What's My Line? - William Bendix (Apr 11, 1954)

MYSTERY GUEST: William Bendix
PANEL: Dorothy Kilgallen, Steve Allen, Arlene Francis, Bennett Cerf
------------------------------
Join our Facebook group for WML-- great discussions, photos, etc, and great people! / 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: / @whatsmyline

[@lauracornett3271]

Denver Kathary is my Grandfather and I still have that Masonic ring. He most definitely was a man to look up to. He was (and always be) my Hero

[@lauracollins4195]

Laura Cornett - How fun for your family to see your Grandfather on this show! :)

[@dougtagg9162]

Laura Cornett Thank you for sharing.

[@leesher1845]

❤️

[@Fush1234]

What Rank was he. Do you remember or were you ever told

[@dougkathary]

He was my uncle..my dads brother

[@adamodeo9320]

Dorothy Kilgallen - what a bright mind!

[@robertholman8730]

Dorothy was a investigative reporter 😊

[@soulierinvestments]

Arlene's program to which Steve Allen referred in the introduction, a program that turned out was a morning broadcast, was NBC "Home." It premiered 1 March 1954; Arlene was editor in chief and first woman to host a network information talks show program.

[@leesher1845]

So glad they changed the format so that all of the contestants and not just the celebrities shook hands with the panelists when they left instead of having the “average everyday” contestants walk out behind John Daly.

[@gracyloupicard]

Well, actually the "average" contestant walked down and shook the panel's hands first thing at this point, so no need to do it again after the guessing. When they removed the "walk before the panel" before questioning, they had them shake hands afterward upon exiting. But they never excluded the contestants from getting to shake the panel's hands.

[@pianoplayrpiano99]

There is a wonderful C. W. Parker carousel museum in Leavenworth which has a working old, restored carousel which you may ride. The museum volunteers provide a wonderful tour. Well worth the visit!

[@jimhilliker2450]

A year before I was born. I wish that William Bendix could have said a few words, instead of the quick walk off stage.

[@topper2142]

To live back in these days..Thank you for uploading these gems for us to enjoy.

[@stanmaxkolbe]

Yes being Black in the North. In the South not so much.

[@TheBraveIntrovert]

Arlene was close with her first guess with the first guest.

[@juliansinger]

Mr. Kathary worked for the Chattanooga Glass Company in Mt. Vernon for 43 years, and was a lifelong Methodist. Also a Scottish and York Rite Mason. (The nuances of this escape me, but I think it means he was Quite Dedicated and appreciated them A Lot.) He was married to a woman named Lutie, and had 4 kids (3 daughters). He died in 1979, at age 70, "of a long illness," which was generally cancer at that point.

[@leesher1845]

Thank you for sharing

[@dougkathary]

he was my dads (Paul) brother.

[@oldisbest470]

Delores Lee, the baseball pitcher, is still alive!

[@crabbyoldman8209]

Thanks! I looked her up on Wiki; great story.

[@robbob1234]

Pickles!

[@bluecamus5162]

Her Wiki entry says she passed in 2014. After the Rockford Peaches, she became the first female cop in the state of New Jersey. An interesting life indeed.

[@Cambell777]

The straight line of YES from the last guest is insane!

[@zekezacker9449]

For the last contestant, John saying something to the effect, 'There was an interesting answer, " was a hint to panelists and viewers that one of the free guesses was close. On an earlier show, Arlene had specifically indicated 'John mentioned interesting answer (or similar wording)', at the beginning of her questioning of a contestant - Arlene then tried to explore which of the free guesses was close.

[@sdgakatbk]

This episode shows how big baseball was back then. The mention of the Yankees trading for Enos Slaughter. Guessing the last guest was a softball player and then getting it quickly that she was a baseball pitcher.

[@Beson-SE]

During the announcer's presentation in the beginning, Dorothy always looks to the right. I guess that the panelists or the audience in the studio couldn't hear what he said, only the TV-Viewers. I suppose Dorothy waited for a cue from someone when she should start talking.

[@philippapay4352]

@Johan Bengtsson - To the immediate right of the first panelist on our viewer's left on the panel were cables, cameras, camera operators, director, and announcer. It is why Dorothy, Arlene, and others who sat in that seat often watched down toward their feet as guests walked offstage in that direction. It was a nest of equipment and behind the scenes people putting the show on the air. The audience was also beyond all that to their right. since the acoustics were so dreadful in the places they initially used as studios, which were nothing even resembling a studio, it may be that they could not hear well at the start either from the announcer's mic and awaited a director's cue of some sort. It seemed to me she looked toward the audience in acknowledgement of their applause as the show was introduced to them.

[@ddcasterline]

Wow! Bennett Cerf NAILED IT with the baseball pitcher all by himself. They don't come any smarter or classier.

[@Merrida100]

He was smart alright. But as far as classy? Not even close. He was so uncouth and rude. Even for the date, he was just way too overt. I'd have expected him to be more cultured given his background.

[@danielfronc4304]

Merrida100 Being so "upper class" he was so insecure that he felt the need that everyone know just how upper class he was. Smartest man (self made) I ever knew felt no such need. In fact, he acted the country bumpkin so he always had that unknown advantage over others. He dropped out of high school, and felt the need on his deathbed to tell me that he couldn't read. He died a multi-millionaire.

[@berwyn58]

She was a Rockford Peach!!! Played 3 years in the AAGPBL!!

[@phightphan]

Dolores Lee (the lady baseball pitcher) also consulted on, and appeared in, the Tom Hanks picture: A League of Their Own. After baseball, she became the first female Jersey City cop, and also the first in the state.

[@crabbyoldman8209]

@@danielfronc4304 I've watched every episode so far, and I have never seen any of what you describe. In fact, he goes out of his way to be polite, courteous, and complimentary to everyone, from the guests, to the other panelists.

[@leesher1845]

Steve Allen was hilarious!

[@accomplice55]

As a mom, I disagree with lots of the baby bottle answers, especially those from John. It's far easier to breastfeed a baby than to mix up formula, put it in a bottle, and heat it!

[@gilliankew]

Yes. We know that now, but back then bottle feeding was the norm and the “modern” thing to do, and I guess anything else would seem troublesome.

[@Fush1234]

What an odd response

[@aileen694]

@@gilliankew I was relieved to be able to so easily breast feed my baby! Besides the urgent nutrition of mothers' milk, i couldn't imagine all the hassle and expense of that bottle-prep-business!

[@donnacook8994]

@@gilliankew Breastfeeding in public was not really acceptable at the time of this show. Times are different now in 2023. Back then, it was much more of a private affair.

[@VideoNOLA]

Nobody acknowledged Bennett Cerf's joke when he free-guessed "Apokathary"!

[@ibnalhaytham]

Quite possibly Bennet's all-time best pun on WML.

[@philippapay4352]

I suspect John was wrong to change the answer to Steve Allen's question. I think baby bottles were in more use at this time than at the turn of the century, not only because there were way many more people. The other factor would have been that in the 1950s it was becoming considered so much higher class to not breastfeed one's babies. Like not cooking and putting TV dinners in the oven, bottles were promoted in subtle ways as so much classier a way to get nourishment into one's baby. It did not involve bared breasts and an infant sucking on them and milk coming out of them all the while they were going up and down in size, depending upon whether the baby had just been fed or was ready to be fed. The breast is not a sterile organ and it was thought to be so much less lower class and more exalted somehow to be able to keep oneself covered after the birth and get the baby fed with glass and rubber contraptions that could be sterilized and kept in the cupboard or the refrigerator when not in use. Neat and tidy with nothing to suggest sexuality, animality.

[@stanmaxkolbe]

HOOAH!

[@belindaalbright8798]

Philippa Pay......It wasn't actually the turn of the century but a new decade. Bottles became popular and were promoted as a convenience, which was very misguided. Breastfeeding was brought back in the 60's and 70's. Too bad some people equate breastfeeding to sex as breasts were intended for providing nutrition to babies, just as is true of all mammals.

[@philippapay4352]

@@belindaalbright8798 I think I worded it as I meant it, as I was around then and there were babies younger than I in my household who were bottle fed because after WWII, particularly in the 1950s breast-feeding was considered a bit declasse. Thus with many more people on the planet there would have been more bottles in use than at the turn of the century until the sexual revolution of the 1960s that reinstated somewhat the health importance of breast-feeding. In the decades that followed people also noted the lower cost. When we entered the 20thc. there were fewer people and less who could afford formula, bottles, etc., plus were used to nursing babies.

[@belindaalbright8798]

@@philippapay4352 turn of the century would be either the 1800, 1900, 2000, etc. Century is 100 years. A decade is 10 years.

[@philippapay4352]

@@belindaalbright8798 Yes dear, thank you. And I was referring to circa 1900 when my great grandmother had babies and the attitudes at that time as compared with the 1950s when my mother filled our household with bambinos.

[@belindaalbright8798]

Quite funny that Bennett was surprised a woman would play baseball. When I was a kid we played baseball so when it came time to play softball in school I learned quickly that baseball was a lot more fun.

[@mtnman6557]

IMO, nowadays, college softball games are more fun to watch than MLB games. I grew up a big MLB fan, but as it is w/ the other sports, money has ruined the professional games. As an extension of that, money has also ruined college basketball & football, w/ agents waving dollar bills under the students' noses. If a college athlete gets a 4 year scholarship, they should stay & complete their degree work. That'd be better for the college game & in the long run, be better for all those that left early to play professional ball (that's often a short career & afterward, they'll then need to secure a decent paying job & a college degree should help w/ that).

[@Beson-SE]

-Does it had to be plugged in? -Yes. [A baby bottle] 15:03

[@loissimmons6558]

+Johan Bengtsson In the primitive days of 1954, baby bottle warmers were not common, if they were used at all. Mothers warmed the baby bottles (filled either with formula or with milk the mother had expressed and stored) in hot water by putting them in a pot on the stove after taking the bottle out of the refrigerator. A common scene for the mother of a bottle-fed baby was to put a drop of the milk on her forearm, making sure it would be at a salubrious temperature for her baby. In a related note, a question was asked of this challenger as to whether this was a product used more now than 50 years ago (i.e. at the beginning of the 20th century) and the challenger originally answered yes. At first, I thought it was the correct answer, even though the answer was eventually changed to no, because there was a trend moving away from breast feeding to formula for babies. But then I remembered that mothers often have excess milk they need to store (and also to ease their own discomfort). So even nursing mothers would have a need for baby bottles.

[@418-Error]

Lois Simmons Baby bottles are "plugged in" to the baby's mouth. :-)

[@crabbyoldman8209]

@@loissimmons6558 Wow you brought back memories I forgot about - ie watching my mother prepare a bottle for my younger siblings. Thanks for the great explanation.

[@rowbygoren1830]

I think Mr. Daily spent two hours in the makeup chair each week - preparing his complicated comb-over.

[@WhatsMyLine]

Today's KZbin Rerun for 2/2/16: 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

[@bbrice78]

arlene at 15:08

[@Fush1234]

My grandparents had a washer and dryer ..brand name Bendix.. Any relation I wonder

[@rickcharles5064]

Dorothy didn't ask to see inside Mr. Parker's suit! Odd

[@loissimmons6558]

Actually by this time, she did so less and less. And when she did with the second challenger, it produced a funny moment: no label!

[@loveplane737]

yeah

[@karendudley3606]

It's so sad that those who murdered Dorothy Kilgallen weren't brought to justice in this life! God definitely will take care of it!

[@gbrumburgh]

No proof. She died of an overdose.

[@user-ne8lh2vr2t]

exactly,she slurred her speech and missed many nights on WML in the years leading up to her death, I don't understand why people can't read between the lines on that one.@@gbrumburgh

[@belkYT]

No ones gonna point out that this was made in the most boring day in history?

[@unbid8723]

That’s what I was thinking

[@loveplane737]

or my father on 3 years old landing an DC-3

[@youngpacalypsewitdaheat]

On a very boring day

[@dougkathary]

He was my uncle.

[@leesher1845]

I think Bennett Cerf mispronounced apothecary; I think he reversed the letters by mistake.

[@katieg2161]

I think he was punning the contestant’s name Parker

[@wmhfanatic]

Interesting, April 11, 1954 is statistically the most boring date of the 20th Century

[@bandbvending1]

What did john do when the baseball player got up. He might have put the chair up; but his hands was to quick for that. Could he have done....

[@jackkomisar458]

It looks as though he moved her chair forward so that she could walk behind it. It would have had to be a light chair for him to move it so easily and quickly, but the timing is right.

[@stainless0521]

too many audio blanks

[@frederickfischer5379]

This is the reason why it wasn't the most boring day on Earth.

[@gangsterflippy6801]

NOT SO BORING?

[@jonnyminogue]

From the most boring day in history April 11, 1954

[@aaronsakulich4889]

William Bendix was a comedian??????? I only know him from the old gangster/mystery movies!

[@MOGGS1942]

Me too. He was also in Westerns,"Streets of Laredo" with William Holden,being one worth looking up. He was Alan Ladd's sidekick in "The Blue Dahlia".also a bartender opposite James Cagney in "The time of your life". He was a firm favourite of mine.

[@YOGI-yl4ff]

He had his own show called The Life Of Riley. I thought it was funny. Marjorie Reynolds played his wife. I believe there were two children involved as well.

[@aaronsakulich4889]

Good heavens - I did not know Life of Riley was him. I always associate him with the guy ominously smoking a pipe while staring at the protagonist.

[@YOGI-yl4ff]

William Bendix was very good at playing a bad guy. When he played on The Life of Riley even as a child I thought he was sweet. LOL, we learn something new every day, I don't care how old we are.

[@MOGGS1942]

He was an actor, and they play the roles allotted to them. Some are so good they excel at whichever role they are in. James Cagney, for instance, could play the bad guy, the good guy, sing and dance, and be funny. Multi talented.

[@dagothur6238]

25:14 is what you want finally.

[@ChrisHansonCanada]

MERRY-GO-ROUND MANUFACTURER MAKES BABY BOTTLES PROFESSIONAL BASEBALL PITCHER

[@cathykinn4516]

Wow. Bennett Cerf used the term "Midget" Thankfully that is not used now.

[@blacklabrador1580]

Arleen Francis' comment was rude calling Bill Bendix fat

[@MA_C24]

I gather from several comments through the years on this show that “fat “and “heavy” in the 1950s were mere statements of fact - like blond or brunette- and not the pejorative terms they are today.

[@bendavison9798]

Heavy is a criminal

[@Sylvander1911]

She did no such thing. She asked if he was slender, rather than heavy. He certainly wasn't slender.

[@beast1624]

William Bendix fat? I think not. Get's a little old hearing the prejudice from Dorothy and Arlene against no one but people larger than the average.

[@VictoryOvrDepression]

It was acceptable then. Just watch the Honeymooners

[@jamesdean258]

Dolores Lee, nicknamed "Pickles" was a Rockford Peach. She could throw two baseballs at once to two different catchers. Watch "A League of their Own"!

[@jamesdean258]

Mr. Bendix isn’t fat!