Groucho was that good on the pilot, huh. Everything was going nuts around him, sweaty producers everywhere, and he was never rattled. Amazing performance, amazing format, they really got it right.
I'd give almost everything I have to go back and be able to watch those shows in the early 1950s again. A simple and beautiful time -- cigar smoke and tobacco culture notwithstanding! The people were simple, sincere, humble and wonderful!
It's quite obvious that Groucho Marx was a genius with his quick wit. No one wrote his jokes for him. He did a lot of ad libbing. He was so clever and quick with his ad libbing, that quite often he caught the contestant off guard! Lol. 😅😅😅. That's one reason why this show was so funny!
@@michaelsalisbury1477, TV has always been about money. But today it seems to be more about brainwashing instead of content. 95% or more of the programming is horrible!
Groucho is a one man TV show. Never at a loss in any situation. No wonder this show] lasted 14 years. The man was an ad-lib mad man and a comic savant.
THAT,S FOR SURE THERE,S SO MUCH MONEY IN SPORTS THEIR BUYING TIME ON AM RADIO AND BORING US WITH SPORTS TALK WHERE ONCE WAS MUSIC OR GOOD TALK SHOW SUBJECTS !....////
@@alanrodgers4223 nor will you... This whole thing is scripted... there is only the semblance of ad lib. And, no, that was not an 80+ year old man that fell UP the stairs of af1. Wake up, People. It was the fucking flu! lol
This whole thing is scripted... there is only the semblance of ad lib. And, no, that was not an 80+ year old man that fell UP the stairs of af1. Wake up, People. It was the fucking flu! lol
This whole thing is scripted... there is only the semblance of ad lib. And, no, that was not an 80+ year old man that fell UP the stairs of af1. Wake up, People. It was the fucking flu! lol
Cigarettes were given out to servicemen during world war two as part of C rations. Companies knew they were highly addictive from the very beginning. Cigarette companies made fortunes. Many mothers and women smoked in the 40's 50's and 60's. Both parents as smokers was the norm. All cars had cigarette lighters and ashtrays. TWA and all airplanes had a smoking section in the back 20 rows; ash trays in the arm rests. They continue to kill people for profit.
You're joking, right? This whole thing is scripted... there is only the semblance of ad lib. And, no, that was not an 80+ year old man that fell UP the stairs of af1. Wake up, People. It was the fucking flu! lol
I think that Groucho said "Do Persian kittens really come from Persia?" That's why the timing was perfect when the sheik said "No, they come from Persian cats." That was funny though. What makes the show "You Bet Your Life" so funny was that none of Groucho's jokes were scripted. Anyone who thinks that they were is a moron and that person is extremely unobservant.
My Father had a Wit just like Groucho!! Ironically this pilot was done the year my Brother was born. There was So Many Hysterical Shows of You Bet Your Life!! Can you imagine 300,000 plus views of a show that done 74 years ago?? Shows the Greatness of this Show!! I Love It!!
I love how unprepared parts of the show was. That commercial with the announcer where everyone just stood around. Seems more like a radio show where they just decided to film it. That stand for GM instead of a podium. The microphones from radio instead of a boom mic, etc.
You're joking, right? This whole thing is scripted... there is only the semblance of ad lib. And, no, that was not an 80+ year old man that fell UP the stairs of af1. Wake up, People. It was the fucking flu! lol
Loved all of the behind the scenes action which was never meant to get on camera for the show. Also loved the end where everybody was kissing and he kissed that bellhop girl a couple of time and she kissed him and when they left the stage, Groucho looks down but into the camera as he blows a kiss to someone and you bet your life that was his wife.
That's why CBS was counting on Groucho to be one of their "big TV stars" by 1950, when more TV sets were bought (and more stations signed on to provide programming). They lost him to NBC [who filmed his radio show, and presented him on both TV and radio through 1959, and TV through 1961]. But CBS DID "convert" several of their radio stars to television within the next two years: Jack Benny, George Burns & Gracie Allen, Lucille Ball, Eve Arden, Arthur Godfrey, and Steve Allen.
True. I think Milton Berle was solely responsible for millions of TV sets being sold. When they saw him, his brother sold his, his sister sold her's, his uncle sold his.... (one of Uncle MIlty's standard jokes). He was a genius.
My parents had the second TV in The San Fernando Valley, part of Los Angeles. My dad spent a lot of time dragging the very tall antenna around their half acre yard to get the signal of experimental channel 5. It was Easter Sunday of 1946...
1949 would have been a wonderful time 🌈 to have been my age ( 57 ) now ! Post war USA 🌎💖. All the beautiful stories my wonderful Grandparents would tell me 🥰🌬.
You don't just "walk off the stage" because you're through. How rude to the audience would that be? This whole thing is scripted... there is only the semblance of ad lib. And, no, that was not an 80+ year old man that fell UP the stairs of af1. Wake up, People. It was the fucking flu! lol
I find it really interesting just to watch & listen people from years ago. Here, it's 66 yrs ago & I try to pick up linguistic differences or changes in vernacular. Our behaviour. Clothing. Style. Etiquette.
This humble show, with it's array of guests over the years, is a sociologist's dream. Americans wishing to know something about themselves today, need only watch Americans appearing on this show between the years 1949 to 1961, to see where they came from and understand, perhaps, why and who they are in the present day.
Crazy how I thought What's My Line was the oldest game show on CZcams, but it's rare to find anything filmed before 1950, let alone a game show from the 1940's!
The oldest continuous one is in DC, Its Academic, according to TV Guide, started in 1960, Mac McGarry hosted for 50 years and Hillary Howard who works for all new WTOP, took over when he got sic.
This whole thing is scripted... there is only the semblance of ad lib. And, no, that was not an 80+ year old man that fell UP the stairs of af1. Wake up, People. It was the fucking flu! lol
Good point...and, incidentally, this point is often ignored in...e.g., old westerns. I've heard that a run-of-the mill horse was around $20....in today's money something like a GRAND.
Why should he have to? This whole thing is scripted... there is only the semblance of ad lib. And, no, that was not an 80+ year old man that fell UP the stairs of af1. Wake up, People. It was the fucking flu! lol
I loved watching Grouch back in the years, it was pure entertainment. These days there is too much sex and foul language. Hope someday they would bring entertainment back to the small screen, instead of the garbage we are now watching.
@@rickrick5041 This whole thing is scripted... there is only the semblance of ad lib. And, no, that was not an 80+ year old man that fell UP the stairs of af1. Wake up, People. It was the fucking flu! lol
@@rickrick5041 YES! It's quite obvious that Groucho Marx did ad lib quite often. Ignore the morons who claim that it was scripted. If it was scripted then Groucho would not have gotten the spontaneous laughs from the contestants and the audience.
20:48 brilliant couple sorry there not a couple BUT the guy is so funny with his answers I'm still laughing ..glad they won the main prize they were brilliant
People seem innocent on TV in '49. There's a lack of media savvy to the contestants. People today are so used to being recorded, it shows. These people come off as uninitiated. A little nervous, but less self conscious.
Howard Scala is not listed on Pro Football Reference and Howard is not listed on Green Bay Packers from any roster in the 40's or 50's. Scala must have been signed but never made the team.
Found Adrian "Jess" Swope earned a degree in physical education; a Trojans lineman and asst coach, as well as shot putter alongside "Parry" O'Brien, 10-time Olympic gold winner and shot put technique pioneer. Guess Jess didn't make the Olympics, but became recognized at the national and world class shot put levels. Career as stage/TV director; five children, died 2001 diabetes.
Omg... This whole thing is scripted... there is only the semblance of ad lib. And, no, that was not an 80+ year old man that fell UP the stairs of af1. Wake up, People. It was the fucking flu! lol
Ignore the other comment 😒 It's been posted verbatum in other comments. Thanks for letting us know. Saves me the time of looking it up. A fulfilling life!
Groucho seems much more upbeat and having fun here in this pilot compared to the run of the show. The brow beating of Fenneman hadn't started quite yet. Interesting how they ultimately streamlined the show's format and music. Good stuff.
This whole thing is scripted... there is only the semblance of ad lib. And, no, that was not an 80+ year old man that fell UP the stairs of af1. Wake up, People. It was the fucking flu! lol
@@ThreePhaseHigh THAT WAS DEFINITELY NOT BILL CULLEN!!!! I have watched Bill Cullen on the reruns of "The Price is Right" from the 1950s and 1960s and I watched him on "I've Got A Secret" from the early 1950s through the 1960s. You're obviously extremely unobservant and you're wrong. Also Bill Cullen's voice is completely different than George Fenneman's voice.
Yes Groucho was a great ad-libber but contrary to what everyone here seems to think, the contestants were pre interviewed and there were gag writers who gave Groucho suggested questions and jokes.
Early television was sort of like a radio show that happened to be telecast. The fact that a camera was present was just happenstance. Things kind of went downhill when concerns of the visual took precedence over everything else.
I wonder what happened to all those contestants and the lives they went on to live. Amazing TV, so lucky to be able to watch and enjoy this 74 years later!!
This is supposed to be the pilot...but Groucho thanks the sponsor for their 3 years at the end of the show. I guess the company had been sponsoring radio version of You Bet Your Life...since the total US TV sets in 1946 was, believe it...6,000
Recorded on December 5, 1949; and edited for broadcast for CBS radio on December 28, 1949. Incidentally, George's cue at 51:38 was for a pre-recorded sponsor's message that was inserted into the radio show- the announcer for those was Myron "Mike" Wallace, who later moved from Chicago to New York, doing commercials, appearing as a panelist/emcee on several game shows.....and later became a reporter for CBS News, and a regular on "60 MINUTES".
From what I have seen here, CBS Television Network did not make a "good-faith" effort to provide any sets to put on a more professional look to the show. Groucho Marx did not put in a "good-faith" effort to look presentable, per se. He was basically in street clothes, but his hair and mustache were still dyed black, most likely for the final Marx Brothers film, "Love Happy" (starring a young Marilyn Monroe), which was filmed in 1949, when this pilot episode was kinescoped during a "You Bet Your Life" radio show simulcast. When NBC made an offer to pick up "You Bet Your Life" for television in 1950, Groucho most likely took the offer because they made a better offer for a better set, and better audio and video equipment (the CBS staffers had to constantly adjust their microphones for the contestants, and they even had to replace one microphone when Groucho's microphone broke down. A cardinal sin for a talent like Groucho Marx.).
This whole thing is scripted... there is only the semblance of ad lib. And, no, that was not an 80+ year old man that fell UP the stairs of af1. Wake up, People. It was the fucking flu! lol
Groucho was that good on the pilot, huh. Everything was going nuts around him, sweaty producers everywhere, and he was never rattled. Amazing performance, amazing format, they really got it right.
I'd give almost everything I have to go back and be able to watch those shows in the early 1950s again. A simple and beautiful time -- cigar smoke and tobacco culture notwithstanding! The people were simple, sincere, humble and wonderful!
Groucho was so quick with the wit ⚡️
1949. Ed Sullivan started in 1948. Television really leapfrogged at the end of the war. Yes today can't touch television from the 40s-90s
The cigar culture was a plus.
What a blast!! They sure don't make television shows like this any more. Love it!!!
It's quite obvious that Groucho Marx was a genius with his quick wit. No one wrote his jokes for him. He did a lot of ad libbing. He was so clever and quick with his ad libbing, that quite often he caught the contestant off guard! Lol. 😅😅😅. That's one reason why this show was so funny!
This is so much more entertaining than most anything on TV today!
I agree 100%. I don't need TV anymore
Ll
I agree totally, our wholesome program days are long gone
Of course Tv is all about money today!!!!
@@michaelsalisbury1477, TV has always been about money. But today it seems to be more about brainwashing instead of content. 95% or more of the programming is horrible!
Groucho is a one man TV show. Never at a loss in any situation. No wonder this show] lasted 14 years. The man was an ad-lib mad man and a comic savant.
," x. X x. X
The entire thing is scripted...
@@jcksnghst You're completely wrong about that.
@@billding7073 I wish
@@jcksnghst Are you bragging or complaining?
Professional football player for the Packers gets injured, is unemployed and has to find a job until he heals. My, how things have changed in the NFL.
THAT,S FOR SURE THERE,S SO MUCH MONEY IN SPORTS THEIR BUYING TIME ON AM RADIO AND BORING US WITH SPORTS TALK WHERE ONCE WAS MUSIC OR GOOD TALK SHOW SUBJECTS !....////
Could not find this Gentleman's football history with Green Bay or anywhere in the NFL or at Compton College.
I don't think Groucho was entirely kidding when he said college was where the real money was. Look at the look on the kid's face when he says it.
@@alanrodgers4223 nor will you...
This whole thing is scripted... there is only the semblance of ad lib.
And, no, that was not an 80+ year old man that fell UP the stairs of af1.
Wake up, People.
It was the fucking flu!
lol
This whole thing is scripted... there is only the semblance of ad lib.
And, no, that was not an 80+ year old man that fell UP the stairs of af1.
Wake up, People.
It was the fucking flu!
lol
Find myself watching those great shows of the 50s more then the crap on tv now. Entertainers then where talented
Jimmy Flanagan And this was all spontaneous humor, nothing scripted. That makes it even more fun to watch.
coronavirus in NYC and the homeless.
what it does is remind ourselves of a time
Dam right captan
This whole thing is scripted... there is only the semblance of ad lib.
And, no, that was not an 80+ year old man that fell UP the stairs of af1.
Wake up, People.
It was the fucking flu!
lol
(They met in the dark room) "Was she well developed?" Great line ! Larry Sterns stole the show !! Ty for the posting !!!
AMEN!!!!!
2020, I am 22, Lucky someone had filmed him. Still no other comedians deserve respect as much as he does from me.
👀
I met Groucho in 1963 at the Diners Club in Beverly Hills
@@murtheblur wow! I wish it was me.
respect from you is worthless.. it's not a question of anybody deserving it!! People need your respect like they need an old sock!
I love this show.
Imagine giving a cigarette case to a pro athlete. That's great!
Still priceless! He was and will always be the "one and only."
👀
@@jcksnghst *No, I insist, GFKURSLF.*
@@jcksnghst
Definitely the best ever!
I really enjoy watching the show! Grouch’s wit, and bag of jokes, along with interesting contestants, make for a great show😎
OMG!! How wonderful !! This kind of humor surely gets lost on many people today, but thank goodness for You Tube I can laugh!!
This is comedy gold. nothing comes close to this today!
Smart, comical entertainment that's made even better due to age. Brilliant.
A gift of a cigarette case to a professional athlete. Perfect.
Pro football and baseball players back then actually smoked on the bench.
They also endorsed certain brands of cigarettes in print, on radio and TV.
Cigarettes were given out to servicemen during world war two as part of C rations. Companies knew they were highly addictive from the very beginning. Cigarette companies made fortunes. Many mothers and women smoked in the 40's 50's and 60's. Both parents as smokers was the norm. All cars had cigarette lighters and ashtrays. TWA and all airplanes had a smoking section in the back 20 rows; ash trays in the arm rests. They continue to kill people for profit.
Didn’t they give that to other contestants? Of course that was terrible knowing what we now know but they didn’t even ask if the person smokes
Athlete got pearls. 48:54
I roar with laughter at these shows. Superb dialogue !!
Groucho looked a thoroughly nice guy.
This is very impressive...that we have a historical record of the pilot of this fine show!! Wow!!
The interaction between the sheikh and Groucho is priceless.
Thanks for posting this cultural time-capsule masterpiece!
This should be shown in film & media schools
"Now tell me, do Persian cats really come from Persia?" "Not really, they usually come from Persian cats" One of the few times Groucho was speachless!
You're joking, right? This whole thing is scripted... there is only the semblance of ad lib.
And, no, that was not an 80+ year old man that fell UP the stairs of af1.
Wake up, People.
It was the fucking flu!
lol
I think that Groucho said "Do Persian kittens really come from Persia?" That's why the timing was perfect when the sheik said "No, they come from Persian cats." That was funny though. What makes the show "You Bet Your Life" so funny was that none of Groucho's jokes were scripted. Anyone who thinks that they were is a moron and that person is extremely unobservant.
My Father had a Wit just like Groucho!! Ironically this pilot was done the year my Brother was born. There was So Many Hysterical Shows of You Bet Your Life!! Can you imagine 300,000 plus views of a show that done 74 years ago?? Shows the Greatness of this Show!! I Love It!!
What a treat to be able to have watched this video!!
I love how unprepared parts of the show was. That commercial with the announcer where everyone just stood around. Seems more like a radio show where they just decided to film it. That stand for GM instead of a podium. The microphones from radio instead of a boom mic, etc.
It was on radio in 1949. This is the first CBS radio broadcast. Before that, it was on an other radio station.
You're joking, right? This whole thing is scripted... there is only the semblance of ad lib.
And, no, that was not an 80+ year old man that fell UP the stairs of af1.
Wake up, People.
It was the fucking flu!
lol
@@jcksnghst Hey, I heard the whole thing was scripted. Did you know that?
Loved all of the behind the scenes action which was never meant to get on camera for the show. Also loved the end where everybody was kissing and he kissed that bellhop girl a couple of time and she kissed him and when they left the stage, Groucho looks down but into the camera as he blows a kiss to someone and you bet your life that was his wife.
I can remember watching this program on TV! It was of my dad`s favorite programs!
you were alive in 1949?
1949, wow tv was new then. Only been out about 4 years. Better than today "Funny wise"..
Larry was on point, was very funny and had good timing and presence.
Very much a pro!
Who is Larry?
Win a $129 movie projector that in 2021 dollars would be worth $1,500. Incredible that movie projectors were so expensive in 1949.
Hope this video is saved somewhere safe. This is historic media
Just such a natural talent. I’m new to this series and there are some gems in it.
1949. Wow. Not many homes even had a TV set yet.
That's why CBS was counting on Groucho to be one of their "big TV stars" by 1950, when more TV sets were bought (and more stations signed on to provide programming). They lost him to NBC [who filmed his radio show, and presented him on both TV and radio through 1959, and TV through 1961]. But CBS DID "convert" several of their radio stars to television within the next two years: Jack Benny, George Burns & Gracie Allen, Lucille Ball, Eve Arden, Arthur Godfrey, and Steve Allen.
True. I think Milton Berle was solely responsible for millions of TV sets being sold. When they saw him, his brother sold his, his sister sold her's, his uncle sold his.... (one of Uncle MIlty's standard jokes). He was a genius.
1945 they came out, around the end of the war. .
Yes, several hundred sets were sold then. But it wasn't until 1948 that television set sales "exploded", and more people started to own them.
My parents had the second TV in The San Fernando Valley, part of Los Angeles. My dad spent a lot of time dragging the very tall antenna around their half acre yard to get the signal of experimental channel 5. It was Easter Sunday of 1946...
Never saw this one. GOOD ONE.
1949 would have been a wonderful time 🌈 to have been my age ( 57 ) now ! Post war USA 🌎💖. All the beautiful stories my wonderful Grandparents would tell me 🥰🌬.
wonderful stories about the great depression and two world wars?
@@mesofius The hard times bred much better people that we have today. I've seen them both and can compare -- how about you?
He walked right the hell off the stage after goodnight. He didn't linger around. He did his job and that was that 🤣🤣
Well it would have been awkward if he just sat in front of the audience doing nothing...
It was a radio show. You get off the stage for the next show when your show is over.
You don't just "walk off the stage" because you're through. How rude to the audience would that be?
This whole thing is scripted... there is only the semblance of ad lib.
And, no, that was not an 80+ year old man that fell UP the stairs of af1.
Wake up, People.
It was the fucking flu!
lol
I've always loved this show ❤ lol still do
He was demonstrating without a cleaner lol 😆
I find it really interesting just to watch & listen people from years ago. Here, it's 66 yrs ago & I try to pick up linguistic differences or changes in vernacular. Our behaviour. Clothing. Style. Etiquette.
+Johnno Burke I hear you!!!
Johnno Burke Fascinating. Tell us more
...and some scientists say that we can't travel back in a time machine :)
DuneMountainTrip 1949 was 69 years ago my friend
This humble show, with it's array of guests over the years, is a sociologist's dream. Americans wishing to know something about themselves today, need only watch Americans appearing on this show between the years 1949 to 1961, to see where they came from and understand, perhaps, why and who they are in the present day.
Very early age of television. Like a history lesson.
Crazy how I thought What's My Line was the oldest game show on CZcams, but it's rare to find anything filmed before 1950, let alone a game show from the 1940's!
The oldest continuous one is in DC, Its Academic, according to TV Guide, started in 1960, Mac McGarry hosted for 50 years and Hillary Howard who works for all new WTOP, took over when he got sic.
Groucho is just brilliant.
Notice how Groucho forced the first guy to say the secret word barely a minute into the show, but they just kind of ignored it. The audience knew tho.
That’s Bill Cullen George Fenneman must’ve been on vacation and Groucho kept calling him Fenneman but it’s not.
It's George! Bill was in New York emceeing "HIT THE JACKPOT" on CBS radio's Tuesday night schedule at the time.
This whole thing is scripted... there is only the semblance of ad lib.
And, no, that was not an 80+ year old man that fell UP the stairs of af1.
Wake up, People.
It was the fucking flu!
lol
@@ThreePhaseHigh KNOCK IT OFF! That is definitely NOT Bill Cullen! The looks are different and the voice is different.
@stfwho. I noticed that too. I think that he might have done that because she was so close to saying the secret word.
I wish it was on t.v. again-Buzz t.v. or gameshow network! It is so funny!! We have no Groucho today with such WIT!!
it was on tv
That $129 movie projector is worth over $1200 in today's money, according to the Inflation Calculator! :)
south bend /that amount in today’s dollars doesn’t even account for its possible collectors value!
It must’ve been a top-of-the-line projector for that kind of money back and 49
16mm Apolo sound projector. Nice for that price. My Animatophone model 40 was about $475.
That's hilarious, because I bought a projector for $1200 in 2013 (about when you left this comment) so the price of projectors has remained unchanged!
Good point...and, incidentally, this point is often ignored in...e.g., old westerns. I've heard that a run-of-the mill horse was around $20....in today's money something like a GRAND.
Thanks for posting this rare gem
Grouch was the man during his era real talk! He had an extremely sharp whit and funny aF!
Hold the phone! They won a movie projector (no camera) worth $129.50. Today that would cost: $1,349.99
Love these interesting tall people and their Tip top club
I never saw this before. Thank you very much for posting! :)
Larry…read the title "CBS Pilot Episode." It's a Pilot! A Pilot! Need I even say-a Pilot is a rough sketch.
This is slightly before my time but quality programming thanks for posting.
Excellent thank you very much for the post.
Groucho thought the car hop was a ketchup bottle and he gave her a good squeeze.
True wisdom never missed a beat !
Groucho never reached for a joke.
Why should he have to?
This whole thing is scripted... there is only the semblance of ad lib.
And, no, that was not an 80+ year old man that fell UP the stairs of af1.
Wake up, People.
It was the fucking flu!
lol
@@jcksnghst Why are even watching?
@@karendeaton9297 "jcksnghst" is a 'bot from overseas. It gets paid for every response that it gets. It repeats itself over and over again.
@Vernon Turner. That's exactly correct! No one wrote his jokes for him. He thought up ALL of his jokes himself.
The intersection of Pico and Sepulveda, where the carhop waited on her customers, was immortalized in song by Felix Figueroa and his big band.
I REMEMBER that song...often heard on the Dr. Demento show...as I recall.
“You won some fake pearls and a looks like gold gift!” (The hugging and kissing at the end was fun!)
Ikr
I'd love to see a wide shot of this studio with the audience.
From television's infancy: fascinating
I love this show I'm glad they did not try to replace with someone else.
"Is she well developed?" I DIED
I loved watching Grouch back in the years, it was pure entertainment. These days there is too much sex and foul language. Hope someday they would bring entertainment back to the small screen, instead of the garbage we are now watching.
This was the luckiest day of this "married man"s life!
Howard and Arlene seemed like very nice people. I hope they had a good life.
✨Brilliant ad-libbing by Groucho 🥸🎭✨
Cigarette cases and lighters for prizes, how times have changed!
No DOUBT this was a pilot series..‼️
Thanks!
The car hop sure is a beautiful girl.
Yes she's a stoned cold hottie!
“Was”
Hey Buddy, that's my Great Gramma!
Did she go into movies or TV from this?
"How did you meet your wife?"
Well, I'm a photographer so I think it was in the dark room sometime
"Was she well developed?"
That's a classic.
Was this all ad libbed?
@@rickrick5041 This whole thing is scripted... there is only the semblance of ad lib.
And, no, that was not an 80+ year old man that fell UP the stairs of af1.
Wake up, People.
It was the fucking flu!
lol
@@rickrick5041 YES! It's quite obvious that Groucho Marx did ad lib quite often. Ignore the morons who claim that it was scripted. If it was scripted then Groucho would not have gotten the spontaneous laughs from the contestants and the audience.
20:48 brilliant couple sorry there not a couple BUT the guy is so funny with his answers I'm still laughing ..glad they won the main prize they were brilliant
Larry was brilliant i never laughed so much
People seem innocent on TV in '49. There's a lack of media savvy to the contestants. People today are so used to being recorded, it shows. These people come off as uninitiated. A little nervous, but less self conscious.
George is wearing his spectacles here.
And it's still on tv all these years later.
The audio man must have only worked radio.
Yes. Most of the CBS audio crew eventually adjusted themselves to television.
Howard Scala is not listed on Pro Football Reference and Howard is not listed on Green Bay Packers from any roster in the 40's or 50's. Scala must have been signed but never made the team.
why did his cigar keep going out? he must have relit it 5 times.
That secret "woid" was too easy.
Found Adrian "Jess" Swope earned a degree in physical education; a Trojans lineman and asst coach, as well as shot putter alongside "Parry" O'Brien, 10-time Olympic gold winner and shot put technique pioneer. Guess Jess didn't make the Olympics, but became recognized at the national and world class shot put levels. Career as stage/TV director; five children, died 2001 diabetes.
Omg...
This whole thing is scripted... there is only the semblance of ad lib.
And, no, that was not an 80+ year old man that fell UP the stairs of af1.
Wake up, People.
It was the fucking flu!
lol
Ignore the other comment 😒 It's been posted verbatum in other comments. Thanks for letting us know. Saves me the time of looking it up. A fulfilling life!
Groucho seems much more upbeat and having fun here in this pilot compared to the run of the show. The brow beating of Fenneman hadn't started quite yet. Interesting how they ultimately streamlined the show's format and music. Good stuff.
Even though Groucho kept calling him Fenneman he must’ve been on vacation because that’s Bill Cullen
@@ThreePhaseHigh That is MOST CERTAINLY Fenneman, and NOT Bill Cullen.
For one thing, Bill was in New York - and this was kinnied at Columbia Square in Los Angeles. Cullen never worked for John Guedel.
This whole thing is scripted... there is only the semblance of ad lib.
And, no, that was not an 80+ year old man that fell UP the stairs of af1.
Wake up, People.
It was the fucking flu!
lol
@@ThreePhaseHigh THAT WAS DEFINITELY NOT BILL CULLEN!!!! I have watched Bill Cullen on the reruns of "The Price is Right" from the 1950s and 1960s and I watched him on "I've Got A Secret" from the early 1950s through the 1960s. You're obviously extremely unobservant and you're wrong. Also Bill Cullen's voice is completely different than George Fenneman's voice.
i remember this show
Yes Groucho was a great ad-libber but contrary to what everyone here seems to think, the contestants were pre interviewed and there were gag writers who gave Groucho suggested questions and jokes.
Early television was sort of like a radio show that happened to be telecast. The fact that a camera was present was just happenstance. Things kind of went downhill when concerns of the visual took precedence over everything else.
I wonder what happened to all those contestants and the lives they went on to live. Amazing TV, so lucky to be able to watch and enjoy this 74 years later!!
Most of them are dead
groucho G.O.A.T
- What kind of name is that?
- uh... German....
awkward pause (this is 1949)
This is supposed to be the pilot...but Groucho thanks the sponsor for their 3 years at the end of the show. I guess the company had been sponsoring radio version of You Bet Your Life...since the total US TV sets in 1946 was, believe it...6,000
He ran an end game around the sensors!
3 kids and I think 4. “When were you home last?”
The one and only.!
Groucho and his cute wittiness ♥️😉
The guy in the 2nd couple reminds me of Bob and June Wheeler from Night Court.
A lot of microphone height adjusting in 1949.
Recorded on December 5, 1949; and edited for broadcast for CBS radio on December 28, 1949. Incidentally, George's cue at 51:38 was for a pre-recorded sponsor's message that was inserted into the radio show- the announcer for those was Myron "Mike" Wallace, who later moved from Chicago to New York, doing commercials, appearing as a panelist/emcee on several game shows.....and later became a reporter for CBS News, and a regular on "60 MINUTES".
great information barry, thanks!!
My pleasure, David.
the sterling silver cig. case and makeup compact are worth a couple of hundred $, but. not the fake pearls or bronze gifts. ''paz''
Damn that was fun.
From what I have seen here, CBS Television Network did not make a "good-faith" effort to provide any sets to put on a more professional look to the show. Groucho Marx did not put in a "good-faith" effort to look presentable, per se. He was basically in street clothes, but his hair and mustache were still dyed black, most likely for the final Marx Brothers film, "Love Happy" (starring a young Marilyn Monroe), which was filmed in 1949, when this pilot episode was kinescoped during a "You Bet Your Life" radio show simulcast. When NBC made an offer to pick up "You Bet Your Life" for television in 1950, Groucho most likely took the offer because they made a better offer for a better set, and better audio and video equipment (the CBS staffers had to constantly adjust their microphones for the contestants, and they even had to replace one microphone when Groucho's microphone broke down. A cardinal sin for a talent like Groucho Marx.).
Very judgmental I see
This whole thing is scripted... there is only the semblance of ad lib.
And, no, that was not an 80+ year old man that fell UP the stairs of af1.
Wake up, People.
It was the fucking flu!
lol
Larry, the second male contestant, speaks with the same syntax and inflection as John Wayne.
Groucho and George and the guests were great. The game wasn't and was revamped.
I like this radio show better than the later Tv show, I think. Funny, either way!