What's My Line? - Mark Goodson & Bill Todman; Jackie Cooper; Vivian Blaine [panel] (Jan 1, 1956)

[@erichanson426]

Who would have thought that a simple game show like this would involve 94 people.

[@davidalan2469]

Thanks to Mark & Bill for all their great productions. It was a better world back then.

[@AdrianLopez-sb7eo]

"At the risk of upsetting some few folks who are going to see the program on kinescope film and hence one or two weeks late I would like to say happy new year for all of us who work on the program." And here we are almost 65 years later, watching the program on kinescope film and not the least bit upset.

[@fanboy2015]

Jackie Cooper, one of the few child actors to have a long Hollywood career as an adult.

[@lukeswall5999]

I can only think of him, Shirley Temple and Mickey Rooney.

[@rbaltimo]

In modern times Jodi Foster and Dru Barrymore

[@taraxacum]

Ron Howard

[@ChrisHansonCanada]

@@lukeswall5999 Patty Duke

[@Marcel_Audubon]

Dean Stockwell, Christina Ricci, Kurt Russell, Hayley Mills, Jackie Coogan

[@LarsRyeJeppesen]

"What do you mean, you pass - you got a NO! " .. .lmao

[@poetcomic1]

Fred cracked me up asking if the multi-millinaire Producers were going to split the $30 they won.

[@Beson-SE]

It felt strange to actually see Mark Goodson and Bill Todman live, so far they had only been names without faces.

[@EricEbac22]

Indeed, they had; as far as I know, this was the only time Goodson and Todman appeared in front of the camera. If there were more besides that, someone please let me know. Todman died in 1979 and Goodson died in 1992.

[@Beson-SE]

EricEbac22 Mark Goodson and Bill Todman were the Mystery Guests in Dec 22, 1963 and Feb 4, 1962. Mark Goodson was a panelist in Feb 13, 1966 and in Nov 27, 1966.

[@EricEbac22]

Johan Bengtsson Interesting.

[@bigwilson8794]

EricEbac22 Goodson was on a Bill Boggs show that someone posted

[@amybrown7723]

EricEbac22 Mark Goodson was on Match Game on several occasions. Once as a guest matcher when CNR was late, and a few other times besides that and I recently saw an episode of I've Got A Secret that he was on where he played a trick on Betsy Palmer

[@captainjay1034]

I find Fred's humor intelligent and very funny.

[@Bigbadwhitecracker]

Yes, me too, but he really didn't play the game too well.

[@anneroy4560]

He often guessed the mystery guess ... we forget as he made scoff of himself so often ...

[@ericmaine]

He is funny....but he borders on “hogging” the spotlight and slowing the gameplay

[@lilybean835]

@@ericmaine I'm not fond of Fred in the least, and I find him annoying. But I did notice the same thing you did, that he dawdles and pauses a lot, sort of hamming it up and then waiting for laughter before he moves on, forcing jokes. I know I'm in the minority, but I never took a liking to Fred at all.

[@robertjean5782]

Majority of younger generations don't appreciate his dry wit😊

[@loissimmons6558]

Mark Goodson, who had an entertainment background as an actor with an amateur theater company and on radio as a DJ and an announcer, was able to disguise his voice. Bill Todman, who was more involved with the money/business operations of their production company had no significant experience as an entertainer. He admits he wasn't really able to disguise his voice. I was surprised that at least the three regular panelists didn't immediately recognize his voice. Perhaps this means that they dealt far more often with Goodson. Contract negotiations with Todman would have been handled by the panelists' agents.

[@Sylvander1911]

As I understand it Goodson WAS more directly involved with the "talent" Todman was background, and steered G&T in to other fields, rarely interacting with the "talent"

[@Wizardofgosz]

So that's what Goodson and Toddman look like. I've known their names since I was a kid, but never thought to look them up, ever. I'm also shocked they lasted that long considering one of them didn't really disguise his voice at all.

[@robertjean5782]

Their voices weren't well known to majority of people 😊

[@stanpatterson5033]

It was a struggle to hear the audio on this (and some other WML shows that are posted here on YT). I guess some of the audio track(s) have not fared so well over the years, just as on some of these shows (seen on YT) the video and luminescence has not fared well. In the end, it's still worth it to have them archived in this way so that those of us who weren't yet born when the shows aired, can still enjoy watching them.

[@dancelli714]

I usually wear ear buds.

[@gugurupurasudaikirai7620]

Only 4 weeks later and Vivian Blaine is back, this time on the panel. Her MG spot was really fun so good to see her again

[@michaeldanello3966]

For those who keep insisting that Fred Allen was not very good on this show or uncomfortable:. He was very well known and respected as a very smart and rapid comedian -- in radio and in his writing of books, scripts, columns and letters -- with puns, jokes or observations. However they were rather more intellectual than the average hit-you-on-the-head with a hammer type comedian's jokes, many of whom came from burlesque and vaudeville. Since his fame was more out-of-view in the way he interacted with his fans, he was acutely aware that he was not a handsome man (a la movies or television stars) and was very self-conscious of it. After a year on WML he finally took to wearing glasses, that he didn't need, because one of his fans suggested they would cover the prominent bags under his eyes. As time went on he became more at ease and he got his share of correct answers and guessed his share of guests, in spite of his frequent self deprecation. An example of his quick humor is readily seen in next week's show. There was a MSgt MP for the WACS. Fred quipped he could shed "some light" on their associated females in the Armed Services, the "WICS, they served on lighthouse duty.". There was no way that it was prepared in advance. If you had been aware of that background you might have come away with a different opinion.

[@unclebounce1495]

Many comedians are insecure, since comedy is a common coping/distraction technique learned to counter social pressures. Fred Allen was a very funny man. I think he was "less effective" as a panelist for two reasons, the lesser of the two is possibly from insecurity, but the much more important reason, I think, was that he didn't care about winning. he cared about entertaining the viewers.

[@cadaverdog1424]

Fred Allen was fabulous!! Tremendous wit/intellect/charm_ a gentleman_ I love watching him______

[@robertjean5782]

I totally agree 💯 percent 😊

[@ClassiCole]

TV game show producers Mark Goodson and Bill Todman are the first challengers in this episode taped on November 25, 1955.

[@BobPetrone]

Interesting statistics given by Goodson & Todman.

[@Sylvander1911]

Todman forgot to mention Canada, and they had had one of the panelists on as a contestant

[@scottpardee6303]

Yes. 75% of the guests were guessed by the panel!

[@alexeyvartanyan8486]

I wish all these "What's my line?" shows from other countries were also on youtube

[@mikejschin]

One show from the UK is on KZbin, and also one from Canada (in French). As far as I can tell, those are the only surviving episodes from other countries.

[@shrillbert]

@@mikejschin Well, some of the West German shows are around(The West German WML? went off the air in '58 and returned in '61 and almost went all the way to the Reunification), and there are a few WML?s from the Thames era of the UK version on here as far as I know, and yes, the now two from the BBC and I think two from Radio-Canada(Anglophone viewers on CBC just got to watch and sometimes be on the US version.

[@mikejschin]

@@shrillbert Thank you for the info. I'll look up those episodes.

[@abbywhite2682]

They still didn't get more chairs. Contestants look do uncomfortable when there are two.

[@ChristopherTate]

I do understand them not wanting to tip off the panel that there'd be more than one mystery guest.

[@crispincain5373]

Agnes Elsa Clara Lilian Maud von Rosen passed away on April 11 2001, in Mexico!

[@carollee444]

Enjoyed the.show, very much !

[@ToddSF]

I remember watching "The People's Choice" aired during the day in syndication when I was about 8 or 9 and home from school for summer vacation. Of course, the real entertainment value on that sitcom were all the voiceover comments that were the thoughts of Cleo the basset hound, who always had observations to share about the people in her house. Jackie Cooper played Socrates "Sock" Miller, a local city council member in a fictitious California town who was dating the mayor's daughter. Actress Mary Jane Croft provided the voice of Cleo. I have to say Cleo's comments wouldn't have been half as funny if she'd been another breed of dog -- basset hounds that can't talk make me smile when I see one, just because they look the way they do. "The People's Choice" originally ran in prime time from 1955 to 1958 on NBC in black and white.

[@loissimmons6558]

"The People's Choice" and "Topper" were two of my very favorite shows when I started to diversify from cartoons. Both shows happened to have comic dogs. Like the basset hound, a St. Bernard is usually good for a laugh on sight and Neal was a riot. The difference for me between the two shows is that in "The People's Choice", I can only clearly remember Cooper and Cleo, whereas in "Topper" I know all of the members cast: Topper and his wife (the marvelous Leo G. Carroll and Lee Patrick), the Kirbys (real life husband and wife Robert Sterling and Anne Jeffries), Mr. Schuyler (played by Thurston Hall) and of course, Neal.

[@patrickziegler7908]

Mary Jane Croft was the voice of Cleo. She also co-starred on Ozzie & Harriet, Our Miss Brooks and all of Lucille Ball's series. She is my adopted Grandmother. I created a Facebook page for her under her name.

[@gugurupurasudaikirai7620]

"Did you ever do a picture with Charlie Chaplin?" Pretty close there Bennett, only three letters off, that's Jackie Coogan not Jackie Cooper

[@lilybean835]

First 11 minutes are spent on the first guests. I understand why, but gosh, that was just too much.

[@ToddSF]

Too bad Arlene wasn't there for the appearance of Goodson & Todman.

[@randysills4418]

She was there when they were on in 1962.

[@neilmidkiff]

Significant data on US television broadcast history: in his intro, John wishes the viewers a Happy New Year, and hopes that those who see the program via kinescope a week or two later won't be upset. Does anyone know what areas were still not getting live network feeds as 1956 began? I'm guessing perhaps Alaska and Hawaii territories (not yet states), and just maybe some isolated valleys in the Rockies or Sierras that couldn't get over-the-air signals due to geography. But this is guesswork.

[@robertjean5782]

Exactly, also tvs were expensive not everyone had one. 😊

[@Farawaysoclose]

Wish we had a time machine- JACKIE COOPER one of my favourite actors-also former child film star-at an early years,silent film- in COLUMBO- candidate in crime with PETER FALK-also R-I-P

[@keithhyttinen8275]

When they "pass", it should cost $5.00. Flip a card John.

[@hizgrase]

I feel like Arlene would have gotten mark Goodson bill todman quickly.

[@joncheskin]

Swedish female bullfighter is about as difficult as it gets. No wonder the panel was stumped.

[@robertjean5782]

A gorgeous woman 😊

[@wilkiecoco]

....and it was on in Quebec!!

[@ToddSF]

According to Wikipedia, the francophone Canadian version of WML ("Chacun son métier") ran from 1954 to 1959. I'm surprised Goodson and Todman didn't mention that one, especially since that very nice Québecoise panelist, Nicole Germain, appeared on the U.S. program as a contestant on January 23, 1955.

[@brucealvarez9263]

I thought about that as well. I can only guess it is because Quebec is not (yet ;) ) an independent country and French is not the native language of Canada. Still, yes I was surprised Canada was not mentioned in that impressively long list. I bet they never even considered that the show would be so popular worldwide.

[@ToddSF]

French is absolutely one of the two official European-derived languages of Canada, which are French and English. Neither one of those is a _native_ language of Canada _per se_ -- any of the languages spoken by First Nations or indigenous peoples of Canada would be native to the country. But French and English have equal official status in Canada and, even in the 1950's, French was every bit as official a language as English in that country. Later on, every product sold in Canada was required to have a label in both languages, and every business document issued such as bills, invoices, packing lists, bills of lading, statements of account, etc., has to be in both languages.

[@shrillbert]

@@brucealvarez9263 They might just have overlooked it since being on Radio Canada meant that it was mostly just Quebec(but also New Brunswick and Manitoba to an extent) were watching it. Anglophone audiences were just watching the US version from CBS stations that were nearby. The Anglophone CBC was focused more on making their own home-grown ideas like Front Page Challenge more of a success than using imported concepts.

[@Frankcastlepunisher74]

Happy New Year, WML fans!

[@kennethbutler1343]

Todman mentioned they were on in Cuba... I had a laugh thinking if they had their own production of WML it would be easy to guess since everyone would be employed by the Cuban government...

[@dovbarleib3256]

This episode was before the Communist Revolution.

[@cadaverdog1424]

Fidel Castro was the moderator. He trained under John Daly😂😂😂

[@ClassiCole]

Correction… the mystery guest is Jackie Cooper.

[@allanshulstad1783]

Try using a volume booster app

[@anncawthon9183]

Why did the show never provide two chairs for two guests? They look like one is sitting in the other's lap.

[@TheCRTProductions]

2:10 haha you have no idea Mr. Daly!

[@philippapay4352]

Sound is way too low to hear with my desktop on high volume even.

[@michaelchristopherson123]

My android as well!☹

[@diamondstud322]

Unless you can view KZbin on your TV, best option is to use headphones or get a Bluetooth speaker.

[@lllowkee6533]

This is one of posts needing my little amplifier on my iPad. About $10.00..

[@peternagy-im4be]

I can hear it mighty fine

[@mtnman6557]

Since Goodson noted that he & Todman couldn't fit on the 1 chair, why did that shared, chair deal continue? *Saw 2 chairs on 1 episode though

[@SteveLittleLivesHere]

So has anyone ever seen the Aussie version I wonder who was on it? I can imagine Grahame Kenedy as adjudicator.

[@loissimmons6558]

+Steve Little Cursory research indicates that John Barnes was the host/panel moderator. The show ran from the beginning of the 1956 Australian television season until 1958.

[@shrillbert]

@@loissimmons6558 Yep, it was on the Nine Netowrk...and sadly, no episodes are known to exist anymore.

[@randylovering24]

He loves saying putting their masks on

[@jpireri6777]

My favorite line of a great episode: "I've learned you can't possibly put two producers of our dimensions on one chair." Hilarious! I cringe every time I see two contestants trying to keep their balance and composure while sharing the lone chair. Please tell me the producers produced a second chair for multiple contestants after this show?

[@lethaluks2942]

They didn’t and I also don’t understand why!

[@salvatorecollura2692]

I think it would have just given too much away to bring out two chairs.

[@hopelewis5650]

A high back bench would have worked.

[@robertjean5782]

​@@lethaluks2942The camera man wasn't able to get them on one screen😊

[@peterburritt2290]

Full Volume and can hardly hear it!!!!

[@reneshay889]

I read the guest chair is actually larger than a regular chair since it sits two.

[@salvatorecollura2692]

The fashions and æsthetic of the 1950s did not suit Goodson at all. He really came into his own in the 60s and 70s. He just looked like the 70s long before they occurred.

[@Beson-SE]

I have tried to find some information about the bullfighter miss Agnes von Rosen but failed. She was Swedish and divorced. von Rosen is one of the most grandest noble families in Sweden but it's difficult to know if she was born or married von Rosen.

[@juliansinger]

+Johan Bengtsson Best I can find is a few announcements of US bullfighting demonstration appearances in some newspapers in 1955-56. I have the feeling she's the person I link below, who died in 2001, in Mexico, since she would have been in her early 30s on WML, which fits. As does her being in Mexico, if she kept up with bullfighting. But it's all conjecture. www.geni.com/people/Agnes-Elsa-Clara-Lilian-Maud-von-Rosen/5537758580640125825

[@Beson-SE]

+juliansinger Thank you, it must be the right Agnes von Rosen.

[@LarsRyeJeppesen]

Further, I think this is the 5th bull fighter we've seen on WML (I'm watching in chronological order).

[@gretchenking5952]

I think it was very rude of Fred to announce Vivien Blaine as the prettiest doll of Guys and Dolls, especially since they had Jean Simmons on a couple of weeks before. Its like saying Vivien is prettier than Jean. Although everyone has their own tastes, Jean Simmons was considered the English version of Elizabeth Taylor, arguably the most beautiful woman in the world at one point . I just thought it was very tacky. Someone said it on a previous episode as well. I'm glad we're more in tune to not making such gafs today.

[@CountryAndClassics]

Again, No Volume to hear properly. Forget to set Volume setting when recording? Increase needed!!!

[@robertjean5782]

Try close caption 😊

[@mikejschin]

Near the end of Jackie Cooper's segment, at 23:05, Fred quips that there is a new recording of "There's No Place Like Home" by the Dionne quintuplets. I normally love Fred's humor, but this went beyond insensitive and close to intolerably crass. The Dionnes were five identical twin sisters born in Ontario in 1934, and they were the first quints known to have all survived infancy. The quints' parents gave them up when they were 4 months old, and they shortly became wards of the state. The government of Ontario actually used them as a tourist attraction, bringing in more than $50 million in tourist revenue to the province. Their childhood was so totally messed up. It was really quite sick of Fred to connect them with that song. On a slight upbeat note, in 1998 the 3 surviving sisters (Yvonne, Cécile and Annette) received a $2.8 million settlement from the government of Ontario for their exploitation. Marie had died in 1970 and Émilie died in August 1954, just a few months before this show.

[@WienerVL]

Who is happy with Bullfighting?

[@sandrageorge3488]

Not i

[@lllowkee6533]

It’s HORRIBLE!!!!

[@petemarshall8094]

I love it!

[@thesweeples3266]

@@petemarshall8094 👍

[@peternagy-im4be]

I love it

[@blueduck5589]

A wonderful show made when bullfighting was considered a fun "sport."

[@peternagy-im4be]

Great days indeed

[@mdesapio]

A female bullfighter, in 1955? Now I've seen everything.

[@44032]

Do the female bulls fight harder than the males?

[@Wizardofgosz]

1956!

[@michaeldanello3966]

Steven Chappelle: I hope you're kidding. Bovine males, with horns, are bulls, sometimes fight in arenas. Bovine females are cows, don't have horns, and give milk. The old plural for cow was kine.

[@sleb99]

Michael Danello cow most certainly have horns! Watch a utube video of milking since you obviously do not live on a farm. Made me laugh. Not to be mean to you but you made the assertion as who had knowledge.

[@lllowkee6533]

Yes, a cruel cruel blood “sport” still going on today.😢😢

[@dorothykilgallenwasmurdere1653]

Unfortunately I need to find episodes that I can actually hear.

[@robertjean5782]

Try close caption 😊

[@Mmdmade]

So John would come to work sick and cough all over everyone. That’s the good old days alright 😂

[@bigwilson8794]

Bad flip at 13:45

[@OnTheOnlyShipButHalfWannaSink]

I’d have enjoyed seeing Fred say something unpleasant to Goodson and Todman, eg, some crack about their weight.

[@stevenginsberg8471]

This episode highlighted why many of us cringe watching how the female contestants were always asked for their marital status. Totally irrelevant to the game, and there could be situations (like here) where the guest was needlessly made uncomfortable.

[@ToddSF]

Yeah, but prior to the early 1970's, there wasn't any "Ms." available and John Daly and the panel needed to know how to address the contestants when asking and answering questions and commenting, because they were not so forward as to address them by their first names. It would have been sexist as all get out to address each male contestant as "Mr. So-and-So" while addressing each female contestant by her given name. I think that's the obvious reason and the only John Daly asked female contestants whether they were "Miss" or "Mrs." It doesn't make me cringe in the least. It was necessary to ask it then. What does make me cringe is when a female contestant can't immediately answer that simple question, which happens only rarely, but seriously, who doesn't know whether they're married or single?

[@stevenginsberg8471]

And that is why the syndicated version of the show later did the right thing in doing away with the honorifics altogether and just using first names. So yeah, that made it less formal, but this was, after all, a game, not a judicial proceeding or a congressional hearing.

[@ToddSF]

Steven Ginsberg -- There was nothing wrong with using first names on the syndicated version of the show in the late 1960's and early 1970's. But prior to that, using titles was simply the way things were done. I remember the original version of "The Price is Right" hosted by Bill Cullen and they did the same thing with the four contestants competing against each other for prizes -- the contestants had name plates that read Mrs. ______, Miss _______ or Mr. _______ and that's how Bill Cullen addressed them. Was it sexist? Yes, indeed. But it's the way it was back then. I note that all through elementary school, junior high school and senior high school, female teachers were addressed as "Miss" or "Mrs." and, each year, on the first day of school, we were informed as to how we should address the female teachers and no one thought anything of it at the time. At any rate, 49 to 66 years later, I certainly don't think What's My Line? was bad or wrong to handle titles as they did. It's just how things were back then. Fortunately, things have changed and there has been some progress when it comes to sexism and the glass ceiling.

[@Bigbadwhitecracker]

I'm not cringing.

[@Wattamattau]

Can anyone these days just relax and enjoy these shows? Good God quit being PC Principal (South Park reference). Back then people had manners/politeness and it was common courtesy (please "Google" the phrase) to ask if a woman was a Miss or Mrs.

[@donnalynch6845]

Fred can t asked questions, his jokes are sour

[@RonGerstein]

You are a minority of one regading Fred Allen, who had a highly rated radio show, which means a very, very large number of fans.

[@robertjean5782]

​@@RonGersteinTotally agree 😊

[@yeahnoonecaresifyouarefirst]

Hate bull fighters