TV Tuesday: What's My Line? - Season 4; Episode 18 (1953)

 

What's My Line? - 1953

After a long holiday weekend, I thought it would be fun for this TV Tuesday if we revisited an old favorite of mine.  "What's My Line" never fails to entertain.  A panel must determine the lines of work of a couple of guests and also be blindfolded in order to ascertain the identity of a mystery guest.  Let's begin!

Our panelists for this episode are columnist Dorothy Kilgallen, publisher Bennett Cerf, actress Arlene Francis, and comedian Steve Allen.  All very good at what they do, and all very much bedrocks of the show.

Naturally, our host is Mr. John Daly, without whom the show could not exist.  In this episode, he's just received an award for his hosting duties on the show.  Well deserved, Mr. Daly!

Our first guest is a very well-put together lady.  Dorothy Kilgallen gushes over her diamonds.  The panel gets to make guesses as to what she does.  They are that she sews pearls and rhinestones on stockings, owns real estate, has an advice to the lovelorn column, and that she is a head telephone operator.

In reality, this snazzy dresser is a grease monkey on locomotives.  Can you see this woman wearing coveralls with a wrench in her tool kit as she works on a train?

Needless to say, the panel is not successful in guessing her line, and she wins the full $50 prize.

Mr. Sylvan M. Edison is next.  Dorothy likes to take a look at all the guests' hands, thinking this might give her an idea as to what their line is.  The panel makes their guesses as to what Mr. Edison does.  They suggest he is a chemist, runs the Tavern Club in Chicago, salts nuts, or is an electrician.

In reality, Mr. Edison is a monocle manufacturer.  The panel has some very humorous back and forth as they try to work out what Mr. Edison does for a living.

Alas, they cannot guess his occupation, and Mr. Edison wins the game by default because of time constraints.

However, Mr. Edison has brought the panel a little gift.  Each of them receives a monocle he has manufactured himself.

Our celebrity mystery guest is up next.  Each panelist is required to be blindfolded before the celebrity reveals themselves.  In this case, it is none other than Miss Rosalind Russell.

What follows is some of the most riotous question and answering that you have ever seen!  Miss Russell provides us with an outrageously disguised voice and a bunch of hilarious facial expressions.

The panel is able to guess her identity, though she has won $25 in prize money.  After her segment, Miss Russell goes to greet each member of the panel warmly.

You can watch Miss Russell's entire segment here.  It's absolutely hysterical!

The show ends with John Daly signing off.  "Panel, I’ve got to thank you, too.  That’s as much fun as I’ve had in many, many a moon," he says with a grin plastered all over his face.

If you've a mind to, you can watch the show in its hilarious entirety here.

Cast rundown:

   John Daly..................................Himself

   Dorothy Kilgallen........................Herself

   Steve Allen................................Himself

   Arlene Francis............................Herself

   Bennett Cerf..............................Himself

   Rosalind Russell..........................Herself

And that's it for What's My Line?.  Rosalind Russell absolutely makes this episode completely worthwhile to watch, proving that she's one of Hollywood's brightest stars.

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TV Tuesday: Lucy Calls The President (1977)

 

Lucy Calls The President - 1977

Coming up on this edition of TV Tuesday is a Lucille Ball television special from 1977 entitled "Lucy Calls The President".  Here, Lucy plays an Indiana housewife who gets the news that President Jimmy Carter is coming to dinner at her house.  All kinds of chaos ensues.

The show's cast includes Lucille Ball, Vivian Vance, Gale Gordon, Ed McMahon, Mary Wickes, Mary Jane Croft, James Brodhead, Steve Allen, and Lillian Carter.

Lucy Carter calls the office of President Jimmy Carter on one of his phone-in days.  She wants to advocate for a camp for underprivileged children that is being threatened by developers.  She's in for a shock when she actually gets put through to the president.

She's in for an even greater shock when President Carter announces that he will be driving through the area the next day and wants to discuss the matter further with her in person.

Lucy and her best friend and neighbor Viv get busy making plans for the president's arrival, which now includes a dinner.  Lucy's husband Floyd and his father Omar just stand back helpless in the wake of these two powerhouses.

Naturally, everyone in town wants a chance to meet the president, including Aunt Millie and the Mayor and his wife.

Lucy wants to greet the president properly, so she has those who can play an instrument rehearse "Hail To The Chief".  It doesn't exactly sound very nice.

"We're practicing Hail To The Chief so we can play it when President Carter gets here.  How does it sound?" she asks her father-in-law.  Omar smirks and says, "Like you voted for Ford."

On the day of the president's visit, Lucy is even interviewed by Steve Allen for his program "The People Watchers".  She has a really hard time adjusting to the equipment and the television cameras.

There's also a really fun conversation that was held earlier in relation to Steve Allen between Lucy and Viv.

Viv: Oh, I just love Steve Allen.  He reminds me so much of my husband.

Lucy: Leonard is like Steve Allen?

Viv: Yeah.  They both wear glasses.  As a matter of fact, they could be twins if Leonard was taller, and thinner, and younger, and cuter.

The interview ends in disaster when Lucy's father-law accidentally turns on the sprinklers.

Things get crazier when the Secret Service shows up to perform a security inspection.  Lucy's husband Floyd accidentally thinks one of them is a prowler and hits them on the head with a skillet!

Lucy and Viv get busy preparing the courses for the dinner.  Viv proudly shows Lucy the cake she made bearing a likeness of President Carter.

Of course (in classic Lucy and Viv style), things get a little out of hand when the two ladies start cake decorating.  "This kitchen isn't big enough for both of us!" exclaims Viv.  "Well, you're certainly big enough for both of us!" says Lucy in reply.

The Secret Service even gets in on the action!  They were outside the kitchen and thought a shootout was going down!

Tragedy strikes when Lucy tastes some peanut brittle and breaks her two front teeth.  She's terribly upset.

But not as upset as she is when she accidentally steps in the potato salad and then proceeds to sit on Viv's cake!

An emergency in Washington means that President Carter can't come to dinner.  However, his mother, Miss Lillian, phones Lucy and tells her that she would still be very happy to come.

Lucy forgets all of the bad things that have happened once the call is ended.  She picks up Viv's cake and says, "Quick, Viv, get some more icing.  You know, we got to put Jimmy back together again before his momma sees him."

Cast rundown:

   Lucille Ball..................................Lucy Whittaker

   Vivian Vance...............................Viv

   Gale Gordon................................Omar Whittaker

   Ed McMahon................................Floyd Whittaker

   Mary Wickes................................Millie Baker

   Mary Jane Croft...........................Midge Bowser

   James Brodhead..........................Mayor Wally Bowser

   Steve Allen.................................Himself

   Lillian Carter................................Herself

And that's it for Lucy Calles The President.  This was the final time that Lucille Ball and Vivian Vance appeared together onscreen.  Vivian was suffering from cancer at the time of filming, and the disease would take her life two years later.  This was also the final performance of Mary Jane Croft.

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