What's My Line? - Anne Bancroft; Allen Ludden [panel] (Jul 1, 1962)

MYSTERY GUEST: Anne Bancroft
PANEL: Dorothy Kilgallen, Allen Ludden, Arlene Francis, Bennett Cerf

[@dannydoc1969]

One of America's greatest actresses, charming, graceful, well spoken and just all around class. Mel was a lucky man.

[@NoPastNoFate]

Anne is so extraordinary. Even her micro gestures and subtle expressions are captivating.

[@57highland]

And she's especially pretty with that short hair style. On second look, I see that it's not a short style. She has her hair put back and up.

[@rmelin13231]

My word, she has such an engaging on-screen presence in this show!

[@willdrucker4291]

Notice how Ms. Bancroft was using sign language while she was being questioned by the panel....so awesome!

[@JanetM-ro6xc]

What a powerful couple Anne Bancroft and Mel Brookes made! Such talent and intelligence from each one! She had an Italian ancestry. Mel Brookes must have kept her laughing.

[@Kelly-sk2yb]

I miss anne bancroft , she's a true inspiration ❤️

[@donpkra]

She was an extraordinary actress - gifted and insightful and brought to the screen and stage some of the most memorable and important female characters in our generation. She was also a lovely woman in real life

[@mckavitt]

Donald Kramer I SECOND that!

[@emmabradford1740]

Her husband thought so

[@waynej2608]

Wholeheartedly agree! Anne was tops! 😍

[@maureenreagan9544]

And you know this (she was a lovely woman) how?

[@poetcomic1]

She was such a classy refined lady that Mel Brooks her lifetime husband was in awe of her. He relaxed when he knew her NY working class roots, her real name (Anna Italiano) and her passion for someone who could make her laugh.

[@CitizenOfTheWorld2025]

Whenever Anne appeared onscreen one had the feeling that they were witnessing not only her physical beauty but also the beauty of her soul.

[@maureenreagan9544]

🙄

[@planetaiden133]

Last week, I celebrated my 60th birthday. I have fond memories of Ann Bancroft’s movies, she truly was a great actress. It’s easy to watch her movies multiple times!

[@liwmld]

i so admired Anne Bancroft in the film, The Miracle Worker. both her and Patty Duke. as a matter of fact, i relived the well scene just now as i was watching Ms. Bancroft, and sobbed my eyes out. it's amazing what Annie Sullivan did for Helen Keller. i am going to look up the movie right now and see if i can find it on-line so i can watch again soon.

[@kenyongray2615]

Anne Bancroft seemed to be a very down to earth woman in addition to being very talented. Thanks for the video.

[@jadeshannon5583]

Anne Bancroft is one of the best characters to ever come out of Hollywood!

[@salvatorepedi9027]

I went to Christopher Columbus High School in the Bronx, the same time she attended. I would see her walking down the school hallway and my heart would skip!..I never had the courage to speak to her. She was in many of the school plays which I of course attended. Her name was "Anne Italiano" and of course I had a crush on her for the longest time!..She died much too young!....

[@WhatsMyLine]

I can certainly understand being too intimidated to approach such a classic beauty, even when she was a teenager! :)

[@ck_banana_noob7145]

Salvatore Pedi how old are you?

[@اسفعلىالاساءةنبهنيلأمسح]

@@ck_banana_noob7145 old as hell for sure

[@ck_banana_noob7145]

iraqi beast I am 15

[@Sylvander1911]

@@ck_banana_noob7145 If he went to school with Anne he would be somewhere in his 80s

[@MCO18]

Anne Bancroft was a remarkable person both onscreen and off. One of my favorite actresses.

[@jvcomedy]

One of Anne Bancroft's most memorable roles was that of Mrs. Robinson in "The Graduate". Dustin Hoffman played the "young" college grad having an affair with an older lady that is friends with his parents. In real life she was only 6 years older than Hoffman. When the movie was released Hoffman was 30 and Bancroft 36. Fantastic performances by both

[@jadeshannon5583]

Jeff Vaughn;Yes it was a great movie

[@delg1211]

Really? Hm, I need to check that one out 🤣

[@flaggerify]

Anyone watching this would know Mrs Robinson.

[@patrickryan1515]

That was an eye-opening picture in its day.

[@nassauguy48]

Interestingly, I don't think she was nominated for an Oscar for that role.

[@TBBMusicBlog]

I've always had an Anne Bancroft crush ever since first watching her on screen.

[@SuperWinterborn]

TBBMusicBlog Anne Bancroft and Ava Gardner. Two outstanding Ladies.

[@SuperWinterborn]

gordie eccles You need guts to take the role of an unpopular figure in a play. There is always the risk of being identified with the role, and not judged by your ability in acting. There has been a lot of actors/actresses who has become loved by the public because of several popular role-figures they have done, but they were not always beloved or nice in private matters. Anne Bancroft was a splendid actress in "the Graduate". :)

[@SuperWinterborn]

gordie eccles :D

[@jmccracken1963]

The next time you watch DON'T BOTHER TO KNOCK (and you should watch that film at least once; it's very good!), which was Anne Bancroft's movie debut in 1952, keep in mind that she was only TWENTY years old when she played lounge singer Lyn Lesley. But she certainly looked and acted a lot older and more experienced - and quite well, too.

[@aglasser100]

Amen.

[@VahanNisanian]

Anne Bancroft was beautiful and talented. When she died in 2005, it was one of the saddest days of her husband Mel Brooks. He was heartbroken over her passing (Undoubtedly still is, too). Bottom line: Anne Bancroft left this world way too soon.

[@VahanNisanian]

Aritosthenes Now you know. One thing I didn't know about her until now is that she was Italian-American. She was born to Italian immigrants as Anna Maria Louisa Italiano.

[@mckavitt]

Vahan Nisanian One of the saddest days for America. And the world, perhaps?

[@louismazzei5862]

I loved it when I heard part of an interview with her... she was asked “Why did you marry a guy like Mel Brooks.” She answered with “He makes me laugh!”

[@kentetalman9008]

@@louismazzei5862 Who would ask such a stupid question?

[@louismazzei5862]

@@kentetalman9008 I have no idea… it was an old interview someone did with her and I only heard that snippet. It seemed like a ridiculous question to me, but I liked her answer.

[@bgcs6275]

I adored this woman! She was completely amazing in Garbo Talks. Her monologue at the end was so beautiful.

[@catsarereallycool]

Anne Bancroft, what a great actress and very beautiful woman.

[@nunosoares2329]

RIP Anne Bancroft. One of the greatest actresses. Overdue condolences to the family for your loss. 😔💐

[@markwest3485]

What a group of class act people. That sophistication and intellectuality is so missed and lacking in todays world. Sadly would never be appreciated by an Apprentice era audience.

[@opale1572]

That's right !

[@photo161]

... I'm afraid I have to disagree. There will always be people who appreciate such lovely people.

[@davidsanderson5918]

That was some kiss Cerf and Bancroft exchanged! LOVED her in one of the greatest movies ever made, The Graduate. She brings an immaculate grace to The Elephant Man too.

[@opale1572]

Right you are ! Hardly anyone speaks about The elephant man, I don't know why.

[@vintagesubliminals3398]

What a wonderful voice she had!

[@jimdrake-writer]

That was her “screen voice.” Her actual speaking voice was about an octave lower, and when she wasn’t in front of a camera her voice was peppered with “Brooklynese.” In this compilation, you can hear her actual speaking voice: kzbin.info/www/bejne/joXYm4qbZpxoitU

[@LANCSKID]

Who? Mrs. Goggins?

[@eugeneendres5846]

What a genius Anne was. I loved all of her performances. And she's so sweet and humble here. So different from today's celebrities. Today, many of them are so full of them selves. And they can't even compare to the talent that existed back then. I was just a kid then. So, this is just my opinion. And I loved seeing Anne do sign language. I'm guessing she must have learned it for her role in the Miracle Worker. And I thought it was really adorable when Anne asked what the word Onerous meant. It showed that she didn't know everything despite who she was, and that she was humble enough to ask. Priceless. I really enjoyed seeing Anne here on What's my line. And I can see why Mel Brooks fell in love with Anne Bancroft. I would have too.

[@oliviafontaine8470]

Yes indeed! The pumpkin eater is an extraordinary picture.

[@Walterwhiterocks]

I would have to vote for The Graduate as my favorite Anne Bancroft film,

[@roberthockett270]

@@oliviafontaine8470 My first exposure to her, when they showed that on UK television. I wept and wept, and never stopped adoring her after that.

[@savethetpc6406]

I was impressed that Anne Bancroft was not ashamed to admit that she did not know what onerous meant.

[@poetcomic1]

SaveThe TPC She was not very educated her real name is Anna Italiano and she is from a lower class Italian family. her elegance was natural.

[@sdkelmaruecan2907]

@@poetcomic1 I think the Italian background is irrelevant here, Bancroft could have been her real name regardless of the degree of her education, I know you meant well given your comment about her elegance but the post makes it sound that just became her real name is what it is, then it explains her lack of vocabulary.

[@poetcomic1]

@@sdkelmaruecan2907 Shanty Irish, Back of the Yard Polish, my own low class Jewish back ground. NO apologies whatsoever for people being who they are and certainly no insult intended.

[@theogoldberg8919]

Anne was no snobby that's why!

[@theogoldberg8919]

@@poetcomic1 well she is an actress not a scholar, who says onerous or riveting or esoterical in a movie?!!!!

[@donaldwarren463]

Anne was so kind and Humble, almost have tears, we need this kind of person and Talent Today !

[@Gioveolympus]

This show is pure class.

[@LANCSKID]

Pure corn, actually.

[@nassauguy48]

@@LANCSKID I disagree. It was devoid of the loudness, raunchy humor, and overly casual wardrobes of today's quiz and talent show celebrities.

[@LANCSKID]

@@nassauguy48 OK, then …sweet corn, and more than a little contrived at times. Those WML names defined in full: Cerf - (i) An overbearing and rather pompous person who makes creepy remarks to females. (ii) A Pisstaker (iii) A Smartarse. Daly - (i) An extremely verbose fellow. (ii) Mildly creepy, especially around beautiful young women (iii) A corn merchant.

[@catherinemelnyk]

Anne Bancroft was such a class act. I loved her in everything from The Miracle Worker to 84 Charing Cross Road. And she was married to the comedy genius Mel Brooks!

[@Wolfsky9]

Classic Italian beauty------timeless, classic, & gorgeous! ----------------------Wolfsky9, 71 y/o

[@photo161]

One of America's all-time greatest actresses who left us bereft and all too soon.

[@fringelilyfringelily391]

The kitchen Scene in The Miracle Worker was one of the most powerful ever put on film. It leaves you exhausted. Also, Anne Bancroft's performance in the very depressing, but highly dramatic, The Pumpkin Eater is equally impressive.

[@stevehinnenkamp5625]

What joy to see her after a remarkable, no doubt strenuous performance of Miracle Worker. She is miraculous!

[@SnowWalker1]

Every time I see Anne Bancroft I always remember that heartbreaking and tragic movie 'Night Mother'.

[@gatewayski1]

Anne Bancroft gave the best Oscar-winning performance ever given by an Actress in a Leading Role even ahead of Meryl Streep's magnificent performance in "Sophie's Choice".

[@davidsanderson5918]

The clarity of image on the panellists faces around the 14 to 16 minute mark is extraordinary.

[@FungusMossGnosis]

That's because this was originally shot in 35mm, which is the highest definition format other than 65mm, although of course they were originally broadcast in sub-HD format then; some of the prints are better preserved in digital copies than others.

[@claudec2588]

The Miracle Work is an EXTRAORDINARY film. Five Stars.

[@donnacook8994]

I agree wholeheartedly!!!

[@charlesoliva8174]

A natural beauty and what a talent!

[@maryann7941]

She's so beautiful!!!

[@اسفعلىالاساءةنبهنيلأمسح]

Was 😪

[@KingBrimley]

Thanks for posting. Awesome viewing for an '80's kid like me. Love it!

[@dajdools8834]

She was, and always will be, a beautiful woman and a class act...

[@cfconant]

one of the greatest actresses of all time! and so beautiful!

[@miker252]

I was eleven when I first saw the beautiful, classy Anne Bancroft on this show. I'll always remember her, in Point of No Return (1993,) delivering the line, "I never did mind about the little things."

[@BlankCanvas88]

I don't like many of the movies from the 60's, but Miracle Worker was an exception. Both she and Patty Duke knocked it out of the park!

[@call2872]

An underrated actress. Theatre-trained like Geraldine Page, she packs a punch on the screen. Star quality truly.

[@emanuelmota7217]

She's one of the few actresses who had won an Emmy, an Oscar and a Tony. I would not call that "underrated".

[@mckavitt]

What a signature! I can hardly look at her, she is so beautiful. How I miss her. Life is so unfair.

[@WhatsMyLine]

My all time favorite actress. And her marriage to Mel Brooks always seemed like a match made in heaven, as bizarre as it might have initially struck people on the surface.

[@mckavitt]

What's My Line? She was my favourite very time I saw her! What a beautiful creature, inside & out, she was. 🌹

[@Greg07623]

She was radiant.

[@jjane454]

i've been binge-watching this show over a period of weeks and thoroughly enjoy sampling the general kindness and esprit de corp of the panel members. what a very different time it was. it has to be said, though, that John Daly's hostility, at times, is unprofessional and dismaying. it's remarkable how the usual panel members can keep a smile going.

[@chuckendweiss4849]

Anne is one of the greatest actress A great talent who married another talent Mel brooks

[@waynej2608]

They were both great in, To Be Or Not to Be. A more than credible remake of the Carole Lombard/Jack Benny classic

[@andytaylor5476]

I loved Anne Bancroft! She died too soon. She and Patty Duke originated their parts in The Miracle Worker on Broadway and starred in the great film version, both actreses won Oscars for their performance.

[@j.louisv.123]

Miss Bancroft reminded me so much of Callas in this appearance.

[@bethe192]

meh....

[@beancate]

Ahaha same

[@annakaminski4406]

So good to watch this wonderful show.

[@Marcel_Audubon]

Anne Bancroft was on again less than a year later (April '63) the night before she won her Academy Award.

[@donnazukowski]

I can see why Mel Brooks chased Anne Bancroft. God rest her soul. A great actress and a wonderful human being. So humble and real. Not like today’s celebrities who get so full of themselves. Love she signed as ASL would be part of our school curriculum. It’s unbelievable we cannot communicate and still shun millions of deaf citizens and those who suffer from vocal loss.

[@johnfulton4061]

Another wonderful performanceshe gave was in The Pumpkin Eater a British art house film for which she received a nomination Julie Andrew's who won that year for Mary Poppins because she was not cast in My Fair Lady stated years later in one of her autobiographies that she felt that Anne really deserved it

[@BillO-od3bg]

Anne Bancroft starred on Broadway in Two for the Seesaw as well as The Miracle Worker. Her acting was stunning as well as her beauty. On screen ditto. Her emotional range is studied still in acting classes.

[@emanuelmota7217]

Anne Bancroft was absolutely beautiful. Classy woman.

[@royaljesters4010]

She was so so beautiful.❣️

[@LittleChig]

How beautiful is Anne Bancroft! What a wonderful smile she has.

[@rogercarrico4975]

Love Anne Bancroft. If you want to see two amazing actors. At the very top of their game. Watch " prisoner of 2nd avenue" Jack Lemon and Anne Bancroft are spectacular in it!!!!

[@opale1572]

And very funny film !

[@enriquesanchez2001]

ADORE and own that film! ♥♥♥♥

[@itsgleneaton4883]

Mel Brooks would come by the yogurt shop I use to work at and he was the nicest customer I had ever served. He would bring his wife Anne and Carl Reiner with his wife. One time I told her I just watched Don’t Bother To Knock with Marilyn Monroe and Ann Bancroft and the only problem was I didn’t know who to look at,her or Marilyn. She just smiled.

[@rocky3993]

The Miracle Worker is a great movie with great entertainment, great acting, and a great message. The important message is that someone with problems, expressing themselves not only as a disability but as severe emotional problems, can be helped with patience and understanding. Unfortunately, most families lack the resources and wisdom to overcome the handicaps, and society's help is very limited.

[@mikeberg5003]

OMG I was wondering why she was signing. I haven't seen that movie in decades!

[@Farawaysoclose]

How wonderful to see Ms ANNE BANCROFT -Great actor-wish we have a time machine-the 60s-70s-thank-you- greetings from England 2021

[@jawoody9745]

Anne Bancroft was so beautiful!

[@llyngibson4160]

Anne Bancroft is beautiful & so expressive.

[@Gwaithmir]

During the late 1970's and early 1980's I worked in Feeding Hills, Mass. Every morning, on the way to work, I would drive past the Anne Sullivan Memorial Park and the birthplace of Anne Sullivan a short distance down the street.

[@MrSadsack56]

one of the best actresses ..

[@Fontsman]

Anne Bancroft. Stunning Actress.

[@robinchanteusedylan8326]

RIP to two beautiful, wonderful actresses, Anne Bancroft & Patty Duke.

[@stumack9755]

Both dead n their 60's too young.

[@mckavitt13]

😢😢😢

[@andytaylor5476]

@@stumack9755 Patty was 69 and Anne was 73 when they passed.

[@davidarcudi230]

Ok. The two most beautiful talented and brilliant women who ever lived on one stage! Dorothy and Anne!

[@lesliejohnson4196]

Loved Anne Bancroft

[@anthonysosio]

She was BEAUTIFUL inside and out

[@williamrabon8839]

If you ever get the chance, I guarantee you will enjoy Anne Bancroft’s dramatic performance in ‘The Pumpkin Eater’.

[@saran3214]

When Mel Brooks first met Anne Bancroft he was immediately smitten. But he did not want to appear too eager and scare her off. She was leaving and he bribed her maid to tell him where she was going. He then showed up at the nightclub she was at and acted all surprised and happy to run into her.

[@dancelli714]

I like that Bancroft, Daly and the panel talk a bit with her instead of the celebrity most of the time jumping up and leaving with out a 30 second interview.

[@Walterwhiterocks]

I agree, and trying to fit in another contestant, with which they're always short of time anyway.

[@ejames6431]

Anne was so stunning.

[@BranUGalen]

Mel Brooks and Anne are an example of what a relationship could be.

[@interstategar]

I loved Anne Bancroft. I love her face. She was great in the movie The Miracle Worker. So was Patty Duke.

[@liamh9814]

Seriously, Anne Bancroft was incredibly beautiful. My goodness.

[@MOGGS1942]

How beautiful you are, Mrs. Robinson.

[@ecclecticcongeries1739]

Anne Bancroft is so lovely! ⚘

[@spokeshole]

She had the most BEAUTIFUL Face! ♥️

[@enriquesanchez2001]

Broadcast FIVE days after our family escaped from CUBA and arrived in Miami! ♥

[@toAdmiller]

The phrase "Her smile lights up a room" could have been created for AB

[@johngiovine8792]

Anne was a amazing and beautiful woman!

[@hughmacfarlane9662]

For me, one lovely lady . Miss Anne Bancroft .

[@ChrisHansonCanada]

*_CRAB FISHERMAN_* *_DOES HUMAN BOMB ACT, BLOWING SELF UP WITH DYNAMITE_* Allen Ludden wore a wedding ring, but wasn't married. His first wife died in 1961. He married Betty White in June 1963.

[@junaid1]

It's funny that in the early 1960's so many people did not associate Crabs with eating or with Baltimore or even as being a well known shellfish. They seemed to hit every shellfish in the book before they got to it.

[@leonardbennett9903]

Today, whenever a sports event with a national audience such as the Preakness or an Orioles or Ravens game is broadcast, the commentators invariably make it a point to let the viewers know how much they enjoyed the crabcakes they had for dinner the night before.

[@yourroyalhighness7662]

What an elegant beauty!

[@LANCSKID]

Who? Mrs. Goggins?

[@donlove3741]

Oh Mel you lucky dog ! Saw Anne Bancroft in the theater Miracle Worker and was in love with her. A boy of 6 and Mel you stole her.

[@jrm8899]

What a gorgeous, sweet woman!

[@bme7491]

Johnny Olsen....can't forget that voice ever.

[@LANCSKID]

Yes, ridiculous and extremely irritating.

[@woodstocknun]

Anne is one classy lady.

[@opale1572]

What a beautiful and charming lady!

[@LANCSKID]

Who? Mrs. Goggins?

[@buddmannable]

Annie......so beautiful, so elegant, so classy

[@hirampopcock6626]

Mel Brooks landed a prize, they were the happiest Hollywood couple that ever lived.

[@JD_13]

Bennett's first couple of questions were absolutely on the money!

[@LANCSKID]

Yes, he remembered what he had been told to say on this rigged show.

[@JD_13]

@@LANCSKID why have you left so many comments hating on a show that aired over 60 years ago, get a life, lol 😂

[@LANCSKID]

@@JD_13 Because I fail to understand all of the unwarranted adulation and sycophancy that is attached to this ‘show’ and the phoniness of the panel made up of self-regarding ‘sophisticated people.’ The show is blatantly rigged for the most part and the contestants are subjected to insufferable patronising. What you describe as ‘hating’, I regard as criticism with a satirical edge. When the show aired is of little or no relevance.

[@JD_13]

@@LANCSKID when it aired IS relevant. It was so long ago, that your displeasure will have no effect whatsoever on this programme or the people involved, or their place in history. You just want to tell people you hate the show, even people who were here leaving a light hearted comment two years ago. That is really sad. The only thing that will come of this is people today see you have misplaced anger issues, and spend way to much energy commenting to people who only take these old videos on a whimsical light entertainment face value. Its not that serious!

[@LANCSKID]

@@JD_13 You seem intent on overlooking the fact that it is effectively being broadcast again and that as a result it generates a peculiar nostalgia wallow complete with irrelevant comments … “I was only two years old when this first aired,” “This episode date coincided with my parent’s wedding anniversary…” etc. Worse still, the vast majority of comments unleash a veritable tsunami of adulation for the (so-called) ‘mystery guest’. My issue is not so much one of hatred for the show (although I do think it is insufferably corny and weighed down with its artifice) but the fact that many people fail to see through its vacuity and phoniness but instead, actually enjoy it. I am not a lone voice with ‘misplaced anger issues’, but I am a serious student of post WW2 American and European ‘culture’, undertaking research possibly for a book in due course. What’s My Line? My line is straight - none of us are the jobs we do, and when such considerations become our measure, they are also that which contain us.

[@dancelli714]

"Throw that bomb out go here !!!" I laughed out loud. Daly implied that joke was a bomb. Funny.

[@snerffy]

when she's asked to spell What's My Line at 22:56, i'm reading the letters she signs as Y W A T E S - M Y - L Y N E she gets a pass for being sweet

[@janamartin1011]

Great expectation the movie

[@chaplainmattsanders4884]

Steve P good catch.

[@Aannan]

The recent miniseries Feud (about Bette Davis and Joan Crawford) contains a scene where Joan visits Anne Bancroft backstage while she's doing The Miracle Worker. The young actress they chose for the role is a dead ringer for Bancroft and portrays the natural sweetness that we see in her here (so different from the world weary Mrs Robinson!).

[@edcampion3998]

Anne Bancroft absolute knockout

[@zoebettina]

What a stunning beauty.!!!

[@rohanchowdhury128]

I love her so much ❤... I just fell in love with her when I watched the graduate

[@Walterwhiterocks]

Coo Coo Ca Choo

[@GUITARTIME2024]

look at Anne...oh wow