What's My Line? - Andy Griffith; Tony Randall [panel] (May 3, 1959)

MYSTERY GUEST: Andy Griffith
PANEL: Dorothy Kilgallen, Tony Randall, Arlene Francis, Bennett Cerf

[@WendyDarling1974]

Andy Griffith seems to be having so much fun!!!!

[@drumbum3.142]

Honestly the Only (Mystery) Guest I (ever) remember coming across that Unfortunately.. didn't seem to be having that much of a swell time at all was Spike Jones when he Mystery Guested

[@ilzamaria6424]

Dorothy and Arlene stood up to shake hands with the old Australian lady. How polite.

[@lisahinton9682]

Females stood for high office, very distinguished accomplishment, and elderly. I miss the days when we were polite and mannerly to each other. I still remember one of my primary school teachers' admonishment: Manners matter!

[@alexandreeinsfeld2186]

@@lisahinton9682 have always mattered and always will

[@tigergreg8]

@@lisahinton9682 Eventually, I promise you, you will again live in a time where those manners will be present, and more.

[@leannsherman6723]

Andy Griffith was so talented in both comedy and drama. He and Don Knotts were brilliant together. I love watching the Andy Griffith reruns. ❤️

[@joycejean-baptiste4355]

Very respectful how even the ladies stood up for the gold miner contestant.

[@pressureworks]

Such a wonderful reception for Andy.

[@heatherr7378]

This is my favorite Dorothy look! Just lovely!

[@debbiemcbride3422]

@gcjerryusc her addictions? Addictions to what?

[@TheChristafershawn]

@gcjerryusc She was slipped a toxic martini, she did not OD on her own. She was murdered for the act of sleuthing around in the JFK assignation. There is solid documentation out there to back up this claim .

[@slaytonp]

@gcjerryusc a lot has been written and documented about this--read what you can find and watch the documentaries about her, then decide, if you can, what went on. Dorothy was NOT a loser drug addict nor could be considered an "alcoholic" at that time. Everyone drank alcohol socially in that crowd. Whether she smoked or not is irrelevant to her demise. Nearly everyone did in those days. She was fully functional, and even brilliant.

[@joannereilly5114]

I love her heart-shaped face. She is gorgeous!

[@ilzamaria6424]

I adore Tony Randall and his innocent smile.

[@keetrandling4530]

Good Ol' Southern boy, Andy! Warms the cockles of my heart to see him, his boyish innocence and fascination with the surroundings, his down-home attitude.

[@j.buggyman7867]

North Carolina ain't that deep in the South though

[@RonSch123]

I can't name a soul who doesn't love Andy. RIP sir.

[@woody5551]

One of the best.

[@Noone58319]

Love him.

[@shirleyrombough8173]

My son and I used to watch Matlock with Andy Griffith while he got ready for school each morning. My son, not Andy Griffith. We had names for all the morning shows: Matlock was Fatlock; the Price is Right was the Price is Wrong; Love Connection was Hate Connection; Match Game was Mismatch Game; Family Feud was Family Pewed. Well, some were lamer than others, but it was kind of fun.

[@gilliankew]

I like the way Dorothy stood for Mrs. Bowring.

[@jasonayres]

I had to watch a programme from 1959, from the USA, to discover the story of an interesting character from my city's (-Sydney, Australia-) history. Mrs. "Mum" Bowring.

[@juliansinger]

Mrs. Bowring was quite a woman, as John indicates. Someone linked a really good article on her, downthread; she died in 1964, at 81 years of age.

[@rmelin13231]

Mrs. Bowring was so delightful on this show, made me want to look into her history some. She was indeed remarkable; and what a smile!

[@arttrombley7385]

Thanks for posting this great old show and so very well done also. I remember playing along when I was 13 and even blindfolding myself for the mystery guest, it was like interactive Television, except it was 55 years ago.

[@georgevincent1834]

Griffith did a fantastic voice impersonation.

[@miketheyunggod2534]

A year later Andy would play the iconic sheriff from Mayberry.

[@loissimmons6558]

The Broadway show in which Andy Griffith was appearing, "Destry Rides Again", featured a key character early in the show named Clagett. That character was played by Don Crabtree, a former acquaintance and client of mine. It was his Broadway debut. He would later appear in "Golden Boy", "The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas" and an entire 8+ year run as Abner Dillon in "42nd Street". While it was Don's Broadway debut, it was Andy's last and only other Broadway role besides "No Time For Sergeants". Don also played a sheriff on a famous TV show. He was the sheriff on "Dark Shadows" for the two weeks of the "The Destruction of Collinwood" (1995) sequence [episodes 1061-1070].

[@3gdosrsfs]

To the poster of these video's ( Mr. What's My Line) I just want to say thank you as this brings back memories of when things were so much more decent and dignified. It is much appreciated.

[@dinahbrown902]

It sure is appreciated. So sad our world is in such sorry shape

[@Baskerville22]

With the gold-miner lady, Randall got a "NO" when he asked if it (the product - gold) could go into the mouth (in effect). Daly forgot about gold fillings and gold teeth.

[@robbob1234]

Dorothy introduces Tony Randall as the star of "The Mating Game." When Tony enters and stands beside her, he gives her a little nod and says "Right!" In his last appearance as a guest on the panel, four months earlier, Dorothy referred to the film as "The Mating Season," after which they both chuckled at her mistake. Happily, Dorothy made it right tonight, in both her intro and good nights!

[@joycejean-baptiste4355]

Funny, with Mr. O'Mara the panel were dancing all around his profession with their questions. So close but yet so far. Lol! It seems.

[@franklesser5655]

Gold goes into the mouth. Tooth cavity fillings.

[@hopicard]

Mr Randall must "find another show" :) Very funny.

[@moteleyes2]

You've got to love Andy!!!!!!!!

[@shirleyrombough8173]

Sharron Spires - He seems so sincere and open. Far more than what I might have expected

[@donaldmanthei1224]

Bennett's pronunciation of "parliment" on the first guest hmmm?!

[@RobbCorless]

Love Andy...

[@ToddSF]

In Ireland, the police force is called the Garda Síochána na hÉireann (Guardians of the Peace of Ireland), commonly referred to as the "garda", which is the Irish Gaelic term for police. An individual police officer is also called a garda, and two or more of them are gardai. So Irish people will talk about calling the garda (as a collective noun like "the police") or calling the gardai (as a plural noun like "the police officers"). The Garda is headed by the Garda Commissioner, appointed by the Irish government, so I think the first contestant had to have been the Garda Commissioner.

[@juliansinger]

+ToddSF 94109 Coimisinéir, even. (But most people'd say Commissioner.)

[@chewycenter7690]

And tonight's mystery guest: Lonesome Rhodes.

[@Mrs_Christa]

Hahaha yes!!!

[@machineofadream]

It's interesting that Andy Griffith was that well known already in 1959 because he hadn't been on TV regularly yet, and had only done a few movies.

[@debbigray1752]

And Broadway...No Time for Sargents

[@alansorensen5903]

His albums were hot. Fellas runnin' around in a pasture dodging cowpies or some such?

[@travis7310]

I would have guessed his voice right away. He's trying to disguise it, but, he just has that voice you know from one word!

[@nancypine9952]

The Andy Griffith Show didn't start until 1960, so while they might have seen him, and would know his name, there might not be the instantaneous recognition that would come from hearing him on a weekly television series.

[@VahanNisanian]

May Andy Griffith rest in peace.

[@animfan1100]

R.I.P. Andy Griffith.

[@sandie234]

I like the voice Andy used. of course i'm 10 years old. plus i just so happen to be a girllll!!

[@TheBraveIntrovert]

Andy was adorable!

[@arttrombley7385]

+Purple Capricorn He was such a wonderful talent. I play His Christmas music every year. My favorite song is "The Christmas Guest". The Andy Griffith Show is in my rotation of old TV Shows, I don't watch any of the trash that comes out of Hollywood today. Andy was one of a kind, Ron Howard attributes Andy Griffith for His success in life and look at the terrific things that Ron has done.

[@andysiegel6131]

I love how everyone stood up for the first guest

[@bigoldinosaur]

RIP Sheriff Andy.

[@bigwilson8794]

Arlene saved John from an embarrassing quiet impasse at 11:45

[@donaldmanthei1224]

Yes, she's quite the diplomat!

[@thisisthatsong8352]

Andy Griffith is great as always, but what makes this episode very special is the guest Mrs. Bowring. Both Arlene and Dorothy stood to greet her. There were only a very small handful of other times that they both stood. Once was for Eleanor Roosevelt. Once for the nun/dentist. Once for Bishop Fulton Sheen. Arlene stood to greet Billy Graham, but Dorothy did not. Were there any others?

[@stuartperry8141]

I know I may be dense but why don't they stand up? Where does that custom come from that women do not have to respect guests as men do?

[@TyrSkyFatherOfTheGods]

This is That Song They frequently stand up for older women, actually.

[@ToddSF]

Stuart Perry -- The longstanding rule of etiquette is that men have to stand up when shaking hands, but if a woman is already seated, she doesn't have to stand. With the panel, the women typically stood for a member of the clergy or a nun and sometimes for a person of advanced age, simply out of respect. Dorothy, though, often wouldn't stand for a clergy member who wasn't Roman Catholic, I've noticed. An additional rule, when being introduced to a woman, is that a man shouldn't shake hands with her unless she extends her hand first. If she does, shake hands, and if she doesn't, don't shake hands. (Of course when one woman is introduced to another, either one may extend a hand to initiate handshaking, but if neither one does, then they don't shake hands.) It makes no sense nowadays, I realize. I have no idea where the rules of etiquette come from, other than, in this case, ancient notions of chivalry, where men, once regarded as the superior sex, were supposed to defer to members of the supposedly weaker sex out of courtesy. (I said "supposedly" -- I don't think for one moment that one sex is superior to the other.) Back when we had military conscription in force, they used to draft men over the age of 18, but women were exempt from the draft. There was a time, prior to 1920 in the U.S.A., when women weren't allowed to vote. Go figure.

[@ToddSF]

This is That Song -- Any time they had a clergyman or a nun on, Arlene stood, and Dorothy would stand as long as they were Roman Catholic clergy or nuns. I remember a couple of nuns, including a Franciscan one who ran a military school for boys, in addition to that nun who was a dentist. I think Arlene stood for the mother of the McGuire sisters -- she was a minister. I can also think of occasions where there was a contestant of advanced age and Arlene and Dorothy stood out of deference for an elderly person of either gender.

[@sabinebeyer9249]

+This is That Song I found a interessting article about Mrs. Bowring: trove.nla.gov.au/ndp/del/article/46230345 She was quite a woman, so far as I read the article yet.

[@josephlacerra8433]

I love these old WMLs. But even when I watched them as a boy, in the 50s, I wondered, could they not do better than a measly fifty bucks?!?

[@slaytonp]

No. It was the game, not the money--like playing penny ante poorhouse poker, 5 cent raise limit. Shows with higher stakes got in trouble with cheating, or similar scandals. This one stayed simple and fun.

[@kennethlatham3133]

@@slaytonp THANK you! It was just about the game.

[@dadakijito]

@@slaytonp Not to mention $50 was a LOT more money back then than it is today. Gas was generally less than 25 cents a gallon, a loaf of bread a nickel, etc. A common worker/laborer didn't usually make more than $2 an hr.

[@slaytonp]

@@dadakijito You are right there. In 1959. as an adult female with children,, I made 80 cents an hour as a nurse-receptionist-bookkeeper and all else in a physician's office, There was no other help, I wonder if they helped with the guests' travel expenses? One advertisement mentions the guests traveling via American Airlines.

[@joycejean-baptiste4355]

Interesting about the question of gold not going into the mouth. My dad had a couple of gold teeth in his mouth. Back in the day it seems that missing teeth could be made with real gold and placed in the mouth. But this would have thrown them off too much I think.

[@dancepiglover]

That’s a good point. I didn’t think of that and I guess they didn’t either.

[@TyrSkyFatherOfTheGods]

I've got gold in MY mouth!

[@donaldmanthei1224]

I believe John didnt want the confusion of the product bring eaten, but I thought the same thing, yes, goldbelongs in the mouth.

[@spenner3529]

The women rarely stand to shake hands. They did for the second guest.

[@michaelclark6223]

Here's a 1958 Australian newspaper article about Mrs Bowring for those who are interested: trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/46230345

[@jasonayres]

Fascinating stuff. Thanks for the link. An interesting read.

[@thetiler]

Enjoyed!

[@MrCom101]

thetiler

[@clash5j]

I encourage everyone to watch the film A Face In the Crowd to get a full appreciation of what Griffith could do as an actor

[@RobertPerrigoOkiechopper]

It sounds like Arlene Francis, was a very busy lady.

[@TheBraveIntrovert]

***** What do you mean?

[@RobertPerrigoOkiechopper]

working all the time on different projects

[@3gdosrsfs]

+Robert Perrigo Talent, beauty and charm will afford one such things. She was a dashing women with buckets of class....as was Ms. Kilgallen. It is sad to see that this level of dignity hardly exists anymore in hollywood....or even in real life much anymore.

[@lisahinton9682]

@@3gdosrsfs womAn. Ugh!!!

[@jvcomedy]

Anybody else ever notice how different the two "g's" are in the Kelloggs logo at the top of the sign in board?

[@ToddSF]

Jeff Vaughn -- it's still that way today on cereal boxes -- check the Kellogg's official website and you'll see that trademarked logo with the two somewhat different "g's".

[@jvcomedy]

Yeah, I just wonder why that is.

[@ToddSF]

My guess is, whatever artist came up with the cursive lettering resembling handwriting might have wanted it to look handwritten insofar as no two letters in handwritten script are ever exactly alike. I note that the two L's are different as well -- the one on the right is noticeably taller than the one on the left. No doubt in 1925, the Kellogg's logo was hand lettered by an artist working with paint and a brush -- they didn't have computerized fonts back then, of course.

[@jvcomedy]

Interesting. I never noticed that the "L's" were a little different. Thanks for the insight!

[@neilmidkiff]

@@ToddSF And even today, no graphic designer worthy of the title will simply use computerized fonts to create a corporate logo. I earned my living as a graphic designer for a few years, only did a few logos, but hand-tweaked each one even when I started with standard font outlines.

[@Michigan25132]

All the panel folks need to do is read the NY Times to help them guess the star.

[@theironclads]

Interesting,Andy is playing a western sheriff in Destry,& is not far from his debut as a southern sheriff on his classic tv series.

[@martinwoyzeck2634]

He played in Destry way before his TV show

[@ChrisHansonCanada]

*_Chief Superintendent of National Police of Ireland_* *_Owns and Operates Gold Mine_*

[@tomcorwine3091]

Tony Randall didn’t seem to be be paying attention too closely.

[@dancepiglover]

That’s what I said to myself. He was quite intelligent, but didn’t seem to be on the ball here.

[@iamjustjudy]

When he flips the cards all the way over does it mean the person wins all 50 or just that the game is over?

[@sagarsaxena6318]

sort of both since flipping all the cards means no guesses left for the panelists and the contestant wins $50. That's the game!

[@donaldmanthei1224]

It means they get the $50.00, equal to about $500.00 now (2020).

[@brucesmith1544]

This was still his hillbilly clownish phase before he toned it down after the first season of Mayberry...you can tell he felt he needed to ham it up...or maybe he was just drunk lol

[@chuckendweiss4849]

Golly And has got that good old boy down pat. He has had many years practice In real life he is not. Ask those who worked with him on TV and the movies

[@maggiejohnson5891]

Dorothy is always attracted to men 20-30 yrs older than her if they are strong and clean cut. It never fails. It’s like a father figure.

[@scottpardee6303]

I hope the woman who mined gold did not pass her cold on to John Daly.

[@theemmjay5130]

Andy talking about not being good with a pistol... And then a year later he starts playing a "sheriff without a gun." Coincidence?

[@MearickLee]

I'm sorry to say, I have never seen Mr. Randall do well on this program. He just seems kind of awkward. Pity though, I liked him in movies but I just don't think this sort of thing was his style.

[@philippapay4352]

MearickLee - Tony was a widely read and cultured person and fit in well with most of the other panelists. He was quite accomplished and knowledgeable in the arts in particular. He is urbane and witty on this show and often asks good questions, but backwards so does not get the reply he'd hoped for. However, there were times he was excellent at guessing the occupation, as with Dick Tiger, the boxer. He knew sports and all sorts of esoteric, odd topic areas. He was polite and well-spoken, so in that sense he fit perfectly on the show.

[@TacomaPaul]

Skip to 19:30 for Andy Griffith.

[@accomplice55]

Most of us enjoy watching the whole show.

[@shirleyrombough8173]

Alas - is Miss Killgallen gaining weight?

[@LJ-xr5th]

Shirley Rombough During the time she was on the show she was pregnant several times so if she “gained weight” she was having a baby.

[@syd8802]

@@LJ-xr5th No she only was pregnant with Kerrie (her son)her third and last kid who she had in 1954 I think it probably just her dress because to me she seems like a twig ( she had both her other kids in the 40s).

[@sandrageorge3488]

She needs to.

[@shirleyrombough8173]

@@sandrageorge3488 - Sometimes her clothes, actually for Miss Frances too, their clothes made them look like they have gained or lost weight. The empire waist clothes added to the appearance of having gained weight. Mostly they both looked beautiful.

[@peternagy-im4be]

@@sandrageorge3488 no she doesn't

[@joet840]

They knew the answer already to the gold lady. Dorothy said it too quickly and corrected herself, then they wasted more time then said it. Since it's all based on time, of course they know the answers, probably have them in envelopes or something in case they need to hurry it up. Seen enough of these to know it doesn't just take 2 or 3 questions to figure out some obscure profession of a guest.

[@jenniferyorgan4215]

@Joseph T Dorothy asked, are you a miner; are you a gold, platinum, or silver miner, contestant said yes to both, then Dorothy asked so I have to figure out which one, she picked silver miner, which got her a no. Tony asked about contestant's cane relating to occupation, No, Arlene picked the right kind of miner. They do not know the occupations beforehand.

[@accomplice55]

No, they don't.

[@kristabrewer9363]

John's very annoying at times. I like him, but if he's not giving those drawn out explanations, he says to his guest. "Well, I'll say this, if my guest will allow it." He says that on so MANY episodes, and yet not ONE of those episodes does he give the guest time to say yes I allow it, or no I don't. SO annoying!

[@donaldmanthei1224]

Those drawn out explanations are his trademark.

[@susanbartone1347]

I think the host, Mr. Daly interrupts too much and in trying to be coy/cute, he purposefully gives vague, complicated answers. Annoying.

[@peternagy-im4be]

Ok. Have a nice day.

[@derekgarcia1030]

The show was a joke.

[@ronwilsontringue6574]

Never mistake that Brooklyn accent

[@dwillis6899]

Of course, this is early in his career. Andy Griffith managed to lose most of his Brooklyn accent over time.