From February 2, 1950, the first episode of the long-running quiz show What's My Line?, featuring panelists psychiatrist Richard Hoffman, poet Louis Untermeyer, columnist Dorothy Kilgallan, an former New Jersey governor Howard Hoffman. The long-time moderator was John Cameron Daly. The very first contestant on the show walked away $25 richer -- those were simpler times.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fU4OtHVBi8s
And here Steve Allen, Arlene Francis, Bennett Cerf, and Dorothy Kilgallan, try to guess the occupation of a nudist camp owner.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EE7A4UFY0II
And here Dick Tracy creator, cartoonist Chester Gould, tries to stump the panel.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3bM0V8JbOhU
And this clip could be called "The Case of Erle Stanley Gardner."
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EJuJZ6KPPBg
And, for a walk on the wild side, here's a very surreal Salvador Dali.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iXT2E9Ccc8A
A great show, and always fun.
My family never missed it. They sure smoked a lot of cigarettes on that show.
ReplyDeleteThe Allen-Francis-Cerf-Killgalen was the best lineup. I loved this show as a kid.
ReplyDeleteI've enjoyed watching the early versions of WML? on YouTube every now and then. Growing up I knew the later incarnation of the show with theater and TV actor Larry Blyden and later Wally ...someone... taking on the job as host. Only Arlene Dahl (true class all the way) stayed with the show through all its versions. Daly seemed way too smug and supercilious most of the time and Bennett Cerf could be just as arrogant as Daly and occassionally smarmy. Most fascinating to me is the grace and poise and wit of the celebrities who appeared as the mystery guests. Those are great fun to watch. Gloria Swanson handing out flowers to the panel as she exits, Tallulah Bankhead stopping to chat with Dorothy Kilgallen, Woody Allen completely stumping the panel even with his hysterical answers that went beyond a simple Yes or No.
ReplyDeleteIt amazes me now that this entertained us. But it did.
ReplyDeleteWatched Candid Camera and What's My Line every Sunday night for years and years when I was a kid. My parents loved them, and I enjoyed them, too.
ReplyDelete