Bennett Cerf on What's My Line: An Oral History (Part Two)

Part two of Bennett Cerf's interview on his "What's My Line?" experiences by journalist Robin Hawkins on January 23, 1968.

[@Politicalfan17]

“She had different set of ideas than we did on Senator McCarthy and other key issues… we just didn’t think alike.” Back when you can disagree with people on politics and remain civil and adult about it! Such a mature approach to different ideals among friends that many these days can learn from.

[@Dallas-Nyberg]

I have become addicted to watching clips of "What's My Line?" and a big fan of Bennett Cerf . To hear him speak so freely about his experiences has been a treat...Thank You

[@geniusmchaggis]

me toooo!! and a LOT of other people too im guessing.

[@Cathy65]

I'm addicted too! So I love this behind the scenes stuff!

[@hifithepanda]

There is about another 20 minutes or so where he talks about WML, so I will put these up. If you want more of Bennett... search his name and "Notable New Yorkers" on Google. There are literally DOZENS of hours of him being interviewed about his life and career, in realaudio format.

[@romeman01]

This is really excellent., especially the information about Dorothy being a What's My Line outsider. The way in which the video ended (abruptly) gives me hope that there is at least one more installment coming. :-)

[@iamintheburg]

How touching, his remarks about Fred Allen. You hear it in his voice : " What a wonderful man! What a wonderful man! " What a wonderful memoir. Thank you, hifithepanda. Thank you.

[@Jantv81]

I wish I could have met Bennett. What a guy.

[@soulierinvestments]

RE Fred Allen: Fred was the golden age of WML. I liked Steve's bright witty humor, but love Fred Allen. 6:45 onward Dorothy Kilgallen the reporter. What did they expect from a reporter? Did they tell her from day one that WML was a gossip free reporter free zone? As for Daly -- who knew the game -- I wonder if he didn't speak to Bob Bach for six months as well since Bach spilled the news to Dorothy.

[@romeman01]

Soulier, it is a hard call. I would say if you were not Dorothy and were meeting with her in an informal situation not intending to give information for publication, it would be reasonable to assume that you could talk freely. The fact that Daly, himself a journalist, was also irked at her behavior, agrees with this. I suppose Dorothy, as a gossip columnist, assumed her work never ended and any situation was fodder. At the very least, she clearly was not trying to ingratiate herself with them.

[@ijustwanttosing]

Thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you for uploading :-) I'm waiting in suspense for the next part :-)

[@rangerdave1973]

well in that case, I think Dorothy was in the right by setting the record straight on the whole Mike Wallace situation IMO

[@weatdamal]

This is such an interesting interview! LOL the inside scoop of what's my line :)

[@johnfl18]

What a great interview with Bennett Cerf. I am looking forward to the next part.The pictures are perfect with the comments.

[@dutchtea8354]

So entirely laughable that Bennett thought Hal was dispensable once they had Bennett to tell puns.

[@soulierinvestments]

Sound observations. If I were Daly, I would have been ticked at DK attributing a quote to me without interviewing me, which is apparently what she did.

[@dutchtea8354]

Are you ticked at Bennett for telling stories about Dorothy without interviewing her?

[@dhaddox]

I knew they asked those diaper questions on purpose. lol

[@YonatanDoron]

After seeing so many "What's My Line?" clips on KZbin, I ordered "At Random" by Bennett Cerf from Amazon. Thanks for uploading the oral history!

[@wiedep]

Higbee's @ 4:12 was the store Jean Sheppard used in A Christmas Story.

[@emmacrew4476]

Can anyone one explain what he means by a 'Hurst Girl' when he describes Dorothy? Really interesting video- thanks for sharing.

[@oldsguy354]

It's a reference to the newspaper publisher William Randolph Hearst. Hearst was the first real media mogul. He owned many newspapers, wire services (how the news moved around), movie production, and a pile of popular magazines. I know a lot of intellectuals (of which Cerf was definitely considered) disliked Hearst. Sorta like a college professor today saying "She's a Trumper" which is accepted as derogatory by most college professors, so it's easy for them to assume everyone agrees with them on its derogatory value. Calling Dorothy a "Hearst girl" was definitely intended to be derogatory, and not so subtly suggest that could be reason enough to dislike her. I'm not taking sides either way, but I was a bit surprised at Cerf taking the low road. He apparently had enough legitimate negative things to say about Dorothy so calling her a "Hearst Girl" seems like it should have been beneath him. It would be similar for people my age talking about someone that we didn't really like and said "She voted for Jimmy Carter" as a reason to dislike them and fully expect the listener to agree. The movie Citizen Kane was a clear jab at William Randolph Hearst. It was meant to portray Hearst in a very poor light. Hearst disliked that and did a lot of things to try and stop the movie and/or otherwise harms its creators. Hearst died in 1951 when WML was still a brand new show and Cerf would have been 53 years old. I was surprised that he was still using that jab nearly 20 years later. There is a lot to know about William Randolph Hearst, and it's published all over the place, so don't base your opinion of him on the tiny bit of information here.

[@christy4421]

I love this ! Just fascinating 😊

[@44032]

Hal Block was the original "Blockhead". You can see examples of his boorish behavior on the clips- inclduing trying to kiss attractive female contestants on the mouth.

[@ericstuart2538]

At times Bennett wasnt any better.

[@dutchtea8354]

@@ericstuart2538 And Bennett was a married man.

[@jacktwomey4347]

One correction to my previous entry: The transcripts of the tapes is available on the internet, not the tapes.

[@YonatanDoron]

It's a great book. A quick and enjoyable read. I have to admit I was a little disappointed there wasn't more about "What's My Line?" If you're interested in books and the publishing world, you should read it.

[@hifithepanda]

I appreciate the criticism. Some people seem to like it, but I guess I might have gone overboard. There's a version on here with better audio and more static pictures you might want to check out.

[@jennjenn61]

its hard to imagine john daly "in a rage", he seemed so even keel on the show & a nice guy. its sad dorothy went and made enemies out of those who were her friends

[@13loomisst]

Thank you very much. I, like the others, look forward to the next installment.

[@ajdukujac]

i love it! do you have more material on mister Bennett Cerf? thank you alot!

[@patrickgomes2213]

Franklin Heller supposedly said that Hal Block had been fired for cheating. I wonder if Bennett Cerf was aware of the behind the scenes stuff.

[@dutchtea8354]

I agree! Unlike Dorothy, Bennett blabbed his mouth without checking for facts.

[@David-yw2lv]

I wish to suggest Bennett Cerf's autobiography At Random,an excellent read.

[@hifithepanda]

Yes, there will be two more installments! I'm glad everyone is enjoying this because I had a lot of fun putting them together.

[@tallpaul521]

Thank you..the images you've compiled are brilliant!

[@FermatWiles]

What a sexy voice that interviewer has.

[@bigred997]

c'mon! don't leave us hanging!

[@spoonido]

Aw! No part three!?!?

[@ebf1957]

Bennett was the first TV raconteur.

[@mxylpx]

What a wonderful insight into this great show...where's part 1?

[@JoePoland]

Very interesting! Dorothy not such an angel after all.

[@kenmrock9334]

But I loved her. So I hated to hear this.

[@METALITHrevetments]

Robin Hawkins has a wonderful laugh.

[@TylerDeBoy]

If only he knew Hal Block would be considered a G comedian today. The absolute shit that airs on TV is going to be the single factor that kills it

[@susansackrison3139]

Does anyone know when this interview was conducted.

[@AllenMQuinn]

Says in the description. January 23, 1968.

[@twinsonic]

She who can read, wins!

[@Jantv81]

@romeman01 all day in church?

[@douglaschance2437]

so dorothy did john dirty?