What's My Line? - Margaret Sullavan (Dec 18, 1955)

[@richardsanto5371]

I think this is one of the best shows ever created. The panelists are not only brilliant but funny including John D. Didn't appreciate the show when I was a kid as much as now! Fred was funny without really trying. Arlene - personality ++. Dorothy with her beautiful eyes and Bennett always intellectually witty.

[@leannsherman6723]

Margaret Sullivan was excellent in Shop Around the Corner. It was very nice that she donated her winnings, something that very few of the celebrities ever did.

[@dianawardrip5171]

Many celebrities donated the winnings from the shows I’ve seen. Most were guessed by the panel.

[@garymazzeo3490]

Beautiful eyes and no chin .She lacked any sex appeal.

[@Merrida100]

What I've been enjoying a lot with WML is how John will balance the MG out so they never have to brag. He picks up on social cues so very well and compliments the performers greatly. It's so pleasant to see that interaction.

[@iamintheburg]

Arlene Francis' name belongs in the dictionary as the illustration for CHARM. and put her in it again at GLAMOUR.

[@ToddSF]

I agree, except when someone from England was a contestant, at which point Arlene, whom I normally love, would make fun of their English accents, which I always find to be quite rude and I'm always surprised she thought that was okay. Other than that, she was classy and charming and lovely and I always miss her when she's away for any reason.

[@Cherryvanilla27]

Love the taffeta dress!

[@barrykendrick3146]

She did write a book on charm!

[@MFuria-os7ln]

I love Maggie Sullavan!!! I would have loved to watch her on stage!

[@danielfronc4304]

Margaret Sullavan dealt with numerous health problems throughout her life, starting when she was a very young child. In the 1950's she started losing her hearing due to otosclerosis, a very complex condition of the inner ear. However, she dealt with her health issues and made great achievements, rather than crumbling as most of us would. She so strongly "suggested" that a young Jimmy Stewart be in one of his movies that they had to give in. He was so awkward and uncomfortable acting that she spent time to teach him to tone down the gawkiness and mannerisms that we all know him for and love. Those mannerisms weren't acting, they were real. She commented to others at a movie star party that he was going to become a great movie star in time, and he did. After her mentoring him his fame and demand for him took off. They had a great deal of respect for each other and loved each other (platonically or otherwise). However, she was nobody's fool. Raised in a rich family she saw all the good and bad that life constitutes life. She was tough as nails in an industry which at the time (ie. 1930's) viewed actresses as little more than doormats meant to be a prop for its male stars to play off of. Even the downright mean and demanding MGM part owner and its operating officer Louis B. Mayer, who treated all actors as little more than trained dogs was intimidated by Margaret Sullivan. He never wanted to be in the same room as her and a Hollywood historian said that it was she, and only she, who gave Mayer "the willies". As for her death from barbiturate overdose, just the way Dorothy Kilgallen died, no-one who wasn't there with her can say with any degree of certainty that it was a deliberate suicide. At that time, doctors were over-prescribing barbiturates and also writing for too high a dose. Also, if one dose doesn't get you to sleep you'll take a second dose. Also, users of barbiturates often forget how many doses they have taken. Consequently, they are rarely prescribed any more. Not being able to sleep and the infliction of pain have historically been the two most effective ways to torture someone. Insomnia is very cruel. If you suffer severe insomnia to the point that you can't fall asleep of stay asleep, it gets to the point that you will take more and higher doses in the desperate attempt to achieve deep asleep. The suffering is so great that the potential of a fatal overdose is a distant secondary concern to the possibilty of getting a good night's sleep. I speak from a point of knowledge about this as I am in the healthcare field and also suffer severe inability to fall asleep and stay asleep. While today we have prescription meds like Belsomra, they are merely adjunctive therapy. I take a combination of prescription and OTC meds that would kill a 300 pound NFL player if he didn't have the receptors to soak them up, and I weigh only 155 pounds. Margaret Sullivan is one of my all-time favorites, as in The Shop Around The Corner. She was a stunning beauty but lost her looks in her early middle age. Here she is only 46 years old yet looks as though she's in her late fifties. I am sorry for her suffering but thankful that we have her many movies. Also, it is highly likely that she made a star out of Jimmy Stewart as he likely would have been cast aside without her help. I am happy that she may now rest in peace.

[@rogerpropes7129]

Is there any significance to the fact that another of Henry Fonda's wives committed suicide and her daughter didn't really like him?

[@richardbullis6263]

Brooke Hayward did like Henry Fonda. She speaks fondly of him in her book.

[@dirtysanchez941]

I grew up with Leland Hayward's grandson, W. Leland Hayward. He is a brilliant photographer at present. We are from Studio City, California. We're still friends. We were really close in junior high & high school. It was bc funny because we never talked in detail about our families then, especially at that age, but in southern California most people are in entertainment. It was the 70's & 80's. Anyway, I was home the night the movie Haywire came on, but I had no idea what it was about, and Leland didn't say anything about it either. We were about 15-16? I wasn't really paying attention to the movie, but every single name was his families name's. Like, his little sister Brigitte , aunt Brook, and of course, Leland Hayward! I knew his grandfather was a famous play write, but that's all. So, I call Leland and said, I'm watching this movie, and every name etc.. blah blah blah. He said, yeah..that's my family.. After that I really understood him better. Something made more sense. His father, Bill Hayward, famous for a lot but mostly, Easy Rider, was never around. Leland's mom, Rita raised Leland and Brigitte nicely. But, Leland is so smart, really intelligent and extremely sensitive to life. We always had so much fun. I knew Leland struggled like most young men with no father etc, but I had read Bill killed himself several years ago, and I think Leland made peace with him. Leland has two GORGEOUS ( twin ) children now. Amelia & Liam. They are 4 year's old, and he is an amazing dad!! He is currently documenting their growth through photography on Instagram. Check him out!

[@carol-q9q5g]

Daniel Fronc I appreciate the time that it took to write this gracious post. I hope more research is done regarding insomnia. It truly is tortuous.

[@jamesfox2579]

Thank you so much for sharing!💔😢🙏

[@GJP1169]

I'm please we can still watch this show on KZbin .

[@loissimmons6558]

Arlene walks to her seat. Dorothy positively sashays.

[@davidsanderson5918]

Lois Simmons Ha ha!! It is like something from Elizabethan times. It is remarkable how self-conscious she seems to be physically.....while being someone with such enormous prowess on the page.

[@jamesfox2579]

@@davidsanderson5918 Agreed!

[@Beson-SE]

John held a little speech about keeping the city New York clean. Very modern and ahead of time. 21:18

[@brucealvarez9263]

Except that his "30 seconds" (which was closer to 35) since they had extra time cut the last contestant to a measly 2 minutes. That is really the only thing I dislike about the show in general, the last contestant is almost always rushed through and shorted. Hopefully they figured out a better balance in later years.

[@loissimmons6558]

+Johan Bengtsson I remember the war against litter shortly after this time period. In addition to the generic "Keep New York City Clean", a clever slogan that was festooned on the litter baskets on the sidewalks of New York was "Every Litter Bit Helps". Even so, it was an uphill battle. i remember going to the British Isles with a college team in June 1974. The streets in Oxford, Cambridge, Birmingham and Edinburgh were pristine. Then we went over to Dublin. I went out for a walk early the next morning to see a bit of the city in the area where we were staying (a dorm at Trinity College). On a brownstone lined residential city street, I saw one woman tossing a bucket of water on her front stoop and then sweeping it. But there was much litter along the gutters: newspapers, food wrappers and other assorted debris. Aesthetically, it was a come down. But at the same time, having been away from home for close to two weeks, it was the first thing that reminded me of being back home in New York.

[@yawlltube]

"The Shop Around the Corner". One of Lubitsch's best.

[@DexterHaven]

Thanks, I'll have to see it. Lubitsch was the idol of another legendary writer/director whom I assume you already know, so I won't even say his name.

[@tomitstube]

the crew of the uss x-1 was pretty cool, an experimental small submarine that was a precursor to deep sea recovery crafts used today.

[@louise4053]

I love Margaret Sullivan. She was really great!!!

[@jasperjohnson5898]

*Sullavan* 🙂

[@frantrictantric]

@@jasperjohnson5898 Grammar is the grave of letters.

[@Knappa22]

Look how thrilled Dorothy Kilgallen was when she got the submariners right, and how she clapped when John announced them.

[@fatimagic1365]

i absolutely love margaret sullavan. the shop around the corner is one of my favorite movies of all time, and daly with right when he said that she could basically make anything work. she was unfortunately really underrated among her contemporaries, and struggled with a lot of mental health issues. people forget that the advent of mental health therapies that we know and rely on today are fairly recent and that people didn't always have the resources back then that we do now. plus, sullavan and her children being in the public eye meant that the stigma of receiving treatment would have been even greater for them than for the average person. there are so many judgmental people in the comments who don't realize what it's like having mental illness as a part of your or a loved one's life.

[@erichanson426]

I will speak for myself and say that there are 2 reasons I watch this wonderful show. 1 for the good clean entertainment. 2 to help teach and remind me what politeness and good manners are really like.

[@kelloggs5473]

This weekly TV series paved the way for the summer of love in San Francisco in 1967.

[@fofuxsake309]

Kelloggs this show is not communism

[@slaytonp]

@@fofuxsake309 Neither was the Summer of Love in San Francisco, 1967 "communism." Open your mind, eschew labels and read ALL about it, as the latter day news boys used to yell when peddling newspapers on the street.

[@fofuxsake309]

slaytonp it’s always been about communism kinginstitute.stanford.edu/encyclopedia/communism

[@waldolydecker8118]

@@fofuxsake309 - get a load of this idiot...dumb cluck was most likely 'graduate' from multiple schools, yet cannot accurately define the word "communism." Five will get you ten, this ignoramus has been allowed to raise children to boot. Geez.

[@KimF1]

Didn’t she commit suicide in 23:34 early 1960? I recently watched that “Haywire” movie, and I think she was 50, almost 51.

[@Lilbit09]

I miss knowing what Arlene was up to, what plays she was in, her TV shows ---for the past year, Fred!!

[@bluecamus5162]

Miss Sullavan's play, 'Janus', ran from Nov 24, 1955 to June 30, 1956, so yeah, that's a pretty successful play.

[@waldolydecker8118]

7 months...moderately successful at best

[@rhondabitler5474]

​@@waldolydecker8118That's what I think too.

[@ChrisHansonCanada]

Margaret Sullavan's hearing must have still been okay at this point, because she could hear every question the panel asked.

[@dianawardrip5171]

She was hard of hearing since birth. Her voice had a distinctive tone because of it!

[@soulierinvestments]

Margaret Sullavan unfortunately died young accidentally. Fortunately she profited by a number of talented people in her short movie career -- William Wyler, Frank Borzage, Preston Sturges, Scott Fitzgerald, James Stewart.

[@richardbullis6263]

How do you figure?

[@dianawardrip5171]

She died of an overdose of some sort New Year’s Eve, 1960 I believe.

[@Wattamattau]

Kevin Hanlon retired from the U.S. Navy as a Commander in 1972. He was a United States Naval Academy graduate and passed away on December 27, 2016.

[@TheNomadicview]

Arlene: Is it worn from the neck down? Contestant: No. John: Miss Frances doesn't mean if it is won all the way from the neck down. But some where from the neck down.

[@GJ-wy1il]

I had a Navy friend that spent almost a year in submarine duty. Even though there are height restriction. The Navy put him in subs. even though he was 6'5". On shore leave he walked exactly like he did in the sub. Like all hunched over with his leg far apart. lol

[@leesher1845]

The woman said no to the question about is it some type of apparel. Maybe she didn’t know what the word apparel meant. 😜 Very good, Bennett!

[@kulturekritik9665]

Damn, Dorothy ALWAYS roots out the answer. I'll bet over the years she guessed 60% of the lines that the panel solved.

[@SteveLittleLivesHere]

"That's where you need the improvement I agree with you there" LOL

[@marcuslarinen684]

Dorothy was absolutely right with the second contestant - the way the question was asked a no would have been an affirmative reply, and therefore the guests yes should have given her a no ^^ I notice quite often that John gets mixed up when negations gets involved.

[@tjbnyc76]

She was also quite honorable in recognizing immediately that she should have gotten a "No," and seemed a little embarrassed when JCD and her fellow panelists insisted that she continue. Dorothy WAS a true game player, if not always a team player.

[@bostonblackie9503]

Margret Sullivan star of stage and screen suffered from hard of hearing. She did have surgery that improved hearing in her left ear. However as one of her daughter said she didn't follow the doctors orders to cut back on swimming and shooting. She also suffered from mental illness. In 1960 she died of an accidental overdose. The same year one of her daughters committed suicide and in 2008 her son commited suicide. She donated both of her ears to medical research.

[@tjbnyc76]

I don't know if the hippo keeper was merely nervous being on TV, or if he worked strictly with the pygmy variety, but according to Wikipedia, a full grown hippo weighs 1500 kg, as compared to a full grown MALE steer weighing 640 kg!

[@loissimmons6558]

As John said, the answer depends upon which hippo you are talking about and which cow you are talking about. In addition to the existence of pygmy hippos, the best reason for a no answer is that female hippos are also known as cows.

[@lesbeery2478]

Todd Brandt The keeper may have been thinking of height rather than mass. Daly dismissed the issue admirably I think.

[@KastriotHoxha]

In general hippo is much larger than a cow, but in this case hippo keeper was confused so John had to intervene to lessen more confusion, but it added even more of it.

[@waldolydecker8118]

Maybe the guy just simply was not the brightest light bulb in the pack, despite having the job. Wouldn't be the first time - nor the last. Daly was brilliant in immediately ending the proceedings (while generously covering for the guest) once the guest revealed his cluelessness. The game quickly goes sour when a guest can't even accurately answer simple questions about a product or service in which they are supposed to be the resident expert.

[@broughtbackin]

March cannot come soon enough.

[@bethmiller3635]

CAN HARDLY HEAR THIS !

[@519djw6]

Do you even have problems hearing this if you use earphones?

[@suzannelitofe]

Sometimes Mr Daly can give more challenging answers than necessary

[@soulierinvestments]

"X-1" was originally powered by a hydrogen peroxide/diesel engine and battery system, but an explosion of her hydrogen peroxide supply on 20 May 1957 resulted in the craft's modification to accept a diesel-electric drive. On 2 December 1957, X-1 was taken out of service and deactivated at Philadelphia.

[@mikejschin]

The submarine was reactivated in 1960 and used for experimental work in the Chesapeake Bay until it was deactivated again in 1973. It is now on display at the Submarine Force Museum in Groton, Connecticut.

[@germainemaxwell4530]

I normally don't like this version of this game where the contestant walks up to the panel . the reason I did not switch of is because Mr Fred Allen is among those present .though the above regular panellists are excellent

[@finddeniro]

Margaret Sullivan .Book ..Haywire..Family..

[@Gwaithmir]

I went to grade school with a girl named Catherine Farrell (1950's).

[@Beson-SE]

I thought that the first game was extremly slowly. Almost eight minutes of the show and only Fred and Arlene had asked questions. Fred in particular was very chatty and unfocused. When it was Bennett's turn he said (with some irritation), "We are making progress very slowly I would say." 7:54

[@tjbnyc76]

Besides Fred's tangents, and Arlene's back and forth with John, Dorothy's questioning seems unusually labored, and the contestant's reaction in answering is oddly delayed. I agree, an extremely belabored first round, almost exasperatingly so. No wonder Bennett was annoyed.

[@kathyyoung1774]

What difference does this make now. All those people are long since dead.

[@kitcat9447]

Arlene's hair is extra pretty here!

[@davidpierce3]

What a treat to see Margaret Sullavan (the mother of Brooke Hayward) ... sad to think that within five years Ms. Sullavan would be dead at the age of 50. Also, to her credit, Dorothy tried to correct John Daley's mistake, to no avail.

[@gailjarvis2592]

She was a troubled woman. You can see a foreshadowing of things to come in her face.

[@kelloggs5473]

You are trying to look too closely. She was an actress.

[@kitcat9447]

John missed two flips during the Margaret Sullivan bit. Very odd

[@Steezey7]

What an unfocused episode! Not sure if the panel had already been partaking in some Christmas “spirits” or what the problem might be here. Dorothy in particular is concerning; she’s talking SO slowly!

[@soulierinvestments]

Maggie Sullavan could fight the fight. In September 1949 she had an intense, protracted confrontation with director Sam Wood over the hiring of a writer. Wood died unexpectedly a few hours later of a heart attack. Sullavan''s detractors never let her live that down.

[@DexterHaven]

Henry Fonda said he argued intensely with her every day near the end of their marriage too. It didn't help her peace of mind much either. Her personal life was a wreck. She was going deaf and neurotic. Two of her kids later committed suicide like she did. If you like her, a new bio of her is coming out this summer. www.amazon.com/Margaret-Sullavan-Life-Career-Reluctant/dp/1476675236

[@gentlemanjake8005]

Sam Wood was also rabidly anti-Communist, which likely affected his overall health.

[@DexterHaven]

@@jerrylee8261 Wow, I didn't realize Cosby's kids committed suicide. The saddest one for me to hear about was when Sylvia Plath's son committed suicide in his 40's, as his mother famously had when he was a toddler, along with his sister, in the same house. She was about 30. That should have been more of a news story, I think.

[@waynebrasler]

She had a difficult time emotionally and in the 1950s it was difficult to get the necessary help.

[@richardbullis6263]

No it wasn't. She had the means to get the help. She went to a mental institution for a few months.

[@gentlemanjake8005]

@@richardbullis6263 I’m not sure how much “help” patients got in mental institutions back then.

[@jackseward7779]

Not even the zoo keeper was competent: did not know he doesn't work for the Parks Depart. and thinks cows are larger than hippos. What a long-winded episode.

[@dancelli714]

Wasn't Margaret Sullavan the mother of Jane Fonda ? Sullavan is not spelled the usual way; Sullivan .

[@accomplice55]

No, she was not Jane's mother. She had no children with Henry Fonda but three with Leland Hayward.

[@m.e.d.7997]

Brooke Hayward I believe not Jane Fonda. Her mother was Frances Seymour Fonda

[@kristabrewer9363]

Did that lady have anything to do with Helen Keller? Besides her last name, I also noticed that she wanted her money to go to the "Seeing Eye" (which I assume is a Blind School)

[@accomplice55]

Margaret Sullavan? No, not at all. Helen Keller's teacher's name was Sullivan.

[@leesher1845]

Move on, Fred!

[@michaeldanello3966]

Wouldn't you just love to hear how John Daly's request for cleaner streets and cities would be changed if he had lived to see the graffiti or the filth that has now been "legalized" in once beautiful cities such as San Francisco?

[@waldolydecker8118]

Nope. Daly doesn't come across as someone who describes to your simple-minded and idiotic description. Nobody legalized filth, so quit lying. Your statement is driven by talking point politics, not facts. Next you'll be running your trap about the 'beautiful' election that was stolen. San Francisco remains a beautiful city - one of the country's finest. The fact that you hate its politics and its people who don't look like you is actually something that makes it an even more beautiful city.

[@joncheskin]

5:30 Fred Allen, "Do you think aggressiveness is out of place in a midget?" By our standards today, a completely inappropriate question. Times really do change.

[@petemarshall8094]

It’s an important question, and has often been addressed throughout history. There are many shocking stories recounted among the Munchkins on the set of Wizard of Oz. And I’ve witnessed major aggressiveness myself when I go to my Tuesday night dwarf-tossing competition.

[@dinahbrown902]

Not inappropriate to me but I live in a free country and am not dictated to 😊

[@m.e.d.7997]

I found Fred could often be inappropriate though

[@waldolydecker8118]

There's a good book you may have heard of that talks about there not being anything new under the sun. John Daly's response (or more accurately, lack there of) to the question should have told you that even when it was asked, Daly didn't think it was appropriate - otherwise, he would have surely answered it. Just because folks may have gotten away with certain behaviors in previous years doesn't mean those behaviors were 'appropriate' then. Most likely, those behaviors were never appropriate (i.e. moral, the right thing to do, etc) the behaviors were simply done in ignorance or in reckless disregard, simply because one could without suffering any negative feedback or consequences. "The right thing to do" for the most part has been a human constant; what has varied is our willingness and capacity for doing so.

[@TVHouseHistorian]

Cerf seemed to have such a thick New England accent, and yet he grew up in Manhattan, NY.

[@sodality3970]

Is GSN ????

[@keithnaylor1981]

A movie based on the exploits of a midget Submarine X-1 was made in 1968 starring James Caan.

[@dougw.4788]

margaret was married to Henry Fonda?

[@ToddSF]

Briefly, 1931-1933, her first marriage of four. Ms. Sullavan was Mr. Fonda's first marriage of the five that he had.

[@richardbullis6263]

Margaret and Henry got married in the winter of 1931. By the spring of 1932 Henry discovered that Margaret was having an affair with the powerful Broadway producer Jed Harris. Their divorce was finalized before she went to Hollyweird in 1933.

[@richardbullis6263]

Their marriage was over in less than six months.

[@notvalidcharacters]

Heard the word "Scotch [sic]" instead of Scottish *three times* here. And Cerf is supposed to be a wordsmith too. Unreal.

[@MrRwk314]

Omg who the hell cares.

[@notvalidcharacters]

@@MrRwk314 ScotTISH people. That was easy. What'd I win?

[@bigoldinosaur]

Arlene looks like she got her mask down at Mardi Gras.

[@kay8698]

cant hear it

[@garymazzeo3490]

About this time, she was starting to read lips. Sadly taking her own life a few years later,

[@spiritualED]

11:29 Yes they do Mr. Cerf. Your wife’s lipstick. 😝

[@galileocan]

Interesting that the panel who were made up of supposedly highly intellectual people didn't know that "Scotch" is a drink and NOT a nationality. The contestant was polite enough not to inform the panel that people from Scotland are properly referred to as "Scots" or "Scottish"

[@neilmidkiff]

According to the 1965 second edition of Fowler's English Usage, both Robert Burns and Sir Walter Scott used the form "Scotch" in all senses; even in Scotland the preference for "Scottish" and "Scots" did not arise until the late 19th and early 20th centuries, and it took longer for the change to catch on outside Scotland. "Scotch" "has been falling into disuse in England" (1965) and presumably in America too. So our panelists were just reflecting the American usage of their time; no one had taught them in school the distinction you are making...which is itself oversimplified. "Scotch" is still properly used before terrier, broth, fir, pine, mist, tweed as well as whisky.

[@drumbum3.142]

... . .. Submarine.. - ...Pilots (?.) .. 👀👁🤔😐😐

[@jackseward7779]

I never saw an episode so full of hot air. BTW, doesn't the kilt lady know how she performs her own job??!

[@wcwindom56]

Scot not Scotch.. one is a person, the other is a drink

[@519djw6]

Thank you! I don't know why the woman let them get away with this wrong choice of words.

[@TheNomadicview]

A cow is larger than a hippo???

[@gentlemanjake8005]

I guess bigger meant taller.

[@waldolydecker8118]

The guy was clueless at his own job...it happens. That was the final straw for Daly and he expedited the guy off the set.

[@accomplice55]

I'm stunned that someone as erudite as John Daly would mispronounce "zoological."

[@Wizardofgosz]

Scottish!! Not scotch!!

[@dancelli714]

Wasn't Sullavan the mother of Jane Fonda ?

[@bbt5358]

No. But, she the Mother of Brooke, Bridget and Bill Hayward.

[@richardbullis6263]

No. Sullivan is Brooke Hayward mother. Frances Fonda is Jane's mother.

[@dinahbrown902]

Mrs. Henry Fonda committed suicide and left him the children to raise

[@kristabrewer9363]

Does Fred SERIOUSLY think he's funny when he says "Can I ask you a question John?" I'm so TIRED of hearing that!! (but then again I'm tired of John's long, drawn out explanations too, and thinking it's still funny)

[@dinahbrown902]

Don’t watch

[@waldolydecker8118]

@@dinahbrown902 - you forgot the obligatory "America, love it or leave it."