What's My Line? - Arlene Dahl (Apr 25, 1954)

MYSTERY GUEST: Arlene Dahl
PANEL: Dorothy Kilgallen, Steve Allen, Arlene Francis, Bennett Cerf
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[@keithhyttinen8275]

Arlene Dahl died today. November 29, 2021. Age 96. Rest in peace, honey.

[@janetmarletto6667]

Sadly, she suffered from dementia for several years. Yes..Rest in Peace,Arlene🏵

[@moonlightray8493]

Steve was absolutely hilarious during the bubble bath segment! He always asks questions that elicit the most absurdly funny mental imagery, haha

[@lauracollins4195]

At 1:35, Bennett introduces John Daly as the late star of the Front Page, so I looked it up on IMDb...turns out he played Walter Burns in 18 episodes of the Front Page TV series in 1949-50! Who knew? :)

[@leannsherman6723]

I love Steve Allen. He was so clever and deadpan.

[@loissimmons6558]

Arlene Dahl was beautiful in her appearance with a figure that could do justice to a dress like that. And the dress reminds me of an old joke, probably dating back to Vaudeville and Burlesque days: An older man is conversing with an attractive, fine-figured young woman wearing a strapless gown. At some point he asks her what holds the dress up. "Your age and my reputation," she replies.

[@ianbentley7276]

ha ha ha

[@robertfiller8634]

@@ianbentley7276 Here's a similar one for you Lois: A guy is amazed at how tight the jeans are that a young lady is wearing and asks her: "Excuse me, but if you don't mind me asking, how do you get into those jeans?" She replies "Well, you can start by buying me a drink."

[@robertfiller8634]

Forgot to mention that the above joke takes place in a bar.

[@ianbentley7276]

@@robertfiller8634 the old ones are the best ;-)

[@EricM_001]

Lois, bless you for reminding us how clever people once were... Painful that at the same, it reveals how clumsy and indiscreet we have since become.

[@theblake5356]

Happy to report that Arlene Dahl is still alive as of this post!

[@robertfiller8634]

One of the most spectacular beauties of her era, and still alive as of March 12, 2021, age of 95!

[@allanshulstad1783]

She just died

[@theblake5356]

@@allanshulstad1783 Yep. Lost another legend. Very sad. RIP.

[@jimchabai3163]

Watching in order in June 2020 and this is the first episode where someone still alive is the mystery guest.

[@andrewthornhill7042]

@Jim Chabai Alas no longer. RIP Arlene Dahl 29 November 2021 at 96 years young.

[@youbetcha6880]

I just watched an episode with Jane Fonda.

[@rmelin13231]

Not from 1954@@youbetcha6880

[@ToddSF]

Arlene Dahl is, of course, a Norwegian-American from Minneapolis, Minnesota, still alive at the age of 91 as of today (25 Oct. 2016). Minneapolis, I note, is found in the _southern_ half of Minnesota.

[@cinibar]

It's so cool to see the great cursive penmanship that they have when signing in, too bad they don't teach that any longer. BIG MISTAKE!!!

[@kathyyoung1774]

Sparks 51 Amen. Serious mistake. Kids can’t read historical documents or write legal signatures. It isn’t an educational advancement to teach LESS.

[@stevekru6518]

Respectfully disagree. There are more important and more useful subjects, like STEM. Reading original historic documents is already a speciality and already computer programs can change longhand into print.

[@LL-bl8hd]

Eh, I wish they had taught me computer programming in the time it took to learn cursive. A whole lot of time for a pretty useless skill (although it's kind of cool to be able to read old handwritten letters that look like a bunch of scribbles to Gen Z kids). Also, despite all that practice, my handwriting has always been terrible!

[@mtnman6557]

If you read the 3 other replies (before mine) you can easily see how computers affect a person's view on cursive writing. Mankind had best be careful. Just watch the Disney movie, Wall-E & you can see where mankind is headed. It's not that far fetched a theme either. We now have cars that will park themselves, robotic vacuum cleaners, etc. *Cursive writing saved time, but was also an art & sadly for many in the computer generation, non computer generated art is not as revered as it once was. *Also, just as in Wall-E, yesterday's medical news: In the not too distant future, 50% of our population is going to become obese due to lack of activity & poor eating habits.

[@dianawardrip5171]

I started school in 1962 and I learned cursive. It’s a dumbing down ( like Steve Allen said), a lost art!

[@jess4metoo]

There’s one thing I didn’t like about earlier episodes, no chit chat with the mystery guest.

[@mehboobkm2018]

That depends on the time left on the clock.

[@waynehowell6160]

I call foul on the bubble bath. It is indeed a soap product, and I don't buy Mr. Daly's explanation concerning the foamy head. Like Mr. Allen, I, too, have a foamy head.

[@Baskerville22]

If she sold beer and the "foamy head" question was asked, Daly would have agreed that "yes" was the answer, even though it does not foam until it is poured into a glass..

[@loissimmons6558]

Regarding Dorothy's question to the last challenger, it doesn't seem to make sense unless you think about patterns on the show's previous episodes. The staff often chose guests whose physical appearance in some way threw a curve ball at the panel: muscular men who sold baby clothes, petite women who did manual labor, fashionably dressed women who drove a truck; that sort of thing. It's difficult to tell in b&w, but my guess is that the challenger was so tan, Dorothy suspected that it was misleading. But sometimes a cigar is just a cigar. Another thing to watch for is when a challenger gives less than the usual information about their hometown. It probably means that there is some clue embedded in the home town that would that might help the panel guess the profession faster. In this case, the last challenger gives his location as Long Island rather than Patchogue for reasons that eventually become obvious.

[@shuboy05]

I remember there was one guest who made kilts and he entered the stage wearing a kilt! None of the panel asked the obvious question for quite a while because I think all of them thought that was too obvious!

[@Baskerville22]

Didn't Rudyard Kipling say, "A beautiful woman is still, just a woman, but a good cigar is a smoke" ? A very wise and courageous man !!

[@dancelli714]

"YOU ARE VERY TAN, DO YOU WORK INDOORS ?" . . . Very funny.

[@peternagy-im4be]

Funny how?

[@rapunzelz5520]

Awww they should have said yes to foamy head and YES it is a soap of some kind ...

[@LL-bl8hd]

I think that was the loudest objection from the audience to John's ruling that I've ever heard! Usually they seem to accept his judgment.

[@juanettebutts9782]

Googled Arlene Dahl on 21 January 2019. Her actual birth year is 1925 (August). She is still alive at 93 years old. Wish we could see her red hair! "Red heads" are firecrackers -- I know because I am one! 😉

[@Etnalleb]

Arlene and Rhonda Fleming made a picture together "Slightly Scarlett" they played sisters and John Payne was the lucky guy to have both of them. They are both in their middle 90's today and they were the 2 most beautiful Red-Heads during their hey-day. I have to put Maureen O'Hara and Jeanne Crain right there with them. I don't count Rita Hayworth because she was NOT a natural red-head but a brunette.

[@marthaterry2696]

Everyone needs how to read & write in cursive. Just because people are determined to doom the practice does not mean a person will never have to write it or read it in a lifetime.

[@isaacq7486]

wow, John seems to be acting so strangely between 23:00 and 24:00! i saw someone else theorize that he's just looking attentively at the clock, but i've never seen him behave this way in all the episodes i've watched. it's almost like he just heard somebody died!

[@suelutz5364]

Very weird.

[@Lava1964]

Who knows? It could be a case where he was being signaled that the mystery guest had not yet arrived and he had to be prepared to substitute for her.

[@sanseifromkofu728]

@@Lava1964 But this was after that segment was over. It does seem, however, that someone is trying to tell him something important but it's getting lost in translation.

[@mehboobkm2018]

May be he had a sudden urge to visit toilet. .

[@mehboobkm3728]

I think that is when John just realized the fact his wallet was stolen by the pick pocket!

[@louisXIVert]

Rest in peace, Arlene.

[@ianbentley7276]

Arlene Dahl still alive aged nearly 93 as of August 2018

[@essile_1938]

Wow! God bless her!

[@ianbentley7276]

don't forget Vera Lynn 103

[@operadog2000]

@@ianbentley7276 Vera Lynn has died on June 18, 2020 at 103. RIP

[@ianbentley7276]

@@operadog2000 i did hear, lol, thanks.

[@su8483]

She turned 95 yesterday - August 11, 2020

[@m.e.d.7997]

Arlene looks beautiful in this.

[@kristabrewer9363]

@Jim Stark like I'm stupid enough to believe that you're actually a female

[@stevekru6518]

Both Arlenes

[@MrJoeybabe25]

As of 6-5-20 Arlene Dahl is STILL ALIVE! She'll be 95 in August.

[@youminholastransit3218]

She passed away last week

[@MrJoeybabe25]

@@youminholastransit3218 Yes. I saw it.😣

[@davidarcudi230]

Small conference. John is terribly glad. Lol. 😇 Dorothy got it

[@ladyyuna2000]

Arlene Carol Dahl (August 11, 1925) (age 94) and one of her son's Lorenzo Fernando Lamas

[@519djw6]

"Jack London" was one of the best contestants they ever had on this show--although, as others have commented, I suspect it was a stage-name.

[@gilliankew]

I thought it might be the author of one of my favorite childhood books, Call of the Wild. I guess that would have been too obvious 🤪🤪

[@519djw6]

@@gilliankew I assume that I'm not telling you anything you don't already know--but it would also have been impossible, since Jack London, the writer, died in 1916!

[@gilliankew]

@@519djw6 Haha! I am so dumb!! Completely forgot about dates in all my excitement 😂😂

[@166PolarBear]

Watch Arlene Dahl in "Journey to the Centre of the Earth", she's well hot for that time

[@jackseward7779]

I am so glad they ended panel reviews in 1956. Next thing you know, Dorothy would have frisked guests, handed their wallets or handbags to Arlene, and disrobed them so Steve could read their clothing labels!

[@gugurupurasudaikirai7620]

Watching these in chronological order for 2021. As I type this not counting the one with Dorothy's kids as bonus mystery guests this is the first one in chronological order where the mystery guest is still alive. Her beauty actually harmed her Hollywood career because it got her typecast even though she was a capable actress

[@werewolftoby]

“You’re very tanned, do you work indoors?”

[@peternagy-im4be]

Extraordinary.

[@thunderball6908]

I love how earnest / serious the panelists and moderator take the proceedings. The modern vibe of everything being snarky and smart ass-y gets really old.

[@Beson-SE]

Steve Allen says goodnight to his three sons, so sweet of him! 24:52

[@LarsRyeJeppesen]

Johan Bengtsson Not the first time either

[@Banks-gd1in]

14:58 Haha Steve put his glasses on over the blindfold

[@adriennegormley9358]

Steve dies this all the time, and uts enough of a thing of his that thev"Easter" masks theyvwore theceo before this, had glasses made part of it.

[@LarsRyeJeppesen]

Look at John watching the clock from 23:19 ...

[@loissimmons6558]

Yes, It was far more obvious than in any previous episode. I wonder if they moved the clock to a new location that made it more difficult for him to do so unobtrusively.

[@peternagy-im4be]

Tight schedule.

[@jacquelinebell6201]

Arlene Dahl is a smart lady. Determined to get it right when they questioned her lol.

[@WhatsMyLine]

Today's KZbin Rerun for 2/4/16: Watch along and join the discussion! ----------------------------- Join our Facebook group for WML-- great discussions, photos, etc, and great people! facebook.com/groups/728471287199862/ Please click here to subscribe to the WML channel if you haven't already-- you'll find the complete CBS series already posted, and you'll be able to follow along the discussions on the weekday "rerun" videos: kzbin.info/door/hPE75Fvvl1HmdAsO7Nzb8w

[@randysills4418]

Arlene Dahl was beautiful! I think she had a son who is an actor and is very good looking, but I can't think of his name...

[@Gwaithmir]

They should dispense with the free guesses because the panel doesn't really take them seriously.

[@simeonbaumel7293]

A ferry boat may not carry cargo, but it DOES carry cars...

[@MrWindermere123]

I'm guessing that Jack London was a stage-name and the 'costume' that he wore was a black tail-coat rather like a magician. He didn't answer that question because he was hurried on his way. This is the only episode in which John Daly seemed to panic - near the end he looks upwards and looks miserable. A moment later he over-accentuates his words as if he has new false teeth. At one point too the camera lurched to the right. It's a fun episode but I think something was going wrong off-stage and Mr Daly had to hold it all together..

[@DonnaGodas]

Bennett is so funny! 😅

[@mrpuniverse2]

Ms Dahl is still alive born in 1928 was married multiple times

[@Beson-SE]

The mother of Lorenzo Lamas in her marriage to Fernando Lamas.

[@perpieta]

Fwiw, these three great redheaded beauties of that era in classic Hollywood were all Leos: Maureen O'Hara b. 8/17/1920 Rhonda Fleming b. 8/10/1923 (who was mentioned as a guess) Arlene Dahl b. 8/11/1925 They were made for Technicolor!

[@stanmaxkolbe]

@@perpieta Leo's who gives a rat's ass. The Stars don't line up today; that crap is a hoax today.

[@hetmanjz]

Bennett and his "wee ones"....

[@Bigbadwhitecracker]

+Jan Zamojski He just loves that wee phrase, doesn't he?

[@dancelli714]

I used to get Rhonda Fleming and Arlene Dahl mixed up years ago.

[@diedonner299]

Arlene Dahl is a living doll!

[@jimrick6632]

THEY JUST DON'T GROW EM LIKE ARLENE DAHL ANYMORE...WOW....

[@drumbum3.142]

Lays Claim to Oneofthe PRETTIEST OnScreen Kisses EVER, with a Mr James Mason.🎨🎨🎨 (Journey to the Center of the Earth)

[@accomplice55]

Arlene Dahl is still alive in 2021.

[@Baskerville22]

Arlene Dahl 6 years before she went To The Centre of the Earth wth James Mason & Pat Boone...both of whom appeared on WsML?

[@franklesser5655]

Arlene Dahl was gorgeous!

[@MrJoeybabe25]

Arlene Dahl is STILL ALIVE! She turned 95 on 8/11/2020 and is still with us as of 10/3/2020!

[@hollyking2580]

Died 11/29/21

[@MrJoeybabe25]

@@hollyking2580 😣😣

[@JJJBRICE]

Rhonda Fleming must have been watching this particular program because she in her appearance the next year on WML mentions Bennett Cerf of her guessing her name and Miss Dahls reaction to that ! Also in both Miss Dahls and Miss Flemings appearances WML they are mentioned as co stars in pictures with John Payne . In 1956 all three actors co starred in SLIGHTLY SCARLET.

[@LarsRyeJeppesen]

Steve: "Do you perform what could be called a 'white collar job'?"... he never asked anyone that before, 110% a gambit question he was given beforehand..

[@deboraholsen2504]

The first contestant looks like Thomas S. Monson when he was a younger man!

[@pattimaeda6097]

Bubble bath IS a soap - should have gotten a “yes”

[@zekezacker9449]

Interesting that the panelists are allowed to addend or add to their questions in order to get a yes answer. The producers can make whatever rules they wish for the game, but it is odd that panelists are allowed to game their questions in such a manner. Considering an answer is worth only $5, it seems strange the show would risk being considered rigged in some way for panelists being able to alter their questions (TV game shows came under scrutiny for being less than straightforward in the 1950s).

[@donnawoodford6641]

Q: Are you defrauding with your voice? A: No. And John allowed Dorothy to continue questioning❓⁉️❓

[@Consrignrant]

Yes, that's the style of the show. It's hardly "rigged". How absurd.

[@hetmanjz]

24:47 This is a .gif waiting to happen.

[@yeahnoonecaresifyouarefirst]

What was that ending?! 😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂❤

[@Retroscoop]

You're very tanned, do you work indoors ??? Dorothy apparantly was quite smitten and didn't make much sense anymore... Oucchhhh :)

[@clearfield2009]

There is still and will forever more - something incredibly sexy about steve Allen. It's ridiculous, the man has moved on - no longer alive - but he gets to me every show. Stop.

[@peternagy-im4be]

Each to their own.....

[@saran3214]

He was a musician, had moves.

[@sanseifromkofu728]

I would guess a lot of people like a funny, humble guy. Usually to marry, though, not to date.

[@allanshulstad1783]

RIP Arlene Dahl

[@petterin1]

Rest in peace!

[@dutchtea8354]

The 10th time a panelist wore glasses over his mask. The 25th time Steve said “good night, boys.” Arlene Dahl is the 4th MG still alive in 2021. (Margaret O’Brien in a lost episode and Dorothy’s children, Jill & Dickie Kollmar)

[@sandrageorge3488]

I thought Dickie passed and Kerry was still alive.

[@dutchtea8354]

@@sandrageorge3488 I am willing to change my post if you can provide evidence. I searched ancestry and findagrave and couldn’t find any.

[@kristabrewer9363]

If he's a pickpocket, of COURSE he uses his feet. Why in the WORLD did John say no to that? What's he gonna do, crawl around from person to person?

[@peternagy-im4be]

He uses his hands in his ignoble profession sir

[@miketheyunggod2534]

He meant while he's doing the act.

[@daltonbelflower7331]

The audiences must've been smaller these earlier seasons. The applause when the mystery guests enter just don't seem very strong as they do later on. Watch the other Arlene Dahl episode and her reception was a whole lot stronger.

[@brittanys1997]

She and Rhonda Fleming were probably mixed up all the time. They even played sisters in a film. I love them both!

[@CoxJoxSox]

Arlene Dahl - what a cutie

[@BellaFirenze]

$50 in 1954 is $531.30 today.

[@erichanson426]

4:15, why are they laughing, perhaps because it is not the kind of service we really want

[@lllowkee6533]

Arlene Dahl beat it out of there.. 😵

[@aileen694]

Rats! I wish they had spent a minute or two chatting with the pickpocket!

[@charlottewood8072]

I like Arlene with darker hair

[@MrJoeybabe25]

If the contestant does not have a product then he performs a service, right? Is there anything else?

[@teddytodorova]

No. It is or service or product. Sometimes both.

[@igkoigko9950]

Nonexistent in the 1950s, and of questionable existence in 2021, is a NFT (nonfungible token) a good or a service, neither or both?

[@MrJoeybabe25]

@@igkoigko9950 I think it would be a good, even though not of physicality.

[@GUITARTIME2024]

Arlene is still alive (2021).

[@leannsherman6723]

Yes, it does have a foamy head on it!

[@clearfield2009]

The captain of the ferry boat said that there was nothing about his physicality that connected to his job and that is BS. Tell me he wasn't hired at least in part because of his rugged good looks. Come on!

[@dietpepsivanilla3095]

Arlene Dahl and Rhonda Fleming were almost interchangeable.

[@ChrisHansonCanada]

PROFESSIONAL PICKPOCKET SELLS BUBBLE BATH FERRY BOAT CAPTAIN

[@donnawoodford6641]

Dorothy has to check out his muscles??? OMG. ☹️

[@tedberwick3186]

Wow

[@leannsherman6723]

Thank goodness they got rid of that ridiculous and undignified parading in front of the panel and then exiting behind John Charles Daly.

[@TheBigMclargehuge]

Doesn't really seem like anyone cares what anybody else is saying.

[@Mmdmade]

Bubble bath isn’t soap?

[@peternagy-im4be]

No it isn't!!

[@charleswinokoor6023]

Can I feel your right muscle? creepy

[@peternagy-im4be]

Not creepy at all

[@rickcharles5064]

Dorothy must have been drinking that night. The first guy she wanted to feel his right arm for muscles when he just said he uses his left hand for everything AND she didn't check his suit for where it was made. Wish he had pick-pocketed someone there. Mrs. Gill scared the crap out of me. Arlene Dahl is still with us! 88 years old (10/2013) Very sweet lady

[@LarsRyeJeppesen]

rick charles Regarding Dorothy: not unlikely :)

[@libertyann439]

She guessed many of the occupations and was pretty except for microgenia. So she wasn't stupid.

[@mathewfullerton8577]

@@libertyann439 Wow, quite defensive about her, aren't you? No one said she was stupid, they were referring to her behavior and the likelihood of her being under the influence based on such. It's not a secret that she had substance abuse issues.

[@armyvet4081]

francis can shut her mouth- she is very rude