What's My Line? - Pearl Bailey; PANEL: Allen Ludden, Betty White (Aug 28, 1966)

[@waldolydecker8118]

I saw Pearl Bailey's final public performance in June 1990 at Lincoln Center NYC, part of the JVC Jazz Festival bill. She sang with a small jazz group, headed by her long-time hubby, drummer Louis Bellson. In 1952, they both had defied state laws, American segregation practices, and Bellson's family, and interracially married. One thing stood out in her performance that I had never seen - after each song, Pearl would go back stage while an instrumental piece was played, then she would return to sing again. This vocal-instrumental rotation pattern continued for the duration. At the end of the performance, she casually remarked that she was on the way back home to Philadelphia to have "a little operation," then closed out the evening with a rousing rendition of "The Battle Hymn of the Republic." Trumpeter Wynton Marsalis joined the group for the finale. Just a few weeks later, the network news announced Pearl Bailey had died in Philadelphia. I was shocked; I had just seen her give a great performance in NYC. Then it began to all make sense...with a weak heart, she was low of breath at Lincoln Center, so had to literally 'recover' after each number. In true 'The Show must go on' tradition, she delivered such a rousing performance, that those not aware of her medical ailment would have had no clue she had already been diagnosed terminally ill. I was clueless, but in reflection, it was one of the more extraordinary performances one will see - a giant in the industry confronting the ultimate challenge with one final Hurrah! It was Pearl Bailey who first scouted the unknown "Joe Bari" circa 1949 and gave him a featured singing spot in her all-black Greenwich Village show, which afforded Bari favorable newspaper publicity (the only white performer in an all-black production), leading Bob Hope to check out the show and recommend Joe Bari change his name to "Tony Bennett."

[@gypsydoratarot8441]

You can tell Betty & Allen loved being married to each other. Now they’re soaring through the heavens together 💞

[@kristabrewer6736]

umm (no comment)

[@broughtbackin]

@@kristabrewer6736 Good, keep it that way.

[@myronmadey3040]

Love Pearl Bailey! A great singer!! A great sense of humor!!

[@sandraoaks7887]

I love how Pearl bowed to the audience twice. A class act. Such respect, appreciation & love for them. I’ve been watching these reruns 4 awhile now & today was the first day I saw Pearl, Allen & Betty. Loved seeing Allen & Betty as well. This was probably my FAVORITE WML. Ty so much.

[@gbrumburgh]

Losing 99 year old Betty White on New Year's Eve 2021 triggered an avalanche of responses. Seldom have I seen this kind of response. Bless her heart.

[@donnacook8994]

Pearl Bailey... wow 😲 What a Wonderful Woman and Fabulous Singer! She was an amazing woman! 🥰👏🥰

[@inthemix7640]

they are so polite, humble and kind to courteous to each other. it would be great to see this kind of interaction today.

[@WitoldBanasik]

+in themix They were, indeed. However, the bunch of people proved to have been the famous Mutual Admiration Society after all. Never mind. Smashing show !!! Cheers !!!

[@Steve-wf3vv]

@Steven Attanasso Actually, I think you just proved his/her point.

[@leannsherman6723]

It sure would.

[@alskndlaskndal]

Betty and Allen were fun and the panel and seemed like they were at home on the show. My first introduction to Pearl Bailey must have been her performance in Disney's "The Fox and The Hound." A wonderfully warm personality with a big, rich voice.

[@dpm-jt8rj]

In the 70s or so, they did a couple weeks of Tattletales and were a riot!

[@svnshine94]

Pearl Bailey’s smile 😊

[@MrJoeybabe25]

Pearl Bailey was one of the loveliest people ever!

[@MrJoeybabe25]

I love Pearl Bailey (how could anyone not!) and she died way too young at about the age of 70 from an ongoing heart ailment. My family went to see her and Cab Calloway in the all Black production of "Hello Dolly" in 1969. It was to our great disappointment that Miss Bailey was ill that night and her understudy took over for her. We had the option of getting our money back, but we chose to stay, and I'm so glad we did. The understudy was really wonderful. Cab Calloway was exquisite and the show brought the house down. But I will always regret missing my one chance to see Pearl Bailey live.

[@davidanderson7382]

My mom took my brother and I to see Dolly at around the same time. I'd never seen anything quite like it. The show started late supposedly because Bailey took injections for her arthritis that took time to work but when she hit the stage you noticed little else including her co star. There seemed to be a bit of unscripted tension between the two leads that actually worked for both. The Harmonia Gardens dinner scene (where Bailey/Dolly was entirely occupied by a prop turkey) was unforgettable. We went around to the stage door to say hello. This smallish woman in a casual pantsuit with a booming voice came out, grabbed both of us and kissed us on the cheek. She was so down to earth it was like visiting a relative. Thelma Carpenter was Bailey's understudy for most of the tour and was reportedly quite marvelous but you really had to see Pearl.

[@robertcarli1969]

Pearl was married to Louie Bellson, greatest drummer of all time.

[@kentetalman9008]

I saw both Carol Channing and Pearl Bailey in "Dolly". Both were wonderful, but the entire Black cast was superior.

[@jacquelinebell6201]

First time Ive seen Allen and Betty on WML together!

[@libertubey2199]

I got to admit. This time, Pearl made it more difficult for the panel to guess her right away. Allen was right. Had she spoke a little louder, any of the four panelists would have guessed her right away. Her voice was very powerful.

[@reyesplace1096]

Pearl's hubbie was a terrific jazz drummer

[@amberanderson3416]

Ms. Bailey is so gorgeous. R. I. P.

[@leesher1845]

Pearl Bailey had such a lovely smile and demeanor, and was so charming - and she acknowledged the audience, which very few of the mystery celebrities ever did.

[@leannsherman6723]

Nice to see Betty White at such a young age.

[@jeanenehenry918]

Queen Latifah looks like Pearl. Should play her.

[@nanaboys2]

jeanene henry I agree. A movie would be great.

[@rjarcusa]

I have always thought that, too.

[@karenmallonee3867]

I was looking at the still here and wondering who she reminded me of? That's it! Wow, so close it looks.

[@sherenay3109]

I thought the same thing.

[@evonza4858]

True ❤️🖤💚

[@September2004]

Letting the crowd know the occupation ahead of time was an interesting choice because it allows the audience to laugh based on some of the choices.

[@broughtbackin]

Lol what? That's the entire premise of the show, captain obvious.

[@September2004]

@@broughtbackin Right, just like Wheel of Fortune and Family Feud where they let the audience know the answers ahead of… oh wait they don’t.

[@broughtbackin]

@@September2004 Totally different premise, my friend.

[@September2004]

@@broughtbackin Ask yourself this: What if they didn’t reveal the answer ahead of time? So the audience knows as much as the panel does. Then, when the answer is revealed, wouldn’t that be a different kind of enjoyable experience because the audience would also be guessing? And then when the answer is revealed, they would have the same response as Wheel of Fortune and Family Feud answers being revealed?

[@broughtbackin]

@@September2004 No because the best part of this show is in your actual first comment. It is ONLY funny because we DO know the answer already. Family Feud and Wheel of Fortune are totally different. We guess ALONE with the contestants. (and it's much easier).

[@scottmiller6495]

What a beautiful lady she was, extremely talented and a class act!

[@leannsherman6723]

I like Pearl Bailey acknowledged the audience. Not too many mystery guests did that.

[@Beson-SE]

As we say in Sweden, "Grattis på födelsedagen Betty White!" ... Happy Birthday Betty White!

[@soulierinvestments]

.Betty White is a force of nature. I hear that she appeared in experimental television in the 1930s, and appeared in television in the 1940s, the 1950s, the 1960s, the 1970s, the 1980s, the 1990s, the 2000s, and still appears in TV in this latest decade. 9 decades at work in TV. Let’s see Chloe Moretz try and top that! She is one of only six people who appeared in TV game shows from the 1950s through the 2000s. [Another is June Lockhart who will be 90 in June 2015.] Happy 93rd birthday Betty White .

[@jackkomisar458]

In just over one month, January 17, 2022 to be exact, we can say "Happy 100th birthday, Betty White!"

[@beachchaos1863]

​@@jackkomisar458Well......

[@TacomaPaul]

At 13:59... Bennet asks, "Do you have anything to do with the courts or the police ?" Yes she does. Police are in her court all the time.

[@donaldwarren463]

Miss Bailey had the greatest speaking voice as well as singing ..

[@picklesmom735]

Pearl Bailey is beautiful

[@AstralPixie]

I really like Pearl Bailey. She was fun in "That Certain Feeling", the movie with Bob Hope/Eva Marie-Saint.

[@totallywinningprogamer9860]

Aired exactly 4 years before my birthday.

[@VahanNisanian]

Happy Birthday, Betty White.

[@battlegirldeb]

Happy Birthday Betty White the first land of TV!!!

[@kristabrewer9363]

Betty White just celebrated her 98th Birthday

[@soulierinvestments]

Meanwhile, in the control booth, Broadway producer David Merrick -- scheduled to appear on the live 12 June broadcast -- watched Pearl perform in the taped broadcast. He liked what he saw and an idea started to develop. After his appearance, the two of them got together for supper at which he started discussing his idea of her starring in a retooled "Hello Dolly!" set in Harlem. Here is the start of Broadway history.

[@alskndlaskndal]

Wow, I never knew that story... another of WML's contributions to the culture!

[@tjbnyc76]

One of the incorrect guesses was Ethel Merman, who was Jerry Herman's first choice for Dolly Levi, and who ultimately closed the show on Broadway.

[@soulierinvestments]

In production, Merrick’s musical of “The Matchmaker” went through two other titles -- “Dolly: an damned exasperating woman” and “Call on Dolly” - before Merrick settled on naming the whole play after one of the songs. Amazing but true: Merrick offer it first to Merman and then to Mary Martin, and both were not impressed.

[@1234pouvez]

@111966340727798003791 I know nothing about their discussion, of course, but the actual production of Hello Dolly , with Pearl Bailey as Dolly was in no way retooled. It was set in Yonkers,because that's where the story takes place. The production was the same. Same Book Same music. The only difference was the cast, which was all African American. Toward the end of the run, with that production, even that was no longer true. The chorus was no longer solely African American. David Merrick was the producer of the Musical. The music and book were written by Jerry Herman and Michael Stewart respectively. Any retooling would have had to come from them, not Merrick. The title of the musical would also come from them. In order to have work copyrighted, before production, it must be submitted, with a title. It's not up for grabs, for the producer to decide.

[@MrJoeybabe25]

Very interesting! The things you learn here.... 👍

[@ToddSF]

Each time Betty White comes on camera with that particular hair-do, for two seconds, my brain says "Look! It's Dear Abby!" (i.e., the original Dear Abby, Pauline Phillips).

[@barbaraobach]

Cute when the gentleman stood up , gallantry, great stars

[@ImaginaryEvil]

R.I.P. Betty 😔

[@tootalltam143]

Oh the things Betty has seen in life...

[@ChrisHansonCanada]

PEARL's necklace had a PEARL. 😁

[@gcfifthgear]

Pearl Bailey had more fun than anyone on the panel that night!

[@scotnick59]

Pearl had personality +!!

[@MrJoeybabe25]

What did the panel and John do after the show. Would they go out for coffee or drinks (it was already 11 o'clock on a Sunday night) or did they all go their separate ways? How about the mystery guest?

[@sherenay3109]

The eyelash curler has been around for a long time.

[@preppysocks209]

At 11:48, for at least the third time, Arlene makes the joke that the contestant who works for the government hopefully works for "our government." What was once funny to the audience by now is old, and it barely gets a few chuckles here.

[@janetranslates]

I love seeing the gentlemen stand to greet a lady. Did I just show my age?

[@inthemix7640]

+janetranslates no, they still do that on Kelli and Michael. he pulls out her chair, anyway

[@davidsanderson5918]

janetranslates I like it too for old time's sake...but I have to say, if an alien came down and asked 'why didn't the other humans get up?' I'm afraid I'd have to say 'I don't know.'

[@mehboobkm3728]

In this show, all the men panelists stood up to greet the guests irrespective of their sex.

[@lynettepalecek3141]

@@davidsanderson5918 It's called a man being a gentleman by treated a woman like a lady which, in turn, means showing her the respect that she deserves. A true gentleman will ALWAYS do that. A true gentleman ALWAYS holds the door for a lady and he takes his hat off indoors when a lady is present. Yes, I'm a feminine lady. The difference between a lady and a regular woman is that a lady is feminine and she wants a man to be a gentleman. A regular woman doesn't care.

[@jackkomisar458]

@@mehboobkm3728 That's true. It is remarkable how many commenters seem not to have noticed.

[@iamintheburg]

I loved Pearl Bailey ! I love Pearl Bailey ! I will always always always love Pearl Bailey : Pearlie Mae !!!!!!!!! Wishing and hoping for the film bio starring Queen Latifah.. please, please. I had to edit : Sweet Jesus, now I'm in tears, having finished the PB clip ... she says, " I came out with love " and - Lawsy Mercy - I am a seriously wet mess. I love Pearl Bailey.

[@lynettepalecek3141]

NOT QUEEN LATIFAH! QUEEN LATIFAH IS AN OUTSPOKEN ANTI-CHRISTIAN!!!!

[@siggylloyd3566]

@@lynettepalecek3141 i'm sure you'll be first in line at the gates of hell for your warm and loving attitude. See, you might think you are protected from criticism, sitting behind your keyboard and screen spewing hatred, but you don't get to say nonsensical bullshit without people responding and calling you exactly what you are: sad, seething, and predictable.

[@lynettepalecek3141]

@@siggylloyd3566 It's obvious that you're either severely deceived about the truth about Queen Latifa or you're a Satanist just like she is. You need to do some proper research about her. I told the truth about her and I'm not backing down. I'm a born again Christian. You need to get saved before it's too late. It's quite obvious that you're not saved.

[@jools01]

6:35 what did betty say? 4:14 😂 13:45 “i mean, do you get one occasionally?”😂 - love seeing Betty and allen on the panel together.

[@christinejean1071]

she can sing

[@suiko2fan2]

Betty would have made a great replacement for Dorthey. Both were brilliant women.

[@jermecialindsey796]

omg the panel was lit...and they've got each other's bells ringing lol wtf. betty white and pearl bailey on the same episode, yes! Wish they had did a skit together :)

[@jmcq9200]

Done a skit, not did.

[@leesher1845]

How on earth did they have a judge who hadn’t even graduated law school?

[@sw9618]

Oh yeah. Who knows.....

[@peternagy-im4be]

I don't think she even graduated high school

[@TheBlackhawkbrat]

In small municipalities it is possible.

[@scarsdale22]

I love Ms Bailey… a force of nature

[@Lirleni]

Interesting: she retired as a judge in August 2001. Between this show and 2001, she also was in the Wisconsin Assembly/www.wicourts.gov/news/thirdbranch/docs/fall00.pdf (page 16), and continues as a Reserve Judge.

[@teriannebeauchamp254]

Thanks for posting the link

[@barbaraobach]

Did she ended up being a snippety judge ? Was it Arlene Francs who said to the judge 'That's Wisconsin for you' then the young judge said 'It's a very grand state' ,almost in a snippy way

[@oldwestguy]

The Municipal Judge must have REALLY needed the 50 bucks prize money... I've never seen a contestant look so pained to have to answer yes to a question. She practically lied a couple of times.

[@MrJoeybabe25]

Did she say she had nothing to do with the court? I thought I heard that.

[@greeneyes2256]

@@MrJoeybabe25 She DID say it. She’s a strange person.

[@bobbywall172]

I agree, she sure acted dumb, how did she get that job, whatever it is🤪🤪she must have some relatives in power.

[@peternagy-im4be]

How in god's name did she gain a college degree?

[@oldwestguy]

@@peternagy-im4be Has me stumped. I would have guessed from Amazon maybe, but it didn't exist back then.

[@galileocan]

I personally ...find Miss Tesmer, a little....peculiar

[@carolv8450]

Young

[@marnie0512]

I agree, it seems there is something a bit "off" about her. I did a search, she's still alive and on this page you can see a recent picture of her.... www.wisbar.org/NewsPublications/InsideTrack/Pages/Article.aspx?Volume=9&Issue=10&ArticleID=25619 . I also found that she was reprimanded for judicial misconduct in the 1990s.

[@marnie0512]

@@carolv8450 Yup, she was 23 years old here.

[@iamintheburg9820]

I LOVE PEARLIE MAE!! When will Latifah film " The Pearl Bailey Story " ? Queen is meant to play Pearl if there's any order to the universe.

[@asmrdadbod2483]

Pearl was married to jazz drummer Louis bellson

[@VahanNisanian]

Taped on June 12, 1966.

[@donnacook8994]

That was my 10th birthday!

[@RonGerstein]

Back in the 1960s there were women who were judges, mayor, senator, congressperson, police officer, fire fighter, sanitation worker but not governor or vice president or president.

[@ofrabjousday1]

Did anyone else hear at 22:01: Pearl Bailey: "I told them to put a paper bag over my head." Bennett Cerf: "It wouldn't help."

[@leannsherman6723]

😮

[@DaveGivensGivens]

The judge seems slow on the uptake and unsure of herself.

[@donnacook8994]

She's probably nervous! 💕

[@barbaraobach]

First time Pearl Bailey's being annoying with that whimper sound,,she was glamourous though

[@dalekelly7639]

I've watched several of these episodes, and really enjoy them. It's just too bad they didn't have access to voice changing technology, because there's either issues with hearing the guests responses, or the voice giving them away.

[@neilmidkiff]

But isn't it much more fun to hear the great actors and singers put on accents and use the flexibility of their voices to speak in a different range than usual? That celebrates talent, not technology. I'm an electrical engineer by profession and a singer and accompanist by avocation, so I know something of both sides, and I know I prefer listening to talent.

[@imperor76]

That is Wisconsin for you. Go to a Wisconsin law school and you don't have to take the Wisconsin bar to become a lawyer.

[@ToddSF]

Actually, a lot of states don't require a graduate of an accredited law school to sit for the bar exam if the law school was in the respective state and the graduate met minimum grade requirements (typically a "C" average). It isn't just Wisconsin. At the opposite end of the spectrum is California, which not only requires passing the bar exam, but has, far and away, the most difficult bar exam in the country. Many California law firms that hire a new associate just out of law school allow three tries to pass the California bar exam and, as a legal secretary, I've seen more than one such graduate leave a law firm after flunking the California bar exam the third time. What's appalling is that in Wisconsin, they could have a judge in municipal court who hasn't even graduated from law school yet. That's horrendous, actually.

[@loissimmons6558]

+ToddSF 94109 Remember that she was elected, not appointed. She was a judge, not a lawyer. Presumably in a general election, anyone can run regardless of their background. Then it is up to the voters to decide who is best qualified. St. Francis (WI) is not only a relatively small suburb of ~10,000 people, it must have been a relatively new municipality as census figures for it only go back to 1960. And the cases in a small town municipal court are most likely pretty routine for the most part. And despite her rather uninspiring appearance on WML, she must have had something on the ball. While she was still a judge in St. Franicis, she (presumably after graduation from law school) became a prosecutor in the Milwaukee County District Attorney's Office, the first woman there to do trial work. It's also possible that she had been elected recently when this episode was taped and wasn't familiar with all the details of the office and had to think about them. It's not uncommon for small towns and villages to have their elections at a different time than November. There was one time when she did assert herself: when Bennett stated that he knew the Mayor of Milwaukee. The implication was that she wasn't being totally honest. Judge Tesmer immediately replied that she knew him too.

[@preppysocks209]

@@loissimmons6558 The key word is "presumably" and it is an inaccurate presumption in most states.. In most states with elected judges, the candidate must be a member of the bar to be eligible to serve and will not be listed in the ballot if he or she is not a lawyer. A person without that background cannot run, even if they would win. Of course, in states where judges are appointed, a non-lawyer will not be appointed. There are states in which a judge does not need to be a lawyer, particularly in lower level courts. The results can be horrible. I can remember a judge in a Southern state in the 1990s, a state I will not mention, where a judge who was not a lawyer sentenced a man to prison term longer than the maximum sentence permitted by law. When this was discovered and the press asked him how this had occurred, he replied that it was too much of a burden for him to look up what the law prescribed as the maximum sentence for the offense.

[@loissimmons6558]

@@preppysocks209 I don't know the law in each state. I do know that it is not a requirement in NY State. According to this article from 2018, it is not a requirement in over 20 states, although there are stricter requirements in NY State for criminal court. This article also states that ~85% of the judges in what is called the "North Country" part of NY State were NOT lawyers before becoming judges. www.northcountrypublicradio.org/news/story/35988/2018412/how-does-ny-go-about-turning-a-regular-person-into-a-judge

[@preppysocks209]

@@loissimmons6558 Yes, most states but not all require judges to be lawyers. It is a good idea. I did not know that New York allowed non-lawyers to preside over criminal cases. That is particularly problematic because of the need to protect the constitutional rights of defendants. In addition, there are a large number of collateral consequences that flow from a criminal conviction. Imposing those consequences for convictions that come from violation of defendants' rights, or where the defendant is innocent, is quite serious, not to mention the direct punishment for the crime. At least NY requires training and an examination for nonlawyers to take the bench. But most states have the right idea: only lawyers should be judges. And where judges must be lawyers, non-lawyers would not be allowed on the ballot.

[@65wiseman]

It's hard to believe, but Pearl Bailey was supposed to be an absolute monster to work with.

[@leannsherman6723]

😮

[@donnacook8994]

I'm sure she had high standards and expected the same from those working for or with her. Admirable!

[@jacquelinebell6201]

Its all perspective. She might have high standards which is good.

[@gailsirois7175]

Happy Birthday Betty !!

[@gailsirois7175]

But its 2021 !!

[@gailsirois7175]

Butt OUT John...the municipal court judge KNOWS what she does !!!! Lord...I hate it when he does this

[@cathykinn4516]

Couldn't have been easy being married or close to or with Ms White - that comment she made about her Husband to get a laugh showed she put getibg a laugh foremost. Her co star Bea in 'Golden' didnt put Her down, did she? Pity Ms white chose to dent the image of the girls being friends. Arlene looks tired, working too hard? Did Mr Daly ever miss an episode due to ill health?

[@robdewey317]

🤗

[@nowvoyagerNE]

i wish bennett cerf could have taken the role john daly had...bennett seems so pleasant, smart, witty, but not pretentious.

[@WhatsMyLine]

Bennett did replace John once. . . when you watch this show, I think you may find you no longer wish Bennett took John's role: kzbin.info/www/bejne/hWTSgJ18l7x7hs0

[@nowvoyagerNE]

What's My Line? well once is not enough, lol....do you know who the mystery guest was so i can try to find the video?

[@WhatsMyLine]

nowvoyagerNE I already put the link to the video in my first comment here.

[@nowvoyagerNE]

What's My Line? oops, yes you did (it was continued out of sight and i hadn't noticed that)....i am watching it now :-) thanks!

[@WhatsMyLine]

nowvoyagerNE Let us know what you think-- I'm really curious!

[@HeyGirlie92]

Allen's drunk, i think

[@peternagy-im4be]

No way on earth was that second guest a judge. Must have been selling hot dogs and been dragged into the studio as a late replacement. She didn't even seem to know where she was never mind who she was. Completely and utterly brain dead.

[@washoe4827]

Is that any way to talk about your mother ?

[@peternagy-im4be]

@@washoe4827 is that genuinely all you've got?

[@gbrumburgh]

Actress? She is listed in Wikipedia and was 23 at the time of WML. Lawyer, judge and politician. Her answers were more technical than they should have been perhaps but no need for your juvenile attack. Why don't you read up a bit and see her accomplishments before you stick your big foot in your mouth, Bub?

[@donnacook8994]

@peternagy994 Misdemeanor court is quite different sir. I'm sure being on television, in front of a large crowd and celebrities would have been difficult, and perhaps quite overwhelming.

[@Michelle-jz8vl]

I’ve always like Pearl. But what I can’t forget is when she called Maya Angelou ugly. That really hit my nerve.😡 Rip to both!

[@washoe4827]

John Lennon said there's no such thing as ugly...

[@dinahbrown902]

An ugly,agitating heart maybe she meant?

[@derekgarcia1030]

This show was a joke and a fraud

[@sw9618]

How so?

[@peternagy-im4be]

@@sw9618 because the second guest clearly wasn't a judge. Rather a poorly trained actress or someone they dragged in off the street.

[@sw9618]

@@peternagy-im4be Oh, I mean, to be honest I only watch the celebrity segment so I can't really attest to the other segments

[@kristabrewer6736]

The only fraud on the show was John Daily. I liked him ok, but he was always turning those cards over and having the losers win making the show a joke in that sense. But aside from that, it was a pretty good show!

[@kristabrewer6736]

@@peternagy-im4be Do you have any idea how RIDICULOUS that sounds?