What's My Line? - George Axelrod; Vivian Blaine (Dec 4, 1955)

[@gilliamben]

Vivian Blaine-what a beautiful soul she was and not just in looks-she had a heart of pure gold. She was one of the first to speak up and use her stardom to address the tragedy of HIV/AIDS in the early 80's-way before Elizabeth Taylor. She deserves more recognition for the wonderful humanitarian she was. Her beauty shines wonderfully in this episode. Thanks for posting it!

[@puffnstuff12]

Watching the cast play around during the show is one thing that I love about it. It aired many years before I was born and as a matter of fact I didn't even know it existed until I stumbled upon it by accident last week and I can't stop watching it.

[@sleepCircle]

i'm in the same boat; i just discovered it in the past year or so and it's become a very pleasant show to watch when i'm stressed or working on a repetitive task.

[@Marcel_Audubon]

Vivian Blaine at the height of her success - what a dear lady!

[@lemorab1]

I love Fred Allen and Vivian Blaine! Thank you!

[@catsarereallycool]

Vivian Blaine, she was absolutely wonderful.

[@Beson-SE]

What a finale of the Myster Guest section! Vivian Blaine promised to give each member of the panel a kiss and John rushed to the end of the line and received his kiss last! :) 20:21

[@hobonickel]

Johan Bengtsson 20:52 As Vivian Blaine was exiting after John Daly stepped to the end of the line to receive a kiss you get a very brief glimpse of a television camera. I am sure they took great care not to get the cameras in the shots but John Daly sort of forced them into an angle they had not anticipated.

[@Beson-SE]

hobonickel That's right. You can see the camera being rushed in from the left for the normal close-up of John, but since John was not in his normal position at the desk, the camera man had to wait until he was seated before he could adjust the focus, hence the small zooming 20:56

[@bettycogswell9851]

That was so cute, I never saw John do that before...

[@williamlynnroden]

@@Beson-SE . I take it that that wonderful lady was a favorite of everyone on the stage - - who can blame them - - she really seemed like a sweetheart!

[@wchumphries]

Miss McLemore was so polite and charming! Glad she stumped them.

[@rmelin13231]

She had such an engaging smile too.

[@mikejschin]

Another historical perspective: at 15:10, Bennett asks the contestant if she had anything to do with "that little specialty shop known as Neiman Marcus". At the time of this show, Neiman Marcus was indeed located only in the Dallas area.

[@mikejschin]

To place this episode in historical perspective, it was aired 3 days after Rosa Parks was arrested in Montgomery, Alabama, for refusing to give up her bus seat for a white passenger. Undercurrents that eventually have widespread repercussions are going on all the time. It's fascinating that the participants on this show could have had no idea what was transpiring down South and what the results would be.

[@scottpardee6303]

Thank you for pointing this out. As I watch these episodes over so many years, I occasionally remember something important that happens at that same time. They have had a number of black performers on this show, including Louis Armstrong, Nat King Cole, and Harry Belafonte. It would have been wonderful if they had asked Martin Luther King to be a mystery guest, but perhaps that would be too controversial for such an apolitical show. Just think of how he might have disguised his voice!

[@owencrater7089]

@@scottpardee6303 I agree with the fine across the board representation on the show. I don't know what the procurement process was, but I enjoyed the Louis Armstrong episode in particular. I've not watched them all so I can't say about all the guests. I have seen a fair mixture as far as I can tell. This is a light entertainment kind of show, and that is all that it claims.

[@owencrater7089]

This is a light entertainment kind of show, not To Meet the Press. You would be assuming too much to state that since the matter was not covered on the show, that the panelists and guests were unaware of Mrs Parks or any other political or social current event., North or South.

[@dianawardrip5171]

There was not the news cycle that there is today, 24/7!!,

[@GOLDVIOLINbowofdeath]

They have their own prejudices or did you not notice John Daly use the phrase “gypped“?

[@loissimmons6558]

The second challenger eventually became Jeanne Anne Bullington. records are sketchy but it appears she passed away sometime before 11/29/14. In addition to wrestling promoter, Jeanne's father, Ed, owned an arena used for wrestling in North Dallas. But he also booked many musical acts into the arena to keep money flowing in. Those who performed there in what was called "The Big 'D' Jamboree" include Elvis Presley, Johnny Cash, Patsy Cline, Hank Williams, Carl Perkins, Merle Haggard, Willie Nelson, Hank Snow, Wanda Jackson, Buddy Holly and Lefty Frizzell. It also included Gene Vincent ("Be-Bop-A-Lula") who Ed McLemore managed for a time.

[@Wattamattau]

Jeanne McLemore Bullington died on August 8, 1997 in Dallas, Texas.

[@robertjean5782]

Wow all my favorites 😊

[@wchumphries]

Sadly, Vivian Blaine was another of Hollywood's underrated actresses.

[@deanastarks6805]

wchumphries what happened on her ?

[@ChrisHansonCanada]

@@deanastarks6805 Congestive heart failure in 1995, age 74.

[@loissimmons6558]

A shame this episode wasn't in color. Miss Blaine was known for having a strikingly unusual shade of red hair that was described as "cherry blonde".

[@dmnemaine]

For Guys and Dolls, she went full blonde and pretty much stayed a blonde for the rest of her career.

[@RonGerstein]

WML was broadcast in color starting in September 1966 on CBS.

[@gallantrycrossx1915]

George Axelrod wrote "Goodbye Charlie" and "Lord Love a Duck", they're superb writing, check 'em out.

[@CDU916]

gallantrycross x: I always see Roddy McDowell in my mind at the mention of Lord Love A Duck. Always adored him. Thanks for the memory! 😉

[@accomplice55]

@@CDU916 : I adore Roddy McDowall, too.

[@juliansinger]

I can take or leave Mr. Axelrod, but I will now consciously seek out Ms. Blaine's screen material. (I mean, I saw Guys and Dolls when I was 10, but that was a lonnng time ago.) Vivacious is she.

[@jenniferyorgan4215]

She was in the musical State Fair with Jeanne Crain, Dick Haymes, Dana Andrews, Faye Bainter.....1945

[@keithnaylor1981]

“Yes Sir, No Sir” “Yes Ma’am, No Ma’am” What a different polite world it was then!

[@The_A_Cast]

George Axelrod was a playwright genius, but he always made faces that appeared he was constipated.

[@thesprtsspeciaist4192]

Vivian Blaine rocks. We need female writers directors and prodicers to provide women more roles.....and work. Vivian Blaine should have been offered more work.....shes fantastic.

[@miketheyunggod2534]

A few of these I had to “google”. Vivian was one of them.

[@RonGerstein]

You never watched the movie "Guys and Dolls."

[@loissimmons6558]

Fred Allen's attempt to tie a joke to a challenger from the previous week fell as flat as a latke. It shows that even for a comic genius like Fred, timing is everything when it comes to humor. But a good comedian also knows how to come back from a joke that just bombed. I think it was Rich Little who told Johnny Carson that he looked forward to Carson bombing with a joke because some of his funniest lines were the recovery from the bad joke.

[@neilmidkiff]

George Axelrod looks about 24 here, but was actually 33.

[@antonmarino6568]

Vivian was fantastic in Guys and Dolls

[@loissimmons6558]

Vivian Blaine's co-star in "Guys and Dolls", Jean Simmons, was the MG just a few weeks earlier. That helped the panel avoid a possible 50-50 wrong guess.

[@jrm8899]

LOL....I was born 4 days later!

[@captainjay1034]

Thank you for posting short bio on mystery guests.

[@WhatsMyLine]

You're very welcome, but I'm sorry to tell you that I didn't stick to doing this after a while. It was too much extra work when I didn't know who the guests were. :)

[@robertjean5782]

​@@WhatsMyLineI appreciate all you've done to provide us a fantastic memory of our past years of enjoyment 😊

[@Wizardofgosz]

The audio in this one is a little damaged, but you can probably clean that up with spectral editing. You can export the audio file, and load it into an editor and clean that up, then re-import the audio back in the video.

[@robertjean5782]

It's very acceptable to me, compared to not having these shows at all😊

[@Beson-SE]

Arlene failed to guess the MG George Axelrod. In his play "Will Success Spoil Rock Hunter" Martin Gabel played one of the starring parts.

[@michaeldanello3966]

Johan Bengtsson:. They not only said so they discussed it.

[@lilybean835]

I've got that movie on digital, I'll need to check for Martin Gable now that I know who he is.

[@preppysocks209]

@@lilybean835 Check all you want. He was in the play, as stated, but not the movie.

[@joycepiantes8383]

Just loved her in "Guy and Doll's".

[@dmnemaine]

Vivian Blaine was a Twentieth-Century Fox contract star in the 1940s and was usually a leading lady in musicals for that studio, but never quite achieved the stardom of Alice Faye or Betty Grable. She also was a redhead at that point in her career. In 1950, she became a breakout star on the Broadway stage for originating the role of Miss Adelaide in "Guys And Dolls", changing her hair color to blonde, and displaying her considerable comedic talents. She became much more well-known as a blonde comedienne than she had ever been as a red-headed leading lady.

[@drumbum3.142]

Madam Blaine EASILY Has one of the Most BEAUTIFUL, GORGEOUS Smiles in the Business! 🎨🌈🌈🌈 🌈🎨🎨🎨 (And I Also Get her Juxtaposed and Confused with the Equally GORGEOUS Mary Healey sp.)🎨

[@jvcomedy]

It's interesting how the panel seems to hate it when they have to don their masks as evidenced when Mr. Axelrod came out. They obviously prefer guessing what the guests do when they can see them.

[@Beson-SE]

With their masks on they can't write any notes or take a look at the contestant to get information that way.

[@jvcomedy]

Also, I don't believe the ladies like it because it messes up their hair and eyelashes.

[@robertjean5782]

​@@jvcomedyExactly 😊

[@joncheskin]

I have to confess that when I think of wrestling promoters, I tend to think Vince McMahon. No surprise I guess that Miss McLemore stumped the panel.

[@418-Error]

Jonathan C Apparently the reputation of wrestling was no better then than now.

[@richatlarge462]

The last contestant probably wished he could have gotten in line behind John Daly to receive a kiss as well.

[@jackkomisar458]

At 24:48, Bennett jokingly referred to the last contestant as "Mr. Zip". Seven years later, the U.S. Post Office Department (now the U.S. Postal Service) started using a cartoon version of a mail carrier named "Mr. ZIP" in a campaign to get people to use the 5-digit "Zone Improvement Plan" codes ("ZIP" codes) that were to go into effect the next year. The character was largely phased out when the nine-digit ZIP code, or ZIP +4, was introduced in 1983.

[@ChrisHansonCanada]

GEORGE AXELROD, AUTHOR LICENSED WRESTLING PROMOTER GIRDLE SALESMAN

[@stevefowler1787]

I wasn't born yet ('57) and don't remember her but when I saw her face I thought she looks an awful lot like Katherin Heigl...well in the face and hair, she is much thinner than KH.

[@brucelee8819]

Wasn’t she Loretta Young’s sister??

[@dariawells7438]

George Axelrod reminds me of Daniel Handler (aka Lemony Snicket).

[@Lokus199]

the 2nd contestant is cute

[@galileocan]

Arms like an Orangutang

[@jvcomedy]

Galileocan g They were freakishly long weren't they

[@michaeldanello3966]

The two comments that her arms were "freakishly" long is rather odd. Most people's arms reach to about halfway between the hip and knee. That is exactly how long her arms were.. she was talk and thin, that might have led to these statements.

[@dfreeman120]

He wrote the screenplay for The Manchurian Candidate

[@waldolydecker8118]

Vivian Blane - right between the eyes.

[@ChrisHansonCanada]

17:13 There goes Mr. Bellylaugh again!

[@joeygagliardi7380]

Fred Allen reminds me of Sophia Petrillo of THE GOLDEN GIRLS,, You never know what is going to come out of his mouth.

[@theamishumpire1301]

As I have said in the past it great that you tell us who did what, because I really don't know these 2 people.

[@WhatsMyLine]

Well, I hate to tell you, then, but I stopped adding identifications for the guests pretty early on in posting the shows. :) I only started doing it in the first place because one single viewer requested it, but after a while I decided it was too much extra work, especially in the cases where I didn't know who the guest was myself and I had to read up on the person on Wikipedia to be able to add the brief description of them. That said, I guarantee you people in the comments will have already explained who any guest was if you don't know them by the time you watch these videos now. The comments are incredibly informative here. :)

[@deanastarks6805]

The Amish Umpire who is Amish?

[@Wattamattau]

You response sounds a lot like a John Daly explanation to the panel. :-)

[@ladya1953]

I start my WML viewing each night by googling the listed MG's and any temporary panelists, whether or not I am familiar with the names. Part of the fun!

[@ChrisHansonCanada]

Dorothy looked the second contestant up and down and thought, "$4.95 on the discount rack at Woolworth's!"

[@dinahbrown902]

Yep

[@peternagy-im4be]

Nope

[@tugginalong]

JD is quite the ham

[@michaeldanello3966]

What the hell does Dorothy mean by "are you a LIVING...". She has used this queer phraseology before and I don't get it.

[@kevincramer9235]

I've often wondered about her "Is it solid, rather than liquid?" Arlene also used this in the previous episode. If it's solid it must be "rather than liquid," no?

[@Bambi_Harris_Author]

as opposed to ventriloquist dummy etc as they got stuck on that before, she started using it after that kind of guest I believe

[@ChrisHansonCanada]

George Axelrod looked as though he was in pain.

[@peternagy-im4be]

No he didn't.

[@sfbirdclub]

So quiet!! Up the gain!

[@accomplice55]

What does "up the gain" mean?

[@jackkomisar458]

@@accomplice55 :Merriam-Webster gives this as its second definition of "gain": "the increase (as of voltage or signal intensity) caused by an amplifier especially : the ratio of output over input." In other words, "Up the gain" means "Make it louder."

[@jrm8899]

Sounds like someone is getting an echo heart exam off camera

[@robertjean5782]

Be happy we have these shows😮

[@philippapay4352]

Again another that is way too quiet to hear on high. Most are not so.

[@LarsRyeJeppesen]

No conference for John with Vivian...

[@loissimmons6558]

All the questions by the panel were too straightforward and no cards flipped.

[@cathykinn4516]

Arlene Francis seemed to look younger as she got older or was it the more severe hair styles & makeup of the 50s compared to the 60s. Never did find Cerf funny or even amusing. He broke up at his own 'jokes' but they were never That good. Ironically his accent does not sound upper class but New Jersey, Bronx!

[@philippapay4352]

It's almost impossible to hear even on the highest volume. Ruins it.

[@TheGreatAtario]

I opened it in VLC and jumped the volume up to 200%

[@accomplice55]

Again?

[@bradbingham40447]

Ms. McLemore died in 1997.

[@robertjean5782]

2014😊

[@kasperjoonatan6014]

So they were not allowed to film a comedy with adultery and so the film Seven year itch was so lame that even the director Billy Wilder bashed it. What stupid times. Why was it ok in the theatre but not in film?

[@gingerfellah5665]

Maybe because the wife character was affectionate, loving, responsible and didn’t deserve to be cheated on.

[@tjwash2]

Mr. Allen is so annoying. He slows down the pace of the questions and just gets everything all mucked up.

[@robertjean5782]

Millions of listener's enjoyed his dry wit for over 40 years 😊

[@WendyDarling1974]

Bennett’s questions based on how women’s jobs have to do with their good looks get tiresome realllll fast. I mean, it’s almost never the case and it’s such chauvinist BS. (Not nearly the horrible pig Hal Roach was.)

[@twinsonic]

Well, it was years before that gender neutral bullshit we have to put up with today. Miss the old days when everything was in place the way it should.

[@Rogermarch]

I think he thought he was chivalrous but I think more chauvinistic.

[@petemarshall8094]

Hal Roach? What’s a matter? You think Laurel and Hardy are sexist? Mack Sennett? Maybe you want to demolish Lincoln’s statues? You people are ridiculous. Unless of course you’re just a “low information” type complainer who can’t tell the difference between Hal Block the comedy writer, and Hal Roach the architect of American cinema. Go to the library and read a book. You’ll be smarter for it. Bennett Cerf certainly was. Try reading one without pictures.

[@johnjaybonstingl9007]

Vivian looks so much like Lucille Ball in the nose and mouth.

[@GOLDVIOLINbowofdeath]

Isn’t “gypped” a slur on gypsies?

[@RonGerstein]

No, brainless soul. Being gypped is being robbed.

[@robertjean5782]

Definitely not 😊

[@El_Ophelia]

Ugh, not again. Why does Bennett ask if all those matches are on the level, and then grin like a school boy. Seriously what did he expect? Did he think he was funny? That's so rude and crude, once again.

[@rezzer7918]

Pompous arrogance

[@RonGerstein]

Yes, you are a porous arrogance soul.

[@kristabrewer9363]

I wonder what John's wife thinks about him flirting with all these women. Seriously?

[@TheGreatAtario]

That it's harmless fun?

[@sdacj]

Probably the same thing that Arlene's husband thought of her flirting with the young good looking guys. :) I would bet that the spouses at home knew that that's how things worked in show business and weren't too concerned - it was national TV after all with a whole bunch of witnesses. Can't have too much intimacy in those circumstances. Hard to say for certain though.

[@jacquelinebell6201]

All the men and women flirt. It is all harmless fun.

[@robertjean5782]

​@@sdacjExactly well stated😊

[@robertjean5782]

In four years John divorced his wife and married someone 15 years younger age 😊

[@ronskokandich1002]

Fred Allen not funny and yikes homely

[@robertjean5782]

Your from another Era 😅

[@redhed515]

Fred Allen is so annoying. Not funny.

[@robertjean5782]

40 years millions of people enjoyed Fred's dry wit 😅

[@ObserverEffectX]

The adds made and the people using it I hope there is a special hell for them.