What's My Line? - Sir Ralph Richardson (1963, TV Show)

The mystery guest segment of the popular game show What's My Line? with prestigious English theater and film actor Sir Ralph Richardson. Richardson had recently performed with Katharine Hepburn in Sidney Lumet's film version of Eugene O'Neil's Long Day's Journey into Night. Peter Cook and Phyllis Newman appeared on the panel with regulars Arlene Francis and Bennett Cerf. The program first aired on July 28, 1963.

Sir Ralph rushes off before John Daly or any of the panelists could talk with him. To see an interview with this amusing and bizarrely eccentric actor, go to:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vnpjAMcoLJY&feature=PlayList&p=2FA0FBE...

Although appearing as the lead in a few memorable films (such as Carol Reed's 1948 classic The Fallen Idol), Richardson was better known for his character roles in a wide variety of films from the 1930s-1980s (including The Four Feathers, Things to Come, The Heiress, Vivien Leigh's Anna Karenina, Doctor Zhivago, Richard III, Q Planes, Dragonslayer, Time Bandits, Tales from the Crypt, and Greystoke: The Legend of Tarzan). He was more famous for his theater roles, however, including several great Shakespearean parts (especially his definitive Falstaff), as well as appearances in many plays by Ibsen, Shaw, Chekhov, Rostand, Harold Pinter, and J.B. Priestley. He was knighted for his theatrical work in 1947, when he was co-director (with his friend Laurence Olivier) of the celebrated "Old Vic" theater company in Britain.

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[nucular1000]

he is not really a Sir, I looked him up on Wikipedia, and he was only "knighted" as an artist, like the Beatles or in these days DaviD Beckham the infamous soccer player.

a real Sir must be BORN Sir.

[rmm413d]

@nucular1000 In Richardson's day, an honorary knighthood for entertainers was a rarer honor typically reserved for only the very best actors of the English theatre. In that regard, it is significant that Richardson was knighted because it shows that he was considered one of the top 3 or 4 British actors of his generation. In the 1940s when he was knighted, a knighthood would never have been given to a popular musician or soccer player. I fear the honor has been devalued in recent years.

[funboy7979]

The first and only time the word "niggardly" has been used on American television? Bravo. Today the ignorant would stone Arlene for that display of erudition. That quite serviceable word can now only be used safely among a select intelligent few, and then, only in print.

[mikelheron20]

@nucular1000 You obviously have no idea what you are talking about.

[pyrofella]

Imagine what those blackboards would be worth today if they had preserved each one.

[JuanMacready]

@sonofakbar Honours are given by the government.

[sonofakbar]

@nucular1000 so if you receive a knighthood from the queen of england you are referred to as Sir are you not?

[Theseekhimhere]

it's odd to see peter cook here all young and fresh faced- i've recently watched a lot of interviews from later in his life, post alcoholism etc.

[hatgirl09]

Every time I see him, my heart lights up. An extraordinary actor, a delightful person.

[11october1893]

@nucular1000 - 'he is not really a Sir', 'a real Sir must be BORN Sir.' ??? what are you talking about? Of course Richardson WAS a real sir. To be knighted by the monarch means you become a sir, its only honorary if you are not British born say an american who is given an honorary knighthood. It that case it is not real because its honorary and that person cannot use the title sir. He was knighted by the king and that makes him SIR Ralph Richardson for life.

[ciroalb3]

how beautifully his suit fits from the back. No question, English tailoring.