I love this show! Glad I stumbled on to it. I Google the mystery guests (and some of the former jobs) and am learning a lot. Dorothy is the truth! Love her!
What a refreshing refuge from most of the mindless trash on youtube. Thank you so very much for providing this channel. I watch one to two programs a night. Brings back fond memories of my youth when television was entertaining.
To be fair there is mindless trash to be found in every single mode or category of human creativity if you happen to look for it. Fortunately RUclips is so plentiful of good stuff that I don't need a TV licence.
Despite the apparent disliking of Dorothy by many commenters throughout the WML videos, I think she was elegant, pretty, and very perceptive as an investigative panelist.
The more episodes I watch, the better I like her. She's highly intelligent, had such a pretty smile, was stylish, persistent and had the cutest giggle. I was sad to learn of her tragic death.
I happen to think that the Groucho Marx - You Bet Your Life channel is better. But that's not a put down, because they are both superbly posted, annotated and moderated by the same person. :-)
Because I had to look him up: Mr. Block, in his first guess, refers to Tommy Manville. Manville was famous for, basically, being rich and, also, marrying a lot of people, hence, in theory, frequenting Niagara Falls.
Thank you for keeping this channel a pleasure to read and comment on! Just made the mistake of reading comments on another channel. The hostility oozed out of the monitor and scarred my desk!
Thank you for the kind words, Dixie. Your comment came at a very good moment-- I was beginning to get a bit frustrated at policing the comments this week. These videos generally attract a different kind of audience than your average RUclips videos, leading to more civilized and intelligent comments than one would expect from the way comments sections read on the rest of RUclips. But there's a small, steady trickle of offensive comments that I try very hard to keep from polluting the channel. I'ts nice to see that some folks out there appreciate it. :)
What's My Line? Yes! Yes! Very much appreciated. It’s so nice to find a spot on the ‘net where people say interesting things and you can engage in a civil conversation!!
@@WhatsMyLine It does not go unappreciated. This channel means a great deal to me, as it has allowed me to re-live some of my childhood through the later episodes from '61 to '67. I'll never forget the panelists, although at the time I had no idea what had happened to Dorothy Kilgallen until decades later. Everyone on the show was refined, gracious, classy, courteous, and put their best foot forward. Like most celebrities their personal lives rarely matched up with their image, but in the case of 90% of the panelists and John Daly they were indeed decent people and oozed class.
I'm surprised they never applied a "cost of living" increase to the prize money as the years rolled by. By 1960, an increase to $10 per card would have been a nice gesture.
Considering that starting with this episode, Hal Block knew his contract wasn't being renewed after the March 1 episode, the WML staff were taking a bit of chance with a program that was live in at least some markets. Nothing could prevent Hal from going completely over the top, and I guess they had to trust that he wanted to be able to work in the industry at some point, even if just as a writer. Rick Sklar, who ran Musicradio 770 WABC in NYC during its most successful years, included in his autobiography a story about how most radio stations would not let a performer stay on the air the moment he knew he was being dropped from the station. The story involves how he didn't follow that practice on one occasion and regretted it. In 1967, Sklar hired a DJ out of Miami named Roby Yonge. He was known as the "Big Kahuna" in Miami, but at WABC he was a big flop, probably the biggest DJ hiring mistake Sklar made by far. Originally hired for the mid-afternoon slot, when it became apparent that Yonge wasn't going to make it in NYC, Sklar first moved him to overnight where he could do less harm to the ratings and then informed him that his contract would not be renewed. On the night of 10/21/69 shortly after midnight, Yonge stated on the air that he knew he was fired but that he wouldn't be taken off the air that night because there was no one else around to replace him. Then he told the audience that he would use the opportunity to get to the bottom of the Paul McCartney is dead rumors. Even at that late hour, WABC's powerful signal was reaching a large portion of the country, including most of the Central Time Zone which was an hour earlier. Soon, the WABC switchboard was being flooded with calls, many by hysterical teenage girls hearing the rumor for the first time and being confronted with a report that made it sound like there was a good possibility of it being true. Under the circumstances, Sklar was alerted, listened to the show while getting dressed, phoned a DJ who did fill-in and weekend work (Les Marshak), and had Marshak go to the station and go on the air from an auxiliary studio. Yonge continued to do the show for a while, not realizing he was no longer on the air. Sklar arrived with a security guard (he wasn't needed) and had Yonge leave the station for the last time. The best thing that came out of the experience with Yonge was that a few months before Yonge was hired, Sklar had hired another DJ, one who was working in St. Louis when ABC grabbed him. He was assigned to overnights at first, but moved to daytime when Yonge was moved to night duty. He became one of the most popular DJ's ever in NYC, so much so that his voice is used in "Midnight Cowboy" as an indication to Joe Buck that he was arriving in NYC. That DJ's name was Ron Lundy.
Love this. The panelists were young but looked so mature. Just like pictures of my parents when they were in their 30's. Was it their clothes, hairstyles...what made people appear much older in their youth back then?
You're partly right about fashions in clothes and hairstyles making people appear older to our eyes; it's not just the details of design but also that people dressed at a more formal level more often than we do today. I suspect that some of the apparent aging came from smoking, which was more prevalent then; also many people enjoyed outdoor activities without sun protecting lotions. Fresh fruits and vegetables were more often locally sourced, so perhaps of higher quality during a short local harvest season but less available year-round than today; my memories go back to about 1959 and I recall more canned fruits and vegetables in our diet back then, which would have fewer vitamins than fresh foods.
+William Webb: "Passive aggressive" would mean that there was actual intent to be hurtful with these remarks. Fat jokes were acceptable back then-- they raise eyebrows now, because we're more sensitive on the whole to these issues than people were in the 1950s. But it's just not fair in any way to suggest that this was intentionally nasty behavior. How many of these shows have you actually watched? WML was known for being high class and well-mannered. The very fact that these shows have fat jokes in them is actually proof of the fact that these things were considered **acceptable** back then.
oldfart4751 The point I was making here was exclusively whether these jokes were **intended** to be mean ("aggressive"). They weren't. What is and isn't "rude" is defined strictly by social norms. The social norms were different back then; what's clearly a rude joke now, joking about someone's weight, which would clearly be understood as "aggressive" or "mean" NOW, did not mean the same thing back then. That's the only point I was making. I certainly didn't claim it's not a rude joke to make by TODAY'S standards. That's the entire point. The standards of the 1950s were **different**. And yes, WML was a very polite and well mannered show, which I know you don't even disagree with. I make no claim that the 1950s were some golden era of perfect civility as others have. All I was saying is that reading in an intentionally aggressive insult into what was, at the time, considered a perfectly innocuous joke (wrongly so, but it was), is misguided. No regular on WML would ever openly and purposely insult a guest. It's not at ALL that being "rude and insulting" was acceptable back then-- let alone on a show like WML, of all places. Fat jokes just weren't considered an insult. Different times, different standards.
oldfart4751 People have been mean and done and said bad things throughout the entire course of human history. I was responding to a comment here **specifically** about this show, these performers: "Yes, seems like they enjoyed being passive aggressive." None of what you're saying is untrue, but it has nothing to do with the comment I was specifically responding to. Do you believe that this joke, on this show, in this specific instance-- which is what was being commented on-- is an example of the panelists' glee in insulting the guests, as in, "they enjoyed being passive aggressive"? I'm quite sure you don't believe that, and that's what I responding to. So I have no idea what you think we're even disagreeing on.
I was curious about Marie Wilson (the other star of the picture with Paul Douglas and Rosalind Russell). So I did a Google image search. Let's just say that I can see why it was said that her appearance in the picture would "take care of" Hal Block (and in general for those who weren't interested in seeing Douglas and Russell).
For any OTR buffs out there, Paul Douglas was host of the "Saturday Night Swing Club" in the mid 30's. You can find an insanely well preserved recording of the 1st anniversary show of that series, from sometime in mid-1937, and you can listen to how fabulous Paul Douglas was as a show host. In fact it took me quite a while to figure out that it was the same Paul Douglas as his style in this CBS radio show is unlike his other performances (plus he's one of those people who sounds very different if when you can see him, for some reason...)
Yeah, okay, I've had enough of Hal Block's inane interjections. I am left scratching my head wondering how much longer he'll be hanging around on the panel. On the other hand, he's also part of the bizarre character mix that has me addicted to this set of videos.
I really like watching these shows. Such a history lesson and realizing what ultimately happened to these people. I like watching Hal Block even though I don’t think John Daly liked him. And I am glad that they evolved from the stiff format of the earlier version.
They could not have shown the audience the line of guests thus they wouldn't be giving it away. Was kinda irritating when they applauded when I think it was DK said district attorney.
@@dutchtea8354 But it's funny. I would not have been surprised if it had another meaning altogether being that anything could be said on this show to get applause.
+Johan Bengtsson I had thought that maybe he wanted to hear Mr. Waldorf pronounce his own name just to make sure he had it right. But you may be correct that John was a little distracted and accidentally asked the wrong question initially.
I think Daly might have been expecting he came from Germany. It was 7 years after the War ended. Wounds were healing, and perhaps Daly didn't want any "issues".
Among his many famous roles, Paul Douglas portrayed Harry Brock in the Broadway version of "Born Yesterday". But when it was made into a film version, he was not called upon to reprise the role. Broderick Crawford got the role of the mobster Brock, while Judy Holliday was delightful in her reprising her role as "Billie", Brock's young and unsophisticated girlfriend who proved to be smarter than it would appear at first glance (and far more ethical than Brock once she caught onto what Brock was all about).
I have to assume I would have preferred Paul Douglas. My only real criticism of the movie is that Broderick Crawford doesn't have any kind of touch for comedy at all! Paul Douglas was in another film with Judy Holliday, "The Solid Gold Cadillac", which I like a lot and in which his rapport with Judy was great (and it's narrated by George Burns, to boot!)
+What's My Line? It's been a long time since I watched "Born Yesterday", but I still remember it as a most enjoyable comedy. (And then I watched some clips to refresh my memory.) My view of Crawford is that he is pretty much a caricature in the movie (although at the beginning you think Miss Holliday will be one, which she is not). The interesting part of the movie and the chemistry occurs in the relationship between Miss Holliday and William Holden. To be fair to Crawford, as a mobster, he isn't really supposed to be funny. He is pretty much the straight man for the picture, requiring him to act tough, throw his weight around and bellow when upset. He's quite serviceable and believable doing that. According to one clip I watched, Paul Douglas turned down the movie role at the 11th hour. Not bad if you can replace him with a guy who just won an Oscar. OTOH, George Cukor had to be basically tricked into casting Miss Holliday. Despite her success on Broadway, she was a relative newcomer there and had no star power in Hollywood. (Garson Kanin had written the role for Jean Arthur, but she dropped out of the Broadway production at the last minute.)
Well, Crawford certainly played Brock in a mainly serious manner, but there's plenty of room for a more comedic interpretation, which is how Paul Douglas's take on the character has been described from the stage version. I don't know whether this was a directorial choice or an acting choice, but it slightly unbalances the film for me. I suppose the more dramatic take on Brock enhances the drama when Billie finally asserts herself, so it's not a totally misjudged approach imo, but I'd have preferred a lighter touch. I've heard Judy in a radio versions of two scenes from "Born Yesterday" which she performed as a guest on NBC's "The Big Show", around 1950-51. The actor playing Brock wasn't a name, so I can't even say who it was, but he had more of the lighter touch I expect Paul Douglas had in his interpretation. It's nice to have these alternate versions available-- Judy's guest shots on "The Big Show" were overall always a great highlight. Her interplay with Tallulah Bankhead was priceless.
+What's My Line? It appears we agree on one thing: Miss Holliday's performance was wonderful. I think we might agree on something else as well: in selecting her for the Oscar, the Academy voters had a difficult choice to make with Bette Davis and Anne Baxter ("All About Eve"), Gloria Swanson ("Sunset Boulevard") and Eleanor Parker ("Caged") also nominated for Best Actress. So many great performances, so many great movies (and we didn't even mention "The Asphalt Jungle", "Harvey" and "King Solomon's Mines") all made in one year. A number of them are counted among my all time favorites and it was a shame they had to go up against each other. One final interesting note on the subject: Paul Douglas hosted the 22nd Annual Academy Awards, the year Broderick Crawford won Best Actor for "All the King's Men".
Paul Douglas was the first choice to play Jeff Sheldrake in Billy Wilders “The Apartment” 1960. He tragically died of a heart attack before he could do the movie.
Mrs. Beyer and her husband Harry owned both the Englewood Cliffs Milk Farm and a restaurant, The Milestone, also in Englewood Cliffs. (On 9W, if anyone knows the area.) They started the restaurant in 1938, and kept it going up until the early 60s, when they sold it to someone else. (It had at least two further owners after that.) Its claim to fame was that it had “the largest circular bar in Bergen County,” to which I say, OK? Good for you? They had one kid; Mrs. Beyer died in 1963. Blog post on The Milestone: thepressgroup.net/back-in-time-the-milestone-restaurant-and-bar-in-englewood-cliffs/ Postcard of the Milk Farm: njbottles.com/index.php?topic=3475.0 More pictures of it and its area: facebook.com/342696822482681/posts/photos-of-the-englewood-cliffs-milk-farm-that-used-to-be-on-palisade-avenue-and-/793567350728957/
I would have thought that the Walldorf Bear Farm would have had a paper trail a mile wide, but it has a spate of news articles in the early to mid 50s and then disappears. One of his bears, Cuddles, was in a Disney short; a few others boxed on tour. Gustav, often known as Gus, had three kids, and died in Florida in 1997. A not-very-updated family history Facebook page: facebook.com/The-Walldorf-Family-Page-1382123862062606/?ref=page_internal
Great, as always. As you can tell from his side crack to Hal Bloch, Paul Douglas was well known in the business for his barbed remarks. He wasn't very well liked (a very feisty character!).
Have just watched the 2023 version of this game and now I more fully appreciate how good the originals were. John Daly kept the show rolling and the panelists were often very perceptive. The 2023 version was too strung out and not at all as interesting. Love their sense of fun and humour too. Am back to watching more of the originals again.
District Attorney Gellman was a hell of a guy. World War II hero and successful property developer. Details in this link buffalonews.com/news/jack-e-gellman-ex-district-attorney-in-niagara-county-and-war-hero-dies/article_fdd0f8b6-16f2-5c95-9809-697e150af292.html
At the time, he appeared on WML?, Paul Douglas was in his fifth marriage which lasted, apparently longer than any of his others. It was only ended by his death in 1959. The wife referred to here is the luscious bad girl Jan Sterling Here is a link to her IMDb listing: www.imdb.com/name/nm0012443/?ref_=nmbio_sp_1
Keeping animals like elephants and bears locked up and “training” them to do tricks for people at circuses and other venues was just downright cruel. Thank goodness that’s hardly ever done anymore. I didn’t like that last contestant; he gave me the creeps. I wouldn’t be surprised if he beat the animals to get them to do what he wanted them to do.
Milk was then often claimed to be a perfect food, so people in ill health (whether overweight, underweight, suffering from ulcers or fatigue, etc.) were often sent to rural health resorts which kept dairy cattle, so that fresh milk could be a large portion of their diet. Actually cow's milk is perfect only for calves; some humans do well on it and others find it problematic.
Today's RUclips Rerun for 8/14/15: Watch along and join the discussion! ----------------------------- 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: ruclips.net/channel/UChPE75Fvvl1HmdAsO7Nzb8w Join our Facebook group for WML-- great discussions, photos, etc, and great people! facebook.com/groups/728471287199862/
Billy Wilder thought he had found the perfect actor to play Jack Lemmon's boss in The Apartment -- Paul Douglas. Douglas died before shooting began and the part went to Fred MacMurray. I think MacMurray did a much better job than Douglas would have. Wilder seems to have been the only director to have MacMurray play against type, and it was very successful in that film and even more so in Double Indemnity.
I think Fred MacMurray was an under-rated actor. My first exposure to him was in My Three Sons and Disney movies. As I grew up and saw him in The Apartment and Double Indemnity, it became apparent that he had great range. He was also excellent in The Caine Mutiny.
Preppy, Double Indemnity is one of my favorite movies altho didn't like the ending. Barbara Stanwyck was beautiful and suited her part perfectly. I watched it anew a coupla week ago. It's so nice to be able to record your favorite movies and not have to depend on the whims of station directors.
@@jerrylee8261 I respect anyone's opinion but not liking the ending in Double Indemnity is an unusual comment, since the movie starts at the end with MacMurray with a gunshot wound telling the dictaphone that he didn't get the girl or the money so the ending is no surprise.
@@preppysocks209 Yeah, was trying to say, which I didn't make clear, that I wanted them to get away with it. I have never liked these Hollywood endings where the villian always gets caught. That's a nice moral lesson but doesn't reflect reality. Another one was Bette in The Letter where she met her end at the end. Who wants to see such a "perfect" creature get what's coming to her?😊
@@jerrylee8261 What you have identified is the direct result of the Hollywood Production Code, which was applied to all films made in the middle third of the 20th century. Among other things, such as how sex and violence were depicted, this code required that all film murderers pay for their sins through jail or death.
I always have hated Hal Block. He is probably the worst guest panelist they ever had on the show. He was crude and his mind was always as far into the gutter as he could get away with.
I never did take to Hal Block for exactly the same reasons as you but I've seen a couple of episodes where he was quite helpful to a couple of elderly guests
I'm just amazed after watching dozens of episodes that very rude comments were made to contestants and accepted as funny banter. "Such a large woman." Good grief. That coupled with the constant suggestive comments by the male members of the panel to other female guests, including whistling and cat calling from the audience. 🤦♀🤦♀
![What's My Line? - Jack Lemmon; Ernie Kovacs [panel] (Nov 3, 1957)](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/ElUDnIZS3dY/mqdefault.jpg)
I, ALL OF A SUDDEN, just LOVE Paul Douglass. What a sweet man! Adoring personality.
I love this show! Glad I stumbled on to it. I Google the mystery guests (and some of the former jobs) and am learning a lot. Dorothy is the truth! Love her!
The What's My Line Channel rocks!! I also love that you keep the comments positive and on point.
Thank you, David, I really appreciate the kind words.
Yes! You have no idea the fond memories you’ve given us ! Especially in these times😘🙋♥️‼️
Mr. Paul Douglas was so right, 41 is such an arbitrary number.
What a refreshing refuge from most of the mindless trash on youtube. Thank you so very much for providing this channel. I watch one to two programs a night. Brings back fond memories of my youth when television was entertaining.
Thank you for the comment, Jimmy-- I'm very glad you've been enjoying the videos!
To be fair there is mindless trash to be found in every single mode or category of human creativity if you happen to look for it. Fortunately RUclips is so plentiful of good stuff that I don't need a TV licence.
Despite the apparent disliking of Dorothy by many commenters throughout the WML videos, I think she was elegant, pretty, and very perceptive as an investigative panelist.
+J Dano She was also an investigative journalist.
The more episodes I watch, the better I like her. She's highly intelligent, had such a pretty smile, was stylish, persistent and had the cutest giggle. I was sad to learn of her tragic death.
Nobody dislikes Dorothy, she was smart and had a wonderful vocabulary.
Agree!
I've never seen anyone say anything bad about her (she was as smart as a whip)
Thanks for all the memories...still a wonderful show....
This is the best channel on youtube...
Thanks very much. :)
I happen to think that the Groucho Marx - You Bet Your Life channel is better. But that's not a put down, because they are both superbly posted, annotated and moderated by the same person. :-)
I've never watched You Bet Your Life... I don't think I can take Groucho Marx for any length of time...
What's my line? Well its a fishing line It has me hooked on the channel Thanks for the posting
Love the old shows
Douglas' British accent is very convincing.
God yes,I'm british and jad I not known he was american he would have fooled me.Terrific actor.
He was buried in England. One of my favorite actor's!
@@peterfeltham8065 He was buried at St. Paul's Churchyard Covent Garden, London Borough of Camden, Greater London, England.
Agreed!
I wasn’t familiar with this actor Paul Douglas, but his accent was fabulous.
Because I had to look him up: Mr. Block, in his first guess, refers to Tommy Manville. Manville was famous for, basically, being rich and, also, marrying a lot of people, hence, in theory, frequenting Niagara Falls.
Thank you for keeping this channel a pleasure to read and comment on! Just made the mistake of reading comments on another channel. The hostility oozed out of the monitor and scarred my desk!
Thank you for the kind words, Dixie. Your comment came at a very good moment-- I was beginning to get a bit frustrated at policing the comments this week. These videos generally attract a different kind of audience than your average RUclips videos, leading to more civilized and intelligent comments than one would expect from the way comments sections read on the rest of RUclips. But there's a small, steady trickle of offensive comments that I try very hard to keep from polluting the channel. I'ts nice to see that some folks out there appreciate it. :)
What's My Line?
Yes! Yes! Very much appreciated. It’s so nice to find a spot on the ‘net where people say interesting things and you can engage in a civil conversation!!
What's My Line? Thank you so much!
@@WhatsMyLine It does not go unappreciated. This channel means a great deal to me, as it has allowed me to re-live some of my childhood through the later episodes from '61 to '67. I'll never forget the panelists, although at the time I had no idea what had happened to Dorothy Kilgallen until decades later. Everyone on the show was refined, gracious, classy, courteous, and put their best foot forward. Like most celebrities their personal lives rarely matched up with their image, but in the case of 90% of the panelists and John Daly they were indeed decent people and oozed class.
Excellent British accent from Paul Douglas.
What a generous guy, changes that lady's prize from $5 to $15.
I'm surprised they never applied a "cost of living" increase to the prize money as the years rolled by. By 1960, an increase to $10 per card would have been a nice gesture.
Considering that starting with this episode, Hal Block knew his contract wasn't being renewed after the March 1 episode, the WML staff were taking a bit of chance with a program that was live in at least some markets. Nothing could prevent Hal from going completely over the top, and I guess they had to trust that he wanted to be able to work in the industry at some point, even if just as a writer.
Rick Sklar, who ran Musicradio 770 WABC in NYC during its most successful years, included in his autobiography a story about how most radio stations would not let a performer stay on the air the moment he knew he was being dropped from the station. The story involves how he didn't follow that practice on one occasion and regretted it.
In 1967, Sklar hired a DJ out of Miami named Roby Yonge. He was known as the "Big Kahuna" in Miami, but at WABC he was a big flop, probably the biggest DJ hiring mistake Sklar made by far. Originally hired for the mid-afternoon slot, when it became apparent that Yonge wasn't going to make it in NYC, Sklar first moved him to overnight where he could do less harm to the ratings and then informed him that his contract would not be renewed.
On the night of 10/21/69 shortly after midnight, Yonge stated on the air that he knew he was fired but that he wouldn't be taken off the air that night because there was no one else around to replace him. Then he told the audience that he would use the opportunity to get to the bottom of the Paul McCartney is dead rumors. Even at that late hour, WABC's powerful signal was reaching a large portion of the country, including most of the Central Time Zone which was an hour earlier. Soon, the WABC switchboard was being flooded with calls, many by hysterical teenage girls hearing the rumor for the first time and being confronted with a report that made it sound like there was a good possibility of it being true.
Under the circumstances, Sklar was alerted, listened to the show while getting dressed, phoned a DJ who did fill-in and weekend work (Les Marshak), and had Marshak go to the station and go on the air from an auxiliary studio. Yonge continued to do the show for a while, not realizing he was no longer on the air. Sklar arrived with a security guard (he wasn't needed) and had Yonge leave the station for the last time.
The best thing that came out of the experience with Yonge was that a few months before Yonge was hired, Sklar had hired another DJ, one who was working in St. Louis when ABC grabbed him. He was assigned to overnights at first, but moved to daytime when Yonge was moved to night duty. He became one of the most popular DJ's ever in NYC, so much so that his voice is used in "Midnight Cowboy" as an indication to Joe Buck that he was arriving in NYC. That DJ's name was Ron Lundy.
I thought Hal Block was fine. Not sure what all the fuss was about him
Love this. The panelists were young but looked so mature.
Just like pictures of my parents
when they were in their 30's. Was it their clothes, hairstyles...what made people appear much older in their youth back then?
You're partly right about fashions in clothes and hairstyles making people appear older to our eyes; it's not just the details of design but also that people dressed at a more formal level more often than we do today. I suspect that some of the apparent aging came from smoking, which was more prevalent then; also many people enjoyed outdoor activities without sun protecting lotions. Fresh fruits and vegetables were more often locally sourced, so perhaps of higher quality during a short local harvest season but less available year-round than today; my memories go back to about 1959 and I recall more canned fruits and vegetables in our diet back then, which would have fewer vitamins than fresh foods.
Dignified bearing and gracious manners...?
Paul Douglas was a wonderful actor. Gone too soon.
It always surprises me how they talk to and about overweight guests.
+Abigal M. Yes, the crack from Dorothy saying that she thought Mrs. Beyer sold doughnuts was so obviously critical.
oldfart4751
Yes, seems like they enjoyed being passive aggressive.
+William Webb: "Passive aggressive" would mean that there was actual intent to be hurtful with these remarks. Fat jokes were acceptable back then-- they raise eyebrows now, because we're more sensitive on the whole to these issues than people were in the 1950s. But it's just not fair in any way to suggest that this was intentionally nasty behavior. How many of these shows have you actually watched? WML was known for being high class and well-mannered. The very fact that these shows have fat jokes in them is actually proof of the fact that these things were considered **acceptable** back then.
oldfart4751 The point I was making here was exclusively whether these jokes were **intended** to be mean ("aggressive"). They weren't. What is and isn't "rude" is defined strictly by social norms. The social norms were different back then; what's clearly a rude joke now, joking about someone's weight, which would clearly be understood as "aggressive" or "mean" NOW, did not mean the same thing back then. That's the only point I was making. I certainly didn't claim it's not a rude joke to make by TODAY'S standards. That's the entire point. The standards of the 1950s were **different**.
And yes, WML was a very polite and well mannered show, which I know you don't even disagree with. I make no claim that the 1950s were some golden era of perfect civility as others have. All I was saying is that reading in an intentionally aggressive insult into what was, at the time, considered a perfectly innocuous joke (wrongly so, but it was), is misguided. No regular on WML would ever openly and purposely insult a guest. It's not at ALL that being "rude and insulting" was acceptable back then-- let alone on a show like WML, of all places. Fat jokes just weren't considered an insult. Different times, different standards.
oldfart4751 People have been mean and done and said bad things throughout the entire course of human history. I was responding to a comment here **specifically** about this show, these performers: "Yes, seems like they enjoyed being passive aggressive." None of what you're saying is untrue, but it has nothing to do with the comment I was specifically responding to. Do you believe that this joke, on this show, in this specific instance-- which is what was being commented on-- is an example of the panelists' glee in insulting the guests, as in, "they enjoyed being passive aggressive"? I'm quite sure you don't believe that, and that's what I responding to. So I have no idea what you think we're even disagreeing on.
I was curious about Marie Wilson (the other star of the picture with Paul Douglas and Rosalind Russell). So I did a Google image search. Let's just say that I can see why it was said that her appearance in the picture would "take care of" Hal Block (and in general for those who weren't interested in seeing Douglas and Russell).
That first guest is a cutie pie! What a fun personality!
For any OTR buffs out there, Paul Douglas was host of the "Saturday Night Swing Club" in the mid 30's. You can find an insanely well preserved recording of the 1st anniversary show of that series, from sometime in mid-1937, and you can listen to how fabulous Paul Douglas was as a show host. In fact it took me quite a while to figure out that it was the same Paul Douglas as his style in this CBS radio show is unlike his other performances (plus he's one of those people who sounds very different if when you can see him, for some reason...)
Ken Monger interesting! Thank you
Yeah, okay, I've had enough of Hal Block's inane interjections. I am left scratching my head wondering how much longer he'll be hanging around on the panel. On the other hand, he's also part of the bizarre character mix that has me addicted to this set of videos.
W Brewer 2 more weeks
Daly was a Deputy Sheriff, in addition to all of his other duties? It must have made Block nervous.
@44032 honary degree😅
DISTRICT ATTORNEY
RUNS REDUCING FARM
BEAR TRAINER
I really like watching these shows. Such a history lesson and realizing what ultimately happened to these people. I like watching Hal Block even though I don’t think John Daly liked him. And I am glad that they evolved from the stiff format of the earlier version.
Good one Paul
Why does the stupid audience ALWAYS give it away when the panel go to conference about it?!?!!!! AAARGGGHHH!
That's what I said. They've done that in so many episodes!
They could not have shown the audience the line of guests thus they wouldn't be giving it away. Was kinda irritating when they applauded when I think it was DK said district attorney.
At 8:50 Hal says, “I think I feel a weenie coming on with Dorothy.” This was the 7th known use of the term.
I've yet to discern what is meant by this particular phraseology. Have you any idea?
@@retrogamerdad9621 They used it to mean a sudden inspiration or idea.
@@dutchtea8354 But it's funny. I would not have been surprised if it had another meaning altogether being that anything could be said on this show to get applause.
I meant to mention that you can find that "Saturday Night Swing Club" recording at Archive.Org, it does not appear to exist on RUclips
John asks the bear trainer his name twice. Maybe John was a little unconcentrated or meant to ask where he came from. 20:36
+Johan Bengtsson I had thought that maybe he wanted to hear Mr. Waldorf pronounce his own name just to make sure he had it right. But you may be correct that John was a little distracted and accidentally asked the wrong question initially.
I think Daly might have been expecting he came from Germany. It was 7 years after the War ended. Wounds were healing, and perhaps Daly didn't want any "issues".
Among his many famous roles, Paul Douglas portrayed Harry Brock in the Broadway version of "Born Yesterday". But when it was made into a film version, he was not called upon to reprise the role. Broderick Crawford got the role of the mobster Brock, while Judy Holliday was delightful in her reprising her role as "Billie", Brock's young and unsophisticated girlfriend who proved to be smarter than it would appear at first glance (and far more ethical than Brock once she caught onto what Brock was all about).
I have to assume I would have preferred Paul Douglas. My only real criticism of the movie is that Broderick Crawford doesn't have any kind of touch for comedy at all! Paul Douglas was in another film with Judy Holliday, "The Solid Gold Cadillac", which I like a lot and in which his rapport with Judy was great (and it's narrated by George Burns, to boot!)
+What's My Line?
It's been a long time since I watched "Born Yesterday", but I still remember it as a most enjoyable comedy. (And then I watched some clips to refresh my memory.) My view of Crawford is that he is pretty much a caricature in the movie (although at the beginning you think Miss Holliday will be one, which she is not). The interesting part of the movie and the chemistry occurs in the relationship between Miss Holliday and William Holden.
To be fair to Crawford, as a mobster, he isn't really supposed to be funny. He is pretty much the straight man for the picture, requiring him to act tough, throw his weight around and bellow when upset. He's quite serviceable and believable doing that.
According to one clip I watched, Paul Douglas turned down the movie role at the 11th hour. Not bad if you can replace him with a guy who just won an Oscar. OTOH, George Cukor had to be basically tricked into casting Miss Holliday. Despite her success on Broadway, she was a relative newcomer there and had no star power in Hollywood. (Garson Kanin had written the role for Jean Arthur, but she dropped out of the Broadway production at the last minute.)
Well, Crawford certainly played Brock in a mainly serious manner, but there's plenty of room for a more comedic interpretation, which is how Paul Douglas's take on the character has been described from the stage version. I don't know whether this was a directorial choice or an acting choice, but it slightly unbalances the film for me. I suppose the more dramatic take on Brock enhances the drama when Billie finally asserts herself, so it's not a totally misjudged approach imo, but I'd have preferred a lighter touch.
I've heard Judy in a radio versions of two scenes from "Born Yesterday" which she performed as a guest on NBC's "The Big Show", around 1950-51. The actor playing Brock wasn't a name, so I can't even say who it was, but he had more of the lighter touch I expect Paul Douglas had in his interpretation. It's nice to have these alternate versions available-- Judy's guest shots on "The Big Show" were overall always a great highlight. Her interplay with Tallulah Bankhead was priceless.
+What's My Line?
It appears we agree on one thing: Miss Holliday's performance was wonderful.
I think we might agree on something else as well: in selecting her for the Oscar, the Academy voters had a difficult choice to make with Bette Davis and Anne Baxter ("All About Eve"), Gloria Swanson ("Sunset Boulevard") and Eleanor Parker ("Caged") also nominated for Best Actress.
So many great performances, so many great movies (and we didn't even mention "The Asphalt Jungle", "Harvey" and "King Solomon's Mines") all made in one year. A number of them are counted among my all time favorites and it was a shame they had to go up against each other.
One final interesting note on the subject: Paul Douglas hosted the 22nd Annual Academy Awards, the year Broderick Crawford won Best Actor for "All the King's Men".
Is this the Lois Simmons Show? She seems to have a comment all the tine
Paul Douglas was a handsome man.
See the 1949 movie, "A Letter To Three Wives" -- he's quite magnetic in it!
Dorothy’s hairdo in this episode makes her look like Betty Boop.
Paul Douglas was the first choice to play Jeff Sheldrake in Billy Wilders “The Apartment” 1960. He tragically died of a heart attack before he could do the movie.
Was that the Jack Lemon part?
@@annheatherton No, The Fred Mac Murray part of CC Baxter’s boss Jeff Sheldrake.. Jack played CC Baxter. I loved Fred MacMurray in the role.
Niagara Falls! Shoutout Western New York!
Mrs. Beyer and her husband Harry owned both the Englewood Cliffs Milk Farm and a restaurant, The Milestone, also in Englewood Cliffs. (On 9W, if anyone knows the area.) They started the restaurant in 1938, and kept it going up until the early 60s, when they sold it to someone else. (It had at least two further owners after that.) Its claim to fame was that it had “the largest circular bar in Bergen County,” to which I say, OK? Good for you?
They had one kid; Mrs. Beyer died in 1963.
Blog post on The Milestone: thepressgroup.net/back-in-time-the-milestone-restaurant-and-bar-in-englewood-cliffs/
Postcard of the Milk Farm: njbottles.com/index.php?topic=3475.0
More pictures of it and its area: facebook.com/342696822482681/posts/photos-of-the-englewood-cliffs-milk-farm-that-used-to-be-on-palisade-avenue-and-/793567350728957/
I would have thought that the Walldorf Bear Farm would have had a paper trail a mile wide, but it has a spate of news articles in the early to mid 50s and then disappears. One of his bears, Cuddles, was in a Disney short; a few others boxed on tour.
Gustav, often known as Gus, had three kids, and died in Florida in 1997.
A not-very-updated family history Facebook page: facebook.com/The-Walldorf-Family-Page-1382123862062606/?ref=page_internal
Great, as always. As you can tell from his side crack to Hal Bloch, Paul Douglas was well known in the business for his barbed remarks. He wasn't very well liked (a very feisty character!).
9:24 Arlene looks a little uncomfortable with Hal's arm being so close to her chest.
Hal was very creepy
@@simonatheod6867 sex- maniac
Have just watched the 2023 version of this game and now I more fully appreciate how good the originals were. John Daly kept the show rolling and the panelists were often very perceptive. The 2023 version was too strung out and not at all as interesting. Love their sense of fun and humour too. Am back to watching more of the originals again.
District Attorney Gellman was a hell of a guy. World War II hero and successful property developer. Details in this link
buffalonews.com/news/jack-e-gellman-ex-district-attorney-in-niagara-county-and-war-hero-dies/article_fdd0f8b6-16f2-5c95-9809-697e150af292.html
What’s with Arlene’s tiara? LOL
1953 was the year of Queen Elizabeth II's Coronation.
In tribute, tiaras became rather fashionable that year.
Arlene put her foot in her mouth when she said “for a big girl like you”. I am sure it just a slip, but it was a hurtful comment just the same.
This was a time before wokeness and overcoddled snowflakes. The "participation trophy" did not yet exist.
I am glad people were not so overly sensitive back then. I am so fed up with the politically correct BS of our time.
$10 says nobody enjoyed playing Clue with Dorothy.
John Daley @ 4:43 😂🤣😂🤣😂
At the time, he appeared on WML?, Paul Douglas was in his fifth marriage which lasted, apparently longer than any of his others. It was only ended by his death in 1959. The wife referred to here is the luscious bad girl Jan Sterling Here is a link to her IMDb listing: www.imdb.com/name/nm0012443/?ref_=nmbio_sp_1
I think steve allen putting his glasses on over the blindfold been over played.
it was funny the first time but not after 10 times.
YUP! Just like on "I Love Lucy" when Lucy's mother always referred to Ricky as "Mickey". Once was funny, twice was amusing, and then it was tedious.
Keeping animals like elephants and bears locked up and “training” them to do tricks for people at circuses and other venues was just downright cruel. Thank goodness that’s hardly ever done anymore.
I didn’t like that last contestant; he gave me the creeps. I wouldn’t be surprised if he beat the animals to get them to do what he wanted them to do.
Paul Douglas was only 46 here.
Milk farm?
how did they get that name?
Milk was then often claimed to be a perfect food, so people in ill health (whether overweight, underweight, suffering from ulcers or fatigue, etc.) were often sent to rural health resorts which kept dairy cattle, so that fresh milk could be a large portion of their diet. Actually cow's milk is perfect only for calves; some humans do well on it and others find it problematic.
Would you rather tell someone you were going upstate to visit a milk farm or a fat farm?
Paul Douglas 1907 -1959 died of heart attack.
The audience laughed when the large woman walked onto the stage. Another great episode due to the absence of boring Bennett.
I noticed that, too. I wonder why they laughed.
Under41?
I know you What's My Line? LOL
Shhh. Don't tell. It's a big secret. :)
What's My Line? Gotcha...
What gives with Arlene's preposterous crown?
ikr
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Billy Wilder thought he had found the perfect actor to play Jack Lemmon's boss in The Apartment -- Paul Douglas. Douglas died before shooting began and the part went to Fred MacMurray. I think MacMurray did a much better job than Douglas would have. Wilder seems to have been the only director to have MacMurray play against type, and it was very successful in that film and even more so in Double Indemnity.
I think Fred MacMurray was an under-rated actor. My first exposure to him was in My Three Sons and Disney movies. As I grew up and saw him in The Apartment and Double Indemnity, it became apparent that he had great range. He was also excellent in The Caine Mutiny.
Preppy, Double Indemnity is one of my favorite movies altho didn't like the ending. Barbara Stanwyck was beautiful and suited her part perfectly. I watched it anew a coupla week ago. It's so nice to be able to record your favorite movies and not have to depend on the whims of station directors.
@@jerrylee8261 I respect anyone's opinion but not liking the ending in Double Indemnity is an unusual comment, since the movie starts at the end with MacMurray with a gunshot wound telling the dictaphone that he didn't get the girl or the money so the ending is no surprise.
@@preppysocks209 Yeah, was trying to say, which I didn't make clear, that I wanted them to get away with it. I have never liked these Hollywood endings where the villian always gets caught. That's a nice moral lesson but doesn't reflect reality.
Another one was Bette in The Letter where she met her end at the end. Who wants to see such a "perfect" creature get what's coming to her?😊
@@jerrylee8261 What you have identified is the direct result of the Hollywood Production Code, which was applied to all films made in the middle third of the 20th century. Among other things, such as how sex and violence were depicted, this code required that all film murderers pay for their sins through jail or death.
Is Paul Douglas related to Kirk Douglas?
No.
Douglas was his middle name.
The panel are rude to contestants.
postcard from contestant's milk farm... bergencountyhistory.org/forums/index.php?topic=552.0
Love Arlene but the little crown is really a bit much.
at the time it was quite fashionable they were worn as tribute for Queen elizabeth’s coronation.
I always have hated Hal Block. He is probably the worst guest panelist they ever had on the show. He was crude and his mind was always as far into the gutter as he could get away with.
I will be glad when he's gone. I like Cerf but it seems he was involved in something shady once.
I was thinking the same thing. He is borderline creepy, and his suggestive remarks were in bad taste.
I never did take to Hal Block for exactly the same reasons as you but I've seen a couple of episodes where he was quite helpful to a couple of elderly guests
@@merryx-mart9943
He stayed too long.
I like Hal B a lot!!!!!
voice too recognizable
I'm just amazed after watching dozens of episodes that very rude comments were made to contestants and accepted as funny banter. "Such a large woman." Good grief. That coupled with the constant suggestive comments by the male members of the panel to other female guests, including whistling and cat calling from the audience. 🤦♀🤦♀
And yet they were consider class and manner people.
11:30 If her job is running a reducing farm she lost credibility the second she came on the stage.
Brian, I thought the same thing. It would seem that someone overweight wouldn't take her advice too seriously.
She did seem to be in conflict with her life's mission.
I think we all know why Dorothy thought that second guest may be somehow associated with junk food such as donuts…
Her saying she was a large woman was just rude. But it seems such rudeness was commonplace in the 50's, 60's before people were 'woke'.
What on Earth is on her head. A stick or branch
I think she eats everyone’s food in her street