What's My Line? - Polly Bergen; Tom Poston [panel] (Aug 31, 1958)

MYSTERY GUEST: Polly Bergen [singer/actress and panel member of "To Tell the Truth"]
PANEL: Arlene Francis, Tom Poston, Dorothy Kilgallen, Bennett Cerf

[@georgemartin1436]

Dorothy really nailed the Scotland Yard S/D down fast! She was a great detective.

[@michaeldanello3966]

I can't remember how many times that Arlene Francis has blurted out the exactly correct prefession at the same time that Daly ended the round. It had to be dozens or more. And always accompanied by her delightful laughter!

[@donnacook8994]

Polly Bergen was so funny! Adorable! What a wonderful sense of humor, and just beautiful! 💕💕💕👏👏👏

[@leesher1845]

Fabulous reaction by the audience to Polly Bergen!

[@community1949]

The Polly Bergen part: Hilarious - now I understand why my parents were screaming their heads off with laughter at these shows. "Do you sometimes weigh over 250 lbs". I remember mom and daddy laughing and laughing. Good memories.

[@leesher1845]

Polly Bergen was a hoot. Great job! She seemed like a nice person and was certainly smart and funny. ❤️

[@michellecalling]

I wish they had color TV on the market, so that I can see Arlene's and Dorothy's dresses better. I kinda wish those dresses were around today.

[@bettycogswell9851]

Me too...

[@neilmidkiff]

Color TV had already begun, but most programming was still in black and white, and most homes still had only b/w sets. That was true for our family too until the middle '60s, so I remember seeing lots of NBC peacock logos in grayscale on the special programs that were broadcast in color. Thus I can't give specific memories of what kinds of shows went to color first. But I do know that color required more expensive equipment, more light (and thus heat) on the set, more technical staff, more expense all around, so it wasn't till the last season of the CBS run of WML in 1966/67 that it was broadcast in color. And even then it was archived on b/w kinescope film just as it always had been, since color videotape would have been many times as expensive to make and not really usable: color video gear was found only in TV studios, mostly for temporary time shifting and pre-recording. It wasn't affordable for homes or even for the Goodson-Todman office. Kinescopes could be viewed with a regular 16mm film projector. So even if this season had been broadcast in color as the final season was, it wouldn't have been saved in color for us to see.

[@bogieviews]

@@neilmidkiff I know for sure that Bonanza was in color in 1963. I used to ride my Honda to my friend's house on Sunday to watch it because they had a color tv.

[@patriceodom2553]

Me also!

[@jamesfox2579]

The second guest had beauuuutiful penmanship!💕

[@drumbum3.142]

One of my FAVOURITE Mystery Guest Voices ☺️😊😊☺️☺️☺️☺️🎨😍☺️😊☺️

[@rr7firefly]

Polly Bergen was extraordinarily beautiful -- and charming.

[@kristabrewer9363]

I don't hate her, but she extremely ANNOYING!

[@alansorensen5903]

@@kristabrewer9363 Again? Not (IMO).

[@robertfiller8634]

@@alansorensen5903 Krista Brewer - your comment is annoying. Polly Bergen was such a beauty - I had a crush on her when I was just a kid in the mid to late 1950s

[@ToddSF]

Polly Bergen (as she cleverly suggested) was one of the original panelists (1956-61) on the original version of the Goodson-Todman game show "To Tell the Truth" (which ran 1956-68). Tom Poston would soon become a panelist on that show (1959-67) and work with Polly Bergen. So they worked together on TTTT for a couple of seasons before Miss Bergen left -- she was replaced by Peggy Cass on the panel. I remember seeing Miss Bergen in magazine ads in the latter 1960's, promoting a line of beauty products and cosmetics that bore her name as a brand.

[@savethetpc1547]

I didn't realize that timeline and had assumed that Polly and Tom were already working together on TTTT at the time of this broadcast. When Tom thought he knew who she was, I suspected that he probably did, because he may have known her well enough to recognize her disguised voice. Boy, was I wrong! ;-D

[@alansorensen5903]

@@savethetpc1547 me too.

[@leesher1845]

I loved the cursive of the contestants when they signed in and I’m so sorry that they have eliminated cursive in so many schools.

[@leesher1845]

That Arlene was smart; she figured out marriage counselor.

[@nancypine9952]

Greta Andersen, the second contestant who was the Danish long-distance swimmer, is, at this point in June 2018, still alive.

[@dariawells7438]

Updating this to say she is STILL alive!!! She's 94.

[@beadyeyedbrat]

She passed away February 6, 2023.

[@jimbeasley1931]

This show aired the day I turned 5 years old. These shows bring back so many good memories. Thanks for posting them.

[@lucindasommer720]

I had just turned 6 in April.

[@griffcampbell5695]

This was also my fifth birthday.

[@savethetpc1547]

Happy Birthday, +Jim Beasley! :-)

[@savethetpc1547]

An unusual episode in that the panel ultimately guessed all three of the regular contestants, yet John flipped all the cards for each one of them anyway! I agree with his logic, especially since they had all come considerable distances to be on the show, and the specifics of each of the first two contestants were hard to come up with, even though the panel did guess the basics of their lines; and Arlene came up with the correct answer right after John had flipped the cards on account of time for the last contestant.

[@miketheyunggod2534]

This is the first of three times Polly has been the mystery guest. Watch all three one after another to see how she aged. Pretty cool to see.

[@VahanNisanian]

Polly Bergen is so cute here!

[@kristabrewer9363]

Polly Bergen is generally very ANNOYING!!

[@donnawoodford6641]

Her answer "To Tell the Truth..." gave her identity away. Not actually a smart thing to do, in my opinion.

[@jackkomisar458]

@@donnawoodford6641 She might have wanted to be identified. Bennett Cerf, in an interview for a Columbia University oral history project, said, "The funny thing with mystery guests on “What's My Line?" was that they didn't want us not to guess them. It was a loss of face. After fooling us for a couple of minutes, they began to get frantic and practically tell us who they were." It seems to me, after watching many of these episodes, that some of the mystery guests really did want to stump the panel and others wanted to be identified."

[@ChrisHansonCanada]

@@kristabrewer9363 For such a fanatical Christian, you certainly are judgmental.

[@michaelnivens6267]

Polly Is delightful and a fine actress

[@philipellis3227]

It’s so refreshing to see intelligent , polite, charming people for a change!

[@GOLDVIOLINbowofdeath]

And misogynistic too

[@GOLDVIOLINbowofdeath]

Cerf was so charming he charmed people out of $42 million, some peoples life savings with his “famous writer’s school” scam.

[@thesweeples3266]

@@GOLDVIOLINbowofdeath do you feel better about yourself now?

[@GOLDVIOLINbowofdeath]

@@thesweeples3266 your ignorance is boundless

[@donnacook8994]

@@GOLDVIOLINbowofdeath and Sweeples: How about let's exhibit some of the comradarie the panel exudes.

[@loissimmons6558]

All of the non-celebrity challengers came from quite a distance. It was still a few months before the first Boeing 707 passenger jet service would be introduced, however. United Airlines had to provide its travel services with prop planes.

[@alansorensen5903]

Train travel was a big adventure then, with gourmet dining and smoking dome cars, lounges and "new" friends from all over the country. And tunnels of love, such as in Hitch's NBNW closing scene.

[@SuperWinterborn]

I think Dorothy Kilgallen would have done a splendid job at Scotland Yard, namely as a Detective. That should have been HER Line!

[@WhatsMyLine]

Well, she was a reporter after all!

[@savethetpc6406]

What's My Line? and SuperWinterborn And from what I've read, I think she started out her career as an investigative reporter tracking violent crimes.

[@WhatsMyLine]

SaveThe TPC That's right, she did, and continued to cover some big headline murder trials throughout her career.

[@WhatsMyLine]

jslasher1 Thank you so much for that insightful addition to the comments here. Which you +1'd yourself.

[@jayterry9750]

What's My Line? Some People just don't understand WML...To ME, I remember the 50's as a time of "Highballs" ( movies = cigarettes and drinks ), Dead Red Nail Polish, Fashion, "Stereotypes" in Fat People, Woman, Manners....Culture, History... and we called it, "Good, Clean Fun"....WML ......It's really just stupid to put "Today's Crap" on such a valuable part of these United States.........THIS IS WHAT IT WAS........Respect the changes we go through, ADMIRE rather than INSULT.....LEARN

[@randysills4418]

I loved Polly Bergen here! When I was a young sprig about a hundred years ago, I didn't like Ms. Bergen because she was the new wife of James Garner in a Doris Day movie...and I felt sorry for Doris... Polly seemed a lot of fun and I felt so sad when she died...

[@LarsRyeJeppesen]

Cool to see a fellow dane from Copenhagen :)

[@janeiwasduncan8463]

But she became a United States citizen and swam for our team but did her great feat as a Dane!

[@drumbum3.142]

​@@janeiwasduncan8463 Seems that this Beautiful Olympic Calibre Long Distance Swimmer 🏊‍♀️🏊‍♀️🏊‍♀️ passed away earlier this year at age of ninety five years young.. .😥😥😥😥😔😔🙁☹️☹️🏊‍♀️🏊‍♀️🏊‍♀️🏊‍♀️🏊‍♀️🏊‍♀️💐🎨💐🕊

[@jrm8899]

Polly.....so cute and charming. Always loved her!

[@billgrey]

Very good actress, as well. Good performance in the Winds of War Series in the 80's with Robert Mitchum

[@jackkomisar458]

Until recently, I hadn't realized how hard John worked to avoid causing embarrassment to the contestants. In this episode, at 10:00, Arlene asks Mrs. Sonnichsen if her work is artistic. Mrs. Sonnichsen says, "yes", which is the wrong answer. John then goes through his "we have very broad terms of reference" speech and tells Mrs. Sonnichsen that he has to have a "no" to flip over a card. So John overrules the contestant and she ends up laughing.

[@lllowkee6533]

Daly was a media genus. Wish he was could could see the ‘internet’ !!!! WWW

[@orangesherbert775]

Young Tom Poston was adorable!

[@kentetalman9008]

I remember an even younger (and funnier) Tom Poston, on the old Steve Allen show.

[@dannydoc1969]

Polly Bergen would often play the "dumb" card on TTTT, but she in fact was extremely smart, and it was a calculated act on her part. She was beautiful, intelligent and very funny.

[@kristabrewer9363]

To say that she PLAYED Dumb implies that the host and the panel KNEW how long-winded she was. There have been MANY times when Bud would hurry her along! I didn't hate her, but she was a very useless character on that show

[@robertfiller8634]

@@kristabrewer9363 Your comments are very useless.

[@sgsmozart]

When I would watch TTTT , I could never decide if she were a real dunderhead or a actual comedian ...

[@moonlightray8493]

Polly was downright infuriating to watch on TTTT... Her questions weren't "dumb" per se, just completely incoherent. It felt like she was just wasting time with her rambling, and it was especially frustrating when the contestants had a genuinely interesting story that I would've liked to hear them being interviewed about!

[@hopicard]

O yes, I can imagine Bennett Cerf as a judge in a beauty contest :)

[@savethetpc6406]

hopicard Like a kid in a candy store! :)

[@elisabethlinz4256]

@@savethetpc6406 Haha, exactly!

[@GOLDVIOLINbowofdeath]

They don’t allow groping anymore

[@keithnaylor1981]

Thrilling to see Polly Bergen again! She brightened up TO TELL THE TRUTH for a long time with her beauty and wit!

[@vintagetvandexciting]

who would have thought both polly bergen and tom poston reunited on "to tell the truth" later on (bergen as this episode aired was already a regular)

[@shirleyrombough8173]

Interesting that Dorothy said she'd rather have the position of the head of Scotland Yard than any other. And that drive was her undoing- her quest to learn the assassin of John Kennedy. I wish that she had been less so.

[@shirleyrombough8173]

Oh so do I. She might have lived a long and happy life. I hate to watch the episodes after her death. In fact I check. If the episode does not include Dorothy I just don't watch it.

[@epaddon]

Polly's five years on the To Tell The Truth panel was the golden age of that show's run in the Collyer period. I loved her feistiness and her backward sense of logic when explaining her vote and the show I think lost something when she left in late 61 to pursue film roles on the west coast. In regard to this mystery guest appearance, Polly would never forget being guessed as Jackie Gleason and kept referring to it in the postgame of all of her subsequent MG appearances on the show.

[@savethetpc6406]

Polly Bergen's mystery guest appearance here was certainly a lot of fun! I just love it when the panel is totally flummoxed (as John Daly might say) and goes off on the wrong track! "To Tell the Truth" is another panel show that I remember fondly from my childhood, though Polly Bergen as a panelist was apparently before my time. I'm sure I'll be seeking out episodes of that show here on KZbin eventually, but for now I'm being pretty systematic about watching these WML episodes in order, and I can't afford to develop a second KZbin addiction! ;)

[@xoStarstruck]

What a coincidence! I've just watched Greta Anderson on "To Tell the Truth". I then felt like watching an episode of WML and ended up here, where Greta is the guest again.

[@Retroscoop]

Just like it is interesting to hear about how the name Scotland Yard originates, I invite all of you visitors to google how the word "cockpit" was invented, that too is a very interesting one, leading you back to London....

[@neilmidkiff]

I missed this before: at 13:34 Bennett asks, "which do you prefer, the English Channel or Channel 2?" The CBS flagship station in NYC, WCBS-TV, broadcast on VHF channel 2. So his question would have made sense to local viewers but not necessarily everywhere. I grew up in Kansas City, where the local CBS affiliate broadcast on channel 5 from the mid-50s until the early 1980s as KCMO-TV.

[@allenjones3130]

Polly's falsetto was hilarious!

[@zarabada6125]

Ah. So this is the source of the apocryphal story about Scotland Yard's name. I've seen comments on a TTTT episode refer to the same story. The name Scotland Yard for the police headquarters comes from the original site being next to Great Scotland Yard. Great Scotland Yard, in turn, got its name for nearby buildings being the chosen residence of the Scottish court when they visited London before the union of the two crowns.

[@jackkomisar458]

According to the "History of the Metropolitan Police", which I was able to access on the Wayback Machine, "The exact origin of the name [Scotland Yard] is not clear and the following two stories have both gained credence at various times: 1. It is said the location had been the site of a residence owned by the Kings of Scotland before the Union and used and occupied by them and/or their ambassadors when in London, and known as 'Scotland'. The courtyard was later used by Sir Christopher Wren and known as 'Scotland Yard'. 2. Number 4 Whitehall Place backed onto a court called Great Scotland Yard, one of three streets incorporating the words 'Scotland Yard' in its name. The street names are said to have derived from the land being owned by a man called Scott during the Middle Ages."

[@juanettebutts9782]

Mrs. Sonnichsen had gorgeous handwriting! It was a downright shame cursive writing wasn't taught for a few years, reinstated only this past September 2019.

[@stevekru6518]

Admittedly it’s not mutually exclusive but wouldn’t you agree math, reading, history, and just about EVERY academic subject is more important than handwriting, especially when keyboarding has replaced almost all writing?

[@RoosterPisces2U]

No. Handwriting is just as valuable as other subjects. I worked for a middle school where computer, science, and aerospace were the primary focus. Although EVERYthing was done on computer the CEO insisted that cursive writing be taught as it is artistic and uses the creative side of the brain, thus establishing balance in skills. Also without cursive writing a student will never be able to read the Constitution or original works by literary masters.

[@Lighthammer18]

​@@RoosterPisces2Uor a doctor's note

[@jyutzler]

"Kansas?" "No, Scotland"

[@xoStarstruck]

That made me chuckle!

[@horatiohornblower5626]

How did Dorothy zero in on scotland yard immediately?

[@lllowkee6533]

Good question. It happened a lot!

[@ChrisHansonCanada]

*_Detective Superintendent at Scotland Yard_* *_Professional Distance Swimmer_* *_Marriage Counselor_*

[@galileocan]

Dorothy's comment before the gender of the Mystery Guest was even known about the feminine screams being misleading is extremely suspect. It's almost like she knew the Mystery Guest was a female making the feminine screams out of place. She then tried to backtrack those comments because it made her seem like she already was aware of who the Mystery Guest was. Very odd....

[@wholeNwon]

If Polly Bergen hadn't smoked, she might still be with us.

[@juanettebutts9782]

Smoking was thought of as elegant, sophisticated and fashionable back then. It was permitted almost everywhere: restaurants, movie cinemas, airplanes, even hospitals. Ashtrays were in every room of the home. The interiors of cars reeked from ashtrays and old smoke. I am exceedingly happy those days are over!

[@timothydouglas7949]

She was 84 when she died. I hope to live that long.

[@oldhippie81]

@@timothydouglas7949 I'm 78. I hope i live that long:-)

[@tugginalong]

The questions they could ask back then would get you crucified today.

[@kasperjoonatan6014]

l thought Poston was spelled wrong; must be Boston 🙂

[@creative-community-cafe]

As a marriage counsellor,you BNEVER teach ANYTHING, but are there as a support for the client

[@paulawerchowsky926]

Why does John flip over all the cards, when the panel won?

[@beadyeyedbrat]

Greta Andersen lived until February 2023 and died at the age of 95 in Solvang, California.

[@GeeBee909]

Daily was not pleased when Poston said "not you John, the mystery guest" (look at his eyes and he becomes a bit flustered)

[@feraudyh]

The moment I saw that Danish woman, I thought "Long Distance Swimmer"

[@troydante]

It isn’t often that John Charles Daly makes a vocabulary mistake ...

[@preppysocks209]

if you are referring to "me" rather than "I," it is a mistake of grammar rather than vocabulary

[@shirleyrombough8173]

preppy socks - Actually "to me" is correct. The preposition always takes the objective case.

[@neilmidkiff]

@@shirleyrombough8173 Are we talking about the same thing? I assumed that Troy meant 16:55, where John said "if it was me .. or if it was I." So there's no preposition involved, no reason to put "to" inside the quotation marks. "I" is correct, as the subject case is used after a linking verb such as any form of "be"--formally called the predicate nominative. I'm surprised that John didn't also correct himself on the grammatical mood and put this contrary-to-fact statement in the subjunctive: "if it were I" similar to "if I were you."

[@leesher1845]

They shouldn’t have told the panel that he was from Scotland.

[@rapunzelz5520]

They should not have said he was from scotland

[@shirleyrombough8173]

What was Polly Bergen known for?

[@michaelnivens6267]

Cape Fear, Days Of Wine and Roses , Move Over Darling and other movies

[@beadyeyedbrat]

How rude to ask about the weight

[@andrewmorrice9139]

Didn't do the stupid accent at the Scottish guy this time.

[@randylovering24]

Never

[@armyvet4081]

francis can not keep her mouth shut

[@GOLDVIOLINbowofdeath]

This was quite the misogynistic, duo

[@thesweeples3266]

Virtue signal some more please.

[@mjji21]

the panel is drunk

[@shirleyrombough8173]

mjj i - Or maybe they are just having a good time.

[@peternagy-im4be]

On success

[@mov1ngforward]

Was Tom Poston an idiot or what? What does he get by making fun of the handshake with the swimmer? Then he insulted Polly Bergen. Was he inebriated?

[@peternagy-im4be]

Please don't be so silly.