Author Topic: What the hell with Larry Blyden? (Read 7100 times)

tvwxman · « **Reply #15 on:** June 14, 2005, 08:37:01 PM »

[quote name=\'zachhoran\' date=\'Jun 14 2005, 05:50 PM\']
Jamie hosted at least three pilots in the 80s: Oddball for Goodson on NBC in 1986, Surprise Surprise for ABC in 1986(he mentions this pilot on $100K Pyramid when he was a guest one week), and Double Up for Syndication and Dick Clark Productions in 1988. I didn't hear of him hosting the revamped Body Language, the Body Talk pilot was hosted by Vicki Lawrence for ABC in 1990.

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Paging the game show veterans (Not zach.)

Can anyone share formats for these shows? I heard of his "Double Up" pilot, but not the others.

And Gawd, I hope that his stint on Wordplay was what stopped him from hosting again.

mmb5 · « **Reply #16 on:** June 14, 2005, 09:25:45 PM »

[quote name=\'ilb4ever2000\' date=\'Jun 14 2005, 06:03 PM\']I guess after reading this thread, I should reconsider liking Larry on WML?

And speaking of Mr. Blyden, on Game Show Moments Gone Bananas 3, there was a clip from Showoffs. I swear I heard Larry's voice. I'd assume it was the pilot.

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It was the pilot. They have it at UCLA and its also at my pilot page.

--Mike

Ian Wallis · « **Reply #17 on:** June 15, 2005, 08:43:20 AM »

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Oddball for Goodson on NBC in 1986

Oddball - that was the name of it. I was trying to remember. Goodson apparantly really believed in the charades format and wanted to get the show back on the air. I thought it was later than 1986 though...

zachhoran · « **Reply #18 on:** June 15, 2005, 09:12:38 AM »

[quote name=\'Ian Wallis\' date=\'Jun 15 2005, 07:43 AM\']

Quote

Oddball for Goodson on NBC in 1986

Oddball - that was the name of it. I was trying to remember. Goodson apparantly really believed in the charades format and wanted to get the show back on the air. I thought it was later than 1986 though...

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Someone e-mailed me the format for Oddball years back, but it didn't have anything to do with charades.

The Ol' Guy · « **Reply #19 on:** June 15, 2005, 10:05:19 AM »

IIRC, Oddball was a game of personal responses that, according to the book Richard Dawson and the Family Feud, was a step in the morphing process that led to Feud.

Winkfan · « **Reply #20 on:** June 15, 2005, 01:23:17 PM »

Quote from: Jimmy Owen on June 14, 2005, 03:34:48 PM

Everytime you guys see clips of one of my heroes they get dissed. Dennis James, Jim Lange, Bob Eubanks, Wally Bruner, Larry Blyden......

Amen, pal!

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If you happen to see a link to a Sonny Fox clip, resist the urge to click.

Maybe not Sonny, but DEFINITELY Mark DeCarlo, Jack Whittaker, and Chris Jagger.

Cordially,
Tammy Warner--the 'Linda Hooks of the Big Board!'

SplitSecond · « **Reply #21 on:** June 15, 2005, 01:33:45 PM »

[quote name=\'The Ol' Guy\' date=\'Jun 15 2005, 07:05 AM\']IIRC, Oddball was a game of personal responses that, according to the book Richard Dawson and the Family Feud, was a step in the morphing process that led to Feud.
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Oddball was actually done in the mid-1980's, so I don't see how it could have had any impact on the development of Feud.

Essentially the game was the Anti-Match Game meets Password Plus. While the contestants were in isolation, the celebrities tried to write unique clues to the identity of a person, place, or thing. Any matching answers were disqualified, so that the players never saw them.

This was another classic case of a game that was probably fun to play, but not to watch as a TV show. To say it was slow is a major understatement.

One bit of trivia: The think music used on this show (derived from the show's main theme) became somewhat of a staple in the Goodson music library, being used on several Price games like Cover Up, the 1989 Match Game pilot, and others.

Jimmy Owen · « **Reply #22 on:** June 15, 2005, 01:46:44 PM »

"Oddball" sounds similar to the old "Snap Judgment."

clemon79 · « **Reply #23 on:** June 15, 2005, 03:04:28 PM »

[quote name=\'SplitSecond\' date=\'Jun 15 2005, 10:33 AM\']Oddball was actually done in the mid-1980's, so I don't see how it could have had any impact on the development of Feud.
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Then they recycled the name, because Ol' Guy is quite right, I've read the same book and remember it well, and a concept they had tentatively titled "Odd Ball" was one of the steps in the process they went through in developing Feud. Involved teams of five sitting in individual isolation booths, if I further remember right.

Might not have been the same game, but they've definitely used the name before, at least in R&D.

tvrandywest · « **Reply #24 on:** June 15, 2005, 03:28:58 PM »

A little respect, gang.

Why drive home the opinion so vehemently that Larry Blyden was not a likeable and competent host? Personally, I'm getting a headache hearing about how Bobby Van, Bert Convy and even Bill Leyden didn't measure up in the minds of some posters. What a shame to have a cloud hangover the memories of the work of folks like Jack Bailey. And you certainly won't have a leg to stand on if you start to impune the talents of Bill Cullen. We're all welcome to speak clearly when it comes to opinions on folks like Garry Moore, but it's not fair to take shots at great talents like Jay Stewart. And in my opinion, the same holds true for the models we all know and love. Personally, I fell for Janice the moment I first saw her.

Randy
tvrandywest
(crossing the line of good taste since 1981)

SplitSecond · « **Reply #25 on:** June 15, 2005, 03:31:50 PM »

[quote name=\'tvrandywest\' date=\'Jun 15 2005, 12:28 PM\']We're all welcome to speak clearly when it comes to opinions on folks like Garry Moore
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I really hope that was tongue-in-cheek. Garry Moore wouldn't take licks at any of us, so why should we take licks at him?

TLEberle · « **Reply #26 on:** June 15, 2005, 04:14:58 PM »

[quote name=\'tvrandywest\' date=\'Jun 15 2005, 12:28 PM\']A little respect, gang.

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I'm all for respect...but why does it matter who the host is? People have said that Richard Karn chews up the set, Bert Convy spent too much time with the celebrities, and on and on.

Obviously, I didn't know Larry personally, so I don't know what he was like off the set. I would imagine he was a fine guy (until someone posts otherwise). If someone doesn't like the way he hosts "What's My Line?", that's their right. They can also think he's the greatest thing since sliced bread. It's not a judgment about their entire person, just about the way they hosted a game show.

If you somehow DO have a backstage story about Larry, I would be all ears.

Don Howard · « **Reply #27 on:** June 15, 2005, 04:18:35 PM »

[quote name=\'TLEberle\' date=\'Jun 15 2005, 03:14 PM\']If you somehow DO have a backstage story about Larry, I would be all ears.

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First of all, he guested on one of my favorite episodes of Thriller.
Second, his Little Black Book weighed about a ton.

Jimmy Owen · « **Reply #28 on:** June 15, 2005, 04:35:15 PM »

Opinions are those of the beholder, I always enjoyed Mr. Blyden's work. I was lucky enough to spend three summers watching "Personality." When they showed the episode on GSN, it was better than I remembered (cause it was finally in color! We only had a B&W TV then). I go on Usenet, and the kids don't like it. Well you can't change opinion, but one shouldn't judge things by 2005 standards.

The Ol' Guy · « **Reply #29 on:** June 15, 2005, 11:12:08 PM »

Thanks, Split Second and Chris L. - I wasn't aware of the second Oddball pilot, but it makes sense - like Bob Stewart had two "Caught In The Act" pilots..if you've paid for the title search and trade mark, might as well find as many ways to use it as possible until it clicks...

Blyden wasn't that bad a choice. Besides, hadn't most of the more prominent hosts moved to California by then? He was there, part of the New York society set, a professional equal with most of the panel, and could keep the panel egos in line. He didn't come off warm and fuzzy on Line, but he kept the show moving. And it may be better to keep the show moving than always be charming in a 5-a-week strip.