What's My Line? - Hedda Hopper; Peter Lind Hayes [panel] (Apr 22, 1956)

MYSTERY GUEST: Hedda Hopper [Hollywood gossip columnist, sometimes actress]
PANEL: Arlene Francis, Peter Lind Hayes, Dorothy Kilgallen, Bennett Cerf

[@Merrida100]

Yay! Dorothy and Arlene are back. They're so incredibly lovely. I adore them both so much. I swear, Arlene can make anyone and everyone feel right at ease. And when Dorothy hones in one someone/something you can watch her thinking and deducing. She's brilliant.

[@bigwilson8794]

Arlene:"Oh, heavens above..." I love the old expressions.

[@Beson-SE]

When the second contestant does her walk-by-the-panel Dorothy notices that a snap has come undone on her dress, and she fastens it for her. So nice of Dorothy Kilgallen! :) 11:25

[@WhatsMyLine]

You notice such interesting things that I somehow have always failed to take note of when I've watched the shows! Thanks again. :)

[@Beson-SE]

What's My Line? Sometimes I ask myself if I should post this or that, and for what reason. Every episode contains so many odd behaviour that one needs to select. My attention is drawn to various things that are unexpected. I gather that you have so many other things to post that one can't expect you to notice everything. :)

[@m.e.d.7997]

Dorothy could be quite nice at times.

[@johnmonkus4600]

This episode revives the panel's curtain introductions for good.

[@jacquelinebell6201]

I loved John's laugh with the horse lady! 🐎 Not often you hear a big laugh like that from John. That loud anyway.

[@kateluxor2986]

Dorothy and Arlene look beautiful in this episode-so elegant. Mr. Gould was a real pistol-what you might call a "contestant that bites back." It was still pretty funny. So was the second round. All in all a good episode. One more thought: It was very nice of Dorothy to fasten the snap on the second contestant's dress.

[@ToddSF]

When I was growing up in the 1950's in 60's, we used to have a subscription to the Los Angeles Times. "Dick Tracy" by Chester Gould was at the top of the front page of the Sunday comic strip section of the paper in full color, so it was hard to miss. Needless to say, getting my hands on the comic pages of the Sunday papers was always a priority for me when I was a kid and I couldn't miss "Dick Tracy". I also used to find the single page of weekday black-and-white comic strips and read every strip there, which included "Dick Tracy", too. Before we subscribed, we'd buy a Sunday paper after church -- there was a newstand set up outside on the sidewalk, and, occasionally they'd have sold out of the L.A. Times and we'd be forced to buy the Sunday Examiner (later the Herald Examiner), a Hearst newspaper, which always annoyed my mom -- which is why we ended up subscribing. I note that, for me, the big issue with the Examiner was the fact that it had all the "wrong" comic strips, and it had Ann Landers instead of Dear Abby.

[@loissimmons6558]

In NYC, Dick Tracy was carried in the NY Daily News (News-Chicago Tribune syndicate) which was probably more right wing than the Hearst papers. But it had the best comics and sports pages. It also had the highest circulation in NYC by far.

[@princeharming8963]

I grew up near L.A. in the 60's and my parents always got the Herald Examiner. The Sunday comics were always topped by the 'Blondie' strip. My mother ADORED Ann Landers, and would occasionally post the columns on the fridge door to help 'send a message', or get a point across. Fun times.

[@rivaridge7211]

Great memories all - thanks for your comments!

[@JackDecker63]

I know few people ever think that a game show can be an Engine for Change, but maybe What's My Line? is one of those rare birds. In its pursuit to stump the panel, it regularly had on people who did jobs where it was not normally thought their sex, age, etc. would or could do them. Case in point is the female French officer of this episode. [For the kiddies here, you must understand the times and this was 1956.] On previous episodes, there have been elderly female prison wardens, elderly female high-dive divers, female garbage truck drivers, male military nurses, etc. The show then opened its viewers mind to different possibilities and challenged their viewers' assumptions. Not bad for a "mere" game show. :-)

[@stephensaunders1845]

Not to mention several black contestants who were always treated with a courtesy and respect which was not universally the case at the time. Some notable gay/lesbian panellists also, not that their sexuality was in any way relevant. It has always taken all sorts to make the world go round, and WML was as good and civilised an example of this as one can reasonably expect of the 1950s.

[@mikejschin]

@@stephensaunders1845 Agreed. As an example that adds perspective to your comment, the panel showed great admiration for Nat King Cole when he was the MG a couple of years earlier. Yet, just 12 days before the current episode aired, April 10, 1956, Nat King Cole was assaulted on stage by 3 KKK members during a performance in Birmingham, Alabama. There was a great deal of civility and acceptance in some levels of society in the 1950s, but there were some deep problems also, particularly for certain segments.

[@davidsanderson5918]

mikejschin That last sentence could be applied to the society of 2020. Especially May 2020!!

[@mikejschin]

@@davidsanderson5918 All too true, Dave. No society can achieve perfect harmony, because we all have our human frailties. The most we can do is to keep trying to improve ourselves.

[@gailsirois7175]

I thought the same thing

[@BeIIeDoc24]

a mommy moment from Dorothy :) how cute to see that.

[@SuperWinterborn]

Lorna Badeo Yes, indeed...

[@charlespkilgore840]

E 3233433 try 30th I r

[@SuperWinterborn]

charles P kilgore Could you please explain the meaning of your message in understandable English? I'm looking forward to reading your response. :)

[@jacquelinebell6201]

Hedda Hopper has a magnificent smile!

[@sansacro007]

I love Bennett's smile and laugh.

[@bazazpa]

Peter did his best Hal block impersonation

[@TyrSkyFatherOfTheGods]

Hedda Hopper is dressed like a bordello madam circa 1920.

[@James-mm2zc]

She was born in 1885.

[@stephensaunders1845]

Then clearly I must have frequented such establishments in a previous life. I thought she looked rather fetching.

[@TyrSkyFatherOfTheGods]

Stephen Saunders I didn't say she didn't look fetching - only that she looked like she ran a brothel at the turn of the last century.

[@WhatsMyLine]

I'm pretty much with you on this, fishhead06. :) (And I didn't think your original comment was particularly nasty, fwiw!)

[@stephensaunders1845]

Oh dear. My reply was intended to be jocular, not argumentative. I saw nothing nasty in fishhead 06's original comment, and meant nothing nasty in mine.

[@Beson-SE]

Poor Peter Lind Hayes! He thought that the MG was Louella Parsons 19:51, so after the game he jokingly made an attempt to flee from the stage. :) 20:30

[@Marcel_Audubon]

yes, we saw it ourselves - why the recap?

[@gugurupurasudaikirai7620]

Always fun to see a random guest like that first guest who is famous for something that you weren't expecting when clicking on the video. You could tell PLH was embarrassed he guessed Hedda's nemesis. Judging from the playlist Hedda is going to make a couple appearances on the panel soon, I'm waiting to see what kind of hats she'll bring

[@crystalheart9]

Love Arlene Francis! I notice she wears a lovely diamond heart necklace quite often.

[@robertromero8692]

Yes, her husband gave it to her.

[@davidsanderson5918]

If I'm not mistaken she wore it forever from episode one. She even keeps it on when it doesn't quite go with whatever else she adorns her neck with! It clearly meant an awful lot to her.

[@accomplice55]

And, sadly, it was stolen from her by a mugger as she stepped out of a cab, some time after her husband had died. :(

[@crystalheart9]

@@accomplice55 😢

[@lisahinton9682]

@@accomplice55 I have always wondered if that necklace is out there somewhere!

[@loissimmons6558]

I see the name of the mystery guest on this episode. Hedda Hopper? Wasn't she just on as MG a short while ago? Then I realized that within the last week or so I watched the "lost" episode where she was the MG, recently resurrected by Gary. That episode understandably watched out of sequence was five years lacking one week before this one that saw her return as MG. In the words of Arlene Francis, "Jolly good," Gary!

[@davidsanderson5918]

Lois Simmons Hedda Hopper and her writings had significant influence upon public opinion if not business opinion during the golden age of Hollywood. Worth watching "Feud: Bette And Joan" starring Susan Sarandon and Jessica Lange (awesome as Joan!) to see Hopper depicted. She was a tough cookie. And of course as a significant columnist herself, Kilgallen clearly has huge admiration for, and comraderie with, her here.

[@ToddSF]

Peter Lind Hayes referenced Mae West by using the saying "Why don't you come up and see me sometime?" I'm not sure Ms. West ever said that precisely, but one thing she definitely did say was "Any time you've got nothin' to do -- and lots of time to do it -- come on up!"

[@loissimmons6558]

It is also true that Mae West never said, "Beam me up sometime, Scotty."

[@jenniferyorgan4215]

ToddSF 94109 In that same scene from She Done Him Wrong, she said "Come up sometime, see me". So it does get misquoted, like what Peter Lind Hayes said.

[@joelfogelsanger5773]

And Cary Grant never said Judy, Judy, Judy.

[@bleepiestofbloops]

Oh, that's so much better of a line!

[@ChrisHansonCanada]

"Why don't you come up sometime and see me?" is the correct line.

[@ChrisHansonCanada]

Hedda Hopper's eye bags were almost as big as Fred Allen's.

[@lukejohnson3048]

4:46 If anyone asks me why I look so good, I'll use that.

[@bigwilson8794]

Funny..Miss Hollier wanted so much to "meet the panel" that John had to physically prevent her

[@mikejschin]

At 19:11, John flips a card and says, "Two down and six to go".

[@deborahhaynes3518]

Hedda Hopper is great!

[@mehboobkm2018]

Prince of this panel, well that talks volumes about Bennett!

[@bigwilson8794]

Peter Lind Hayes was good, but we are still recovering from the loss of Fred. The show is just not the same.

[@TrainsFerriesFeet]

Fred was wonderful and irreplaceable.

[@davidsanderson5918]

Personally I wasn't a fan of Fred's. I won't bore you with why. I'm just rather sorry that Steve Allen was replaced to begin with....but of course Steve was so good he deserved his own successful show elsewhere.

[@Lilbit09]

@@davidsanderson5918 hear,hear!

[@jerrylee8261]

@@TrainsFerriesFeet I agree. Fred was my favorite panelist. What a quick wit. So amusing. When I read of his passing, I remembered that he didn't really look that healthy. What a loss for WML.

[@m.e.d.7997]

The loss of him did not affect the show imo

[@bubblinbrownsugar616]

IT'S A HORSE OF COURSE!! LOLOL! 😆

[@gugurupurasudaikirai7620]

And 2 years before Mr. Ed was released too

[@Rosarium2007]

I wonder what the first contestant would think of the Apple Watch if he was still around.

[@bluecamus5162]

Dr Jules Montenier, the sponsor of the first 6 years of the show and creator of the 'Shopette' line of products, was recently on the show as a mystery guest. Now, Helene Curtis has taken over his company and THEIR name is now at the opening credits over the Shopette products. According to Bennett Cerf, Dr Jules was devastated over the loss of his company.

[@davidsanderson5918]

Mickey Rooney on the panel next week?!?!? Can't wait!!

[@princeharming8963]

It's fascinating to hear of locations, and think of cities like New York and Baltimore, and Chicago from a time long ago, before they became war zones.

[@janetmarletto6667]

My oh my, Hedda Hopper looked great at 71 years old on this episode.🏵

[@thomtlc2]

About 20:00 into the program, when Peter Lind Hayes asks if the mystery guest was Louella Parsons, I swear, John closes his eyes for a moment as if thinking "Oh no, here we go."

[@erichanson426]

I will just hang this card up here. 😄😄😄😄

[@loissimmons6558]

When Bennett starts the questioning of the second challenger (12:02), he refers to his line of questioning as an "old gambit". It wasn't a very long gambit since he got a "no" in response to his first question, so it would appear that he wasn't given a series of questions for the sake of humor. But I am wondering if this the first time that any panelist used the specific word "gambit" to refer to a line of questioning of a challenger.

[@jacleenolson435]

"Shampoo + Egg" hahahhahahaha

[@loissimmons6558]

That's so when you wash your hair, the yolk's on you.

[@joncheskin]

The panel was unusually inept with the racehorse exerciser. They basically just threw out a bunch of incorrect guess as to which sport she was associated with and quickly used up their allotment of questions.

[@MrYfrank14]

i know what you mean. most times they would narrow it down first with broad questions, like, are animals involved, before they start guessing.

[@418-Error]

They were confused by the terms sport, game, play, etc. Got them off track.

[@LarsRyeJeppesen]

A hacker in the panel.. very futuristic /s

[@loissimmons6558]

+Lars Rye Jeppesen That's a rough joke. I'm afraid you will be assessed two penalty strokes for it. (Actually, I liked it!)

[@LarsRyeJeppesen]

Hehe

[@sandragailgoudelock1531]

I know Hedda was a bitch on wheels, but I really liked that crazy hat!

[@Texan96]

You can hear Ed McMahon in the back laughing

[@thesweeples3266]

You are correct sir!

[@atronish]

About Chester Gould: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chester_Gould

[@bigwilson8794]

Bad flip at 19:47

[@paacer]

Don't know why John addresses the women panellists as Miss Dorothy , Miss Arlene . Is it an American thing or a John Daly thing ?

[@notable9]

It's an American thing..I go by my first name with Miss in front when I teach.. it's respect without being too formal..

[@puffnstuff12]

Without Fred and his sarcastic wit the panel feels empty.

[@kguy152000]

Hedda Hopper appears to be a really great lady. I'll have to look up more of her.

[@RachelDavisMatthews]

+kguy152000 I just saw the film Trumbo, she is actually portrayed as an awful, spiteful woman.........

[@m.e.d.7997]

Paul Drakes mother. Yeah, I heard she could be tough. Louella too. Except if they happened to like you. I think Bette Davis said Louella liked her

[@TrainsFerriesFeet]

She was known to be rather hateful, actually.

[@neilmidkiff]

She could be vicious to people she thought were communists, and rude to those who didn't play along with her gossip-column revealing of private affairs. But (unlike her rival Louella Parsons) she had actually had a performing career on stage and screen, real talent, and a sense of humor, as is evident here. I've got copies of both Hedda's and Louella's autobiographies, and the very different personalities they reveal just reinforce the impression from seeing them on this program that Hedda would have been a lot of fun to know, but Louella was more likely to have been the death of a party than the life of it.

[@ramonasidneybaker]

The fifth wife of DeWolf Hopper.

[@charlespkilgore840]

55 3 3, but 3rd party 333rd3 reef 3 .44r433 e3 root 3, . I 3 3 3 333rd 3 433

[@WhatsMyLine]

charles P kilgore I'd say, "pardon?", but I'm too afraid to see what possible explanation anyone could offer for this comment.

[@WhatsMyLine]

Ramona Baker You do realize that I wasn't replying to you, but to the nonsensical comment left by charles P kilgore, I hope?

[@ramonasidneybaker]

Ho-ho! I apologize.

[@WhatsMyLine]

Ramona Baker No problem-- I just wanted to make sure you knew it wasn't directed at you, cause it really wasn't! :)

[@janetwilliams7665]

Another episode where the panel has obviously been given a hint as to the first contestant's occupation. Went sraight from "do you work inside" to "then you must be a newspaper cartoonist".

[@WhatsMyLine]

The show was NOT rigged. Believe otherwise if you want to, but it's simply not true. It would only have hurt the entertainment value of the segments for any of the panelists to have been tipped off in advance. This wasn't "The $64,000 Question", it was a parlor game.

[@janetwilliams7665]

+What's My Line? I didn't say "rigged". I said somebody was given a hint. not the answer, but a hint. There's a difference there. Either way it makes the show appear disingenuous - totally spoils the fun.

[@WhatsMyLine]

Janet Williams Then don't watch it if you find it so disingenuous. Honestly, you've invented a phenomenon that was never the case, and decided on that basis that you can't enjoy the show anymore. How utterly silly. You're depriving yourself of a wonderful show, but feel free. The only "hint" that was ever given to the panelists was to the comic panelist, to plant the seed for a line of questioning that would be FUNNY because it was so totally off base. They referred to this procedure as a "gambit", and even this-- which didn't affect the gameplay in any way except to extend it, the opposite of what you suspect-- was stopped in 1959 in the wake of the big money quiz show scandals, for the sake of appearance of propriety. But believe whatever you want, and don't enjoy the show on that basis if you're so utterly convinced. Why this would even matter enough to ruin the whole show for anyone is beyond me, but it's not even true!

[@davidsanderson5918]

Janet Williams I hear you Janet. I appreciate that there has not been any revelation or re-addressing of history to state finally that yes, the panellists had 'more than an inkling' shall we say but there are several examples where the sheer impossible was executed. A memorable one for me is the sword swallowing one where, out of all the stage acts the guest could've performed, Dorothy bypasses all of them (ventriloquism, magic, stand-up, juggling, acrobatics, etc,etc) and goes straight to 'swallowing something sharp'! Ridiculous. I've seen them all....Dorothy, Bennett, Fred, Steve, Arlene....get to the profession within no time at all and asking questions pertaining to it to prolong the segment. So much so, early on I was leaving comments 'come on!!!'.....BUT when all is said and done, there are also many many many examples where they are WAY off the mark to the point where it is actually not entertaining and Daly is looking at the clock with all the cards poised to close the segment early. The jury is still out for me. I don't care what the official story is. It would make sense for the smooth running of the show each week that they would have 'some' help...namely, the answer!...(as well as the 'gambit') upon occasion and then spin out a narrative with questions from there. On the other hand, it does seem like a whole waste of time if it was too often. If nothing else I think Dorothy would've resisted it to give her a challenge and so she could play the game properly!! On a broader point, has there ever been a public sport that hasn't been rigged somewhere along the line?

[@johnmoreland6089]

Under no stretch of the imagination could the 4 solid minutes and 16 questions and answers between “Do you work indoors?” and “Do you have a strip that is syndicated?” be called jumping “straight” to anything.

[@deerejohn7209]

Before anyone dis-respects the French government please realize our constitution was largely based upon theirs at the time

[@preppysocks209]

That would be historically remarkable given that the United States Constitution is the oldest written Constitution in the world.

[@preppysocks209]

In addition, in 1787, when the US Constitution was written, France was an absolute monarchy.

[@deerejohn7209]

@@preppysocks209 ... the past is complicated as are current times Good catch though on reminding what i forgot

[@deerejohn7209]

@@preppysocks209 .. yeah no, the United States of America is not the first Republic in history. As a bonus the American Constitution is largely based on the French Parliament. Where do you think Right wing and Left wing came from? Look it up. Benjamin Franklin spent much of his later life adapting their style of government at that time into our Constitution. And don't forget the Statue of Liberty is a gift from France.

[@mikejschin]

As others have correctly noted, France did not have a constitution at the time ours was drafter. However, the essence of our constitution -- the separation of powers into executive, legislative, and judicial branches -- came directly from a French political philosopher. Montesquieu published "The Spirit of the Law" in 1748, setting forth the theory of checks and balances through separating the government's functions into the three branches. His work was very influential to the drafters of the U.S. Constitution and has since been important in establishing the constitutions of other nations.

[@Blumoon_vii]

One of the worst people ever lived 😅

[@davidjames666]

It is kind of unusual how they dress up so much for this show. Not that i am against it,mor criticizing it, it is just over doing it a little from a 2016 perspective. That being said said - in 2016, v certainly needs a little more class. I needs to set an example, and stop being so degrading.