Tell It To Groucho - Jayne Mansfield (Apr 19, 1962)

You Bet Your Life was retooled as "Tell It To Groucho" and sold to CBS for one short season in early 1962. Here's one of the very few episodes available to view today, this one featuring Jayne Mansfield and her husband Mike Hargitay.
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Episode identification and basic description based on "Tell 'em Groucho Sent You", © 1997 by Mark Petty. Used by permission.

[@jean2479]

My roommates and I used to watch Groucho’s You Bet Your Life in college. We thought it was hilarious!! We were like 19, 20 yrs old and loved Groucho! I love Jayne’s dress!!

[@chirelle.alanalooney8609]

I have always liked Jane Mansfield, and thought she was a very kind, sweet, caring, loving and gentle lady! May God Bless & Keep Her Up In Heaven!!!!

[@jaynesawyer1065]

My mom named me after Jayne Mansfield. I have never seen any of her movies. She seems very lovely.

[@sharnjitsharonlalli212]

God bless you Jayne Mansfield May you RIP beautiful sweetheart 🙏🙏💗💗

[@cefcat5733]

I was completely shocked at her death and how it happened. She was so alive that you couldn't believe that she was not, I wish her family well. I really like this short talk she had with Groucho. It showed another side of her. Beautiful lady.

[@dcasper8514]

I couldn't believe the news of her death too. So sad.

[@thisisme3238]

Nice to see Jane Mansfield AND her husband, always wondered what he was like...of course, she's gorgeous! RIP JANE MANSFIELD 🙏

[@nancyvotto9048]

Today's children don't know what they have missed. It was a great time when shows were wholesome and funny, no one got offended, everyone had thier roles in society and didn't mind it. People were respectful, responsible, honest and happy. No matter how today's youth see it as sexest and oppressive, at least these people knew who they were and lead productive lives that bettered all of society.

[@davequinn4701]

Been looking at all these shows of Groucho's and I'm convinced i was born in the wrong time. The lady's are stunning, witty got so much dignity, and I love the dress. Jane was a stunning gal. RIP

[@SelfReflective]

Yes, all the women looked like Jayne Mansfield.

[@scrapplepig]

I'm offended. I'm offended that we could never have a show like this again with all the watchdogs out there.

[@mikehudson8884]

Good to see a clip of Jayne as herself, well, almost. Lovely, lovely lady...

[@bbt5358]

This is such a treat! ❤️👏👏👏

[@johnmitchelljr]

Groucho could make the worst tv show must viewing. Genius. Thank you.

[@davidrosler5413]

NO POLITICAL CORRECTNESS AND EVERYONE IS HAPPY. HOW REFRESHING! BRING BACK THE DAYS!

[@nedludd7622]

Do you post that nonsense everywhere you go?

[@MisterMasterShafter1]

Jayne was gorgeous, and such a down to Earth sweetheart.

[@Iceis_Phoenix]

MisterMasterShafter1 yes she was. She was adorable.

[@criskatan]

Yeah, but putting on a fake, playing a role as Groucho enumerated. Which means that she was an agent.

[@unclebillmusic]

BEAUTY AND BRAINS !!! "The Girl Can't Help It" !!!

[@theolamp5312]

It's nice to see Jayne Mansfield as a real person. We tend to prejudge.

[@Robripslibs]

So sad she died in a horrific accident. The kids were in the back seat and survived.

[@Iceis_Phoenix]

Rebel with a cause 😔

[@LaurenceMily-ik9lk]

EXCELLENT ❤❤❤❤❤

[@theresaholguin699]

Jayne was beautiful. Jayne died in such a horrific accident. RIP Jayne

[@franciscoserrano7313]

The French lady was so adorable 😍

[@davidtice4972]

I saw Jane Mansfield in person in Glendale, California.

[@Denisthemenace-d6g]

It is an absolute delight to see that Jayne Mansfield appeared , I guess with her then husband, on Groucho's YBYL. Yet so sad that 5 yrs later she would be killed in a tragic car accident I guess in Louisiana crashing into the rear of a big rig. It must've been a foggy day or something of the sort. May she be RIP. But it was great to see her on Groucho's show.

[@sclogse1]

I saw Jane from a distance of about four feet in the late 60's, when she appeared at a White Front store opening in San Bruno, California. She was basically right across the table, standing there. There were tall poles with two go-go girls dancing on them on small round platforms, wearing those shimmy dresses that work so well for Rock and Roll. Girl had to do what a girl had to do. Jayne was gone in less than a year.

[@Iceis_Phoenix]

sclogse1 you got to witness one of very few earth angels, congratulations!!!

[@SheilaB]

Very nice to see Groucho in such good form. Thanks for uploading.

[@susanburn4429]

jayne Mansfield a beautiful girl,great actress, sadly missed.mother to five children who she loved very much.susanxxxx

[@Juliaflo]

She also played violin and piano.

[@joesmith-jb4ls]

Jayne had a wonderful smile. So pretty.

[@Iceis_Phoenix]

Joe Smith She was the prettiest woman EVER 💞

[@jchapman8248]

Anyone remember the SRA learning center that they had in elementary schools? I remember that it had a electric flash projector that would flash a word or a picture and you had to tell what you saw? That's what this reminds of.

[@tomrizzo1554]

The good old days

[@keithhyttinen8275]

Were they?

[@poetcomic1]

Jayne Mansfield had an IQ of 165 and spoke five languages fluently. It is AMAZING that Groucho goes out of his way treat her with dignity and honor her as a remarkably intelligent person doing an act. Throughout his TV career Groucho defended women who were independent and had an extraordinary number of black, hispanic and other minority guests.

[@grouchomarx-youbetyourlife7476]

Groucho was way ahead of his time with respect to many social issues (particularly race), but his attitudes towards women. . . well. . . were very much OF his time. Just makes it even more surprising the level of respect he showed towards Jayne in this show!

[@poetcomic1]

He OF COURSE made a complete ass of himself with women and they laughed too it was HIS act. He was making fun of the hormone-addled male and not the women. I often commended women in business for themselves, women not wanting to be bossed by men etc. If you take his 'mangy lover' as offensive it says more about YOU then him. He was a full-blown liberal in real life as well.

[@grouchomarx-youbetyourlife7476]

poetcomic1 Way over the top response, and you've completely, totally misinterpreted what I was saying, in order to assign an idiotic position to me that I was NOT asserting. If you're not familiar with Groucho's repeated SERIOUS statements about women, on YBYL and elsewhere, and how typically sexist they were for the time, that's fine, but why you took my comment as equating his character with the man, I have no idea. I would think, even if you had no idea about Groucho's attitudes towards women, that you'd know me personally well enough by now to at LEAST show me the respect of a courteous response, if not to know better than to presume I was offering such a boneheaded argument. I love Groucho, and I wasn't attacking him, I was noting a pretty straightforwardly obvious facet of his character, based upon Groucho's **own** statements about women-- serious statements, not jokes, and not coming at ALL from his "mangy lover" performing personality. Not at ALL. And I never claimed on any level, none, to be **offended** by the fact that his views on women were typical of the time. That's something you read into my comment with absolutely no justification whatsoever. Show me where I said, or even implied, that I was offended in any way. If you'd like to see what I actually WAS talking about, rather than get pissy with me for no reason, check out this YBYL video for Groucho talking at length about his feelings on women and marriage (and this was FAR from an isolated example): kzbin.info/www/bejne/boexZ36ofN6ml68

[@poetcomic1]

How about this sexist statement: Some women TALK A LOT.

[@grouchomarx-youbetyourlife7476]

poetcomic1 I have no idea what that was supposed to mean. None. If you're assuming that I'm a woman for some reason, you have no reason to, especially taking into consideration that I'm not one. How about, I'll assume it was intended as some sort of innocuously meant joke that I don't happen to get, even though I pretty seriously doubt that's the case, and we can end this delightful conversation.

[@alvexok5523]

Groucho was still so funny

[@philippesauvie639]

GROUCHO MARX...THE CURE TO POLITICAL CORRECTNESS

[@davidrosler5413]

Those were the days! Bring them back!

[@alisoncole3211]

Amen to that! It’s refreshing

[@billshaver1767]

a real good one with jayne...

[@watchman1178]

That's the only time I ever heard Jayne talk about how smart she really was, and that her stage persona wasn't really her. I had always heard that she had a genius-level IQ.

[@unclebillmusic]

+WATCHMAN 117 She plays the violin. Check out The Jack Benny Program. It's on You Tube.

[@Renshen1957]

She was a virtuoso violinist, she could play Bach violin concertos, and she was a polyglot and spoke five languages. She boasted an impressive I.Q. of 163.

[@unclebillmusic]

BEAUTY AND BRAINS !!! "The Girl Can't Help It" !!!

[@Renshen1957]

LOL, great comment.

[@hilljayne]

Aired on her 29th bday.

[@Frankincensedjb123]

Wow! I want to get me one of those new fangled cameras.

[@rickrick5041]

It looked like a great camera. Pretty expensive but great

[@SheriSoltes]

Y’all are right! On the close ups, you do see Mariska.

[@ADAMSIXTIES]

9:00 "You're not the dumb blond that you pretend to be". True Jayne was smart. Then Groucho makes her walk back and forth; a different era.

[@mrpuniverse2]

patty I believe was a contestant on You Bet Your Life and Groucho enjoyed her humor and gave her a shot on this show

[@SaxonC]

She was very charming and funny. Too bad celebrities today, don’t have the class that old school stars had.

[@jchapman8248]

I hear you there! It seems when they dummied down the school curriculum they also threw out etiquette like couth, tact and diplomacy!

[@tomtorrell8019]

Jayne was not a dumb blonde as some might think. She was wicked smart.

[@marthay.higuera9723]

@@tomtorrell8019Yes. I read that he had an IQ of 170.

[@harlow743]

Groucho played the secret love of Jayne's life named Georgie in Jayn'e's most famous film "Will Success Spoil Rock Hunter"

[@davidrosler5413]

A hundred bucks was a lot of clams back in the day for a camera.

[@gomphrena-beautifulflower-8043]

A fortune! Whew

[@sahar7687]

My aunts live in Toulouse. South of France.

[@scottmckague7526]

Jayne was cool . Evan at the age six I had a crush on her .got to see her at SF airport on publicity tour with Clint Eastwood .that was in 1962

[@rondye9760]

What a tough quiz show. Bernard Barook, President Cleveland? Are you kidding me?

[@paulcaron400]

The contestant from France (my compatriot) was so delightful and gorgeous.

[@temeculajoe]

Jayne Mansfield and Marilyn Monroe were beautiful intelligent women

[@aaronpaterson1615]

Jane was 4 years old when her dad died behind the steering wheel on a family outing, 1953 she was cropped out of a TV commercial for being too sexy for TV audiences, kept her first hubby's surname, Mansfield. Jane was the first Hollywood actress to appear nude in a movie (1963?) died in a car accident in 1967 aged 33.

[@dustinburke1117]

Decapitated

[@scrapplepig]

@@dustinburke1117 No that's just a rumor, I saw the accident photos.

[@magovenor]

@@dustinburke1117 She was not decapitated, the funeral attendant stated that the top of her head was scalped.

[@Kaboomboo]

She was born in 1933 so her dad died in the late 30s.

[@dr.barrycohn5461]

Live the Polaroid ad. Patty, the hostess of the show went on to follow her love of baking involving her whole family for many years.

[@robertewing3114]

The French girl was not cruelly mocked, and it was entertaining, and the last joke was the icing on the cake, and her husband explained to her that she was the candle in the wind. Enjoyable decent humour. Nice!

[@246spyder]

I still have that camera.

[@gomphrena-beautifulflower-8043]

Wonder where that picture Denise took is today? Worth a small fortune😁 Also, take a good look at Mickey and Jayne - easy to see their beautiful daughter Mariska Hargitay on a popular series today.

[@Fourwheeljive]

Too bad Jayne died so tragically. RIP

[@gwengirtman1239]

I didn’t realize how much Mariska looks like her mother.

[@madambutterfly7513]

I thought the same thing! Put a blond wig on Mariska, spitting image!!

[@GeneRogers-xl9um]

@@madambutterfly7513 I always thought she looked like her father!

[@woodinhead62]

I'm sure people, especially the ladies, knew Groucho's schtick and got the joke. The flirtations were expected even...He would always eventually make a complimentary or serious comment to finish his "run" of puns and one-liners. He was a cynic about things...like the Stooges, they all hated high societies stuffiness... like throwing pies in their faces, or ants in their underwear/ I don't need to talk about Groucho's stuff to make my point. We'll never see talent like that again.

[@AceripXF]

i loved when he was being flirty makes me fan gurl lol

[@victorychurch3957]

Patty Harmon is famous for pastries, not pasties, and still operates her famous bakery in Hollywood.

[@sarge0351]

but i'll always remember her as 'Lucille" from Cool Hand Luke....first time i had seen her on screen i wanted her.

[@unclebillmusic]

The MOST BEAUTIFUL WOMAN THIS WORLD HAS EVER HAD !!!

[@SwarthySkinnedOne]

Bill Brower To You man. Only to you.

[@Iceis_Phoenix]

SwarthySkinnedOne not true. Many people think she was and I do too. Jayne was GORGEOUS 💝

[@Iceis_Phoenix]

@@SwarthySkinnedOne Well my opinion is she was the most beautiful and EXTRAORDINARY woman on the planet. Her pink palace, heart pool and cool cars were so amazing she was the best.

[@SwarthySkinnedOne]

Oρμlεɳ૮ε Pɦσεɳเא Well, I wouldn't know. I once got invited over to her house for some can beanie winnies and grape cool aid but I took a rain check. The food didn't sound all that appetizing (she must have been on a budget that year to pay for that stuff you mentioned). So I settled for some pork chops and onion soup at a greasy spoon instead.

[@Iceis_Phoenix]

@@SwarthySkinnedOne 😒

[@Lehmann108]

I grew-up with that camera.

[@bradforddrake8633]

Jayne was so beautiful and intelligent. People who TODAY drive too fast and tailgate other cars should learn from her fatal accident.SLOW DOWN and live! If the driver had WAITED until daybreak we would still have Jayne for decades.

[@klaus-dieterkoch363]

Keep smiling

[@MrErsamo]

Joy Harmon, Groucho's sidekick (who went here by her middle name, Patty), would become much better known five years later as the girl in the famous car-washing scene in "Cool Hand Luke" and later still as the founder and proprietor of Aunt Joy's Cakes.

[@vxenon67]

08:55 Groucho compliments Jane that she is smart and not a dumb blond.

[@MichelleOlivetti]

So nice to see Jayne in a fluffy dress. I've been looking at her makeup, how it needs to contrast to be seen with such bad resolution of video back then. I love her walk. Interesting her conversation but to think shortly after both Jayne and Mickey divorced.

[@vxenon67]

Bodybuilder husband.

[@SwarthySkinnedOne]

A house with 45 rooms and 13 bathrooms for only 5 people? That's insane!!! May as well had opened it up to the gen public for hotel.

[@joeambrose3260]

Listen carefully. 32 rooms and 13 baths

[@Beefsteer]

@@joeambrose3260 It should never have been remodeled-but it was-and re sold.

[@super_coop9925]

Wow, 10:10 so elegant and graceful!

[@josiajones9774]

Groucho?

[@neverjethot]

Trying to raise money for the cancer society and breathing second-hand smoke at the same time. What a trooper

[@nancybogart3899]

JOHN EVERETT. --- I’ve never been married but I would surely marry you because you’re so damn funny I love it hit me back I’ll bake you cookies

[@neverjethot]

@@nancybogart3899 I've been married a long time but I sure could go for some cookies!

[@nancybogart3899]

@@neverjethot you’re ADORABLE ! LoL

[@SuperPatrick777]

Oh piss off will you .

[@dinkpass]

10 kids? According to what I read, she first filed for divorce just weeks after this episode and had an affair later that same year. Hard to believe she was really planning to have 10 kids at that time. Amazing how people put on a show for the cameras.

[@Kaboomboo]

She wanted 10 and said that several times. She was an only child and wanted a big family.

[@chuckschillingvideos]

Perhaps she wanted the rest of the children with someone other than Mickey Hargitay? Perhaps Hargitay, in his heart of hearts, didn't want as many children and that was a deal breaker for her? There are many possibilities other than the presumption that she was a deceptive harlot as you seem to believe.

[@tugginalong]

Joy Harmon is his assistant.

[@jchapman8248]

Is it me, or does Jane Mansfield's voice inflections sound similar to that of then First Lady Jacqueline Kennedy?

[@Beefsteer]

Correct and they both imitated Monroe.

[@ronniebishop2496]

That was sky high for a camera in 1962.

[@michaelnaisbitt1639]

A guy bought the car she was killed in with the intension of restoring it and it’s amazing but he started getting death threats from people who wanted the car left as is

[@Beefsteer]

The car is unrestored and is in a museum of offbeat items today.

[@bencool5823]

They don't make them like that anymore 💋

[@johnnada1222]

What happened to the original assistant ( George) ?

[@MrMoggyman]

So beautiful and such a lovely woman, Jayne Mansfield. She was supposedly Marilyn Monroe's replacement. But Jayne sustained an awful horrific death. She was being driven from a venue where she had been performing, along with her children in the back. The car came around a corner on a roadway that was pretty much deserted, and went under the trailer of a semi truck that had slowed due to a flashing red beacon in the road. The driver must have been distracted not to have seen the rear of the semi trailer. Jayne was scalped and her head was crushed, and along with the driver and another up front passenger died. Her three children, in the back of the car, escaped pretty much unscathed. An awful death for such a lovely lady.

[@HollyCranfan]

There was a fog because of them spraying for mosquitoes near the road and he couldn’t see the semi . She was not scalped. Or decapitated or skull crushed. That was a wig. The coroner said she was in good condition that way but blunt force and neck injuries. Died at the scene. She was 33 the t bar semis have in he back are also called a maynesfield bar

[@fromthesidelines]

Johnny Jacobs is the show's announcer.

[@Nomadic9900]

Fact: Due to the horrific accident that resulted in the death of Jane Mansfield, the ICC (Interstate Commerce Commission) or DOT(Department of Transportation) bumper was created and installed on the back of trucks to prevent any similar accidents of autos going under the truck.

[@dougsilva8603]

Really sad she passed away so young

[@MichaelSimmons.]

No Mariska Hargitay yet. She wasn't born until 1964.

[@TruckTaxiMoveIt]

$100 camera --WOW!

[@Imtahotep]

Jayne Mansfield and Dorothy Kilgallen both had common knowledge and as a result, both met common ends.

[@UNOwen1]

This lovely young woman, who Groucho introduced as 'Patty Harmon' (who's full birth name is Pattu Jo Harmon) is best known as (0:32) Joy Harmon. She was 'Lucille' (as George Kennedy's character called her) in Cool Hand Luke, who did for car washing what Carole Doda did for topless dancing 🙄

[@waynehowell6160]

So Mariska wasn't born yet. That huge house, all those pets, exotic and traditional; it sounds like they were trying to find happiness. Too much tragedy struck Jayne Mansfield's life. I remember when her young son got mauled by a lion cub at a petting zoo, and all the reporters wanted to do was get a clean interview in, to heck with her feelings.

[@Iceis_Phoenix]

corner moose Zoltan washer child attacked by the lion.

[@nedludd7622]

It seems that in real life Jane Mansfield was really quite intelligent. Groucho brings that out well. Bernard Baruch was a well-known crook involved with heavily corrupt governments, but not a prominent figure so you could not expect anyone to know his face.. Nobody knows a picture of Grover Cleveland, even me who knows his history. That was an impossible task.

[@TruckTaxiMoveIt]

Smart attractive and wants 10 kids -- wow woman after my own heart

[@aquila7272]

You can see the future Mariska.

[@miyoshiumeki]

What a delightful program although it bombed. I am surprised Groucho could use the “I knew you wouldn’t “sink” line. It’s rather suggestive for the era. Noticeably, almost everything Groucho says is written onto cue cards and you can see him reading it

[@SaxonC]

Jayne was certainly a looker but nobody compared to Marilyn Monroe! ❤️

[@richardauchinleck1234]

Saxony, sorry, you don't know what you're talking about

[@cheripiez67]

nanu sp? was a total trip

[@ThomasSchick]

VHS...🐝kind rewind.

[@klaus-dieterkoch363]

Shipwrecked in February, one-day divorce from Mickey in May, movie Panic Button in Rome in June, fired in July by Fox, MM dead in August, Jayne knocked down in September by Alma del Rio.....all in 1962.

[@Jonathan-hh2xq]

Sad to say, by today's standards, Groucho would be cancelled for being sexist and/or masogonistic.

[@spiritualED]

Any idea of original air date?

[@WhatsMyLine]

spiritualED I can't find my copy of Mark Petty's log to fill in the info, but yes, the show's air date is known. Having videos posted without descriptions is paining me, but it's probably better to just get these out! If I find the date, I will make sure to fill it in. The pilot episodes I posted before this don't have air dates, naturally.

[@spiritualED]

What's My Line? Thanks for the reply.I'm always curious.It just makes me view the episode in a different way.Like what was in fact going on in the world at the time this was airing.

[@grouchomarx-youbetyourlife7476]

spiritualED I always like to know the date too-- I assume you've seen that I added the date by now. :)

[@grouchomarx-youbetyourlife7476]

MrSting17 The video was undated at the time that spiritualED left the question. I added the date later.

Groucho Marx - You Bet Your Life Oh,okay, I was just trying to be helpful. Love Groucho. Hope to meet him in Heaven someday.

[@quester09]

Mickey seems cool...Jane too tbh.

[@quester09]

'we have two burros. they're away at school' 😁

[@jonpogoda6451]

Too bad Groucho didn't take Fennerman along on this show.

[@glennatkinson698]

Yes! I much preferred George Fenniman🌹

[@cobhcnyc1375]

100 dollars for the camera is probably like 1000 now.....

[@WitoldBanasik]

Graucho was hillarious comedian...well, but to tell you the truth he should have get rid of bad habit of smoking cigar while sitting at the same time at the presence of the lady, let alone it was Jane Mansfield. Jane was witty, voluptuous, charming and hugely talented comedian as well. 163 IQ, speaking 5 languages, five children, playing violin and piano..;. and woeing hords of men at the same time. Sadly enough her last boyfriend appeared to be her fateful compaignon allowing Jane to sit in front of a car having been driven by young inexperienced man. R.I.P. Jane... Groucho and Mickey.

[@HRW653]

Like a lot of stories about famous people, not everything is true. Jane did not have an IQ of 163. Her quest for fame was mostly a shallow one based soley on her looks. She was a loving mother and her death was tragic, but her career as a moviestar was done.

[@dawnslater1065]

People weren't so mamby-pamby about cigar smoke back in the day. However if you want to smell a real foul cigar, you should have gotten into an elevator with Howard Cosell like I did once.

[@LyleFrancisDelp]

So sad to think that just five years later, Jayne would be decapitated in an auto accident in Louisiana.

[@julianhermanubis6800]

Groucho is in good form, but this gameshow's premise is lame and awkward. No wonder it failed quickly.

[@jojolucas6973]

Jayne kisses groucho on the lips in front of her husband.

[@barbiec323]

Mariska looks just like her.....same face same smile.

[@Iceis_Phoenix]

barbiec323 her first daughter Jane Marie looked like her alot more.

[@user-qo2wv7zj5o]

@@Iceis_PhoenixI think Mariska looks a lot like her Dad.

[@chirelle.alanalooney8609]

Oh my God! I'm sorry, but I have to ask, since she was decapitated. Did her head end up in the back seat where her children were sleeping, cuz if it did OMG that would really be horrific for them!!

[@stephencrider8076]

She wasn't decapitated. It was her wig that ended up in the back seat. The decapitation story was floating around for years but it isn't true.

[@chirelle.alanalooney8609]

@@stephencrider8076 Dear Stephen Cruder Oh thank you for setting the record straight, and me as well! That was the only story that I had ever heard for decades. I was horrified that her children would have seen her decapitated head in the back seat and give them nightmares for the rest of their lives. Thanks again Stephen.

[@stephencrider8076]

@@chirelle.alanalooney8609 You're quite welcome. For many years I had thought she was decapitated as well but in recent years I've seen articles correcting that rumor. Fortunately for her family, the rumor isn't true.

[@APIEngineering]

Well, I liked the French girl better than Jane. She's adorable. And Nanou is a nickname for Anne.

[@DaveGringo]

She was very cute!!!