glad that he took the right path, for it was his announcing that I grew up with. I also had the privilege to meet him while I was eating in the Diamond Club restaurant at Shea Stadium. Phil was such a humble guy and class act!
Sal Maglie threw a no-hitter himself on September 25, 1956, less than two weeks prior to this show. One of the few ballplayers to have played for the Giants, Dodgers and Yankees.
Wasn't Ann Miller just glorious? She was still acting on television in the 1970s and 1980s, allowing the younger generation to get to know her work. I have always loved the musicals she was in, particularly "Kiss Me, Kate", "On the Town" and "Lovely to Look At". She was on "The Love Boat" with Ethel Merman and Carol Channing. Priceless!!
@Scott Ferrell I bet most of the MGs wave to the audience, but if they do it one step beyond the frame of the camera, we don't get to see it. But I'd bet most all of them do wave, and we just don't always get to see it.
“Would it tend to accentuate, in any way, any of Miss Francis’ natural charms?” -Bennett Cerf…. Has to be one of THEE BEST lines EVER, on this program or any other on television!!!😂😂😂❤❤❤
I sort of became friends with Phil in the late 1970s. I worked at a hotel in Boston, nd he stayed there when the Yankees came to Boston. He would come to the lobby early, usually on the weekends and hang out with the doorman and the bellmen. He truly was the nicest guy. I wish I had known about his Whats My Line appearances(He was THE 1st mystery guest ever in 1950) when I knew him. Class guy.
She was 33 here, and had been in pictures for 20 years already! She got a contract with RKO in 1936 using a forged birth certificate claiming she was 18, not 13.
@@waynej2608 What's your source? IMDB doesn't show A Night at the Opera among Ann Miller's films, nor is she listed even among the uncredited cast members of that movie.
Maglie pitched a no-hitter near the end of the 1956 season that helped the Dodgers win a close pennant race over the Braves and Reds. His efforts in Game 5 may have been the second best game of his career. He was perfect in 6 of the 8 innings he pitched (the Yankees didn't have to bat in the 9th) and gave up single runs in the other two innings on nothing that was terribly hard hit. After many years as a pitcher for the Giants and a Dodger nemesis, he came close to being the hero of the season for the Dodgers in 1956.
@@waynej2608 I do remember when in 1978 the Pope died while Rizzuto was on the air and he commented that that would put a damper on any Yankee victory. I also remember when he agreed to record certain phrases for "Paradise by the Dashboard Light" around the same time and came to seriously regret that.
This aired on October 7, 1956. Just 1 day later on October 8, 1956 Sal Maglie gave up 2 runs as the losing pitcher in Don Larsen's perfect World Series game.
Sal Maglie was known as "The Barber" A very decent major league pitcher in his day. I never thought Ann Miller was attractive. I was wrong. What great eyes and smile along with her gorgeous face in totality. Holy Cow, it was great to see Phil Rizutto on the panel.
When I was a kid watching old movies on a Saturday afternoon, I always got bored with the "dancing part". Even Aistair couldn't wow me. But Ann Miller kept me riveted. It was like she used her whole being to tell a story. Nice to see her here in her natural state, just as magnetic as she was while dancing.
such a BEAUTIFUL lady....born in a tiny town just NE of Houston....population 659 when she was born....so much talent! lovely, classy, clever, brilliant performer!
Grew up in HOUSTON and LOS ANGELES, CAL..born in CHIRENO near Nacogdoches the oldest chartered, incorporated city in Texas. Chireno itself is located in the deep eastex piney woods.
I remember the days when we wore white gloves to church. These old shows give me such a smile. But I do have some sadness when I think what the future holds for Dorothy.
Wow what a show! Beautiful Ann Miller and what a handsome Phil Rizzuto. She was very talented. Phil basically made me a Yankee fan with all his stories and personality. He came across on TV just like he was in person....a really good guy...everybody loved the Scooter.
- ha, I don't want to rubbed it in but I wasn't even born when this show aired, actually it didn't happened for my parents 20 years after this. Best wishes to both of you!
@gcjerryusc That's right, forgot about that one. Great film, by David Lynch. Laura Harring is stunning! Ann got to use the term, 'horse pucky', in that one.
Ann Miller was in financial hardship in the 1970s and thought she would have to sell her Beverly Hills home to have some money to live on, but then along came "Sugar Babies" with Mickey Rooney, which turned her into a millionaire. I noticed that she very much had a chin like Dorothy's. The majority of the 1950s dresses look horribly dated when viewed today, but Ann Miller's dress could still be worn today.
This show was broadcast the day before Don Larsen pitched against Sal Maglie at Yankee Stadium. Larsen would pitch a perfect game against the Dodgers. As of this writing, the only perfect game in World series history.
The panel passed to each other and none could guess that the MG was Ann Miller, a very beautiful actress, fine dancer and good singer. 19:10 ----> 19:50
+Johan Bengtsson I wonder how often that has ever happened. I've been watching the show in chronological order and I don't recall it ever happening before.
Jack Decker: Yes, I do remember a few times that the panel could not guess who the mystery guest was. I remember the panel could not guess Ann Sheridan nor could they guess Doris Day making her first appearance on What's My Line. I think Ann Miller misled the panel by saying that her upcoming film "The Opposite Sex" was not a musical as Ann usually was cast in musical films as a dancer/actress/singer. "The Opposite Sex" was indeed a musical film as there were at least six musical numbers including one glossy dancing and singing number with June Allyson accompanied by six boy dancers. Wiki classifies "The Opposite Sex" as a musical film. Just because Ann Miller for some reason did not dance or sing in this film does not mean she should have said it was a non-musical.
There have been other times when the MG was not guessed, but this is the only time I recall where all four panelists passed. It was like the end of bidding of a bridge hand.
Phil Rizzuto retired as an active player midway through the 1956 season. He immediately was assigned to the Yankee's broadcast booth and remained there for over 40 years.
+Observer Guy Casey Stengel called Phil into his office and said that they were going to call up a player and needed to get rid of somebody to make room for him. He said he wanted Phil's advise on who to get rid of. Phil went through each of the other 24 players and Casey had a reason why he wanted to keep each one. That's how Phil found out his career as a player was was over.
+Jack Decker Yes, it was brutal. Even worse, the Yankees did it on Old Timers Day. Even so, when you look at how little Rizzuto was playing in 1956 and what his stats were, it was obvious the end was coming.
+Observer Guy One minor detail is that Rizzuto didn't broadcast for the Yankees in 1956. Among the offers he received after being released by the Yankees was a job broadcasting for the Giants because one of their announcers, Frankie Frisch, suffered a heart attack. That was the job he took. One of the Yankees sponsors, Ballantine Beer, reacted favorably to Rizzuto and insisted that the Yankees hire him for the 1957 season. George Weiss, the Yankees GM, did so even though he didn't want to fire Jim "Possum" Woods to make room for Rizzuto. Woods would end up with the Giants in 1957 and then went on to Pittsburgh to be the sidekick to Bob Prince for many years.
When a man standing up to greet a female star wasn't a feminist crime. No threat to a woman's capacities. Just a polite expression of Vive la différence!
Working my way chronologically through the episodes, and 68 years after this one, I once again I wish I could step into a time machine and meet these people. Wondering where the time, and our culture, have gone.
Phil Rizzuto and I share the same childhood hometown: Richmond Hill, NY in the borough of Queens. But by the time I was born, Rizzuto was 35 years old and living in NJ. I never met him, but know people who grew up with him.
The Scooter and the Barber, preserved for us on video. Great stuff. Maggie comes across as a nice guy off the field, but they say he was one mean honcho on that mound.
Jim Bouton has some interesting things to say about his pitching coach Sal Maglie in his book "Ball Four", when they were together with Seattle Pilots.
+Ralph Alden Maglie was a nice guy and it almost kept him from making the major leagues. It took Sal a long time to reach the majors full-time. After being called up in 1945 because of the WWII created player shortage, he didn't make the majors full time until age 33 in 1950. One reason was because he had jumped to the outlaw Mexican League in 1946 and was banned from "organized ball" for a few years. But the other was because he was a nice guy on the mound early in his career in the minor leagues. It was his manager in the Mexican League in 1946, former major league star Dolf Luque, who molded him into the tough mound competitor he would become. sabr.org/bioproj/person/01534b91
@@standinsmore9962, yeah, like what? I've read it and the only YANKS coach that caught any grief was FRANK CROSETTI. I don't remember any problem other than PILOTS MANAGER JOE SCHULTZ's remedy for every pitching malady was "JUST POUND THAT BUDWEISER".
The Scooter had just been released on Old Timers Day that year in the most cruel of ways. He was called into the office and was met there by Topping and Stengel, and they asked his opinion on who they should let go to strengthen their stretch run. After suggestion after suggestion was rejected, Rizzuto realized it was him they were giving the boot.
Ann Miller had a beauty that just came off the screen! Too bad that she didn’t have many starring roles. I remember an episode of the “Love boat” where she walks into the dining room and just steals the entire show.
Not long after this, the Brooklyn Dodgers changed area codes. New York refused to build a new stadium to replace Ebbets field, so they moved to Los Angeles after the 1957 season.
The Scooter one of those rare individuals that no one had anything bad to say about; used to pass his last residence all the time--once saw him a Portuguese store was wearing a cap so as not to be noticed
Strange that the usually savvy panel never followed up on the knowledge that she danced. Had they done so and an found out the kind of dancing she did, figuring out it was Ann Miller probably wouldn't have been a problem.
Annie stumped the panel. Bennett thought it might be Kathryn Grayson. Grayson and Miller were MGM mates who appeared together in the film "Kiss Me Kate."
"Tom. Dick, and Harry" Is a great number she performed in that film. One of the dancers was Bob Fosse, and he was allowed to choreograph "From This Moment On" at the end. Even then he had a very distinctive style. I think Ann Miller danced in that one as well.
At the beginning of the mystery guest round on the previous week's show (Sept. 30, 1956, eighteen minutes in) Bennett asks the first question "Have you ever pitched a no-hit game?" and explains after audience laughter that he thought it might be Sal Maglie. They laughed because the guest was Claudette Colbert. It's a bit surprising that even though they knew Bennett was expecting Maglie, the producers chose him as this week's guest. It may have been intended as a reverse fake, but clearly the panel was ready for Maglie this week.
I’m not a big fan of remakes, but the movie that’s Ann Miller was in New York for was The Opposite Sex, a very good update of the movie The Women. This aired 7 years on the night before I was born.
Esther Williams, also an MGM alumnus and a marvelous WML mystery guest, turned down the lead in 'The Opposite Sex'. Metro let her go, and Ann would soon follow- the end of the great age in musicals.
@@esmeephillips5888 Ann cheated on this panel of What's My Line. Ann claimed that "The Opposite Sex" was not a musical which threw the panel off. But "The Opposite Sex" was indeed a musical with at least six songs which included a very lavish song and dance production featuring June Allyson. So why would John Dayley and Ann Miller claim it was not a musical?
@@jackjules7552 I agree Ann misled the panel, but 'The Opposite Sex' is such a cover-all-bases mess that it is hard to categorize. The original play and 1939 film's raison d'etre was an all-female cast. It is a sign of how women had lost star power since the war that in the remake men are all over the screen- not only that cowboy singer but Leslie Nielsen (!) as June's husband and walk-ons by such as Jim Backus and Harry James. Robert Sidney did the dances and Sammy Cahn and Georgie Stoll were among those involved, so MGM was clearly hoping to cash in on the studio's musical renown. The trailer makes it seem like a release such as 'Meet Me in Las Vegas' rather than a bitchy, talky comedy. Still, any pic with little June bitch-slapping Dame Joan Collins, and with turns from my beloved Charlotte Greenwood and Agnes Moorehead, has something to be said for it. But poor Ann finished as she had begun at Metro- always the bridesmaid, fifth in the billing.
When Phil Rizutto appeared during the 20th anniversary broadcast week of WML, taped February 1970, Wally Bruner of course noted he was the first WML mystery guest. It was all presented as if this were the first time Arlene Francis had encountered him. Not quite so -- there were these 3 guest panelist connections in 1956. This is about the time Phil started his broadcast career.
There were comments from the panel that Rizzuto should still be playing in the World Series. If he had been the starting shortstop for the Yankees in Game 5, it is likely that Don Larsen would not have had a perfect game that day. Leading off the second inning, Jackie Robinson hit a line drive that deflected off of third baseman Andy Carey to Gil McDougald, the Yankee shortstop. McDougald threw out Robinson by a step. It has been speculated that Robinson of any other year would have been fast enough to beat the throw. But it is also true that if Rizzuto, who was notorious for having one of the weakest arms of a major league shortstop, had been playing that position, he would not have been able to throw out Robinson. In fact, Carey has stated that near the end of Rizzuto's career, if a ball was hit deep in the hole between short and third, Rizzuto would usually flip the ball to Carey (who had a very strong arm) because they would have a better chance of getting the runner at first that way.
Gil McDougald may have been the most underrated Yankees player of that era, which is not surprising for a utility infielder. But baseball statistician Bill James came up with a fascinating observation. Most of the time (as I'm sure you know already, but some who read this might not), when a team's second baseman or shortstop is replaced by a substitute, the team's double play rate goes down quite a bit. The obvious reason is that the two men have worked together enough to make double play attempts as efficient as possible. James found that when McDougald stepped in at 2B or SS, the Yankees' double play rate did not suffer a bit.
@@mikejschin That is interesting to know. It is indicative of the Yankees in general from 1949-64 when they won the AL pennant in 14 of those 16 seasons and the World Series 9 times. Most fans concentrate on their hitting prowess, some mention their pitching. But they also had superlative defense from most of their players with only a couple of exceptions. McDougald was a fine player, not Hall of Fame caliber but good enough to play in 4 All-Star Games (and was named to one more All-Star team) and win Rookie of the Year. I don't look at him as a utility player as much as him being a starter who was adept at any of the infield positions except first base. And under Casey Stengel, his only major league manager, he got moved around because Casey liked to platoon other players combined with other starters coming and going. In 1955, he led AL second basemen in fielding average and in 1957, The Sporting News named him as the shortstop on their Major League All-Star team (ahead of Ernie Banks who hit 43 homers and drove in 102 runs. One of Gil's hallmarks was his consistency. A right-handed batter, over his career, he hit .272/.348/.403 against righties and .284/.373/.425 against lefties. So in his rookie year, he often played second base against righties in place of right-hand swinging Jerry Coleman and third base against lefties in place of left-hand swinging Bobby Brown. Probably the biggest shortcoming in Gil's career was that his skills at the plate eroded at a relatively young age. His batting average dipped in 1958 when he was only 30 and never recovered in his final two seasons. Many observers felt that he never got over his line drive striking Herb Score in the eye with a blistering line drive, possibly derailing what might have been a Hall of Fame career based on how dominant Herb was in his first two seasons.
On a baseball note, Maglie's Dodgers would soon famously fall victim in game 5 to a perfect game thrown by Don Larsen. It would be the first time since 1922 someone had thrown a perfect game. In next week's episode WML had on as a contestant Charlie Robertson who threw that perfect game in 1922.
@@peternagy-im4be A perfect game is a no-hitter in which no runner is allowed to reach base, whether by hit, base-on-balls, hit-by-pitch or error. There have been over 300 no hitters in history, only 23 of them were perfect games
@@peternagy-im4be Well considering in over 140 years of Major League Baseball it hasn't been done more than 23 times in over 235k+ games I would agree with you. Having it not happen from 1922 till the week after this episode says a lot
@@gugurupurasudaikirai7620, catcher's interference with the batter, leading to the batter going to first, or an uncaught third strike by the catcher with obviously no one on third and the batter/instant runner beating the throw to first base, can also ruin a pitcher's perfecto.
It's funny to see Maglie and Rizzuto talking about the World Series start Maglie will make tomorrow.....when he would find himself the losing pitcher in Don Larsen's perfect game! The following week, WML would book as the first contestant, the last man to throw a perfect game before Larsen, Charley Robertson, who did it in 1922.
Thanks for the heads up on the Charley Robertson episode. I looked up his stats and in his 8 year career he never once won more games than he lost in any given year yet he's got a perfect game to his credit. Very interesting!
That wouldn't be surprising. The spitball was still legal in MLB until 1920 and then after that several pitchers were grandfathered from the rule and were allowed to throw it legally another 10-15 years until they retired. I suspect many pitchers continued to throw it on a regular basis until that generations pitchers finally faded away.
+Lava1964 Robertson was a rookie making only his fourth start in the major leagues when he pitched his perfect game. The Tigers complained throughout the game, but nothing was found on his uniform when it was checked or on any of the baseballs (some of which were kept by the Tigers). The Tigers were the best hitting lineup statistically of any team that was ever the victims of a perfect game and their complaints come under the category of sour grapes because they were being beaten by a raw rookie (what they would have called a "busher" in those days. It was the most improbable perfect game, not only because of the opposition but because Robertson had a very mediocre career after a modest rookie season.
The handsome and the lovely panelists were usually very sharp at their game, and yet Ann Miller stumped them. If they'd paused a moment on the dancing part, that might've helped. Just want to say here that Dorothy Kilgallen was one sharp cookie and my favorite panelist. Couldn't get much past the journalist in her.
Ann Miller stumped the panel completely. Wasn't famous enough, I guess. But what a dear. She could've taken umbrage at no one's guessing her identity... esp as she increasingly used her own voice during the interrogating. But not at all. ❤
So true.I would see other mystery guests almost cringe if it were close, and even start using their real voice. They WANTED to be found out. Ann did not seem to care. I loved her.
The next day October 8, 1956, Sal Maglie pitched a gem against the Yankees in the World Series. Only problem was that Don Larsen pitched a perfect game against the Dodgers.
@@johnpickford4222 I caught that as well...Just because Ann did not sing or dance in "The Opposite Sex" does not mean it was not a musical. In fact there are at least six songs in the movie including a lavish song and dance production featuring June Allyson.
![What's My Line? - Sal Maglie; Ann Miller; Phil Rizutto [panel] (Oct 7, 1956)](/img/logo.svg){kind=logo}
