Lady Discotheque Disc Jockey/DJ on "What's My Line?"

[harrietcow]

"If you do these dances a capella, you get arrested, you know!"

Steve Allen was such a riot, I loved his sense of humor.

[shoredude2]

A discotheque is simply a dance hall where people danced to recorded music as opposed to live bands that had been more prevalent prior. The disc part refers to the record. Disco music takes its name from discotheque, not the other way round.

[prchristman]

Steve Allen knew straight away that Miss Clark's job did not exist 15 years ago. Was the theme of this show jobs that did not exist when What's My Line first appeared on the air in 1950?

[MalubaySyecado]

I don't think she would have been too happy dancing to Bennet whistling "Dixie". Really, Dixie??? DIXIE???? Well, at least he didn't suggest "Mammy!"

[junglered]

I think Arlene was a bit tipsy here. Her speaking and cadence seems a little similar to how it was in the segment with the man who made bells. What's fabulous is even after a few cocktails, Arlene was still sharp as a tack and didn't miss a beat.

[hankaaron1961]

Very informative clip. I had thought that the discos reached the U.S. in the early 70's. But this suggest that the movement started almost 10 years earlier.

It also highlights a misconception about what "disco music" is. Because, if the Supremes and the Beatles records were played in these discos, then that would make them disco artists- if applying the misconception.

[roots66]

@hankaaron1961 I think the term "Disco" meant different things in each decade. In the '60s the term "discotheque" simply meant a club that featured primarily recorded music as opposed to having live bands. It wasn't until the '70s that the term "disco" was co-opted to also refer to a genre of music. Read the "discotheque" page in wikipedia, it explains the concepts better than I can.

[younghoss]

@roots66

Exactly.

Disco music refers to that period of dance music in the late and mid 70's to early 80's. We always think of BeeGees. Referring to it as "disco" was solely in this period.

No, that isn't the only dance music, and yes, there were discotheques in the 60's but the music played there back then wasn't called disco.

[no1commie]

@hankaaron1961 I remember an episode of the Flintstones from 1965-1966 season and they used the word Discotheque (the episode where Gazoo took them into the future). Discotheque just meant a dance hall. "Disco music" became associated with the type of underground music that was becoming more popular in the early 1970s.

[wmlfan9]

The wu-tootsie. Good for Bennett for improving on the name of this sixties dance!

[wmlfan9]

I wonder why John and the guest needed a conference after Bennett asked if her job has anything to do with music or dancing. She plays music in a dance club!

[karlakor]

@wmlfan9--I wondered the same thing. The answer should have been an immediate "yes"!!

[filmfemmenoir]

I was thinking the same thing, but she might not have heard the question clearly because the acoustics were notoriously bad in this studio.

[funboy7979]

@wmlfan9 Just a guess here, but English does not seem to be the contestant's mother tongue. She may not have understood Bennett's colloquial phrase "anything to do with," and since her line is not actually making the music nor dancing, she may have needed a clarification from Daly on the correct response. Again, just a guess. This clip is really gold, isn't it?

[Cris43130]

What a typical game, Arlene set it up and Dorothy knocked it in. Two great players who worked well in tandem.

[Cris43130]

With a key assist from Bennett, determining that the job was related to the field of music.

[UofLCardFan08]

Yep. When Dorothy was gone, the show lost that 'umph' it had.

[johnsidney]

I think she was just nervous. After a few minutes she seemed to relax and was smiling toward the end.

roots66, thank you for posting this.

[bigred997]

despite her sourpuss face, the panel hit on it right away. i'd like to know how and why.

[xander7ful]

Me too. It seemed a bit contrived, not a typical show. But good for her - she kept a poker face.

[soulierinvestments]

With your posting of this sequence, the entire What's My Line 15th Anniversary broadcast of February 1965 is now available on YouTubia for us to watch --

Gloria Swanson mystery guest 1965

next, this disc jockey contestant

then the panel's spouses appear as mystery guests.

Dorothy Kilgallen looks great and is in good form in this game. A month later, she missed a half dozen broadcasts and a few taping sessions when she covered from a broken collarbone she got when she slipped on a rug.

[roots66]

I actually put up the spouses clip for a few minutes, then deleted it when I found it had already been posted...it didn't turn up on my initial search...

[kymarcin]

Was she doing the 'frug' at the time? :)

[henrygrove100]

@soulierinvestments Dorothy looks really bad here, bloated face, and slurring a few words, maybe she had had some cocktails and pills with Arlene?

[SOLE2SOUL]

@henrygrove100 Maybe Valley Of The Dolls was really about Arlene & Dorothy!

[weatdamal]

Thank you!