What's My Line? - Liberace; Paul Anka [panel] (May 31, 1964)

MYSTERY GUEST: Liberace
PANEL: Arlene Francis, Paul Anka, Dorothy Kilgallen, Bennett Cerf
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[@ludenasan1]

I had the privilege of seeing Liberace once in person- He was wonderful musically and he charmed the audience. I was a young Navy Nurse during the Viet Nam War and a friend's Dad took the two of us to Liberaces show. A great time!!

[@patriciamooney928]

He was a true SHOWMAN(QUEEN)

[@soulierinvestments]

Second contestant. One of the most funny sequences in 1960s WML. And without a gambit. Dorothy keeps getting laughs. Bennett tells that classic joke. Arlene looks like she wants to take the contestant out for drinks afterwards.

[@sagarsaxena6318]

watching these eps one of the things that's very clear is that Arlene was a grade A flirt.

[@southpark1029384756]

Ahhh Liberace!!! 😍I sure wish I could have seen him in person.

[@shirleyrombough8173]

southpark1029384756 - I love Liberace. Wish I could have seen him in person. He just seemed so nice.

[@ghshinn]

Paul Anka was very young at this time, only 22 years old.

[@euniceluna8534]

And with lots of hair!

[@destructiveoutlet]

"You have implied that it is gooey." Classic. Love the delivery.

[@goldengirl1168]

I want my husband to give me a heart necklace like Arlenes’s. Makes me sad to know she had it for so long before some jerk robbed her on the street.

[@hizgrase]

Same.

[@jameswilliams663]

I don’t think a more charming woman ever has been, namely, the oh so appealing Arlene Frances...

[@preppysocks209]

With the death of Phyllis Newman earlier this year, there are now very few living WML guest panelists. Anka may be the youngest. Others still living include Woody Allen, Jeannie Carson (totally obscure now, English from 1957!), Jane Fonda, Steve Lawrence, Dick Van Dyke, and Betty White.

[@johnloudaros800]

Accounting for later versions. Anita Gillette, Gene Shalit

[@greggoreo6738]

Preppy Socks. You sure know your research and your history!! Congratulations. 2 September 2022. Gregg Oreo long Beach Ca

[@soulierinvestments]

[ 19:35 ] Rarely do you see a two-shot on the WML panel -- so that conversation between Bennett and Dorothy is interesting for that, and for Bennett deferring to Dorothy since she has the ID.

[@savethetpc6406]

soulierinvestments Yes, that was quite gracious of Bennett.

[@scottpardee6303]

I am surprised, since they didn’t always get along together.

[@galileocan]

Bennett would blow the odd kiss when he was introduced as a thank you to the person introducing him, if the comment was extremely complimentary. However - this seems to have been reserved exclusively for Arlene's more complimentary introductions of him. This has to be the first time I recall Bennett blowing a kiss to Dorothy!

[@patcurrie7733]

It was because of the comment she made that Bennett was younger like Paul.

[@rentslave]

In his book,Backstage at the Mets,Lindsey Nelson,mistakenly wrote that Daly,not Cerf,had mentioned the Mets-Giants game.Nelson estimated that thousands in the NY area switched to the game.I was watching the game while finishing up a term paper for the 8th grade,so this was the first time I saw this.

[@WhatsMyLine]

Tom Dockery Interesting-- thanks for mentioning that reference, Tom. And it's always great to read that young people are watching these shows!

[@loissimmons6558]

Fortunately for CBS, only those in the New York market were affected. The game would have been over by the time the San Francisco audience saw WML.

[@paultheaudaciousbradford6772]

Tom Dockery I want you to know the effect that your comment made on me. Believe it or not, I searched for this particular episode of WML specifically because I remembered this game and this night and, knowing what a huge baseball fan Cerf was, I expected that he would have made a comment about it (I realized that, in the 10:30pm time slot, WML must have been airing simultaneously in NYC on WCBS against WOR’s broadcast). I was delighted to discover I was right! Upon seeing your comment I immediately logged on to Amazon to see if I could secure a copy of Nelson’s book. There was one used copy available (a discarded library book!) which arrived yesterday and I devoured it in one sitting last night.

[@rentslave]

@@paultheaudaciousbradford6772 I just saw your comment tonight.I met Lindsey Nelson at a bowling alley in North Arlington,NJ on 10-27-63 as he was commenting on a match between Don Carter and Dick Weber for the CBS Sports Spectacular.Before the match,I was able to watch the Giants and the Browns on a monitor.Sadly there are no pictures of the match at that alley today.

[@soulierinvestments]

Paul Anka. Wow. Early luscious period. He is all of age 22 here, so he is one of the youngest panel members. Maybe the youngest. How old was Van Cliburn when he appeared as a guest panelist? I will admit that hia recording of “You are my Destiny” done as a kid still sends me.

[@DLAN-jb3hb]

I think Tab Hunter was in his 20's when he appeared as a guest panelist, too.

[@lllowkee6533]

Puppy Love Wrote music and sang for movie THE LONGEST DAY prolific music writer. ❤️

[@1jamyc]

Paul Anka wrote an instrumental that was played on NBC 5 nights a weeks starting in 1962 - Carson's Tonight Show theme

[@WmGood]

FYI: The amounts in $5 on the score cards aren't what the guests win. They are just a way of keeping score. Guests are paid for their appearances a flat fee.

[@BBCHZ]

I always wondered about that! Thanks!!

[@davidsanderson5918]

William Good Yep that would explain why no one goes 'YESSSS I WON!!' :)

[@LarsRyeJeppesen]

Dorothy... just let the fun run a bit longer, please...

[@terryniblett9329]

Magicians assistant....damn sexy voice!!!

[@dcasper8514]

Terry Niblett. & put together rather nicely too..

[@dcasper8514]

Paul Anka asked relative questions. He males a super panelist.

[@saran3214]

He's 22 years old here.

[@leslie1947]

John sure gives a lot of clues away. When he does he needs to flip those cards all over.

[@ChrisHansonCanada]

*_MAGICIAN'S ASSISTANT_* *_MAKES PEANUT BUTTER_* *_INSPECTS AND PACKS PARACHUTES_*

[@davidsanderson5918]

Paul Anka looks about 14.

[@beforeourveryeyes]

thank you

[@tearbag]

Bennett Cerf and his dad jokes 😂

[@MissouriPenny]

Love this .❤❤

[@littlesam1]

Dorothy and Arlene tower over Paul Anka...

[@Ace1King1]

Paul is short, but in all fairness Dorothy and Arlene wore heels.

[@aileen694]

@@Ace1King1 and Larry Sampson, yes Paul A was short in stature but huge in charisma, and true, enduring talent. He actually wrote Many songs that helped make other artists famous. A Canadian gem :))

[@leannsherman6723]

How that peanut butter guy could’ve hesitated when Arlene asked if the product could be found in one room more than another is beyond me. Also, John Daly always told the contestants not to give away anything and meanwhile, he said that it could get a little messy after a while.

[@shuroom57]

TWICE, he did that.

[@hugovangalen]

Peanut butter guy thought "I don't want to mislead, in the use of the product it may occasionally occur for the product to get carried to other locations than the room for which it is primarily intended, and it could also depend on the architecture of a house, however if you would be strict then yes it would be found in one room only".

[@kristabrewer9363]

What was this, like the 20th time Liberace's been on? well, maybe not THAT many, but you know what I mean. I think he's been on here more than anybody else!!

[@kentetalman9008]

No way.

[@lennypearl]

It takes Liberace an hour to sign his name! 😂

[@patriciamooney928]

John Daly is smart enough to know peanuts can be called vegetables and worms are neither insects nor animals.

[@kentetalman9008]

Worms and insects are animals.

[@kasperjoonatan6014]

13:37 she said other than American so the answer was no. John remembered wrong.

[@gabbynique]

"i gather you are female" i swear I couldn't stop laughing

[@marias7599]

And everyone in the audience couldn’t either lol Everyone knew and he knew they knew 😂

[@roberttelarket4934]

How does Dorothy do it so quickly and get Liberace?

[@markschildberg1667]

Showbiz was her beat as a columnist. She always knew who was in town.

[@leannsherman6723]

Peanuts are considered vegetables?

[@hugovangalen]

Peanuts are legumes (and they grow in the soil) so they are technically vegetables.

[@shuroom57]

People complaining about Liberace taking a long time to sign in, like there was a fire somewhere. Big deal. I wish had that chalkboard.

[@cautionTosser]

No one talking about that whisky voiced magician’s assistant? Was just listening and had to dash back to see who belonged to that voice.

[@princeharming8963]

Ms. LeGaro was Quite the charmer. Most reminded me of (a sane) Ashley Judd.

[@orgonkothewildlyuntamed6301]

1st contestant sultry voice & very polite answers

[@roberttelarket4934]

Liberace an egoist!!!

[@manuelaffonso2191]

I find that Cerf's so-called 'jokes' very lame most of the time.

[@chrisfiels2089]

782&biw

[@roberttelarket4934]

I detest and always have that Turk/Armenian Anka.

[@dawncampbell6064]

cheaters

[@boognish999]

?

[@kristabrewer9363]

I guess he didn't know what he was talking about

[@dannydoc1969]

As a child of 5 & 6 I used to watch the Liberace show. At the end of the show, I waited anxiously for him to wink (he always winked), and I would wink back. A great pianist and supreme entertainer. Years later I saw his home on Lake Tahoe.

[@hizgrase]

Interesting things we do as children. Me and my sister used to watch Lassie and at the end where she/he raised his paw we would sit there and have to pretend like we were shaking his paw.

[@shuroom57]

​@@hizgraseThat is way too cute! I can just see that.

[@savethetpc6406]

Arlene looks particularly beautiful in this episode.

[@dancelli714]

Bennett was nice enough to let Dorothy give the correct answer (LIBERACE) even though she would have passed to Bennett so he could get the credit. I don't like these shows, I love these shows. It's nostalgic for me because I saw them when they were live on Tv.

[@boognish999]

What a sultry voice from that first contestant.

[@DimebagDarrenLowe]

smokin' hot

[@musicom67]

18:25 - The audience reaction to Anka's statement was priceless with 'knowledgeable' laughter... Even 'Lee' found it quite amusing like his growing bank account.

[@soulierinvestments]

Liberace here demonstrates his keen sense of audience, so it no surprise that he remained superstar up to the end. Of course, it helped that he had real talent. WML got three of those sign in boards with his signature and his grand piano trademark. If they managed to preserve all three of them, those boards themselves would be worth a small fortune to collectors.

[@savethetpc6406]

It looks as if he had talent as an artist in addition to his talent as a musician.

[@oscarbeltran4833]

soulierinvestments is

[@elisabethlinz4256]

@@savethetpc6406 True!!!

[@bluecamus5162]

There's no denying that Liberace was an entertainer of the highest order, but I once heard a concert pianist describe his piano playing as "making the simple look hard while simplifying the difficult". He did not forgo classical or symphonic music from lack of ability, however, he simply wanted to be an entertainer and classical music confined his oversized personality.

[@johnwettermark]

Arlene at her best!

[@Bigwave2003]

No offense to Joe Crane, but wouldn't it have been more interesting to chat with the mystery guest longer instead of rushing on another contestant? I'm sure Liberace could have charmed viewers for a couple of minutes.

[@davidsanderson5918]

Bigwave2003 Actually in the convention of the programme and how it mostly works, this one was actually perfectly judged. If you think the final contestant here was rushed, there are some who are seriously whipped on and off with all the cards tipped over and Daly sweating over the clock running down. Likewise some MGs barely get to speak at all (Ella Fitzgerald was the worst for me...she didn't get to say a word!). Liberace was given a regular amount of time I thought.

[@adamodeo9320]

what charming people - everyone ! what happened to our society?

[@slc2466]

Best sign-in ever!

[@paultheaudaciousbradford6772]

I love that Bennett talked about the ball game. I remember that game so well! Roy McMillan started a triple play in the fourteenth.

[@2508bona]

That Mets-Giants game finally ended in the 23rd inning. And it was the second game of a doubleheader, if I recall correctly. It finally ended a few minutes after WML concluded.

[@rentslave]

David Von Pein Ed Kranepool played 14 innings at Buffalo the previous night.The Mets also pulled off a triple play in the 14 th inning.

[@jmccracken1963]

Final score of the second game: San Francisco Giants 8, New York Mets 6. Not only did the Giants score both of those last 2 runs with 2 out, but the baserunners who scored them reached base after the first two batters flied out. The winning pitcher was Gaylord Perry, who scattered 7 Met hits in 10 innings of relief, walking 1 and striking out 9 (Bob Hendley pitched a perfect 1-2-3 bottom of the 23rd (two strikeouts and a fly out) for the save); the losing pitcher was Galen Cisco, who pitched the last 9 innings of the game (and had done well until he tired in the 23rd). With a sweep of the Sunday doubleheader at Shea Stadium (San Francisco won the first game, 5-3), the Giants split this 4-game weekend series with the Mets. The Giants' record at the end of the weekend stood at 26-17; the Mets' record at the end of the weekend stood at 14-32, on their way to a 53-109 season record for 1964.

[@STU1NYRF]

It was the first time Gaylord Perry threw a spitball in a game. The three Alou brothers played the three outfield positions at the same time.

[@rentslave]

@@STU1NYRF Felipe was traded to the Braves after 63'.The three brothers batted 1-2-3 in an inning at the Polo Grounds on Sept.10,1963.That was the night that the NYC police found my uncle dead in the street.

[@STU1NYRF]

@@rentslave Thanks Tom for the correction on the Alou brothers. I knew it was against the METS, but remembered the wrong game.

[@VahanNisanian]

Peter Gabel announced that he was starting his first year at Harvard, when he showed up as Mystery Guest five weeks later.

[@kristabrewer9363]

? that was random

[@lepaz11]

So?

[@alskndlaskndal]

With the peanut butter guest, a rare case of John giving someone a mistaken yes because he forgot how the question was asked. It was Dorothy's lucky night!

[@soulierinvestments]

Sometimes the double negatives get rather thick on the ground.

[@savethetpc6406]

Reluctant Dragon You're right -- at 13:32, her question is "does this have any national origin *other* than American?" -- and she realized herself at about 14:00 that she deserved a "no," but was happy to accept John Daly's mistake regarding the nature of her original question. Lots of warmth and graciousness between Bennett and Dorothy this evening -- it's nice to see, as I know that sometimes they could get on each other's nerves. Actually, Dorothy always seemed to adore Bennett, but she sometimes hassled him about things, and I think this, in addition to some of Dorothy's other idiosyncrasies, led to some bad feeling on Bennett's part, if not on hers. As for the true origin of peanut butter, I'd always learned in school that it was invented by George Washington Carver -- definitely American. Carver also came up with many other uses for peanuts. I have to disagree with the initial "no" answer to Arlene, though. I think that if you are having a peanut butter sandwich for lunch, then peanut butter is very much a part of the main meal and not just an accessory.

[@stevenginsberg8471]

John also gave some key clues away. he should've flipped all the cards for that.

[@patriciamooney928]

The peanut butter questions were hilarious.

[@MWojo-hh4oz]

I like how Liberace does a little curtsy at the end.

[@patriciamooney928]

I LOVED Paul Anka calling Liberace a female.

[@patriciamooney928]

Liberace performed like breathing. Another showman from that part of the country was Prince.

[@rangerboy7877]

finally a guest who knew what her job was and didnt need any help answering questions

[@wcwindom56]

definitely a bedroom voice

[@Baskerville22]

John ended the Magician's Assistant's run rather abruptly. John sometimes gives the panel clues to a 'line' or 'product' with his need to give the panel clever responses and interjections. With the 2nd guest, the peanut butter guy, John interjected with "could be rather messy" when a panelist asked if the product could be held in her hand. THAT eliminates a lot of eatables.

[@austinharris4]

Underrated joke from Bennett Cerf!! 🤣

[@Karen-nn6kg]

I always take delight and marvel when at least one of the panel members is still with us: Paul Anka. Wish I can have a conversation...

[@2508bona]

Again with the blank name plates on the panel?

[@savethetpc6406]

Chris Barat I hadn't noticed, but you're right -- and this time it looks like they're simply not even there, rather than being blanked out.

[@fromthesidelines]

Not only that--the regular (alternate) sponsors' logos are missing from the set as well [Kellogg's, Geritol].

[@goldengirl1168]

I love that Jason Bateman married his daughter.

[@washoe4827]

isn't that incest ?!

[@drumbum3.142]

What an Absolutely GORGEOUS, CONFIDENT, BEAUTIFUL Diction Voice.!.. 🎨 ☺️😊☺️☺️😊😊😊

[@username178able]

John gives too many clues at times; with the peanut butter guest- he commented the product is “ gooey”, not fair!

[@djdon60]

Jim Reeves passed. R.I.P., wonderful voice.

[@roberttelarket4934]

I gather you are female? Answer: Yes Yes Yes Yes!!!!!!

[@jvolstad]

Nicely dressed women.

[@Etnik13]

The first contestant was lovely, but I might as well have been listening to Siri or something. Haha

[@simeonbaumel7293]

Arlene certainly doesn't suffer from arachibutyrophobia.

[@erichanson426]

Peanuts are a grain not a vegetable

[@markblass4490]

No, they are classified as legumes which are vegetables.

[@kentetalman9008]

They are vegetable, as opposed to animal or mineral.

[@leannsherman6723]

I loved the cursive and I don’t know why on earth they took it out of most schools.

[@buffbill-t2i]

born 1960 I tried to write cursive as I was taught in school and could barely get out my name.

[@curley7810]

18:35 😅

[@caroler01]

Liberace! Women loved him but he went the other way. Very popular and a nice guy.

[@donnawoodford6641]

Liberace takes too long to sign in. Dorothy knew it was him from that and the audience's reception.

[@roberttelarket4934]

Liberace an egoist!!!

[@michaelgraham8788]

I noticed that John Daly gave arlene Francis a slight clue.when he sat back with arms crossed,and his eyeballs were looking upward. I'm on to you!!

[@stephenvincent4989]

Q: Have you a brother in show - biz - A: Yes - DK in her see thru mask says Liberace she is competing again with Sherlock Holmes

[@roberttelarket4934]

Paul Anka doesn’t belong here! Ridiculous!

[@snx70]

"I gather you are female..." Pretty close :D

[@neilmcdonald9164]

Nuts are not vegetables 🎩

[@hugovangalen]

Peanut is not a nut but a legume.

[@Fush1234]

Poor old cerf was not knowing where to look.