What's My Line? - Hedda Hopper; John Payne [panel] (Oct 11, 1959)

MYSTERY GUEST: Hedda Hopper
PANEL: Dorothy Kilgallen, John Payne, Arlene Francis, Bennett Cerf

[@Noone58319]

Victor Borge was an absolute treasure.

[@Dolphin-cb9sq]

Love how John Daly is sincerely having fun.

[@Walterwhiterocks]

Me too, unlike the obnoxious Jimmy Fallon, who laughs at anything with that fake laugh of his.

[@garyzerr9821]

As Hedda passes by Arlene on the way out you can read her lips as she says, " I love that hat!"

[@_ItsOnlyMe]

John Daly slips up when repeating Arlene’s question to Hedda Hopper. Arlene asked if she was a freelance performer versus someone signed to a studio. Hedda couldn’t hear the question, so John repeats with a major slip at 19:50: “Are you a freelance reporter versus someone who works for a single studio?” No one on the panel or in the audience seemed to catch that he said “reporter.” I had to go back to make sure I heard it right! How unusual for John to mistakenly drop such a major hint! Hedda may have been venomous to some people, but I think she’s a wonderful mystery guest.

[@jvcomedy]

I've seen John Payne on the panel a couple of times and I've always thought he's done a pretty damn good job.

[@preppysocks209]

not so much this time but on other occasions certainly. He said he made an effort to study and practice before his appearances and it showed.

[@preppysocks209]

not so much on this occasion but normally, yes. He indicated that he studied the game and practiced and it showed.

[@SuperWinterborn]

I must say, that Victor Borge behaved very well, as a contestant, no matter how he might behave as a panelist.

[@neilmidkiff]

@z In the terminology used on this show, the people who came in with occupations to be guessed were called "contestants" since they were trying to stump the panel. The prizes were small amounts of money by the standards of most game shows, but they were prizes nonetheless. I hope you'll watch more and get to know the jargon specific to this show.

[@Walterwhiterocks]

@z Then why was John flipping the cards on "no" answers ?

[@geraldkatz7986]

He had to behave or else he would give himself away.

[@sbalman]

Yes. I quit rewatching any episodes where he is on the panel. His ego interferes rudely with the challengers.

[@bluecamus5162]

It should be remembered that the producers brought in funny men like Borge as guest panelists to act funny, not to contribute to the efficacy of the game. Sometimes their particular talents did not always fit well within the structure of the show. Borge & Wally Cox come to mind.

[@jayrice5156]

Love Arlene's dress!

[@MikkoHere]

Around 19:53 the host says "are you a free lance REPORTER" not performer, thus giving it away. But the panel seemed not to pick up on it.

[@leannsherman6723]

Bravo to Hedda Hopper for speaking on behalf of the United Fund, which if I’m not mistaken is now called the United Way.

[@louishamilton1710]

Kilgallen was NO JOKE! I think she died under mysterious circumstances.

[@johnnyaingel5753]

@@steveb1164 how sad indeed

[@Dolphin-cb9sq]

She was murdered!

[@accomplice55]

@@Dolphin-cb9sq Preppysocks will be along soon to refute that. :)

[@jamesfox2579]

@@accomplice55 ?

[@accomplice55]

@@jamesfox2579: Based on your punctuation, I assume you have a question! Are you asking who preppysocks is? He has posted many, many times on these threads that DK was NOT murdered. Much evidence says otherwise.

[@ToddSF]

Though Hedda Hopper was primarily known for the nationally syndicated gossip column she wrote for the Los Angeles Times, she also appeared in movies. The role I remember her in was "Dolly DuPuyster", a gossip columnist she portrayed in the 1939 film "The Women", based on Clare Boothe's Broadway play of the same name. (A gossip columnist portraying a gossip columnist -- go figure!) Hopper was known for always wearing large, flamboyant hats, one of which can be seen in this appearance. She was 74 years old as of the air date for this episode of WML. She died in 1966 at age 80.

[@neilmidkiff]

ToddSF 94109 My favorite of her roles is as a society matron in MIDNIGHT (1939). In a cast with strong personalities like Claudette Colbert, Don Ameche, Myrna Loy, and John Barrymore, she more than holds her own. The film has a sophisticated and funny script by Charles Brackett and Billy Wilder, and is well worth seeking out. In case you're wondering about her professional singing, she got her stage start in musicals and comic operettas with her husband DeWolf Hopper.

[@auggie803]

-I use to think her real name was Headless Hopper. Really & for the longest time.

[@kathyfrew7282]

I loved he in The Women as well!! She was game for anything!! 😂👩‍🎓👨‍🔧👩‍🍳👩‍🌾🥷💂‍♀👮‍♀👩‍🚒👷‍♀👳‍♀👲🤶🎅👰‍♀🧙‍♀👒⛑🪖

[@Hgood1]

@@neilmidkiff For those of us who work in the industry, Hedda Hopper's names brings a smile to no one's face. She destroyed people's lives.

[@Hgood1]

@@auggie803 not beloved by those of us in the industry.

[@kenowens9021]

David Niven wrote the Hopper and Louella Parsons tried to upstage each other for stories. They had the power to make or break stars.

[@susanwenner8738]

Going through many of these old shows there is a plethora of Trivia to capture.

[@poolside123canadian7]

I feel sorry for victor. He couldn’t hide that voice no matter what he does.😂

[@soulierinvestments]

The good manners of WML is still startling. For example, Dorothy and Hedda were sort of rival columnists, even though one worked the New York scene and the other the Hollywood scene, but Dorothy stands up to greet her. John Payne had recently recovered from a serious auto accident.

[@ToddSF]

soulierinvestments -- Hedda Hopper's real arch-rival, though, was Louella Parsons, who, like Dorothy K. worked for William Randolph Hearst. I remember when Parsons was the mystery guest and Dorothy treated her as though she were the Queen mother. I think Dorothy's column covered New York gossip and Hopper's column covered Hollywood gossip, so that may have helped.

[@_ItsOnlyMe]

@@ToddSF I laughed at your observation (six years later!) that Dorothy treated Louella as the queen mother. You’re right, she did! I think it was because Louella appeared to be more or less in her dotage at the time she appeared on WML. Hedda was still very successful in 1959, and clearly sharp as a tack.

[@stephaniemccoy9602]

Victor was sending Arlene all kinds of hints :)

[@slaytonp]

Arlene (or Dorothy?) mentions having Cornish game hens on the airplane menu. HA!! Those were the days, were they not?

[@crabbyoldman8209]

New closing theme music!

[@ArmenianBishop]

Hedda Hopper's Son, William Hopper, was the Detective Paul Drake, in Perry Mason.

[@gaelengesser9484]

Thanks again!

[@neilmidkiff]

At 9:30 Arlene asks "Do you either play a musical instrument, sing, or dance?" and gets the answer "One" which is later clarified to playing. But in the 1943 movie musical "Higher and Higher" Victor Borge had done all three; in one scene he dances while Mel Tormé is (apparently) playing a harpsichord. Sort of an odd division of labor there....

[@neilmidkiff]

It seems that Norman Niblo was a policeman working for the City of London, but according to the Encyclopedia Britannica, the term "bobby" is slang for a member of London's Metropolitan Police Force, derived from the name of Sir Robert Peel, who established the force in 1829 to patrol all of metropolitan London *except* the City of London (the square-mile financial district, roughly defined by the old Roman walls; the "city within a city" that was mentioned). Scotland Yard is the common name for the Metropolitan Police headquarters, so most London "bobbies" work under the supervision of Scotland Yard, and the guest was one of the exceptions who are employed by the City. The discussion ended up being very misleading. www.britannica.com/topic/bobby

[@johnmh1000]

I would have to agree with you. I'm from the UK and have known several policemen, both with the 'Met' and the City Police. I would always assume that this is a generic nickname which applied to any police officer in the UK.

[@lorddalek]

First show to use Raymond Scott's "The Toy Trumpet" instead of "Rollercoaster" over the credts.

[@juliansinger]

Because I actually did have to look it up: The United Fund did, in fact, turn into the United Way, which is heard from all over the place.

[@princeharming8963]

Queen Elizabeth had already been on the throne SIX years when this bobby was seated.

[@abradley2198]

I am so surprised that the WML had a blacklister on the show

[@jillgordon1003]

15:28 Nice save, Arlene ;)

[@juliansinger]

Stand-Up Watch: Amazingly, Dorothy does and Arlene doesn't, for Hedda.

[@WhatsMyLine]

Probably for show-- Hedda and Dorothy pretending to like each other. :)

[@juliansinger]

+What's My Line? Absolutely. Among that level of gossipeuse, I'd imagine they'd have to be at a more specific and careful level of etiquette.

[@_ItsOnlyMe]

Someone observed on another Hedda MG episode that each panel member’s smile immediately faded after shaking Hedda’s hand, and Arlene looked down at her hands. It could have been dislike or it could have been something totally innocuous, but I found it interesting!

[@jimbuchelt307]

Hopper was very talented: she could write [gossip], act, sing, and she was highly fashionable. She aged well and looked even better. She was a Taurus--tried and true.

[@LarsRyeJeppesen]

First time Viktor Borge behaved :)

[@neilmidkiff]

I wonder what was going through Dorothy's mind when she asked at 6:26 "May I rule out that you deal... that your *product* is living human beings?" Slavery had been outlawed for quite a while by then.

[@MrYfrank14]

I noticed that, and no one on the show caught it. I am going to assume she meant to say, it was used by living human beings.

[@galileocan]

What's with the steel drum type music at the end of this particular show?

[@franklesser5655]

A lady stockbroker? Imagine that!

[@b.deville3236]

Hedda Hopper had enough self-confidence and good-natured humor to parody herself and the Hollywood studio system in several episodes of "The Beverly Hillbillies" third season To all of the self-righteous red apologists and defenders bashing Hedda , she was more of a woman than most of you guys will ever be.

[@lindaboyce8805]

if you had hedda hopper and walter winchel on your side - you had a great career

[@randysills4418]

Walter Winchell was a nasty horrible piece of work!!! He was an untalented dancer who went into the gutter and tormented people and destroyed lifes. He was very friendly with Joseph McCarthy as well...

[@mlbslugger62]

@@randysills4418 Hedda Hopper was probably more talented at destroying lives. She was a horrible example of a human being. Im amazed she has a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.

[@ChrisHansonCanada]

Louella Parsons had the power to destroy.

[@planetthunderstorm]

Why is Victor Borge not mentioned in the description / title?? Please add :)

[@ramonasidneybaker]

The fifth of DeWolf hopper's wives.

[@ToddSF]

Ramona Baker -- I note that Hedda Hopper's son was William Hopper, the actor who played Paul Drake in the TV series "Perry Mason" (1957-1966). He hated what Hedda Hopper did for a living as a gossip columnist -- she published a lot of things that were damaging to people and took delight that she could do that to people. So William Hopper got to the point that he cut off contact with his mother.

[@leannsherman6723]

I did not like when they rushed the final contestant. They should’ve come up with some alternative for the last few minutes rather than rushing contestants.

[@adamcoates2890]

Why in the world was Victor borge so well-behaved tonight? They must have threatened him. Lol

[@boringpolitician]

25:16 - It's called... boorsht in German? What a funny word.

[@mikejschin]

I think they were mixing up their languages in a joking way. In Germany, the main stock exchange is called the Börse, pronounced approximately bursa. Arlene was being funny by referring to the German stock market as borscht, which is an Eastern European soup with beets as the main ingredient.

[@boringpolitician]

@@mikejschin - It's called Böse in German? What a funny word.

[@toddoubre9814]

Nervous habit pulling on right ear????

[@ChrisHansonCanada]

*_Victor Borge - Poultry Farmer (Surprise Guest)_* *_London Bobby_* *_Stockbroker_*

[@peternagy-im4be]

Please remove this complete and utter waste of space from the comments section. Unfortunately today's awful society is full of pathetic losers intent on ruining other people's enjoyment of social media. Moronic cretin.

[@soulierinvestments]

In the long view, Borge lost money on the birds and was out of the business by the mid 1960s.

[@ToddSF]

soulierinvestments -- That's because he was raising honest-to-God Rock Cornish game hens to maturity with lots of meat on their bones. His competitors were selling baby chickens without as much meat, and they would put a piece of turkey neck in the cavity to bring them up to weight. Those fake Rock Cornish game hens cost a lot less to raise and market. Borge hated the fact that the U.S. government had no regulations that prevented the mislabeling of baby chickens with a piece of turkey neck inside as a Rock Cornish game hen. He lost money because he just couldn't compete with the fakes.

[@peternagy-im4be]

The first segment made for painful listening. Excruciating in fact.

[@chrisn7259]

Hedda masked her natural suspicious, smugly superior personality behind a facade of geniality, but she could be a real nasty piece of work if she didn't approve of your politics or sexual proclivities.

[@bigwilson8794]

+Chris N Sounds like every journalist.

[@francoaragosta4285]

YUP! Typical bigotted post-modern PC stooge.with tunnel vision. Sad!

[@jackanthony976]

Hedda was probably bitter that although she had acted in over 150 films before becoming a gossip columnist, she never became an A list star. This was implied in the film Trumbo, which addresses Hedda's transition from film actress to gossip columnist.

[@missyrogers7098]

What a ridiculous person she seems to be

[@rustyquoin]

She was a bitch