Mark Goodson

WHAT’S MY LINE?-Taped November 7, 1968

gamespeopleplayed July 13, 2023 0Comment

Host: Wally Bruner

Announcer: Johnny Olson

Celebrity Panel:

• Soupy Sales “That Bouncing Motown Star”
• Anita Gillette
• Orson Bean
• Arlene Francis

FIRST GUEST: James Proco (NYC)

We already learn he’s an usher right in this theatre and a college student. In between that, he’s salaried and working in a service.

Soupy (After a bit of rambling…) Does it have to do with show biz?

In the broadest sense, on the fringe (“He Makes Fringes”) It’s a Yes

Does it have to do with other people in showbiz?

No $5

Anita: Would I like to use your service?

Indirectly, same for Orson

It doesn’t matter if it’s a man or woman?

It doesn’t matter, Yes

When you perform, do people come to you?

Yes

Do you perform in a building? 

Yes

Do you require a uniform?

Yes     

Anita gets lost finding the next question: Do you use any equipment?

No $10

Orson (who thought Anita was talking instruments of torture): Would people come to you all alone?

No, which means your turn is over, Orson. $15

Arlene: You deal with groups of people?

More Than One

Do you instruct in any way?

James leans to No, but Wally needs a conference.  There may be advice given, but there’s no degree of instruction.  It’s still No $20

Soupy: Do you deal with groups other than people?

No $25

Anita: Do people hire you to take them around a building?

No $30

Orson: Is it a small group/number of people?

Yes

Would it be two?

Not necessarily

Would it help to know what you’re wearing?

Yes

Are you fully clad?

Yes

Wearing a suit like the suit and tie he’s wearing now?

No $35

Arlene: Anything athletic?

No, two to go and 15 seconds left

Soupy: Do you move around?

Another conference after James jumps with a No.  Allegedly, he may have ups and downs.

Soupy: Do you have to touch anything to go up and down?

Wally brings this game to an end

If there’s anything James touches, it might be his nose going up and down the chimney.  Mr. Proco is a DEPARTMENT STORE SANTA CLAUS.  Specifically, at Lord & Taylor’s in NY, and it’s his second year.  It took a while to learn how to get the voice down.  We see some great looking pictures with a wide-eyed kid.  Soupy asks if Jim every got a smack in the face. “Almost!”

Christmas is another story for the panel not figuring this out.  In Soupy’s building, the elevator operator for 18 years is fired because the regular one came back.

SECOND GUEST: Charlotte Drury (Jackson Heights, NY)

After some applause from friends, we learn Charlotte is salaried, in services AND deals with a product

Arlene: A service I might use?

Yes

Requires some dexterity, for her to give it to me?

For the service itself, but let’s focus on the product

Is it a product you can hold it your hand?

No $5

Soupy with the age old Question:  Is it bigger than a bread box?

Yes

A product used by men and women?

Yes

Does it touch the human body?

A quick no, then a conference changes it to Yes

Is it used in the home?

Definite No $10

Anita: Is it used in or near water?

Yes

Is it MUCH larger than a bread box?

Yes

Some sort of boat?

Yes

Do you operate this boat?

The boat is the product, she’s not involved in the operation.  No leeway!  $15 “It’s all yours, Orson”

Orson: Do you instruct in some way?

No $20

Arlene: Boats large enough for three or more passengers?

Yes

Are these decorated by you?

No $25

Soupy: Is it a dinghy?

Too small, “I’m pretty dinghy myself”, We’ll move on

Do you sell boats?

No $30

Anita: Arranging trips on boats?

Yes

Are you a travel agent?

Yes

Is it the liner around Manhattan?

Wally’s had enough!  Charlotte RENTS YACHTS.

Mrs. Drury works for Wakefield Fortune Incorporated arranging cruises.  A new service at the time, Charlotte has become a specialist in this field.  Yachts all have their own crews.  As you’d know from game show history, popular spots include the Caribbean, Mediterranean and Greek Isles.  If Wally and the panel wanted a boat to rent, the smallest they could get would be about 54 ft.  About $206 per person for one week including three meals a day.  A larger, 200ft. power yacht on Mediterranean would take the whole studio.  Total $12,000 a week per person.  The interior is as fancy as any local hotel around here.

MYSTERY GUEST

A strong applause marks his/her arrival

Orson: May I assume that you’re in show business?

Yes

Arlene: Are you known for your work in the theater?

No

Wally says there are some you’d know this guest from theater, but primarily for something else.

Soupy: Would this activity be in motion pictures?

Yes

Anita: Do you live in this city, most of the time?

Wally doesn’t know for sure.  In her business, she would be found in NYC sometimes.

Orson (30 sec. to go): Are you also in TV?

No, not at this moment

Arlene: Are you a singer?

Yes

Soupy: Did you earn your reputation in movies for musicals?

Yes

Anita: Are you in a musical picture right now?

No

Orson: A non-musical picture?

No, 15 seconds

Arlene: Are you appearing in a club or hotel in NYC?

No, TIME’S UP!

It’s Historic Maggie Flynn, SHIRLEY JONES

Honest Answers:

Mark Rafferty (Staten Island, NY) for Anita:  How tall are you?  You seem so little, how do you get into mini-skirts?

Answer: 5’1” in stocking feet, but she often says 5’3”.  And she buys clothes in the Junior Department.  Not many mini-skirts, though

Larry Schmidt (Potsdam, PA) for Orson: “Where did you get the name Orson Bean?”

Answer: He made it up.  His real name is Dallas Burrows which he said “Sounds Like a name a nut like Orson Bean would make Up” One last letter for “Souper Sales” but not enough time.

What’s my Line? is owned by Fremantle