What's My Line? - Buddy Hackett; Carol Channing [panel] (Nov 29, 1964)

MYSTERY GUEST: Buddy Hackett
PANEL: Dorothy Kilgallen, Bennett Cerf, Carol Channing, Arlene Francis
---------------------------------
Join our Facebook group for WML-- great discussions, photos, etc, and great people! / 728471287199862

[@kenyongray2615]

Miss Reiko was a lovely young woman. Buddy Hackett was a man of many talents. Thanks for the video.

[@TheBraveIntrovert]

I think for me, Carol Channings intro of Arlene was the most hilarious one I have ever heard.

[@poetcomic1]

The inside digs on wrapping expensive presents, Bonwit Teller etc. were very funny.

[@patriciamooney928]

Arlene's response that she only wished she could have sang it was perfect.

[@Merrida100]

I was quite delighted and surprised at how charming Carol Channing is as a guest panelist. She was wonderful. I thought she may ham it up but she actually put thought into her questions and observations. I hope she appears again. She's a treasure.

[@allenjones3130]

My thanks to the Game Show Network for making this show available to KZbin. Carol and Buddy were hilarious!

[@janetmarletto6667]

I enjoy the fun,animated opening. Very clever! I never tire of it. 😄😂🎈🎶

[@davidsanderson5918]

I found Dorothy's segment from 12:28 fascinating. I couldn't care about popcorn....I'm just watching Dorothy, her manner, her expressions, her face, the way she talks, her odd physiology and the successful efforts she's made to make the most of herself, the audience reaction (showing they too have made assumptions about her personality and character). I've watched her do hundreds of segments but that one really was a sequence for study. I think we all know her well here so I probably needn't tell you my conclusions. :) HOW BIZARRE! Dorothy has just asked John several minutes later "why are you LOOKING at me like that?" and he replied casually "just...fascinated!"

[@nandofigueira2005]

How beautiful is the kimono, a true work of art.

[@bernardburdick9264]

Dorothy’s question for the popcorn salesman, “Is it as high as an elephant’s eye?” is a reference to the opening song in “Oklahoma!” “Oh What a Beautiful Morning” when Gordon MacCrea exhalts, “There's a bright golden haze on the meadow, There's a bright golden haze on the meadow, The corn is as high as an elephants eye, An' it looks like it's climbing clear up in the sky.” The first ten words of this song, by lyricist Oscar Hammerstein II, were sufficient to inspire composer Richard Rodgers in just how to write the music, as he once stated.

[@slaytonp]

Yet no one, including Bennett, who later even questioned that corn grows as high as an elephant's eye, seemed to get the connection.

[@kentetalman9008]

I can't believe Bennett didn't get that reference. I thought everyone was familiar with that line.

[@savethetpc6406]

I could have sworn Buddy Hackett had just recently been a mystery guest, but then I realized that's because he *was* the mystery guest in one of the recently *posted* episodes -- but that was from 2 1/2 years earlier! (May 13th, 1962, to be exact)

[@frankroper3274]

Carol Channing was super cool!

[@WhatsMyLine]

Absolutely priceless intro by Carol Channing, and a hilarious MG segment with Buddy Hackett. :)

[@savethetpc6406]

What's My Line? IYO ;) -- and I happen to agree. :)

[@WhatsMyLine]

SaveThe TPC Not a negative opinion I'm expressing, of course. But I think you're just teasing me now, you teaser you. ;)

[@savethetpc6406]

2:44 -- I've never thought of Carol Channing as a large woman, but look at her compared to Arlene Francis. She's not only taller -- she also has a larger head.

[@savethetpc6406]

What's My Line? You're right! :D (Take note! We both posted to this thread last night at the exact same time -- 1:05 A.M. Eastern Time!)

[@WhatsMyLine]

SaveThe TPC Ah, funny-- I hadn't noticed that. I had wondered why you didn't respond to my "you're just teasing me now", though. :)

[@moonlightray8493]

3:36 Bennett's little wave is so cute! I love the way he and John tease each other on this show. 4:21 The Japanese lady's surprise at John being able to read her signature was also really adorable! (He probably already had her information written down on that paper he carries when entering the set, haha)

[@huangec]

"Some of the corn on this show go even higher!" I just adore Arlene! Lol!

[@joemartines3545]

That was an excellent line by Arlene...

[@valentinr.dominguez2892]

What did Arlene mean by that?

[@JoyL351]

​@@valentinr.dominguez2892She was referring to all the "corny" jokes/puns by the panel.

[@valentinr.dominguez2892]

@@JoyL351 Thank you.

[@michaelgasiciel9317]

I grew up in Detroit. Amazing he was in a show there. I was only 7 when this show aired. I wonder what theater he played. This show is so incredible with things you learn and discover.

[@patriciamooney928]

I know they think John was unhelpful but he sure guided the questioning to keep things moving.

[@rmelin13231]

Mr. Daly was a master of his art, and it could be very tricky at times. I don't see him as unhelpful at all.

[@user-ne8lh2vr2t]

I started watching WML back in the early 2000's on GSN and was never interested in Broadway shows until I saw Carol on these shows I now check out the b'way data base to learn more about the actor's and all the Info it has.

[@poetcomic1]

Buddy sang quite amusingly and prominently in The Music Man several years before.

[@Marcel_Audubon]

maybe he didn't lift his voice, he just sang

[@bbailey7818]

Danced too! Just finished watching it on TCM, literally an hour ago. Shipoopi.

[@sandrageorge3488]

Buddy finally had a decent voice disguise.

[@por1821]

Dorothy is particularly fun & amusing in this episode😊... definitely under the influence of something

[@albertpeterson5585]

...a martini or two never hurts.

[@yeahnoonecaresifyouarefirst]

I doubt it but ok

[@wonder-womyn]

@@yeahnoonecaresifyouarefirstYou don’t seem to know much about Dorothy

[@yeahnoonecaresifyouarefirst]

@@wonder-womyn ok..... I guess there's something wrong with that?

[@yeahnoonecaresifyouarefirst]

@@wonder-womyn great guess

[@leesher1845]

That Japanese disc jockey was so sweet and even nodded to the audience, which most of the mystery celebrities did not.

[@patriciamooney928]

Dorothy's hair reminds me of those awful hair piece toppers I wore into the 70s.

[@soulierinvestments]

I timed Carol Channing's introduction of Arlene at 40 seconds, including Bennett's interruption. According to Gil Fates's book, Carol's husband-manager Charles Lowe is off-camera holding up cue cards for her to read. This is the starting set up of a series of memorable introductions done by Carol in 1964-66 -- including =the= landmark [stay tuned -- as we will see in a few weeks] she did in Feb 1965.

[@WhatsMyLine]

soulierinvestments That must the one Gil Fates quoted in his book, right? He claimed that her husband held up a cue card for her just out of camera sight in order to pull that one off!

[@soulierinvestments]

Yes. My memory of what Fates wrote.

[@WhatsMyLine]

soulierinvestments And Fates's memory wasn't exactly reliable. :)

[@soulierinvestments]

Some kinescope evidence suggests that, yes.

[@hizgrase]

Bennett and his jokes❤️

[@loissimmons6558]

The link to a recent look at Reiko Yukawa (the first challenger) that was posted elsewhere in these comments is broken. So here's another video link. The first 45 seconds are in Dutch although you may be able to figure out some of what is being said. The remaining 2:17 is an interview in English with Dutch subtitles. Reiko talks about how she presented a gold record to Elvis and how he was also a witness at her wedding in Las Vegas in the late 1960's. It refers to the fact that in addition to being a DJ, she also became a music critic and songwriter. kzbin.info/www/bejne/aJ26i3ymp5V8ea8

[@marmaly]

Carol is just a doll.

[@johannarhymer1093]

That pop corn company is still in business

[@robertromero8692]

I had no idea Carol Channing was so tall!

[@Marcel_Audubon]

The term, "the legitimate theater" has a very specific meaning. Dorothy is the only one that seems aware of this.

[@MrJoeybabe25]

Carol Channing, of course is always a treat. Did she get that "patented look" that made her seem ditzy from being near-sighted? The whole "Carol Channing thing" had to be an act, right? If not, her real self served her well. Also does it seem that Arlene was dressed a little more conservatively because she was sitting in Bennett's chair tonight?

[@WhatsMyLine]

Certainly it was an act. She was a very intelligent, if nutty, woman in real life (though that was her real voice. . . )

[@jgregveneklasen2657]

+What's My Line? And still is alive and (kind of) kicking at 94.

[@jvcomedy]

+J Greg Veneklasen I saw an interview with her recently and she was actually pretty sharp.

[@soulierinvestments]

RE: second contestant. I wonder if Redenbacher ever appeared on WML. And why the audience found popcorn so funny in connection with Dorothy is beyond me. Does it grow? You bet.

[@WhatsMyLine]

I'm always mildly annoyed by John's answers with respect to anything having to do with plant life. What, does corn just materialize out of thin air?!? ;)

[@soulierinvestments]

I'm with you on this point. So far as I can tell, Daly made the distinction that animal life *lived* and plant life *grows*. Whether that was hard and fast all the time in WML is not quite clear. However, as far as I can tell, both animals and plants live.

[@WhatsMyLine]

soulierinvestments And they both grow, too!

[@TyrSkyFatherOfTheGods]

+What's My Line? Yes, and Daly accepts an affirmative answer to "does it grow?" in connection with livestock.

[@geraldkatz7986]

He did appear in the revival of To Tell The Truth in the 1970s before he was well known all over tv in commercials.

[@Baskerville22]

Carol Channing woulda' made short work of a Big Mac... She lived for a further 55 years after this program, dying in 2019 at 97 y.o.

[@Beson-SE]

Although English is not my native language I will try to explain my issue: 19:38 Bennett asks a question and gets a "no". It is now Carol's turn but she is interrupted by Bennett who deliver the right answer. I have always been under the impression that when a panelist spoke out of turn (especially concerning the right answer) John would flip the cards and the guest would win the game. Maybe I am wrong but I recall some episodes when this happend.

[@WhatsMyLine]

The "flipping of the cards" was just a formality. All the guests received their full $50 whether they stumped the panel or not. John only "flipped all the cards" for the sake of the audience, so it was done inconsistently at times.

[@WhatsMyLine]

Oh, and your English appears flawless to me!

[@savethetpc6406]

Johan Bengtsson I agree that John should have flipped all the cards after Bennett spoke out of turn and guessed the product. Also, he didn't even ask the panel to figure out what Mr. Blevin had to *do* with popcorn, which is another thing he would usually do. I still think it was a highly entertaining segment, though. (I also agree with What's My Line? that your English is quite good. :) )

[@SuperWinterborn]

Johan Bengtsson Hello Sweden! ;) I agree with the two others here! Your English is flawless, and therefore *much* better than mine! ;D

[@Beson-SE]

What's My Line? I did not know that all guests "won" their games in spite of how successful they were. It warms my heart to know that.

[@valentinr.dominguez2892]

I do not know how Arlene guessed Buddy based on the cumulative questioning prior to her turn.

[@TacomaPaul]

Dorothy asked, "Has it ever been alive ?" Yes, it has. It's corn. ;-) But Daly and popcorn guy said, "No". Interesting.

[@andreaplummer3841]

It took awhile for them to consider plant life "living." They seemed to erroneously use "living" as a synonym for "animated."

[@user-ne8lh2vr2t]

@@andreaplummer3841 The finished product has never been alive,the corn maybe but he doesn't deal in corn he deal's in popcorn

[@1jamyc]

but, a few questions later, they did say that it does grow. Not many things grow that aren't alive...

[@davidsanderson5918]

I'VE GOT IT. I KNOW WHY THIS SHOW IS SO ALLURING. Forget the format and the game itself. For some reason the behaviour of these people on the stage each week, even if they're only on there for a short duration as a mystery guest, seems to reveal or expose character or personality traits you wouldn't normally get to see on TV elsewhere. Everything is discernable right down to the last tick or twitch, the last 'erm' or raised eyebrow, the last tensed jaw or glance at the clock. The lack of script, the spontaneity, the unpredictability, the prolonged focus of the camera on close head shot...even the lighting...leaves NOTHING TO HIDE! So everyone from Fred Astaire to Buddy Hackett to the manager of The Beatles is under the microscope. Not least the regular panellists themselves who hold our attention and our gaze each week. I probably study these people closer than I do my own friends at the moment!! In the case of the panellists and the entertainers, it's particularly fascinating because we are not only see brief but telling glimpses of the human being behind the showbiz persona but by that same token we also see something of ourselves in the person we are watching too. To be fair it's been the case since I watched the first one from 1950 or whenever it was but I've only JUST properly realised that's why I'm absorbed and transfixed, Yes the show is addictive anyway but there's WAY more to this than guessing someone's line. It's a study in human behabiour. THAT'S why it's probably one of the richest, humanist entertainment shows ever.

[@rmelin13231]

I think there is a lot to be said of your observations. For many of us who grew up during the run of WML, the celebrities are familiar to us. Watching it these many years later not only refreshes our memories, but also allows us to reflect on their accomplishments after the show's tenure. Meanwhile, the non-celebrities always present themselves with such respect, yet never appear to be in awe of the panel members (nor the moderator). Just some random thoughts which in one form or another echo yours, I believe.

[@UNOwen1]

Loved Ms. Channing's intro for Ms. Francis ('...A members in good standing at Bonwit Teller's)... Though Ms. Francis' comment to the 1st (Japanese) guest ('you call me 'Ar-rene' ... 'Flancis') was a bit of a groaner (she'd never get away with it today)...

[@tonycevallos7513]

Could you imagine how Mrs Francis referred to Blacks and Mexicans back in those days?? .....sad

[@barrykendrick3146]

So it's objectionable that she found this mispronunciation of her first name to be charming?! Note that Arlene did not pronounce her last name as "Flancis" as you imagined. The Japanese tend to pronounce Ls as Rs; visa-versa for the Chinese. Thus during WW2, in the Pacific arena, for IDing American soldiers in the field the well-known Q was: "What is the name of Popeye's girlfriend?"

[@slaytonp]

@@tonycevallos7513 Whatever you are imagining yourself, is no doubt sad, but very unlikely true in Arlene's case. Her comment was about language differences in pronunciation, not about condensation to what you imagine she considers an inferior race. Sheesh.

[@valentinr.dominguez2892]

@@tonycevallos7513 It was a comment about pronunciation. Nothing more.

[@kentetalman9008]

She was merely relaying how her name had been pronounced during her visit to Japan.

[@jazzvampire]

The wiglet has returned! Well...sort of...and in a much smaller form (although it's likely just a lot of teasing and pins, for all I can tell!) Otherwise, Dorothy seemed fine- sassy and attentive as usual...I don't know what all you commenters who are saying otherwise are noticing, but whatever it is I certainly didn't catch it!

[@libertyann439]

Elsie M. I agree. Anyone can have an off night. This may be why Dorothy was so hard on herself.

[@lpjewkes]

Buddy H is brilliant.

[@VahanNisanian]

The September 20, 1964 show may be lost forever, but at least this one exists. Ooh boy, Bennett Cerf, surrounded by three female panelists. Lucky man!

[@kylebastian9809]

This wasn't the first time there were three female panelists and one male panelist. I remember one in 1954 when it was Arlene, Steve, Dorothy, and Deborah Kerr. Here's the link: kzbin.info/www/bejne/qarIYaSthpWhmKs

[@Tedybear315]

I know everyone loves Carol Channing... But that intro looked more like she was trying pass a stone when she was pausing between words... But that was part of her charm. They do not make entertainers like this anymore. And that's a shame.

[@kennethlatham3133]

Does anyone besides me get stressed when time is getting short and the mystery guest appears to be about to be bumped? As if the decades-old show was live?

[@soulierinvestments]

What an evening of fashion compare-contrast. Dorothy is still in her empire waist phase with a waistline almost at her neck. [No, Mother, she was not pregnant.] And then in comes Carol Channing looking like something out of 1927 with a waist line at her hips. At least Arlene had the decency to wear a dress with a waistline at, you know, the WAIST.

[@judylutz1702]

Dorothy was always a camera hog. Asking questions that she knew she’d get a yes for.

[@AndrewMacLaine]

Yes she did like to stay the active guesser for as long as possible! I have a feeling, though, that it had less to do with camera time and more that she wanted to be the panelist that got the line right. Bennett even commented over the years that he got annoyed at how competitive she was.

[@ChrisHansonCanada]

*_DISC JOCKEY_* *_PRESIDENT OF POPCORN COMPANY_*

[@VahanNisanian]

I like the first contestant. A Japanese female disc jockey. I don't know much about Japanese Radio Shows. The only one I can think of is "All Night Nippon", which has been on the air since 1967.

[@WhatsMyLine]

Forgive my faulty memory, but isn't this the episode where Bennett gets in his "Japanese Beatle" gag? I usually groan at Bennett's wordplay, but starting here and for the next few shows, he gets in some really good ones, I think.

[@VahanNisanian]

What's My Line? As far as I know, yes.

[@savethetpc6406]

What's My Line? Yes, at 11:05 -- and even John approved of that one!

[@MrJoeybabe25]

They also had, years ago, "American Top 40 Air Bases"

[@loissimmons6558]

+Joe Postove Was this before or after you signed into your show every morning with the words "Good Morning Hiroshima", thereby winning the coveted Bob Dayton Inappropriateness on Radio Award? For those who don't know who Bob Dayton was, in the mid-60's, he was a hip young DJ on the most listened to station in North America, WABC-AM in NYC. But unlike fellow DJ, Dan Ingram, who regularly fired off zingers but had a good sense of the boundary line so that he didn't take it too far, Dayton on occasion crossed the line. This episode of WML aired just a few weeks after Dayton did a long intro into a political campaign ad that implied that he had a romantic evening for two with the married woman who was supporting one of the candidates in that year's election. It was the kind of thing over which a radio station could lose its license, and WABC had the most valuable license in the U.S. at the time. Some fast footwork with the FCC by the station's management and attorneys managed to save the license and Dayton wasn't fired. He did his mea culpas, wrote on the blackboard 100 times "I will not be inappropriate on the air again" and promised to behave himself. But he couldn't help himself. The following August, on the anniversary of the A-bomb being dropped on Hiroshima, Dayton referred to the event and played "16 Candles" by the Crests. kzbin.info/www/bejne/d5XWXomgga2UgK8 If that wasn't bad enough, the wife of the President of the parent American Broadcasting Company, Isabelle Goldenson, was at the station that day listening to the broadcast. She was a philanthropist who was a co-founder of the United Cerebral Palsy charity. Listening with her that day in her office was a group of the Hiroshima Maidens, young women who survived the A-bomb blast of Hiroshima but were badly disfigured and had come to the U.S. in the mid-1950's for corrective plastic surgeries that were done at no charge. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hiroshima_Maidens www.teenvogue.com/story/story-of-25-hiroshima-survivors Bob Dayton never did another show on WABC. He managed to remain in radio as an on air personality. He went to KBLA in Los Angeles and then returned to NYC to work on WPIX-FM and WCBS-FM, but his once promising career was never the same. For the last 15 years of his career, he was relegated to smaller suburban stations in the NYC metro area. He was 62 years old when he died of cancer in April 1995. How ironic! Here's an air check of Dayton's remarks on 8/6/65 along with the gaffe that caused another WABC DJ, Roby Yonge, to be pulled off the air because of speculating about the death of Paul MacCartney. kzbin.info/www/bejne/mnaonKudmZd-m7c

[@jackseward7779]

I'm sorry, but I cannot abide Carol Channing - bith then and now. The words treacly and phony best sum up her persona to me.

[@kennithumperovitch1312]

Dr. Ishakawa was my sensei.

[@thegentlyreview182]

Hushpuppies!! I fell down laughing! : ) I think Dorothy was possibly just a little tipsy on this one... What do you think?

[@gregmoorhead7203]

The Gently's ~ I think you are totally correct!!!

[@kristabrewer9363]

According to you people, Dorothy's ALWAYS a a little bit tipsy and I'm getting tired of hearing people say that she's tipsy on so many episodes. If she WAS tipsy on that many episodes, the it's the PRODUCERS to blame for keeping putting her on those episodes! (but I am sick of hearing it, because according to you guys, she's always tipsy)

[@freddyrichards878]

if he sounds like a seagull then it's him

[@MrJoeybabe25]

I never knew that shows headed for Broadway tried out in Detroit!

[@WhatsMyLine]

Joe Postove I don't think this was standard operating procedure.

[@alanfollett6242]

+What's My Line One more instance from the same era: Fiddler on the Roof began its tryouts at the Fisher Theater in Detroit, on July 27, 1964. Went on to a much longer future than Buddy's project.

[@leesher1845]

Three women on the panel; that’s unusual.

[@rambleonfromhere8780]

I cant believe the audience laughed at Japanese lady, when she signed her name in her language.

[@barrykendrick3146]

They were not laughing at her but at John Daly, for it was now time for him to read her name & introduce her to the panel!

[@VahanNisanian]

21:05 Love it. "It's Me".

[@savethetpc6406]

Aritosthenes Yes -- it was "Blue Zippers" -- Lol! What's My Line? - Red Buttons; Martin Gabel [panel] (Aug 12, 1962) (Look for Red's sign-in at 18:13 in that video.) You and I both commented on and laughed at it at the time! (i.e., at the time *we* first watched it.)

[@WhatsMyLine]

SaveThe TPC "Could not thumbs up this post at this time". I mention this because you seem determined to try to figure out the un-figure-out-able bugs in the comment system. ;)

[@savethetpc6406]

What's My Line? Guess what? I meant to +1 your comment, but I +d my own instead on my first try -- and it worked! So I'll count that as your +1. ;) I had pretty much resigned myself to the fact that there was no rational explanation for the other time this happened, since you and SW were both able to +1 my comments in all 3 ways that I posted them later. This last comment was one that I posted directly on the comments page -- but I guess that really doesn't solve anything... **...Sigh....**

[@WhatsMyLine]

SaveThe TPC Well, it at least satisfies your curiosity over whether this was possible to figure out, and that's worth something!

[@savethetpc6406]

What's My Line? I still think there must be some kind of explanation, but I've given up on trying to figure it out -- at least for now...

[@ChasingTheGhost]

"Hushpuppies."

[@VahanNisanian]

Of the 26 letters in the English alphabet, 4 of them are not used by the Japanese, for Japanese words: L, Q, V, X.

[@SuperWinterborn]

***** Exactly Vahan! :)

[@MrJoeybabe25]

Did the director forget to cut to the contestant in the first segment when Bennett asked if she was in the entertainment industry? The camera stayed right on him and he went on to the next question, obviously getting a yes. I'll bet that was mentioned in the post show meeting! And it happened again with Dorothy, though this time I heard the answer. Am I mistaken, but haven't they always cut to the contestant when answering a question?

[@WhatsMyLine]

No, you're mistaken, Joe. The pattern wasn't as rigid as you're remembering. I know because the camera would frequently stay on the panelists for more than one question without cutting to even the mystery guests, a phenomenon that I get very impatient with when I'm trying to find a good frame to capture for the video thumbnails! :)

[@MrJoeybabe25]

I guess I misremembered that.

[@Sylvander1911]

I thought Buddy sang in The Music Man, but I guess he would know.

[@libertyann439]

Japanese beatles! lol

[@MrJoeybabe25]

Only Arlene gets a pass on what even then bordered on the politically incorrect or ungenteel, doing the Japanese bit without the l's and the pronounced r's. From Bennett it would have been rude.

[@WhatsMyLine]

Bennett has made jokes like this in other shows with Asian contestants, I'm afraid.

[@savethetpc6406]

Joe Postove As much as I love Arlene, that whole bit made me cringe. I was actually rather disappointed in her for that.

[@miriamfeigenbaum3611]

SaveThe TPC What she said was that that was actually the way they pronounced her name when she was in Japan and that she loved it. To me it came across not as ridicule but with a tone of fondness.

[@SuperWinterborn]

***** I agree. There was a lot of fondness in the way she expressed it, and not a slightest trace of discrimination. Only telling a linguistic fact. Which it is, and also something neither my Asiatic friends or I, have any problems with at all. :)

[@WhatsMyLine]

SuperWinterborn I don't know, SW. . . I can't speak for the people you've personally met, but I really don't think this sort of joke would go over well today. Certainly Arlene meant no disrespect-- Arlene of all people-- but that doesn't mean it's not an insensitive remark, or that it would be considered to be acceptable today.

[@TheGadgetPanda]

Dorothy seemed especially off-point in this episode. In years past they would have had the popcorn guy off the stage in a fraction of the time she wasted.

[@savethetpc6406]

***** She certainly was rather off-target on that one, but we got to see some truly lovely laughter (18:17) and smiles (19:18) from Dorothy that were well worth whatever trouble she was having, as far as I'm concerned! Add to that Arlene's quip at 20:21, and I'd rank this segment quite high on entertainment value!

[@WhatsMyLine]

SaveThe TPC That's one thing that has fascinated me watching the shows in order again, how different Dorothy was in the 1960s versus the 1950s. It's as if she had suddenly "gotten the memo", the show's supposed to be entertaining, dear-- that's more important than whether you guess the line. She is, I think, 1000 times nicer a person on the 60s shows than she was in the 50s when she could truly be very grating at times. I prefer her this way. What's interesting is that as she softened her persona considerably on WML, she became ever more vindictive and capricious in her gossip column. Fascinating woman.

[@SuperWinterborn]

What's My Line? She just happened to be a little "older and wiser" maybe? ;)

[@WhatsMyLine]

SuperWinterborn Perhaps in part, but I don't think it fully explains things. That's why I noted that there were contradictions with respect to her column (and her personal life) that belie the softening of her persona on WML. I think it's one of two things (or both), personally: (1) the producers or her cast mates talked to her about certain of her behaviors, especially the screen hogging, time wasting questions she indulged in in the 50s, (2) she was humbled a bit by the period in 1962 when she was visibly under the influence of intoxicants. I've always considered Dorothy to have been a vital part of the chemistry of the show even when I found her annoying in the 50s shows, but I find her totally charming and pleasant-- and funny-- in the 60s. It's a drastic turnaround, and it's a bit unfortunate she's still remembered primarily as the no-nonsense bulldog of the panel.

[@SuperWinterborn]

What's My Line? The little mental/emotional "knockout" she got after the incident with Daly, had also a great influence on her later behaviour I think.

[@markxxx21]

Dorothy's high as a kite by the time the popcorn guy comes on.

[@danielfronc4304]

Markxxx I thought that I was the only one to notice that. Yeah, she was barely pulling it off physically but her mentation and questions failed her 100%.

[@gregmoorhead7203]

Markxxx ~ I totally agree

[@MrJoeybabe25]

I don't think, just for the sake of girl-boy balance, they should have taken Bennett out of his anchor chair.

[@lucasskywalker]

Dorothy is so drunk.

[@gailsirois7175]

She is not

[@username178able]

I totally disagree, she was not drunk, nor did I think she sounded tipsy… she was, in my opinion, humorous, witty , charming & engaging!

[@MrJoeybabe25]

Is it appropriate behavior for a gentleman to extend his hand to a Japanese lady?

[@savethetpc6406]

Joe Postove I would think that the old adage of "When in Rome, do as the Romans do" could be applied in the U.S. as well. In other words, if it is appropriate for men to shake hands with women in America, then why not with a Japanese woman?

[@MrJoeybabe25]

SaveThe TPC I guess you're right. And I kind of knew that. But I was wondering what the correct thing was. In orthodox Judaism men and women do not shake hands, but if a man does extent his hand, most orthodox women will politely take it.

[@SuperWinterborn]

SaveThe TPC Joe Postove The majority of Asians (and in Japan) don't shake hands at all, but bow to each other, both men and women. Even they're accepting western people shaking hands, I would personally bow, if I visited these countries though. Which would be the most correct thing to do, remembering the old saying, we all were reminded about in the comment above here. :) (I'm sure the both of you knew this, but I wanted to point it out, because of all the time I've cringed, by watching European business associated visitors grabbing their Asian contacts hands, without a clue of the correct etiquette in the present country they're visiting).

[@savethetpc6406]

SuperWinterborn Joe Postove I did notice that all four of the panelists bowed their heads towards the Japanese guest at one point -- almost as if it were choreographed, in fact! -- so they were trying to do the right thing. I'll have to watch it again to find the exact time signature of that move; I found it interesting. Joe, I think the difference regarding the handshake in this case, compared to the example among Orthodox Jews that you gave, is that it is a matter of etiquette, as SW said, but not a matter of religious law. I agree that the proper etiquette in Japan might still be to bow (though I wonder if Westernization has caused handshakes to be more acceptable there now too?), but the proper etiquette in the U.S. is to shake hands. The rule you mentioned regarding handshakes between traditional Orthodox Jewish men and women works in both directions -- many Orthodox men who would not normally shake a woman's hand might do so out of politeness if a woman extended her hand to them. I'm not *that* frum, but I have friends who are. When I am introduced to an Orthodox man I will usually wait to see whether or not he proffers his hand to shake, and if he doesn't, I won't either.

[@savethetpc6406]

SaveThe TPC I found it! 4:37 -- "And now, Miss Yukawa, may I present our panel." And they all give little head bows.

[@thomasmirtin2428]

Help these Scream Queens & Kings protect voting rights by heading over to Twitter and using hashtag #ScreamHere. For every tweet today, we'll donate $1 to the ACLU up to $100K! Ends 11/1.

[@libertyann439]

Im sorry I just find Carol Channing grating and only sometimes funny.I wonder if the blindfolds are in the Smithsonian?

[@kennethbutler1343]

Love WML but this episode is SO un-PC by todays standards....Arlene making fun of Japanese English was fine in 1964 but not today, and Buddy saying he was attacked by spears in Detroit...I admit I laughed but I was also cringing. That being said, I love these WML shows and one can't blame people for being a victim of their era.