You Bet Your Life #55-22 Special guest, actress Fifi D'orsay (Secret word 'Voice', Feb 23, 1956)

There's an interesting connection between Groucho and actress Fifi D'Orsay, of couple #3, though it goes unmentioned in this program. According to wikipedia, D'Orsay was once involved with vaudevillian Ed Gallagher, half of the successful Broadway comedy team of Gallagher and Shean, who coached his protegee in the ways of show business. The other half of the act, Al Shean, was Groucho's uncle, and had a huge impact on the early career of the Marx Brothers (including writing their first real act).
COUPLE #1: Brad Andres, youngest champion professional motorcycle racer / Jerra Lynne Tyler
COUPLE #2: Lewis Glaser, model car manufacturer / "Icie" May Hoffman
COUPLE #3: Fifi D'orsay, famous Quebec-born actress / Sarn Whitman, salesman
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Episode identification and basic description based on "Tell 'em Groucho Sent You", © 1997 by Mark Petty. Used by permission.

[@laughingkim]

So glad I'm able to watch this. My father, Lew Glaser, was on this episode. It's wonderful to see and to hear him from 1956.

[@jdm2626]

That’s really cool!

[@maxsmodels]

Lew (and you mom Royle) are heroes to us models builders. They helped to mold our lives with Revell models. I even did a video about Revell. kzbin.info/www/bejne/pHa9ZKiAnN9rZ5I

[@johnzelinski3260]

Revell models were my favorites back in the day. Your dad ran a great company and we thank him.

[@m42037]

@@johnzelinski3260 Lot of boy's favourite for sure

[@louisep5178]

Very nice successful man with a good sense of humour what a lovely thing to have 🙏

[@johnbowman1076]

So many actors are listed as having died in Woodland Hills, Ca. That's because the Motion Picture Hospital is there. I worked there in the early 80's and met Fifi. She was a delight right till the end.

[@henrybrowne7248]

I noticed that about WH too. Heck, *I* lived in Woodland Hills for about a year too.

[@alexandermarquis6197]

Icey-May, was borne in Feb 1898, aged 57 yrs. I'm lovin it

[@henrybrowne7248]

Damn did she age well. She was lovely as heck, like so many female contestants. From what I've seen of West Virginians . . maybe something in the water? . . A very poor state with coal mining . . . And the great Jerry West's origin.

[@Thomas-fu8vp]

The good Ole days. Good manners, nobody interupting another, smiles, cheerful outlooks and SLIM!!!!

[@myjeevie]

Well.....there is another wonderful episode here where a very charming and talented woman who is about 300 pounds sings "Shake, Rattle and Roll." She looks very fashionable in her attire as well.

[@patriciamaria7203]

Sarn Whitman, a middle age white man from couple number 3, said he worked as a Sears furniture salesman. That was back in the 50's when a man could raise his entire family (income wise) on a retail sales position. How times have changed...sadly. :(

[@ccbsnyc]

Many people did well at Sears for many years, up until the 90s, especially in appliances and hardware. When it emerged with Kmart everything went downhill. Sears became a copy selling its store leases and subsidiaries. The Discover Card was worth a fortune by itself.

[@trace6402]

I agree but back then most families had one vehicle, one television and would wait until after 9:00 pm to make a long distance call to save a dollar. It is strange how then, America manufactured nearly everything which meant an abundance of jobs and wealth but very few people had any money. Today America manufactors virtually nothing but the majority of people have money as compared to then.

[@zu0832]

That was before everything was made in China!

[@ksgraham3477]

​@@trace6402 On Credit!

[@trace6402]

@@Wisdom-Nuggets-Tid-Bits If I am it isn't the first time and if God gives me another day it won't be the last time.

[@marions.120]

Hard to believe that Icy was born in the 1800’s!

[@garymazzeo3490]

I heard she's still living...

[@sngrimprssns]

Groucho was born in 1890

[@marions.120]

@@garymazzeo3490- In our minds?

[@CD-db1zo]

The first couple are so cute

[@robertberns3661]

love to see more shows from the early years!

[@dominicpiscopo7915]

I REALLY LOVE THIS GUY N HIS BROTHERS THERE ARE A FEW CELEBRITIES THAT I REALLY LOVE

[@widetrackerinkazoo6559]

What a coincidence, just watched a historical vid on KZbin about the history of the major model makers in the US; Revell, Momogram and Aurora!

[@Tre404]

Note that these 20-year-olds are not using "like" as every other word...

[@Spokenwisdom1]

Formal education was more rigorous and people were more relaxed.

[@louisep5178]

1898 wow ♥️

[@henrybrowne7248]

I know. She was hot.

[@haggis655]

It's a pity Groucho didn't take the cue when the salesman said he made up verse on the spot and asked him to make one up on his name.

[@dominicpiscopo7915]

I REALLY WISH I HAD THE HONOR TO HAVE MET ALL THE CELEBRITIES THAT I LOVED

[@MrMenefrego1]

@Julius Ashcroft 😜

[@martinjones5965]

My condolances to your SHIFT key.

[@henrybrowne7248]

@@martinjones5965 🤣 Seems to increase the volume I guess . .

[@janepatterson6779]

Some ladies in the audience wearing white gloves..i remember wearing them.

[@MrMenefrego1]

I wish ladies wore them today.. In fact, I wish there were still ladies to wear them!

[@brandonk8948]

Fifi's laugh is so French, I absolutely love it. 😂😂😂

[@loissimmons6558]

Ed Gallagher was 37 years older than Ms. D'Orsay when they became "involved" (az ve zay en Francais). She was 14 years younger than Groucho! She was nicknamed the French Bombshell (she had lied early in her career about having been a showgirl with the Follies Bergere in Paris). But if you look at her pictures from her heyday, I would say that the nickname was based more on her personality. Her figure was well suited for the Roaring Twenties flapper era when she started to make it big in entertainment.

[@MrMenefrego1]

👀

[@henrybrowne7248]

I just watched a vid of her singing "Give Your Baby Lots of Loving" in a 1932 film and she sure was a flapper . . A hot and steamy one at that.

[@masonldn8647]

"I am in circulation" 😂😂😂

[@kevinjudy5739]

Forget the jokes, GROUCHO had the best banter of any recorded...

[@claxton1959]

Why anyone would thumbs down this..i have no idea...what are they exspecting?

[@chuckschillingvideos]

Icie had it going on!

[@JSB1882]

Sam Whitman was great from the opening to the end. Interesting point about Fifi D'Orsay - became involved with Gallagher of "Gallagher & Shean who helped start her career. Al Shean was Groucho's uncle.

[@poetcomic1]

FiFi is on you tube with Bing Cosby singing the incredibly sensuous song 'Temptation' to her.

[@henrybrowne7248]

Just now I pulled up a vid of her singing a very steamy rendition of "Give Your Baby Lots of Loving" in a 1932 film.

[@janepatterson6779]

Beautiful dress!

[@CD-db1zo]

Chicky poo. I’m calling everyone I meet chicky poo from now on.

[@theresaholguin699]

Fifi passed away in 1983 age 79. She never really got the fame status but she did do well.

[@Yowza78]

Brad does have some cute dimples!

[@iraqafghanistanmarine6905]

Deland, FL!! My hometown!!

[@myjeevie]

Curious why you comment as "Iraq-".....

[@iraqafghanistanmarine6905]

@@myjeevie 🤔

[@MrMenefrego1]

@@iraqafghanistanmarine6905 Yeah, why YOU comment... (I think he's a caveman!)

[@joemonteleonezollo4967]

Groucho is a genius! Than again, genius then , cancelled now. Loved the Marriage mattered more then anything. So Kool!

[@cskiles318]

Thank you 😊

[@robertklose2140]

The woman looks like a young Doris Day

[@stephane1316]

May Hoffmann was so gorgeous and stylish

[@TheoHockeyton]

All the questions in the quiz are still very current in 2021. Not to toot my own horn, but for the first time ever, I would have gotten every question in this episode right ! ^^

[@henrybrowne7248]

📯🥁

[@jimmiedee2315]

Here are links to two photos of the first guest, Jerra Lynne Tyler. They're from old newspaper articles. The first is from a 1955 edition of the USC college paper The Daily Trojan. cdm15799.contentdm.oclc.org/cdm/ref/collection/p15799coll104/id/90103 The second is from a 1959 edition of The Deseret News/Salt Lake Telegram. news.google.com/newspapers?nid=336&dat=19590121&id=NJouAAAAIBAJ&sjid=SEgDAAAAIBAJ&pg=7300,3196050

[@loissimmons6558]

Ms, Tyler makes a very beautiful homecoming queen in the first article. I wonder if Groucho was trying to get her to mention her title when he was prodding her for instances of who would have called her beautiful. But her modesty seems quite natural and becoming. Scrolling down further on the page might be of interest to pro football fans of the 1950's and 60's, as some future well known players are on the roster for USC and their homecoming game opponent, Stanford. For the team from Palo Alto, starting right tackle Paul Wiggin was a defensive end for the Cleveland Browns for 11 years, being named to the Pro Bowl twice and was part of the 1964 NFL:Championship team. He later went on to coach his alma mater for four years in 1980-83. He is also a member of the College Football Hall of Fame. Stanford's starting QB was John Brodie, familiar to Northern California football fans. He played his entire career in the Bay Area, going directly from Stanford to the San Francisco 49ers (as a first round draft pick) from 1957 to 1973. After sharing a great deal of playing time with YA Tittle from 1958 to 1960, he was given starting duties outright when Tittle was traded to the NY Giants before the 1961 season. Like his Stanford teammate, he also was named to the Pro Bowl twice and was elected to the College Football Hall of Fame. His team never won a championship but he was NFL MVP in 1970. He was also an excellent golfer and upon graduation from Stanford, he played in a few PGA events before deciding to concentrate on tossing the pigskin. He eventually went on the Senior PGA tour from 1981-1998, winning one tournament. He also entered a few tournaments on the main PGA tour and has the unusual distinction of the longest gap between US Open appearances, qualifying for the tournament in 1959 and returning in 1981, On the USC side of the line, Leon Clarke the starting left end played tight end for seven NFL seasons, for four seasons with the LA Rams (a second round draft pick, he didn't even have to change home stadiums) before moving on to the Browns for two seasons and one with the Minnesota Vikings. He also was named to the Pro Bowl twice. Rivaling Brodie for stardom was USC's left halfback, Jon Arnett. He also went into the pros with his hometown Rams, as their first round draft pick (second overall) in 1957. He was named to the Pro Bowl in his first five years in the league from 1957-1961 and played for the Rams until 1963 before finishing his career with the Chicago Bears from 1964-66. He was a triple threat back who often caught passes and would occasionally be called upon to throw a halfback option pass, completing two for TD's (out of 33 attempts) during his career. Nicknamed "Jaguar Jon", he is probably best known as a kickoff and punt returner and was named first team kickoff returner on the LA Rams 40th anniversary team (and also second team running back). Like his two Stanford opponents, he also was selected for the College Football Hall of Fame. Quite the all around athlete, he also punted and was the placekicker while at USC, and led the team on defense in pass interceptions. For good measure, he finished second in the long jump in the NCAA meet helping USC win the title (outdoors - the first indoor NCAA track & field championship was held in 1965). OK guys, you can go back to looking at Ms. Tyler now (if you ever stopped)!

[@ummglick]

Vive Quebec!

[@keithnaylor1981]

Shame the first couple didn’t pick the seconds couples subject!

[@papagen00]

$25 rent?? $100/week income?? in Los Angeles???!!?!?!!

[@MrJamespeyton]

I’m 77 and remember when my father aspired to make $100/week which was a very good wage at that time. The dollar today is worth little more than toilet paper.

[@captaindj9790]

I believe icee May was going to make a stick shift remark and they cut it😁

[@coronapapi]

Omg I guessed Don Quixote!

[@christopherkloe6442]

Great Episode wth carmin contestants. Vive la France.

[@MrMenefrego1]

'carmin contestants' *?*

[@davemanning8204]

Anybody else think that ole sam might have some how known what the secret word was? Just seemed a little odd that the 1st thing out of his mouth was the SW and it was a little strange thing to say...... but anyway great episode thanks for the post.... enjoy all your Groucho MyDaMnWoRd 😎🔫

[@m42037]

Boy how times changed, she's majoring in business in the university and not going to work after year's of school and stay home and let a man support her? 😲

[@Yowza78]

The old M.R.S. degree.

[@marions.120]

She studied to budget!

[@stephane1316]

University education was much cheaper back then !

[@evanstj5]

Just love these shows. Terrific. But just one question: why do all the women seem to wear clothes made of curtaining material? I suppose it wasn't long after wartime shortages and all !

[@louisep5178]

Clothes were expensive and a lot of clothes were homemade

[@elspethcoogan1499]

Having watched a good few of these YBYL shows, I suspect that some (if not all) of the guests who guessed the secret word were tipped off beforehand. I think it was going beyond the realms of serendipity in this episode that the salesman said the word by chance; he almost announced it.

[@robertewing3114]

The contestants certainly do not get told the secret word, it is obvious that the word is carefully chosen to give guests a chance, so a word chosen if you were a contestant might be cat, and Groucho has some detail that he might ask you about to see if you might say cat. If the salesman knew, he was not supposed to.

[@henrybrowne7248]

So far my impression is that it was on the level.

[@TheBigMclargehuge]

The show is so boring but I keep watching them

[@henningandersen9027]

18.10 "the poor man'''s WHAT?2

[@davemattia]

10:12 -- 57 ? She looks good but even still, she looks about 75 -- a youthful 75 but 75 nonetheless. Anyway, she is 124 now -- still going strong ...God bless her.

[@Storm79109]

It seems like this show was staged, the contestants answer the dificult questions like they were prepared exactly for those questions.

[@CD-db1zo]

It’s a tv show. What do you expect?

[@voxtango1916]

What "difficult" questions~?

[@bobthetvfan]

Don't forget that the top prize was only $10,000 so there weren't the brainbreakers of "Twenty-One" and "The $64,000 Question." But not all the questions were easy; try answering some of the big questions yourself. As for the show being scripted, the interviews were not rehearsed although the writers might tell a contestant to answer Groucho a certain way to guarantee a laugh. Groucho had prepared jokes and questions in case he got stuck. Sometimes, too, he would guide a contestant to say the secret word (you couldn't have told when he was doing this). But given that Groucho had never laid eyes on most of these people (the celebrities excepted), the results could be very unpredictable.

[@tommytwogloves16]

Glaser. Big Hollywood Hebe. Propagandist.

[@MichaelThorpeNJ]

People in general were smarter, they read. You do realize the Contestants chose the category for the questions. My guess is they chose categories they had expertise....or 😊interests

[@GetReady4LiftOff]

Long arms

[@georgiemarin7424]

I know Groucho's job is to make a joke and poke fun at his contestants. However, I listened carefully to Jerra Lynne Tyler making a budget since Jerra Lynne is my dear Aunt. Groucho was trying to make a joke about women over-spending their husbands' salaries when Jerra Lynne Tyler was making a budget on the spot. She budgeted up to 95% before Groucho chimed in with what comes off as a patronizing joke that she was at 125%. Wrong. That nonsense sure would not fly now ... at least I hope it wouldn't.

[@XXXGRAPENUTSXXX]

How is she these days?... please send my regards!!

[@HaHaHaHope]

She was so nice. What a sweetheart.

[@robertewing3114]

People don't anticipate him poking fun at everyone, including himself? His faults as Henry Julius Marx are discernable, and the business of those who were living with him, but that is all beside the point, his hearing was to the audience, and for a performer the audience applause is a highlight of the occasion and a guide, his focus is there, and he is not trying to win the argument with any contestant however much his determination not to be influenced, which he can be faulted for, but his focus is not on that critical wave-length, he is simply giving his talent the stage, and we cannot complain... He did not foresee the state of the world today, he did his best, and the world still receives that sharing of his gift, and we can only be grateful. It was part of his act to cut people off, cream in, and be impolite, and obviously to some degree that could dove-tail with his prejudices, but you should follow the act and not the smoking gun. No human-being is without faults, including the most famous Jew of them all, and our endeavour in life is to experience the perfect, not attempt to be perfect - because we will not succeed to be perfect, do not fall for the sales talk that you need this and you need that, when more than anything else you need to experience heaven. I remember applause for my performance in sport, it can be heavenly. You can approach great gates and hear music and find it heavenly, it could even be an entrance to movie industry premises. Groucho loved his applause, and he may have wanted to stimulate his feelings for contestants by having them agree with him, imposing his world on theirs, in order to maintain his performance. A pro, and a great example to ordinary people, to tolerate one-another and find something worthwhile to complain about, there is much nonsense to not tolerate, but find the indisputable examples - the real problems of the world, not the petty issues that sadly occupy people oblivious to the efforts of some to encourage their worthwhile nature. That was Grouchos job, rather than the definition you related.

[@henrybrowne7248]

Luckily, at my age, I understand both cultures and I simply adjust. The lengthy other reply here I think is right, Groucho was playing to the stereotype, which back then many women would have agreed with.

[@gmarin9481]

I never cared for Groucho Marks’ humor/style, but my comment was one in defense of my Aunt and the idea that pretty women are not intelligent. I know that was his “schtick” and was considered funny. He’s just not my cup of tea. That doesn’t make my remark in defense of beloved Aunt petty. I was just saying her math WAS correct, and the joke while it got a good laugh back then was patronizing to her. She did not enjoy her time on his show nor gross flirting/pawing she endured from Groucho behind the scenes. I’m sure knowing these facts color my opinion of him.

[@henrybrowne7248]

Damn. I've always been a good speller but I realize just how brutal English is. The worst in the world no doubt . . .

[@henningandersen9027]

Cynical fur-wearer!

[@ethanbondick9631]

The numerous bathroom notablely miss because router family sprout of a fluffy hockey. massive, straight relation

[@joeambrose3260]

Scripted and rehearsed

[@MrMenefrego1]

Nothing but negative, what a miserable ass you are.

[@lukeheaton5336]

Kudos Jeff.....Ambrose is a self absorbed troll who doesn’t realize that no one cares about his bitterness and mean spirited comments.

[@MrMenefrego1]

@@lukeheaton5336 Thanks. One has to wonder what causes a person to become such a *royal asshole!*

[@joeambrose3260]

Go ahead and bash me, I couldn't give a flying squat. Its not my fault 95% of the population is essentially brainless. Stay safe, peace out

[@MrJamespeyton]

And you know this how?

[@freddyfurrah3789]

I like the way Groucho pronounced Barnstable. BARN STABLE... Oh, well. He didn't grow up in Massachusetts.

[@frankrich5024]

And no sentences starting with "so".