What's My Line? - Art Carney; Alan King [panel]; Carol Channing [panel] (Mar 21, 1965)

[@katkatkatina]

Arlene's reaction around 12:10 is so wholesome. This whole series makes me feel happy like I'm getting a big warm hug.

[@TheEmp48]

Everyone is just so polite and happy and smiling and courteous to one another...the humor is on point and light hearted ribbing...I think we need to bring this show back and bring back the class and sophistication 💯💯💯

[@shuroom57]

​@@TheEmp48We might be able to bring the show back but we'll never be able to bring back the class and sophistication. Can you imagine a new female panelist asking a contestant about their product, "Can I put this thing in my mouth?"

[@TheEmp48]

@@shuroom57 absolutely...I thought about who we might be able to get these days but no one matches the quality or dignity and class and decorum they had...that would be a "cool gimmick" if they MADE them act that way....I'd watch it 💯💯💯

[@TheBraveIntrovert]

LOL at Arlene's face when John said no one else needs to be blindfolded!

[@soulierinvestments]

I like Arlene's look when John tells her and her alone to put a mask on. If you want a clip to illustrate "you want what?" this is it.

[@preppysocks209]

Hello Dolly ran for years, and multiple actresses played the title role in its original run. Alan King wished Channing 1500 performances. From what I have read on the internet, given revivals of the show on Broadway and in touring performances, Carol Channing played Dolly 5000 times. It was a privilege to see her perform in one of them. She was spectacular and the evening was one of the most memorable theatrical performances I have ever seen, all due to her.

[@bbailey7818]

Also saw her do it. Did she ever make love to an audience. There was no fourth wall when she performed.

[@kentetalman9008]

I saw Channing in Dolly. She was excellent, but not NEARLY as great as Pearl Bailey.

[@brigitkelly5317]

Great episode, I always love when the panel get out of control,

[@Merrida100]

Carol Channing is soooo delightful as a guest panelist. I always thought she'd try to ham it up and just be a goof but she actually puts so much thought into her questions and she's a wonderful team player. She's also very witty and clever.

[@kentetalman9008]

She was very good on Password too.

[@davidsanderson5918]

"Are you implying that I'm not physical from the way up?!?" Ha haaaaa. Arlene and Carol have great banter.

[@pljms]

I like the fact that Lillian Briggs was able to disguise her voice so well that Arlene Francis didn't recognise it. It was really unimpressive when trained actors had to resort to bells and whistles.

[@loissimmons6558]

That she was also a singer as well as playing an instrument that requires a lot of breath control undoubtedly provided her with the ability to manipulate her voice. She was far more talented than many of the celebrity entertainers who were MG's on WML.

[@neilmidkiff]

I was a bit startled when John talked at 22:24 of Art Carney's ability to mime on their old radio show, but then realized he was talking about voice impersonations. Half a century of Marcel Marceau and his imitators have stressed the silent kind of "mime" in more recent usage, I guess. "Mimic" and "mime" come from the same Greek word, so it's a little peculiar that now one form emphasizes talking and one refers to silent performance. By the way, Gary has a clip of Art doing a parody of John Daly on this KZbin channel, so you can see how good a mimic he could be.

[@soulierinvestments]

In 1963, one night a few months after Arlene’s auto accident, Arlene got right up to the point of introducing Tony Randall and then could not remember any of his name. She finally had to tell him to just come out. I chalk that embarrassment up to a remnant of her concussion. I don’t know what her problem was tonight with Alan King. I assume there *Was* an Alan Dale out there and that she did not just come up with a name out of the stratosphere. “Thank You Dorothy” LOL

[@TheJonaco]

Alan Dale was a singer/actor who had a string of '50s hits ("Cherry Pink and Apple Blossom White"). Lillian Briggs had a hit with "I Want You To Be My Baby" in 1955.

[@Beson-SE]

Alan-a-dale from Robin Hood. :)

[@loissimmons6558]

The way Arlene reacted as soon as she said it and the way Alan King responded, it seemed to me that they had been talking prior to coming on and Alan had done something to plant the wrong name in her mind.

[@davidsanderson5918]

soulierinvestments No that's UTTER NONSENSE about Arlene forgetting Tony Randall's name when she introduced him in that episode you speak of. Watch it again. It was a JOKE, for heaven's sake!! I have to leap on that rather heavily because it would be VERY unfair that a bit of fun between Arlene and Tony would be misconstrued as being the result of reduced brainpower after her terrible traffic accident.

[@brandonflorida1092]

@@davidsanderson5918 I don't believe it was a joke at all. It may have been a sign of here future problem with Alzheimer's disease.

[@davidsanderson5918]

Alan King is an underrated guest panellist on WML I think.. To me he's one of the very few comedic male guests on the show who isn't over-indulgent or 'up himself'....which appears to be an early 1960s problem!!! Frankly I'd put him in a small group who occupy that role perfectly along with Steve Allen, Peter Cook, David Niven and Peter Ustinov. Notice I didn't mention Tony Randall. He's comedic, excellent... but he's a player rather than creative.

[@moderne-ist1612]

This episode was REALLY funny!

[@tjbnyc76]

A VERY funny episode. No wonder Bennett (god bless him -- when he's sweet, he's the sweetest thing, EVER) says very sincerely at the end that he's proud to be sitting on a panel with three of the greatest comic talents. He was right.

[@VahanNisanian]

The night of March 21, 1965 was a double dose of Carol Channing, as prior to this episode, they taped the August 8 episode, in which she too was on the panel.

[@Beson-SE]

More double doses of Carol Channing for me please! :) She is a funny lady. She made a joke about "submarines for midgets" instead of "midget submarines". Well, it was actually Bennett (surprise! surprise!) who said it to Carol... :) 18:32

[@VahanNisanian]

This unusual circumstance in the first game will also happen again on April 10, 1966, when only Jayne Meadows will be blindfolded because the contestant is her husband Steve Allen's secretary.

[@savethetpc6406]

***** I'm fairly certain this is the first time that any fewer than the entire panel was blindfolded for a contestant on WML (not counting when a panelist disqualified himself/herself), isn't it? And besides Jayne Meadows, do you know of any other instances of it happening again?

[@justinmay3451]

I'm surprised that they didn't blindfold everybody, even though the other three didn't know her.

[@loissimmons6558]

I thought for sure that with only Arlene blindfolded that she would figure out who it was. But she was fooled along with the rest.

[@VahanNisanian]

Carol Channing's speech for Bennett Cerf was long, but not nearly as long as her introducing Arlene.

[@woodyfitzpatrick726]

That was a dirty trick to play on Arlene. But so much fun!!!

[@VahanNisanian]

On a taping of the new WML on August 9, 1973, Arlene's former trombone lessons are mentioned. Appearing on the syndicated show that day in the first game was a tuba instructor named Harvey Phillips.

[@jmccracken1963]

Harvey Phillips was not just any tuba instructor. He was a longtime outstanding freelance tuba player in New York (his first major gig was playing in the Ringling Bros., Barnum and Bailey Circus Band in the late 1930s, when he was in his upper teens), including a stint as tubist and personnel manager of Symphony of the Air in the late 1950s/early 1960s. In 1973, he was in his third year as Distinguished Professor of tuba at Indiana University's Jacobs School of Music in Bloomington. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Harvey_Phillips

[@soulierinvestments]

3:10 --> First brief mention with utterly no details. Dorothy a few days before broke her collar bone slipping on a throw rug. I remember this quite clearly from my misspent youth, but years later my memory remembered her being away from the program for MONTHS. It was nothing that long: a total of six live broadcasts and taping sessions.

[@galileocan]

Carol Channing is crazy. And I love it...

[@dinahbrown902]

Can’t stand it myself 😊

[@patttyannhudson]

I just loved Art Carney

[@dianemutchler9213]

Arlene's saxophone teacher segment is one of my all-time favorites on this show! Everyone was hilarious, and her teacher was absolutely terrific. Feels good to laugh; such wholesome humor!😂😂😂

[@davidsanderson5918]

Ha HAAAA I love the innuendo that Channing creates when Alan King says he knows that first contestant from some place. So so subtle....and the guest delivers a perfect gesture in response. Great humour there. The audience 'get it' too.

[@soulierinvestments]

Gil Fates must have read the riot act to Carol Channing before he let her back on the panel after she nearly destroyed the 21 February 1965 episode. For starters, She actually wears a dress -- and a great one at that -- and she kept her introduction of Bennett down to a mere 30 seconds. Nothing near the record performance she gave introducing Arlene on 21 Feb.

[@shuroom57]

Well...now....I've GOT to find that episode! What was it, February 21, 1965......

[@geraldkatz7986]

A far cry from Art Carney's first appearance as Mystery Guest so many years ago when no one had a clue to figure out who he was, and he abruptly left the stage afterward.

[@VahanNisanian]

Arlene playing the trombone on "I've Got a Secret". Arlene Francis plays the trombone

[@MrJoeybabe25]

This looks like videotape. Did G-T save the tapes from IGAS?

[@MrJoeybabe25]

Arlene's trombone playing sounds more like the Jewish shofer than anything else. Was she a rabbi?

[@bluecamus5162]

8 years later, I get a "video unavailable".

[@soulierinvestments]

By the way, I think Lillian Briggs and Arlene Francis have the cutest embouchures in 60s TV.

[@lauracollins4195]

Art Carney referring to Bennett Cerf: “How do you beat this man?” Bennett is so sharp. :D

[@gailsirois7175]

Bennett is a cheater...not oh so smart

[@bluecamus5162]

Carney's attempt to disguise his voice was pretty feeble. Anybody and everybody should have known it. Bennett instantly gave that little smirk he does when he knows the answer. Bennett doesn't have to cheat.

[@kentetalman9008]

@@gailsirois7175 Bennett was extremely smart, and didn't have to cheat.

[@jayrice5156]

Love Carol's dress!

[@Retroscoop]

Is that good news or bad news ?

[@shuroom57]

The 1965 video camera sure hated it!

[@HBMHD]

11:37 That pan into Carol's face of absolute bewilderment was *perfect*

[@patrickgriffin6369]

The great Art Carney..

[@ReynaHerichan7769]

O my God, i laughed in the middle of the night... 😂

[@buffbill-t2i]

I wish I could go back in time just to see Carol in HELLO DOLLY what a beautiful person, maybe we could get stuck in an elavator together also.

[@kentetalman9008]

It was a real treat to see her in Dolly, but Pearl Bailey was infinitely better in the all-Black cast.

[@chope6786]

Carol Channing: “now what would you do to Miss Francis with those utensils.” 😂😂😂best panel question ever!!

[@bbailey7818]

I've seen all of these shows. This is the first time ever that one panel member but not the others had to be masked.

[@MrJoeybabe25]

These people are smart. Definition of EMBOUCHURE: the position and use of the lips, tongue, and teeth in playing a wind instrument

[@davidsanderson5918]

Joe Postove If you're a jazz musician or a composer, it's basic vocabulary. Meanwhile, at this time and in the world these people live, hanging out with musicians who required a good embouchure would've been a regular thing so the word would be used. Even the general public at the time who collected jazz and classical records (like my Dad) would know what embouchure meant. Upon saying that, they still don't know how to PRONOUNCE the word embouchure on the show here....but that's typical Americans for ya!!

[@TyrSkyFatherOfTheGods]

Unless I'm mistaken, this is the first time Alan King's nameplate has said "Mr. King" rather than "Alan King." Producers must've put their foot down.

[@chiedu90069]

@20:12- Bennett knows the identity of the mystery guest.

[@chewycenter7690]

Art Carney never gets past Bennett.

[@ChrisHansonCanada]

*_JAZZ TROMBONIST (TEACHING ARLENE TO PLAY TROMBONE)_* *_MAKES MIDGET SUBMARINES (FOR SPORT AND RESEARCH)_*

[@jackseward7779]

I'll bet John cut the submarine guy short because the panel had wasted so much time jawing.

[@kentetalman9008]

Carol's dress perfectly matched her personality.

[@MrJoeybabe25]

Teaching Arlene how to play the trombone IS improving Arlene, no?

[@soulierinvestments]

Depends I would think on how well she played.

[@jazzvampire]

Judge for yourselves: kzbin.info/www/bejne/oKuZmp2gncqEbKs

[@SuperWinterborn]

Elsie M. Thank you for the link, Elsie! I have to admit it; I could'nt stand listen to it until it ended.. But it's NOT easy to play the trombone! ;D

[@Retroscoop]

A little bit, yes.... As Mao once said, a journey of a thousand miles starts with a first step.

[@Beson-SE]

I wonder who Alan King thought the trombone teacher was when he said "Are you THE Hypnotist?" ? 11:48

[@SuperWinterborn]

Johan Bengtsson Kolla ut den dam som har rapportert Gary till CBS Hon har kommenterat på denna sidan. Gloria Slym. Jag har hørd att copyright inte fungerar numera på dessa videos, men jag tycker hon borde få flera svar. ) (Hoppas du førstår mitt svenska ;)

[@SuperWinterborn]

Johan Bengtsson PS. Don't bother. This person is apparently mental ill, and has changed his/her name three times during the last hour or so, from "Gloria Slym"to "Kimberly Walton" to "Kimberly Plaine", and God knows what the next alias will be... Revenge for being reported for stealing material from Gary's uploads perhaps. Sigh.

[@savethetpc6406]

SuperWinterborn Hey, the Translate feature in these comments actually works pretty well! I clicked it to translate your Swedish text, and except for the word "reported," it came out in perfectly understandable English -- check it out!

[@Beson-SE]

SuperWinterborn Jag såg hennes inlägg igår och blev mycket förvånad. Prövade att ge henne "tummen ner" men det gick ej. Skrämmande person. Och jag kan gott förstå din svenska. :)

[@SuperWinterborn]

SaveThe TPC Heh, heh... "reported" was spelled wrong, it should have been "rapporterad" (correct me if I'm wrong, Johan Bengtsson ! ;) I have tried the translate feature occasionally, (mine is in Danish) and it works, except for funny grammar. ;) Btw, you should check out this person's (the "alias one") account, in particular the "Debate/discussion" page...

[@MrJoeybabe25]

That is the only time I've seen Bennett kiss another member of the panel!

[@savethetpc6406]

Joe Postove I guess after that glowing introduction of him, he felt she deserved it! Actually, I think I remember at least one occasion when he kissed both Dorothy and Arlene, but I don't remember what the circumstances surrounding the kissing was, and I could be misremembering completely.

[@tjbnyc76]

SaveThe TPC There was Christmas season episode where Dorothy's introduction of Bennett was something along the lines of, "And now, on my left, a gentleman I'd like to be beneath the mistletoe with...", and when Bennett came out, he said something to the effect of, "Who needs mistletoe?" and kissed her.

[@joelfogelsanger5773]

Just what Bennett needed from Carol Channing....a boost for his already over bloated ego.

[@MrJoeybabe25]

Where's Dorothy?

[@wholderby]

I think Dorothy had fractured her shoulder if I remember correctly..... I had read she had done that in March of 1965 so the timing would line up

[@Retroscoop]

All that sort of trivia can be found on the Internet Movie Database. I learned that Daly wasn't on every episode, that the colour episodes all were lost, that the second Woody Woodpecker voice was in the show, etc etc. And lots about why Dorothy sometimes wasn't there, and how Arlene missed the very first episode. Check it out....

[@MrJoeybabe25]

At about 16:50 John says the submarine does not have a "rubus tubus" sound. I looked for a definition and couldn't find one. It sounds like he means something that rubs a tube to make a sound. Huh?

[@galileocan]

One more Carol Channing comment if you don't mind.... When Carol Channing was introduced and she walked out, I thought.....oh my god...its Big Bird

[@savethetpc6406]

1:57

[@thyslop1737]

Back in the day when cufflinks were big.

[@Retroscoop]

Carol Channing is crazy. Full stop.

[@lestertm7944]

Were they using cue cards back then?

[@lestertm7944]

That was a very lengthy intro Ms. Channing gave for Mr. Cerf.

[@neilmidkiff]

The Art Carney clip I just mentioned is kzbin.info/www/bejne/lWa8qnSgp950qpo

[@loissimmons6558]

In addition to Art Carney doing a great job as John Daly, (speaking of mimicry) David Doyle had Bennett Cerf's voice down pat (even if he looks more like Hal Block). Betty Garrett as Arlene and Gloria Vanderbilt as Dorothy also did fine work. And Dick Van Dyke does an excellent job as the MG, with the funniest part at the very end.

[@bradofathousandnight]

The Original Queen of Rock and Roll - en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lillian_Briggs

[@sojutime]

This is funny.

[@kenp3L]

How come all of the videos after this one are private?

[@WhatsMyLine]

kenp3L This is hopefully a very temporary situation, but suffice it to say, I was forced to do what I'm doing because of an illegal and totally baseless copyright claim by Fremantle International. I can't get into further details, just please understand that I'm doing everything within my power to resolve this situation, and that I did not precipitate it, the attack on the channel did. It makes me sick that I had to do this, but it's purely in self defense.

[@nintendonerdsvideos4727]

On at least 2 occasions, they had Arlene play a brass instrument on the syndicated version. One was a tuba and the other was the trombone which she actually did learn. You'd assume that I'd be a great trombone player as I have a lot of hot air, but alas I suck at it. I'll stick to the piano

[@loissimmons6558]

+nintendonerdsvideos I think I've identified your problem with the trombone. You are supposed to blow into it, not suck at it. :-)

[@loissimmons6558]

For the first segment, Arlene is blindfolded, but they let the other three panelists slide.

[@soulierinvestments]

Carney's 3rd of 4 appearances. 2 of Carney's mystery guest spots are arguably the most funny male mystery guest appearances in WML history. The 1965 one is not it. Daly's interview is pretty good, though -- but short.

[@Beson-SE]

Art Carney was on the show to promote Neil Simon's play "The Odd Couple." (966 performances on Broadway 1965-67!). When it was made into a movie in 1968, Carney was replaced in the role as Felix Unger by Jack Lemmon who has said, "It wasn't done with Art Carney because he didn't have enough clout as a movie star. It's not fair, but it happens all the time."

[@savethetpc6406]

I have rarely seen a mystery guest as genuinely disappointed at being guessed early as Art Carney seemed to be in this episode.

[@soulierinvestments]

I think Carney was one of those performers who liked to bamboozle the panel.

[@TyrSkyFatherOfTheGods]

+soulierinvestments Funnier than Tony Randall or Red Skelton (vs. Fred Allen)? I don't think so.

[@soulierinvestments]

yeah there a certain amount of subjectivity here. Randall and Skelton did hugely funny mystery guest appearances.

[@MrJoeybabe25]

I'll bet the producers wanted to have Carol Channing change out of that blinding outfit, but were stuck. Gosh, don't they tell people not to wear certain things?

[@soulierinvestments]

I'll bet when the spotlights hit her, she sent rainbows all over the stage. Gil Fates said that his contestants sometimes did not listen. H

[@bigoldinosaur]

Carol Channing's voice is as annoying as my cat scratching my head while I sleep.

[@ReynaHerichan7769]

bigoldinosaur 😂😂😂

[@lawrencecunningham7321]

Arlene was comfortable with playing lesbian jokes with her trombone player hahaha

[@tedricher7745]

Game’s no good without Dorothy

[@shuroom57]

I still can't bring myself to watch any of the WML episodes after her death. I'm sure I will eventually but for now, no.

[@joelfogelsanger5773]

Jeez Carol...that dress is blinding me . She needs some fashion tips because that dress was flat out ugly.

[@shuroom57]

Rowr! 😺

[@thomasmirtin2428]

In 1963, one night a few months after Arlene’s auto accident, Arlene got right up to the point of introducing Tony Randall and then could not remember any of his name. She finally had to tell him to just come out. I chalk that embarrassment up to a remnant of her concussion. I don’t know what her problem was tonight with Alan King. I assume there Was an Alan Dale out there and that she did not just come up with a name out of the stratosphere. “Thank You Dorothy” LOL