What's My Line? - Rodgers & Hammerstein; Martin Gabel & Paulette Goddard [panel] (Nov 29, 1959)

MYSTERY GUEST: Richard Rodgers & Oscar Hammerstein II
PANEL: Dorothy Kilgallen, Martin Gabel, Paulette Goddard, Bennett Cerf

[@CandiceBear]

The very first guest, Grace Lake, is my grandma. She passed away in 2016. I miss her so much but it’s so fun to see her so young, sweet and demure because she sure was a firecracker growing up, I would try my best to out wit her but she sure as hell scared me 😂 I also inherited a few items from her that I cherish. I’m so glad to have this episode to look back and connect with her.

[@AlanD96]

I think the best part of these old shows on KZbin is when someone like Candice can see her grandma again after her appearance on What's My Line decades ago. There was no way to 'tape" or "DVR" these shows at home at the time, so it must be a wonderful surprise to see it again.

[@nysockexchange2204]

I was very close with my elderly grandmother and would "kill" to see something like this taped when she was young. You are very fortunate indeed.

[@CandiceBear]

@@nysockexchange2204 I never heard about this until maybe a decade after she died. She never talked about it, and I don’t think even my dad knew, but my aunt found the video and shared it with us. It just makes me wonder who else went on these older shows and their families never knew about it.

[@caw7007]

@@CandiceBear she’s lovely! So happy you have this video to see your grandma as a young lady! 💖💖💖

[@JulieStJohn-jb4cy]

@@AlanD96 You took the words right out of my mouth. I’ve read probably a half a dozen times where someone on the show is related to someone in the comments. Pretty cool huh! I wonder if I might recognize someone on one of these episodes, or their name, maybe. L O L

[@drgeoffangel5422]

Rodgers & Hammerstein II are the best American Song writers who have created and penned some of the most beautiful music of all time! and that's a fact!

[@Noone58319]

I wish there was an equivalent team on Broadway now.

[@Celluloidwatcher]

What could be a more interesting time than seeing Paulette Goddard subbing for Arlene Francis on WML. Used her wit well, here. And that curtain entrance!

[@oldwestguy]

Such captivating programs... simple in their premise yet enjoyable to watch. As game shows advanced over the years... primarily in the '70s and '80s... with their spinning wheels and flashing lights... the simple charm of games like What's My Line was too often lost in the glitter. Combine that with the dignity and class of the people, generally speaking, from that era and these treasures sparkle as KZbin classics.

[@bigwilson8794]

One of the most interesting shows ever, from beginning to end.

[@vistaestrada]

Wow! Paulette Goddard!

[@SOLE2SOUL]

Last night I watched Jack Benny's show from this same date and there was a voice-over announcement at the end to stay tuned for What's My Line so I decided to come and watch the episode. I don't think it's a coincidence that Dennis Day sang Climb Every Mountain from the then-new Broadway show The Sound Of Music on Jack's show and then immediately following were R&H as What's My Line mystery guests.

[@jeannemills8194]

I have always loved this show. I was young, but I look back and remember all the historical contestants they tried to guess who was, now they are history. Wow.

[@skipeastport5529]

Paulette Goddard was an absolute delight! I’ve never seen her outside of an acting role and am pleased that she’s just as luminous and enticing in real life. And I disagree with everyone else...her unusual voice only adds to her allure. Thanks for sharing this!

[@kennethlatham3133]

If you close your eyes and hear her talk softly, she sounds a lot like Tippi Hedren. Imagine HER in "The Birds".

[@accomplice55]

I found her voice really annoying. To each his own. :)

[@asteverino8569]

I particularly enjoyed seeing Ms Goddard. What a treat ❤

[@billbrimmer7047]

Such a great seeing Rodgers and Hammerstein, they look like they were having a great time. Paulette Goddard looked remarkable.

[@loissimmons6558]

Although this was a November episode, the Macy's Thanksgiving Day parade (with Santa Claus as the big finish) had occurred a few days earlier and this would have been the First Sunday in Advent. A Christmas themed challenger was timely but only Paulette Goddard picked up on it. I remember our daily newspaper having a little drawing in the daily paper each day during this season, reminding the readers how many shopping days til Christmas. When this episode of WML aired, there were 22 days remaining. Sundays were not shopping days in 1959.

[@NondescriptMammal]

Hah, notice the audience chuckling when Dorothy in her intro says "Arlene is on vacation but she has left part of her behind"

[@jvcomedy]

Yeah, I guess she should have said "left part of herself behind". Definitely a funny reaction.

[@hairyscotman]

I roared with laughter....as did some of the audience....

[@jamesfox2579]

Paulette Goddard was incredibly charming and so exceedingly beauuuutiful!!💕

[@bluecamus5162]

Dorothy's intro for Martin Gabel mentions that he is currently producing "Sweet Love Remembered" for Broadway, starring Kent Smith and Margaret Sullavan. They were in rehearsals at the time, and then were off to New Haven CT for a pre-Broadway, 6 night engagement, Dec 28 through Jan 2, 1960. On the 33rd day after this episode aired, Jan 1, 1960, while in New Haven, Margaret Sullavan would die of an accidental overdose. The play would then immediately fold after 4 performances (I presume it was 4) and it would never play anywhere again.

[@JulieStJohn-jb4cy]

I just recently watched an episode with Margaret Sullivan as the mystery guest. Have you seen that episode yet? What an interesting story, I have to wonder how you ever found that out. L O L I thought I read up on these people, now I’ll have to go google her.

[@dinahbrown902]

😢

[@salvatorecollura2692]

It’s so hard to imagine, for those of us who live in obscurity, what it would feel like to be sitting in front of a large audience with television cameras broadcasting to millions of people, and hear the host say ‘these are the remarkable men of contemporary American musical history.’ I just have no context in my life to interpret what it is to have your name and work cherished by millions, and possibly billions, of people. They must have woken each morning pinching themselves. God bless them both and may their memory be a blessing.

[@tjbnyc76]

When Arlene is missing from the panel, I usually feel her absence acutely; however, I adore Paulette Goddard's presence here. She's keenly intelligent, very well spoken, and has a deliciously sophisticated, feminine wit -- not as warm as Arlene's, but spicier and perhaps more barbed. And that throaty voice!

[@wcwindom56]

and she looks great nude too (when she was a Ziegfield girl)

[@robertfiller8634]

Her voice is quite irritating to listen to and detracts from her physical charm

[@accomplice55]

@@robertfiller8634: I agree!

[@pianoredux7516]

@@accomplice55 I don't

[@paulmorin6569]

@@robertfiller8634 her voice is what she was dealt. It's who she was as a person that matters

[@juliansinger]

John mentions Summerall at 2:30 or so; that is, of course, Pat Summerall, who was at the time playing for the New York Football Giants, and who did, in 1958, kick a 50-or-so yard field goal to force a tiebreaker to get into the playoffs. Later on, he became the voice of CBS football games for eons. (I actually thought he retired as a player before this, which just shows what I know.)

[@simplyblues1]

Fascinating to see Oscar Hammerstein for the first time here. I've watched Richard Rodgers being interviewed several times but never Hammerstein, my favourite composers of all time, I listen to their songs all the time, particularly Oklahoma and Carousel, I'll never tire of them. I'm a big fan of Paulette Goddard but know her from her younger days and didn't recognise her here. I thought she'd changed quite a lot over the years, still a stunner though.

[@Don-ue4ij]

America has much to be proud of re Rodgers and Hammerstein

[@marlon1171]

This is only appearance that’s seems to exist of paulette goddard outside of some of her movies. No interviews of her exist, no documentaries, no biographies..... I was pleased to hear her voice as she indeed sounded like she was a smoker lol....

[@lemorab1]

If you watch her screen tests for Scarlett O'Hara, made 20 years earlier, her voice sounds exactly the same.

[@marlon1171]

@@lemorab1 : I listened to thoses screen tests and her voice sounds quiet different,much softer and higher pitched but she was in her early twenties which would make sense. Paulette was known to be a heavy smoker all of her life and when you hear her speak in the “ what’s my line”show she was in her 50’s and her voice had already deepened considerably, by then she would have been smoking for at least 35 + years!! Goddard died of emphysema in her mid 70’s...Ultimately thoses screen tests show what her natural tone of voice was....

[@frabelle11]

The saddest part of this: Oscar Hammerstein died just about 9 months later of stomach cancer. He never got to see the movie adaptation of "The Sound of Music," which premiered in 1965. (Richard Rodgers hung around until 1979.)

[@ToddSF]

A truly illustrious mystery guest, collectively speaking.

[@Noone58319]

What a treat to see Rogers and Hammerstein on the show. And how sportsmanlike Bennett was to disqualify himself since he’d known Richard Rogers since childhood.

[@juliejensen7370]

R & H made all our hearts sing...

[@cynthiaabel6592]

What they meant by that Arlene Francis left part of her behind, they are referring to Martin Gabel, who was her husband.

[@loissimmons6558]

It was still a half-assed way of saying it.

[@MrYfrank14]

we know what she meant, but thinking she left part of her behind is a lot funnier.

[@gbrumburgh]

Dorothy introduced Martin Gabel as the producer of the play "Sweet Love Remember'd. The play would open on December 28, 1959 with the stars Margaret Sullavan and Kent Smith. Sadly, Margaret was highly unstable and died by her own hand from a barbiturate overdose just days later on January 1. 1960. None other than Martin's wife Arlene Francis, quickly replaced but the play was not successful and closed soon after.

[@bradmiller9121]

Miss Goddard was one of a few strongly considered for the part of Scarlett O'Hara in Gone With the Wind.

[@galileocan]

Was it just me, but when I heard Dorothy say at the beginning of the show (about Arlene).."But she's left part of her……..behind", I immediately thought she had just referred to her rear end! Then I start hearing in the background some of the audience giggling and some chatter. I wonder if Dorothy's pause in the sentence made people think she was referring to her leaving part of her ...be-hind as well!

[@Grymmorgan]

"I miss Arlene…but, _golly!"_ ;^D

[@Noone58319]

Bennett was adorable with that remark.

[@annakaminski4406]

Wonderful to watch.

[@ToddSF]

I can't imagine a window-washer up on a scaffold high above the ground working in a skirt or dress.

[@steve.schatz]

"We are much honored to be graced with such good company ... "

[@cinibar]

Miss Paulette Goddard is so very attractive and with an absolutely sultry voice! My most respective compliments about her!

[@hairyscotman]

"I miss Arlene, but, golly...." the perfect line for Bennett!

[@hcombs0104]

Another good word for Paulette Goddard. What a distinctive voice she had! And intelligent. Easy to see why so many men were drawn to her. Not an easy time ahead for Martin Gabel. The star of his play, Margaret Sullavan, was not long for this world. It's still debated whether her demise was accidental or intentional. However, two of her three cbildren committed suicide.

[@accomplice55]

Yes, very sad. As of June 2022, Brooke is still alive.

[@lisahinton9682]

4:58 - I haven't watched all of these, certainly, but I do believe this is the first time I have seen John Daly hesitate to figure out in his mind whether the score card needed to be flipped or left alone. I've never before seen him hesitate like this. I wonder what he was being distracted by.

[@beadyeyedbrat]

He was probably looking at the director to see what he said.

[@ShiftingDrifter]

Paulette Goddard is just the epitome of sweetness, charm and sophistication. At age 24, she proved her acting chops up to the challenge as the choice for Scarlett O'Hara until she was unable to produce a marriage license to Chaplin - per the film's contractual obligation - and would lose the part to Vivian Leigh which in-turn unfairly damaged her career long term. It's a bit regrettable here at age 49 - the noticeable change in her voice from smoking non-filtered cigarettes (tho common at the time). Still, Miss Goddard lived comfortably in Switzerland until age 79. It was cute seeing her smile growing over the Xmas tree hunch. She nearly pegged it! :)

[@njatty]

Martin Gabel identifies Paulette Goddard as "Mrs. Remarque." Her husband, Erich Maria Remarque, wrote the book ALL QUIET ON THE WESTERN FRONT.

[@Mmdmade]

The reaction to the pants comment by Dorothy was interesting 😂. I guess wearing pants was still sort of rare for women still?

[@CandiceBear]

It’s funny because the contestant was my grandma, and she wore nothing but pants the whole 16 years I knew her! It was sure fun seeing her all dolled up and glamorous in this episode, totally unlike the woman I grew up with 😂

[@jacquelinebell6201]

She did then stress "trousers" so it's probable that trousers weren't usually referred to as pants. Just my thought.

[@schwei56]

Yikes! Total crickets when John dropped the name Summerall! (my device just inserted a space before the `allʼ, as a matter of fact. The show aired around turkey day so it made perfect sense.

[@davidsoulier6375]

Paulette Goddard. OH my yes., What's not to love? Pretty. Bright, even if she popped out of the curtain. (She pretty much did solve one of the lines.) The most famous movie she did not get was Scarlet in "Gone with the Wind." Her association with Chaplin got her "Modern Times" and "The Great Dictator."

[@VTMCompany]

Paulette is so lovely here. It's a shame she didn't have the same kind of film career that Susan Hayward enjoyed. When they were in the same picture, Paulette was always billed above her.

[@johnminnick8028]

I wonder why she never appeared again as either a guest panelist or mystery panelist.

[@TacomaPaul]

First woman... I was a Window Washer for 30 years... (residential only). Fun stuff with fun people. ;-)

[@CandiceBear]

This was my grandma! Her and my grandpa owned the window washing business. From what I was told, the mob took it over. My dad never told me much about our family history so I really love this episode.

[@suiko2fan2]

Bennett Cerf has had dinner with so many famous people, he has had to disqualify himself dozens of time.

[@lemorab1]

I feel he did that to let everyone know how many famous people he socializes with. He could've graciously played along, so as not to end the game too soon, and let someone else win with a correct guess. There was no reason he had to tell everyone about his dinner companions all the time, no "need to know" basis for it.

[@beforeourveryeyes]

thank YOU!

[@davidsoulier6375]

Oscar Hammerstein was not ling for this world. Dorothy's recommendation of "The Sound of Music" : the critics at the time were sort of half and half about it -- someone once said that the only people who loved The Sound of Music were the audiences. 1440 performances. The good manners of WML still astounds. It is a measure of R&H's reputation that Paulette stood up for them when they shook hands with the panel.

[@ToddSF]

David Soulier -- "The Sound of Music" was the most sentimental of all the Rodgers and Hammerstein musicals. Christopher Plummer who played Captain von Trapp in the 1965 movie adaptation hated it and always called it "The Sound of Mucus". Both the original Broadway version and the film certainly took a LOT of liberties with the story of the von Trapp family, all the in the direction of sentimentality. Oscar Hammerstein II died on August 23, 1960, less than 9 months after this episode of WML aired.

[@emiliecohen1795]

ToddSF 94109 Kinda ironic that he’d say that since Christopher Plummer’s acting was the weak link of the movie. R & H were gods among men.

[@neilmidkiff]

@@ToddSF If Plummer thought the film was overly sentimental, he must not have been familiar with the book of the Broadway musical -- by Lindsay and Crouse (Oscar Hammerstein was responsible only for the song lyrics). I find the original musical play much more gooey, and appreciate the work of screenwriter Ernest Lehman and director Robert Wise in adapting the material for the film with just a touch of bite here and there.

[@lemorab1]

@@neilmidkiff I never saw "The Sound of Mucous" on the stage, and once on the screen in 1965 was more than enough. I love "My Favorite Things" and that is the only thing I love about the whole show. R&H wrote the music for my favorite musical, "South Pacific" in 1947. I wish I could've seen that on the stage with Mary Martin and Ezio Pinza, but I was born too late. Every single song knocked it out of the park.

[@neilmidkiff]

@@lemorab1 At least we have the Broadway cast recording with Martin and Pinza to cherish.

[@kulturekritik9665]

The horse shoer is the kind of handsome young man that Arlene liked to flirt with. I'll bet she was sorry she missed this one.

[@loissimmons6558]

I thought it was a bit of hair-splitting by John Daly to distinguish between washing a building and washing a part of the building. I wonder if Dorothy or one of the other panelists would have guessed the first challenger's line had her question gotten a yes instead of a no. At the same time, Dorothy was becoming annoying as she kept thinking of and adding on different types of building trades, not wanting to leave out any of them so she would be more likely to get a yes. And I wonder if the "no" that John gave her was in part a response to that run-on question.

[@neilmidkiff]

I had the same thought -- window washing is certainly included in "cleaning a building", and the "no" answer was unfair. Still, you've nailed Dorothy correctly on her open-ended question, which went as far as "plumbing" before John cut her off. Not many plumbers do much of their work out of doors.

[@MrYfrank14]

you can hire building washers. they use a power washer. so building washer and window washer are two different things.

[@icturner23]

@@MrYfrank14 That’s irrelevant. Washing windows is still part of cleaning buildings.

[@gingerlord4983]

RIP Dorothy.😢

[@RollinRocker]

LOL It just happens to be November 29th while I'm watching this!

[@geniusmchaggis]

cool!

[@shirleyborces2258]

This show is very interesting! It's fun how the panel questioned the guests especially the "mystery" guest and how the guests answered! I chose only those interesting personalities, like Steve Lawrence, Fabian, Ricky Nelson and now Rodgers and Hammerstein, my favorite composers and lyricist!

[@accomplice55]

If you don't watch the entire episodes, you're missing a lot of fun.

[@joycejean-baptiste4355]

Miss Paulette Goddard sounds like Miss Eartha Kitt a little bit. Lol!

[@ElectrologyNow]

John Daley was an adorable pompous SQUARE. He called "Ozzie and Harriet" ... "Harriet and Ozzie." And these writers "Hammerstein and Rodgers." He often mispronounced people's names. He was like an old college professor who seldom got out of the library.

[@contrarian8870]

I'd say cleaning windows falls under "cleaning buildings", it's not like windows are separate from buildings

[@robbob1234]

At 12:37 Bennett jokingly asks Mr. Sullivan if he's any relation to the character in the song "Robert Roue from Redding, PA." Both men have a chuckle before John shuts it down. Mr. Sullivan states "That is not my line. Just a sideline," which elicits a laugh from John as well. The song was from "Streets of Paris," a 1939 revue starring Gypsy Rose Lee. Robert Roue was a country bumpkin who comes to the big city to patronize the striptease clubs and seduce the performers.

[@beadyeyedbrat]

Dorothy's hair looks nice.

[@schwei56]

At the time of this broadcast, Hammerstein had less than nine months left, so his prognosis was already known by the immortal pair. “Walk on, walk on...”

[@Noone58319]

💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖

[@dariawells7438]

Continually impressed by Martin and his support of women. "Paulette has a mind of her own" - just in case people thought she couldn't make up her mind or was just going along with the crowd. He is almost feminist in his attitudes.

[@TheGreatAtario]

Mr. Wilfong looks a lot like Andy Samberg

[@lemorab1]

This is the first time I've heard of someone actually having the last name "Wilfong" since Clark Gable's character, Ace Wilfong, in "A Free Soul" in 1931. I thought it odd that a Caucasian man had a Chinese name and since I never heard of the name again, I figured that screenwriter Adela Rogers St. Johns had made it up. And now, here it is again!

[@littlebigman5791]

The last guest. I the UK his proper job title would be a farrier of a blacksmith.

[@butziporsche8646]

Oklahoma and Carousel are awesome but as great as they were I think I like My Fair Lady even better (Lerner and Lowe). My favorite Paulette Goddard movie is "Kitty" with Ray Milland.

[@franksantore2810]

"Part of her behind." BWAHAHAHAHAHA!

[@ChrisHansonCanada]

*_Window Washer_* *_Grows Christmas Trees_* *_Shoes Horses_* 1:08 Titters from the audience after Dorothy said the absent Arlene "has left part of her behind." Paulette Goddard's hairstyle was unflattering, making her look as though she was losing her hair.

[@Fush1234]

Who is so nervous she walks thru the wrong curtain

[@hopelewis5650]

4:46 Martin Gabel 'sees clearly' now. JCD 10:35 Old Man Rivit. LOL

[@nickrees4706]

Interested to see it is customary for the male panelists to always stand up to shake hands while the female panelists remain seated but on this occasion, Paulette Goddard stands up to greet Messrs Rodgers and Hammerstein but remains seated for all the other guests

[@Paul71H]

I don't know why, but I always confuse Gilbert & Sullivan with Rodgers & Hammerstein. But I guess that Gilbert & Sullivan were a bit too early in history to appear on WML.

[@TyrSkyFatherOfTheGods]

Is there any other questioning in addition to the "general questioning"?

[@smithsmith9379]

fishhead06 Maybe he means as opposed to the type of questioning they do for the mystery guest.

[@preppysocks209]

@@smithsmith9379 this phrase also dates back to the early years of the show, when before there was "general questioning," the panel offered "free guesses" as to the guest's line, with varying results and the eating up of time

[@zapdunga12]

Roger's and Hammerstein are the greatest songwriters that ever lived. Richard Rodgers melodies are incredible. Yes even better than Lennon and McCartney.

[@RonGerstein]

Before Hammerstein, there was "Rogers and Hart" as Broadway songwriters

[@44032]

Wonderfully clunky opening, from the audience misinterpreting what Dorothy said to Paulette coming out of the curtain rather than the doorway. Oh, and how many people knew Paulette Goddard was married to Erich Maria Remarque, author of "All Quiet on the Western Front"/

[@michaelmayoh656]

She was also married to Charlie Chaplin

[@accomplice55]

I did.

[@golden-63]

*Horse shoe guy is quite handsome.*

[@acousticshadow4032]

Paulette sounds like she found Arlene's hootch - snookered.

[@Thomas-fu8vp]

Mr. Hammerstein would succumb to stomach cancer shortly after:9months after the opening of the Sound of Music.

[@kennethlatham3133]

Paulette Goddard: man, you could see that California tan despite black & white video and 65 years.

[@halwarner3326]

They ended up not speaking to each other.

[@BeIIeDoc24]

Where was Arlene?

[@romeman01]

According to a comment by John Daly at the very end of the Dec. 6, 1959, episode, Arlene Francis was off writing a book. In 1960, That Certain Something: The Magic of Charm, was published catalog.hathitrust.org/Record/009931625 (click on Full View at the bottom of the page), which presumably was the same book.

[@BeIIeDoc24]

romeman01 ah! okie! thanks :)

[@yeahnoonecaresifyouarefirst]

😱🥹😭❤️

[@dianebaugher3919]

Paulette isn't very good at the game