What's My Line? - Cesar Romero (Dec 14, 1952)

MYSTERY GUEST: Cesar Romero
PANEL: Dorothy Kilgallen, Bennett Cerf, Arlene Francis, Hal Block
----------------------------
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[@mikelovetere4719]

Cesar Romero was all class..Hell of a dancer, too...didn't let his success go to his head and always took care of his family...

[@thomasthompson6378]

On the whole, I think I'd say that Cesar Romero was perhaps the best mystery guest ever. He sure stumped them with that voice!

[@savethetpc6406]

@Thomas Thompson I think Cesar Romero's MG segment here is one of the best, but have you seen the Rosalind Russell one yet? That gets my vote for funniest MG segment ever! :-D Here's the link to that episode: kzbin.info/www/bejne/aIC2gWeerbidpac

[@trock6577]

Totally agree. She was fantastic

[@contraryMV]

Wish we could have heard Cesar Romero's actual voice for a sec. Too bad they were running out of time. Still one of the funniest episodes.

[@telephotousa]

Cesar Romero was multitalented and had a stellar pre-Batman career but he will forever be known as the Joker. And, for my money, the best Joker. Best.Batman.Villain.Ever. RIP

[@ceferino1973]

El Tio Esteban en El Zorro!!

[@dallasbrubaker6054]

He was perfect for that role.

[@gscruzseven]

telephotousa I agree with you 100% cesar was the greatest joker

[@dallasbrubaker6054]

The story goes that after he was cast they showed him what he would be wearing. Once he saw it he bursted out laughing with that Joker laugh. They said, "Perfect! Have the Joker laugh like that. It adds a perfect effect to the character."

[@MrJoeybabe25]

@@dallasbrubaker6054 Yet he refused to shave his mustache for the role. Bad Joker. More like Jokester. Jack Nicholson was the best. Though Joaquin Phoenix was insane.

[@BrooklynArch]

Happy birthday to Cesar Romero, who would have turned 110 today!

[@mrsjobo6458]

I love how John Daly jumps out of his chair when he gets excited.

[@melianna999]

I like when he jumps when seat next to beautiful contestant .

[@JFinSD2]

One of a handful to stump the panel. nice job Cesar!!!!

[@kali8188]

Cesar Romero was unique: the suave dancer and performer -- and a baggy-pants comedian who could do anything for a laugh. A Joker in more ways than one.

[@daisycassidy2448]

Cesar Romero was a very handsome man with a wonderful sense of humor.

[@donnacook8994]

Yes he was!!! 🥰😍👏

[@ginnylorenz5265]

I never before fully realized just how truly handsome Cesar Romero was.

[@stillphil]

Check out Street Of Shadows (1953) - Feature he stars in this one. (And it also features a rare performance by the tragic actress Simone Silva)

[@jess4metoo]

I think it’s because we see him as The Joker.

[@rtususian]

That's why he was an escort to tons of female stars at various events. In his later years he was always escorting female stars to parties and premieres and restaurants, etc.

[@echoecho3108]

Catch Mr Romero as Sandra Dee's 'love interest' with Bobby Darin in 'If a Man Answers'. He's great and the movie is a hoot.

[@ginnylorenz5265]

@@echoecho3108 Thanks!

[@TheFrizbaloid]

I love it when they don’t guess the celebrity

[@golden-63]

Doesn't happen very often. Cool when it does...

[@leesher1845]

That was sweet how excited and thrilled that dynamite lady was to get the full prize, and that was appropriate of John Charles Daly.

[@hopelewis5650]

Like the other dynamite lady said "I like it!"

[@edmundpower1250]

John Daly was the ultimate professional. The best presenter of this show ever. So articulate and warm

[@TheFtm22]

This was an awesome episode! Thanks again for the fun diversions. Cesar Romero was dashing indeed!

[@mrpuniverse2]

Bennet's honesty is refreshing doing the right thing telling about his clue to working out who contestant might be

[@gingerhaydon4693]

Yes, very classy, cool, and giving of Bennett.

[@slaytonp]

He probably should have disqualified himself in the beginning, but maybe he didn't make the connection himself until he had given away the major clue.

[@JFinSD2]

Cesar was quite the JOKER even back then.

[@joshuag7207]

I see what you did there 😂

[@Beson-SE]

Cesar Romero is high upon my Top 10 Mystery Guest. When Dorothy ask him if he ever used an evil laugh in a movie she must have thought it was Richard Widmark and "Kiss of Death". When Romero played the Joker in Batman he had another crazy laugh and Widmark's laugh would be imitated by Frank Gorshin as the Riddler in... Batman!

[@Imapeach1]

+Johan Bengtsson Funny how I never noticed that the Riddler's laugh was Widmark's...and I love that film. Widmark was stellar psycho in it...creeps me all over again just thinking about it. Checked out clips from the movie,as well as a Batman clip....the laughs are practically identical,but then,Gorshin was always a spot-on impressionist. I would love to see Frank Gorshin as a MG on this show.

[@Beson-SE]

+Imapeach1 Gorshin as the Riddler is the only role that I have seen him in, sadly. I didn't know that he was so talented until I read his Wikipedia article.

[@Imapeach1]

+Johan Bengtsson Unfortunately,the Riddler is the role he is most recognized for,but the man was incredibly talented and versatile. His abilities at mimicry ranks up there with the likes of Rich Little and Kevin Spacey,who happens to also be very talented.

[@parents65]

The question that involved an evil laugh. This predicts the Joker by 15 years or so.

[@virgilpine9712]

Exactly my thought!!!! How prophetic!

[@davidsanderson5918]

That was an interesting moment. When she asked it I thought ah yes she thought it might be Vincent Price. But then she and Serf mention they were thinking Richard Widmark as he took over.

[@rtususian]

I was just about to post something similar when I saw your posting. And the sinister reference.

[@loissimmons6558]

There was a bit of a chuckle from the audience when Romero was asked if he was a brunette. It may be the lighting, but it appeared that his hair was starting to get streaked with white by this time. Eventually, he let his hair go fully to a very distinguished white, but still apparently very full and thick. Romero was born in NYC, but you can tell his parents were from Cuba because he certainly remembered the mane!

[@lottalady73]

Lois Simmons Ugggghhh! The lamer the pun, the better, I suppose. But that one is REALLY lame!

[@kateluxor2986]

Great episode! I liked it when Bennett admitted he was told by a photographer that they had been sent by DuPont and they gave Dee the full prize. Classy guy! I love Bennett. He's my favorite along with Arlene, she just has the most dazzling smile! I like Dorothy, too. I'm so-so with Hal. It was great how Cesar Romero completely fooled the panel! Fun!

[@gingerhaydon4693]

I'm glad Bennett mentioned that about the photographer, because i had been wondering how he had been able to make that leap to "destructive" so quickly.

[@merryx-mart9943]

@@gingerhaydon4693 ... and the reference to Dupont 🤗.

[@merryx-mart9943]

I so agree with you about all the panellists ...there are excerpts about Dorothy's and Arlenes funniest moments interacting on the show . I love Bennett's puns ...Hal Block "sets my teeth on edge" , he's very hard working but I don't think he quite fit in with the other panellists and I think he tried toooo hard

[@MarthaReynolds]

Watching these in order, and I can’t wait for the “walk of shame” to end.

[@tubularap]

I've gone through the years till 1959, and I am now dipping into some old ones. To be confronted with the walk-of-shame again is unpleasant. It lasted way too long. But keep going ... it will end.

[@leesher1845]

What is the walk of shame?

[@alastairjinks6966]

Went on for ages and a UK version also enjoying them ,yes probably went on too long as not much of a format to change overall

[@melianna999]

Same.

[@soulierinvestments]

In the early 1970s, Mel Brooks appeared occasionally on "The Hollywood Squares." One time Peter Marshall asked him, "What is the world's oldest sport?" He replied without missing a beat, "Cesar Romero. . . . . He still wears two-tone wing tips."

[@maxsands3861]

This was the most entertaining episode I've seen. Cesar Romero stole the show, he was awesome!

[@keymaninmusic]

What joy this show brings me!

[@bazazpa]

Wow applying boxing glove to Hals face... That was the hardest I laughed in a while

[@joet840]

Sal Bazaz Would it make me any happier he says !! Ha, ha.

[@tmmartinesq.6216]

Cesar Romero was called "The Latin from Manhattan," his mother was said to be the biological daughter of Cuban national hero José Martí. His father was born in Barcelona, Spain and immigrated to the United States in 1888. Romero never married and had no children.

[@MarieElaina46]

Cesar refered to himself as The Latin From Manhattan....and he was the maternal grandson of Jose Marti, the liberator of Cuba.....I have a group for him on Facebook.....facebook.com/groups/ciscogirl46/

[@melianna999]

He had stream of boyfriends.

[@gregh7400]

Amazes me that the panel keeps asking the same questions over and over.

[@benjaminmckenzie9007]

Cesar Romero was 45 years old back then.He become the Joker in his early 60's in Adam West Batman Tv Series (1966-1968).

[@ludenasan1]

CESAR WAS GORGEOUS ALL THE TIME!

[@LarsRyeJeppesen]

I actually thought he was joking when saying he was under 50...

[@jessyleppert2]

He was 59 when Batman debuted on ABC

[@jessyleppert2]

He was the same age as Burgess Meredith who played The Penguin

[@tmmartinesq.6216]

He looked older than 45 at the time.

[@jmccracken1963]

THAT - WAS - FUN (in spite of Hal Block's leering over Bee Gatling, the dynamite tester from Charlotte, North Carolina). And Cesar Romero really did a GREAT job of stumping the panel on this show. Thank you very much for sharing all of these "gems from the past" with us!!!!!!

[@WhatsMyLine]

My pleasure to post the shows! Glad you've been enjoying them.

[@tarrakieran2057]

This was the episode that got Hal canned.

[@jmccracken1963]

No: it did contribute to his suspension for several weeks in January of 1953, though, when both Steve Allen and Bennett Cerf were available to serve as panelists. Then Bennett went on his usual February lecture tour, Hal Block came back - and the straw that broke the camel's back was one of those episodes in February in which he chased (Harpo Marx-style) after one of the contestants, a very prim and proper female evangelist, as she exited following her segment. Fortunately, the chasing was not on-camera, but it was following that show that the producer informed Mr. Block that his contract would not be renewed come March of 1953.

[@tarrakieran2057]

jmccracken1963 Okay, for some reason, I thought they "suspended" him for a couple of weeks following his comments on this show. I thought it had to do with the advertisers not liking his sexual overtones. Thanks for the reply.

[@sybjones3666]

jmccracken1963

[@soulierinvestments]

The "What's My Line?" production staff adored women who associated themselves with dynamite. A number of them appeared over the years. In fact, on Dorothy's final WML appearance in November 1965, Dorothy solved the occupation of a female dynamite seller.

[@edmundpower1250]

What an explosive end to Dorothy's WML career

[@nancypine9952]

In watching these shows, I wonder if any young women or teenage girls who were watching, ever said to themselves, "a woman can do that job, so I can do it, too." They would thus start thinking beyond the nurse/teacher/secretary roles so many women were accustomed to in those days, and begin to consider other careers.

[@JehanineMelmoth]

Nancy Pine I often wish that I’d seen these when I was a young teen. When I was growing up, the choices (we were told) were nurse, secretary or air hostess. These shows would have shown me and others so many possibilities.

[@neilmidkiff]

It's hard to tell whether the producers sought out a wide range of occupations done by women for just that reason, but no doubt the show did open up viewers' minds to broader opportunities. A more cynical view would be that it would be easier to stump the panel with a line that confounded their stereotypes about the jobs for which women were suited: Bennett's frequent "Don't tell me you're a lady iceman (or policeman or whatever)" provides evidence for this view. In any event, we can enjoy a look back at these times and realize that some women at least were maintaining the Rosie-the-Riveter "We Can Do It" tradition into peacetime; not all accepted the traditional roles we think of when we characterize the 1950s as an era of bland conformity. (And of course the show also had a similar if lesser emphasis on then-unusual roles for minorities such as the black parole board chairman and the Native American jet fighter pilot. Yes, it's a shame that these careers seemed unusual for them, but it's at least evidence that barriers of discrimination were beginning to be breached.)

[@alastairjinks6966]

Definitely agree with this a brilliant observation

[@percyweasley9301]

So gkad I discovered this show😊😊❤

[@movieman9100]

Cesar Romero will always be the Joker in Batman.

[@Bigbadwhitecracker]

movieman9100 The ONLY Joker

[@robinheuver9620]

thats the only reason i know him

[@Baskerville22]

His brother, "Alfa" was even more famous

[@Dumbledork_Prime]

@@@Baskerville22 Romero, not Romeo

[@lloydkline6946]

Brilliant actor, ❤ him

[@davidduxbury7530]

Cesar Romero...what a fellow,when he was the Joker he played it with relish and zeal!!😊

[@OmPrakash-bf1zd]

Such grace kindness humanity a great tonic bring this show back asp

[@nilkaestherchasededier8569]

César Romero was a direct descendent of Jose Martí, indipendence hero of Cuba.

[@k9feline2]

The earliest available episode where every contestant won the full $50, but not because the panelist failed to identify them all, but because Cerf admitted to figuring out the dynamite tester's job from all the DuPont photographers backstage.

[@savethetpc6406]

k9feline2 He guessed that she worked for DuPont because of the photographers, and I guess that's what led him to his original "is it destructive?" question, though DuPont makes all kinds of other things, too, and I would imagine they did then as well. Still, he had an unfair advantage, so I'm glad John flipped all the cards. :)

[@kennethlatham3133]

(boxing gloves) 14:28 Hal: "Could it ever be applied to me?" John: "OH, yeeeeeesssss!"

[@Pebblezs]

or could it be applied to a persons face LOL

[@davidsanderson5918]

I'm SO glad that Serf told that story about seeing the photographers beforehand because I was all ready to type that for certain SURELY they already know the answers!

[@melianna999]

Cerf.

[@ajsmith5295]

I just love the southern accent

[@ajsmith5295]

I love Arlene Francis such a classy lady and I just love looking at her facial expressions and Cesar Romero what I call dude man

[@nanaberry4120]

Romero was a good friend of Joan Crawford's. Her twins called him "Uncle Butch".

[@MarieElaina46]

His 2 nieces call him "Uncle Butch" also...... facebook.com/groups/ciscogirl46/

[@rtususian]

Bennett Cerf is the only person I know who says the word "known" in two syllables.

[@jerrylee8261]

I noticed he called Dorothy "Orothy". I wonder if he has trouble with Ds also. His speech problems don't bother me in the slightest. It adds to his charm.

[@golden-63]

He also pronounces the word been as bean.

[@crabbyoldman8209]

The more I watch this show, the more often I fast-forward through Hal Block.

[@jerrylee8261]

He was in desperate need of a charm school. You would think anyone who appeared on tv would know to keep their hands away from his face and to not scratch or stick a finger in his ear.

[@leesher1845]

I’m so glad they got rid of that walk in front of the panel. That was really undignified and inappropriate.

[@crush41gb]

Mrs. Gatling-Gwynn later became a pediatric doctor in Charlotte and sadly passed away April 24, 2019.

[@greeneyes2256]

What a fascinating life she had.

[@edmundpower1250]

John Daly was brilliant. What a fantastic show

[@altafnizamani1430]

Mr Block was always scratching his head.

[@Bigbadwhitecracker]

Altaf Nizamani I wonder if Nutragena T-Gel was available back then. I've been using it since the early '70s unfortunately.

[@chuckendweiss4849]

Altaf Nizamani I think the guy had bugs of some type. And he is a sex fool

[@rtususian]

Dandruff?

[@huangec]

Yes, I find that very off-putting. Very likely it was part of what made him creepy. I can imagine how Arlene felt sitting next to him every time he scratched his head.

[@alexhu7939]

z I agree. Mr Brock seems to be asking a question so that he can use the response to crack a joke. His line of questions did not seem to follow a coherent logic. As a result, he was not able to process the response, thus likely lead to his head scratching. Compare to the other panelists, his questions were erratic and delayed.

[@imkluu]

This is the first of dozens of these I have watched where they didn't guess who it was.

[@PerAnkh418]

Such a wonderful man

[@scotnick59]

Cesar looked great with the grey streaks

[@WhatsMyLine]

Resuming the weekday "reruns" after a two month break due to KZbin hassles. Here's today's rerun for 8/3/15: Watch along and join the discussion! ----------------------------- Join our Facebook group for WML-- great discussions, photos, etc, and great people! facebook.com/groups/728471287199862/ Please click here to subscribe to the WML channel if you haven't already-- you'll find the complete CBS series already posted, with new videos still being added every weekend, and you'll be able to follow along the discussions on the weekday "rerun" videos: kzbin.info/door/hPE75Fvvl1HmdAsO7Nzb8w

[@zacharydunlap-tunnage2220]

What's My Line?​​ Is KZbin *STILL* hassling you? Will they--or Fremantle--ever back off of you?

[@WhatsMyLine]

Zachary Dunlap-Tunnage I think you've misunderstood; the reason I've resumed the weekday reruns is because things have calmed down! :) There are always problems, because. . . KZbin. But the WML channel does not appear to be under attack anymore.

[@zacharydunlap-tunnage2220]

What's My Line? I posted this before I saw your other post, basically repeating what you said. My mistake. :-(

[@WhatsMyLine]

Zachary Dunlap-Tunnage No problem!

[@telephotousa]

With the dynamite lady, does this mark the first known time where John flips over all the cards voluntarily for a contestant?

[@ajsmith5295]

The days of Elegance and Style

[@TheCinematicPackrat1]

"Do you have a distinctive mannerism...like an evil laugh?" Oh, if only this show was a decade later.

[@soulierinvestments]

Second game. Block's first set of questions. One of Hal's most funny gambits.

[@savethetpc6406]

soulierinvestments His opening question on his second turn was classic, too! (14:27) ;) An article recently posted on FB gives an inkling of the kind of questioning G-T might suggest for a gambit. In this article, called "It Pays To Be Honest," Mark Goodson was quoted as saying, "If the contestant manufactured girdles, we'd suggest that Hal think about a kitchen. So he might ask of the product, "can you put ice cubes into it?'" In light of that, I've been wondering what their suggestion might have been for this one. Could they have said something as directly misleading as "think about cosmetics" or would they have to be more subtle than that?

[@robertmelson2130]

SaveThe TPC I've always assumed, perhaps wrongly, that the suggestions were more specific. So often the questions are just too appropriate and too funny. I acknowledge the talent of Hal Block and Steve Allen, but the gambits seem to work awfully consistently. Maybe we should look for examples where they DON'T work so well as far as trying to analyze it.

[@robertmelson2130]

SaveThe TPC Having listened to it again, I'm starting to believe that your guess of "cosmetics" is a good one. There is one question though at 11:26, "Is this something that's a solid, rather than a liquid or a cream?" that makes me wonder. Obviously he is thinking of cosmetics, but, since so many of them are liquids or creams, isn't he risking a 'no' which would end the gambit and prevent one of the best questions of the bit, "Might thIs ever be applied to a person's face?"

[@jdano9029]

+soulierinvestments I'm not sure what 'gambit' means in this context. Please explain? Thank you.

[@savethetpc6406]

J Dano According to Gil Fates, in his book about What's My Line?, some comedian panelists were given a suggested line of questioning for one game per episode during the early years of the show. These suggestions did not in any way offer hints to the contestant's occupation. In fact, they were geared to lead the panelist astray from the actual occupation in a way that would be funny to the audience. When the comedian panelist pursued this type of laugh-inducing questioning, which led him increasingly "down the garden path," this was known as a gambit.

[@juliansinger]

As it turns out, Miss Gatling decided she *didn't* want to keep testing dynamite for a living (or rather, didn't want to live the life of a Dupont chemist), and went back to school. (She was 22 when this WML aired, so I assume she'd just graduated from UNC Greensboro at that point.) She went to Wake Forest for med school, and became a doctor -- a pediatrician, in fact, for awhile, in Charlotte -- and at some point in there got married to a gent named Thomas Gwynn. She also worked in public health in a couple of different NC counties, which is hard but worthwhile. After retirement, she got involved in some ocean research, and also eventually started volunteering at the Davis County Humane Society. And wrote a book on evolution. Book ad: www.prweb.com/releases/2012/1/prweb9077161.htm Her official birth name was Hortense. Obit, from 2019: www.hayworth-miller.com/obituary/Bee-GwynnMD A few more pictures: www.flickr.com/photos/ncccha/32882831237/ (I would add I might consider Bennett's backstage line of questioning actual cheating, except it's the same kind of thing he did by reading newspapers and knowing who was in town, for mystery guest stuff, so I *guess* not. Except kind of.)

[@jerrylee8261]

After thinking about it, I felt that Bennett should have recused himself.

[@edmundpower1250]

Nice info there

[@Michigan25132]

It seems as if his fellow panel members and John Daly don't really like Mr.Block and I think it hurt him.

[@teologen]

Well, he came off as super creepy in this episode.

[@dancelli714]

Daly NEVER called him by his first name if you noticed. Can we find one episode when he called him HAL, I don't think so. When woman don't call me by my first name it's because she doesn't want to be close.

[@rtususian]

He was let go from WML because he constantly made creepy comments to some of the female contestants. In one of his last appearances he really went overboard. Steve Allen was hired to replace him. During the first three years of What's My Line?, Block had gained popularity with a wide portion of the television viewing audience, but behind the scenes he was having problems with the sponsor and producer. According to publisher and fellow panelist Bennett Cerf, Block's personality and background set him apart from the other cast members. Cerf had joined the cast during the show's second year when Untermeyer was dropped from the show because of accusations of being a communist.[111] Upon his first meeting with the panel members, Cerf thought of Block as "a clod. He wasn't in the same class as the others."[102] Norman Barasch, who once wrote for Block, said "Suave, Hal Block wasn't."[83] What's My Line? producer Gil Fates, in his 1978 book about the show, described Block as "a strange man", adding he was "stocky with curly black hair, heavy lips and, rather bulging eyes."[2] Block's humor at times could prove problematic as he sometimes seemed to lack a sense of propriety. He once risked the sponsor's wrath by referring to their deodorant with the line, "Make your armpit a charmpit."[112] Cerf said that Block "had a style of humor none of us was too fond of."[113] Block would also sometimes use risqué humor. However, he was not alone in this inclination, as other What's My Line? panelists often employed double entendres on the show. The issue occurred often enough that host John Daly had developed a surreptitious signal, the pulling of his right ear lobe, as a warning to panelists to desist.[114] In these early days of television, many programs, including What's My Line?, were broadcast live and this type of humor became a concern of the sponsor. Although Block was not alone in such behavior, he became regarded as the chief offender.[5][115] Even prior to What's My Line?, Block's humor had always been inclined towards the sexual, as far back as a writer for Olsen and Johnson, whose bawdy shows usually involved at least one chorus girl losing her skirt.[116] Once when addressing a group of businessmen and secretaries, Block told them, "Where would you men be without your secretaries? Probably home with your wives."[117] This inclination continued onto the show. Once, when the guest was a female disk jockey, Block employed this line of questioning: Do you take things off?" Do people like it when you take things off? The more things you take off, do people like it better? After receiving a positive response to each, Block concluded: You're obviously a strip-tease dancer.[118] Block was also in the habit of asking an attractive contestant for her phone number, or in one case, even chasing a female contestant around the desk à la Harpo Marx. Although Block intended these faux pas as humor, What's My Line? had built a large segment of their audience which was conservative and regarded it as inappropriate.[102] While Block continued to receive positive press and his jokes during the show were often quoted in newspaper columns, there was also criticism. Journalist William S. Schlamm wrote in the June 2, 1952 issue of The Freeman that Block, "on the flimsy ground of being a gag writer, for more than a year has kept claiming dispensation from elementary rules of taste."[119] By 1953, producers had given Block repeated warnings about his behavior which he was apparently ignoring.[102] Firing In January 1953, Block was suspended for two weeks because the sponsor objected to one of his comments during the show.[120] Steve Allen, at the time an up-and-coming comedian whose appearances on What's My Line? would springboard his career, took Block's place on the panel during the suspension.[121] While Block vacationed in Miami for the duration of the suspension, the network was deluged with letters from his fans demanding his return.[5][122] Years later, in recollecting these days of What's My Line?, Bennett Cerf argued that by this time Block was no longer essential to the show. According to Cerf, since he had begun to introduce his own jokes and puns into the show, he now had the more important role and Block had "became second banana."[102][123] Amidst this turmoil, on February 5, 1953, winners for television's Emmy Awards were announced and What's My Line? won the Emmy for "Best Audience Participation, Quiz or Panel Program".[124][125] Shortly after Block's return, on a Sunday night in early February, executive producer Gil Fates invited Block to a local bar for a drink. Block listened quietly for several minutes as Fates explained why his contract was not being renewed and was being let go after three more shows. According to Fates, when he finished talking, Block stood up, finished his drink, smashed the glass on the floor, said "You never did like me, you son-of-a-bitch", and walked out.[126][127] After three years on What's My Line?, Block appeared on three more shows, fully aware these were his last. Steve Allen also appeared on these shows, replacing Bennett Cerf who was away on a seven-week lecture tour.[121][128] On Sunday, March 1, 1953, Block appeared on What's My Line? for the last time.[129] The March 3, 1953 New York Times announced that Bennett Cerf was "displacing Hal Block" and that Steve Allen, who Fates later wrote "was standing in the wings", would be continuing on the panel.[112][128][130] Absent Block, What's My Line? continued on as a staple of Sunday night television in America for another 14 years. While the firing of Block had the desired effect of toning down the sexual innuendoes, this aspect of the show would still draw occasional criticism.[131] In 1957, four years after Block's departure from the show, Hearst columnist Bill Slocum wrote in his column accusing What's My Line? of "the carefully implanted double entendre." However, he went on to add, "Nobody on the panel leers since Hal Block left."[131][132] In 1979, the book TV Gameshows proffered the opinion that Block was actually let go from What's My Line? because he "proved too overbearing."[100]

[@jrm8899]

He seemed kinda creepy and a overly sexist.....

[@simonatheod6867]

I feel like Hal was often creepy towards female guests, I remember the very uncomfortable episode where he forced a kiss onto Miss America and startled the poor girl.

[@jbraly]

As a southern man myself, the first contestant's accent has me SWOOOOONED! I wish more people in the south retained their accents.

[@jerrylee8261]

I'm a Southerner, also. I love Southern accents which are the most pleasing to the ear of all American accents. Hollywood does a lousy job of imitating Southern accents in its movie characters.

[@kathleenrawley669]

CESAR REMERO WAS QUITE THE ACTOR OF THE 50s/60s TV

[@angloaust1575]

When television began to invade the movie business!

[@richarddecicco3288]

Wow Hal Block was a determent to the show

[@jamessefcak1327]

without the joker make up Cesar Romero was a really good looking man?

[@Night-Tid3]

People are so beautiful back then

[@preppysocks209]

Cesar Romero and Barry Fitzgerald, who appeared a few weeks earlier, are two of the very few MGs who never married.

[@melianna999]

Why?

[@karthiks881]

"Did you have a trademark...such as an evil laugh" - if only this was asked 14 years later when he invented the Joker's laugh

[@robmastro8620]

I can see why Mr. Block was replaced

[@voicetube]

Was just thinking, this is just such a great idea for a show! I think it would be cool if they tried bringing it back even today for the 2020 season… Problem is, It would be very difficult finding somebody as awesome and articulate (and incredibly intelligent) as Mr. Daly (!).

[@jrm8899]

They could easily do it today, but not with a A list panel and guest stars.... probably only getting C and D list celebrities

[@donnacook8994]

Not to mention panelists both articulate and classy without vulgarity.

[@ambientrelaxingandhealingm7552]

@@donnacook8994 True that. But that's what would be refreshingly unique. Would be fun to start a whole new era of classy entertainment. 🙂

[@peterwilliams2531]

"Evil laugh". like the Joker ?

[@Robbi496]

I think Dorothy Kilgalen was GORJUS, I also remember John Daly on the evening news when i was young

[@stevekru6518]

Robbi496 Your spelling is off. Corrected it should read Arlene was GORJUS

[@MWood-ry8uu]

Squeal of glee over $50... God bless their mid-century hearts.

[@dutchtea8354]

16:08 Dorothy says, “Oh, I have a weenie.” (6th use of the term) Cesar Romero was the 2nd known MG to stump the panel.

[@latteliz1944]

Beautiful handwriting 💝💝💝💝

[@tlcampbell5073]

Love the show, would like more Hal Block

[@frankieaddams3937]

IMHO Cesar Romero was one of the most gorgeous men who ever lived.

[@melianna999]

Together with Rock Hudson. They both unfortunately had the same blemish.

[@agalgonzalez]

Cesar Romero's mule-inspired voice was a scream! He was such a funny guy and was also suave, handsome and a fabulous dancer.

[@nathanielpreston5377]

22:00 foreshadowing his role as the Joker.

[@loissimmons6558]

Based on Romero's disguised voice, a few panelists remarked about him being a seal Considering the time of year this was taped, I'm surprised no one asked if he was a Christmas seal (which have been around since the 1904 in Europe and 1907 in the U.S., compared to Easter seals which begun in 1919).

[@randyking3057]

Cesar was so multi-talented, it made it hard to pin it down to one art.

[@patriciamooney928]

Cesar Romero said he did not have a well-known evil laugh and did not play scary characters but hisJoker on Batman DID fit that bill.

[@DavidEdelsohn]

This episode of WML was broadcast in 1952 and Batman TV show was first broadcast in 1966.

[@henrywyche]

“Motion pictures “ is a term not used today

[@voicetube]

It's so wild how things have changed - as regards that question and 4:40, it would be an immediate yes nowadays.

[@koreanelvis]

Heath Ledger, Jack Nicholson, and Cesar Romero: the BEST PEOPLE to play The Joker!!! Edit: I forgot to add: Mark Hamill.

[@leannsherman6723]

So Bennett waited until the end to admit that he got a major clue about the DuPont company. He pulled that more than once. 😡

[@ToddSF]

Is dynamite a product that could be purchased at a store? Yes, the answer was given. That, for me, begs the question as to what store sold dynamite in 1952. Did they have it in the explosives department at Macy's or Sears? Or could you walk into your local Demolition Mart and buy it there?

[@18roger1986]

Probably Sears. They sold about everything at one time or another.

[@loissimmons6558]

+ToddSF 94109 Third floor. Ask for Jimmie Walker.

[@lottalady73]

ToddSF 94109 Ahhhhh, the old Demolition Mart! That’s one thing about the 50’s that I really miss. Me and all the boys at Morse Science High used to hang out in the back lot and toss lit cigarettes through any window that happened to be open. We really got a bang out of it!

[@MrYfrank14]

it was sold in hardware stores to the general public untll, i believe, the protests and riots of the 1960's. you could buy a Tommy gun in a store untll 1934.

[@scotwirth6228]

And I bet you had a blast, too.

[@PepsiMama2]

Wow Bennett Cerf sure got on the trail of the dynamite really quick.. how did he do that?

[@savethetpc6406]

@PepsiMama2 Bennett confessed at the end of the segment (at around the 9:02 mark) that he had sort of a clue that someone on the show worked for Dupont because of the photographers from Dupont that he met, and I guess he knew that Dupont manufactured dynamite. That's why John ended up flipping all the cards for the dynamite tester.

[@donnacook8994]

The Dupont guy he met when enterng in for the show, as he said.

[@edmundpower1250]

You mustn't have watched it until the end

[@donaldleroy6502]

If this were match game it would qualify as a gold 🌟 episode. I'd never heard of Mr Block before, he's a riot

[@geraldkatz7986]

Hehe. Cesar Romero is asked if he's known for a trademark like an evil laugh. He answers no, but it would become yes 14 years later.

[@PepsiMama2]

Do the mystery guests, with being famous people, do they like when they are not guessed? Or do you think they would rather be guessed???

[@savethetpc6406]

@PepsiMama2 I think there were some MGs who would have felt highly insulted if they had not been guessed, but others were thrilled to be able to stump the panel, and some tried hard to do so but were guessed anyway. In the case of Cesar Romero, I think he was delighted to be able to fool them all -- and especially when Dorothy wrongly guessed that he was Ray Bolger! :-)

[@jrm8899]

Some MG's do a better job of disguising their voice and if they have nothing to plug, it's harder for the panel figure out who it is

[@alastairjinks6966]

How famous were the panel those days, what would be the equivalent fame wise these days

[@SOLE2SOUL]

@@savethetpc6406 It's two years after your comment but I wanted to point out that the best example of an MG being insulted by not being guessed is Gale Storm. She was visibly frustrated the longer the questioning went on.

[@jerrylee8261]

Pepsi, a lot of the MGs are Hollywoodites with egos that have to be transported in by a semi. I enjoy it more when MGs aren't guessed. I heard Mickey Rooney who commented to paraphase-If they don't guess you, it's insulting. They give hints sometimes such a speaking in their real voice.

[@ChrisHansonCanada]

DYNAMITE TESTER MAKES BOXING GLOVES

[@hiyapal7719]

17:12 Mr. Daly usually says, they'll return from the commercials in *one minute,* but I find it hard to believe that a line up of commercials ever only took *one minute.* lol

[@teologen]

They only had one sponsor.

[@hiyapal7719]

KjetilK Ah, I see. 😉

[@SOLE2SOUL]

@@hiyapal7719 Plus in those days the programs ran total 25-26 minutes so the rest of the time was for ads and station identification before the next program. Standard ad times were 30 seconds or 1 minute.

[@hiyapal7719]

@@SOLE2SOUL 👍

[@neilmcdonald9164]

Last time Hal and Bennett appeared together (Bennett was absent for Hals 3 brief return shows)🎩

[@larry930legend]

Take that Batman!

[@orgonkothewildlyuntamed6301]

6:30 not sure why the hesitation to answer Bennett's question as quite often bridges were blown up during wars

[@voicetube]

Funny how it about 21:59, if the question had been television rather than film, she could have been looking into the future (like say… Into the mid-60s! :-)

[@Lee90000]

You could buy dynamite in a store?

[@michaelstark703]

It was a different time, could buy in most hardware stores in rural areas.

[@slipper409]

You could buy tnt in northern ontario with a drivers licence up until 911.

[@RonGerstein]

When Cesar Romero played "The Joker", he kept his moustáche by putting all that makeup on top of his moustáche.

[@gbtekk8966]

The Joker jokes.😅

[@zekezacker9449]

Several of Bennett Cerf's introductions of Arlene might be considered creepy by some, though he, and the sponsors and audience, apparently thought he was being complimentary. Bennett seemed to be picky about his use of grammar, but with one guest, Bennett used 'most' when he had only two choices (when having only two choices, one often uses the comparative form, such as more; the superlative form, such as most, is often used when discussing three or more choices or items).

[@jerrylee8261]

That kinda gripes me that tv annoucers who probably have a college degree almost never get that right as in saying-He's one of the better tight ends in the country which means our country has only two TEs.

[@michigankush9541]

21:50 wow

[@slashJker]

the fact the lady called that he would play as joker and have that laugh-

[@SOLE2SOUL]

It's too bad she didn't live to see it. She was murdered just a couple of months before Batman hit the airwaves.

[@slashJker]

@@SOLE2SOUL bruh-

[@sandwichman100]

bennet admitting he had a heads up on the identity of a contestant was bad form after he had exposed her. he should have put his hand up prior to the contest.

[@sandwichman100]

I have watched many episodes and its so obvious the panelists have some idea of some contestants before they appear.