What's My Line? - Dave Garroway (Dec 13, 1953)

MYSTERY GUEST: Dave Garroway
PANEL: Dorothy Kilgallen, Steve Allen, Arlene Francis, Bennett Cerf
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[@TyrSkyFatherOfTheGods]

Dave Garroway was hysterical. Very droll and dry is hard to pull off well. He's made for it.

[@gaelengesser9484]

Whoot! My mother watched this episode the night before I was born.

[@savethetpc6406]

+Dixie Alexander Are you just assuming that because of the date, or do you actually have a family story about it? I can just imagine your mother telling you about how she, on the night before your birth, had watched an episode of WML that featured a woman who taught a class for expectant mothers! :)

[@deboraholsen2504]

Yes, and her mother might have wished she'd taken the course from Barbara Wright at that point! Actually, for childbirth preparation, I took a Bradley method course in 1995, and had a natural home birth of my second child in which I actually had no pain! I was so pleasantly shocked! I encourage expectant mothers to look up Bradley method and find an instructor if the service is still available! It was so much better than Lamaze method! ...and just wanted to say that Barbara Wright looks so beautiful that she could likely compete with the loveliest female stars on the show! Plus, she seemed like such a happy, self-assured person! She probably helped many women to have the confidence needed for a successful natural birth. :)

[@icturner23]

You were born on my mother's seventh birthday then.

[@usermikes]

Dave Garroway was very popular back in the 1950's..He had a morning show on NBC..From NYC

[@4seeableTV]

Dave Garroway was killing it.

[@savethetpc6406]

I really enjoyed Dave Garroway's MG segment! He was pretty funny, and he kept the panel bamboozled for quite a while. :-)

[@rogerrobin2774]

I love Dorothy’s laugh, usually heard off camera.

[@soulierinvestments]

In one place, the three stars of NBC / Pat Weaver's great TV creations -- Steve Allen, soon to be host-star of NBC Tonight. Dave Garroway, host of NBC Today. Arlene Francis, soon to be host of NBC Home. Francis was the first woman to host a live network information program.

[@esmeephillips5888]

Pat Weaver, who did more than anyone to elevate early TV, but who had to hand his job over to David Sarmoff's son Robert. He said afterwards: 'I knew I was just warming up the seat for Bobby'.

[@usermikes]

Dave Garroway, I was standing on line in front of the Waldorf Astoria in NYC..Waiting for a cab..And Dave Garroway was standing next to me..1965..

[@4seeableTV]

Did you talk?

[@Paul71H]

I think Arlene Francis would have to be in the running for nicest looking shoulders in television history.

[@peggywenzel9035]

I watch these instead of TV at night. I just love these shows thank u

[@stevekru6518]

Respectfully Peggy, KZbin and WML are tv regardless of whatever device is used. These shows are enjoyable and in a way historic.

[@melianna999]

The evenings when I watch 2-4 episodes I "move" to Sundays 10.30 pm in 1950s to be with people I know very well./panel/😊 I 'll be born in less than three years.

[@rogermunyon6867]

Garroway's "Uncle Fletcher" imitation was pretty darn good! Fun segment.

[@sandrageorge3488]

Finally heard a pretty loud laugh from Steve Allen.

[@jimbeasley1931]

Thank you for posting these shows. I love watching them every night.

[@WhatsMyLine]

Jim Beasley My pleasure, Jim-- glad you enjoy the series!

[@peggywenzel9035]

@@WhatsMyLine Hi Jim I live there slso

[@dancelli714]

"THAT'S GOOD SOUND THINKING !" made me laugh out loud.

[@ladya1953]

Dave's signature is cool!

[@joycejean-baptiste4355]

This is so funny, Arlene was trying to be careful what words she used to talk about pregnancy.

[@esmeephillips5888]

On the Lucy Show, when she had little Ricky on board she was said to be 'expecting' or 'enceinte'. What in nicer times was called a 'blessed event'. Lucy gave birth soon before this WML episode aired.

[@loissimmons6558]

When Arlene was struggling with how to phrase the first challenger's occupation, Dorothy eventually offers the term "pre-natal" and Arlene grabs hold of it. However, I wondered at the time when it was Arlene's turn and she was struggling if she was searching for a synonym for "pregnant" which you couldn't say on the air at that time.

[@afterrockradio1328]

what word is that ?

[@Taylor_Guy]

And interestingly enough, about 9 years later, Arlene would open the movie, "The Thrill of it All" with a sentence using that very word she said she couldn't use during this broadcast. Things changed a lot in that time!

[@LazyIRanch]

@@afterrockradio1328 "expectant" would have been an acceptable term, I think

[@igkoigko9950]

@@LazyIRanch “Expectant” surely would have been acceptable since it was the word used in the written audience reveal. Take a moment to think about the stupidity and government usurpation of power to threaten to punish use of words like “pregnant!” Even if there weren’t a First Amendment, how can a fact of life - actually, THE fact of life - be concealed. I dislike the constant stream of F words in modern dialogue but I dislike censorship more.

[@sdgakatbk]

It was 1953 afterall.

[@stanmaxkolbe]

HOOAH! Another great show. Thank you again for posting theses shows.

[@jamesjoyce9207]

I'm always waiting for a Mystery Guest to imitate Bennett, and at first I thought Dave Garroway was doing just that..the other panelists are having a real laugh with it

[@44032]

Since Bennett thought he might have been a member of the panel at some time, I wonder if he thought it might have been Hal Block or Louis Untermeyer. I realize both are unlikely. due to the circumstances of their departure from the show but what Garroway is doing could be an imitation of Untermeyer.

[@loissimmons6558]

It seems to me that Bennett and Dave look enough alike to be brothers. Dave is ~15 years younger.

[@lauracollins4195]

OK I’ll admit it. The more episodes I watch, the more I’m a little in love with Steve Allen.

[@leesher1845]

Steve Allen was hilarious!

[@bluecamus5162]

Were I your sex, I would be too. Being that I'm not, I'll mention that I've fallen for Dorothy.

[@gregingram4996]

Laura Collins: I, as well!

[@jacquelinebell6201]

Me too.

[@dinahbrown902]

😊

[@aaronsakulich4889]

I want to make John's laugh at 14:38 into a ringtone

[@robertmelson2130]

18:56 Bennett to Dave Garroway: "Am I going too far in guessing that you're a male?" Shouldn't the correct response to that question be, "No." "And that's one down and nine to go. Miss Kilgallen?"

[@WhatsMyLine]

I think you spotted another rare example of an outright moderating error by John. Good catch!

[@robertmelson2130]

+What's My Line? John Daly was enjoying himself entirely too much being with Dave Garroway. (And I enjoyed watching them!). As most of John's mistakes seem to occur under such circumstances, it's hard to fault him. I don't know that the observation is justified, as we've so little of Eamonn Andrews' moderating technique from which to judge, but it keeps recurring to me that Eamonn would have jumped on Bennett's construction.

[@MrWindermere123]

Bennett Cerf said in an interview that panellists were not given the answers (the occupations) in advance but that they were given 'gambits', meaning questions that would get a laugh from the audience. When Steve Allen put the question 'Would I be an unusual choice?' to the nurse who advises expectant mothers, that was surely a gambit designed to be funny. He does deadpan very well, so his puzzled look added to the comedy. In fact he's the only panellist who pauses to consider the audience's reaction - that's a comedian's instinct, I think, and funny to watch because we know what he doesn't know.

[@gingerhaydon4693]

Dave Garroway was so great in this segment, and on his morning show....

[@waynehowell6160]

I love Mrs. Wright's hat with the pheasant feathers.

[@loissimmons6558]

Steve Allen in a side comment was correct about the hat, although that was not her primary occupation at the time. She did also design various objects using feathers and other things found in the wild, often with an Indian design.

[@yeahnoonecaresifyouarefirst]

OMG I LOVE THAT SONG!

[@MarthaReynolds]

How great was Dave Garroway here?!!

[@Paul71H]

I love Dorothy's response of "shocking" at 13:28 (start at 13:07 for the entire exchange).

[@Beson-SE]

The first contestant (Teaches Course For Expectant Mothers) was from Plymouth, Michigan. It is very droll that Dorothy guessed the right answer, being an expectant mother herself at this time...

[@ludenasan1]

+Johan Bengtsson She was very attractive and appeared to enjoyed her work.

[@andysiegel6131]

Steve Allen only panelist I have seen in action

[@davidsherman7739]

This is funny...the first contestant works with expectant mothers. This episode aired exactly one week to the day before I was born.

[@savethetpc6406]

KZbin won't let me tag +Michael De Sapio directly or +1 his comment, but I agree that expectant mothers would, at the very least, be "comparatively" young! I wonder why both the contestant and John seemed so sure that "no" was the right answer to that question. (question at about 5:22 in the video)

[@loissimmons6558]

+SaveThe TPC I wondered that as well. And my general understanding is that with the state of medical science such as it was at that time, relative to expectant mothers and maternity and fertility and the well-being of the expectant mother, that older women were often discouraged from becoming pregnant, taking into consideration of course the general health of the woman, the financial well-being of her family and the number of children previously brought into this world. (That was my attempt at creating an off the cuff John Daly type answer!) That having been said, it was purported by +Johan Bengtsson that Miss Kilgallen was pregnant at the time of this episode and she was 40 years old at the time. Considering the average life expectancy for a white female in 1953 was less than 70 years of age, I think the no answer would stand.

[@valdezapg]

Dave Garroway was fun!

[@melianna999]

Dave Garroway 1913 - 1982 TV personality

[@lindaszatkowski321]

I was born on December 8th right before this show aired

[@WhatsMyLine]

Today's KZbin Rerun for 12/30/15: 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

[@joycejean-baptiste6285]

That's interesting fathers joined the expectant mothers at many classes. There were some at the classes I went too.

[@dancelli714]

The fur trapper was playing hard to get, and it seems Daly was doing all the talking. Alene and Dorothy are very attractive here. But when I was younger I was attractive too. I just don't like these shows, I LOVE these shows. I have about 30 or 40 of these and I don't tire of them. Each show has 3 to 4 guests so that variety of guests keep the show fresh. I also feel like I know this people personally . I got to hear that Steve Allen laugh here a little bit too. Garroway was a big jazz fan. I would think him and Steve would enjoy talking about music when they would get together ?!!

[@stevekru6518]

Arlene always, Dorothy never, looks attractive. I’m shocked that some viewers find Dorothy attractive in that no one resembling her can be found in roles typically associated with beauty. I think Dorothy looks especially bad in this episode

[@dinahbrown902]

@@stevekru6518 I always found Dorothy to be strange looking with that large forehead. Everyone sees people with different eyes,perceptions and some comments about humans appearances sure proves that

[@kennethbutler1343]

Bennet: "Am I going too far to thinking you're a male?" - that's a "NO"...he is a male so that's not going too far...

[@joycejean-baptiste4355]

Mrs Wright does a service they sometimes call a Doula, interesting.

[@leesher1845]

What was all the hesitation with the questions from Dorothy about the fur??

[@kingalexander2704]

A more innocent time.

[@richardstephens7636]

Shotgunning beers right now

[@kali3665]

Dave Garroway is doing John Daly's shtick! 😂😂

[@enriquesanchez2001]

$20.00 was a NICE PRIZE in 1953!

[@roostero]

You'd never know it, but Dave Garroway suffered from depression most of his life.

[@preppysocks209]

Regrettably, he committed suicide in 1982.

[@byte01010101me]

Quite often at the end of the show 1 or 2 panelists says "Goodnight boys". Does anyone know what that is about?

[@CdnGeoff]

I imagine that Steve Allen had two sons that he was talking to; Arlene probably meant her husband (Martin Gabel) and their son.

[@sitarnut]

Well, I don't know, but it probably was not Mark Goodson and Bill Toddman.. Ha ha.

[@Sylvander1911]

@@CdnGeoff In fact, at that time Steve had three sons. He had a fourth after he married Jayne Meaows, which would be a year later

[@captainjay1034]

Arlene is being rather sassy on this show

[@williamdunphy352]

Lee Vines is the announcer.

[@rangerboy7877]

dorothy just make the guess already

[@woodshipp]

Bon mots

[@mdesapio]

Huh? Why did John give a "no" to Steve's question "Are they comparatively young women"? If they're expectant mothers, then they are comparatively young, no?

[@accomplice55]

Women in their 40s can have children.

[@sandrageorge3488]

40 is young to me at my age 🙂

[@accomplice55]

@@sandrageorge3488: Well, me too, actually! :)

[@dinahbrown902]

Have to be

[@dinahbrown902]

@@accomplice55 Just can you can doesn’t mean you should

[@SG-ug9xj]

why are so many of these in one speaker only ?

[@jmoss491]

Just looked up Dave Garroway. Sad. He committed suicide when he was 69.

[@sandrageorge3488]

😢

[@LarsRyeJeppesen]

Goood morning Steve 18:32

[@lettylettyg673]

I love What's My Line and I love the panelists, especially. This particular episode was wonderful with Dave Garroway but I was "creeped out" watching Hermina Wurtz.

[@Pinklady529]

What's so creepy about Hermina Wurtz? She was my grandmother, God bless her soul. And boy was she a character, nothing phased her.

[@lauracollins4195]

Christine Cousin - I guess the commenter just doesn’t like fur trapping. Your grandmother is lovely and gracious, how fun for your family to have this recording of her appearance from so many years ago! I like her charming smile, looks like she would be fun to know. :)

[@listeningeyes3298]

@@Pinklady529, Miss Christine, I saw nor heard ANYTHING “creepy” about your grandmother. I am sure that the judgmental commenter would have been “creeped out” by my ancestors, The First Nations, The Original Peoples(a.k.a. Native American Indians) for their hunting, trapping and skinning and tanning hides😊.

[@ChrisHansonCanada]

TEACHES COURSE FOR EXPECTANT MOTHERS FUR TRAPPER

[@dutchtea8354]

At 10:05, Steve asks, “Is it smaller than a breadbox?” This was the 28th use of the term. Steve said “good night, boys” for the 12th time; Arlene for the 6th. Dorothy saved the day again. She had figured out the mystery guest, but kept the questions coming because John had announced the amount of time left.

[@kitcat9447]

Do you know what the story is behind the "Goodnight, boys"?

[@dutchtea8354]

@@kitcat9447 I think Steve was saying good night to his sons. Arlene then copied him.

[@dinahbrown902]

?

[@hopelewis5650]

20:11 bennett gets a NO

[@MZUNGUWILLY]

Why she was not shaking hands with the women in the jury?

[@geniusmchaggis]

mrs wurtz...fantastic hairdo!

[@merryx-mart9943]

And she doesn't deal in "liver wurtz" ...I love Arlene's wit 😂😂😂 there's a compilation of Arlene's best ; she puns as well as Bennet

[@geniusmchaggis]

@@merryx-mart9943 brilliant as bennet was i suspect that arlene had a higher IQ.

[@robertholman8730]

A feather in her hat😊

[@44032]

Has Mrs. Wurtz's hairdoo ever been alive?

[@joncheskin]

The problem with the questioning of fur trapper was that the product is not edible. The fact that John Daly allowed that made the questioning very confusing.

[@Sylvander1911]

The fur itself wasn't but the animal that was being trapped was edible

[@juanettebutts9782]

With the questions and John's long, twisty "clarifications," I got confused, myself -- and I knew her line! Hahaha!!

[@torgeirmolaug196]

Why didn't Arlene and Dorothy shake hands with the first contestant?

[@robertholman8730]

They weren't required to shake a female quest hand.

[@Fush1234]

She has a piece of bush trapped in her hair.

[@ChrisHansonCanada]

"Bawbwa White" is how Bennett would have pronounced the name of the first contestant. Dorothy's hair looked as though it would have made a "crispy" sound if a person touched it. The second contestant could have poked out an eyeball with that ridiculous hat.

[@bluecamus5162]

Poor Hermina Wurtz looked completely befuddled and humorless about being on a stage.

[@jessicaphillips4542]

The audio is bad?

[@Giessen-cr6gn]

Poor man committed suicide

[@sammakulit8030]

Some of the panel has British accent or close ....was that normal in early 1950s ?

[@mycornerph8430]

N

[@miraclay]

That second lady takes too long to answer the questions.

[@bettycogswell9851]

Shame on that fur trapper...

[@meredithdayton2222]

I agree, Betty. Disgusting.

[@sandrageorge3488]

People still trap to this day 😢😢😢

[@merryx-mart9943]

@@meredithdayton2222 you would know more about women's fashion than i ...was it disgusting in the 1950s-60s ? But I agree with you though , whether it's trapping wild animals or farming animals like foxes , minks etc for their fur Btw i love Arlene's interjection of " liver wurtz " re the product.

[@petemarshall8094]

I know a lot of fur trappers up here in Canada. Some of the indigenous ones have been trapping for 10 generations or more. I always support them by wearing as much fur as possible. I also eat meat - beef, pork and chicken. That’s what animals are for - to provide us with food and clothing.

[@peternagy-im4be]

Shame on you. Today is a generation of humourless whinging and complaining. About everything.

[@leesher1845]

That nasty fur trapper looks ridiculous in that hat. 😜

[@petemarshall8094]

She’s beautiful! Looks very stately, and very appropriate for an honest and noble profession.

[@peternagy-im4be]

Don't be silly Lee.

[@dinahbrown902]

Killer

[@robertholman8730]

The hat was considered fashionable at the time!😊

[@anneroy4560]

Two people on this episode killed themselves ...

[@Lava1964]

Dave Garroway was one. Who's the other?

[@gregoryh.3690]

Dorothy Kilgallen

[@nancysanders2398]

Anne Roy Ms.Kilgallen's death was " undetermined" per the pathologist's autopsy results.Two books,recently published by Mr.Mark Shaw,describes,researches this to a great extent.

[@dougtagg9162]

Anne Roy No suicide, not murdered, undetermined.

[@nadurkee46]

Pretty sure she did not commit suicide. Pretty sure she was murdered.