What's My Line? - Fannie Flagg (1971)

Fannie Flagg is the mystery guest in this episode taped August 5, 1971. Panelists are Soupy Sales, Natalie Bruner, Bennett Cerf, and Arlene Francis. Wally Bruner hosts.

[@jsstar76]

People may not know it but Fannie Flagg wrote the book which became a movie “Fried Green Tomatoes.”

[@catofong6905]

That's top-drawer trivia by the way

[@warrencroom7621]

Loved it

[@Swampzoid]

and she's dyslexic

[@travis7310]

I love her books!

[@RonGerstein]

​@Swampzoid. I thought she is a baptist

[@pattyclark1296]

I adore Fannie Flagg 😀

[@geoffreychiara938]

Thank you Chad for posting these WML episodes with Wally Bruner. I really enjoy.

[@jacquelinebell6201]

Glad to see Bennett. Been watching the originals recently Realize how much older he is.

[@jaredjlinden]

Those black and white kinescopes camouflage age a bit. I remember when Dick Van Dyke did his second series in the early 70s. It had only been about 5 years since his old black and white series ended. But he looked at least 10 years older in color.

[@brianwilliams3438]

Love seeing him in color as well.

[@edmundpower1250]

Bennett was not in good health. He had only months to live. This is his last show

[@disquespyrennes]

Bennett Cerf died only a short three weeks after this episode was taped.

[@IceSkater8491]

I thought his death had to be pretty close to this show. I know he died in August 1971.

[@brianwilliams3438]

Wow ! I really admired him. I know Arlene was probably devastated when he died.

[@jeannehall6546]

😮Wow! This episode had to have been his last appearance!

[@edmundpower1250]

​@@brianwilliams3438you "know" she was "probably" are contradictions

[@brookehanley3659]

@@brianwilliams3438Yes,they were long time friends.

[@jameswalberg3265]

Great to see these vintage previously unavailable uncut. Thank you.

[@johnsarkissian5519]

Bennett Cerf died exactly 22 days after this show was taped! He was only 73. 😢

[@jacquelinebell6201]

Wow. 3 weeks left to live. That's sad.

[@MrJoeybabe25]

😔

[@brookehanley3659]

Read he died of natural causes at 73. Usually an artery gives way or heart attack. Really loved him on the old WML’s. He seemed a kind and sensitive man

[@johnloudaros800]

It looks like Bennett had lost a lot of weight

[@PtolemyJones]

i had a fun collection of Bennett Cerf humor books as a kid. Good stuff.

[@ericsamuelson5656]

This was the last time Bennett & Arlene were on the panel together after 21 years. Since WML was in a syndication bicycle, some cities aired this episode in 1972.

[@DD-ur4rc]

Bennett died 3 weeks later :(

[@John-ih2bx]

Thank you for this upload and others, I appreciate them. Bennett Cerf has his ego on the table, with his Westchester Accent, and criticized the contestant for being very technical with him about the difference between a manager and a coach (of a LL baseball team). He just thought that she didn't know more about the subject than himself. He was greatly involved in The Famous Writers School scam. Soupy was always trying to get camera time. Arlene was her usual intelligent and modest self.

[@akrenwinkle]

I can assure you Bennett's accent is strictly the west side of Manhattan, very similar to the speech of Barbara Walters, changing "r" to "w." People generally keep the dialects of their youth, and don't necessarily adapt to where they wind up moving. I don't begrudge him for his occasional one-upsmanship, if that's a word. It's important to be entertaining on these panel shows. If you're a fan of Arlene, I'm with you; always have been.

[@balconi89]

BTW, this might be the first episode I have ever seen with Wallys wife Natalie on the panel.

[@marksheehan8442]

me too... and I've never heard of her prior to this...

[@jacquelinebell6201]

Me too.

[@fremontpathfinder8463]

I miss ther old version of the show

[@cowboyshuskers]

Bennett Cerf passed away 22 days after this taping date.

[@brookehanley3659]

Bennett Cerf died this same year in 1971.😢

[@770WT]

I didn't think Fannie Flagg was so famous in 1971 ?

[@garyrasberryjr.552]

She had been part of the writing staff and appeared on screen on Candid Camera starting in the late 60s. She first was on the original Match Game starting in 1967

[@jackcooperincorporated]

this was taped just over three weeks before bennett passed away. he looked ever so frail.

[@davidrbecken]

Bennett Cerf died just weeks after this, on August 27th, 1971.

[@scottpardee6303]

That is sad news. He was a great man in this show, and a wonderful humorist.

[@gwenniegirl50]

The series of which Fannie Flagg was a part was The New Dick Van Dyke Show in 1971.

[@akrenwinkle]

TNDVDS came to a screeching halt when Dick quit over an episode. In it, their young daughter walked in on Dick and TV wife Hope Lange in their bedroom doing you-know-what. The CBS censor saw it and wouldn't air it. Dick had a hissy and the whole show packed up. It was so-so quality but had a terrific slot near Mary Tyler Moore's show. Dick tried to come back on NBC and failed, and the ultimate humiliation, replaced Harvey Korman on Carol Burnett's show and tanked.

[@Lisa-di1wi]

I didn't know that Wally Bruner's wife was a panelist on there.

[@georgeshelton6281]

This definitely makes me feel like a little kid again. I'm someone who also wished to never really have a wife and kids. That's how I reasoned back then in those days. It's definitely no joke. I'm not a typical person to be wishing to have all 4. Oh girl, oh brother, Arnold Schwarzenegger was sure getting away with having fun in those days back then during the entire 1970s.

[@RonGerstein]

Fanny Flagg is still alive as of 6/5/2024

[@toddmccreary4579]

I wanted to know who was on the 50 cent piece before Kennedy so I found out.

[@johnsarkissian5519]

This new edition doesn’t hold a candle to the original version with John Daly.

[@brookehanley3659]

True. Many fun and funny moments in the old version and of course for many years Dorothy Kilgallen

[@benfranklin9292]

Yes I hated how little time they devoted to the game so they could have demonstrations.I also did not like how they watered down the game by giving the panel hints and limiting. And of course, it was missing John and Dorothy.

[@MrMatteNWk]

For someone who once asked the little kids to go into their mommy's purses and send him the stuff inside, Soupy was bad at knowing what was on money. (though TBF, he asked for green pieces of paper, not the shiny round things)

[@kevinmadden1645]

A distinction that is not a difference.

[@ClassiCole]

Bennett Cerf would die 22 days later.

[@kenowens9021]

Seems almost all of the mystery guests are from television. No movie stars from before 1973.

[@brookehanley3659]

Agree the old show had big movie stars a lot

[@PREGO1966]

Better look again, there were some sports stars and theater actors as well.

[@brookehanley3659]

Nice to see Bennett near Arlene. Like the old days.

[@imnmbrone1492]

Ms. Flagg is the most beautiful woman, to this day 🥰

[@misterwhipple2870]

She's from Alabama. Of course she was beautiful.

[@hopelewis5650]

Is this the same guy as BW, JCD?

[@RonGerstein]

Bennett Cerf had deadly cancer

[@sammitchell7676]

Bennett’s voice sounds a little weak on this episode 😔

[@disquespyrennes]

He died only three weeks after this episode was taped. 😞

[@kenowens9021]

This new format wasn't as good as the original, and not as fun.

[@manidig]

It tried to save the show. The 1960s version was a formal get together aired late on Sunday night. This was meant to entertain housewives (and perhaps kids home sick from school) in the afternoon. So much changed between 1967 and 1971.

[@yeahnoonecaresifyouarefirst]

Half dollar is gone 😢

[@RonGerstein]

No, the US Mint still mints it

[@yeahnoonecaresifyouarefirst]

@@RonGerstein huh?! Wait what?! Urgent explanation please!