I just wanted to share a quick story- I only recently started watching WML ( I’m 50 yrs old) and am just finding out who some of these people are- especially members of the panel. I am now a big Arlene fan. Well the other day I’m watching an episode, and my 20 year old daughter (who’s in college) started watching with me and she says “ Oh, that’s Arlene Francis” . I asked her how she knew and she told me in one of her classes they have a few chapters on women who were pioneers of radio, tv, other media , and there’s almost a whole chapter dedicated to her . I thought that was wonderful. Arlene now has 2 new fans.
Dawn Falvey I may be wrong but I think her status of 'pioneer' only applies to US radio, TV and other US media thereof. I would guess she was ineffectual to media outside of America and certainly she's unheard of here in the UK. But hey!! Nevertheless I have learned a lot about her during my chronological trawl through WML here and I like her an awful lot!! Wish I'd seen her perform.
@@davidsanderson5918 But, they had a British version of WML! Several of the Celebrities if I may call them that came across the “Pond “ to be on the panel and as a contestant who sat next to John Daly.
@@GeneRogers-xl9um David is known as a council housing resident to us Americans. UK council housing people will understand as their mothers are not like woman. They tend to follow the American poor in staying married or gaining an adverse to an education for the idea of being independent and fully not inspiriting.
@@waldolydecker8118 Then why are many people today rotten to the core? Because history is repeating itself and it will soon be The End of the World!!!!!
Arlene looked great. Phyllis Newman was gorgeous. The first guest Lesley was a lovely young lady. The Kingston Trio was one of my father's favorite groups. Thanks for the video.
The Kingston Trio led by Bob Shane is my all time favorite. This show must have been around 1959 when I was a Junior at CORNELL & first heard them there. I enjoyed them all over the US & at sea!
I was just a toddler when The Monkees' "Daydream Believer," written by John Stewart, was released. Being such a tender age, and not knowing the subtleties of shaving, I thought Davy was singing, "My shaving razor's cold, and it stinks."
what i like about this show is bringing in women with non traditional women jobs. i know it’s to make it harder for the panel to guess, but it’s nice to see these women pioneers who paved the way and inspired other women.
@@shirleyrombough8173 Sammy Davis Jr. was a panelist and his great friend Phyllis Diller, without even giving it a thought, as she went out kissed him right on the cheek. People were outraged throughout the South but they refused to cut the two second moment for viewing.
Very interesting time capsule. Mr Harding who work with eradicating mosquitos mention books that condemn certain practices. He there was referring to "Silent Spring" by Rachel Carson which was released not even a year before this show aired. The book and the activism that followed is what eventually banned the use of DDT for pest control and this is likely the method that Mr Hardings group was mostly using.
Great observation. There's a further irony that John Daly was talking about giving speeches on water pollution, and DDT was found to contaminate water and get taken up by marine animals.
I learned this song at one of our evening campfires held during church summer camp in the mid-1950s. Even when I sing it allowed to myself today I start weeping, as I (too) am responding to the subtle underlying messages this song conveys.Thank you for acknowledging it in your comments here.
I have a small booklet that is 3 generations old of the life of Tom Dooley and it is signed by the Kingston Trio. I live about 10 miles from Tom's grave and 15 miles from Laura's grave. It's a very intriguing story.
You'll get a tommy ache from that somewhat snobbish way of talking... Have you ever seen the spoof of WML, the actress who played Arlene hit that nail very hard: czcams.com/video/KF1UsdzvJP8/video.html Enjoy :)
"Tom Dooley" was so popular it spent months as #1 on the Billboard charts. One disc jockey got so fed up with playing it, he staged a public funeral and smashed the record. It didn't work - the song stayed even longer on the charts.
One song they premiered that got 'stolen' away from them was Ervin Drake's "It Was a Very Good Year." They had premiered it in 1961. Frank Sinatra heard the Kingston Trio's record on his car radio while driving in Los Angeles/Palm Springs and when he later performed and recorded it, it completely overwhelmed the Trio's original association with the tune. Most today who know the song would probably tell you that Sinatra premiered it and not know the Trio had anything to do with it.
@@waldolydecker8118 Great information on "It Was a Very Good Year." I had never heard it by The Kingston Trio, but I will definitely listen to it after posting this. Thanks!
maynardsmoreland He certainly did. His original lyrics to the song included the line, "now you know how *funky* I can be," but The Monkees changed the word "funky" to "happy." I am a huge Monkees fan and absolutely love The Monkees' version, but I am aware that this seemingly small lyric change completely changed the meaning of that verse.
Someone made a remark criticizing the Kingston Trio for not wearing formal wear on the program. But those striped shirts were part of their act and it waa fine.
That's a persnickety criticism if it was made. They came authentically dress as they often performed. Nothing could be more genuine than that. If they showed up in formal wear, it would come across as phony to those familiar with them.
"If there aren't too many books out to condemn control methods," says the civil servant in response to Rachel Carson's Silent Spring, condemning pest control methods
With all do respect Mr Bennett Cerf had a problem with who was the most intelligent person on this most wonderful program and a few years later he finally realized by showing respect to Mr Charles Daly that his intellect was over shadowed by his superior man of the hour Mr CharlesDaly
Of the first 18 broadcasts and taping sessions, one of the ten that Dorothy missed due to illness. Tony Randall introduced Phyllis Newman exactly the same way twice when he got the duty. Of course these episodes appeared months from each other, so not 1 in 1,000,000 in those days would notice.
@soulierinvestments - Tony, having deep learning in the theater & opera arts (while he did a lot of TV & movies), would have established ahead of the intro what he wanted to say about the person and particularly the fine work they had done, awards they had won. However, the producers at times gave presenters suggestions that took into account what the PR people for the panelist wanted emphasized or de-emphasized something that might embarrass the game-player. In the case of Phyllis Newman one was also dealing with a performing artist married to one of the finest creative artists in theater, so that may have played into a carefully crafted introduction. She had a superb sense of humor, which is one reason she was Johnny Carson's go-to gal when his show was in NYC still, as she lived near where they filmed and could jump into TV clothes and fill-in for a missing guest without missing a beat. She was full of funny stories. He more or less replaced her with Suzanne Pleshette after the move to Burbank. She had a history in theater, a fabulous sense of humor, a wealth of funny stories, and was game to fill-in, help out.
August 1963. Oh my God, America and the world was still in the placid 1950's really. But in just just 3 short months, the country would go through great tribulation when JFK was murdered and 3 months after that, the Beatles would change music and popular culture forever. The Kingston Trio was riding high but the Folk music craze was about to end suddenly. Rock and roll would have a revival and the Trio wouldn't get much air play ever again.
Kingston Trio first recorded "It Was a Very Good Year," then Frank Sinatra heard it on the radio on a drive back to Palm Springs...recorded it, and it totally drowned out the Kingston's version and became a Sinatra signature song.
She and Dorothy were superb players. One of the biggest worries the producers had when creating the show was that the panelists would guess so few occupations it would get boring. After ten years they averaged OVER one in three winning guesses.
@@poetcomic1 I think they gave the correct guesses to the regular panelists. The guest panelists rarely get it right. They had to keep up percentages or they would have had to change regular panelists. They liked their Arlene, Dorothy and Bennet. I wonder how competitive Arlene and Dorothy were. Arlene doesn't look at Dorothy when she is introduced.
PhilBagels Nice little-known fact there...and not only that but in Bennett's "Random House Dictionary Of The English Language" the word 'gullible' was left out on its first edition. All these facts and more can be found on the website.
Nick Reynolds and Bob Shane were founding members of The Kingston Trio. John Stewart joined the group in 1961 after the other original member, Dave Guard, left the group over artistic differences. Like many American groups. they lost favor with the arrival of the "British Invasion." The group disbanded in 1967, but other variations were formed in later years. Both Reynolds and Stewart died in 2008; Shane died in 2020. Other popular Kingston Trio songs, aside from the #1 hit "Tom Dooley," were "Where Have All the Flowers Gone" and "Greenback Dollar." Stewart, a prolific songwriter, wrote The Monkees' hit "Daydream Believer."
John Stewart's big hit as a solo artist was 'Gold' from 1979 and he hated it so much that he quit doing it live. He only wrote it to satisfy the record company.
In the live episodes in July, Phyllis Newman was visibly pregnant (if you cared to notice). This is a good clue that the episode was pre-recorded in batches before July 1963. She gave birth to her child in December 1963.
at this time the Kingston Trio were nearing the end of their stratospheric popularity which began in 1958 with Tom Dooley. Peter Paul and Mary - who had appeared on WML a month earlier - were just taking over the airwaves.
At 7:58 it appears that Bennett is about to make a rare nonverbal joke in response to John's comment about Bennett not being under water. The director cuts to another camera, so we don't see it all, but it looks as if Bennett is going to hold his glass of water over his head to disprove John.
Nick Reynolds would bring his little boy into our shop to get his haircut IN SAUSALITO, 1960's. I would cut John Stewart's hair . On my radio show, I played one selection by him from a live event, from the venue; THE FRONT ROOM.
Above all she was ambitious. She reinvented herself in the first few months of the show:hair, makeup, clothing styling. Some affectations which worked for her.She was on multiple shows and in plays simultaneously. She received over $500 -$750 per show.. The mystery guests received $500. That was a LOT of money in the 1950's when a week's pay would be around $100. Arleen went on the be a Board member (paid) of Bonwit-Teller which also supplied her with clothes....very smart!
Plus ca change. Interesting that Daly offhandedly remarks that he gives lectures on the dangers of water pollution. He would have a field day dealing with current events in Flint, Michigan.
John had many interests outside of show business and journalism. Among them, he sat on the Water Pollution Control Advisory Board from 1960 to 1962. He even contributed to this academic paper: www.jstor.org/stable/25036441?seq=1#page_scan_tab_contents
Videotaped on March 24, 1963. Dorothy was still in what was then her most-recent month-long relapse. The next-aired episode was also from that same relapse phase; that was taped on April 14.
As of March 24, 1963, a New York City newspaper strike had been going on for three months, so reporters could not investigate or explain Dorothy's absence from a few television broadcasts.
@@dinahbrown902Do you know exactly why Dorothy Kilgallen was hospitalized in March 1963 when this episode was videotaped? Newspapers did not report that she was hospitalized. All the New York City daily newspapers suspended publication because of a printers’ strike. The word “difficult” is more accurate than “sad” for describing what was going on in New York in March 1963.
***** He certainly didn't get it at first, and you may be right that he just pretended to appreciate it at the end, because he wasn't familiar with the meaning of the word as Bennett used it. It certainly wasn't like him to be so appreciative of any of Bennett's puns, but then again, this one was a compliment.
SaveThe TPC I watched it again and still didn't think John really got the word "tony." But 15 years ago, I didn't get the word myself when someone used it to describe a town in Connecticut. ... And no, it wasn't Bridgeport!
Lou Gottlieb was a bassist and comic spokesman for The Limeliters. Owls in comparison to the Kingston Trio. Chad Mitchell Trio did folk music. Interesting that Warren Harding came in a tux when he did not have to and the Kingston guys did not wear ties when they should have.
soulierinvestments Those striped shirts were kind of a trademark uniform for The Kingston Trio, I think, much like the original "Beatles suits" were for The Beatles in their early days.
I love John Daly. He is the best there is. But I don't know how the regular panelists took his sometimes exhausting expositions on this or that question for seventeen years. Were they not polite people, I'm sure somewhere along the line, someone would have thrown up his hands and said "oh just shut up John". Thank goodness Soupy Sales wasn't on the network show.
Joe Postove Actually, he was, on four occasions: May 9, 1965; Mystery Guest May 30, 1965; Panelist May 29, 1966; Mystery Guest April 9, 1967 (Recorded on March 5, 1967); Mystery Guest (episode doesn't exist anymore; the only pre-taped episode to no longer exist.)
Joe Postove they seemed fine with it; it's you who seems the only one perturbed. but if you're doing to hit one side dont ignore the other when just about every panelist(especially Dorothy & Arlene) would ask 5+ questions when you knew they already knew who the person was--some would call that hogging the time but John never batted an eye
Jim Steele, almost certainly. She was viciously attacked as a fool and liar, or worse, in a smear campaign by the chemical manufacturers. Now we know that she was all too right.
This is the funniest collection of wrong MG identities. The Mills Brothers? The Marx Brothers? The Gottlieb Trio? None of the Kingston Trio ever visited Kingston.
They did perform in Plymouth, MA once. Assuming they were picked up in Boston, the highway to Plymouth would pass through Kingston, MA. So, maybe they stopped in Kingston.
They mentioned the music of Harry Belafonte inspired the name. It was Belafonte's 1956 LP, 'Calypso' that was the very first record album in America to sell over 1 million copies. He was a major influence in music, especially in the decade preceding the arrival of The Beatles.
Did WML when they would tape a show way in advance ever have an embarrassment like the syndicated version had when Bennett Cerf died and his appearances continued to play? Why tape so far in advance?
Because in those days, syndication was different as Fates explained in the book about the "bicycling" process. If a station signed up to air the program as it was in its second year, it would get the tapes for year 1, meaning those markets that had been with the show from the beginning would be "current" but other stations might be airing shows more than a year old. This process was continuing all the way to the late 70s. I remember that when Hollywood Squares had a nighttime version in 1968 and pretaped shows in advance they had to censor a question that had to do with who was going to run LBJ's re-election campaign because by the time the episode aired, LBJ had withdrawn from the race.
Arlene's only annoying trait....she should have known better than constantly asking guests to perform on their off day and when not prepared/expected. Its one of the main things that annoys performers - being imposed upon - yet she constantly did it
@@njhollywood - yes he did...Bobby Darin also sang a few bars of "Mack the Knife" but the overwhelming number of guests rightfully refused Arlene's requests for performances...and she made dozens of them over the years.
I haven't watched the episodes to come, but I'm curious to know as to whether any reference is made to President Kennedy's assassination in the weeks or months following Nov. 22??
Galileocan g I think it was quite deliberate. WML was always an escapist show. The only somber events I can recall ever being referenced in its entire run were completely unavoidable: the deaths of Fred Allen and Dorothy Kilgallen.
Jay Spector Your point being? For the love of Mike. What else could you possibly think was the reason why JFK's assassination wasn't mentioned on WML except the reason I said? List all the other references to current events on the show that you want. It doesn't change the point I made, which was pretty straightforward. They didn't mention it because it was a light entertainment program. It's that simple.
Jay Spector Yeah, obviously I responded here before I realized that it was you again, Dave. Don't worry. I won't respond again. And this account, as well as "Nyann Smith" have been banned. Pathetic, useless waste of time.
John STILL flips over the cards for absolutely no reason (I used to be sad when he did that, now I'm just INFURIATED)! but from watching THIS episode, I realized that he finds loop holes so he CAN turn them all over I've noticed before (MANY times) that the panel will guess what the person does, but John says "Yes but..." (even though they guessed it, he finds loopholes so he can turn the cards ALL over (I never noticed that before)
He flips them for different reasons. If panel guesses the occupation very fast and the contestant spent too little time on air, he flips the cards. When the segment was interesting and everybody had fun and good laugh, he flips them as well. He just flips them when he decides. At the end EVERYBODY gets 50 dollars, no matter how many cards are flipped. The cards serves for following the YES-es and NOs
@@johnmoreland6089 Can you HONESTLY tell me that the very first time you watched this, it didn't get to you that he flipped over those cards through the ENTIRE series of the show (most of the time for no reason whatsoever)? If I ever decide to watch the show again, it might be different cause I know what he's like now. But I KNOW I'm the only the one who was annoyed by this the very first time someone watched the show (and by the way, I'm STILL not through it yet. I still have 2 more years to go)
@@kristabrewer9363 I'm glad he flips them because just as you say he "flips" them for no logical reason, so does the panel, automatically guesses the occupation of some "out of nowhere" I mean, the audience would tune out if the panel were consistently losing to the guests. They have to appear "brilliant" after all to keep their jobs. Goodson/Todman loved Arlene, Dorothy and Bennet for so long. So I think a controlled-balance on both sides is what they worked hard to do. Ratings-wise.
The hip folk revival and the hipper West Coast Jazz trend would shortly get squashed by the approaching British invasion. Those that were doing pure folk would either adapt, like Dylan and Baez, or they would fade into music history, as the Kingston Trio did.
@@dcasper8514 A big difference between prison stripes and pinstripes. But you're right. I don't like baseball uniforms with pinstripes because of the Yankees. I do like a subtle pinstripe on a business suit, man's or woman's.
Everyone needs salvation here are the words of salvation please forgive me jesus im a sinner come into my heart and save me from my sin I no that you are the savior and I no that you died for me on calvary and I no that God raise you from the dead and you are alive and I thankyou for your salvation in Jesus holy name amen and its important to always ask for forgiveness every night 🌙 ✨️ 💖 and hope you come in my email
I guess it’s because he’s a publisher that Bennett is incapable of keeping his mouth shut when it’s not his turn. Way to cheat the guest out of money Bennett.
I just wanted to share a quick story- I only recently started watching WML ( I’m 50 yrs old) and am just finding out who some of these people are- especially members of the panel. I am now a big Arlene fan. Well the other day I’m watching an episode, and my 20 year old daughter (who’s in college) started watching with me and she says “ Oh, that’s Arlene Francis” . I asked her how she knew and she told me in one of her classes they have a few chapters on women who were pioneers of radio, tv, other media , and there’s almost a whole chapter dedicated to her . I thought that was wonderful. Arlene now has 2 new fans.
Dawn Falvey I may be wrong but I think her status of 'pioneer' only applies to US radio, TV and other US media thereof. I would guess she was ineffectual to media outside of America and certainly she's unheard of here in the UK. But hey!! Nevertheless I have learned a lot about her during my chronological trawl through WML here and I like her an awful lot!! Wish I'd seen her perform.
Thanks for sharing such a great, inspiring story.
@@davidsanderson5918 But, they had a British version of WML! Several of the Celebrities if I may call them that came across the “Pond “ to be on the panel and as a contestant who sat next to John Daly.
@@GeneRogers-xl9um David is known as a council housing resident to us Americans. UK council housing people will understand as their mothers are not like woman. They tend to follow the American poor in staying married or gaining an adverse to an education for the idea of being independent and fully not inspiriting.
@@GeneRogers-xl9um😅😅😅
Superb people from a time that we will never ever see again Period!!!!!
The people before them were even more superb...and the ones before them more superb than those, and so on...that's how it goes
@@waldolydecker8118 Then why are many people today rotten to the core? Because history is repeating itself and it will soon be The End of the World!!!!!
Arlene looked great. Phyllis Newman was gorgeous. The first guest Lesley was a lovely young lady. The Kingston Trio was one of my father's favorite groups. Thanks for the video.
The Kingston Trio led by Bob Shane is my all time favorite. This show must have been around 1959
when I was a Junior at
CORNELL & first heard them there. I enjoyed them all over the US & at sea!
I was just a toddler when The Monkees' "Daydream Believer," written by John Stewart, was released. Being such a tender age, and not knowing the subtleties of shaving, I thought Davy was singing, "My shaving razor's cold, and it stinks."
And it stings
@@lechatbotte. Well yeah, duh.
what i like about this show is bringing in women with non traditional women jobs. i know it’s to make it harder for the panel to guess, but it’s nice to see these women pioneers who paved the way and inspired other women.
here, here
MiketheYung God - The show also brought in members of minority groups as both regular and mystery guests. Bravo for them.
@@shirleyrombough8173 Sammy Davis Jr. was a panelist and his great friend Phyllis Diller, without even giving it a thought, as she went out kissed him right on the cheek. People were outraged throughout the South but they refused to cut the two second moment for viewing.
Tony Randall is always a gentleman.
Felix Unger was the best character on t.v....
Arlene was smart to figure out the mosquitoes. Funny segment. 😂
Very interesting time capsule. Mr Harding who work with eradicating mosquitos mention books that condemn certain practices. He there was referring to "Silent Spring" by Rachel Carson which was released not even a year before this show aired. The book and the activism that followed is what eventually banned the use of DDT for pest control and this is likely the method that Mr Hardings group was mostly using.
Great observation. There's a further irony that John Daly was talking about giving speeches on water pollution, and DDT was found to contaminate water and get taken up by marine animals.
Their version of Pete Seeger’s incredible song ‘Where Have All The Flowers Gone?” is one of the greatest songs ever recorded.
I learned this song at one of our evening campfires held during church summer camp in the mid-1950s. Even when I sing it allowed to myself today I start weeping, as I (too) am responding to the subtle underlying messages this song conveys.Thank you for acknowledging it in your comments here.
Oh, they are so classy and interesting, polite, and love it.
I know...wish we could revive those styles and social habits.
I have a small booklet that is 3 generations old of the life of Tom Dooley and it is signed by the Kingston Trio. I live about 10 miles from Tom's grave and 15 miles from Laura's grave. It's a very intriguing story.
I knew the song as a kid but never knew he was a real person! Cool.
I love Arlene. She is on my dinner party A list.
You'll get a tommy ache from that somewhat snobbish way of talking... Have you ever seen the spoof of WML, the actress who played Arlene hit that nail very hard: czcams.com/video/KF1UsdzvJP8/video.html Enjoy :)
man, did they have a megahit with "tom dooley". off the charts. a once-in-a-lifetimer.
"Tom Dooley" was so popular it spent months as #1 on the Billboard charts. One disc jockey got so fed up with playing it, he staged a public funeral and smashed the record. It didn't work - the song stayed even longer on the charts.
They had other great hits. They were much more than a one hit wonder.
One song they premiered that got 'stolen' away from them was Ervin Drake's "It Was a Very Good Year." They had premiered it in 1961. Frank Sinatra heard the Kingston Trio's record on his car radio while driving in Los Angeles/Palm Springs and when he later performed and recorded it, it completely overwhelmed the Trio's original association with the tune. Most today who know the song would probably tell you that Sinatra premiered it and not know the Trio had anything to do with it.
With me, for whatever reason, when I think of them I think of Where Have All the Flowers Gone. In fact, after watching this, I just listened to it.
@@waldolydecker8118 Great information on "It Was a Very Good Year." I had never heard it by The Kingston Trio, but I will definitely listen to it after posting this. Thanks!
Phyllis . My father loved her laugh , very hearty.
John Stewart of the Kingston Trio later wrote The Monkees' "Daydream Believer."
maynardsmoreland
He certainly did. His original lyrics to the song included the line, "now you know how *funky* I can be," but The Monkees changed the word "funky" to "happy." I am a huge Monkees fan and absolutely love The Monkees' version, but I am aware that this seemingly small lyric change completely changed the meaning of that verse.
@@savethetpc6406 Funky rhymes with Monkee...Kingston Trio fan here
I have a vinyl album by John Stewart - California Bloodlines that once in a while I still listen to.
@@savethetpc6406 When they changed it, John remarked, "Happy doesn't make any sense."
When it was no.1 worldwide, John said, "Happy works just fine."
Loved the Kingston Trio - for like, um = over 50 years!
The handwriting of the contestants was so much better in the fifties!
Excellent Kennedy impersonation by one of the Kingston Trio.
John Stewart
I once set up the sound system for the Kingston Trio
Very entertaining show back in the day. So simple and still so interesting.
Stll entertaining to me today! I quit watching television years ago and being an expat watch the older movies, TV shows and music. 再见👋
Someone made a remark criticizing the Kingston Trio for not wearing formal wear on the program. But those striped shirts were part of their act and it waa fine.
That's a persnickety criticism if it was made. They came authentically dress as they often performed. Nothing could be more genuine than that. If they showed up in formal wear, it would come across as phony to those familiar with them.
"If there aren't too many books out to condemn control methods," says the civil servant in response to Rachel Carson's Silent Spring, condemning pest control methods
I grew up in MA...beautiful place, but oh the toxins there...
The poisoning of the peoples
@@julieb7785 the toxic cleaning fluids poured down the drains of the guest cottages on fragile cape cod every stinkin' week, arghgh
Folk music was a popular genre in the early 60s, particularly in NYC. The Trio was one of nationally known entertainers.
With all do respect Mr Bennett Cerf had a problem with who was the most intelligent person on this most wonderful program and a few years later he finally realized by showing respect to Mr Charles Daly that his intellect was over shadowed by his superior man of the hour Mr CharlesDaly
It's my understanding that the two were great friends and held each other in high regard.
Of the first 18 broadcasts and taping sessions, one of the ten that Dorothy missed due to illness.
Tony Randall introduced Phyllis Newman exactly the same way twice when he got the duty. Of course these episodes appeared months from each other, so not 1 in 1,000,000 in those days would notice.
@soulierinvestments - Tony, having deep learning in the theater & opera arts (while he did a lot of TV & movies), would have established ahead of the intro what he wanted to say about the person and particularly the fine work they had done, awards they had won. However, the producers at times gave presenters suggestions that took into account what the PR people for the panelist wanted emphasized or de-emphasized something that might embarrass the game-player. In the case of Phyllis Newman one was also dealing with a performing artist married to one of the finest creative artists in theater, so that may have played into a carefully crafted introduction. She had a superb sense of humor, which is one reason she was Johnny Carson's go-to gal when his show was in NYC still, as she lived near where they filmed and could jump into TV clothes and fill-in for a missing guest without missing a beat. She was full of funny stories. He more or less replaced her with Suzanne Pleshette after the move to Burbank. She had a history in theater, a fabulous sense of humor, a wealth of funny stories, and was game to fill-in, help out.
August 1963. Oh my God, America and the world was still in the placid 1950's really. But in just just 3 short months, the country would go through great tribulation when JFK was murdered and 3 months after that, the Beatles would change music and popular culture forever. The Kingston Trio was riding high but the Folk music craze was about to end suddenly. Rock and roll would have a revival and the Trio wouldn't get much air play ever again.
There was nothing "placid" about the 1950s.
Kingston Trio first recorded "It Was a Very Good Year," then Frank Sinatra heard it on the radio on a drive back to Palm Springs...recorded it, and it totally drowned out the Kingston's version and became a Sinatra signature song.
As soon as Arlene guessed mosquito she scratched her neck!
liberty Ann - And I could smell cigarette smoke when Edward R. Murrow was smoking on the program. Ah, the ways of the human brain+
@liberty Ann - I noticed that, as well, and think I scratched my arm or shoulder.
She and Dorothy were superb players. One of the biggest worries the producers had when creating the show was that the panelists would guess so few occupations it would get boring. After ten years they averaged OVER one in three winning guesses.
@@poetcomic1 I think they gave the correct guesses to the regular panelists. The guest panelists rarely get it right. They had to keep up percentages or they would have had to change regular panelists. They liked their Arlene, Dorothy and Bennet. I wonder how competitive Arlene and Dorothy were. Arlene doesn't look at Dorothy when she is introduced.
😂
...and Bob Shane just passed away at age 85, in January 2020.
rip
As was mentioned, Phyllis Newman won a Tony Award, but what isn't as well-known is that Tony Randall won a Phyllis Award.
PhilBagels Nice little-known fact there...and not only that but in Bennett's "Random House Dictionary Of The English Language" the word 'gullible' was left out on its first edition. All these facts and more can be found on the website.
That's hilarious! (Don't tell Bennett).
Nick Reynolds and Bob Shane were founding members of The Kingston Trio. John Stewart joined the group in 1961 after the other original member, Dave Guard, left the group over artistic differences. Like many American groups. they lost favor with the arrival of the "British Invasion." The group disbanded in 1967, but other variations were formed in later years. Both Reynolds and Stewart died in 2008; Shane died in 2020. Other popular Kingston Trio songs, aside from the #1 hit "Tom Dooley," were "Where Have All the Flowers Gone" and "Greenback Dollar." Stewart, a prolific songwriter, wrote The Monkees' hit "Daydream Believer."
I didn't like John Stewart for a long time until I discovered "Desert Pete"
John Stewart's big hit as a solo artist was 'Gold' from 1979 and he hated it so much that he quit doing it live. He only wrote it to satisfy the record company.
@@rosemma34 Have you heard "Reverend Mr. Black" ? Same kind of talking narrative but builds up emotionally.
"The Reverend Mr. Black was my old man."
@@imoldgreggboosh3467 yes I like that song very much
@@bluecamus5162 I hated it at the time and glad to know he hated it too hahahaha
I was doing a youtube search for Tom Dooley on the MTA, and this episode came up.
In the live episodes in July, Phyllis Newman was visibly pregnant (if you cared to notice). This is a good clue that the episode was pre-recorded in batches before July 1963. She gave birth to her child in December 1963.
+1201NColombo Neat observation-- I had never caught this.
She was extremely hot this episode.!!
at this time the Kingston Trio were nearing the end of their stratospheric popularity which began in 1958 with Tom Dooley.
Peter Paul and Mary - who had appeared on WML a month earlier - were just taking over the airwaves.
Not - The "British Invasion" took over the airwaves . . .
Peter, Paul and Mary can’t hold a candle to the Kingston trio.
@@Nothingatall60 Not true. Both groups were great.
At 7:58 it appears that Bennett is about to make a rare nonverbal joke in response to John's comment about Bennett not being under water. The director cuts to another camera, so we don't see it all, but it looks as if Bennett is going to hold his glass of water over his head to disprove John.
So in 1963, Bennett's head was underwater was breathing fine?
Nick Reynolds would bring his little boy into our shop to get his haircut IN SAUSALITO, 1960's. I would cut John Stewart's hair . On my radio show, I played one selection by him from a live event, from the venue; THE FRONT ROOM.
Folk music would make its own comeback with Simon & Garfunkel and John Denver.
Sadly, of the Kingston Trio original lineup, only Bob Shane remains. And he had to quit performing in 2004 after a serious heart attack.
At this point they had already replaced one of the founders, Dave Guard, with John Stewart.
@@stlmopoet Dave quit
And Bob passed away on January 26, 2020.
John Stewart did a good John Kennedy imitation.
Yes! And no one on the panel acknowledged it, which was disappointing.
THE TRIO PASSED UP A CHANCE FOR MORE NATIONAL RECOGNITION BY NOT SINGING A BAR OR TWO WHEN ARLENE ASKED IF THEY WOULD...!
They were probably under some contract forbidding any kind of performance outside of their venue.
When I was a teenager I loved black soul music, my square brother liked The Kingston Trio.
It's OK to like both.
@@Johnnycdrums Ilike everything now - except hiphop.
Bingo
Miss Somerville was a boss.
Arlene was so smart!
In some ways but sure wasn’t about the destruction of all mosquitoes.
Above all she was ambitious. She reinvented herself in the first few months of the show:hair, makeup, clothing styling. Some affectations which worked for her.She was on multiple shows and in plays simultaneously. She received over $500 -$750 per show..
The mystery guests received $500. That was a LOT of money in the 1950's when a week's pay would be around $100. Arleen went on the be a Board member (paid) of Bonwit-Teller which also supplied her with clothes....very smart!
Plus ca change. Interesting that Daly offhandedly remarks that he gives lectures on the dangers of water pollution. He would have a field day dealing with current events in Flint, Michigan.
John had many interests outside of show business and journalism. Among them, he sat on the Water Pollution Control Advisory Board from 1960 to 1962. He even contributed to this academic paper: www.jstor.org/stable/25036441?seq=1#page_scan_tab_contents
John does it again: skin diving is not the same as deep sea diving nor is their gear, costume.
Videotaped on March 24, 1963.
Dorothy was still in what was then her most-recent month-long relapse. The next-aired episode was also from that same relapse phase; that was taped on April 14.
As of March 24, 1963, a New York City newspaper strike had been going on for three months, so reporters could not investigate or explain Dorothy's absence from a few television broadcasts.
She was very sick. Very sad
@@dinahbrown902Do you know exactly why Dorothy Kilgallen was hospitalized in March 1963 when this episode was videotaped? Newspapers did not report that she was hospitalized. All the New York City daily newspapers suspended publication because of a printers’ strike. The word “difficult” is more accurate than “sad” for describing what was going on in New York in March 1963.
Funny as I listen to both the Chad Mitchell Trio and the Limeliters.
Chad Mitchell Trio is my favorite!
I go further back to the best of all....the four freshmen..
Bennett and the field of transportation, lol
Or another of his....is this, or was this, ever alive ?
7 months later , the world changed so fast , Kennedy was gone and The Beatles had arrived .
At the time,no one would have believed that this type of music would rapidly fade away within 5 months.
you don't exist
Tom Dockery Many of us are still listening to the Kingston Trio 60 years later! You are a fool! Good music never “ fades away”!
Tom Dockery - I think that this music lasted longer than five months. And gave the world many years of enjoyment.
I don't believe for five seconds that John Daly got the "Tony" joke at the end.
*****
He certainly didn't get it at first, and you may be right that he just pretended to appreciate it at the end, because he wasn't familiar with the meaning of the word as Bennett used it. It certainly wasn't like him to be so appreciative of any of Bennett's puns, but then again, this one was a compliment.
SaveThe TPC
I watched it again and still didn't think John really got the word "tony." But 15 years ago, I didn't get the word myself when someone used it to describe a town in Connecticut. ... And no, it wasn't Bridgeport!
Lou Gottlieb was a bassist and comic spokesman for The Limeliters. Owls in comparison to the Kingston Trio.
Chad Mitchell Trio did folk music.
Interesting that Warren Harding came in a tux when he did not have to and the Kingston guys did not wear ties when they should have.
soulierinvestments
Those striped shirts were kind of a trademark uniform for The Kingston Trio, I think, much like the original "Beatles suits" were for The Beatles in their early days.
soulierinvestments
They wore their usual style. Similar to the Beach Boys who also wore striped shirts.
Daley helps the panel, not fair.
I noticed that
Johnnyc drums - It’s entertainment.
I love John Daly. He is the best there is. But I don't know how the regular panelists took his sometimes exhausting expositions on this or that question for seventeen years. Were they not polite people, I'm sure somewhere along the line, someone would have thrown up his hands and said "oh just shut up John". Thank goodness Soupy Sales wasn't on the network show.
Joe Postove Actually, he was, on four occasions:
May 9, 1965; Mystery Guest
May 30, 1965; Panelist
May 29, 1966; Mystery Guest
April 9, 1967 (Recorded on March 5, 1967); Mystery Guest (episode doesn't exist anymore; the only pre-taped episode to no longer exist.)
Well, that's just what Groucho said during one of John's long winded explanations: "You realize that no one is listening to you?"
Only Groucho!
Joe Postove they seemed fine with it; it's you who seems the only one perturbed. but if you're doing to hit one side dont ignore the other when just about every panelist(especially Dorothy & Arlene) would ask 5+ questions when you knew they already knew who the person was--some would call that hogging the time but John never batted an eye
Joe Postove - No, I I think they accepted and were amused by his verbosity - it was parr of his act.
I wonder if Mr Harding's comment at the end referred to "Silent Spring" published a year or so earlier.
Jim Steele, almost certainly. She was viciously attacked as a fool and liar, or worse, in a smear campaign by the chemical manufacturers. Now we know that she was all too right.
Yes. The jerk. Nice man, but terribly misguided. We hate mosquitoes, but remember, they feed the birds by the ton.
This is the funniest collection of wrong MG identities. The Mills Brothers? The Marx Brothers? The Gottlieb Trio? None of the Kingston Trio ever visited Kingston.
They did perform in Plymouth, MA once. Assuming they were picked up in Boston, the highway to Plymouth would pass through Kingston, MA. So, maybe they stopped in Kingston.
"My heart is down
My head is turning around
I had to leave a little girl in Kingston Town."
Don't think it's Kingston, MA.
They mentioned the music of Harry Belafonte inspired the name. It was Belafonte's 1956 LP, 'Calypso' that was the very first record album in America to sell over 1 million copies. He was a major influence in music, especially in the decade preceding the arrival of The Beatles.
I was waiting for Bennett to ask Warren G. Harding if he was president....of his company
It's not hard to tell which one is Tim Robbin's father.
Garbage - that's wrong!!
While John Charles Daly is making speeches about water pollution, he's hosting the DDT guy.
Poisoning us and our food and water supply. Arlene says can’t you kill them all and he says he hopes so. How shallow was that little conversation?
bob shane was sooooooo cuuuuuuuuuute.
phyllis newman had major blonde moments with the mystery guest
Phyllis Newman was a doll.
AMEN....
Arlene used the word crustation, finally! But it has nothing to do with the line at hand. Gee, Whiz!
crustacean
It's no reason to get crabby because of it!
Oh. Lois...That's much better than Bennett..
Did WML when they would tape a show way in advance ever have an embarrassment like the syndicated version had when Bennett Cerf died and his appearances continued to play? Why tape so far in advance?
Because in those days, syndication was different as Fates explained in the book about the "bicycling" process. If a station signed up to air the program as it was in its second year, it would get the tapes for year 1, meaning those markets that had been with the show from the beginning would be "current" but other stations might be airing shows more than a year old. This process was continuing all the way to the late 70s.
I remember that when Hollywood Squares had a nighttime version in 1968 and pretaped shows in advance they had to censor a question that had to do with who was going to run LBJ's re-election campaign because by the time the episode aired, LBJ had withdrawn from the race.
Was the second guest any relation to the former President of the same name?
I can imagine that Bob Shane SOOOO wanted to hit on Phyllis Newman
Phyllis Newman is such a MIss Nerd
Arlene always tried to get the musical guests to perform. PS John Stewart wrote Daydream Believer.
Arlene's only annoying trait....she should have known better than constantly asking guests to perform on their off day and when not prepared/expected. Its one of the main things that annoys performers - being imposed upon - yet she constantly did it
@@waldolydecker8118 Louis Armstrong did do Hello Dolly acapella. It was great!
@@njhollywood - yes he did...Bobby Darin also sang a few bars of "Mack the Knife" but the overwhelming number of guests rightfully refused Arlene's requests for performances...and she made dozens of them over the years.
I'm confused as to why Dorothy Kilgallen is not mentioned in these episodes with Phyllis Newman.
Only one of the trio should answer, it's giving away too much... It's not as if there were 40 trio's likely to be invited to the WML show....
I haven't watched the episodes to come, but I'm curious to know as to whether any reference is made to President Kennedy's assassination in the weeks or months following Nov. 22??
Never mentioned even in passing, no.
Well that's disappointing to hear...
Galileocan g I think it was quite deliberate. WML was always an escapist show. The only somber events I can recall ever being referenced in its entire run were completely unavoidable: the deaths of Fred Allen and Dorothy Kilgallen.
Jay Spector Your point being? For the love of Mike. What else could you possibly think was the reason why JFK's assassination wasn't mentioned on WML except the reason I said? List all the other references to current events on the show that you want. It doesn't change the point I made, which was pretty straightforward. They didn't mention it because it was a light entertainment program. It's that simple.
Jay Spector Yeah, obviously I responded here before I realized that it was you again, Dave. Don't worry. I won't respond again. And this account, as well as "Nyann Smith" have been banned. Pathetic, useless waste of time.
Note the pest control's guy attack on Rachel Carson (not by name)...
I’ve never heard of the Gottlieb Trio. 😂
Love the Trio kinda miss Dave Guard
Still have some of their records.
Gottlieb Trio; that’s funny!
Mosquitos live ON the water not IN the water. That should have been established early on.
John STILL flips over the cards for absolutely no reason (I used to be sad when he did that, now I'm just INFURIATED)! but from watching THIS episode, I realized that he finds loop holes so he CAN turn them all over
I've noticed before (MANY times) that the panel will guess what the person does, but John says "Yes but..." (even though they guessed it, he finds loopholes so he can turn the cards ALL over (I never noticed that before)
He flips them for different reasons. If panel guesses the occupation very fast and the contestant spent too little time on air, he flips the cards. When the segment was interesting and everybody had fun and good laugh, he flips them as well. He just flips them when he decides. At the end EVERYBODY gets 50 dollars, no matter how many cards are flipped. The cards serves for following the YES-es and NOs
Why does it infuriate you that he turns over all the cards and gives the full $50 to the contestants? That’s actually very generous of him.
@@johnmoreland6089 Can you HONESTLY tell me that the very first time you watched this, it didn't get to you that he flipped over those cards through the ENTIRE series of the show (most of the time for no reason whatsoever)?
If I ever decide to watch the show again, it might be different cause I know what he's like now. But I KNOW I'm the only the one who was annoyed by this the very first time someone watched the show
(and by the way, I'm STILL not through it yet. I still have 2 more years to go)
@@kristabrewer9363 I'm glad he flips them because just as you say he "flips" them for no logical reason, so does the panel, automatically guesses the occupation of some "out of nowhere"
I mean, the audience would tune out if the panel were consistently losing to the guests. They have to appear "brilliant" after all to keep their jobs. Goodson/Todman loved Arlene, Dorothy and Bennet for so long. So I think a controlled-balance on both sides is what they worked hard to do. Ratings-wise.
@@kristabrewer9363 Why are you so upset about something that happened so long ago? It's only a game. Get a life.
"The Brass Buckle". Wasn't that an Academy Award nominee that year? LOL.
Surely not! But I think it's Bottle.
Really Arlene?
The lady diver looks disappointed she didn't win the prize.
She DID win the prize. Daley turned over all the cards and gave her the full $50.
The hip folk revival and the hipper West Coast Jazz trend would shortly get squashed by the approaching British invasion. Those that were doing pure folk would either adapt, like Dylan and Baez, or they would fade into music history, as the Kingston Trio did.
I'm so glad those prison striped shirts are no longer in style.
nope today it's sleeveless Nike shirts to make sure everyone sees one's tattoos. Real progress, that is indeed....
Lois, ..They worked well for the Yankees.. But then,I understand, you're
A Dodger fan..
@@dcasper8514 A big difference between prison stripes and pinstripes. But you're right. I don't like baseball uniforms with pinstripes because of the Yankees. I do like a subtle pinstripe on a business suit, man's or woman's.
*_PROFESSIONAL SKINDIVER_*
*_HEAD OF MOSQUITO CONTROL PROJECT_*
francis has to be the center of attention- and can not shut her mouth
Everyone needs salvation here are the words of salvation please forgive me jesus im a sinner come into my heart and save me from my sin I no that you are the savior and I no that you died for me on calvary and I no that God raise you from the dead and you are alive and I thankyou for your salvation in Jesus holy name amen and its important to always ask for forgiveness every night 🌙 ✨️ 💖 and hope you come in my email
Do you barge into every discussion with your sick diatribe? Get a life.
is Phyllis really that ditzy????
It's a woman trick..
The early 60's were times of class and style.. the late 60's were horrible.. Just look at Phyllis Newman here and later on..
Late 60s and early 70s we’re a great time to be a teenager. Rock On👍
I guess it’s because he’s a publisher that Bennett is incapable of keeping his mouth shut when it’s not his turn. Way to cheat the guest out of money Bennett.
The contestants get the $50 no matter what plus they get $500 (I believe) as well as air fare and hotel expenses.
Is Phyllis trying to cheat by peaking under her mask?
She always did because she frequently guessed correctly.