The show could be brought back, HOWEVER, the mystery guest would probably have to be eliminated because there is nobody of high enough qualilty to match any of the mystery guests on this show. I see the promos for Leno and Letterman and I ask myself, "Who are these people?"
I was a little kid when John Daly hosted the show. I didn't understand why Bennett Cerf would routinely insult Mr. Daly; I thought Mr. Cerf was an awful wiseguy or a bully. I didn't understand social dynamics; the two men were actually great friends, and would pick on one another as a kind of endearment. The same dynamic goes on in "roasts." It's mock aggression, and it's really friendly play.
Totally agree with you, avuncular300! While these clips are great fun, they're also a bit sad. Crass has replaced class and wit has been replaced with mean-spiritedness.
Viewing these clips has given me so much pleasure and returned me to days of quality and style combined with good manners. So sad that they seem to be far distant now.
I love it. What a shame the color videotape was wiped though. I'd love to see the final season in color as it was broadcast. Still, this has to be the funniest mystery guest ever, IMHO.
@903davesharonpoky For a reason they use to death these days, and one I'm so sick of hearing!! It's because "they want to appeal to a younger audience". To quote Charlie Brown, AAUGH!!!
I remember watching these shows when I was a kid in the 50's....I always focused on the contestants and the panel....in retrospect, John Daly was the funniest and most quick witted of them all....absolutely fantastic!
Bennett Cerf later was quoted as saying that Arlene said to him, before the show, that she had a "hunch" the MG would be President Johnson! That's why she asked if he was voted into office.
@Thorneycroft1937 ~ it was a network decision. back in the day game shows were in prime time. i think wml was sunday nights. (17 and 1/2 years) by 1967 the networks had decided game shows couldn't compete with all the new stuff coming out. color was becoming standard. times were a changin.
even tho wml is now considered a great archive of famous people and invaluable historical references, by 1967 it was viewed largely as just a show past it's day.
@tomitstube shows like this ended because of the "financial visionaries" who saw more in the ca$h than in quality. We lost great TV because someone decided that the public wanted more T&A, violence and drugs, Now our society has been influenced by this strong medium and you can't even have an intelligent conversation with some of the younger generations. If you don't text while you drive, you are out of sync and "old fashioned" ...a badge I am proud to wear!
@Trevoc2 ~ idk, i agree with your sentiment but there was some great stuff that came after shows like this. wml had a great run, 17 1/2 years is pretty amazing in television. dramas, sitcoms, variety shows, and sports were all pushing game shows out of prime time. games shows became a staple of daytime. they tried to bring this show back but it just wasn't the same.
i'm just glad they did this show for so long, it bottled up an era that will be enjoyed by many generations to come.
@tomitstube I'd like to agree with your comment about "bottled up an era to be enjoyed by many generations to come", but unfortunately, I don't see our current generations even taking an interest in "yesterday's" entertainment or music. The bottling up will be something WE must do and enjoy the rest of our lives. Today's parents and kids are into reality TV, Jerry Springer, and Court TV. I miss the Dean Martin Roast, Gary Moore Show, Carol Burnett and many others.
@Trevoc2 With all due respect, I feel that you are a bit cynical toward the "younger generations." Maybe you've just lost touch with younger people because of a culture difference but there are many intelligent, young people out there who value being well-rounded individuals. As far as television is concerned, I agree that there is something lost from decades ago but a lot is also gained. Times change and with that comes the positive and the negative. Nothing is ever one or another.
@ValeriyaAviva Of course I realize not all of the younger generation has lost their basic ability to socialize and not all have lost their values, but please, look around you and see what has become the norm. Today, we all have stopped interacting with one another as we once did. People are secluded indoors with their TV's, computers, electronic toys and more. This is not progress on the social front but a decline of social skills. Texting is not socializing....its pure laziness.
@Trevoc2 I'm in my early 20s and I adore this show. People don't watch bad television because they're young— they watch it because they're simple-minded. I hate to break it to you, but every generation has its fair share of simple-minded people. Don't let it get you down.
@boxpilot Oh, I dont let it get me down, but I am disappointed that our culture (worldwide) has slowly declined socially. Once I am gone, it wont matter to me, but I do worry about my kids who wont have the benefit of living a much more friendlier life in which I was raised in. We move away from socializing one on one into the digital era and we become recluse. Yet, we think sitting all day on a computer is "socializing". its not! Its nice to know you appreciate yesterday as much as I did.
@Trevoc2 I wholeheartedly agree with you. There will never be another 'Whats My LIne', or "To Tell The Truth', and so many other live shows. Computers have taken over , and it seems that people have become less sociable and more zombielike. Of course, many of our young will say that we have to move on to bigger and better things. But I don't see anything better on television anymore. "Reality tv shows" will never beat the Ed Sullivan show and all the variety shows that we loved to watch.
This show is class personified: One of the more elegant shows of the period, with simple & clean production values. All one needs is a group of highly intelligent folk in evening attire that speak with a beautifully modulated and articulate voice, a charming premise and an audience that does not require "dumbing down". Golden age television such as this could often be the perfect martini nightcap. Today we have vacuous shrill, shrieking, and sham - PBS is all we have left to remind us.
Im a 54 y/o male who is open minded, liberal, tolerant, who has experimented in varied lifestyles cant help but feel dispair. When you look at shows like this, why is it you have a warm feeling? why is it you wish it were it werestill this way. I feel in my heart a vauge disquiet that todays society with its emphasis on being sexuall, cool, having the right attitude, the glibness permeating in the air-- cannot help but feel that we as a civilization are lessened
@johnpaulgrfab4 - Yes, society was much more civilized back then. Values and goals included far more than just sexual gratification. People grew up learning about manners and decency. I miss it also. I often feel sorry for my children being exposed to all this empty ugliness around. However, there's still some valuable media images and stars worth attention. Well, best wishes to you.
From the perspective point of a "young person" shows in this golden age amaze me. What happened to this world? It's truly remarkable seeing some of these people real to life and in person to know that many of the business empires we know of today actually were someones life's work behind them. Or that many of the pioneers in media and motion pictures and other industries, were regular people just as you and I that made a difference in their field and greatly influenced the way we live today.
I wish I could go back in time and watch shows like this and the great movies of this time. I'm 19 and I can say that this is more entertaining than almost everything on tv now. It's sad some of the things called comedy today =(
Wow...to think that television then was so good back then...without all this CGI crap and visual effects, I'm more inlined to watch these shows than half the garbage that's on now
Why the HECK didn't you show this in COLOR ? The final season (1966-67)was the only one in color, and I absolutely demanded for ten days to see this last episode that Sunday night before Labor Day the only one I did see that year eight weeks after we first got Color TV. I distinctly remember Bennett Cerf "symbolical" making the last Mystery Guest solution and would still like to see it in full Color.
@Mr76Yearsago: The final episode's master color videotape does exist but has never been released into GSN's package of the 1950-67 WML? run, apparently in the archive of Jonathan Goodson (Mark Goodson's son).
I slept on a fold out sofa in the living room when I was a kid in the 50's and early 60's. As a result I got to see this show every Sunday night. I was impressed that the panel, as well as John Daly, was always dressed to the nines. Back then it was a sure sign that one had "made it" if he or she was invited to be the Mystery Guest. For those who may not know, Mr. Cerf was the Editor-in-Chief of Random House Publishing. Dorothy Killgallen died in Dec. 1965. It's good to see them here.
This show was a classic in every sense. John Daley and the regular panelists had a great chemistry and--get this--you got a new show every Sunday night for 17 years! No reruns! I wish Game Show Network or someone would bring this back. The "mystery guests" provide a wonderful summary of who was famous in the 50's and 60's, but the regular guests provide a most interesting slice of life look at the country in those years.
I remember watching this episode when it was played "live" in Los Angeles (Glendale). The West Coast always views programs three hours after the live broadcast on the East Coast. I was age 15 years old.
For anyone who likes an intelligent game show try watching (on youtube) QI with Stephen Fry. It's British. Stephen Fry (an absolute genius) reminds me of John Daly.
I love watching these clips. The mystery guests were really actual Hollywood stars. I wish like a few of the others who have posted here that there were shows like this or like You Bet Your Life with Groucho but unfortunately the mystery celebrities would be the likes of Paris Hilton, Snookie from MTV or Ryan Seacrest. The days of real movie stars are long gone and the likes of a Groucho or a John Daly from What's My LIne as a host are long gone as well.
John Daly was possibly the most distinguished, erudite and amusing hosts to grace American television. I totally agree with all the commenters who have said there will never be the equal of this program or the people on it. God bless John Daly and his colleagues and all the wonderful people who appeared on this program. I thank God I was born long enough ago to have seen this and other wonderful shows of the period.
@mxtypx Exactly. For a decade and a half , HALF a CENTURY ago how many Americans ended their weekends by watching "What's My LInes" Mystery Guest before turning off the lights and going to bed. .after seeing that night
Jack Benny, Ed Sullivan, Ronald Reagan on G.E. Theater, or Walt Dinsey or The Cartrights on "Bonanza" or getting a good laugh from Allen Funt and "Candid Camera" preceding it it's last seven years. Thanks for the memories.
@mxtypx John Charles Daly was also a news anchor of considerable reputation.
He was the one who announced the attack on Pearl Harbor and the death of President Franklin Roosevelt on CBS Radio.
For seven years (1953-60), he anchored ABC-TV's evening newscast..........while remaining as host of "What's My Line?".
As hinted by Arlene Francis in this clip, Daly became the executive director of the Voice Of America in late 1967, succeeding John Chancellor, who returned to NBC News.
@mxtypx to add to your comment about being born long enough ago to see wonderful shows, I'd like to add that I feel sorry for today's generations who have more violence and sex instead of variety shows like Gary More, Dean Martin, Laugh In etc. The entertainment of today's television emphasizes more of the negative aspects of life and less of the good. I too am glad to have been born earlier and know the value of quality and decency in entertainment.
@dcbandnerd as great as WML was, if they brought it back today, you know it would have some inane hard-driving hip-hop theme song, a host pulled from MTV, and God only knows what mystery guests they'd trot out (Kate Gosselin?). I'm just grateful for YouTube so I can relive the memories of the greatest game show ever!!
@dcbandnerd Unfortunately, any intellectual type programming will never see the light of network television again because they all now gear the programming to society's lowest common denominators and that is why networktelevision will be gone by 2020.
We can almost see Cerf's ears pick up the first time Daly uses his falsetto voice. Cerf often demonstrated a great facility of his on the show: to "hear through" the phony voice of the mystery guest. I think it apparent he knew it was Daly from the beginning and just played along to tease out the fun (unlike Kilgallen, who always & only played to win, win, win.)
Loving this 'Can you guess the mystery guest stuff' and I'm 21. Of course I'm an entertainment buff so I know who some of these people are while my peers wouldn't. Lemmon, Randall, Francis, Allen, etc...
@SG1Mitchell Yeah, me too! Im a teenager and I know who all the mystery guests that appeared on this show..it's addiciting! My faves are with Doris Day, Tyrone Power and Colonel Sanders!
That was very cool and another example of just how amazing that show was and the smart people behind it, back then. With my state of the art 1080p, surround system, yada yada, I would still love to watch this old black and white with my wife. I love this show. The Paul Newman and Joanne Woodward episode was very good too, find that one if you can.
For all us youtubers of a certain age, it's refreshing and a morale booster to see that someone so young, and coming of age in such a coarse culture, has a yen for elegance and wit.
Arlene Francis reaches out across the generations! Great.
Why would you want them to bring it back, they would just get some moronic host and the gayest celebrities to come on the show. It would be an inuslt to the original show.
Bennet Cerf's b'day is May 25. I would like to posthumously wish him a b'day greetings. And in the Bennet Cerf style, I say Happy B'day "post humerously" and sadly it's "10 down, and none to go , Mr. Cerf"
WML was one of the classiest game shows ever. I read that John Daly was not a nice person off stage, which is the reason his memoirs were not published. Arlene was a sweetheart. Absolutely loved Bennett. Also read Dorothy was a tenacious reporter. Sadly her death was never really cleared. Let's bring it back. GSN has cancelled it in favor of hours upon hours of Family Fued and Poker - ZZZZZZZZZZZZZZ.
Amen! I am glad someone ELSE thinks the same as I do! Poker has become a sport, and it SHOULD be on ESPN or something like that! Poker DOESN'T belong on GSN!
I just wanted to say thank you so much for posting these old shows!!! I absolutely love them!! It brings back so many memories of watching TV with my Dad and Grandparents. I'm so glad that Game Show Network exists to rerun some of these shows as well!! Thanks for the memories, and thanks for the laughs!!! God Bless!! :)
If you read the Lee Israel book about her, it seems she was murdered due to her too close for comfort interest in the JFK assasination. On You tube here, they have her last show. it was 11-07-65 and the mystery guest was Joey Heatherton
I wish I could come up with a different way to say this, but what a time capsule yet again!! A few special observations about this clip: though it is black-and-white you can tell it is a color broadcast (none of the color tapes have survived, sadly) because of the much lower contrast value compared to the kinescopes from 10 years earlier. Also our illustrious emcee shows the first (and only) indication of age: a slightly graying and receding hairline. A marvelous cap to a 17-year TV institution.
That Arlene is so sharp!!! I really thought that she had him until...1:54. Of them all...She was the best! God bless, embrace and protect her spirit, with His love.
17 years watching diffrent mystery guest's come on, him being the final one none of the panelist's would have seen comeing. What a fitting end for such a great show :)
Thanks for this! I grew up watching the later color version of WML (no Daly as host) and have only just recently discovered Daly as WML host thru GSN. Imagine someone as literate and intelligent as Daly on today's TV! This show was so classy--today you'd never have a book publisher and columnist as regular celebrity panelists. And the way they dressed! Class, absolute class!
In this era of mindless "reality" tv shows, what a delight to return to a more civilized time of beautifully gowned/coiffed women and gentlemen who personified that term. Not to mention panelists who had excellent vocabularies. WML was so entertaining and watching these clips (many of which I'd never seen before) has been marvelous! I LOVE John Charles Daly. Thank you for sharing these wonderful shows.
i stay up bery late to watch this show...i love it its a balst and i love that era in tv history where everyone was adressed by mr and ms or mrs...its amazing to think the show was on for 18 years..that would never happen by todays standards..thanks for psoting this john daly was a very cool guy..
John Daly as mystery guest had crossed the minds of the show's panel long before this show. The mid-1950s saw a few mystery guests with some link to What's My Line (e.g., Jules Montenier, the sponsor). Twice that I can remember, the panel asked if the guest was Daly. In Montenier's case, once the link to "Line" was discovered, Arlene Francis asked if the guest was usually at the show before the panel was, "or," she asked Daly, "is our guest you?" But here, 12 years later, it didn't occur to her.
You are correct, Montenier being the developer of Stopette deodorant, which was one of the program's earliest sponsors.
I also seem to recall a false guess at Daly as the Mystery Guest in some other episode of the show, also one time a false guess at producers Goodson-Todman, who themselves appeared on this final show (though not as Mystery Guests), and Mark Goodson individually at least once, if not more over the show's 17-year run.
I think everyone was so intent in this 1967 show on someone other than a WML member being the mystery guest that John Daly didn't occur to them, though it did a decade earlier. I guessed the guest might be LBJ. (I was 15. What did I know? But Arlene asking if the guest was voted into office shows I was not alone. I think the N.Y. Times also speculated on that.) The thought was that it would be someone super-spectacular. Not that John wasn't, but seeing it was him was a letdown of sorts to me.
Also, on this final episode, they had the challengers who appeared on the first episode in 1950, with the exception of the first mystery guest, Phil Rizutto of the New York Yankees.
Presumably Rizutto, one of the Yankee announcers in 1967, could have made it over to this show. The Yankees were still in a long homestand (August 28-September 5) featuring the Red Sox, Senators, and White Sox. The afternoon of September 3, the visiting Senators had defeated the Yankees 6 to 3. The Yankees were owned by CBS from 1964 to 1972, all the more reason for Phil to show up on a CBS TV program. But Rizutto must have had some sort of commitment that prevented his appearing.
I discovered this show late one night when I could not sleep...what a blessing, I absolutely adore it. I cant decide who I love most, John Daly who is amazing or Bennett Cerf...I also enjoy Robert Q lewis,Steve Allen and Fred Allen. So much talent!!! Im sad that they have all passed and wish I could have known them in life.
The show could be brought back, HOWEVER, the mystery guest would probably have to be eliminated because there is nobody of high enough qualilty to match any of the mystery guests on this show. I see the promos for Leno and Letterman and I ask myself, "Who are these people?"
Woody615 2 days ago
The best mystery guest of all time!
weatherboi 5 days ago
I was a little kid when John Daly hosted the show. I didn't understand why Bennett Cerf would routinely insult Mr. Daly; I thought Mr. Cerf was an awful wiseguy or a bully. I didn't understand social dynamics; the two men were actually great friends, and would pick on one another as a kind of endearment. The same dynamic goes on in "roasts." It's mock aggression, and it's really friendly play.
wdd3141 6 days ago
Totally agree with you, avuncular300! While these clips are great fun, they're also a bit sad. Crass has replaced class and wit has been replaced with mean-spiritedness.
oct2258 2 weeks ago 3
Viewing these clips has given me so much pleasure and returned me to days of quality and style combined with good manners. So sad that they seem to be far distant now.
avuncular300 3 weeks ago 2
I love it. What a shame the color videotape was wiped though. I'd love to see the final season in color as it was broadcast. Still, this has to be the funniest mystery guest ever, IMHO.
storrs19 3 weeks ago
How in the bloody hell can you dislike this clip?
JakeMabe1 1 month ago 2
John Daly has so much class..... Some of todays t.v. host's and newsbroadcasters could learn a few things from these little snippets......
begs54 1 month ago 2
Classic!
2legit64 1 month ago
Lucky us people of the fifties and sixties could see this kind of program simply but so nice...
Clintreno 2 months ago
What does Bennett mean by "I smell 8 rats?'
harrietcow 2 months ago
@harrietcow Actually, its an idiom which is 'smell a rat'.
BubaiEast 2 months ago
Arlene's question on if the MG was voted into office was based on speculation that the final MG would be President Johnson.
observer9670 3 months ago
John Daly has the distinction of being the first reporter to announce the attack on Pearl Harbor on December 7th, 1941 at 2:25pm Eastern time.
rm2ken 4 months ago
how come Game Show Network took this great show off?
903davesharonpoky 4 months ago
@903davesharonpoky For a reason they use to death these days, and one I'm so sick of hearing!! It's because "they want to appeal to a younger audience". To quote Charlie Brown, AAUGH!!!
disneyfan81 3 months ago
Inside info Serf gets it again and spoils it for everyone...
Kenmorfdublin 5 months ago
I remember watching these shows when I was a kid in the 50's....I always focused on the contestants and the panel....in retrospect, John Daly was the funniest and most quick witted of them all....absolutely fantastic!
pmnorris 5 months ago
Arlene always wore her diamand heart necklace offered by her husband along the shows !
tousamis1 6 months ago
A class act to the very end. Not like the crap you see on TV today.
jvolstad 6 months ago 2
BRING BACK SHOWS LIKE THIS!!!
cleancab 7 months ago 2
Ahhh - ha-ha - - They wanted to save money!
RaintreeLDS 7 months ago
Brilliant finale, bravo!
gyrene1966 7 months ago 3
Bennett Cerf later was quoted as saying that Arlene said to him, before the show, that she had a "hunch" the MG would be President Johnson! That's why she asked if he was voted into office.
MegaObserver1 8 months ago
Why did they end it?
Thorneycroft1937 9 months ago
@Thorneycroft1937 ~ it was a network decision. back in the day game shows were in prime time. i think wml was sunday nights. (17 and 1/2 years) by 1967 the networks had decided game shows couldn't compete with all the new stuff coming out. color was becoming standard. times were a changin.
even tho wml is now considered a great archive of famous people and invaluable historical references, by 1967 it was viewed largely as just a show past it's day.
tomitstube 9 months ago
@tomitstube shows like this ended because of the "financial visionaries" who saw more in the ca$h than in quality. We lost great TV because someone decided that the public wanted more T&A, violence and drugs, Now our society has been influenced by this strong medium and you can't even have an intelligent conversation with some of the younger generations. If you don't text while you drive, you are out of sync and "old fashioned" ...a badge I am proud to wear!
Trevoc2 6 months ago
@Trevoc2 ~ idk, i agree with your sentiment but there was some great stuff that came after shows like this. wml had a great run, 17 1/2 years is pretty amazing in television. dramas, sitcoms, variety shows, and sports were all pushing game shows out of prime time. games shows became a staple of daytime. they tried to bring this show back but it just wasn't the same.
i'm just glad they did this show for so long, it bottled up an era that will be enjoyed by many generations to come.
tomitstube 6 months ago
@tomitstube I'd like to agree with your comment about "bottled up an era to be enjoyed by many generations to come", but unfortunately, I don't see our current generations even taking an interest in "yesterday's" entertainment or music. The bottling up will be something WE must do and enjoy the rest of our lives. Today's parents and kids are into reality TV, Jerry Springer, and Court TV. I miss the Dean Martin Roast, Gary Moore Show, Carol Burnett and many others.
Trevoc2 6 months ago
@Trevoc2 With all due respect, I feel that you are a bit cynical toward the "younger generations." Maybe you've just lost touch with younger people because of a culture difference but there are many intelligent, young people out there who value being well-rounded individuals. As far as television is concerned, I agree that there is something lost from decades ago but a lot is also gained. Times change and with that comes the positive and the negative. Nothing is ever one or another.
ValeriyaAviva 5 months ago
@ValeriyaAviva Of course I realize not all of the younger generation has lost their basic ability to socialize and not all have lost their values, but please, look around you and see what has become the norm. Today, we all have stopped interacting with one another as we once did. People are secluded indoors with their TV's, computers, electronic toys and more. This is not progress on the social front but a decline of social skills. Texting is not socializing....its pure laziness.
Trevoc2 5 months ago
@Trevoc2 I'm in my early 20s and I adore this show. People don't watch bad television because they're young— they watch it because they're simple-minded. I hate to break it to you, but every generation has its fair share of simple-minded people. Don't let it get you down.
boxpilot 5 months ago
@boxpilot Oh, I dont let it get me down, but I am disappointed that our culture (worldwide) has slowly declined socially. Once I am gone, it wont matter to me, but I do worry about my kids who wont have the benefit of living a much more friendlier life in which I was raised in. We move away from socializing one on one into the digital era and we become recluse. Yet, we think sitting all day on a computer is "socializing". its not! Its nice to know you appreciate yesterday as much as I did.
Trevoc2 5 months ago
@Trevoc2 I wholeheartedly agree with you. There will never be another 'Whats My LIne', or "To Tell The Truth', and so many other live shows. Computers have taken over , and it seems that people have become less sociable and more zombielike. Of course, many of our young will say that we have to move on to bigger and better things. But I don't see anything better on television anymore. "Reality tv shows" will never beat the Ed Sullivan show and all the variety shows that we loved to watch.
PepsiJunkie52 4 months ago
@PepsiJunkie52 Try watching the high stakes dramas. Like Breaking Bad and Boardwalk Empire.
Clay3613 3 months ago
John Daly is one of the greatest men ever on TV!!
MANUELFARINELLI 9 months ago
Mr. Cerf is so perceptive :)
abbamoney 10 months ago
Why did he sign "Taly" instead of "Daly"?
abbamoney 10 months ago
@abbamoney That is a "D"; it's just how he signed his name. :)
starrbeatlesqueen 9 months ago
This show is class personified: One of the more elegant shows of the period, with simple & clean production values. All one needs is a group of highly intelligent folk in evening attire that speak with a beautifully modulated and articulate voice, a charming premise and an audience that does not require "dumbing down". Golden age television such as this could often be the perfect martini nightcap. Today we have vacuous shrill, shrieking, and sham - PBS is all we have left to remind us.
c3cubed 11 months ago 19
Im a 54 y/o male who is open minded, liberal, tolerant, who has experimented in varied lifestyles cant help but feel dispair. When you look at shows like this, why is it you have a warm feeling? why is it you wish it were it werestill this way. I feel in my heart a vauge disquiet that todays society with its emphasis on being sexuall, cool, having the right attitude, the glibness permeating in the air-- cannot help but feel that we as a civilization are lessened
johnpaulgrfab4 1 year ago
@johnpaulgrfab4 - Yes, society was much more civilized back then. Values and goals included far more than just sexual gratification. People grew up learning about manners and decency. I miss it also. I often feel sorry for my children being exposed to all this empty ugliness around. However, there's still some valuable media images and stars worth attention. Well, best wishes to you.
mjcamck71 1 year ago
Comment removed
johnpaulgrfab4 1 year ago
He could have really done a better job of hiding his identity. Come on, Daly, that was weak!
SoaringTrumpet 1 year ago
From the perspective point of a "young person" shows in this golden age amaze me. What happened to this world? It's truly remarkable seeing some of these people real to life and in person to know that many of the business empires we know of today actually were someones life's work behind them. Or that many of the pioneers in media and motion pictures and other industries, were regular people just as you and I that made a difference in their field and greatly influenced the way we live today.
702dirtrider 1 year ago
What's? my line? has returned to GSN at 3:00am eastern
Curtismanor2 1 year ago
@Curtismanor2 unfourtuatly they just took it off this week
gsnfan1416 1 year ago
@gsnfan1416 Yeah i noticed
Curtismanor2 1 year ago
I wish I could go back in time and watch shows like this and the great movies of this time. I'm 19 and I can say that this is more entertaining than almost everything on tv now. It's sad some of the things called comedy today =(
xstephxriotx 1 year ago
What a great idea.
mozartgenetics 1 year ago
what a gorgeous dress
Oswegoma 1 year ago
Mr. Daly as mystery guest - how clever :)
MsSarjen 1 year ago
Watching this early TV show is one of my most pleasant memories. A great treat to see the gang again!!
delightglow 1 year ago
Cerf knew and the others were clueless!
GregWn 1 year ago
@GregWn You couldn't get anything passed the Cerf!
KittyKattyYukiLvr 5 months ago
It's true and melancholic that this show won't be around again, but I always think the future holds unexpected things who knows.
JKNovoa 1 year ago 2
That was absolutely brilliant!!!
Ropieroo 1 year ago
John Daly looks bad
henrygrove100 1 year ago
@henrygrove100 Called getting older!
GregWn 1 year ago
Wow...to think that television then was so good back then...without all this CGI crap and visual effects, I'm more inlined to watch these shows than half the garbage that's on now
rhumbustification 1 year ago 2
I don't think there could be the right combination that would work like this ever again, it's so sad
rmul91 1 year ago
A very classy program.
jvolstad 1 year ago
These old shows were great! I hardly ever saw this show as a kid, so it is nice to see some clips now.
calcorrfan 1 year ago
I couldn't think of a better way to end the show, way to go John.
DoodyMan 1 year ago 27
Why the HECK didn't you show this in COLOR ? The final season (1966-67)was the only one in color, and I absolutely demanded for ten days to see this last episode that Sunday night before Labor Day the only one I did see that year eight weeks after we first got Color TV. I distinctly remember Bennett Cerf "symbolical" making the last Mystery Guest solution and would still like to see it in full Color.
Mr76Yearsago 1 year ago
@Mr76Yearsago While it was broadcast in color, no episodes were saved in color. All the kinescopes were done in B&W.
shoredude2 1 year ago
@Mr76Yearsago: The final episode's master color videotape does exist but has never been released into GSN's package of the 1950-67 WML? run, apparently in the archive of Jonathan Goodson (Mark Goodson's son).
SeanElGatoTelevision 11 months ago
John Daly always striked me as being a real gentleman, he could joke and laugh and still be so proper. such a charming man
calledartist 1 year ago
I slept on a fold out sofa in the living room when I was a kid in the 50's and early 60's. As a result I got to see this show every Sunday night. I was impressed that the panel, as well as John Daly, was always dressed to the nines. Back then it was a sure sign that one had "made it" if he or she was invited to be the Mystery Guest. For those who may not know, Mr. Cerf was the Editor-in-Chief of Random House Publishing. Dorothy Killgallen died in Dec. 1965. It's good to see them here.
MagicCum 1 year ago
This comment has received too many negative votes show
DALY AND ALLEN SHOULD HAVE DIED A LONG TIME AGO; COMMIES THE BOTH OF THEM!
fran9860 1 year ago
@fran9860 But unlike you they were both decent human beings who actually left a good mark on this world.
filmidioten 1 year ago
John DAly died in 1991.
Bennett Cerf in 1971.
Steve Allen in 1999
Arlene Francis in 2001
RIP
berezin99 1 year ago
He is the best game show host of all time but that Bennett Serf (not sure if that is how you spell it) is too smart for hisown good.
jamsid33 1 year ago
What a great way to end a great 17 years of mystery guests.
MattTheSaiyan 1 year ago
Fab!
0FindGlory 1 year ago
John uses his gay voice on this one.
henrygrove100 1 year ago
This show was a classic in every sense. John Daley and the regular panelists had a great chemistry and--get this--you got a new show every Sunday night for 17 years! No reruns! I wish Game Show Network or someone would bring this back. The "mystery guests" provide a wonderful summary of who was famous in the 50's and 60's, but the regular guests provide a most interesting slice of life look at the country in those years.
Blairpark 1 year ago 4
I wonder who the 8 rats Bennett reffered to are
nintendodailyvideos 1 year ago
oh yea
henrygrove100 1 year ago
this is funny!
ClassicsWEREandARE 1 year ago
I remember watching this particular show. I was 15, and if I remember it was
the night of the Jerry Lewis telethon.
febreeze59 1 year ago 2
What a fun job John Daly had for all those years!! A career to be envied for sure!
MPL029 1 year ago 6
I remember watching this episode when it was played "live" in Los Angeles (Glendale). The West Coast always views programs three hours after the live broadcast on the East Coast. I was age 15 years old.
Davie1954 1 year ago 2
@Davie1954 Correction: I was age 13 years old.
Davie1954 1 year ago
This is a real piece of television history. Bravo!
Teflon65 1 year ago 4
"I smell a rat!" : )
senoramariposa 1 year ago 3
It's obvious because he didn't tell what line of work is the mystery challenger
Mr1930s 1 year ago
For anyone who likes an intelligent game show try watching (on youtube) QI with Stephen Fry. It's British. Stephen Fry (an absolute genius) reminds me of John Daly.
gmaureen 1 year ago
I love watching these clips. The mystery guests were really actual Hollywood stars. I wish like a few of the others who have posted here that there were shows like this or like You Bet Your Life with Groucho but unfortunately the mystery celebrities would be the likes of Paris Hilton, Snookie from MTV or Ryan Seacrest. The days of real movie stars are long gone and the likes of a Groucho or a John Daly from What's My LIne as a host are long gone as well.
scorps666 1 year ago 4
@scorps666 you got that right
HowardOfOz3565 1 year ago
1:20-1:23, you could hear him lose the voice and try to get it back, lol.
Loved this show. Definitely need more intelligent material like this on the airwaves today.
Cathalain 1 year ago 5
He's a classy guy! Arlene is so much like a great movie star!
realmuscle19 2 years ago 2
John Daly was possibly the most distinguished, erudite and amusing hosts to grace American television. I totally agree with all the commenters who have said there will never be the equal of this program or the people on it. God bless John Daly and his colleagues and all the wonderful people who appeared on this program. I thank God I was born long enough ago to have seen this and other wonderful shows of the period.
mxtypx 2 years ago 130
@mxtypx - I agree wholeheartedly.
MrRedFredSaid 1 year ago
@mxtypx Exactly. For a decade and a half , HALF a CENTURY ago how many Americans ended their weekends by watching "What's My LInes" Mystery Guest before turning off the lights and going to bed. .after seeing that night
Jack Benny, Ed Sullivan, Ronald Reagan on G.E. Theater, or Walt Dinsey or The Cartrights on "Bonanza" or getting a good laugh from Allen Funt and "Candid Camera" preceding it it's last seven years. Thanks for the memories.
Mr76Yearsago 1 year ago
@mxtypx John Charles Daly was also a news anchor of considerable reputation.
He was the one who announced the attack on Pearl Harbor and the death of President Franklin Roosevelt on CBS Radio.
For seven years (1953-60), he anchored ABC-TV's evening newscast..........while remaining as host of "What's My Line?".
As hinted by Arlene Francis in this clip, Daly became the executive director of the Voice Of America in late 1967, succeeding John Chancellor, who returned to NBC News.
altfactor 11 months ago
@mxtypx to add to your comment about being born long enough ago to see wonderful shows, I'd like to add that I feel sorry for today's generations who have more violence and sex instead of variety shows like Gary More, Dean Martin, Laugh In etc. The entertainment of today's television emphasizes more of the negative aspects of life and less of the good. I too am glad to have been born earlier and know the value of quality and decency in entertainment.
Trevoc2 6 months ago
*sigh* So sad there's not a classy, literate show like this on TV anymore.
pepsibookcat 2 years ago 12
With the exception of, perhaps Jeopardy; a show that still rewards intelligence. Shows like What's My Line, though, ought to come back to television.
dcbandnerd 1 year ago 3
@dcbandnerd as great as WML was, if they brought it back today, you know it would have some inane hard-driving hip-hop theme song, a host pulled from MTV, and God only knows what mystery guests they'd trot out (Kate Gosselin?). I'm just grateful for YouTube so I can relive the memories of the greatest game show ever!!
rhodeisland95 1 year ago 4
@dcbandnerd Unfortunately, any intellectual type programming will never see the light of network television again because they all now gear the programming to society's lowest common denominators and that is why networktelevision will be gone by 2020.
Mr76Yearsago 1 year ago
We can almost see Cerf's ears pick up the first time Daly uses his falsetto voice. Cerf often demonstrated a great facility of his on the show: to "hear through" the phony voice of the mystery guest. I think it apparent he knew it was Daly from the beginning and just played along to tease out the fun (unlike Kilgallen, who always & only played to win, win, win.)
Vitte4 2 years ago
I love these 50s and 60s shows. The shitty reality shows they have on now suck cock
crossy70 2 years ago 8
Strange signature. His "D" looks nothing like a D but exactly like a T.
torchkit 2 years ago 2
Final episodes of anything makes me feel sad :(...I 've enjoyed watching this programme thank you!!!!
roogah1001 2 years ago 7
that was so cool!
nurula007 2 years ago 4
I love these old gems by Goodson-Todman productions..Their game shows are the best!
MattTheSaiyan 2 years ago 3
The finesee, the class the MC and panel of "What's My Line?" had! And talk about having famous guests! What a pleasure to watch!
rolex452 2 years ago 3
Myhighlanddream, may I correct you. Steve Allen was married to Jayne Meadows, not Audrey Meadows. Ralph Kramden was married to Audrey. LOL
eheaven3 2 years ago 5
That was great!
orion7763 2 years ago 3
They don't make good tv like this any more!
cbcool14 2 years ago 126
Good one!
TheCinemaization 2 years ago 2
Loving this 'Can you guess the mystery guest stuff' and I'm 21. Of course I'm an entertainment buff so I know who some of these people are while my peers wouldn't. Lemmon, Randall, Francis, Allen, etc...
SG1Mitchell 2 years ago 3
@SG1Mitchell Yeah, me too! Im a teenager and I know who all the mystery guests that appeared on this show..it's addiciting! My faves are with Doris Day, Tyrone Power and Colonel Sanders!
LOVE THIS SHOW, IT"S ADDICTING (:
AniceAct 1 year ago
That was very cool and another example of just how amazing that show was and the smart people behind it, back then. With my state of the art 1080p, surround system, yada yada, I would still love to watch this old black and white with my wife. I love this show. The Paul Newman and Joanne Woodward episode was very good too, find that one if you can.
I hope we get a world like this again, one day.
toddtvl 2 years ago 5
Thanks for posting -- where's the rest of it?
primelimelite 2 years ago
i love the show but i hate how bennet cerf guesses most of the mystery guests. and after guessing, he tries to butter up the guests.
xxcharmed1xx 2 years ago
Steve Allen and Audrey Meadows (she was a mystery guest once) were another longtime successful Hollywood couple.
myhighlanddream 2 years ago
One of the all Time Classics not only in the Game Show Genre but in all of Life...
indiaskin69 2 years ago 2
I'm only 14 and I am obsessed with this show.
I LOVE IT
I want it on GSN NOW.
I watch it everyday on youtube.
I wish it was on tv.
My favorite on the panel is Arlene :]
CarlyIsAGangster 2 years ago 10
For all us youtubers of a certain age, it's refreshing and a morale booster to see that someone so young, and coming of age in such a coarse culture, has a yen for elegance and wit.
Arlene Francis reaches out across the generations! Great.
written12 2 years ago 4
What a lovely thing to say.
Thank You,
CarlyIsAGangster 2 years ago
I have boycotted GSN since early spring when they took WML and To Tell The Truth off the air. BRING THEM BACK!!!
StevenDFenrich 2 years ago 10
I would too
calalilygirl 2 years ago
Why would you want them to bring it back, they would just get some moronic host and the gayest celebrities to come on the show. It would be an inuslt to the original show.
styx8 2 years ago
Bennet Cerf's b'day is May 25. I would like to posthumously wish him a b'day greetings. And in the Bennet Cerf style, I say Happy B'day "post humerously" and sadly it's "10 down, and none to go , Mr. Cerf"
We miss you and thanx for all you've done.
buqwik 2 years ago 7
Yea i love his voice...
brewcrew01984 2 years ago
WML was one of the classiest game shows ever. I read that John Daly was not a nice person off stage, which is the reason his memoirs were not published. Arlene was a sweetheart. Absolutely loved Bennett. Also read Dorothy was a tenacious reporter. Sadly her death was never really cleared. Let's bring it back. GSN has cancelled it in favor of hours upon hours of Family Fued and Poker - ZZZZZZZZZZZZZZ.
buqwik 2 years ago
I like Family Feud.....but Poker!??! We want CLASSIC game shows, not crap like poker!
Angryjon 2 years ago 2
Well, my dad says showing poker is giving GSN money!
If that's the case, tell me how they survived without it for 9 years! hmmph!
Hondo20132 2 years ago
Amen! I am glad someone ELSE thinks the same as I do! Poker has become a sport, and it SHOULD be on ESPN or something like that! Poker DOESN'T belong on GSN!
AlbieGray 2 years ago
Priceless!
:D
DerAdventurer 2 years ago 4
I just wanted to say thank you so much for posting these old shows!!! I absolutely love them!! It brings back so many memories of watching TV with my Dad and Grandparents. I'm so glad that Game Show Network exists to rerun some of these shows as well!! Thanks for the memories, and thanks for the laughs!!! God Bless!! :)
Music4God83 2 years ago 2
This was so funny.
HAZIDEAD 2 years ago 2
oi vey. i feel lie an ass, i just wiki'd dorothy :(
so sad. and sounds like murder.
BeIIeDoc24 2 years ago
where's dorothy?
BeIIeDoc24 2 years ago
she died in 1965 of "mysterious circumstances" google her and you will see
sprintbass 2 years ago
If you read the Lee Israel book about her, it seems she was murdered due to her too close for comfort interest in the JFK assasination. On You tube here, they have her last show. it was 11-07-65 and the mystery guest was Joey Heatherton
nicksacop 2 years ago
"I Smell A Rat.....Yeah, That Got Him"
I Didn't even Know For This One, It would be the Host.
SamoanFun 2 years ago
I always wanted to see this. There is a definite sadness there.
Thanks for posting!
snoops71 2 years ago
I wish I could come up with a different way to say this, but what a time capsule yet again!! A few special observations about this clip: though it is black-and-white you can tell it is a color broadcast (none of the color tapes have survived, sadly) because of the much lower contrast value compared to the kinescopes from 10 years earlier. Also our illustrious emcee shows the first (and only) indication of age: a slightly graying and receding hairline. A marvelous cap to a 17-year TV institution.
mca1218 2 years ago
That Arlene is so sharp!!! I really thought that she had him until...1:54. Of them all...She was the best! God bless, embrace and protect her spirit, with His love.
THEHUNGRYVEGETARIAN 2 years ago
17 years watching diffrent mystery guest's come on, him being the final one none of the panelist's would have seen comeing. What a fitting end for such a great show :)
TankGun1944 2 years ago 8
Best way to go out. I love this show!!!! Funny guests and great panel and Mr. Daly was a great host.
RealTime88 2 years ago 4
Too bad shows like this are not around anymore, its a great shame really =(
TankGun1944 2 years ago 7
Bennet Cerf did it AGAIN!!!!!!
Jumbos51 2 years ago 3
Yeah, he figured it out... what what did he say? I smell.... WHAT???
graperonto 2 years ago
it was 8 rats who they were idk
trent100100 2 years ago
Aw, that was a fun idea for his last show! These have been fun to watch. I agree; John and the panel were so classy and intelligent. :)
joshstoph 2 years ago 5
EXCELLENT! LOL!
trisha12356 3 years ago
Does anyone have a video of the show after Dorothy died?
ZBeachBum 3 years ago
on you tube
calalilygirl 2 years ago
Thanks for this! I grew up watching the later color version of WML (no Daly as host) and have only just recently discovered Daly as WML host thru GSN. Imagine someone as literate and intelligent as Daly on today's TV! This show was so classy--today you'd never have a book publisher and columnist as regular celebrity panelists. And the way they dressed! Class, absolute class!
sandrahn 3 years ago 6
very enjoyable and entertaining; prefer this to most of contemporary reality tv. thanks for posting.
tkslan00 3 years ago
In this era of mindless "reality" tv shows, what a delight to return to a more civilized time of beautifully gowned/coiffed women and gentlemen who personified that term. Not to mention panelists who had excellent vocabularies. WML was so entertaining and watching these clips (many of which I'd never seen before) has been marvelous! I LOVE John Charles Daly. Thank you for sharing these wonderful shows.
erzbet07 3 years ago 2
i know i absolutely love it
the best gameshow ever
carlbaratbeauty 3 years ago 2
This has been flagged as spam show
They should have had Dorothy on the last show.
Panelist: Are you in the entertainment field?
Dorothy:
Panelist: Are you a mime?
Dorothy:
Panelist: Could I avail you of your services?
Dorothy:
zefallafez 3 years ago
you are one serious twit
HowardOfOz 3 years ago
couldn't use Dorothy, she died in 1965.
Imthecuteone 3 years ago
absolutly awesome!
gravyfury 3 years ago 4
i didnt know he could do that,cool!
rockingdylan 3 years ago
A great idea for a great final episode of a great show! I can't remember ever seeing this particular episode.
Thank you for posting it.
BroadcastJohn 3 years ago 3
i stay up bery late to watch this show...i love it its a balst and i love that era in tv history where everyone was adressed by mr and ms or mrs...its amazing to think the show was on for 18 years..that would never happen by todays standards..thanks for psoting this john daly was a very cool guy..
D
sprintbass 3 years ago
John Daly as mystery guest had crossed the minds of the show's panel long before this show. The mid-1950s saw a few mystery guests with some link to What's My Line (e.g., Jules Montenier, the sponsor). Twice that I can remember, the panel asked if the guest was Daly. In Montenier's case, once the link to "Line" was discovered, Arlene Francis asked if the guest was usually at the show before the panel was, "or," she asked Daly, "is our guest you?" But here, 12 years later, it didn't occur to her.
prchristman 3 years ago
You are correct, Montenier being the developer of Stopette deodorant, which was one of the program's earliest sponsors.
I also seem to recall a false guess at Daly as the Mystery Guest in some other episode of the show, also one time a false guess at producers Goodson-Todman, who themselves appeared on this final show (though not as Mystery Guests), and Mark Goodson individually at least once, if not more over the show's 17-year run.
gymnastix 3 years ago
I think everyone was so intent in this 1967 show on someone other than a WML member being the mystery guest that John Daly didn't occur to them, though it did a decade earlier. I guessed the guest might be LBJ. (I was 15. What did I know? But Arlene asking if the guest was voted into office shows I was not alone. I think the N.Y. Times also speculated on that.) The thought was that it would be someone super-spectacular. Not that John wasn't, but seeing it was him was a letdown of sorts to me.
prchristman 3 years ago
Also, on this final episode, they had the challengers who appeared on the first episode in 1950, with the exception of the first mystery guest, Phil Rizutto of the New York Yankees.
bluebear1985 3 years ago
Presumably Rizutto, one of the Yankee announcers in 1967, could have made it over to this show. The Yankees were still in a long homestand (August 28-September 5) featuring the Red Sox, Senators, and White Sox. The afternoon of September 3, the visiting Senators had defeated the Yankees 6 to 3. The Yankees were owned by CBS from 1964 to 1972, all the more reason for Phil to show up on a CBS TV program. But Rizutto must have had some sort of commitment that prevented his appearing.
prchristman 3 years ago
sneeky little booger lol
kenaco2009 3 years ago
Thank God for kinescopes..we have the chance to hang out via YouTube with people that are infinitely more fun than today's celebs!
owenatkins 3 years ago 11
AMEN!--Nough said.
CntryInVa 3 years ago
Comment removed
leydenstone 3 years ago 5
kinda sounds like Mickey Mouse. lol!
CominUpShort 3 years ago 4
This has been flagged as spam show
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anthony81212 3 years ago
I discovered this show late one night when I could not sleep...what a blessing, I absolutely adore it. I cant decide who I love most, John Daly who is amazing or Bennett Cerf...I also enjoy Robert Q lewis,Steve Allen and Fred Allen. So much talent!!! Im sad that they have all passed and wish I could have known them in life.
jlovesg 3 years ago 6