What's My Line? 75th Anniversary

[SuperMatch93]

What do we think of the three emcees the show had: John Daly, Wally Bruner, Larry Blyden?

While John and Larry were good fits for the show as it existed at the time, I felt like Wally was too dry and clashed with the up-to-date feeling that the show was trying to move into at the time.

[TimK2003]

What do we think of the three emcees the show had: John Daly, Wally Bruner, Larry Blyden?

While John and Larry were good fits for the show as it existed at the time, I felt like Wally was too dry and clashed with the up-to-date feeling that the show was trying to move into at the time.

I want to say that John and Larry were like the Richard Dawson and Ray Combs of Feud -- they both had their unique styles in hosting the show and took the show in different directions within the format. 

Whereas John Charles had specific ways of responding to the panel and certain celebs in a more formal & technical manner, Larry seemed to make it more laid back and put more of a spotlight on the panel than on himself.

Wally was the Rolf Benirschke of Goodson Todman.  I don't know why they thought he would make a good game show host.

[Eric Paddon]

Bruner's background as a news anchor and White House correspondent, effectively the same as that of Daly, was why they thought he'd be right for the show.    They wanted in effect a Daly type at the outset.

[BrandonFG]

Haven’t seen too much of Wally, but I loved the eloquence John brought to the show. Conversely, Larry moved the show into the 70s very well, and I would’ve loved to have seen him on subsequent shows throughout the decade and into the 80s.

[PYLdude]

I don’t think Wally was that bad. He’s not a Daly, and his voice can grate at times, but he did a perfectly
capable job. As did his successor.

[Blanquepage]

John - Scholarly, kept the game moving, but also joined in the laughs too and used his wizardly way with words to confound the panel. My favorite!
Wally - Affable fellow who kept the game moving and let everyone else shine, but didn't leave a lasting impression.
Larry - Laid-back charm, added a more people-friendly vibe, yet didn't try to hog the camera. That seemed to be a good formula standard for an emcee of a celebrity-heavy format. It's a shame we didn't get to see more of that potential.