Uh...or a sad commentary on the 50s. Don't get me wrong - it's a very funny clip and Gleason is great. But he makes fun of the beautiful women on his "panel" - assigning them professional careers that women would not have likely held in those times - the implication being that they can't be beautiful and smart at the same time. Actually, 2 of the 3 ask clever questions, and seem very bright, though it's entirely possible that the questions were scripted ahead of time.
Another thing worth noting is the smoking. The show was sponsored by Winston, so Gary Moore was probably instructed to always have a cigarette burning in his hand. I notice that he never seems to take a puff. Gleason, on the other hand, was a lifetime smoker, and you can see him taking long drags on his coffin nail multiple times. Notice that Moore gives him a carton of Winstons as a "prize."
I thought Gleason was making fun of the panelists because they were obviously very beautiful women (kind of like we think of beauty queens). It didn't come across to me that he was making fun of them on a personal level.
And yes on the smoking but that was also true in the movies of the day. I can remember feeling sick to my stomach trying to watch an old 40's or 50's movie where all the actors were constantly smoking.
I think of my navy radio shack days and remember that most of the guys didn't smoke but those of us who did must have made life miserable for the others as the space was so small. Interestingly (or not) my two closest buddies, and non-smokers, from that radio shack gang are both now dead while I continue chugging on (although I quit smoking at the tender age of 33).
Lkeller said:
The best line from the regular panel was Harry Morgan asking Gleason, "was this before or after you were funny?"
It was Henry Morgan. Harry Morgan's (M*A*S*H and many other shows) given name was also Henry but he had to change it because there was a well-known 'Henry' already in showbiz.
Anyway, Henry Morgan was like George Gobel. Very quiet until he unleashed a zinger that brought the house down. It seems a lot of those old shows were unscripted and that is what made them so much fun to watch. It's pretty clear Morgan zinged Gleason with that one.
