What's My Line? - Walter Winchell (Nov 16, 1952)

MYSTERY GUEST: Walter Winchell
PANEL: Dorothy Kilgallen, Steve Allen, Arlene Francis, Hal Block
--------------------------
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[@davidcroberts8367]

Steve Allen looking at the audience when they laugh is always the best.

[@peternagy-im4be]

It looks staged as if he knew what the guest did

[@deejay8403]

@@peternagy-im4beJust repeating what I read on Hal Block’s Wikipedia entry, he, Steve Allen, and former WML regular panelist Fred Allen were all given certain questions to ask the contestants without actually being given their occupation. After I read this it became readily apparent why Steve, Hal, and Fred always got laughs when asking questions. This was to incorporate more humor into the show, which was reportedly sorely lacking during the program’s initial run. This practice was apparently halted after the TV quiz show scandal occurred in 1957.

[@kenyongray2615]

If used properly, the audience can be used as a 5th panelist. Their laughter has been used often to guide a smart member of the panel who is in tune with their reactions. Good stuff from the early days of network television. Thanks for the video.

[@lemorab1]

I love the early days when Dorothy and Arlene were brunettes. I was four years old when I might have been watching this with my parents in 1952.

[@chuckendweiss4849]

My little brother just turned 8 months old and I was 12. I got. To stay up for this show even with school. My mother had meet mr Winchell just after the war she was still in uniform and he commented on her

[@thomasthompson6378]

No, no. I retract the comment below and now my vote goes to the woman who hand-paints men's shorts as the best contestant ever . . . and this is the best program ever.

[@ToddSF]

One of the great things about watching these "classic" episodes of _What's My Line?_ is when someone like Walter Winchell appears. I've known his name for at least 40 years, perhaps longer, but I had no idea what he looked or sounded like. Same thing for Sophie Tucker -- I'd heard of her for years, but I had never seen her. That sort of thing has happened many times for me in watching these episodes and I find it very interesting when it does happen.

[@neilmidkiff]

Check his listing on IMDB for several movies in which he plays himself or a character much like himself, going back as far as 1930.

[@stanmaxkolbe]

Me too.

[@larryellisreed280]

That bit at the end, where a donation was made to the Damon Runyon Memorial Cancer Fund ... it may be worth knowing that, after Winchell died in early 1972 at the age of 74, it became the Damon Runyon/Walter Winchell Memorial Cancer Fund in recognition of Mr. Winchell's services to the fund, launched shortly after the popular columnist and storyteller died in 1946 from lung cancer.

[@dawnfalvey6766]

I just found this channel and it’s GREAT! I’m 50 years old and I’ve heard of What’s My Line - but I’ve never seen any episodes. I’ve been binge watching these and just love Arlene Francis. I’ve never heard of her until I stumbled upon this channel. I love the everyone on the panel- but she’s amazing- in my opinion she makes the show. My favorite was when her son was a mystery guest.

[@margaretname226]

M

[@jimthompson606]

Arlene had a fine mixture of urbanity and kindness

[@jdlft.w836]

Shorts painter Kay Buell's segment was a hoot. Why is Steve Allen SOOOO funny? He once kept-them-laughing by actually reading the phone book.

[@SuperWinterborn]

Another episode I don't quite remember I've seen, despite going through all the playlists in chronological order last summer. A funny episode, where Daly was in a very merry mood. Dorothy's question "If it was bullet-proof" about the shorts, must have made the audience almost in ecstasy and the segment with Winchell was really amusing. :)

[@keithnaylor1981]

Wonderful, funniest ever! No idea who the mystery guest was, though Dorothy was brilliant in the end.

[@ToddSF]

Walter Winchell was not the only gossip columnist to appear on WML. Of course, Dorothy Kilgallen was one with her "Toast of Broadway" daily syndicated column. I can remember others who appeared, such as Louella Parsons, Hedda Hopper, Elsa Maxwell and Ed Sullivan. Yes, Ed Sullivan, whom most of us nowadays remember as the host of his long-running variety show on Sunday nights, was previously known as a gossip columnist in the _New York Daily News_ -- his column was called "Little Old New York". In fact, Sullivan began that column in 1933 to replace Walter Winchell, when Winchell left the _Daily News_ to write for the Hearst papers.

[@mdesapio]

I am always amazed how people in that era could come up spontaneously with these clever puns and witticisms, like Hal Block's "forfeit/four feet" pun.

[@neilmidkiff]

It's not a lost art ... Some of my friends and I come up with clever wordplay in real time conversations, even multilingual puns.

[@kennethlatham3133]

I love it, too! I love the art of being witty with wordplay. It is the lively antithesis to the dull, boring and endless barrage of dick jokes with which we are slathered today.

[@laurahoward5426]

His job was gag writer...

[@luigivincenz3843]

Hal Block was great in all of his episodes! I know he was fired for being risque in his jokes but gosh, he was really funny. The producers had it in for him.

[@andyeaston8391]

I am enjoying these programs immensely!

[@peterburritt6057]

I used to live near a little town called Chesley, Ontario. Amazing to see a woman on here from there. Great little town south of Owen Sound

[@julegate]

I am always amazed at the different jobs people had.

[@JB---]

When Walter Winchell was on, and Steve Allen said, "Let's see...," I think he put his glasses on over his blindfold.

[@savethetpc6406]

@JB +JB Indeed he did, and I think this may have been the first time this was done on WML, but several others tried the same gag on later episodes, and probably Steve did it again at least a couple of times over the years too. :-)

[@kateluxor2986]

Bullet-proof men's shorts. I love it! Dorothy was in a merry mood that night! LOL! Hal's jokes about Tiny were a little offensive, being overweight myself. Though if those two ever met in a dark alley, we'd know which one would come out the winner!

[@LarsRyeJeppesen]

Kate Luxor Check out Dorothy's follow-up to Hal's nasty fat joke..

[@belindaalbright8798]

Hal Block was obviously offensive to most. How sad he appeared on so many episodes.

[@peternagy-im4be]

​@@belindaalbright8798he was a hoot. A riot. Bought n to boost the ratings.

[@kennethbutler1343]

A baby chicken is a chick, and the frogs he catches are likely larger than that.

[@bneale]

Winchell was an old-looking man for being in his fifties.

[@laurahoward5426]

Many were

[@henrygrove100]

Great episode

[@k9feline2]

The first two contestants go the full 10 no answers, and just when it looks like on the mystery guest with 9 no answers that this'll be the earliest available episode where the panelists fail to get a single contestant right, Dorothy recognizes her columnist rival Walter Winchell.

[@GOLDVIOLINbowofdeath]

Apparently, this is before they figured out that a product and a service are two different things

[@cinibar]

Mr. Winchell was mostly before my time, but I do remember him narrating the TV series, The Untouchables.

[@JDAbelRN]

The "VOICE" IS unmistakable. The voice.

[@laurahoward5426]

Great broadcaster, beloved by millions

[@soulierinvestments]

Arlene, Bennett, and Dorothy more or less played WML straight. So when they came up with funny things, it is a bonanza -- as in Dorothy's classic spontaneous yock at 17:25. Classic! Hal's "can I come in for a sitting" is a huge yock, too.

[@WhatsMyLine]

soulierinvestments Thanks for pointing out this moment-- I'll add it to the list for future use in a clips video!

[@jdano9029]

+soulierinvestments I'm sure that Hal's comment, "Can I come in for a sitting?" was typical of the reasons why he was fired in the end. The comment was made concerning a woman who hand paints men''s shorts...Considering the tenor and morals of the day, I can understand why his comment was essentially ignored by John Daly, and why Hal was let go..

[@kennethlatham3133]

@@jdano9029 Yes, but to my mind it was the very limit that rhetoric should go and then be changed to some other area of discussion. In other words, go there, just don't linger there. The firing was overboard, I believe. They must have had extremely insistent, humorless sponsors and/or affiliates.

[@scottmcclung1208]

@@WhatsMyLineww222

[@karenmallonee3867]

Hal Block is hilarious! A bit on the awkward side, but adorable!!!

[@dcasper8514]

Once again he asks questions that brings the panel back on the right course.

[@kingforaday8725]

Hal was a well known joke writer for big name acts like Red Skelton, Bob Hope, Jack Benny, etc. What got him in trouble and eventually fired by the WML folks was for comments that included lots of sexual inuendo. Usually towards young attractive women. I dont believe any of those women ever complained but the church going TV viewers certainly did. He was warned several times but seemingly just couldnt help himself. Several times you will see/hear John scold him. Watch enough of the Hal Block episodes and you will see what I mean. Actually Arlene and Bennet would also make these types of comments but were a bit more tactful and less frequent.

[@jessicaphillips4542]

@@kingforaday8725 he got in trouble for kissing miss America

[@scotnick59]

@@jessicaphillips4542 he also got in trouble for being obnoxious on this show & had to leave.

[@jerrylee8261]

@@jessicaphillips4542 He tried to kiss Bette Davis on the lips no less but she was quick and turned her head.

[@neilmidkiff]

I knew that hand-painted neckties were popular in the 1950s, but this is the only time I've heard of painted shorts. I hope the "paint" was more like dye, leaving color in the fabric without adding stiffness. Otherwise, ouch!

[@samme79]

The combo of Steve Allen and Hal Block is awesome. Two witty comedians is just a surefire way of a good show

[@thomasthompson6378]

I think I may have to cast my vote to the frog guy "Tiny" as the best contestant ever.

[@CuriousMutation]

And to think that Kay Buell is in her late 80s by now.

[@WhatsMyLine]

Today's KZbin Rerun for 5/27/15: Watch along and join the discussion! Incidentally, we're now in the midst of a LONG string of episodes that were posted over a year and a half ago when I first started the WML channel, and don't have a lot of comments added. I really look forward to more discussion this time around! ----------------------------- Join our Facebook group for WML-- great discussions, photos, etc, and great people! facebook.com/groups/728471287199862/ To stay up to date with postings, please consider supporting the WML channel by subscribing. The WML channel already contains the complete CBS series, with new videos still being added on the weekends. kzbin.info/door/hPE75Fvvl1HmdAsO7Nzb8w

[@amymanns8023]

I love Steve Allen. He's cute and so funny.

[@peternagy-im4be]

Funny how exactly? The way he talks?

[@yeahnoonecaresifyouarefirst]

This is my favorite panel along with about 2 other regulars and the one timers included

[@davidarcudi230]

There 'most serious' people tend to be the funniest guests

[@lucasjames572]

Loved his narrating of the untouchables

[@princeharming8963]

Dorothy, as most everyone knows, was a 'Hearst Girl'.. so it stands to reason she'd be the one to guess Winchell!

[@StephenBurrus4444]

Kaye Buell was one of the lead characters' name on "The Mothers-In-Law", the last TV show produced by last week's mystery guest, Desi Arnaz.

[@battlegirldeb]

Going back and watching some of the one you posted that I don't remember seeing.

[@battlegirldeb]

Re watch this again in June of 2021.

[@christinesammons8488]

I was two and a half when this one came out.

[@bazazpa]

Men shorts... Bullet-proof!

[@BillyAlabama]

Tiny has incredible handwriting! Look at his signature!

[@laurahoward5426]

The signatures are one of the best features

[@AaronHahnStudios]

The best panel would be Steve Allen, Fred Allen, Victor Borge & Hal Block. What a riot that would be, they would loose allot but be super funny. ;-)

[@shirleyrombough8173]

Aaron Hahn - I think the ideal panel would be Dorothy Kilgallen, Arlene Francis, Steve Allen and Bennett Cerf. The original 4.

[@AaronHahnStudios]

@@shirleyrombough8173 kzbin.info/www/bejne/hKiYeqqHZ9J_jpY Here's a link to the "ORIGINAL FOUR."

[@soulierinvestments]

It would be interesting to know if anyone on the panel and in the production staff realized Bennett's absence had provided the producers the golden opportunity to start the process of dumping Hal Block. Here it is -- the first recorded head-to-head comparison of Allen and Block for the producers to study. Allen wins.

[@WhatsMyLine]

soulierinvestments As far as I'm concerned, these episodes begin the transition from what was just a fun show, to the long golden age of WML. I'm not as anti-Block as most people are, but for me the show wasn't the show until Steve Allen joined the panel.

[@SuperWinterborn]

What's My Line? Hal Block was a funny child. Steve Allen a witty adult.

[@soulierinvestments]

The difference between Hall and Steve is first grade vs first class.

[@WhatsMyLine]

***** Who in the WORLD is "Jim Ross"?

[@jvcomedy]

I don't know who he is either, but I believe WWE is one of the pro wrestling organizations so I suspect he must be from the wrestling world.

[@Michigan25132]

The ubiquitous fat comments for Tiny the frog catcher

[@scooterthelostduckling1356]

Hand-painted shorts: how do you wash them? It would depend on the type of paint, I suppose.

[@usermikes]

Winchell spent his final two years as a recluse at the Ambassador Hotel in Los Angeles.[33] Larry King, who replaced Winchell at the Miami Herald, observed: He was so sad. You know what Winchell was doing at the end? Typing out mimeographed sheets with his column, handing them out on the corner. That's how sad he got. When he died, only one person came to his funeral: his daughter.

[@postatility9703]

And the amazing thing is that,at his peak,Winchell was making $800,000 a year,one of the highest paid celebrities in the country.

[@tagbarzeev3571]

Jack Val I remember meeting him once at the Ambassador Hotel. I was a teen then.As I remember he lived in one of the cottages apart from the main hotel. The cottages were near the putting green and they had a helicopter landing pad on the front lawn just South of Wilshire Blvd. I am a native Angeleno a baby boomer.

[@agalgonzalez]

​@@postatility9703 Wow, another famous person who blew all their money and ended up a shadow of themselves.

[@williamdunphy352]

Bill Goodwin does the "Stopette" ad. Lee Vines is the announcer.

[@peternagy-im4be]

Block was a hoot. A riot. A game changer in terms of higher ratings for the show.

[@rickcharles5064]

Both Arlene & Dorothy looked hot that night. Tiny was probably a hit man in real life. Looks the part. Dorothy could really hone in with her questions. You didn't want to get on the bad side of Walter. He could run you down fast. I remember going to movies and hear him give News of the World. He didn't talk fast enough. We were waiting for cartoons.

[@savethetpc6406]

rick charles Looks can be deceiving.... But I will say that I thought it was both insensitive and perhaps foolhardy (i.e., potentially dangerous) for Hal to keep making so many jokes at the expense of a man that size!

[@LarsRyeJeppesen]

SaveThe TPC How come nobody noticed Dorothy's nasty follow-up?

[@ibnalhaytham]

Yes, Arlene and Dorothy do look ravishing.

[@igkoigko9950]

Over twenty people agree Dorothy looked hot. Could they be thinking Dorothy looked good for Dorothy, because Dorothy is not at all physically attractive in any way. Face is distorted and famously missing a chin. Body is too thin to the point of being sickly.

[@joycejean-baptiste4355]

Mr. Tiny Heidin is Hidin in his suit, but we can still see him, Lol!

[@savethetpc6406]

In response to the comment by Michael De Sapio, which did not offer a Reply option. I'll quote his comment here: *"I am always amazed how people in that era could come up spontaneously with these clever puns and witticisms, like Hal Block's "forfeit/four feet" pun."* I thought that was quite clever as well and was surprised that it seemed to go over the heads of most of the audience. Either that or it just slipped by in the midst of other things before they could catch it. I thought it deserved a bigger laugh than it got.

[@susanslack1900]

Www..nasty people..frog legs???are you kidding me???why???

[@dcasper8514]

Spontaneous cleverness.

[@dcasper8514]

Had a plate of frog legs once, didn't finish it. Never ordered it again.

[@laurahoward5426]

He was a gag writer by profession

[@soulierinvestments]

John and Frog. Hmmm. Early example that biology was not Mr. Daly's strong subject.

[@OrigamiMarie]

In his defense, they do start out with tails instead of back legs, and they start out as a swimmy thing. But yeah, clearly he hadn't spent much time on biology, or communing with frogs :-)

[@savethetpc6406]

@@OrigamiMarie In case you haven't seen it yet, check out this clips video featuring many of John's and the panel's ridiculous misunderstandings of simple animal and plant classifications and other facts. It's been a while since I've watched it, and I'm not sure if John's confusion from this episode over how many legs a frog has was included or not, but if not, it was simply an oversight. :-) kzbin.info/www/bejne/pYG2lp2eaqpqeLM

[@Amcsae]

@@savethetpc6406 thanks! Add that to my watch later list 😁

[@belindaalbright8798]

Mr Daly was quite intelligent, holding a doctorate degree. No one knows everything and because he isn't interested in frogs does not diminish his wit or intelligence.

[@michellepost5232]

I never heard of hand painted underwear shorts, that's a weird job. I mainly know of Walter Winchell from narrarating The Untouchables show, the original version with Stack. He talked funny. His hayday was before my time. I think he narrarated some of those reels of WW2, as the events happened, and they were shown in theaters. Didn't he say "Hello Mr.and Mrs.America and all the ships at sea", on his reports of WW2, as a catchphrase?

[@lindanitzschke1315]

Well, at least John knew frogs don't have fur!

[@stanochocki8984]

The 'Fat Jokes' alone in today's World, would end a Career....

[@spactick]

for real, the 'thought police' are always watching, I'm scared right now as I type this, I gotta go

[@sharon8312]

This episode was the worst for me, all the fat jokes were RUDE, insensitive and not funny, especially from Hal Block, no need to ack like a fool to get laughs, couldn’t watch the rest. Hard to believe the producers allowed those kind of remarks.

[@spactick]

@@sharon8312 relax Sharon it was 1952, I'm sure people on KZbin 70 years from now will be saying the same thing about a similar subject that we today take for granted. We evolve. We change. Sometimes in a positive way and sometimes in a negative way. What blows me away more than anything about life back in the 40's and 50's was how much people smoked.....ha! it was insane

[@kingforaday8725]

@@sharon8312 Why are you calling a man you dont even know a fool? Why dont you practice what you preach?

[@arttrombley7385]

Dorothy was really very good at the game. Walter Winchell was much funnier than I thought He would be and Steve Allen was the best comedian of that entire era.

[@savethetpc6406]

@Art Trombley +Art Trombley I totally agree with you about both Dorothy's game-playing skills and Walter Winchell as Mystery Guest! I think Steve Allen was funny, and I like him very much on WML, but I think a lot of other comedians of the era were funny too. :)

[@soulierinvestments]

One of my TV encyclopedias reported this detail about Winchell's evolution from radio news to TV news. Winchell's radio broadcast featured a Morris code signature which Winchell himself did on a telegraph key. When Winchell moved to TV, in his earliest broadcasts he continued to do his own Morris code signature on the telegraph key, which looked really silly.

[@CamhiRichard]

I think you mean Morse Code, no?

[@laurahoward5426]

Morse code is still in use in 2022, and not silly for POWs

[@soulierinvestments]

Second contestant. 13:00 >> For years, the staff gave Hal the gambits. Here is the first recorded prepared gambit for Steve Allen. If John was observant, if Hal was shrewd -- both of them should know at this point that something was up between Steve Allen and the WML producers. Allen does it brilliantly. End product. LOL

[@savethetpc6406]

soulierinvestments I wouldn't be so sure it was prepared. Remember that Gil Fates said that Steve Allen did quite well with gambits on his own.

[@WhatsMyLine]

SaveThe TPC That TV Guide article I referenced in another comment indicated directly that they started Steve Allen with prescripted questions, but that Steve himself objected, saying he was capable of coming up with his own questions spontaneously. I would doubt that Steve made this sort of objection the very first time, but regardless, there are clear indications of preplanned gambits with Steve throughout his time as a regular, I think. He just didn't want the questions written out for him, that's my sense. (Again, I wish I could link the article for you, but it was posted to the Facebook group-- there's no way for me to repost it here.)

[@Bigbadwhitecracker]

+SaveThe TPC Yeah, I can't imagine Steverino needing too much help. I, on the other hand, would need a list of gambits. I would, however, deliver them beautifully! ;)

[@44032]

It's interesting seeing Allen and Block together. Block could be funny but was rather ham-handed. Allen could achieve better results with more subtlety and didn't have to resort to crude humor. The top comedians know how to let thoughts and images form in people's mind without forcing them on them. Block made an important early contribution to the show but we are about to move up in class.

[@shirleyrombough8173]

soulierinvestments - What is a gambit?

[@519djw6]

Walter Winchell is an interesting curio, mostly from an era before I was born: He was, at one and the same time, an early advocate of civil rights for black people, but also a gossip columnist whose "bread and butter" was alleging that such-and-such a public figure was a "communist" or "fellow-traveler." It seems that television marked his decline, because when he was on the radio he would use a clacking device that was supposed sound like a telegraph delivering the latest news. However, when he tried switching his act to TV, all people saw was a rather down-at-the-heels elderly man in "pancake" makeup tapping on this device that had no real function beyond making a noise. He was, indeed, a very representative relic of his era.

[@photo161]

+519DJW See the great film "Sweet Smell of Success" to get an unflattering but revealing picture of Winchell's less appealing qualities. He is the model for Burt Lancester's vicious character, J J Hunsucker.

[@519djw6]

+eoselan7 That's one movie I haven't seen yet, but want to. Thank you for the information about who the model for this character was.

[@frederickkruse4815]

+519DJW Winchell narrated "The Untouchables" TV show in the early sixties.

[@dcasper8514]

For a period of time before YOU, you seem to know plenty of WW.. from all that you draw your personal opinion.

[@postatility9703]

He was also one of the first to publicly speak out about the dangers of Hitler and the Nazi movement,in the 1930's.

[@laurahoward5426]

Oh God....the fat jokes😭

[@PhillipTheBrandon]

And what on God's green earth are "Hand painted mens shorts"?

[@kingforaday8725]

And how does one make a living doing so?

[@ChrisHansonCanada]

FROG CATCHER HANDPAINTS MEN'S SHORTS

[@dancelli714]

I HAVE AT LEAST AN HOURS WORTH OF WINCHALL SHOWS

[@michaelwalsh1035]

Dorothy Kilgallen wants to do a full body search.

[@Lilykins]

🥰💓💞

[@jalkianvalour]

🤗😚❤

[@laurahoward5426]

Arlene was mugged for her necklace in later years

[@bethdibartolomeo2042]

Oh lord, if Hal had been asking the questions Steve Allen asked about underwear, God knows how that would have gone down. I was laughing so hard.

[@OrigamiMarie]

I was thinking, as Hal was getting the region of the body correct, that oh hey, this is just the right kind of line for him to guess. Then he steered toward the ladies (of course that was predictable, what was I thinking?) and off we went to Dorothy.

[@mariannet29]

Why does Dorothy always ask to see the suit label? That's rude

[@lorihansen8674]

First guy--my first guess--mafia boss.

[@dearmakeupdiary]

Lori Hansen I thought he was an opera singer 😁

[@ih82r8]

I thought Walter Winchell was the donut magnate...

[@randysills4418]

No, he was a nasty individual who caused mumuch heartache for many people. Eventually, people realized and he had a huge decline in popularity...

[@larryellisreed280]

@@randysills4418 Particularly so when it turned out that many newspapers as wanted to carry Winchell's column also had to buy some second-rate comic strips and features from King Features, a Hearst Corporation subsidiary (Hearst owned the tabloid New York Daily Mirror, which carried Winchell's column until its shock closing in the summer of 1963, first major casualty of an extended newspaper strike in late 1962).

[@lemorab1]

I have never heard of hand painted men's shorts. I was a kid when this show first aired. Did she paint little designs all over them with tiny brushes, using special fabric paint? Why would this be better than using fabric with printed designs? Can anyone enlighten me?

[@drzarkov39]

Daley said frogs are not larger than chicks. Duh!

[@randysills4418]

I have enjoyed many of the What's My Line programs! I must express dismay upon seeing Walter Winchell as mystery guest. He was an ex- hoofer from vaudeville who fancied himself as a writer. He caused great problems for some celebrities by persecuting them with untruths about their behavior. Lucille Ball and Kirsten Flagstad spring to mind, and I know Ball never forgave him, and neither did the great Norwegian soprano Flagstad! It was proved that he was a liar.

[@olive6405]

+Randy Sills But Winchell narrated THE UNTOUCHABLES which was a Desilu Production. He also narrated the episode of THE LUCY SHOW which was a spoof of THE UNTOUCHABLES.

[@jvcomedy]

He did accuse Lucille Ball of being a communist and she indeed confessed that as a young adult she had joined the communist party to please her grandfather, but had no intentions of doing anything to support the party. She was cleared of any wrong doing. So he did not tell any "untruths" about her. And she must have forgiven him as others here point out he worked in some Desilu productions plus he was a guest star on "The Lucy Show" in the 60's.

[@darleneofthetallpines5742]

Arlene had beautiful shoulders.

[@Lelski]

Not as beautiful as mine

[@dcasper8514]

Prove it Lexi...

[@spiritbear8170]

I love this channel in general, and I understand the period is very different from our own today. But I find myself wincing at male panelist sexualization of women contestants and at least one instance of a fat-man joke directed at a big-framed contestant.

[@Lelski]

This is 1950s…………stop eating between meals, Chud

[@samme79]

People took themselves less seriously back then.

[@ChrisHansonCanada]

The response to the baby chick was incorrect as far as I'm concerned. I've held baby chicks and they were no more than three inches long. A frog is much larger than that.

[@randallriley]

A lot of pre-PC fat jokes and such but I still love this show.

[@ludenasan1]

Since the man goes by the name Tiny, he obviously knew how people viewed him.

[@randallriley]

As a fat man myself, I never chose my fat nickname. Those were chosen by others for me, Barbara.

[@princeharming8963]

Randall Riley - It seems he didn't have to give that nic name 'legs' by using it on National TV. If he'd preferred to go by another name you'd think he'd have written it on the board instead. Just a thought.

[@richardvilseck]

Yeah, the “joke” about “trying a diet was cringe worthy.

[@SueProv]

I notice none of the men got up for Winchell.

[@sandwichman100]

it must have been during the great frog plague of the 50's tiny was in business

[@MrYfrank14]

bullet proof? what was bullet proof in 1952, besides an army tank? i wonder what Dorothy was thinking of.

[@OrigamiMarie]

I just checked wikipedia, and she couldn't have been thinking of kevlar undershorts (which seem pretty funny to me) since kevlar didn't exist until 1965. So maybe she's in euphemism territory here?

[@savethetpc6406]

@@OrigamiMarie @MrYfrank14 +MrYfrank14 My guess is that Dorothy was just trying to figure out what could be so special about men's shorts that would make her unable to buy them in "an average department store," as per Steve's earlier question, to which he got a no (around the 16:29 in the video).

[@Banks-gd1in]

Were frog legs more popular in those days

[@Amcsae]

I was thinking maybe for school dissection? When they said 'found in the home', I was thinking maybe an infestation in the basement or something, food hadn't even crossed my mind!

[@2014moorea]

When they say shorts, do they mean underwear "shorts" or pants that are short?

[@SuperWinterborn]

Abby M. Pants that are short. :)

[@Lateboomer059]

Abby M. Arlene Francis asked and got a yes : "Would it belong in the underwear world..." so I would think these are boxer shorts ;)

[@marthafarquar]

It's"in the underwear world", John said

[@soulierinvestments]

Size humor -- in multiple! -- from Hal at the expense of the large first contestant. *lawz* I can hear the lawyers typing Steve Allen's contract.

[@savethetpc6406]

soulierinvestments I was embarrassed for both Hal and the contestant because of all those "fat jokes." Also a bit worried about Hal's safety -- "Tiny" looked as if he could crush Hal like a bug if he wanted to -- and I wouldn't blame him for wanting to after all those insensitive cracks!

[@SuperWinterborn]

SaveThe TPC Agreed. In this episode, Hal wasn't at his best, to say the least.

[@Bigbadwhitecracker]

+soulierinvestments As a fan of HB, I'd say he was definitely trying too hard which does do from time to time, which is too bad because when he's relaxed, he's quite good and plays the game very well. I too thought Tiny could murder him live on tv, then we could all play, "Where's my mortuary?"

[@ih82r8]

I think people were better natured or at least more realistic. All this pc crap where we can't say anything has made everybody into wimps.

[@nickditoro]

@@ih82r8 So kindness and respect are crap?

[@retrogamerdad9621]

Haven't they already had a frog catcher?

[@luislaplume8261]

There went what I would call a real JOURNALIST!

[@CharlesCoderre-yv1cu]

If its WW you speak of, the was a scumbag of the 1st order

[@MrEwciii2001]

Geez, Arlene was hot.

[@miketheyunggod2534]

He is in his 50s? He looks close to 70 years old.

[@neilmidkiff]

I had the same thought and looked up his birth date: April 7, 1897. So he was 55!

[@josephpanzarella1417]

Walter Winchell lived long enough to become an outcast. The only person to attend his funeral in 1972 was his daughter.

[@dancelli714]

The contestant wouldn't laugh for Block . . . . GOOD !!!

[@sageywavey]

Dan Celli You are lame

[@philippapay4352]

This show is one that confirms to me the good reason for my lifelong devotion to the polymath, brilliant songwriter, musician, writer, scholar, comedian Steve Allen, who had class and charm and was a good person. Sadly, this stands out in this episode when he can be so readily compared with the competent writer Hal Block, who possessed no other notable redeeming social or artistic values that I have ever been able to discern. Good that they axed him and replaced him with the wit, decency, and intellect of a Steve Allen, who will forever be in the annals of show biz way bigger than a bread box.

[@marthafarquar]

How do shorts not have legs?

[@scooterthelostduckling1356]

That's what I was thinking, too.

[@MrYfrank14]

his question implied legs like a chair.

[@macmcleod1188]

Tighty whiteys don't but boxers do.

[@steveliveshere]

Commenting from Australia - but this would be after Whinchell's support for MacCarthy? I'm curious where his popularity was at this stage?

[@taraxacum]

Did anyone notice Walter Winchell on his way out? While he was with Dorothy, he said, "You owe me one."

[@jennymode]

I thought he said, "You always do that", maybe referring to her clever guess.

[@JehanineMelmoth]

If ‘Tiny’ was in the mafia, maybe he arranged for Hal to be fired - and I wouldn’t blame him.

[@jamesgaul3544]

I really dislike how the one "joked" about his weight... low class.

[@Lelski]

This is 1950s….only a person who eats between meals would say something like that

[@bobhayett2376]

Hal Block was kicked off the show because he insulted people a little too often. It wasn't long after that he got out of show biz completely.

[@bigwilson8794]

I've rerun it a few times but for the life of me I either can't understand or don't get the joke at 6:22

[@WhatsMyLine]

Dick Wilson I can't even quite make out what words Hal was saying.

[@savethetpc6406]

Dick Wilson I can't make out every word, but I think the gist of it is: "Have you ever tried the 123-day diet?" -- yet another in an embarrassing string of "fat jokes" at the contestant's expense, I'm afraid.

[@bigwilson8794]

Thanks. I was stuck.

[@seannborba8416]

Why is that guy being so mean. The fat jokes are un called for. Other than that wow this is a cool thing to see

[@stanochocki8984]

Though I like and admired her Reporting skills, on the inter-personal skill level; Dorothy REALLY needed to take a course in Etiquette and GET-OVER-HERSELF...Having watched this show when it was Fresh on Television...would get irked with her inane and petty questions like at 12:00 when she nearly accuses the contestant ''Are you hiding your nails From ME?"...she, like Cerf were at times, just to Imperial in their attitudes towards the contestants...and that WALK-of-SHAME..what psychological 'need' did the Producers, G & T have to keep it in for so long?

[@jerrylee8261]

How could the audience see how crude and embarrassing the WOS was but the producers seemed to be unaware? At least they toned it down some from the earlier shows, where the panelists seemed to love almost tormenting them.

[@alanadams-ni7uk]

Very entertaining even though the shows were rigged .

[@jimmygoodrich9590]

Rigged ? How?

[@maggiejohnson5891]

Walter Winchell apparently had one person attend his funeral. Seemed to be quite a despicable guy from the Wiki article I read……. Yuck.