More What's My Line?
I thought I posted this about a month or so back, but I did several searches using different terms and can't find it. So, apparently I didn't. I may have planned to, but something else came up that took precedence. If I did post it -- sorry for the repeat. But on the assumption that this is its debut, here we go.
The Mystery Guest on this episode is actor Ralph Bellamy, who had a long, respected career. But I like the segment for a totally different reason – he went to New Trier High School, the same as where I went. (As did the oft-mentioned Nell Minow, and the occasionally referenced Don Friedman. And also Rabbi Jack Moline, who serves on the Board of Directors of Elisberg Industry. Along with so many far-better known alumni that they have their own Wikipedia page here, including for starters Ann-Margaret, Charlton Heston, Rahm Emanuel, Sen. Charles Percy, Sen. Mark Kirk, Rock Hudson, Rainn Wilson, Bruce Dern, Scott Turow, Liz Phair, Nobel laureate Jack Steinberger and... but I digress.) Bellamy is best known for starring as Franklin D. Roosevelt in the acclaimed play Sunrise at Campobello, for which he won a Tony Award and then re-created for the movies. Though for more recent audiences, he’s probably most recognized for playing one of the Duke brothers in Trading Places.
Fun, too, is that Ricardo Montalban is one of the panelists. And interestingly, this episode takes place when Bellamy is actually out-of-town with tryouts for Sunrise at Campobello. So, all the applause and appreciation he gets here comes before anyone there has even seen what is to become his most-famous work. Bellamy also gets to do a good deal more talking at the end than usual, in part to tie in with the March of Dimes drive that FDR was so-associated with.
There’s a weird edit you shouldn’t be confused by – for some reason, in the middle of the game, there is a glitch where a clip of a few seconds is inserted from after the game is over when you’ll see Dorothy Kilgallen (with her blindfold off) talk about Mr. Bellamy and the play he’s doing – and then they return to the game as normal. You can jump to the segment around the 18:15 mark.
By the way, for those who have never seen Sunrise at Campobello, it’s wonderful, about FDR dealing with polio and returning to politics. Here’s the trailer – and I will not that the first line of dialogue used is my absolute favorite line in the movie. It comes 20-seconds in, after FDR puts on his hat.) --
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