More What's My Line?
For the “Mystery Guest” segment on What’s My Line?” the contestant is Mama Cass Elliot. This is another that comes from the later color-version of the show, this time with Wally Bruner as host. The panelists aren’t great, and with new show’s “you have three minutes” rule here, it pressures them in their questions, and is less interesting. (On the original series, they could easily take double that amount of time) I’ve noticed too that on the old, original version of the show, which had panelists on the show for years, they not only were very good in their questioning from experience, but several of them also took their jobs very seriously, often doing research about what Broadway shows or movies or books or nightclub acts were in town or popular. That’s not the case here (though one of the panelists here is Arlene Francis from the original show). All that said, Mama Cass has a fun, relaxed time, and does a charming voice that’s not deeply disguised, but then most people know her voice only from singing. And she appears to have a enjoyable time with a question about whether she sings in a group – since at point she had a solo career, after leaving the Mamas and the Papas.
If you want to jump to the “Mystery Guest” segment, it starts around the 16:00 mark.
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