What's My Line? - Y. A. Tittle; Charles Boyer; Tony Randall [panel] (Nov 17, 1963)

MYSTERY GUEST: Y. A. Tittle; Charles Boyer
PANEL: Arlene Francis, Tony Randall, Dorothy Kilgallen, Bennett Cerf
Heads up, folks! New Facebook for WML, If you're on FB, please come by-- the group is only three days old and already fantastic!
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[@richatlarge462]

This episode is historic in the sense that it's the last time we see people behaving in an era that was going to forever be relegated to the past, just a few days later. Everyone is still "innocent".

[@slaytonp]

I've lived some 30 years before and the following years after his time, and can assure you that "everyone" has never been "innocent."

[@dinahbrown902]

No they weren’t

[@richatlarge462]

@@dinahbrown902 You guys both missed my point, which was why I used quotes. I meant that people were immersed in an era that, unknown to them (hence they were "innocent" in that sense), was about to be replaced by a completely different cultural era that has largely defined society ever since.

[@dinahbrown902]

@@richatlarge462 Gotcha

[@hothemeep1219]

@@richatlarge462 it did not happen overnight though.1960-1966 was basically the 50's part 2. Things really started to change around 66-67

[@freeguy77]

They had so much fun doing this game show. Oh, if only these panelists and Mr. Daly could come back and do it some more!

[@susansackrison3139]

freeguy77 Some of them probably wish they could come back...others wouldn't leave their heavenly home for anything. Are you ready to meet your maker? Knock and it will be open to you.

[@elizabethannmorahan6563]

Yes, well said

[@SheltonHull]

With the hot dog lady, the way it built to the payoff was awesome. Then Arlene (who was reportedly the best at guessing) nailed it, and the crowd erupted.

[@lutherp.smithjr.5842]

Y.A. Tittle even with the Championship losses will always be my Champion and forever boyhood hero tears comes to my eyes and just the memory of him always gives me hope and the 86 Super Bowl win rewarded us Giants fans 18 year plus drought and the first Eli Manning quarterback Super Bowl win against the Patriots rewarded us Giants fans for the 61 Championship lose to the Packers but Y.A.Tittle will always in my heart will forever be my Champion

[@cruiseboston638]

Tony Randall drying his eyes after the frankfurter lady was hilarious! Especially after Arlene said "do you measure them?!". Tony had to pass to Dorothy due to laughing.🤣🤣

[@Anti-WokeCanadian]

On an episode of "Password", the word was BALD and Frank Gifford gave TITTLE as the clue.

[@nicholasjanke3476]

Charles Boyer was one of the very few foreigners to make it to Hollywood stardom (Erroll Flynn, Arnold Schwarzenegger, Roger Moore, Sean Connery, Cary Grant were others who come to mind-Isabelle Huppert, Christopher Lee, Peter Cushing, Edward Woodward and Ricardo Montalbon were mainly just well known character actors in Hollywood-Stan Laurel was another foreigner who made it big in Hollywood)

[@erichanson426]

It's amazing what one panelists can add. I've done some research, and after Dorthy's sudden death, the show went from the top 10 to below the top 30, causing its cancelation.

[@scotnick59]

Poor Charles; his son was killed in a freak accident when he was very young. Was married to English actress Pat Paterson and took his own life after she died from cancer RIP, Charles.

[@jacquelinebell6201]

I read that his son died by suicide at 21. 1965. She died of cancer in 1978. Then two days later he suicided.

[@nicholasjanke3476]

By this time in his career in the 1960s Boyer was mostly a character actor.

[@audw2534]

When Tony Randall said, "I pass "regarding the frankfurters I laughed out loud!

[@ludenasan1]

It was a joy to see Mr. Boyer, I always admired his work.

[@lauraatkinson4790]

Arlene's introduction of Tony Randall and his response ("Hi! It's Me!") Reminded me of a SNL skit where Tom Hanks played "Mr Short Term Memory (Loss)" and Tony Randall was at his table and Hanks keeps forgetting he's there, so every once in a while he'll suddenly notice him and say, "Hey! It's Tony Randall!"

[@stevehinnenkamp5625]

The hot dog interview was hilarious, and was mercifully left uncensored.

[@donnacook8994]

I love watching these shows because they are so entertaining and amusing. Much better than the junk on TV now. Thank you for airing these episodes. I know there are many like me who appreciate it!

[@shahrulamar5358]

2 years later Dorothy was found breathless in her bedroom. 😟😟😟

[@Baskerville22]

Charles Boyer was an old 'smoothie'. He committed suicide 2 days after his wife of 44 years died.

[@RonGerstein-tf5tp]

2 years to go

[@lllowkee6533]

Tittle was first football player I’ve seen on WML. They’re usually baseball players..

[@loissimmons6558]

It's a little known fact that a TV show was based on the life of the second challenger. Of course Hollywood made many changes and fictionalized it before it was aired. We know it as "Knots Landing". :-)

[@bluecamus5162]

Ugh! That was a pun worthy of Bennett.

[@freeguy77]

This episode would be the last for another 14 days, with every regularly scheduled tv series pre-empted on that horrible Nov. 22-25 weekend. WML? would return on Sunday, Dec. 1.

[@stephaniemccoy9602]

My Aunt said that the only time my Grandpa cried is when JFK died.

[@davidsanderson5918]

Stephanie McCoy He was a good man then, your Grandpa.

[@sandydog291]

He had good reason. I was with my Aunt that day and she cried. I didn't, but I was 5, I didn't understand the either the short term or historical significance of that event.

[@BetesdaMinstriesPERU]

Tony Randall seemed to know a lot about sports, quite the opposite from his role on the Odd Couple.

[@loissimmons6558]

That brings to mind the scene from "The Odd Couple" where Oscar gets down into a football lineman's stance and challenges Felix to get through him. Felix leaps over him.

[@benreyirl]

Dorothy looks so pretty here. Love her giggle and her side look when questioning. People seemed to gravitate toward Arlene. Course she had her own tv show, worked on stage and movies. And was witty and charming. I wonder if Arlene and Dorothy got along outside of WML

[@loissimmons6558]

Dorothy toned down the piled high hairdo she had been sporting for most of 1963, plus she got rid of the bow in her hair. She looked so much better with this hair style.

[@philippapay4352]

obi-wan Dorothy was an excellent game player and top notch reporter. Her column was often bitchy Hollywood stuff. None of the other employees of the show could say much for the half hour they were in the green room with her before every show because she did not know when NOT to repeat something in her column. Say for example, Bogart got terminal cancer that he suffered from for a year and a half, yet never talked about its being terminal nor did anyone who loved him and respected that this was the way he wanted to go out. He was visited regularly by hypochondriac Swifty Lazar and Tracy & Hepburn, yet they brought life and the news of their mutual industry through the doors to him, so they were welcome. Dorothy would not have respected that had she known. And Dorothy never overcame her inferiority complex around people of real power and position and talent. Arlene was a diverse talent and good human being to others. Martin Gabel, her husband, was a gifted producer, director, and one of the finest stage actors America has ever known. They and Bennett Cerf and Tony Randall and others were major talents. Dorothy was as a reporter. She had few peers with her gifts. But she did not run in their social circles except to get gossip for the column, could not be trusted NOT to print certain info, and her husband had a few gifts he pissed away on women and booze, known to one and all in the show biz community. The Gabels and Cerfs would have found it difficult to do much private socializing with the Kollmars because she was in the busybody business and her husband was a never-quite-made-it, boozing, whoring weakling who spent her $$.

[@preppysocks209]

@@philippapay4352 In terms of the specific Dorothy/Bogart issue, you might want to watch Lauren Bacall's appearance on Dick Cavett some years after Bogart died. Bacall points out that Dorothy did write about Bogart's illness, and that much of what she wrote was wrong. Bacall said that perhaps once many decades before, Dorothy might have been a good reporter, but that she had not been a capable reporter for decades. And as to her personal opinion, she called Dorothy a "monster" for her reporting on Bogart.

[@philippapay4352]

@@preppysocks209 "Dorothy would not have respected that had she known." I was well aware that Dorothy would have written about it. I saw Bacall on Dick Cavett and do not recall her talking about Kilgallen, though I would not have been watching for what she could add to anything I knew of Kilgallen. Bacall and Cavett, two of my favorites, were both capable of being bitchy. Dorothy's Hollywood column was godawful, unless she was praising a performance. We read Bennett Cerf's column because it was smart and funny. She would repeat anything and also out of context. She was a fine crime reporter. And she seemed to remain so. Who knows: it may have gotten her killed. But, other than praising the talented and wealthy who were heaped with praise everywhere and her superb knowledge of some things, like jazz, her column was intrusive, inaccurate and bitchy. She was a highly insecure woman who wore fabulous diamonds to prove she could be like what in Boston would have been called the Brahmins. In NYC they'd have been called old money WASPs. She sought to prove she was "lace curtain Irish," not "shanty Irish." She was proud of her heritage and ashamed of the associations made with it here. A woman of great heart and talent, she was crippled into someone untrustworthy by her inferiority complex. And she had a horrid husband, marriage. He cheated from Day 1. That is something she had in common with Jackie O. And she supported the family because Dick had some success, but his drank and screwed it away and never really spent time developing his talent. So, Dorothy was again ostracized because her husband was a loose cannon, ne'er-do-well. I do have compassion for her flaws, but she was a monster to those in dire straits and with their own flaws. What could be more private than death? She could have written a column that did not invade one's final time here.

[@maynardsmoreland]

It's tough watching this episode, knowing what was going to unfold in Dallas five days later.

[@VahanNisanian]

maynardsmoreland Strangely enough, none of the episodes of WML that aired after 12/1/63 (an episode that was recorded on 11/3/63 aired that night) made a mention of the Kennedy assassination.

[@WhatsMyLine]

***** I think that's because this was an essentially escapist show. I'd say the country benefited more from having their expected respite at 10:30 Sunday evening from the horrible news than if it had been acknowledged in any way.

[@alskndlaskndal]

It seems like they've been on a roll so far this season. The last few episodes have felt especially fun and lighthearted to me. Awful to think of the shock and sadness they were about to go through.

[@MrJoeybabe25]

I have often wondered how live and taped shows handled the Kennedy assassination once regular programming resumed the Tuesday after the shooting. Programs like "The Tonight Show", "Ed Sullivan" other variety programs and other contemporaneous shows I would have thought someone would have said a word or two about this most momentous of events. WML did tributes to Fred Allen and Dorothy Killgallen when they died (I know they were on the air live the very next week) so the murder of the president, I think, should have mentioned. It seems awkward not to.

[@maynardsmoreland]

I think Jerry Lewis mentioned the assassination at the end of one of his short-lived ABC shows on 12/14/63. I believe it's on YouYube.

[@YouzTube99]

'The Brass Bottle' refers to one out of which a genie/djinn played by Burl Ives materializes at the behest of Tony's character. His girlfriend is played by Barbara Eden who shortly thereafter starred as the genie in the TV series 'I Dream Of Jeannie' which was based on this story and IMO, more fun than the film. Now go play Trivial Pursuit.

[@loissimmons6558]

I'll take Movies for $1000, Alex.

[@stephenbox4318]

Rip dorothy

[@MrJoeybabe25]

Yelberton Abraham Tittle will be 88 on October 26th of this year!

[@abbywhite2682]

My nephew, David Swenke was a year old at the time of this broadcast. RIP David.

[@donwert]

Interesting discussion about the NFL blackout rule. In those days, the home games could not be telecast within a 50-mile radius of the stadium, whether the game was sold out or not. I grew up in Michigan and remember ads in the sports pages of the Detroit newspapers for "Channel 6 antennas". Those were large aerials that permitted some Detroit-area viewers to watch Lions home games from channel 6 in Lansing, which was beyond the 50-mile limit. It was not uncommon for fans to stay in distant motels on Sundays where they could get the games, as was referenced on the show. Many Detroit bars and restaurants erected high antenna masts to bring in channel 6 and did big business on Sundays when the Lions played at home.

[@loissimmons6558]

+donwert Acknowledging and applauding your sports fan credentials. Rather than choosing a star for a screen name, you picked someone who was a solid everyday player, a starter for a number of years at third base for the Detroit Tigers, but by no means a star. He was overshadowed by many of his Detroit teammates: Kaline, Horton, Freehan, Cash,, Northrup, Stanley, McAuliffe, McLain, Lolich and Wilson. But he has a World Series ring from the Tigers 1968 Championship team and although he was a much better fielder than hitter, he had the game winning hit in the Tigers AL pennant clinching game (the last AL pennant before playoffs). At last look, Don Wert is still alive at age 80. By coincidence, speaking of the Lions and athletes with the initials DW, earlier today I was discussing with someone perhaps the greatest player to wear a Detroit Lions uniform: halfback Doak Walker.

[@CzechMirco]

Was the drive to a distant motel and a renting of a room cheaper than the ticket to the game back in those days in USA?

[@Gablesman888]

Quiet before the storm. This game show with Y.A Tittle was aired just five days before JFK was killed in Dallas.

[@waldolydecker8118]

13:12 The contestant has something to do with hot dogs, and we have to find out what it is? Yes. Arlene: "She measures them?" No. Tony Randall after that guess: "lol, I pass!"

[@gretchenking5952]

That was so funny - Arlene forgot Tony's last name.

[@freeguy77]

First time I ever heard Arlene not remember who her neighbor guest name was!

[@davidsanderson5918]

It was a JOKE!!! DEAR ME!! How can comedy work if people don't get it?!?

[@williambarclay8087]

@@davidsanderson5918 No, unfortunately it probably was not a joke but an early sign of the Alzheimer's disease that was to plague Arlene in her later years.

[@slaytonp]

@@williambarclay8087 Whatever the cause, she had the presence to know how to handle it.

[@bluecamus5162]

Arlene lived to be 93 and was 56 here; she was probably still many, many years away from showing signs of Alzheimers. Post menopausal/andropausal people will have diminished recall. It's normal but it's unnerving, especially if you're in the public eye.

[@jeffreythomson8068]

A time when the world was still good and may never be as good again.

[@freddyfurrah3789]

Professional athletes are much more recognized today.

[@MCO18]

The last episode before JFK was assassinated in Dallas later that week

[@ericsamuelson5656]

Since we're in the age of reboots, we want to see new 2019 episodes of What's My Line on Sunday nights CBS

[@markschildberg1667]

Agreed if they keep it classy and don’t cheapen it like they did with TTTT and Password

[@soulierinvestments]

It is a little creepy to watch the show just going on its merry way, unawares. We know -- we know who lived through it -- that history and politics is about to get turned upside down in 5 days. Another reminder of how quickly stuff can happen and stuff can change to send your life out of orbit.

[@davidarcudi230]

And got poor Dorothy murdered

[@rapunzelz5520]

soulierinvestments it sorta makes me feel as if i were God...that i Know these people, what is going to happen to them and the world.

[@jeffreythomson2979]

@@rapunzelz5520 American history radically changed, and not for the better. The way things are now are not the way things could or would have been given a much different political, societal, economic and cultural environment.

[@davidsanderson5918]

Dave Arcudi Yes it changed her life as much as only a few in a very small group.

[@donlove3741]

@@jeffreythomson2979 WTF ? How did american life change radically?

[@cababyboomerq6012]

My mom was a HUGE fan of him for years after he came to the 49ers. I mom was a huge sports fan, my dad never really was. The rest of our family were big 49ers fans for ages and ages.

[@usermikes]

Charles Boyer committed suicide when his wife passed away..Sad! He loved her that much..

[@torgeirmolaug196]

Boyer's only child, Michael Charles Boyer] committed suicide at age 21 in 1965. He was playing Russian roulette after separating from his girlfriend.

[@davidsanderson5918]

Jack Val Without getting too heavy, I would guess that his suicide resulted from more than just his wife's passing. The loss of a loved one can be the trigger of many losses, many fears and a generalised anxiety leading to a suicide attempt that is based on not so much the initial loss but simply not being to face any more. Sorry I tried to be succinct and failed. Back to the happy panel show WML!!

[@dinahbrown902]

It went deeper than that

[@jacquelinebell6201]

​@@davidsanderson5918 His son had suicided in 1965. That would have been a heavy loss.

[@teach623]

Dorothy has 2 years to live

[@peternagy-im4be]

Is that all you've got?

[@robertknight2556]

When Arlene asks if people go to motels for this reason, Dorothy laughs and says, Arlene! Arlene looks a bit stung at the inference.

[@t4texastomjohnnycat978]

I live in the same county that Y.A.Tittle was born, raised, & went to high school in.

[@preppysocks209]

Why Bennett with so little time would mention Alfred Perlman -- even if there were a relation, there would be no connection to his line --- is mystifying. In any case, Alfred had a difficult job and tried to do it well, but macro forces were just too strong, and the merger with the Pennsylvania Railroad, the worst in history, led to the biggest bankruptcy in America, not surpassed until Enron.

[@markiangooley]

Undetected type 2 diabetes has skyrocketed now, and the diet suggested by the U. S. government has helped that happen. In my opinion, anyway. It was already becoming a problem since President Eisenhower’s heart attack prompted the low-fat, high-starch diet fad. I was 2 years old when this was recorded and would be diagnosed with type 1 diabetes almost 7 years later. Now a huge fraction of Americans are diabetics.

[@lllowkee6533]

I wonder what the top 7 rated shows were???

[@kenyongray2615]

Y. A Title maybe could have walked down the street of other cities except for New York and not been recognized. He did not look like a professional football player at all and back in those days, players usually did not take off their helmets when they were on the sidelines. He was a great quarterback who's career ended the next year holding all or most of the career passing records in NFL history at the time of his retirement.

[@loissimmons6558]

There are times I wish I had someone with me to watch these episodes of WML. This is one of those times. When the second challenger signed in and her location was given, I said out loud to the air, she has something to do with hot dogs. Even a blind hog occasionally finds an acorn.

[@davidsanderson5918]

Lois Simmons That's CRAZY deduction skills you have!! :)

[@bluecamus5162]

You're a peach, Lois.

[@jvcomedy]

John Daly says in this episode that 3 million people in the US have diabetes which at that time was about 1.5% of the population. Now there are 20 million people with diabetes or just over 6% of the population so the percentage has quadrupled. That's pretty eye opening. Says something about the eating habits and shape (literally and figuratively) that Americans are now in.

[@tomitstube]

it also says something about our government subsidizing the high fructose corn syrup industry, and it being in almost everything we eat. from the 1970's there's a 25% increase in sugar sweeteners. look at young people at the 1969 woodstock festival and compare them to young people today, it's like two different cultures. we are literally addicting generations of american kids to sugar. another case of something that should be regulated but isn't.

[@t4texastomjohnnycat978]

tomitstube Also in pretty much all sports, with the exception of basketball, ice hockey, & rodeo, compared to just 25 years ago, the NFL, MLB, & college football is made up of a bunch of fat-asses.

[@LarsRyeJeppesen]

@@tomitstube Ahem.. are you sure people at Woodstock weren't addicted to something? Also, are we talking about type 1, 2 or in between? Diagnostics has improved at lot as well.

[@tomitstube]

@@LarsRyeJeppesen lifted from a website "Updated September 2018: According to the most recent Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System (BRFSS) data, West Virginia has the highest adult rate of diabetes at 15.2%. The 10 states with the highest type 2 diabetes rates are in the South. A record high number of Americans-40%, or more than 100 million adults-are living with diabetes or prediabetes according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Without significant changes, as many as 30% of people with prediabetes will go on to develop type 2 diabetes."

[@SteveCarras]

I, and manyt more have dibetes now 55+ years after this..But mine is one of many cases of controlled, i.e., Type 2-diabetes.

[@ChrisHansonCanada]

*_QUARTERBACK FOR NEW YORK GIANTS_* *_TIES KNOTS ON ENDS OF FRANKFURTERS_* *_SELLS FEATHERS_*

[@balletvaria]

Before FOOTBALL GREAT "YATITTLE " was in this sport, he played baseball in Louisiana

[@Steve_1999]

I can't wait for them to say it's not a useful product.

[@2508bona]

Nice reminder during the Tittle piece that NFL games used to be routinely subject to a home blackout (50-mile radius). I believe that the rule was lifted during the Nixon years.

[@jmccracken1963]

But even then, the home blackout was only lifted if the game was sold out X number of days in advance. (I don't remember the number of days.)

[@sandrageorge3488]

Still do it today.

[@mikeberg7433]

R.I.P. Y.A.

[@algoritmosalfredohipicasig7116]

He was called "Bald Eagle" and "Yat," but before Buffalo's QB, Jim Kelly lost 4 straight Super Bowls; NY Giants, Y. A. Tittle suffered 3 straight NFL Title tilt defeats. In 1963, he tossed no less than 5 passes to the Monsters of the Midway. Daly mentions QB Charlie Conerly, who had led the Giants 1956 Championship blowout over the Bears. It would be 30 long years before Big Blue fans celebrated another.

[@yatinexile7144]

And before all that, YAT played college ball at LSU. Geaux Tigers!

[@soulierinvestments]

Oops / Arlene's most classic introduction blooper. Way worse than when she referred to William Bendix's new western as "Overland Trial." However --- [speculation ] this was about five months after her concussion. Bad brain injuries can have odd manifestations in the most embarrassing places for months afterwards [ especially when she went back to work about four weeks later ?? ] .

[@gymnastix]

From what was Arlene Francis concussed? I have heard and read of an accident at Miss Francis' penthouse, wherefrom a barbell was dropped (allegedly by hired help of the Martin Gabels) and struck and killed a passerby on the street below. And I also seem to recall Miss Arlene's arm in a sling on one or a few "What's My Line?" programs. Was her concussion from the same incident that caused the injured arm?

[@WhatsMyLine]

gymnastix These injuries were all from a tragic car accident. The weather was bad, and there was already an accident on the road she was driving down. When she tried to avoid the existing collision, her car hit another, leading to the death of two of the passengers.

[@loissimmons6558]

+gymnastix Yes, the sling was due to the same auto accident. She had a broken collarbone.

[@davidsanderson5918]

soulierinvestments Don't be ridiculous. Her forgetting Tony Randall's name was a JOKE!! I knew immediately because it's the sort of thing one does for a joke too with one's loved ones and closest friends. Have you never done that? Not even fleetingly, for a laugh?? But if you are still in doubt about Arlene's intention. Check her smile. Absolutely, totally intended mischief on her part and a clear sign of a perfectly fit, alert and playful brain!!!

[@randylovering24]

14th year on the air

[@SteveCarras]

Couldn't place the Y. A. Tittle reference at first, as I couldn't figure out WHO he was, and *I* was around then, though I was just a kid, then copied/pasted, and found out,. and remembered, that he was a football player.

[@randylovering24]

The following Sunday show was not aired due to JFK death but I don't think they would have aired anyway

[@MrJoeybabe25]

At about 8:53 I think Bennett says something to John off mike. Could anyone hear it?

[@sinsagoodmansbrother]

R.I.P. YA...

[@VahanNisanian]

Among the things that were happening during this terrible American tragedy: The pilot episodes of "Bewitched" and "Gilligan's Island" were filmed. The second official Beatles album ("official" meaning the U.K.), "With the Beatles", was released.

[@soulierinvestments]

The first cast of the first Gilligan's Island's pilot was on Hawaii when the bulletins arrived and shut the production down for days. If you want to see the aftermath of the Kennedy Assassination in sitcom history, look at The Dick Van Dyke Show episode "Happy Birthday and Too Many More." It was in rehearsal on that Friday, so the production shut down for days. When the producers finally filmed it a few days later, they decided that no one was in a laughing mood, so it was the only Dick Van Dyke episode filmed without a live audience. The timing of it is terrible. No one I guess felt funny.

[@MrJoeybabe25]

soulierinvestments How many Gilligan's Island pilots were there? Who was in the first one?

[@WhatsMyLine]

Joe Postove Not enough pilots to make it a funny show. . . which didn't stop me from seeing every episode 20 times as a kid. I didn't even like it then, but I watched it to death anyway. I can still recite by heart some of the lyrics to their musical production of "Hamlet".

[@MrJoeybabe25]

What's My Line? You sound like me. I cannot tell you how much bad television I watched in the 60's. But it was TV, so we had to watch (what were we gonna do, read a book)?

[@WhatsMyLine]

Joe Postove Exactly-- I wasted a good 30% of my childhood watching, and not enjoying, "Gilligan's Island" and "The Brady Bunch" alone. :)

[@16Lizards]

I too was anxiously awaiting your uploading of these episodes from around the events of Nov. 63 to see if there was any mention of the events that took place, especially since the family and especially Jackie was mentioned a few times in earlier episodes on positive notes. There should have been an episode on Nov 24, but probably not Dec 1 since that was Thanksgiving weekend. No mention of it on the Dec 8 episode, but then over 2 weeks had gone by and the initial shock had worn off. Were there any episodes between this one and Dec 8?

[@WhatsMyLine]

16Lizards 11/3 and 11/17/63 were preempted, no WML broadcast those weeks. 12/1, however, has been posted already, but that was a show prerecorded well in advance of the JFK assassination, so naturally there's no mention of it. I've said elsewhere (probably in the comments section for the 12/1/63 show), I think there was an understanding that WML was an escapist show and that the country needed a break from the terrible news, plus others have noted that CBS executive James Aubrey had made it a policy that entertainment programs were not allowed to reference the events even in passing.

[@davidsanderson5918]

"The initial shock had worn off"......I can't imagine so. The whole matter was FAR too dark and horrific to even have a passing reference on the happy panel show. Simple as that.

[@galileocan]

Arlene couldn't have forgotten Tony Randall's last name. But if it were a joke (and she looked like she was acting when she forgot his name). Yet it wasn't the least bit funny. So was it a joke gone wrong or did honestly just lose her memory temporarily??

[@lornaharrington1885]

I loved Tony randall. So dignified and classy. Wonderful in Doris day movies with rock hufson. He was a opera duff.

[@richatlarge462]

It seems to me like she just blanked out for a second. That's happened to all of us at some point.

[@bluecamus5162]

I don't think it's out of character for Arlene to pull a stunt like that, especially if they had been clowning around backstage before the show. However, it's very feasible for a 57 year old post menopausal woman to just freeze up, as well.

[@kentetalman9008]

@@bluecamus5162 She just had a brain fart, which can happen to anyone of any age.

[@Karen-nn6kg]

I took a swig of Geritol, the sponsor, just this morning. Some things haven't changed...

[@sandy3482]

Earlier in the day the Giants clobbered the 49ers 48 to 14 and old YA threw 4 TD's . YA played for the 49ers prior to the Giants and in 1961 they thought he was over the hill and all through so they traded him to the Giants, also in 1961 the Giants were thought to be all through. So what happened the Giants won the NFL east and appeared in the NFL Championship game ( now they call it the Superbowl) in 1961, 1962 and 1963

[@soulierinvestments]

Charles Boyer 's romantic reputation tended to overshadow his considerable talent. He never won a competitive Oscar race. I like "Conquest," where he portrays Napoleon opposite Greta Garbo. There's a combination -- sexy Brooding French nationalism vs.understated Scandinavian desire. "Gaslight" is incredible. Without ruining it with spoilers, let us just say he treats Ingrid Bergman very badly.

[@WhatsMyLine]

Wasn't that the original tagline? "GASLIGHT:You'll never see Charles Boyer treat Ingrid Bergman more poorly."

[@jmccracken1963]

And let's not forget his performance as Michel Marnay in the 1939 RKO movie LOVE AFFAIR, in which his co-star was Irene Dunne. That, too, is outstanding.

[@preppysocks209]

@@jmccracken1963 yes, even better than the Cary Grant remake, and, like everyone, I am a huge Cary Grant fan

[@jo-annewoodbridge5882]

2nd guest said she's from Brooklyn but I didn't hear any accent!

[@RonGerstein-tf5tp]

Most residents of Brooklyn has NO ACCÉNT.

[@galileocan]

Arlene was totally kidding when she seemed to forget Tony Randall's name right? But it's the joke or the reason why she did this that I dont underatand.....is there an inside joke I'm not getting??

[@davidsanderson5918]

Galileocan g Of COURSE it's a joke!! And why??? They have to announce a name every week. It was a bit of fun, that's all. Have you never pretended to forget someone's name for a joke? Especially when they are dear close friends. Or indeed highly successful in their field.

[@soulierinvestments]

Tittle's first name was Yelbertson. I would have gone by Abe. I know 1960s professional football from nothing. Was he any good?

[@jmccracken1963]

He was a very good quarterback, at Louisiana State University (1944-1948; MVP of the 1947 Cotton Bowl), and in a 17-year career in pro football (1948-1950 in the All-America Football Conference with the Baltimore Colts; 1951-1964 in the National Football League, 1951-1960 with the San Francisco 49ers and 1961-1964 with the New York Giants). In the 1963 season, he set a then-NFL record by throwing 36 touchdown passes during the regular season - and the Giants made it to the NFL title game, in which they lost 14-10 to the Chicago Bears, and during which Tittle hurt his leg. His pro career statistics include: 33,070 yards passing; 242 touchdown passes; 2-time NFL Most Valuable Player; first pro quarterback to throw 30 touchdown passes in consecutive seasons. He was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1971, and his number 14 was retired by the New York Giants many years ago.

[@t4texastomjohnnycat978]

jmccracken1963 AND his great numbers were accumulated in the "running era" of football, which says even more about his passing prowess. QBs pass nearly every down now days.

[@loissimmons6558]

+soulierinvestments Slight correction: his first name was "Yelberton". He is actually a junior. His father saddled him with the same name he had. Others have already posted how good he was. The one disappointment in his career was that a championship eluded him. The 49ers were frequent runners up in the Western Division of the NFL in his years with the team. The closest the 49ers came to winning the division was in 1957. That was the year that Tittle and tall, high leaping pass receiver R.C. Owens devised the "Alley Oop" play where Tittle would throw the ball high in the air and Owens would outleap the defenders to make the catch. (Owens was also able to leap high enough that he was able to deflect a long field goal attempt that was barely clearing the 10 foot high crossbar before NFL rules made that play illegal.) The 49ers and the Detroit Lions tied for the Western Division title with 8-4 records. Tittle passed his team to a 20 point lead before the Lions staged a comeback and won the game, 31-27, with 24 unanswered points. Tittle's three interceptions and three fumbles helped the Lions comeback. It's already been posted that Tittle led the Giants to three straight NFL Championship games but lost all three. Thus there would be no title for Tittle. In the 1964 season, the Giants fell from division champions to sporting the worst record in the league. After the Giants were blown out by 31 points in Philadelphia, Tittle was severely injured in Game 2 in Pittsburgh, a 27-24 loss. He suffered a concussion, pulled rib cage muscles and a cracked sternum although he gamely continued to play throughout the season. While a stupid sports editor refused to run the photograph, the photographer entered it in contests and it is now an iconic picture of the end of Tittle's career, even though he managed to play in the remaining 12 games (starting 9 of them). imgur.com/gallery/o2ehTgB He eventually lost his job to rookie Gary Wood from Cornell (gotta get in a plug for my alma mater) and retired at the end of the season. Tittle also had the misfortune to succeed two very popular QB's when he won a starting job: Frankie Albert in SF and Charlie Conerly in NY. So it took a while for hometown fans and teammates to warm up to him, though he won them over. Ironically, Tittle and Conerly played against each other in college, for rivals LSU and Ole Miss respectively. In those days, players were generally required to be on the field for both offense and defense. In Tittle's senior year, eventual SEC champions Ole Miss beat LSU 20-18. One reason was that Tittle intercepted a Conerly pass but in running it back, his belt buckle was pulled off. He ran down the sideline cradling the ball in one hand and holding up his pants with the other. When he tried to stiff arm an Ole Miss tackler at the opponent's 20 yard line, his pants fell down and he tripped. That prevented him from scoring the go ahead touchdown and the Ole Miss defense held on to win. That loss knocked LSU out of the national rankings, snapping their 3-game winning streak.Ole Miss was unranked at the time, but it started a 5-game win streak for them and a #13 ranking at year end, including a win over TCU in the now defunct Delta Bowl played in Memphis on New Year's Day. (It was the first of only two Delta Bowl games.)

[@Vitte4]

Interesting that Daly calls Y.A. Tittle "Ya" on two occasions. I am not aware that that was his nickname ...

[@tomgoduto3943]

+Charles Booker JCD said YAT, which was one of Tittle's nicknames

[@joeambrose3260]

Respectfully, don't give a squat

[@kennethlatham3133]

@@joeambrose3260 Lighten up, 'Brose.

[@MrJoeybabe25]

Tony Randall was not hip. No one called anyone a Twister by November 1963!

[@2508bona]

The episode that aired on 12/1 was prerecorded, correct? What was the first episode to be made after the assassination?

[@VahanNisanian]

Chris Barat 12/8/63: The 12/15/63 episode was taped first, followed by that night's live taping.

[@soulierinvestments]

It was the first episode to be broadcast after the assassination. No mention of the trauma because it had not happened. The first episode broadcast live after the assassination came on 8 December. No mention of the trauma in it either.

[@m.e.d.7997]

@@soulierinvestments Wonder if Dorothy looked affected by it. She certainly went to great lengths to figure out WHY Kennedy got shot.

[@davidsanderson5918]

Margaret Not so much why he was shot but who shot him. She tracked it down to Marcello and came back from New Orleans ready to act upon it. Within days of that she was dead. Of an accidental overdose. Yeah right!!!

[@gailsirois7175]

@@davidsanderson5918 exactly....I believe she WAS murdered in order to silence her

[@tomitstube]

lol, 21:54 "it's a doozer".

[@MrJoeybabe25]

Hebrew National Hotdogs? Miss Goldfarb? Me In Israel? 50 Years Ago? Damn, missed it by this much!

[@loissimmons6558]

+Joe Postove Where's Agent 99 when you need her?

[@juanettebutts9782]

The only hotdogs we eat. I had no idea the brand has been around so long. I will fail to mention I've been around longer. 🙂

[@soulierinvestments]

RE: second contestant. Over the years, sausage was always good for yocks. Only pickles equal it as a funny food.

[@MrJoeybabe25]

In Neil Simon's Sunshine Boys, the aging Vaudevillian Willie Clark explains that K words are inherently funny. As examples, he cites chicken (funny!), pickle (uproarious!), cookie (hilarious AND adorable!), cup cake (stop! you're killing me!), and cucumber. (As a counterpoint, Willie offers roast beef and Maryland as examples of words that are decidedly NOT funny. We'd have to agree. There's just nothing funny about roast beef.) Myself, I'd say that toes, butter, peanuts and corn are all funny.

[@WhatsMyLine]

Joe Postove "Butter." (Just thought I'd give you a good laugh. This is a lot easier than trying to think of something witty to say).

[@MrJoeybabe25]

Butter is gold. Just think of all the vaudevillians whose whole act consisted of just "butter". It's 4am here, Gary. I am too tired to be witty. FaceBook is coming along very well indeed!

[@dougmangum7997]

Joe Postove So you would find "peanut butter" uproarus?

[@dougmangum7997]

Joe Postove What about a "peanut butter banana sandwich"

[@richatlarge462]

Back when an NFL quarterback could get away with being built like that.

[@MrJoeybabe25]

That next Friday JFK was killed.

[@MrJoeybabe25]

John could call the panel gay in 1963. I wonder how much longer that word remained in the public domain?

[@davidsanderson5918]

Joe Postove Interesting question. I'd say no more than two or three years.

[@markthomas6703]

That football player was a very hot guy!

[@erichanson426]

Do you think Arlene was being funny, or really have a black out moment when it came to introducing Tony Randall?

[@sandrageorge3488]

Like you go into a room and forgot why you went in there?

[@soulierinvestments]

For sheer insanity of plot, "The Garden of Allah" has to be the craziest movie Charles Boyer was ever in. It was produced by David Selznick in very early three strip Technicolor, which made filming it on location tedious to the extreme. Try and top this plot -- Marlene Dietrich trundles out into the Sahara Desert wearing satin gowns and high healed shoes to find spiritual enlightenment. In a desert village she falls in love with Boyer, who looks way luscious. That would make sense. Turns out he is a Trappist monk who has broken his vows of silence, poverty, and celibacy. D@#nd if he doesn't have to go back to the monastery to repent. I think it is restored on DVD blue ray. It looks great even when you want to slap the characters.

[@WhatsMyLine]

I may have to seek this one out now. I've never seen it. Sounds delicious.

[@bluecamus5162]

Somehow I think Marlene D as a woman seeking spiritual enlightenment is a bit of a miscast.

[@jvcomedy]

Dorothy corrected Bennett when he said WML was in its 13th year by saying it was in its 15th year. The first show was in 1950 and this show aired in 1963 so Dorothy was way off base by insisting the show as in its 15th year. I believe I heard Arlene correct him by saying 14th year and she was obviously correct.

[@susansackrison3139]

Jeff Vaughn that's funny because Dorothy was on the very first shows.

[@prchristman]

While watching this, I couldn't help but think of the JFK assassination, which I remember. I was then 11. One assassination mention that I remember occurred on NBC's Match Game in 1968. Gene Rayburn mentioned at one show's start that it was being taped just after the Martin Luther King assassination. He said if the mood was a bit more serious, that was the reason. The show aired perhaps a month or so after the assassination. I looked for any mention of the Robert Kennedy assassination a couple of months later but didn't hear one by the end of June, when I departed for the Catskills.

[@loissimmons6558]

+prchristman We are contemporaries. I turned 11 the day before this episode of WML. Where has the time gone?

[@pfflyer3381]

Another job lost to automation!!

[@rah62]

I had to drop out of the FB group - way too many e-mail notifications that I couldn't shut off.

[@WhatsMyLine]

You can shut off the notifications without having to leave the group-- the reason you're getting so many is that there's so much fantastic activity already!

[@stephaniemccoy9602]

Just in case you are wondering, The 'join group' button is replaced by 'notifications' when you join a group. If you already figured that out, i'll just leave this on here so other people can see it.

[@Kat-fw9se]

Didn’t know there was a FB group for WML. Will have to check it out if it’s still going

[@lyletrulin4446]

.

[@MrJoeybabe25]

When John goes into one of his long winded explanations, this time about the hot dog girl, I can hear the folks in Washtub West Virginia saying "There he goes takin' off again Matilda" and "see what else in on".

[@MrJoeybabe25]

If I was playing the game at home with my eyes closed and they said he is a Frenchman, I mean c'mon, c'mon is there anybody else? Other than Charles DE Gaulle how many French guys are there?

[@WhatsMyLine]

Maurice Chevalier. . . Jean Gablon. . . can't think of any others off the top of my head, but I'm sure there were a few other male French performers famous enough to appear on WML. Anyone else, anybody?

[@MrJoeybabe25]

Jean Gablon? Was he the second Darren?

[@MrJoeybabe25]

I almost said I get my ****** confused, but I didn't! :>)

[@jmccracken1963]

What's My Line? The "second Darren" was Dick Sargent. I think that your reference was to Jean Gabin, right?

[@WhatsMyLine]

jmccracken1963 Just a silly joke combining the two names, Dick York/Sargant.with Jean Gablon, because Joe referenced "the second Darren". :)

[@davidsanderson5918]

I can't believe how many people think that Arlene genuinely forgot Tony's surname here. EVEN thinking it could be due to her car accident and the impact on her short term memory! Goodness Gracious Me!! HEAVEN HELP US!!

[@gailsirois7175]

She did suffer a concussion

[@gailsirois7175]

And why would she do this ? Certainly isn't funny

[@buzzsinned1294]

U tie them off? Rigged!

[@MrJoeybabe25]

When Bennett asks if there is any meat in this product (the hot dogs) what we know about hot dogs today would have elicited some laughter.

[@WhatsMyLine]

Technically, cow lips and anuses are still meat.

[@MrJoeybabe25]

Yikes is not sufficient to express my outrage! I am shocked, shocked, that baby beef toes, and cow udders are not in hotdogs! However rat peepees are OK!

[@loissimmons6558]

+Joe Postove But not in Hebrew National. They answer to a higher standard. Where do you think the expression "I couldn't give a rat's ass" came from?

[@avuncular300]

So disappointing when trained actors use squeaks and growls instead of an invented voice. Not much joy here for the viewer.

[@TheCometHunter]

There are some guests whose voice is SO distinctive (Charlton Heston comes immediately to mind) that it cannot be disguised through, as you say," invention".

[@kennethlatham3133]

Well, I'll talk to the producers of the show, feel 'em out. Maybe they can get the MG's to work your ideas into their methods.

[@Steve_1999]

I don't know why people like that Tony guy. He seems very arrogant, I hate celebs that have a huge ego.

[@kentetalman9008]

Many of us LOVE Tony Randall.

[@MrJoeybabe25]

Did men, as a rule like Charles Boyer (no relation to the cook, huh?) that much? If I had been a grownup in 1963, I don't think he would have appealed to me at all. Not that I don't like "women's" films and I do like Cary Grant and Rock Hudson (two of the ladies favorites back then) but I see myself more as a Jimmy Stewart, Gary Cooper, Humphrey Bogart, Walter Matthau sort of guy. Chip in gents?

[@kristabrewer9363]

What are you TALKING about; you tie the end of a hotdog? I've even hundreds of hotdogs in my lifetime, and I've never eaten ONE that had to be tied

[@kennethlatham3133]

If you.......never mind. Go look at a sausage sometime and figure it out. Imagine how they are made and what happens when the wrapper runs out.