What's My Line?: Kim Novak

Hello, classic Hollywood fans!

As soon as you get me talking about movies, I'm sure to mention old movies, even if it is only briefly as the conversation usually gravitates towards newer movies. Here at Movies Meet Their Match I really enjoy exploring the careers of actors and actresses from this period, and my special way to do that is talking about episodes of What's My Line?!

First, I should introduce our guest. This is my entry (at the last second) to The Classic Movie Muse's Kim Novak Blogathon: An 89th Birthday Celebration! This amazing lady just turned 89 and though she is retired from acting, her legacy is far from over as she is a painter.

What will shock my readers is that I have never actually seen Kim Novak in anything. (Crazy especially considering the movies she was in with Jimmy Stewart! I hope to see Vertigo (1958) and Bell, Book, and Candle (1958) as soon as I can!) Though I did not have time to watch a full length movie for this blogathon, I wanted to be introduced to her work finally! For that, I decided what better way than through the panel of What's My Line?? Though it is in the form of one of my shorter posts, I do not like birthdays going by uncelebrated!

(Fun story: even though I hadn't seen Miss Novak in anything, I was still able to introduce her to someone else. That's what happens when I have a million windows open on my laptop and was shuffling through them to find my math homework. A classmate inquired who Kim Novak is when her Wikipedia page showed up on my screen).

What in the world is What's My Line?? The next few paragraphs will explain the show, so if you've heard about it or if you've been here before you can skip. 

The basic rundown that I give you every time:

First of all, what is this game show? What's My Line? was a 30 minute game show that ran from 1950-1975.

How it worked:

A panel of four judges try to guess contestants' "lines" (jobs) by asking yes or no questions. The host/panel moderator, John Charles Daly, guided them and helped rework questions to fit the correct format. Each member of the panel would guess until they received a solid "no", then a card is flipped as the contestant earns five dollars, and the next person on the panel begins to guess. When all ten cards are flipped the contestant wins! If the panel guess what their line is, then they still get however much money that they won in "nos".

L to R: The three regular panelists, Arlene Francis, Bennett Cerf, and Dorothy Kilgallen, & the panel moderator, John Daly.

Does this sound boring? It's far from it! The occupations are so unique, the panel has a hard time. Sometimes their guesses are so off, that it's a hoot! Plus, the highlight is that after two contestants there is the mystery guest! This guest is a celebrity and would be recognizable, so the judges wear blindfolds and get to ask one yes or no question before moving onto the next panel member and they have to guess who it is.

Blindfolds ready, panel?

For ages I would always just skip to the mystery person, but once I started watching full episodes I realized how much I was missing. However, the celebrity is how I'm connecting it back to my blog. The plan for this series is to talk about all of certain celebrity's appearances. To me, I think that you can tell a lot about a person based on the way they acted here. Some where shy, some were funny, some were bold, you get the idea!

This shows you a piece of history in a small way. It shows separation from those times to now in different was, for example in this episode that I will talk about there was an inside joke or something about the modern times that I did not get. Maybe after I watch some more episodes I'll understand it more!

If I were to review it like I do movies, I would say:

Length: approx. 30 minutes. 25 without advertisements (which are hardly ever there on YouTube, which is where you can watch it).

Script: 10, Iʼve never heard a bad word.

Content: 9, sometimes there are one or two suggestive comments, but itʼs rare.

Age Range: Iʼve been watching this for a long time, but as I said, I didnʼt used to be interested in the first 2/3. I would say that little kids would like to just watch the mystery guest if they knew who it was, just because they wouldnʼt get how funny the rest of it was (especially if they canʼt read the occupations).

It is time to start! Will you come in mystery challenger, and sign in please...

Source

This will be especially short compared to my other What's My Line? posts because Kim Novak was only a contestant on the show once, but this is not an episode to be missed!

February 5th, 1956: PANEL: Arlene Francis, Desi Arnaz (his only time as a guest panelist), Dorothy Kilgallen, & Fred Allen. (This episode is the closest to their sixth anniversary from starting on February 2nd, 1950! It has another special guest for the times in the guessing the occupation part...)

This is a special opportunity for me. Usually I only watch the show when there are contestants that I have seen in other things so I can get a look at their ordinary life, but here I'm seeing Kim for the first time! 

The first word that comes to mind to describe my impression of her is ethereal. She was quite young when she went on this show (22 years old) and she comes in both sprightly and out of this world in some way. Arlene called her a young lady, and they all seemed pleased to have someone from the newer generation (not that any of them were old at the time...) around. She said she would like to think of herself as being in more dramatic roles than comedic, which is something I'm going to look for. Overall, I really enjoyed watching her! Her attempted cockney accent for hiding her voice seemed to fit her personality.

Some highlights from the episode:

One of Arlene's favorite questions is if someone is a leading lady. The contestants I've seen are not sure how to answer this, and here Arlene is starting to take things into her own hands.

Arlene Francis: "Would you be considered a leading lady?"

Kim Novak *BA*: "I don't know"

Arlene Francis: John!

John Charles Daly: "Yes, I would think, is the answer to that..."

Desi Arnaz: "You get somebody over here today that I can understand."

Kim Novak *British accent*: I can't understand you, sir.

*audience laughs*

Desi Arnaz: "Oh, I like her!"

They mentioned a movie called Picnic (1955), so that gives you reference to the cinema at the time.

That's all I'm going to tell you, so you'll have to watch the episode to see if the panel guessed who she was...

It was lovely to make your acquaintance, Miss Novak. I look forward to seeing more of you in the future!

Thanks to the Muse for hosting this! Readers, make sure to go read the other submissions for this blog party HERE!

Thank you for reading! Are there any famous old movie stars that you haven't actually seen in anything? What are some recommendations for movies that Kim Novak is in?

Chloe the MovieCritic

What's My Line?: Olivia de Havilland

Welcome friends!

If youʼve stuck around this blog for a while you know that I love classic hollywood and I love birthdays, so when you can stick them together Iʼm a happy person! The birthday that Iʼm talking about today is bittersweet, though. 

Olivia de Havilland was born 105 years ago today, and this is the first birthday of hers that Iʼve celebrated on this blog where she wasnʼt with us. I didnʼt know when I wrote my review for her birthday it would be the last time she was alive on her birthday.

All the same, Iʼm talking about her today! Itʼs been awhile since I did my last post about Whatʼs My Line?, so Iʼm going to talk about her appearance on the show!

The basic rundown that I give you every time:

First of all, what is this game show? What's My Line? was a 30 minute game show that ran from 1950-1975.

How it worked:

A panel of four judges try to guess contestants' "lines" (jobs) by asking yes or no questions. The host/panel moderator, John Charles Daly, guided them and helped rework questions to fit the correct format. Each member of the panel would guess until they received a solid "no", a card is flipped, the contestant earns five dollars, and the next person on the panel begins to guess. When all ten cards are flipped the contestant wins! If the panel guess what their line is, then they still get however much money that they won in "nos".

L to R: The three regular panelists, Arlene Francis, Bennett Cerf, and Dorothy Kilgallen, & the panel moderator, John Daly.

Does this sound boring? Far from it! The occupations are so unique, the panel has a hard time. Sometimes their guesses are so off, that it's a hoot! Plus, the highlight is that after two contestants there is the mystery guest! This guest is a celebrity and would be recognizable, so the judges wear blindfolds and get to ask one yes or no question before moving onto the next panel member and they have to guess who it is.

Blindfolds ready, panel?

For ages I would always just skip to the mystery person, but once I started watching full episodes I realized how much I was missing. 

They are hilarious as they josh with each other! For example, in one of the episodes that Iʼm going to talk about with a different contestant John kept pausing to clarify where Arlene was getting annoyed with it:

Arlene Francis: “John is dubious. How are you, Mr. Dubious?”

The celebrity is how I'm connecting it back to my blog. The plan for this series is to talk about all of certain celebrity's appearances. To me, I think that you can tell a lot about a person based on the way they acted here. Some where shy, some were funny, some were bold, you get the idea!

If I were to review it like I do movies, I would say:

Length: approx. 30 minutes. 25 without advertisements.

Script: 10, Iʼve never heard a bad word.

Content: 9, sometimes there are one or two suggestive comments, but itʼs rare.

Age Range: Iʼve been watching this for a long time, but as I said, I didnʼt used to be interested in the first 2/3. I would say that little kids would like to just watch the mystery guest if they knew who it was, just because they wouldnʼt get how funny the rest of it was (especially if they canʼt read).

It is time to start! Will you come in mystery challenger, and sign in please...

Olivia de Havilland appeared as a contestant on Whatʼs My Line? on four separate occasions. Here are the dates and who was on the panel for each time:

May 25th, 1958: PANEL: Arlene Francis, Eamonn Andrews (who was part of the British version of Whatʼs My Line?), Dorothy Killgallen, & Bennett Cerf (this was Bennettʼs birthday so he had lots of jokes directed his way).

March 4th (which is the only day of the year that is both a date and a command, by the way), 1962: PANEL: Arlene Francis, Robert Morse, Dorothy Killgallen, & Bennett Cerf.

August 9th, 1964: PANEL: Arlene Francis, Joseph L. Mankiewicz, Dorothy Killgallen, & Bennett Cerf.

August 8th, 1965: PANEL: Arlene Francis, Martin Gabel, Carol Channing, & Bennett Cerf.

Watching these episodes has me smiling from ear to ear! In each one Dame Olivia was so gracious, with a dazzlingly joyous smile and happy to be there! She always knew the panel and gave them lots of kisses and hugs! Everyone else is always brighter after sheʼs been there, too. After watching these episodes I want to go back in time to bask in her warmth. This amazing lady won two Oscars!

Time to discuss the attempts to disguise her voice! I talk about it with every contestant and I will continue to do so because it never fails to amuse me. She first tried with a French accent, but that didnʼt work as everyone knew that she was living in Paris. A gravelly tone and Russian accent were better alternatives.

They talked about the movies The Proud Rebel (1958) (Bennett said he cried through the whole thing!) and The Lady in a Cage (1964) which is one I havenʼt seen. They also talked about a play she had been part of where Bennett said it was beautiful and (this made me laugh!) she seemed a little sarcastic when she replied, “Yes, itʼs beautiful, thatʼs what everybody says, thatʼs the word they use.” Has anyone else noticed that?

Once someone has been on Whatʼs My Line? the panel usually recognize their tactics when they come back. But unlike others who did the same thing each time, she learned her lesson with each time and improved her methods! Youʼll have to watch the episodes for yourself to see how successful she was. You can find it easily on YouTube.

Here are some of my highlights! Olivia de Havilland will be abbreviated as OdH:

Bennett Cerf: “Would you be considered, by even your worst enemies, to be very very lovely looking?”

OdH: *gave a doubtful look*

John Charles Daly: *yells* “YES!”

Arlene Francis: “Are you better known for your work in pictures than any other medium?”

OdH: *deep gravely hissing voice* Yes

Arlene Francis: *mimicking same voice* Swell!

Dorothy Killgallen: “Have you ever played a dual role in a movie?”

OdH: “Yes.”

(If you were interested, I reviewed such a movie of hers right HERE last year)

John Charles Daly: “Thatʼs one of the great benefits of this job, I want to tell you, not all of you ever get a chance to hold hands with Olivia de Havilland and I do.”

Thatʼs all from me! Iʼve seen seven of her forty-nine feature films, so I have a lot to look forward to! What is your favorite role of hers? I am rather partial to her Maid Marian and Melanie, though her parts in The Dark Mirror (1946) are fascinating! Anything that I've seen her in has been incredible.

Happy birthday, our lovely Olivia. 

MovieCritic

What's My Line?: Doris Day

 Hi, everybody!

Today is Holy Saturday and while I talked about a religious movie in my last post, I’m sliding in before Easter to write about something else. Do you know what I love to celebrate on this blog? Birthdays. Today, April 3rd, Doris Day would’ve been 99 years old! That’s pretty incredible, and a lot of people think so because Michaela at Love Letters to Old Hollywood is hosting her Fifth Annual Doris Day Blogathon!

For my entry I will be talking about her appearances on the game show What’s My Line?. 

The rundown:

First of all, what is this game show? What's My Line? was a 30 minute game show that ran from 1950-1975.

This is how it worked:

A panel of four judges try to guess contestants' "lines" (jobs) by asking yes or no questions. The host/panel moderator, John Charles Daly, guided them and helped rework questions to fit the correct format. Each member of the panel would guess until they received a solid "no", a card is flipped, the contestant earns five dollars, and the next person on the panel begins to guess. When all ten cards are flipped the contestant wins! If the panel guess what their line is, then they still get however much money that they won in "nos".

L to R: The three regular panelists, Arlene Francis, Bennett Cerf, and Dorothy Kilgallen, & the panel moderator, John Daly.

Now, this might sound boring, but I assure you that it isn't! The occupations are so unique, the panel has a hard time. Sometimes their guesses are so off, that it's a hoot! Plus, the highlight is that after two contestants there is the mystery guest! This guest is a celebrity and would be recognizable, so the judges wear blindfolds and get to ask one yes or no question before moving onto the next panel member and they have to guess who it is.

Blindfolds ready, panel?

For ages I would always just skip to the mystery person, but once I started watching full episodes I realized how much I was missing. The celebrity is how I'm connecting it back to my blog. The plan for this series is to talk about all of certain celebrity's appearances. To me, I think that you can tell a lot about a person based on the way they acted here. Some where shy, some were funny, some were bold, you get the idea!

If I were to review it like I do movies, I would say:

Length: 30 minutes.

Script: 10, Iʼve never heard a bad word.

Content: 9, sometimes there are one or two suggestive comments, but itʼs rare.

Age Range: Iʼve been watching this for a long time, but as I said, I didnʼt used to be interested in the first 2/3. I would say that little kids would like to just watch the mystery guest if they knew who it was, just because they wouldnʼt get how funny the rest of it was (especially if they canʼt read).

It is time to start! Will you come in mystery challenger, and sign in please...

 

Source

Doris Day appeared on What’s My Line? on two different occasions. Here are the dates and who was on the panel for each time:

June 20th, 1954: PANEL: Bennett Cerf, Arlene Francis, Steve Allen, & Dorothy Killgallen.

September 8th, 1957: PANEL: Arlene Francis, Robert Young, Dorothy Killgallen, & Bennett Cerf.

These episodes were a ton of fun to watch. Doris was just so sweet and charming! A fun fact is that on her first appearance on What’s My Line? it was her first ever appearance on television! She enjoyed the show as much as I did, as she said in the second episode:
“Oh John, it’s my pleasure and I must say that this is one of my very favorite shows. I really love it.”

Doris Day was known for her easily recognizable singing voice so she tried to disguise it both times with squeaking “yes” or “no” in a very high voice. I naturally compare sounds to animals, so she sounds like a mouse here. Bennett could be sometimes deaf so he asked, “Would you make your ‘yes’s and your ‘no’s a bit more different?” I thought it was plenty different. When the panel was taking a long time but they knew she was a singer John joked that he career would be over soon using those high notes if they didn’t hurry up.

It’s fun to be able to connect it to a timeline even when I already know the date that it aired. For example, in Doris’s first episode she mentioned that she was going to start making Young at Heart (1954) with Frank Sinatra soon, and in her second one they mentioned the movie The Pajama Game (1957). In the end credits of one the announcer mentioned the TV show Gunsmoke which I watched frequently a few years ago.

Here are some of my favorite parts from both shows, but these are only a small portion so you should find the episodes on YouTube and watch for yourself! Doris Day will be abbreviated as DD.:

DD has been answering in a squeaky “uh huh” this whole time and John hasn’t done any talking then:
Dorothy Killgallen: “Might you be described as a ‘glamour girl’ instead of a terribly serious actress?
John C. Daly: *deep voice* “Uh huh!”
The audience laughed and DD gave John a hug!


Arlene Francis: “Is your name alliterative?”
Steve Allen: “Watch your language.”
John C. Daly: “I don’t think whether our guest went to school or not got’s anything to do with this!”
This playing on alliterative vs. illiterate really cracked me up!


Arlene Francis: “Do you, uh, apart from acting, do you sing or dance?”
DD squeaks a yes, twice because the first one was a little weak. Which causes people to laugh.
John C. Daly: “Mr. Young.”
Robert Young: “Uh, you have a little trouble singing.”



Want to find out what this is? Watch the first episode!

Did she win or were the panel successful? You’ll have to watch and see!


Thanks to Michaela for hosting! Be sure to check out the other entries HERE.

Thanks to all of you for reading! I hope that you have a happy Easter tomorrow! Happy birthday, Miss Day!

MovieCritic

What's My Line?: Mickey Rooney

What's up, my fine friends!?

I hope that all of you are doing well. We have snow here, and I haven't gotten the chance to be in it too much, but I will soon. I love it!

Today, I am participating in KN Winiarski Writes's Mickey Rooney: A Belated Centenary Blogathon!

I was really excited when I saw this! I wrote a post on what would've been Mickey Rooney's 100th birthday, September 23rd, but was shocked when I didn't see anyone else do one. 

"Could the world have already forgotten Mickey Rooney?" I wondered.

Thankfully, the answer is no! So many people have signed up to write about him in these next few days that I'm extremely happy. Check out all of those posts HERE.

Since I reviewed a movie starring him, Little Lord Fauntleroy (1936), then, I thought that I'd do something different. (Though, I would love if any of you went and read that post in addition to this!)

Back in August I started a series that I had been wanting to begin for awhile, talking about one of my favorite game shows, What's My Line?! I started with talking about Esther Williams, and now it's Mickey Rooney's turn!

The rundown:

First of all, what is this game show? What's My Line? was a 30 minute game show that ran from 1950-1975.

This is how it worked:

A panel of four judges try to guess contestants' "lines" (jobs) by asking yes or no questions. The host/panel moderator, John Charles Daly, guided them and helped rework questions to fit the correct format. Each member of the panel would guess until they received a solid "no", a card is flipped, the contestant earns five dollars, and the next person on the panel begins to guess. When all ten cards are flipped the contestant wins! If the panel guess what their line is, then they still get however much money that they won in "nos".

L to R: The three regular panelists, Arlene Francis, Bennett Cerf, and Dorothy Kilgallen, & the panel moderator, John Daly.

Now, this might sound boring, but I assure you that it isn't! The occupations are so unique, the panel has a hard time. Sometimes their guesses are so off, that it's a hoot! Plus, the highlight is that after two contestants there is the mystery guest! This guest is a celebrity and would be recognizable, so the judges wear blindfolds and get to ask one yes or no question before moving onto the next panel member and they have to guess who it is.

Blindfolds ready, panel?

For ages I would always just skip to the mystery person, but once I started watching full episodes I realized how much I was missing. The celebrity is how I'm connecting it back to my blog. The plan for this series is to talk about all of certain celebrity's appearances. To me, I think that you can tell a lot about a person based on the way they acted here. Some where shy, some were funny, some were bold, you get the idea!

If I were to review it like I do movies, I would say:

Length: 30 minutes.

Script: 10, Iʼve never heard a bad word.

Content: 9, sometimes there are one or two suggestive comments, but itʼs rare.

Age Range: Iʼve been watching this for a long time, but as I said, I didnʼt used to be interested in the first 2/3. I would say that little kids would like to just watch the mystery guest if they knew who it was, just because they wouldnʼt get how funny the rest of it was (especially if they canʼt read).

It is time to start! Will you come in mystery challenger, and sign in please...

Source

Mickey Rooney appeared on Whatʼs My Line? on four occasions. Sadly, his first time is a lost episode! I canʼt find a way to watch it anywhere. From him talking about it on the other episodes I know that the panel guessed who it was. Iʼll talk about his other three appearances, though.

April 27th, 1952: PANEL: Dorothy Kilgallen, Hal Block, Arlene Francis, and Bennett Cerf. (LOST EPISODE)

May 5th, 1957: PANEL: Dorothy Kilgallen, Martin Gabel (Arleneʼs husband), Arlene Francis, and Bennett Cerf.

December 31st, 1961: PANEL: Dorothy Kilgallen, Martin Gabel (Arleneʼs husband), Arlene Francis, and Bennett Cerf.

January 16th, 1966: PANEL: Steve Allen, Arlene Francis, Jayne Meadows, and Bennett Cerf.

Mickey Rooney is famous for his comedy, and these short episodes are no exception. For some reason before watching it I thought that he was going to be quiet, but I was wrong. When he entered he would throw kisses to the audience and one time, on May 5th, he signed a different name for fun. He fully participated and was hilarious! His reactions to the panelʼs questions is so memorable, as he was usually incredulous because they kept thinking that he was a woman.

Sometimes the celebrity guests answered in disguised voices, and his were hilarious. One time he was this kind of old guy jowly voice (my best way to describe it! Dorothy described it as, “Is he talking through a comb with tissue paper on it?”), which of course means that the panel had trouble understanding him (they are so deaf sometimes) and John had to repeat stuff. Mickey Rooney threw it back at them, asking, “What did you  say?”, which looked like great fun to make fun of the panel. Another time he used a high, squeaky voice (thatʼs when they thought he was a woman!), and lastly he sounded, to me, like an old cat (if cats could talk).

From his appearance on this show I can tell that he was extremely friendly, funny (I already knew that, because who doesnʼt?), and just in general had a great humor.

Some esoterica: there were mentions of the movie Breakfast at Tiffanyʼs (1961) and The Lucy Show. In one episode there were two mystery guests, the other being Henry Barnes, who was a traffic commissioner when there was something to do with Mike Quill. Iʼve never heard of what they were talking about so I had to look it up. See, this is educational!

Now Iʼm going to say some of my favorite moments, but I have to limit myself and there are many that I didnʼt put, so you should watch the episodes for yourself to see what your favorite parts are. (Mickey Rooney will be abbreviated as MR):

Arlene: “Are you younger than Gabby Hayes?” 

MR: “There have been doubts.”

When they all thought that he was female and were asking weird questions (they later admitted that they were going for Kim Novak!):

Finally, Bennett: “Iʼm afraid that weʼve been barking up the wrong tree.”

Dorothy: “Iʼm terribly sorry.”

Bennett: “Do you sometimes play a musical instrument while youʼre singing before a television or nightclub audience?”

John: “Like play a tuba and sing at the same time, Bennett?”

Steve Allen: “Do you sing?” 

MR: “If you want to call it that.”

How many times did the panel guess who it was, and how many times did Mickey Rooney win? Youʼll have to watch for yourself! Three of these episodes are available on YouTube and I like to watch them while doing the dishes. You can just skip to the mystery guest, but the whole episode is a ton of fun.

Thanks to Kristen for hosting this event and giving me a chance to continue this series! Make sure to read the other entries HERE.

As I said in my post on his actual birthday, my favorite role that he played is Mi Taylor in National Velvet (1944), what is yours? Have any of you seen Whatʼs My Line?? Thanks for reading!

MovieCritic

Presenting...What's My Line: Esther Williams

Good day to all my readers!

Michaela of Love Letters to Old Hollywood is hosting a blogathon in honor of one of her favorite Hollywood stars, Esther Williams! I'm a day late and a dollar short, due to technical difficulties, but I'm still joining!

I had some difficulties choosing what to write about. For a long time I've been wanting to talk about one of my favorite old TV game shows, What's My Line, here on my blog and today has granted me the perfect opportunity to start! Michaela was very gracious with my indecision, so thanks to her!

Okay, now you must be wondering, what is this game show? What's My Line was a 30 minute game show that ran from 1950-1975. This is how it worked:
A panel of four judges try to guess contestants' "lines" (jobs) by asking yes or no questions. The host/panel moderator, John Charles Daly, guided them and helped rework questions to fit the correct format. Anytime there is a solid "no", a card is flipped and the contestant earns five dollars. When all ten cards are flipped the contestant wins!

L to R: The three regular panelists, Arlene Francis, Bennett Cerf, and Dorothy Kilgallen, & the panel moderator, John Daly.

Now, this might sound boring, but I assure you that it isn't! The occupations are so unique, the panel has a hard time. Plus, the highlight is that after two contestants there is the mystery guest! This guest is a celebrity and would be recognizable, so the judges wear blindfolds and with yes or no questions have to guess who it is.

For ages I would always just skip to the mystery person, but once I started watching full episodes I realized how much I was missing. The celebrity is how I'm connecting it back to my blog. The plan for this series is to talk about all of certain celebrities appearances. To me, I think that you can tell a lot about a person based on the way they acted here.

It is time to start! Will you come in mystery challenger, and sign in please...

Source

Esther appeared on What's My Line on three different occasions. I'll list the date and panel:

January 16th, 1955: PANEL: Dorothy Kilgallen, Robert Q. Lewis, Arlene Francis, & Bennett Cerf.

July 27th, 1958: PANEL: Dorothy Kilgallen, Dick Clark, Arlene Francis, & Bennett Cerf.

September 6th, 1959: PANEL: Dorothy Kilgallen, Martin Gabel (Arlene's husband), Arlene Francis, & Bennett Cerf.

Her third time around the panel (note, Bennett) were starting to catch on to who this could be.


She was such a great contestant to watch! Some people just sit there and answer yes or no, but she was made such great comments with all of the answers! Contestants sometimes try to disguise their voices so they wouldn't be recognized and Esther had some great ones. Her first episode she sung. In the second I felt so sorry for her because she had laryngitis and whispered all the answers (the panel was not helpful, always saying, "What did she say?" They sounded like a bunch of old people). The third time she used a hilarious Southern accent. She was a harder contestant than usual, because of her amazing swim talent! The panel could usually figure out that she did something else, but they would get stuck focusing on singing and dancing. Her energy was so contagious, John and the panel would start doing whatever she was doing.

Having a "secret conference with John Daly

Here are some of my favorite moments:

Esther after being asked about her hair color: It's terribly chic!

Dorothy: Are you in some branch of the entertainment world?
Esther (singing): I try!
Arlene: Pretty hard, too.

Arlene: Would you consider yourself a leading woman?
Esther: What do you consider yourself?

Bennett: Do you also have a conspicuous talent outside of your thespian ability?
Esther: Mr. Daly, what's he referring to?
Mr. Daly: He's referring to the fact, ma'am, that you are very well known for something besides being an excellent actress in movies.
Esther: I pride myself on being many dimensional.
(She actually used that line in two shows and I'm surprised that the panel didn't catch on sooner...)

I could just sit here and type out the whole dialogue of all three shows, but I'll let you watch it for yourself.


Thanks a million to Michaela for hosting! Check out the other entries HERE.

Thanks to everyone else for reading! Let me know if anyone else has seen What's My Line. If not, it's available on Youtube. Hint, I really like watching it while doing the dishes.

Wishing you all the best!

MovieCritic