Still a Mystery

Darlings, we had fully intended to reveal our latest Mystery Guest's identity this morning, but, alas -- Real Life and its encroachment on our time continues unabated. We will endeavor to satisfy your burning curiosity by Wednesday at the very latest; in the meantime, why not throw a few more guesses into the pool?

That Gibson Girl

SSUWAT's good friend Michael O'Sullivan of Mike's Movie Projector recently posed the query: "Who is Virginia Gibson?"

Frankly, we had no idea. But you asked, Mike; we researched. It would seem that Virginia Gibson is the former Virginia Gorski (born April 9, 1928) of St. Louis, MO. A triple-threat singer, dancer and actress, Virginia became a Warner Brothers contract player in 1950, making her debut in the Doris Day box office bonanza, Tea for Two. A year later, Gibson was appearing in a straight, non-musical role with an even more formidable star, none other than Joan Crawford. Goodbye, My Fancy (1951) was a misfire, with a miscast, leaden Crawford in a role originated on the stage by the patrician British beauty Madeleine Carroll.

Lulu Hubbard and Madeleine Carroll in the play Goodbye, My Fancy (1948)

Joan Crawford and Eve Arden in the film Goodbye, My Fancy (1951)

Perhaps the miscasting as a congresswoman visiting her alma mater had Crawford even more on edge than usual; instead of taking the young actresses playing the fictional university's co-eds under her wing (a la her championing of Ann Blyth, who played her daughter in Mildred Pierce), Crawford went on the attack, famously calling out Janice Rule in front of the cast and crew: "Miss Rule," Queen Crawford intoned icily, "you'd better enjoy making films while you can. I doubt you'll be with us for long." Gibson apparently played it safe by staying as far out of Crawford's immediate eyesight as possible: that's her in the below still, to the very far right, next to a rather apprehensive-looking Miss Rule.

The atmosphere was undoubtedly sunnier on the sets of Gibson's next few films: friendly, cheerful, inconsequential, low-budget musicals presumably churned out to finance Doris Day's extravaganzas: Painting the Clouds with Sunshine (1951) with reliable B-unit bombshell Virginia Mayo; About Face (1952), about hidden pregnancies at a military academy (!), teaming Gibson with Gordon McRae; and Stop, You're Killing Me (1952), a slight Damon Runyon tale with old pros Broderick Crawford and Claire Trevor as Gibson's parents.

Lucille Norman, Virginia Gibson and Virginia Mayo in Painting the Clouds with Sunshine (1951)


Bill Hayes, Virginia Gibson, Claire Trevor and Broderick Crawford in Stop, You're Killing Me (1952)

Gibson traded up from Warners to go to Metro in 1954, immediately landing a role as one of the lucky seven in Seven Brides for Seven Brothers. She was paired with the New York City Ballet star Jacques d'Amboise, who, in the full flush of his youthful virility, may have been even prettier than she at the time.

Seven brides: Jane Powell, Virginia Gibson, Norma Doggett, Ruta Lee, Betty Carr, Nancy Kigas, Julie Newmar

Her next MGM feature, Athena (1954), cast Gibson as one of three sisters, once again with Jane Powell, and this time with the indefatigable Debbie Reynolds to round out the trio. Athena is one of those supremely weird, cobbled-together musical curiosities that Metro was putting out at the time, as it flailed wildly in an attempt to do battle with television; the refreshingly straightforward, old-fashioned Seven Brides was, sadly, an exception to the rule in 1954. If Athena is remembered at all today, it's for the campy presence of such bodybuilding talent as then-Mr. Universe, future Hercules Steve Reeves and Mae West plaything Dick DuBois.

Dick DuBois, Debbie Reynolds and Steve Reeves

Jane Powell and Steve Reeves

Once the gold standard of movie musical making, MGM made some of the worst ever between 1954 and 1955, including Athena, Kismet, Neptune's Daughter and Hit the Deck. Obviously, the timing couldn't have been worse for a new musical talent like Virginia Gibson to join the payroll; she was let go, although judging from her imdb.com entry, Gibson was kept fairly busy through 1956 with steady television work, including a regular gig on The Johnny Carson Show (1955-56), a precursor to his work on Tonight.

Virginia Gibson, Johnny Carson and Carson's wife, Joan

From there it was to Broadway, and perhaps Gibson's finest hour: the ill-fated, yet still-talked about Ethel Merman vehicle, Happy Hunting. Although it had tremendous advance sales, and was a respectable hit, the show became more famous for its backstage battles than for anything happening in front of the audience. The bickering between Ethel and her devastatingly handsome leading man, Fernando Lamas, is legendary; he responded to her characteristic scene-stealing, as well as her personal antagonism, by wearing his costumes so tight, that the audiences literally gasped at the sight of his manhood. Even The Merm couldn't steal focus from that. On April 7, 1957, Lamas appeared as the Mystery Guest on What's My Line?; starting at the 3:51 mark, that naughty, naughty Arlene Francis slips and slides around the subject of Fernando's costumes and his manliness, while Mr. Mahvelous himself jokingly quips that the censors wouldn't allow him to be seen on television as he did on stage.

The score, too, had its share of naysayers (the most vocal of whom was Merman!), although in retrospect, it's as bright, entertaining and hummable as any other hit or near-hit show of the period. "Gee, But it's Good to Be Here" is classic Merman all the way, and her duet with Gibson, "Mutual Admiration Society," was popular and catchy enough to become a minor standard on its own. Gibson was nominated for a Tony as Best Featured Actress in a Musical, and the show ran for a healthy (if emotionally draining) 412 performances. And, because the ghost of Kay Thompson seems to running amok around here lately, we feel compelled to mention that Ethel quietly brought Thompson and Roger Edens in to "spruce up" Matt Dubey and Harold Karr's score, adding "I'm Old Enough to Know Better (and Young Enough Not to Care)" and "Just a Moment Ago" to the song list. Also, Gibson made a final, fleeting film appearance with the divine Kay as one of Maggie Prescott's assistants in Funny Face (1957), which was filmed just before Happy Hunting opened on Broadway in December 1956.



After that, Gibson made a handful of dramatic television guest appearances, before settling in for a nine year run as the host of the ABC Sunday morning children's show, Discovery (1962-71). Presumably, that was more benign than the Merman-Lamas battling she had endured. After that, the trail goes cold; perhaps some SSUWAT-er out there "in the know" can tell us what ever happened to Virginia Gibson?

Behind the Mask

The first word that springs to mind when speaking of that delightful star of stage, screen and television, Miss Arlene Francis, is "charm." Miss Arlene had it in spades, and at the risk of minimizing her very real talent and keen intelligence, charm was the foundation upon which her long, versatile career was built.


Born Arline Francis Kazanjian on October 20, 1907 in Boston, MA, the daughter of an Armenian immigrant, the future "First Lady of Television" began her career determined to become a serious actress. A New Yorker since the age of seven, Arlene was well-positioned to make the rounds as a Broadway hopeful, and she first graced the boards in the 1928 flop, La Gringa. It was a disaster, running for only 13 performances, but Arlene's charm and perserverance carried her through; after her 1932 film debut in Murders in the Rue Morgue (playing a prostitute terrorized by Bela Lugosi!), Arlene was rarely left wanting for work. (Her La Gringa co-star, one Claudette Colbert, did pretty well for herself, too.)


Arlene was kept busy during the 1930's with a score of Broadway credits, including the original run of Clare Booth Luce's legendary bitchfest, The Women (1936). The work was steady, if not spectacular; but a big break came in 1942, with The Doughgirls, George Kaufman's warmly-received comedy about four women living together in wartime Washington. Arlene's comic timing was given full reign in her role as Russian sniper Natalia Chodorov, described as a woman "who has shot 397 Nazis, [and] is a vigorous, forceful woman who, for exercise, takes short hikes to Baltimore and back."


Perhaps as a direct result of this smash hit (The Doughgirls ran for 671 performances), in 1943 Arlene was asked to be the "femcee" of a new radio game show, Blind Date, which preceeded The Dating Game by over twenty years. The premise had two servicemen vying for the affections of one lucky young lady, with Arlene graciously presiding over the proceedings. Following the end of the war, the format was tweaked slightly, with non-enlisted men from various professions or colleges as the competitors. In 1949, the show was simulcast on television; and Arlene remained the hostess until 1952, although the show carried on for another year with Jan Murray taking Arlene's place.


Arlene's reasons for leaving Blind Date may have been varied, but one is eminently clear: another show she was involved with was taking off like a rocket. In 1950, Arlene appeared on a new quiz show hosted by the urbane, intellectual John Charles Daly, called What's My Line? She took her place on the panel on the second episode ever broadcast, and, of course, the rest is history: What's My Line? remains perhaps the greatest of all television game shows, and Miss Arlene Francis finally became a superstar, remaining with the program until its network cancellation in 1967.


Less successful, but ultimately more innovative and audacious, was Arlene's foray into daytime television, Home (1954-57). Conceived as NBC's complement to their early morning Today and late night Tonight shows, Home pioneered the "magazine" format that would become popular in the 1970's. Although its target audience was female, Home eschewed (for the most part) the stereotypical frivolity of other daytime "women's" programs like soap operas, and aimed for a serious, educational tone, with a feminine slant.


As a well-known celebrity in her own right, as well as being the wife of the polished actor/producer Martin Gabel, Arlene Francis was already "typed" as the quintessential New York sophisticate when she signed on to host Home. The NBC brass was concerned that she might be too cosmopolitan for the average, middle American housewife; to Arlene's credit, her effortless charm never came off as elitist or snobbish, and her quick wit and theatrical training came in handy when, as so often happened on live television, mishaps occured.


Ultimately, though, Home fell victim to the ratings game and its own exorbitant production costs. Competing against the popular, lightweight entertainment of The Garry Moore Show and Arthur Godfrey Time, Home simply couldn't survive. Typical of her positive, but pointed, wit, Arlene later quipped that she "was born in Boston, raised in New York, and died in daytime television."


If Home's cancellation made Arlene want to retreat and lick her wounds, she didn't have time; What's My Line? continued unabated as America's most popular quiz show, and Arlene was soon appearing on Broadway in what would be her most popular star vehicle, Once More with Feeling, opposite screen legend Joseph Cotten.


This production also ushered in a new phase in Arlene's public persona; although she had always presented herself as tasteful and sophisticated, her appearance trod the conservative, matronly line. Suddenly, at the age of 50, Arlene transformed into a sleeker, more seductive vision of high fashion style. It's been alleged that she had a face lift performed around this period; if so, Arlene had the best doctor in town, as her beauty increased tenfold, while never looking artificial.


By the end of the 1950's, Arlene Francis was one of the highest paid women in television, as well as being one of the most famous; TV Guide and Newsweek proclaimed her to be the third best-known woman in the country. She even briefly reignited her film career with two showy, well-received supporting roles in One, Two, Three (1961) with James Cagney, and The Thrill of it All (1963) with Doris Day and James Garner.


After What's My Line? ended its prime time run in 1967, Arlene kept busy with summer stock and television guest appearances; and when WML went into syndication from 1968-75, Arlene Francis was right back where she belonged, on the panel. She penned her memoirs in 1978, and continued to work well into the mid-1980's. In 1986, Martin Gabel, Arlene's husband of forty years, passed away; two years later, the iconic heart-shaped necklace which Gabel had given to Arlene, and which she wore on nearly every episode of What's My Line?, was snatched from her neck as she exited a taxi on Madison Avenue. It was never recovered. Soon after, Arlene Francis retreated from public view, as she battled with both Alzheimer's and cancer. She died, with her son Peter Gabel by her side, on May 31, 2001, at age 93.


We adore Arlene Francis, not only for her charm, but also for her unflappable humor, positivity, and graciousness. We also truly admire anyone who is not a conventional beauty, yet makes themselves beautiful through personality, application, and the thorough embracing of glamour. And, we suspect that Miss Francis was probably as much fun to socialize with as she appeared on the screen.


The lovely Miss Arlene was, as many of you correctly surmised, our latest Mystery Guest; the enigmatic JohnnyLovesRecords was the first to guess correctly. Have those S&H Green Stamps ready, and pick out your magnificent gift, Johnny!

From Mrs. Miniver to Auntie Mame

Oh, how we wish there was preserved video of this performance!!! As much as we adore Roz Russell, and revere the film, one can only imagine the superbly silky heights that Miss Greer Garson achieved when she took over the role from Russell on Broadway. Imagine that deliciously plummy voice reeling off those one liners! Garson's appearance on What's My Line? during her run as Mame Dennis is as close as we'll get to having been there. Listen to the wild crowd reaction as Garson enters, in costume!

Garson won rave reviews for her performance; and, from the looks of this photograph taken a few years later, she and Russell maintained a mutual admiration society of Mames (who mingle with Merle).

The Fall and Decline of Civilized Television

We're primarily interested in the falls. Here, four lovely lasses duke it out for the highest ratings and the highest hair on What's My Line? For your consideration:

Miss Jayne Mansfield



Miss Raquel Welch



Miss Jayne Meadows



Miss Joan Crawford

She's Got the Look

Be Our Guest

We're pleased to finally announce our award-winning Guest Panelists for this week!


On Monday, we will be visited by that delightful, cultured, witty star of stage and screen, Tony Randall - or, our very own delightful, cultured, witty FelixInHollywood of, naturally, Felix In Hollywood.


On Wednesday, we are thrilled to welcome that effervescent leading lady of Broadway, Miss Phyllis Newman - aka the effervescent askthecoolcookie of Doing Hard Time in Shaker Heights and Periodically Anachronistic.


Finally, on Friday, we are graced by the erudite, pear-toned presence of Martin Gabel, better known to SSUWAT readers as the erudite normadesmond, late of The File on Esther Zidel and, more recently, mitten drinnen.


We're so very excited to have this fabulous trio joining us this week! We're sure whatever they have in store for us, it'll be a lulu.

Will You Enter and Sign In, Please?

Yes, our latest Mystery Guest was, indeed, the luscious Ava Gardner. If the adjective "smoldering" hadn't yet been invented, then it would have had to have been coined to describe La Gardner. For our money, she completely surpassed her immediate predecessors and contemporaries (Hedy Lamarr, Rita Hayworth and Elizabeth Taylor) in nearly every department: looks, glamour, elegance and talent. She certainly was never the critics' darling, and never seemed to think much of her own abilities; but given strong material and a capable director, and Gardner brought not only her sensual, sexually-charged presence to the proceedings, but also an earthy honesty and surprising tenderness.


Widely acknowledged as one of the screen's great beauties from the very beginning of her career, by the late 1950's, Gardner was accused of allowing hard living, heavy drinking and rough loving to adversely affect her looks. In our humble opinion, the aging Gardner's looks may have changed, but didn't diminish. If anything, her bearing became more regal, while her allure was made even more erotically powerful by her maturity and experience.


After leaving the protection of her MGM contract in 1958 (she had called Metro "home" since 1941), and only occasionally leaving her adopted country of Spain, Gardner only made sporadic film appearances; On the Beach (1959) and The Night of the Iguana (1964) were worthwhile productions, while the majority of the rest were made "strictly for the loot," as Gardner blithely explained.


In 1985, Gardner had one last glamorous hurrah when she guest starred on five episodes of Knots Landing, still exuding the star power which had led to her being dubbed "The World's Most Beautiful Animal" decades earlier. Five years later, she was dead from pneumonia at age 67 - "The Last Goddess," trumpeted the People magazine cover story on her passing. Few members of Hollywood's fabled golden sorority deserved that sobriquet more.


A visitor from France, Dsata, was the first to guess La Gardner's identity (and we're loving her blog!) - the photo, by John Engstead, was formatted in such a way that we and normadesmond felt it obscured Gardner's instantly recognizable features; the original proof is below.


So, dear Dsata, you have your choice of a prize: would you prefer a Barefoot Contessa, or a Naked Maja? Or perhaps you'd simply like us to Bhowani your junction.

Time For Tiffin

Small wonder that no one guessed that our last Mystery Guest was lovely 1960's starlet, Pamela Tiffin: she was a complete chameleon who seemed to change appearance with every film. In one of the oddest career trajectories in Hollywood history, Tiffin made her debut in two prestigious 1961 films, garnering critical praise and two separate Golden Globe nominations for the Billy Wilder comedy One, Two, Three and the Tennessee Williams melodrama Summer and Smoke. No easy critic, Wilder himself hailed Tiffin as the freshest face to hit Hollywood since Audrey Hepburn; so why didn't the gorgeous, talented Tiffin become at least as big a star as, say, Ann-Margret?


Tiffin co-starred with A-M in two films, the bland 1962 remake of State Fair, and the bouffantastic trifle The Pleasure Seekers (1964); in both, Ann-Margret is unmistakably Ann-Margret: a fixed, fabulous, familiar image. Pamela Tiffin might as well be two different actresses, so wildly different is her look, her persona, her approach in both films. Such confusing contrast made a case for Tiffin's versatility, but sealed her fate as a star.

TIFFIN AND BOBBY DARIN IN STATE FAIR (1962)

TIFFIN AND THE PLEASURE SEEKERS (1964) CO-STAR GARDNER MCKAY

The quality of Tiffin's films also veered wildly between glossy pap for MGM (Come Fly with Me, 1963), teen-oriented drive-in fare for AIP (The Lively Set, 1964), and prestige pictures like Warners' Harper (1966), with the occasional Eurotrash exploitation flick thrown in for good measure. One wonders if producers simply had no idea how to best present this starlet; or if she just didn't really care, and was in the movie game for a lark.


Tiffin closed out the 1960's nearly unrecognizable as a blonde, and appearing more frequently in obscure Continental productions; she retired in 1974. The photo we used for our Guess Who? post was taken from Tiffin's turn in the 1966 Broadway revival of Dinner at Eight. The rather remarkable cast also included Blanche Yurka, Walter Pidgeon, Darren McGavin, and one of our Patron Saints, Miss Arlene Francis. Watch this fun clip from What's My Line?, as the cast, including Tiffin, attempts to stump Miss Arlene and the panel. And, of course, Pamela Tiffin looks completely different, yet again.