The entire segment with Sally Rand is probably the best example of "subtext" I have seen on the television screen. Her profession is never mentioned in any way, and yet several times during the questioning it comes up in a manner that is implied, but not spoken. All this thanks to the audience reaction. So, a child who had never heard of Sally Rand before would have no idea what she did, but an adult could figure it out. This makes it one of my favorite segments of WML. Especially when Robert Q Lewis figures out who she is. And I love the way Sally points at him afterwards as if to say, "you naughty, naughty boy". Great stuff.
I actually saw Sally Rand do her thing as a kid in the early 70's when my Mom took me a show featuring her, Louis Jordan, Rudy Vallee, et al, at a theater in Seattle with tickets I'd won on the radio. We were quite a few row back but Sally (who I think the program said was 67) still had it going on. She did her bubble dance, which made it a very uncomfortable 3 or 4 rather erotically-charged minutes for 12-year-old me sitting next to my mother, and I could see WHY she'd been a sensation in 1934. One of a kind.
@@mjp96 My 97 year old Aunt was just telling me about her a couple of nights ago, so I had to look her up. I found some videos of her performing her fan dance, and being a retired dancer myself, I was very impressed with her beautiful and graceful dance moves. I haven't seen the bubble dance yet.
I recently started watching these episodes in order and I must say this is one of the funniest ones so far. Their questioning of the mud pack maker had me howling. 😂 Thanks so much for sharing WML. It has already become an all time favorite and my day isn't complete without at least one episode.
Wish we have a time machine- The great SALLY RAND-love all her show-also love whats my line is just wonderful to see all the great actors appear in whats my line- today nov 2020-we still can enjoy this -Greetings from coventry-england
I have to say that since starting my nightly viewing of these episode in chronological order, Sally Rand has been my favorite MG so far. Probably because she didn't have to disguise her voice and she didn't limit herself to "yes/no" answers but still didn't give anything away.
I love the way Daly refers to the money as "prizes." If you look it up, $50 then is worth almost $500 in 2020. Of course, the amount never increased over the life of the program, but the emphasis was on fun more than money.
I've heard contestants also got $500 for their appearance, in addition to whatever they got from the panel, but this was never made known to the public while the show was on air. That said, I'd liken it more to a late night talk show rather than any sort of prime time show.
I'm 58 and the only reason I know who Sally Rand is is because my father used to tell a story about sneaking into a carnival tent to see her. And also, they had a scene in the movie "The Right Stuff," where [someone playing Sally Rand] appears as entertainment at a party for the astronauts.
George Burns, who admittedly never let the truth get in the way of a good story, said he once worked on a bill with Sally Rand. He says she wore a flesh-colored leotard, used very low lighting, and the fans were so big you couldn't have seen anything, anyway. In fact (says he), one night Sally was sick and he took her place and nobody noticed the difference.
That story sounds like typical George Burns humor. I laughed out loud when I read it. George Burns was one of the funniest story tellers. In one of his books he said whenever he told Jack Benny a joke, Jack would fall to his knees and slap the floor with his fist laughing so hard.
I was watching TV about how Sally Rand saved the Chicago Worlds Fair but had a speech issue that kept her out of the movies I did a search and this show was one of the possibilities that could tell me how she sounded. She is charming, speaks well enough, I think the movie industry was mistaken she would have been a hit,feathers and all! Remember, Arnold Schwarzenegger had this same problem!
I would like to thank "What's my line ch." Great show that would and could go,head to head today with any "American idol, etc" Chance for just the average person to be on a show, have some good old fashioned humor w/some of people from the entertainment industry. I would watch every week. Maybe someday someone will find these shows and consider a new version for today's TV.
Jeremy Ziegler I agree with you about all the reasons that you like this show. Unfortunately, I don't think a modern version of it would have the same class or hold the same interest for me. Even the syndicated "What's My Line?" that aired between 1968 and 1975 did not live up to the original CBS version, in my opinion. I think someone _is_ actually planning a new version of WML now, and I'm kind of afraid to see what they might do to it...
I am enjoying these WML vids. Learning about people from th past..i didnt know who sally rand was..found a vid of her dancing. Im so suprised that they had her on the show. Very progressive for the time. Thank you.
All in all one of the best MG segments I've seen...and this is honestly the first time I've ever said this (having watched through 1962 at this point)..
+oldfart4751 I would so love to see the BBC shows. From the one and a third shows on RU-vid, from the guest appearances of Eamonn Andrews and a couple of the panelists on the CBS show, I am quite taken with the BBC version. Why did you not save them? (That's a rhetorical question.)
For her type of show business, Sally Rand was covered from almost head to toe. Unlike many female mystery guests on WML who showed off. She could been a high school music teacher from Peoria . How would Robert Q Lewis know about how many shows are done in " presentation houses " in general and that Sally Rand was in town ! The ladies seemed to have no idea . Bennett seemed to have a general idea about that type of entertainment . But Robert Q lewis was overcome , bursting on figuring that it had to be Sally Rand!
John Q. Lewis probably knew about the number of shows were done in "presentation houses", because he most likely frequented those places when he was a young adult. Also, Mr. Lewis was probably a big fan of Sally Rand for many years.
@@LaptopLarry330 Mr. Lewis makes a lot of sexual comments (verging on vulgar a few times) about attractive female guests. I think he is what we would call a "horn dog" these days. So he probably went to strip shows.
HI I'M LOOKING FOR A PARTICULAR EPISODE OF A LADY -SINGLE PERHAPS-A CONTESTANT WHO DEFEATS THE PANEL, but she "designs bridges" can you help me find it, Peter from Canada
GREAT show!!!!! It looks as though Hal Block's suspension from WHAT'S MY LINE? was 5 weeks rather than 3 - unless Robert Q. Lewis's appearance on this week's show (and on the previous week's show) were a planned vacation for Hal Block..... That much said, I think that, had Hal Block been on the panel, the show's producers might have been more than bit uncomfortable with having Nellie Kokoszka on as a contestant - and most certainly would not have had Sally Rand as Mystery Guest. Each of the contestants seems to be really personable and reasonably at ease on this show......My first thought upon hearing that Madeline Woods was from Belvidere, Ilinois (but BEFORE her "line" came on-screen) was that perhaps she worked at the Chrysler Motors assembly plant out that way in some capacity. I must also say that Dorothy Kilgallen's choice of dresses for all four of the December 1952 episodes of WHAT'S MY LINE make her look stunningly beautiful - and that the show's cameramen do a great job on her close-ups so that we don't see Dorothy's cleavage on-screen. (Probably partly in light of the then-current controversy over the necklines on Faye Emerson's dresses on her CBS talk show.....) As always, thank you VERY much for sharing these fun, funny, witty, and always entertaining episodes from TV's storied past with us!!!!!!
jmccracken1963 Revisiting this comment a year later, knowing a lot more about the series than I did when I started, I just wanted to note that Hal wasn't just on vacation-- he was on a 6 week suspension, essentially the first step towards his being fired. Steve Allen joined the panel the week after this, clearly being groomed/auditioned as Hal's replacement. While Hal returned for a few weeks at the end of January 1953, Steve remained on the panel when Hal returned, Steve not missing a show until December.
Although it wasn't mentioned by Mr. Daly, Mr. Troast's appearance may be tied to the fact CBS affiliate WSBT in South Bend, IN had signed on the previous Monday, thus making this the first WML? episode aired on the station (Elkhart is 10 miles east of South Bend; I worked at WSBT in the late 80's). WSBT is still a CBS affiliate.
Dorothy Kilgallen used the word 'healthful' in connection with mud packs. I've never heard anyone say 'healthful' before, and John Daly thought she had said 'helpful', so he was taken by surprise also. 'Healthy' or possibly 'health-giving' would be more usual - I think Dorothy K had a rather antiquated use of language which needed John Daly to translate it for one or two challengers.
Today's RU-vid Rerun for 8/5/15: Watch along and join the discussion! ----------------------------- Join our Facebook group for WML-- great discussions, photos, etc, and great people! facebook.com/groups/728471287199862/ 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
And here I was thinking Mr. Troast might have had something to do with the making of musical instruments, because Elkhart, Indiana is the place in the U.S.A. where many companies that make orchestral and band instruments are located. Many of the former companies are now owned by Conn-Selmer, which used to be two separate companies.
I thought he had something to do with the auto industry (I guessed vehicle polisher) because of all the RV's made in Elkhart and neighboring cities, and Studebaker not too far away in South Bend. Hopefully our names aren't mud now ... or Stella Mudd!
@@loissimmons6558 Mr. Troast's appearance may be tied to the fact CBS affiliate WSBT in South Bend, IN had signed on the previous Monday, thus making this the first WML? episode aired on the station. Sometimes Mr. Daly would mention new affiliates but didn't here.
I always liked Robert Q, Lewis and i saw him mostly on game shows. He was funny in the movies when he was called to be. I certainly prefer him to Hal Block!
+Sam Tomaino Actually I wonder why Block was there at all. And if I may say so, I would put Buddy Hackett in his same category. They are constantly making the effort to be funny and only rarely succeed.
It was an interesting 22 seconds between the time that Robert Q Lewis guessed *Betty Davis,* ( 20:15 ) and realizing it was not her but it was *Sally Rand.* ( 20:37 ) I suspect Bennett knew who it was also.... 😉😉😉😆
Don Beveridge (who gave well-received talks about business in affiliation with the University of Wisconsin) gave all his children names starting with D and included a Don and a Dawn. So it happens.
Johan Bengtsson I don't know much about Godfrey except what I've read (and I have read that Robert Q. and he were feuding during this time period), but I get the impression they must have been close previously. Wikipedia says of Lewis, "He frequently sat in for Arthur Godfrey, who was considered his tutor. Lewis often credited Godfrey with giving him his first big breaks in show business." I wonder what had happened? Probably something on Godfrey's end, as I gather he could be volatile.
Over the years, the panel developed a set of questions that worked well in identifying the occupations of the contestants. I am mystified, however, that they kept asking, "Is this a useful product?" The answer was almost invariably "yes" and was therefore useless in identifying the occupation. A "yes" answer does not cost the panel members a turn, but it does waste time.
+MarcBrewer By this time, Hal Block was virtually on the chopping block and about to be dismissed, shortly, from the show, due to his incessant habit of stepping over the line with regards to inappropriate or at least unnecessary innuendo comments to and about the female guests...deservedly so, I feel. Fred Allen was a much funnier panelist when he took over the open seat.
+MarcBrewer No doubt that Hal would have claimed to be Miss Rand's biggest fan! WML would eventually come up with better replacements for Hal. IMHO, Robert Q Lewis wasn't one of them. The two that he was on in place of Hal lacked a certain spark or edge, although he was cute when he figured out who the MG was and had to wait through two turns of wrong guesses before it got to him. He was so emphatic (though able to keep himself from blurting out the answer as Hal was wont to do), I was a bit surprised the others didn't pass it to him.
I am curious. I just noticed that Bennett Cerf is wearing a plain suit and tie. Previously I have only seen him in a suit and tie the episodes after Fred Allen and Dorothy's death. When did it become an unwritten rule that the guys were tuxes?
I might be reading into this too much, but note John's comment to Nellie Kokoszka "its a good weekend we've got here, we've got some friends and some morale support" when Hal Block isn't present.
It’s interesting that Hal Block was hired so that he’d bring humor and levity to the show (in contrast to the more serious panelists). It’s a shame that although at the beginning he did bring the ratings up, by now I’m sure most people did not mind his absence and that of his risqué behavior and overwhelming presence.
I’m going to make a guess that Bette Midler was a big 'fan' of the beautiful Sally Rand. She had a delicious voice, shame there’s not more on her movie wise. ❤️🇦🇺
I would say the panel got hung up because of the costume answer. (Though it does make sense.) Also, would the modern equivalent of this be having a centerfold model on the show? (To be clear, I've enjoyed her for a long time, ever since I researched the San Francisco case where the judge said, "Anyone who could find something lewd about the dance as she puts it on has to have a perverted idea of morals." And I'm glad to have gotten a sense of her sense of humor.)
+juliansinger Hmm. Let me take a moment for a small conference with Miss Rand. No, I don't think a centerfold model would be today's equivalent of Miss Rand. A centerfold model is someone posing for still photographs and could be from any profession. Miss Rand was quite the artful performer as a dancer and an illusionist. As noted else where in the comments, she never actually performed nude, just with the illusion of it. (Although she does sometimes appear sans clothing and fans or bubbles not covering her breasts in some of her photos, presumably for admirers.) That's one down and nine to go! While striptease is still being performed today, the performers tend to be local or regional and none are anywhere near approaching the stature of Miss Rand, Gypsy Rose Lee, Ann Corio or any other stars of the heyday of the art form. For the closest to someone like Sally Rand, I can go in two directions, though both are a stretch. In one direction would be someone like Madonna or Cher, who while known more for singing than dancing, incorporate a lot of dance and physicality into their performances, often with skimpy costumes. In the other direction would be someone like Rupaul who incorporates the art of illusion as her primary artistic form (albeit a much different illusion), while also dancing and singing in her own natural voice. She (using the female pronoun when talking about this persona; Rupaul accepts either pronoun) also performs her craft the old-fashioned way: strictly through illusion and makeup artistry, with no surgery or hormones involved. And she evokes a time when some of the top burlesque performers were drag queens.
"Francis was known for wearing a heart-shaped diamond pendant, a gift from Gabel, which she wore on nearly all of her _What's My Line_ appearances. A mugger robbed her of the pendant as she was leaving a New York City taxi in 1988." en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arlene_Francis
I don't mind Robert Q. Lewis at all... actually I was glad to see him instead of Hal Block... his head scratching was so irritating... Now I'm curious to finish watching this episode after reading the comments because I have no idea who Sally Rand is.. Never heard of her...
PepsiMama2 Lewis is obviously trying to replicate Hals humor by taking the questions to the same direction. Hal always led the questions to "is this product ladies underwear".
PepsiMama2 - Sally Rand was a fan dancer and bubble dancer in burlesque shows who was as well known by the general public in the early half of the 20thc. as was Gypsy Rose Lee. She died broke and Sammy Davis, Jr., paid her final expenses. She was never nude, but appeared to be so by wearing long johns, etc.
HI I'M LOOKING FOR A PARTICULAR EPISODE OF A LADY -SINGLE PERHAPS-A CONTESTANT WHO DEFEATS THE PANEL, but she "designs bridges" let me know if you find it, thanks you, Peter from Canada
I wonder why does John hold the ladies' hand and the guys' arm when they're introducing themselves. I've noticed in other episodes, that some people feel awkward about it.
+Barbara G I think most often he's making sure they are standing on the "mark" that's on the floor (you can occasionally see John and/or the contestant, look down or refer to it) that indicates where they should stand for a camera shot that's been set up. There may also be an element of John's wanting to reassure them in case they're nervous.
I've never noticed a guest being awkward about John doing that. I think it's endearing of him and as another poster commented it may help to relax them.
Was Sally Rand aka Miss Kakotschka (sp?) a tax collector from Dudley, MA? Because that's the episode I saw. I really though Sally Rand did something quite distinct from tax collection!
I belong to a film group and we have a doubt !!! Anyone know what role Sally Rand played in the 1932 movie The Sing of the Cross !!! The monkey scene or the crocodile scene !!! Thank you
It's always so strange to me when the contestants turn to John Daly for answers to easy questions about their jobs. As tax collector, do I administer anything? Gee, I dono.
The idea was that some products are luxury items (champagne, caviar, fur coats, etc.), and some are merely decorative (sculptures, paintings, and such) and so are not necessary. By useful, they meant necessary.
When I watch a few of these shows back to back and the mystery guest comes on, the panel asks the same questions over and over. I suppose because almost all of the mystery guests are entertainers. The panel has no imagination.
You should hear Orson Welles as a guest panelist. He wasn't quite the right fit to be there permanently, and probably wasn't interested, but he thought outside the box. I love the show where he asks the guest "if your work might be more appropriately performed in another century?"
+Edwin Rivera She was known as a "fan dancer", doing what passed for an erotic act where she concealed her supposed nudity with fans and balloons and such (though she was never really nude onstage at all). Probably the panel had a hard time because she hadn't been a major celebrity, really, since the mid 1930s.
Edwin Rivera Well, that's quite a coincidence then-- cause June Havoc was the sister of Gypsy Rose Lee, who was probably the only burlesque dancer in history more famous than Sally Rand! (June was a movie actress.)
John Daly was born somewhere on the CONTINENT of AFRICA in the southern part, and became a naturalized citizen of the USA, I suppose! That would make him an AFRICAN-AMERICAN, although he has pale skin and doesn't have thick lips and hair like wool!!! There are MANY individuals such as he was living in America!
