What's My Line? - Edward R Murrow (Dec 7, 1952)

MYSTERY GUEST: Edward R Murrow
PANEL: Dorothy Kilgallen, Bennett Cerf, Arlene Francis, Hal Block
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[@carlfalt174]

To have two of the greatest newsmen in the business in the 1950's at the same desk is quite an accomplishment.

[@cogidubnus1953]

I'm a 61 year old Brit born 8 years after the end of WWll...It's only my opinion of course, but I regard Ed Murrow as probably the greatest wartime commentator ever...certainly the best in terms of radio...his broadcasts from London are warm, interesting, accurate (as far as wartime censorship would allow), and more importantly, perceptive... Looking separately at the McCarthy affair, the sheer courage he displayed in taking on the senator head to head was something else again... In short I hugely respect his memory

[@slaytonp]

I'm 88 years old, and remember him well, during WWII, when we all listened to him on the radio, and later when he confronted the McCarthy outrage. I wish he were here today, when we need his particular kind of commentator sanity more than ever.

[@johngiovine8792]

Edward R. Murrow is one of my few personal hero's, a truly fine man!

[@cogidubnus1953]

@ZoneFighter1 You don't have a mainstream left-wing political party in the USA - to any European observer you appear have a right wing party and a lunatic extreme right party of fascists. You have a government of right wing elitist bosses running ordinary working people round like a bunch of wage-slaves, and the slaves can't even see that's what they are... So I doubt you've got the political nous to see the very obvious failings in what you so confidently state as fact...therefore you're probably a troll...

[@forrestfootball]

Very amazing to see John Daly sitting next to Edward Murrow on the 11th anniversary of the day that will live in infamy. John was the reporter who first broke the news to US radio audiences of the Attack on Pearl Harbor. Edward Murrow was perhaps the most distinguished of a great many American WW2 correspondents. John also was the first to report on the death of FDR, and Murrow was among the first journalists to see the concentration camps. Their contributions to society are felt 80 years later, and I imagine will be felt for another 80 years at least. Two great Americans.

[@tigergreg8]

Thanks for the information, very interesting. I must say though, your writing is above par, esp in this day and age. I can't help but wonder if your occupation has or had something to do with that.

[@jasonbeard4713]

"....more fortunate or less courageous..." Eloquently spoken.

[@timothyhughes1904]

I like Arlene. Smart, lots of personality and a real cutie.

[@TheBee87bee]

This was a man of integrity and sense of duty to the American public.

[@soulierinvestments]

The last phase of Murrow's career was not in CBS but in the Kennedy Administration. He died in 1965. The cigarettes got him.

[@MearickLee]

9:44 'What's My Crime'. Now we know where Disney got the idea to sneak the show into 101 Dalmatians.

[@savethetpc6406]

MearickLee Hal sets up the joke at about 9:41. John laughs, but then at 9:47 he says, "You can't do that -- not here." Why? What was wrong with the "What's My Crime" joke?

[@nancypine9952]

That actually appeared in the book the movie was based on, but I wouldn't be surprised if the author picked it up from the show.

[@jgarrison1309]

Edward R. Murrow, probably the greatest American Journalist of the 20th Century.

[@RobertShyanNorwalt]

jgarrison1309 Just another run of the mill Lefty Scumbag

[@preppysocks209]

@z He said US, clearly and explicitly. If you had bothered to read what he wrote, you wouldn't have given erroneous and personal criticism.

[@randallerickson175]

@@RobertShyanNorwalt What an uneducated, hate filled remark. What in particular is it that you dislike about him so much?

[@alisonhunter188]

@@RobertShyanNorwalt What a good little johnny reb you are...

[@martinobrien7110]

Without equal.

[@grapetomatogirl2141]

This episode aired on my mother’s 15th birthday. 🥰 🍰 Be well, stay kind and blessings to all ~ 🙏🏼

[@keymaninmusic]

I was wondering when her birthday was.

[@davidgladstone5261]

I wa only 5 months old but my parents were certainly watching this! I have listened to both of these gentlemen since my early days.

[@perfumeaddict1204]

What a man, what a voice.

[@emmarose4234]

Edward R. Murrow was so stinking ADORABLE!!!

[@bt10ant]

Sad to see Murrow smoking. He admitted to smoking three packs a day and died of lung cancer in 1965.

[@love-light369]

It was probably stress-relief... We all have habits: some more noticeable than others.

[@keithhyttinen8275]

Christopher Reeves wife, Dana Reeves, died of lung cancer. She never touched tobacco.

[@MarthaReynolds]

Oh, the voice of Edward R. Murrow!!

[@smadaf]

This is the first time it every occurred to me that 1952 was just eleven years after 1941. The gap between the attack on Pearl Harbor and this broadcast was not even 55 percent as great as that between the attacks of September 11 and today.

[@leesher1845]

The business of contestants walking in front of the panelists was so demeaning.Thank goodness they stopped that.

[@earlenepeterson8065]

Loved his voice.

[@MrJoeybabe25]

CBS's greatest newsman of the time and he gets tepid applause? I think, perhaps, that Ed Murrow was not that easily recognized by the vox populi in 1952, for two reasons, he did news programs on television, which most people did not watch, and he was, at this time, still mostly on radio. The name meant more than the face in 1952, I think. This would change dramatically as the 50's wore on.

[@soulierinvestments]

Bennett's mention of a record of history featuring narrator Murrow is the record set "Hear it Now," produced by Fred Friendly. It had a lot of authentic radio broadcast recordings. It also contained some recreations. It featured the last recreation of the KDKA November 1920 news broadcast of Harding vs Cox election results. {the actual broadcast was not recorded but was recreated as early as 1936] Bob Trout reported on NPR a few years ago that "Hear it Now" 's famous clip of Trout announcing the end of the Second World War II was a recreation; he presented the original and the recreation for comparison-contrast. [In the original, Trout's report kept getting interrupted by cheering staff] Most famously, as Trout put it, "Only Fred Friendly could think that the first news report on the Pearl Harbor attack lacked dramatic effect." John Daly reported it first as the lead story of CBS Radio Sunday Afternoon News. Fred Friendly took Daly's lead from the bulletin announcing Franklin Roosevelt's death, spiced it in, and turned the Pearl Harbor report into a news bulletin.

[@WhatsMyLine]

Heads up that today's WML rerun will be postponed till tomorrow, due to the sad news of the passing of Betsy Palmer. In lieu of today's WML rerun, I've posted early the three episodes of "To Tell the Truth" where Betsy was on the panel to the new TTTT channel, and I'm featuring a playlist of these appearances and her two appearances on the WML panel. Not the happiest note to start the brand new TTTT channel off with, but as I've said in these situations in the past, I always think it's better rather watch these shows and remember the joy these performers brought to us, rather than our just feeling sad about their passing. I sincerely believe that this is what they would have wanted. The playlist can be found here: kzbin.info/aero/PLqsaqh5sqUxruonnoVTmcaTZfLDoqFG1V The regular weekday WML rerun posts will resume tomorrow.

[@soulierinvestments]

Edward R Murrow was CBS Radio News’s star reporter in the 1940s. However, his relationship with CBS-TV in the 1950s was unhappy. Murrow’s documentary news hour “See it Now” started in September 1951 with a lot of high hopes - most went unfulfilled. Murrow’s CBS-TV celebrity interview program “Person to Person” quickly became his most popular show. Murrow’s sponsor ALCOA had the courage to back Murrow when in March 1954 “See It Now” broadcast "A Report on Senator Joseph McCarthy" and took him apart brick by brick. From CBS’s commercial TV point of view, that entire broadcast was a PR disaster. From March 1954, CBS placed increasing regulations and restrictions on Murrow and his documentary unit and eventually found a way to cancel “See it Now” all together and to continue “Person to Person” with Charles Collingwood, as I recall. In the meantime, Walter Cronkite, Douglas Edwards, and Eric Severeid found ways to advance their careers through the dark underbrush of CBS corporate culture, so CBS News in the late 1950s and 1960s belonged to them - not Murrow.

[@PeterMcDonald-sl9rt]

I understand Murrow's respected CBS news show was pushed-out for "The Beverly Hillbillies." And......the rest is history: Goodnight, and good luck.

[@iamintheburg]

I want a blindfold like Arlene's : too fab, too chic, so stylish.

[@drhino9425]

My FAVE SHOW!!

[@beadyeyedbrat]

I want a dollar for every time Daly says, "We don't want to mislead you."

[@519djw6]

Regarding Edward R. Murrow: I've never been to New York, so I wonder whether this memorial to journalists killed in WWII and the Korean War was ever built.

[@keymaninmusic]

It wasn't. They built the wax museum instead.

[@VynceMontgomery]

Is Percy Lowery the first black non-famous contestant on the show?

[@WhatsMyLine]

Certainly the first in a show that's been preserved. But it's pretty much impossible to know, because most of the first two years wasn't preserved.

[@davidhenschel1990]

Vynce Montgomery Yes.

[@vanillabean0164]

Funny that they say “What’s My Crime?” because in Walt Disney’s 1961 film 101 DALMATIANS, Horace and Jasper watch a spoof of this series with that exact title. (Side note: Walt Disney himself appeared on What’s My Line? on November 11th, 1956 as the Mystery Guest; which can be seen here on KZbin)

[@laurahoward5426]

Never seen Edward R.Murrow laugh....

[@caleb_güero]

The "Difference of Opinion" moment is hilarious.

[@leesher1845]

Walking in front of the panel was so idiotic. Thank goodness they got rid of that and had the contestants shake the panelists’ hands at the end the way the celebrities did. Good that they also got rid of the contestants leaving behind John Charles Daly. That older gentleman who was the chairman of that parole board should have been able to go over and shake hands with those panelists, but he was classy enough to turn to them and nod.

[@lemorab1]

Did the War Correspondents Memorial that Ed Murrow is collecting for ever actually get built in New York City?

[@lemorab1]

+lemorab1 There are memorials to war dead in Maryland, D. C., Battery Park in New York City, but nowhere do I find a memorial specifically honoring fallen WWII correspondents in New York City, built in the 1950's. I can find a website dedicated to them, with mini-bios, and some photos on a wall, taken in 1948, but no memorial that looks like it cost the $300,000 figure that Murrow mentions. Does anyone know?

[@dutchtea8354]

Bennett talked about it during the introductions in this episode: kzbin.info/www/bejne/pp2Xh6Z8e7p5q5I

[@lemorab1]

@@dutchtea8354 Thank you, I just watched Bennett and Daly talk in 1954 about the Dateline TV program dedication ceremony. But, that's all they talk about. No mention of any details, like where it is and what it is. I guess the photos on a wall that I saw on the website is it. But, who pocketed most of the cash not spent on it, I wonder?

[@jeffreyslott3883]

I wonder if that memorial that Mr. Murrow talks about was ever developed. By the way, $300,000 in today's money would be over $2,650,000.

[@Sylvander1911]

The Overseas Press Club Memorial Press Center was dedicated in 1954

[@WhatsMyLine]

Today's KZbin Rerun for 6/2/15: Watch along and join the discussion-- while you still can. For those who may not yet be aware, the WML channel is currently under direct attack by Fremantle Enterprises due to totally unjustifiable, outrageous copyright claims which they've only started filing because they just launched their new TV station, Buzzr. I intend to fight this in any way I can (The CBS WML series is not copyrighted and never was), even if I have to go as far as to hire a copyright attorney. But the WML channel's days may be numbered no matter what I do, folks. ----------------------------- Join our Facebook group for WML-- great discussions, photos, etc, and great people! facebook.com/groups/728471287199862/ To stay up to date with postings, please consider supporting the WML channel by subscribing. The WML channel already contains the complete CBS series, with new videos still being added on the weekends. kzbin.info/door/hPE75Fvvl1HmdAsO7Nzb8w

[@SuperWinterborn]

What's My Line? This is like being invited to a party, which then turns out to be a funeral instead. My joy in watching these reruns did suddenly disappear after reading your comment here. Together we have created a decent and wonderful community on these pages. This would not have been possible without *Our Host of Honour*, namely you, Gary. Are we now going to lose all this, due to an unfair claim from a greedy company?

[@rangerdj1]

What's My Line? Can you prove that WML is not under copyright by Freemantle or CBS? All other Goodman Todman properties were, and they managed to renew all copyrights I can think of.

[@savethetpc6406]

What's My Line? Oh no, Gary! This is the first I'm hearing of it. Please let us know if there's anything we can do to help. I would certainly hate to see this channel disappear -- not only because I personally enjoy both the episodes and the camaraderie we have developed in these comments pages, but also because of all the hard work that you have put into it to make it so appealing and inviting. It would be so unfair to you to have to lose the channel after all that!

[@savethetpc6406]

***** The long list of FremantleMedia Productions posted in the article you linked does not include "What's My Line," though. Of course, Wikipedia is not the ultimate authority on anything, but I'm hoping that the absence of WML from the list at least indicates that it is not one of Fremantle's specific acquisitions, despite them having rights and control over other Goodson-Todman shows. I also noticed, for example, that they are listed as having the rights to "Password Jutawan" but that would indicate to me that they do *_not_* own the rights to the American "Password "programs.

[@savethetpc6406]

***** Obviously Fremantle thinks _they_ have a case, or they wouldn't be pursuing this in the first place, but I'm just hoping that they can be proved wrong!

[@MCO18]

Good night and good luck.

[@arrghhouse]

At 21:35, Hal Block humorously suggests that the mystery guest might be John Daly. He had no idea that this would come to pass many years after he himself was off the show.

[@juanettebutts9782]

My Mom said smoking was seen as being glamorous, elegant, fashionable, suave, etc. Everybody smoked, my parents included. My father died of emphysema. My mother died of lung cancer. It wasn't until many years after this program that it was officially revealed nicotine was addictive. As for current times, with all the information available regarding how toxic smoking is, there's no excuse for starting a deadly habit. Drugs, either. Alcohol is legal but look at all the damage done to people's lives...

[@paperclip27828]

Wilmington, Ohio has an arboretum named after Dr Frank Hazard the biology professor. He died in 1963 aged 57

[@robertfiller8634]

The Cerf of a few years later would probably have asked him if his "line" was Hazardous.

[@roberttelarket4934]

Very clever from Hal: What's My Crime?

[@waynehowell6160]

I would be willing to bet Mr. Morrow wouldn't have been invited to be MG two years later, during the McCarthy hearings.

[@jtal3292]

Watched a few of these now, and I'm noticing a pattern with Hal. He isn't paying attention to the questions the other panelists ask. He frequently doesn't know what has been asked, and Arlene has a clearly annoyed tone when she has to tell him. He appears to just be there to do his schtick without regard for the show. You could see why they didn't like working with him.

[@davidsanderson5918]

JT Al My guess is that Hal Block wasn't very bright. It explains everything I would say.

[@errorsofmodernism9715]

@@davidsanderson5918 gee, who would have thunk this?

[@keymaninmusic]

He was a very bright comedy writer.

[@ginnylorenz5265]

I wonder why Mr. Murrow was cut off at the end of his speech.

[@carolv8450]

Prob went on longer than expected...

[@Sylvander1911]

I had assumed it was just an edit to cut the commercial out. Must be tough to know exactly where to make the cut.

[@davidgladstone5261]

This show was on Dec. 7, the 11th anniversary of Pearl Harbor, John Daly's big moment!!:]

[@dietpepsivanilla3095]

Smoking on "What's My Line?" That's what ultimately led to Edward R. Murrow's demise.

[@studentoftheword6115]

Oh that's funny. What's my Crime? 9:40

[@vegetony]

I wonder what happened to the Memorial proposed by Edward Murrow. I can find no mention of it online. There is a memorial dedicated in 1896 for Civil War Journalists, but no mention to any that would fit this context. There's a tree at Arlington National Cemetary dedicated to fallen journalists, but that's not quite a memorial. There is presently (as of 2023) a National Park Service Planning Committee to establish such a memorial, which implies there is none existing presently. One of the sites considered is Edward R. Murrow Park in Washington DC.

[@taasetaofi2005]

Go Cougs! Proud WSU Alumni

[@doowopmitzmitz]

These are great...I'm enjoying them so very much---THANK YOU!! I was wondering if you had the full Elsa Maxwell episode?

[@WhatsMyLine]

Depends which one you're referring to-- she was on three programs. The first was 4/12/50, and I don't have that one (most of the shows from the first couple years are lost). But I do have her other two appearances and will be posting them eventually: She was a member of the panel on 4/15/56, and a mystery guest again (though not the primary one) on 10/13/57.

[@doowopmitzmitz]

Thank you so very much----I truly appreciate your efforts!!!

[@neilmidkiff]

+What's My Line? Just an update for later readers: The 4/12/50 episode was later found and has been posted here. Thanks, Gary, for all you've done despite massive obstacles.

[@WhatsMyLine]

Neil Midkiff My pleasure-- We'd never have this set of episodes complete if it weren't for the very generous contributions of about a half dozen other folks!

[@markegan2480]

Wow , two of the great news reporters on the show, Both Heavyweights in their fields

[@MrJoeybabe25]

Bennett in his free guess of the second contestant said "I think he REEKS of big business". "Reeks" is a term usually held to be pejorative in the negative. Was Bennett tossing off the 50's conception of "the Man in the Gray Flannel Suit" ...the man who pursues a life on Wall Street or Main street and was (is) often thought by some to be a bit disreputable. Bennett was a big businessman himself. Yet there is always self-deprecation.

[@RTSOB1]

Often pejorative, but not always.

[@wholeNwon]

How many more years could we all have had with him had he not smoked.

[@zekezacker9449]

Murrow was one of many in the first episode of what evolved into the CBS radio World News Roundup; that particular radio show reported on the European reaction to Germany annexing Austria, and was aired on March 13, 1938 (for informational and technical reasons, this show was a big deal at the time). Murrow's radio reports to the US from London during the Blitz (the period of almost daily German bombing of England during WW2) made his voice recognizable among a large number of Americans.

[@soulierinvestments]

Second contestant. "You mean you raise bed bugs voluntarily?" LOL. You can bet they had a lot of security around them in the lab. My theory is that if humanity wipes itself out and evolution starts over again, bed bugs will survive and probably evolve into the next master race.

[@kenbrohere]

The voice of God.

[@el7jake]

I would have thought that the audience reaction to the greatest journalist of his time would have been stronger.

[@calebmacmoyer4450]

Man.. back in the good days when you could smoke on television without a lawsuit.

[@krystonjones]

Without medical technology that enabled you to live past 60, half dead.

[@taraxacum]

The good old days? Um yeah, to encourage audiences to see as glamourus something that would kill so many people.

[@Julia-fo4tk]

Imagine the stench in one's hair and clothes? I am not a smoke eater.

[@peterdaniel66]

That voice!!

[@tompaulcampbell]

I thought Murrow would pull out a cigarette!

[@DominicFlynn]

Poor Dorothy

[@contardi]

Murrow was a bright, bright man. A biograohy told me so much of his life. Then he was ' downloaded ' to make silly interviews where he would stay in the studio talking to basically Hollywood celebrities in their homes. Such a waste of talent.

[@gordongreig3503]

During questioning, Mr. Murrow lights a cigarette.

[@peternagy-im4be]

And?

[@rickrick5041]

Did the panelists give checks to Mr. Murrow?

[@stanmaxkolbe]

Whoa Bennett Cerf said Kalamazoo a few years later I was born there.

[@dcasper8514]

Whoa, Stanley !! Who would've guessed ?

[@keymaninmusic]

I was wondering where you were born.

[@jeffersonsmith1877]

Smoking!

[@Joesfosterdogs]

How much did Morrow smoke a day? His simple comment at the end was so "professional" and gripping. One of those guys who can read the phone book at make it sound profound.

[@ladya1953]

Jeff Porcaro Groove It was said he smoked 60 to 65 a day.

[@nadiazahroon6573]

My dad smoked more, gave it up cold turkey and died in his sleep and never got cancer.

[@preppysocks209]

At the time, Murrow was the most famous chain smoker in America. Reportedly he smoked from the moment he woke up until he went to bed.

[@piddles11]

3 packs a day😢

[@michellepost5232]

I don't care that Murrow smokes, but couldn't he wait until after that segment? Daly isn't too crazy about the smoke.

[@preppysocks209]

He couldn't, actually, he was so addicted. Very sad.

[@alisonhunter188]

John Charles Daly would occasionally have a lit cigarette at his moderator desk. He smoked too - although perhaps not as ardently as Murrow.

[@laurahoward5426]

Back in the DDT days when insects were pests.😭

[@Beachdudeca]

Funny to watch Murrow smoke live on the show

[@dcasper8514]

Where's the humor ?

[@Grisbi6]

Interesting that he smoked like a non-smoker. No inhaling, just pushes smoke out thru his nostrils....

[@raygilleran1471]

Hal Block is just obnoxious, not funny at all.

[@sdkelmaruecan2907]

In all fairness, he behave quite well in this show. I guess he could be a very good panelist, as long as there was no pretty female contestants.

[@Victrolamarc]

I really dislike Hal Block. He is absolutely obnoxious!

[@ginnylorenz5265]

Agreed. I've never understood how he got in among such an elegant, dignified, well mannered group. UGH!!!!!!

[@rebeccaquartieri3564]

He was more expressive than the other panelists! While he said more than the other panelists, I bet they were thinking it! ;)

[@keithhyttinen8275]

The Smoking Police will arrive in 3....2....1.....

[@littlerover8204]

Asking to see guest's hands really creeps me out. I think its stupid. They should of done away with that.

[@nelsonricardo3729]

They eventually did. They got rid of the panel walk and the free guesses.

[@commandoxy]

Edward R. Murrow and John Daly have the same hairline.

[@kbunky69]

Ed Murrow is just like Don Lemon on CNN same high standard of journalism

[@BostonHistoryStore]

?

[@shirleedockter717]

Aa

[@JFinSD2]

I don't know why but I always find Dorothy very annoying

[@WhatsMyLine]

DAM FLA Yes, many people-- myself included-- often find/found Dorothy extremely grating. But I've also always said that she filled a very important role on the show, and it lost a bit of its magic after her death.

[@duckman1650]

I'm just the opposite..I find the way her mind works fascinating...She frequently thinks outside the box...It's almost like she can sense when she's on the right track with some of her questioning..I feel she was ahead of her time and would fit in quite easily with today's women.

[@PepsiMama2]

I love Dorothy Kilgallen.. they all have their own way of playing and the differences is what makes the show so great... jmho..

[@TheBraveIntrovert]

John Fuentes So do I, however she added to the show. I just didn't like her personality.

[@WhatsMyLine]

rideordie Would you please stop with the unnecessary profanity? I didn't say anything the first time, and I'm no prude in real life, BELIEVE ME. But enough, please. Most of us try to keep to the same level of decorum on these pages as was displayed in the show itself. It's a tiny oasis of civility in an otherwise largely classless world, and I'd really like to keep it that way. Thank you.

[@Fush1234]

Isnt smoking on the show disgusting

[@bloodgrss]

Not in its day; can't rewrite history with your morals today...

[@jennymode]

I could listen to that voice all day! What a moving description of the memorial, I have rarely heard anyone so articulate. I'm going to hunt down recordings of his journalism. Thank you again ! for posting these wonderful episodes, WML is my new daily ritual.

[@Widda68]

Yes what a strong authoritative voice Mr Murrow lhad.. he was on TV during its infancy. Yet I still think he set the industry standard for TV journalism.

[@keithnaylor1981]

Edward R Murrow - the proud owner of the most brilliant captivating talking voice ever. His speech was so moving. Even if he just asked you the time of day you would be in awe at his overwhelming presence. KAN UK

[@23bnichols]

The man could read the phone book & be miles classier than a lot of the talking heads currently populating the "small" screen.

[@kenyongray2615]

Edward R Murrow was a giant in his industry. Thanks for the video.

[@howardgoldberg7983]

A voice that guided a country through The Blitz and WWII. One of the most recognizable voice of confidence.

[@roberttelarket4934]

Absolutely no one tomorrow will know who he was!!!

[@theolamp5312]

Once upon a time, the news was not an entertainment industry.

[@zapkvr]

Indeed. I had this conversation with a radio producer the other day when two journalists were interviewing one another. I asked was either of them an expert. Well of course they weren't. They were there purely for their opinion. That ain't news in my definition.

[@zapkvr]

Paddy Chayevsky wrote a movie script that won an Oscar, the movie was called Network. William Holden was in it. So was Faye Dunaway. And some Australian dude.

[@theolamp5312]

@@zapkvr - Then, they weren't journalists. They were op-ed people. I find Chris Wallace to still be a serious journalist. It's hard for me to find anyone else.It's embarrassing for the "News" media.

[@theolamp5312]

@@zapkvr - That Australian dude was Peter Finch. And, he did the role of a lifetime. He was mad as hell, and he wasn't going to take it anymore. I'm not sure, but it might have been his last role.

[@walterweddle7644]

Douglas Edwards reported the news in a mannerly fashion.

[@johngiovine8792]

I absolutely love the fun and depth of intellect of this show, it is so refreshing in this day and age! And Edward R. Murrow is a personal hero to me, his integrity, and depth of humanity and intellect is so refreshing in our current day. I have deep respect for this man.

[@janetmarletto6667]

It is also fun to watch some of ERM's Person to Person on YT

[@kellythompson3865]

Yes sir John! Couldn't have said it better! My biggest fear and observation is that integrity is lacking in this country. Mr. Murrow would be on the side of democracy and would know the fringe and fascism, he was there.

[@ToddSF]

This show was aired originally on December 7, 1952, 11 years to the day that John Charles Daly's voice was the first one heard on the radio informing Americans that the Japanese had bombed Pearl Harbor.

[@loissimmons6558]

That was one of a handful of famous firsts and broadcasts by Daly. He was the first to broadcast the death of President Franklin Delano Roosevelt. He was one of two reporters (with John Scali) to report from Moscow about the famous kitchen debate between Khrushchev and Nixon on July 24, 1959. Daly only missed four WML broadcasts during the 17 year run of the original version of the show. He was able to get back in time for the July 26 broadcast, but ironically missed one of the four on the last Sunday of June 1959 when he was in Japan. Bennett Cerf mentions an interesting fact about Daly's trip to Japan on the first show when Daly returned. On the lighter side, Daly did a mock news report on the first episode of a new CBS situation comedy, a spin-off of "Petticoat Junction", called "Green Acres". Daly explains the premise of the show in his report. Also, Daly was something of a predecessor to George Foreman, the former heavyweight boxing champion of the world. Daly had four sons (and two daughters). All four sons were named John. (Foreman one-upped him and had five sons.)

[@daniellack3559]

Thanks for informing everyone about what a wonderful newsman John Daly truly was...I imagine most folks always will associate him with the hugely popular WML program, but he was an outstanding newsman...

[@sdacj]

It was tradition in the Daly family for several generations, and may still be, to name all male babies John - his brother was named John, as was their father, and his sons and grandson were all John.

[@VickyRBenson]

Wow! This thread is so informative. I had never heard of John Charles Daly (no wonder Bennett Cerf included the “Charles” in his introductions, with so many John Daly’s around!) and now I hear Ed Murrow’s voice for the first time. Didn’t know who he was, either. This gives me a new perspective of history. It’s also a different time when someone of his caliber lights up a cigarette during this brief on-camera “interview.” I wonder why he felt the need.

[@stadleroux]

@@VickyRBenson check out, if you'd like to know more about Ed Murrow, the movie "Good Night, and Good Luck". I didn't know anything about him myself when I first watched it and almost thought it was just a fictional story, until I realised that just too many real people were being mentioned. Made in black and white and starring, inter alia, George Clooney and Jeff Daniels, and given what I've heard from them in recent years it's clear that it was a matter of principle for them, they had no choice but to make the movie.

[@MarcBrewer]

Mr. Murrow had something that we don't see in evidence among the "talking heads" on TV & other media: Courage and a sense of duty. In many ways the modern world has improved greatly, but in some ways we are falling short of the mark.

[@ralpholson3328]

MarcBrewer l

[@brucegelman5582]

We have quite simply devolved

[@elleryeggen9678]

Here here

[@davidsanderson5918]

Bruce Gelman Wow!! That's exactly the word I was going to reply with right here.

[@jewell92]

very short of the mark.

[@soulierinvestments]

Murrow’ discussion of the Journalist Memorial is just amazing. That voice. It is easy to see how he mesmerized news audiences for years. This is Murrow at his peak. His career slid into the morass of CBS corporate politics within 2 years. This has my vote as the most prestigious mystery guest sequence of The Early WML Period.

[@Dr.Schnabel]

What ever happened with Journalist Memorial project? Ever built? Where?

[@donnawoodford6641]

It is presumptuous to think one could collect a check from panelists while exiting the stage. It would be more appropriate to ask for personal donations after the show and when "off the air". The request seemed a bit tacky to me. 🤨

[@christinelorin1827]

His March 9, 1954 broadcast examining McCarthy’s anti-communist actions is considered by some to be the example of broadcast journalism at its finest. That broadcast is 1 year and 3 months from this tv show in Dec 1952.

[@christinelorin1827]

Of interest, Louis Untermeyer was fired from ‘What’s my Line’ because he was deemed to be communist, and protesters convinced the sponsor, Stopette, to have him fired. Louis became severely depressed after his firing and was blacklisted. His career and stature recovered and among other things, from 1961-1963, he was the Poetry Consultant to the Library of Congress.

[@arlLaFong]

@@donnawoodford6641 He was making a joke. Look in the dictionary under "sense of humor."

[@rtususian]

This is one of the only times I have ever seen Edward R. Murrow smiling and laughing! Every other photo or film clip I've seen he is deadly serious.

[@timprescott4634]

Murrow was so utterly and completely above all who came after…today’s “newsmen” couldn’t clean the bottom of his shoes.

[@belindaalbright8798]

You are correct. The problem being you can't buy morals, a conscience, dedication, and professionalism. Something few possess anymore, to become all but extinct once the boomers are gone.

[@deewilson3239]

Amen!

[@kd6836]

Today’s are what you scrape off the shoes. We will ever have Murrow or Kilgallin again. They are propagandists now.

[@theseventhsojourner1413]

Murrow was a master of elocution. So many were, so many years ago.

[@philjohnson2277]

Hal Block was a questionable panel member from the start,but in his defense he stayed within boundaries of tact early on.As the show grew,he ignored those boundaries,particularly when it came to his awkwardness and behavior to female contestants. Then it become very uncomfortable and it was evident he had to go. Pull up the Bennett Cerf interview on KZbin.

[@johnjaybonstingl9007]

It was a classy panel, but Block was not that type of personality.

[@lauracollins4195]

Sorry to see so many commenters harping on Edward R. Murrow’s smoking (even calling him a degenerate!), and also a comment on his high forehead, if you can believe that. But very glad to see so many others admiring his skill, intelligence, influence... and oh, that voice!

[@ttrivett2000]

he admitted to be a hopeless smoker, even saying he couldn't go 30 minutes without one and it did end up killing him very young.

[@pambayyari8573]

A high chin represents intelligence

[@nedranichols2906]

@Sander de Boer It's a sign of the times. Back then, smoking was socially acceptable. On the first show, John Daly was smoking (and he continued to do so from time to time). The first time Arlene was on the panel, she was smoking. Many guest panelists smoked. (In the '80s, I remember sitting in a doctor's waiting room smoking.) Applying today's standards to the past is idiotic and serves no purpose. You are correct about the stress of appearing on the show. Dorothy was a mystery guest and she commented afterward how terrifying it was and that John had to hold her hand throughout.

[@MrJoeybabe25]

@@pambayyari8573🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣 Also big feet and hands represent....big boots and gloves!

[@zapkvr]

Nicotine is more addictive than heroin. We know this from studies with rats. It's a bad habit but it's not a source of shame any more than chewing your nails.

[@brohan914]

Flagpole sitting= the planking of the Roaring 20's

[@georgevincent1834]

Wish we had Edward R. Murrow in the media TODAY.

[@freddyfurrah3789]

Not A Chance 😂

[@sgt.blkdog3840]

Ain’t that the truth

[@franksantore2327]

Wow, it is really evident from his facial expressions that John gets pissed by Hal's non sequiturs.

[@sdkelmaruecan2907]

Having just watched "Good Night, and Good Luck", I immediately checked if if Ed. Murrow has ever been a guest in WML, I can't believe he was. What a voice and what an articulate man

[@dbg399]

Great Movie. I admire George Clooney for getting it made.

[@allenjones3130]

Ed Murrow's smoking eventually killed him. He died of cancer in the 60s. Rest in peace, Ed.

[@markgiardina1303]

Ed Murrow had a wonderful broadcasting voice to go along with being an excellent journalist and interviewer. It's a shame that there aren't more Ed Murrow's on television these days.

[@nancypine9952]

He had courage and integrity, and those are virtues we don't often see these days.

[@daniellack3559]

He was a legend and was probably more responsible for bringing down the drunken bully Joe McCarthy than anyone else....a shame the cigarette addiction led to cancer and his untimely death....

[@fenwaypark1725]

daniel lack We need Joe back as the marxes demorats are now more commie than ever.

[@kurtbilinski1723]

"... more fortunate-or less courageous." Wow, that says a lot about Murrow's character right there.

[@ToddSF]

I strongly suspect that John Daly had a great deal of respect for Edward R. Murrow -- they were both involved heavily in broadcast journalism (radio and TV). In fact, Daly was on CBS radio along with Murrow. (Later Daly would be on television with the ABC News.)

[@loissimmons6558]

It shows something of the respect and demand for Daly's services that at one point in the 1950's, he was on all three major networks at the same time. This was something unheard of even at that time and pretty much impossible now. Daly was, in fact, a Vice President of ABC in charge of news, special events, and public affairs, religious programs and sports. He anchored ABC's evening news broadcasts from 1953 to 1960. He left ABC shortly after the 1960 Presidential election because ABC chose to show Bugs Bunny cartoons and an episode of The Rifleman from 7:30 to 8:30 when CBS and NBC had already begun election coverage. He also did occasional fill-in work on The Today Show in the 1950's. Technically during this time he was an employee of Goodson-Todman, not CBS. Even so, ABC allowed their VP to work for the competition.

[@loissimmons6558]

Both Daly and Murrow served as war correspondents during WWII. Daly was in Italy in 1943. Murrow's experience was far more extensive and no doubt Daly was mindful of that. Murrow was in London during the Nazi air attacks on that city. He also flew on 25 Allied missions over Europe. Neither of these men could be counted as war correspondent survivors due to cowardice.

[@ToddSF]

Lois Simmons -- Cowardice? Are you really in a position to make that accusation?

[@loissimmons6558]

ToddSF 94109 I was referring to a remark made by Mr. Murrow himself as he was talking about the memorial he was raising money for. The exact quote was that those war correspondents who survived were either "more fortunate or less courageous". I took "less courageous" to be a diplomatic way that Murrow was saying that some of the war correspondents "phoned in" their stories from a distance rather than going on the front lines. (If I recall correctly, that was often the MO of Roland Hedley in Doonesbury.) Maybe changing "less courageous" to "cowardice" was a bit strong, but I think that was the sense of what Murrow was saying.: some who survived genuinely put their life on the line and others survived because of the way they chose to cover the war: from a distance. And please understand that I was interpreting Murrow's remarks, not placing my own value judgment on what anyone would do in that situation. Having grown up when I did, I knew some who went to Vietnam and made it back, some who enlisted and were fortunate to be sent to someplace like Germany where they didn't see action, some who didn't come back and some who left for Canada and evaded the draft. My brother failed to physical - twice. I consider myself fortunate that I didn't have to face that decision. I have no idea what I would have done if I had been faced with being drafted into the military. And to do it as a journalist rather than a soldier would be an even greater challenge to decide. How far does one go for their profession?

[@stadleroux]

@@loissimmons6558 it's quite inappropriate and uncalled for to substitute "cowardice" for "less courageous". Mr Murrow was being modest and could just as well have referred to surviving correspondents as luckier than those who had not survived, because that's what they were. Have you any idea what the Allied attrition rate was in combat missions over Europe? Murrow flew on 25 of them. Was he "less courageous" because he didn't go on the 26th? No, he was lucky because he survived the 25. Cowardice my ass...!

[@leesher1845]

Thank goodness they got rid of that routine of having the contestants leave by walking behind John Charles Daly. The celebrities on the other hand, when they left would shake the hands of all the panelists. There was a real division there in terms of status, thank goodness, somebody had the good sense to recognize how inappropriate and elitist that was. It was a pleasure to see the parole board Director nod to the panelists as he was leaving. He was a real gentleman. Edward R. Murrow spoke so eloquently. They didn’t show him collecting checks from the celebrities. I wonder if they all contributed.