What's My Line? - Robert Preston; PANEL: Tony Randall, Jeanne Parr (Mar 13, 1966)

[@christopherjones8517]

Finest example of true quality television!

[@peterrealar2.067]

I love Robert Preston's work so much. He was great in Music Man and was a lovable scalawag in Last Starfighter.

[@jacquelinebell6201]

I loved him in Victor Victoria in his later years.

[@kenyongray2615]

Miss Anson was great. Jeanne Parr also got the 2nd guest all by herself. Notice how Tony Randall always claps for people. He was married to his first wife for 50 years. A class act.

[@billbrimmer1739]

Robert Preston, a real person, who happened to be a great actor. Randall was amazing to have guessed it so quickly. Ms. Parr and Ms. Francis were enchanting.

[@eblackadder3]

Preston and Randall were good friends, they even appeared in a film together a few years before this.

[@piustwelfth]

Preston's performance as Harold Hill was sensational.

[@Noone58319]

He was born to play Harold Hill!

[@nancycurtis488]

Yes, yes it was and on stage in person, he was even more wonderful. I wish I could have gotten his autograph when I saw him perform it at the Dallas Summer Musicals. I got to perform in Music Man in 1977 when it was done by the Irving Community Theater. I still have the adorable costume that my mother made for me. I was so tiny and had such a great time. Also got to be in South Pacific during that time…..then did Bell, Book and Candle…….I loved doing live theatre….but so wish I could have met Robert Preston……he was terrific.

[@adroharv9213]

Robert Preston really was rather terrific. Would love to have met him

[@padijeff5675]

He was in Beau Geste!😼

[@MareShoop]

A great man 💕

[@richatlarge462]

I enjoyed the horseradish guy. He seemed to be quite a character, plus he was the head of the national association of horseradish makers.

[@El_Ophelia]

Tony Randall has it all. I've noticed how incredibly much he respects women and how always an active friend to them, so kind to all, and such a joy to listen to. Perfectl

[@commanderkeen3787]

And he had a reputation as a womanizer

[@SR-iy4gg]

@@commanderkeen3787 No, he did not. Why do people feel the need to badmouth people after they're dead?

[@macmcleod1188]

That is my usual opinion too however I saw an episode earlier today where they had to rein him in over some married lady. Hey just got carried away complimenting her until Arlene Francis finally said, "play the game". One thing to consider is it one or more of the panelists could be buzzed on a given evening. There was one evening where Arlene was really toasted. I have learned over time that daily had little code signals like tugging on an ear the tale of the panel they were getting too risque. The program was always a delicate balance and stayed on the entertaining side without dipping into vulgarity.

[@gbrumburgh]

Strange that Jeanne Parr would be a guest panelist on this day (3/13/66) as her 43-year-old husband, Charles James Noth, Jr. (1922-1966), a marketing v.p., was severely injured in an auto accident a little over a week before (3/5). Mr. Noth would die of his injuries a day after this taping. Actor Chris Noth is their son.

[@ritamarie2976]

They were either separated or divorced at that time. It was still unusual, considering they had three sons together.

[@johnpickford4222]

@@ritamarie2976 Why? There are plenty of couples who have three children and get divorced. So “Mr. Big” is their son but how big are his brothers?

[@waynehowell6160]

I am a big fan of Robert Preston, The Music Man, Victor/Victoria, Rehearsal For Murder, just to name a few of his many excellent films, but this is the first time I've ever seen him wearing a beard.

[@CLASSICALFAN100]

corner moose Not many people know that the Broadway play "The Lion in Winter" starred Robert Preston as Henry II. (The way RP looks with that beard, I believe it!)This was before Peter O'Toole did the same role in the movie version...

[@johnpickford4222]

CLASSICALFAN .100: Unfortunately, the did not do as we’ll commercially as expected. Preston was a man of wide talents and THE MUSIC MAN succeeded because he emphasized the acting and drama of the piece where others only tried for the comedy/dancing. He did not receive the Tony Award as Best Actor but Rosemary Harris, his co-star did. He went on to I DO, I DO the next year and won another Best Actor in a Musical.

[@MagesLikeYouAndI]

"He said it's good on meat ... and it's fun at parties!" Tony Randall is my absolute favorite 😂

[@rhondablack8079]

Tony Randall, Doris Day and Rock Hudson❤️ Mr all time favorite movie combination

[@rhondablack8079]

My

[@Aannan]

So charismatic. Great head of hair too - perfect for playing the 'lion' in winter!

[@magnificentfailure2390]

I love how the suggestion algorithm works on KZbin. I was looking for Robert Preston in "The Music Man" and this episode was suggested.

[@El_Ophelia]

I love the fashion and hair soooo much!

[@TubenIt83]

I didn't know that Robert Preston was the original Broadway Henry II in The Lion In Winter! It premiered on Broadway at the Ambassador Theatre on March 3, 1966.

[@soulierinvestments]

Tony starring with Anita Ekberg. Nice work if you can get it. Back on that memorable night in 1958 when Ekberg appeared as mystery guest, Tony was on the panel.

[@Absurdist1968]

Robert Preston, _Lion in Winter,_ yes sir, may I please have another? I swoon. 😍

[@peterfriend8084]

Ruth Anson later became an actress, with numerous TV credits (Brady Bunch, Quincy, M.E., etc). Not surprisingly, the lovely Ms. Anson caught the eye of Paul McCartney and they had a memorable encounter when the Beatles performed in Los Angeles in 1966 and Ruth attended one of the group’s press conference as a reporter for the local ABC affiliate.

[@ssppeellll]

There is a difference between a comedian and a comic actor. I think Preston answered correctly when asked if he was a comedian.

[@mikejschin]

That's a very good distinction, quite applicable to Preston. A current day example for me is Kevin Hart: I find his standup comedy very unfunny, but I love his comic acting.

[@MareShoop]

Agreed , He was not a comic actor, just watch All The Way Home. Brilliant.

[@marcopuleo]

I love the Medicare enrollment plug

[@VahanNisanian]

Jeanne Parr is the Mother of Actor Chris Noth ("Sex and the City" and "The Good Wife"). She was also a contestant on the June 12, 1960 episode, just one day before she was offered her job with Channel 2 (WCBS) in New York. Parr with one of Chris Noth's Brothers on Life Magazine: pfaffpfamily.files.wordpress.com/2012/02/life.jpg

[@savethetpc6406]

***** I never watched either of the shows you mentioned, but years ago I used to watch Chris Noth in "Law and Order." There was also a restaurant I used to go to in NY, where Chris Noth was a waiter at one time. By the time I started going there, he was already a successful television actor, but there were other staff members still there who mentioned that they had worked with him.

[@JDAbelRN]

@@savethetpc6406 loved him as a NYC detective in Law and Order, as partnered with late Jerry Orbach.

[@ludenasan1]

MR. PRESTON STOLE THE SHOW IN VICTOR/VICTORIA.

[@eblackadder3]

He frequently steals the show no matter what film he's in. See "The Dark at the Top of the Stairs", "Junior Bonner", "Semi-Tough", "S.O.B.", to name but a few.

[@satori03]

"Toddy"

[@claudec2588]

Would loved to have seen The Lion in Winter on the stage.

[@padijeff5675]

Jeanne Parr passed away in 2016! Great CBS host and reporter!🙂

[@barbarak2836]

She played the game really well. She kind of reminded me of the way Dorothy played the game. It's unfortunate they couldn't have gotten someone like her instead of Phyllis Newman.

[@VahanNisanian]

A follow-up to my last post: Game show-wise, the former KABC-TV studios on Prospect/Talmadge were best known for serving as the taping location for the original "Family Feud" with Richard Dawson, from 1976 to 1985.

[@soulierinvestments]

Second contestant: “Sir, if I ate a heaping tablespoon of your product, would it take the top of my head off?” Who knew horseradish could be so funny.

[@sandrageorge3488]

I sniffed a bottle once and my nose started to run immediately!

[@crispincain5373]

One sad fact is Jeann Parr's husband Charles Noth, passed away on March 14 1966 the day after this show.

[@Kimteach2011]

Crispin Cain Oh wow! Thank you for the information. So sad. May Jeanne and Charles rest in peace. Her youngest son is a perfect mix of her and her husband.

[@El_Ophelia]

Oh my goodness. It's so sad. It's like watching Dorothy's shows. With the benefit of knowing what happens, it makes these events even sadder. Cruel twist.

[@pattimaeda6097]

Crispin Cain Christopher Noth’s parents?

[@mikejschin]

@@pattimaeda6097 Yes. I just checked it out on imdb, and Detective Mike Logan (Chris Noth, of course) was the son of Charles Noth and Jeann Parr.

[@sandrageorge3488]

😢

[@kentetalman9008]

I always look forward to an episode with Tony Randall as a guest panelist.

[@wendyjames3977]

@kentetalman9008 I agree with you. I have always found Tony Randall enjoyable to watch on "What's my line" 😊 Greetings from Australia 🇦🇺 ❤💙

[@will89687]

RIP Jeanne Parr.

[@canuckster24]

Why can't we have quiet calm TV like this anymore without any flashy effects or people trying to constantly 1-up each other. I say this as someone who was born long after this show went off the air.

[@georgemartin1436]

Without explosions and people running? That is required for the vapid drivel churned out now in the media.

[@ChrisHansonCanada]

The first contestant, Ruth Anson, was also an actress. She was in an episode of "The Brady Bunch" that dealt with Jan believing herself to have no talent, in the final season of the series.

[@Yowza78]

Fwiw, in addition to being a groundbreaking TV journalist and weather girl, Jeanne Parr was also the mother of actor Chris Noth, who played Big on Sex and the City.

[@broughtbackin]

Also he was on the original Law and Order series. I loved him in that. Thanks for the info.

[@tugginalong]

A TV News Reporter/Journalist is a performing artist today.

[@rhondablack8079]

Robert Preston had the best voice🙏

[@GOLDVIOLINbowofdeath]

Cerf was never too shy to plug his company but always used excuses to do so. He should have paid them to be on the show.

[@RalphOnofrio]

At least we had the priceless Arlene and Bennett in the late 60's.Bennett was the best.

[@galileocan]

I liked Jeanne Parr. I think she was pleasant and played the game well

[@VahanNisanian]

This was a good episode. Jeanne Parr was quite good in her only time as panelist. I don't know if I'd say she was the best or not, but she did alright.

[@savethetpc6406]

Here is a link to the episode in which Jeanne Parr was a contestant (June 5, 1960). She is in the 4th game, and her sign-in is at about 19.00 in that video. kzbin.info/www/bejne/a2e6g6qjZZaDpaeh (Despite the late hour, I think I'm referencing the correct person *this* time! ;) )

[@schwul1956]

SaveThe TPC This is a link to a video about The Rocky Horror Show. Did you mean to post this link?

[@savethetpc6406]

schwul1956 Yes, the title and description of the video indicate that Jeanne Parr was the host who was conducting the interview with the "Rocky Horror Show" fans.

[@beadyeyedbrat]

Did you know she was the mother of Chris Noth?

[@soulierinvestments]

So what’s the deal? My view is that the film “The Lion in Winter” is just about the best film that both Katharine Hepburn and Peter O’Toole ever made, that both should have won Oscars for their performances and that if “2001" couldn’t win best film of 1968, then it should have. Yet -- the play with a book by James Goldman and starring Rosemary Harris and Robert Preston played less than 100 performances on Broadway and apparently did not set The Great White Way on fire. Like Sammy Davis once observed, “If this don’t turn you on, then you got no switches.”

[@Mythilt]

+soulierinvestments "The Lion in Winter" should have won O'Toole an Oscar as well as the one that Hepburn won for best actress. It is easily in my top 20 films, if not top 10.

[@Mythilt]

+soulierinvestments "The Lion in Winter" should have won O'Toole an Oscar as well as the one that Hepburn won for best actress. It is easily in my top 20 films, if not top 10.

[@Absurdist1968]

I kind of look at what else was running at the time. If memory serves, Harris did best Sheila Hancock in _Entertaining Mr. Sloane_ and Lee Remick for _Wait Until Dark_ at the Tonys that year, but Best Play was Peter Brook's iconic production of _Marat/Sade._ _Lion in Winter must have played a little dry against the new plays that year. This was also the year that Angela Lansbury in _Mame_ beat out Gwen Verdon (who would be on WML a couple of months after this episode) in _Sweet Charity._ A lot of good film adaptations came out of the 1965-66 season.

[@soulierinvestments]

Apparently Jeanne Parr did not flip any switches at G-T and heaven only knows why. Had Dorothy lived on she might have gone to TV news herself. Years later on syndicated WML, Melba Tolliver, a New York TV news reporter, did appear regularly.

[@gailsirois7175]

The show went downhill after the passing of Dorothy...only one who saved it for a while was Arlene...I only watch it for her now...

[@krasnykavkaz]

It's interesting to see Preston admit at 22:09 to the desire to be guessed that Bennett Cerf mentioned

[@battlegirldeb]

I really liked Ms. Parr wish she would have stayed.

[@soulierinvestments]

Years later, on syndicated WML a New York TV news reporter named Melba Tolliver did appear on the panel regularly.

[@savethetpc6406]

soulierinvestments I don't remember Melba Tolliver on WML, but I *do* remember her on the news. For info. on what she's doing now, check out her website: www.melbatolliver.com/aboutme.htm.

[@soulierinvestments]

Melba sat on the syndicated WML panel on that occasion when an early video game called Magnavox Odyssey made an appearance in c 1972. The shape of gaming to come way down the road. Link: kzbin.info/www/bejne/bneYY2V9d9mNhs0

[@RalphOnofrio]

I remember Jeanne Parr from her New Haven days....For us it was channel 8,one of 4 TV channels we had.

[@GeeTrieste]

Interesting lookback on nationalized health service. 9:40 "If you are 65 in 1965, then sign up for Medicare"

[@calliopivogiatzis2235]

It was not quite the same without dorothy

[@reno1uest]

It's Big's Mom

[@missmarymac4432]

Omg. Jeanne's husband died a day after this airing

[@miketheyunggod2534]

That second contestant was so funny.

[@joycejean-baptiste4355]

Horse radish is good for colds, opens up the sinus. Give Tony Randall some he has a cold.

[@RonGerstein-tf5tp]

Raw horseradish is a root plant and solid.

[@ChachiTelevision1979]

Professor Harold Hill was the original Rick Grimes!

[@artartful854]

Not too big of a deal but why does Daly give an announcement about a 1965 Medicare deadline, in a 1966 episode ?

[@vincentdaly78]

The deadline for people who turned 65 in 1965 was March 31, 1966.

[@artartful854]

@@vincentdaly78 Ok, I have been thinking that.

[@jacquelinebell6201]

If this show is made in 65 then Dorothy hadnt died yet. Its very confusing with the ad.

[@RonGerstein-tf5tp]

This episode was broadcast March 13, 1966.

[@GalacticJourney]

This may have been noted upstream, but this came out in March 1965, not 1966. I'm not sure how this tallies with the full suite of March 1965 shows in another playlist, but the date is specifically mentioned as March 1965, and "The Alphabet Murders" had not yet come out (released August of that year).

[@spongevee1]

"The Alphabet Murders" was released in the UK in August 1965, but it was released in the US in May 1966.

[@jacquelinebell6201]

Why is it listed in the 1966 to 67 episodes then. I'm going thru 66 to 67 now in order.

[@RonGerstein-tf5tp]

This episode was broadcast March 13, 1966 The ad about Medicare just said if you turned 65 in 1965 you must register by March 31, 1966.

[@scottpardee6303]

I like how Arlene gave Bennett the credit for horse radish. They were working together for years.

[@Trainwreck144]

The date of this show must be 1965, not '66. 9:40.

[@spongevee1]

John said if you 'reached' 65 in 1965, you have until March to sign up. Meaning March of the current year, 1966. He didn't need to clarify it since the audience back then surely knew which year it was.

[@jackseward7779]

How many TV news "reporters" actually function as news gathers as opposed to pretty faces reading teleprompters?

[@AaronHahnStudios]

100 bucks says about a thousand people after watching this tried Horseradish with scrambled egg's for breakfast. X-D

[@SR-iy4gg]

I doubt it.

[@AaronHahnStudios]

@@SR-iy4gg I did.. it's nice.

[@Keltster]

TRiViA : Panelist JEANNE PARR is the mother of actor CHRIS NOTH of tv’s LAW & ORDER and who played Carrie’s love ‘Mr. Big’ in the HBO series SEX AND THE CITY.

[@Eddie_Schantz]

This is the first time I ever saw "Whats My LIne" when the two women panelists were sitting next to each other.

[@reno1uest]

What's My Line Feb 21 1954 with Mystery Guest Lucille Ball.....3rd chair with Arlene Francis and 4th chair was Deborah Kerr. So it has happened before....even if this was the first time you saw it.

[@gbrumburgh]

For some unlnown reason, this unusual male-female-female-male panel seating has happened several times since the death of Dorothy Kilgallen.

[@jacquelinebell6201]

They've been doing it since the start of 66. I like it.

[@broughtbackin]

Horseradish IS definitely a member of the mustard family.

[@joycejean-baptiste4355]

Robert Preston looks similar to Peter Ustinov here to me.

[@miel1074]

I don’t know why, but I always have to restrain myself from blurting out loud, in response to the formality of it all: “Why it’s Bennet Cerf on worts my line!!! My word, wortever shell we do!”

[@soulierinvestments]

A sure sign of the greying of the WML audience -- a public service ad for Medicare in its --- you should excuse the expression -- infancy. Obviously the LBJ administration would not ask for this sort of announcement in "Hullabaloo".

[@loissimmons6558]

It was still many years before Dick Clark's "Rocking America" on New Year's Eve would become "Rocking Chair America".

[@preppysocks209]

same audience as Phillips' Milk of Magnesia

[@sbalman]

WML made many public service announcements concerning a multitude of social concerns.

[@2ndRodeo_Keziah]

With that beard, Mr Preston looks exactly like Brit actor Brian Blessed!

[@ChrisHansonCanada]

*_TELEVISION NEWS REPORTER_* *_MAKES HORSE RADISH_*

[@soulierinvestments]

Oh Bennett. Oh John. Oh lawz. Sometimes Bennett makes me laugh . . . or gag. And then John encourages him by telling that horrid Saint Bernard thing again! Badly.

[@Beson-SE]

Did you not like the "shovelry" pun? :)

[@savethetpc6406]

Johan Bengtsson soulierinvestments The shovelry pun was pretty bad, but I really couldn't believe John retold the Murgatroyd story! I admit that I liked it the first time, but why, oh why, would John actually repeat it?!!

[@Beson-SE]

SaveThe TPC He must have thought it was one of Bennett's better jokes. :)

[@savethetpc6406]

Johan Bengtsson I thought so too, but not when told too often, and definitely not the way John told it! :)

[@MajorSeventh]

Hopefully in the next episode, John will repeat Bennett's "before the Inca was dry" joke, thereby compounding the crime against humanity.

[@mscheckersv]

What was Arlene Francis’s deal? “... it should seem unlikely that you have anything to do with the performing arts.” Meow!

[@halkahn5035]

I find I enjoy this show a lot more when I mute Bennett’s opening joke. His puns are sophomoric.

[@AdamSidsworth-r9o]

"Is it enjoy only by women and men?" Tony Randal was ahead of his time.

[@Baskerville22]

Mr Horseradish is almost a Colonel Klink lookalike

[@RonGerstein-tf5tp]

No

[@GeeTrieste]

17:00 I put horseradish on bread, all the time. WTF!

[@orgonkothewildlyuntamed6301]

Gee Trieste my mom used to mix it with beets & put it on hard-boiled eggs for breakfast--not for me but many ppl did have it for breakfast

[@tomitstube]

+Gee Trieste you're weird.

[@GeeTrieste]

+tomitstube Of that, there is no question :-)

[@tomitstube]

Gee Trieste just kidding of course, btw horseradish IS in the mustard family. oops...

[@GeeTrieste]

+tomitstube And didja know that wasabi is a cabbage?

[@monicaclark9581]

As a reponse to John Daly's remimder for senior citizens to enroll in Medicare. Wow, I didnt know Medicare went that far back to the mid sixtues. I knew about Social Security back then as a teenager. Medicare advantage plans have recently improved in giving more coverage. But Medicare needs to provude more in dental care for seniors. Neglected teeth because of the high cost of dental care affecrs the whole health of the person.

[@soulierinvestments]

Thank heaven WML early on was not sponsored full time by a laxative company. I hate to think what slogan Hal Block would have come up with.

[@loissimmons6558]

Perhaps Hal Block would have surprised us and rather than come up with a slogan of questionable taste, he would have turned the other cheek.

[@originalmatchgame]

Was Medicare always voluntary in the 60's ?

[@juangalt3496]

Still is voluntary.

[@markxxx21]

+juan galt If you work you are subject to a payroll tax, with very few exceptions.

[@juangalt3496]

Markxxx Signing up for and using Medicare IS voluntary. An example is me - I'm eligible but can afford private insurance instead. In the video John was reminding people to sign-up if they were turning 65. Today there are many TV ads telling people about Medicare open enrollment -surely you've seen one. There are even 30 minute infomercials for Humana, Medicare Advantage, etc.

[@barrykendrick3146]

+juan galt My Grandmother would not accept SS for many yrs. She considered it charity. My Mother had a serious discussion with her-I think it was in 1965-& she started getting it. She turned 75 in 1965.

[@WhatsMyLine]

I'm glad your mom was able to set her straight!

[@joycejean-baptiste4355]

Robert Preston looks like a caveman here.

[@hadassah179]

I can't tell if Robert Preston is imitating a phone operator or customer service or what. If you're an actor fake something.

[@joycejean-baptiste4355]

Horse radish is from horse.😅

[@loginregional]

Ruth Anson is a little bit more famous than she lets on: kzbin.info/www/bejne/ZnfUlKKamNp6f8k Did you know that Paul McCartney asked her to marry him?

[@gailsirois7175]

Put a sock in it Cerf...please

[@YY4Me133]

I think this is the first time I've seen two people of the same sex sitting next to each other on the panel. It's usually woman, man, woman, man, or sometimes man, woman, man woman. It looks odd. I guess it's just because I'm used to it the other way.

[@soulierinvestments]

Robert Preston’s vocal disguise is, by conservative estimate, the most aggravating performance of late WML. If I had been John, I would have told him to do his own fetchin’ gimmick

[@Beson-SE]

"Would you answer that, John?" :/

[@savethetpc6406]

soulierinvestments I didn't mind his vocal disguise, but I did not understand the point of his asking John to answer for him. It seemed silly, but I will admit that his persistence with it, and then extending it to asking the panelists to answer for him, began to be at least a little bit funny after a while.

[@soulierinvestments]

after a while.

[@Rogermarch]

Agree , he seemed rather childish.

[@johnrogan9420]

Bob who?

[@photo161]

Some men should NEVER wear a beard!

[@scotnick59]

Yeah: it doesn't "become" hit at all

[@billbrimmer1739]

He was wearing it for his role in The Lion in Winter.

[@preppysocks209]

so should some women

[@SR-iy4gg]

Maybe, but Robert looked good with a beard.

[@rosecamilleri9639]

,

[@augerontgen8240]

Well I like Robert Preston as a tough guy but he is certainly no comedian. This repeating "Would you answer this, John?" was awful, but better than contemporary entertainment.

[@carolv8450]

It was annoying and kind of stupid

[@mmbr01rrf]

He was an ACTOR. Comedy, drama, musical- he did it ALL. There is no one like him currently.

[@SR-iy4gg]

I thought it was silly, but he was funny. He wasn't a comedian, but was a funny actor at times.

[@Perrosiutico]

I totally believed this show when I was a kid; now, I wonder how much it was scripted.

[@gailsirois7175]

Randall has a cold !! So...why not come on the show and make everyone else sick too .ass

[@alanwhite9389]

It wasn't well known then that colds are a virus and how colds spread.

[@alfienoakesIII]

I guess others may find it perfectly charming, but personally Bennett's habit of doing that long-range blow of a kiss to the women on the panel after they introduce him strikes me as terribly affected and wince-making.

[@bplonutube]

Cosmo Topper III Disappointing that a sweet gesture like that should cause you to wince. These people held each other in high esteem and were dear friends and personal life. Arline had just paid him a complement and he was thanking her for it and a very sweet way. And it was very subtle and could have easily been missed if you weren’t paying attention.

[@Noone58319]

I find it charming

[@timsering9964]

Never heard of him