The Game Show Forum
The Game Show Forum => The Big Board => Topic started by: Matt Ottinger on January 20, 2007, 02:53:13 PM
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In the Youtube thread, tpirfan28 gave us this link (http://\"http://www.povonline.com/cols/COL115.htm\") to a blog by Mark Evanier (man, can that guy tell a story) about the best and worst warmups he had ever seen. Of all the categories of discussion we've had over the years, I don't remember this as a subject.
Many of you have been to tapings, game show and other. Heck, I live in Michigan and I've seen a few. Anybody that really stuck in your mind one way or another? We're not talking about their job as announcers, this is strictly about their interaction with the audience when the cameras weren't rolling.
Randy, please feel free to share your favorite Johnny Olson story. Meanwhile, I'm sure several of you can say something nice about Randy. Later, I'll tell you the worst I ever saw.
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I thought about putting this as a separate topic..but felt it needed to go with the other topic's info.
I personally have not seen any game show warmups (if "Hoosier Millionaire" was still around...It would have now been easier to see one....), but thanks to YouTube, I have now seen Rich Field's and Johnny O's PiR warmups. I really liked Rich's, as he apparently makes things different each time, which is good for a show where people visit many times...it's a different experience every time. Johnny O's speil is also well written.
/Iso booth for mentioning HM?
//Henke...HM is NOT the topic at hand
///From one Matt to another, thanks for starting this
////How many Matts are on this board anyway?
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I've seen only a few but they were all pretty fun.
Johnny Gilbert's warm-up for the Jeopardy! College Tournament a few years back. I remember one line specifically that cracked me up: "Remember, we will be panning across your faces during the credits, so if you're here with some other guy's wife, then for your own safety, please get the hell out!" He told a story about screwing up a live commercial for psoriasis ointment on Bill Cullen's Price is Right ("...An exciting medical breakthrough for those of you with sorry asses!") And then he got to reading the slate. By this point excitement was fever pitch because, after all, it's the middle of Ohio and national TV shows don't tape here that often. He sensed the mood in the building, stopped in mid-slate, turned to us and said, "God, this is exciting!"
Rich Fields' warm-up for "The Price is Right" when I went to LA last April. I know the mixed feelings about Rich here, but I will admit being biased because he pulled me up onstage along with a woman in her 60s and declared us the Official Price is Right Dance Team. So I boogied in the Bob Barker Studio, and after the taping, three women my age who had come to the show in cheerleader outfits screamed "Nice moves, Adam! Wooo!" Damn, I miss Los Angeles.
And last year when "The All New High-Q" taped at Marshall University, some guy named Adam Nedeff did audience warm-up. Since the audience got to wait indoors and we fed them, they were already in a good mood, but Adam did a little spiel and then taught them a bunch of hand signals he'd be using to prompt different reactions, and then tested them by changing the hand signals at lightning speed until they gave up and began laughing. And there was a really funny blooper at one of the tapings where Adam stood up too quickly, oblivious to the fact that he tied himself up in a wire, and destroyed the microphone he was using while prompting the audience.
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I don't remember the name of the guy who did the warm-ups for the Chain Reaction premiere taping, but lord was he awful. The only thing that he did any good was a Fred Sanford impression, and that wasn't even in the warm-up! I had heard him talking with someone else about old television shows, during one of the breaks...
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I've seen exactly one warmup and I can't remember hardly anything about it. It was for the TV Land Ultimate Fan Search in 1999 and I'm really frustrated because the warmup guy was the show's announcer...Rod Roddy. I specifically remember Rod saying something similar to the mentioned Johnny Gilbert line about being there with another guy's wife, discussing the audience pan shot, but that's all I remember.
I do remember during several of the many times taping broke down for whatever reason, host Chuck Woolery interacted with the audience, inviting them to ask him anything and telling stories about his career. He started one during a commercial break and then had to interrupt when he was called back onstage. Then when the taping shutdown again, he walked straight back over to the audience and picked the story up exactly where he left off, bringing wild applause.
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I haven't seen as many as a number of folks on this board. I've seen a few which are quite good (Charlie O at Wheel this past summer, Burton Richardson at TPiR in 2001, Johnny Gilbert at J! in 2001), but the hands down worst has to be whomever does warmups for Deal or No Deal. He's so bad that I don't recall his name. (It's not Chucky or Chunky whatever his name is.) He brings absolutely nothing entertaining or fun to the table, just the occasional "We're having some technical problems. We'll start the taping in a few minutes." message. The one good thing he did was start passing around the bottles of water and baskets of candy six hours after the marathon Deal taping began.
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I didn't care 100% for the warmup guy that did HS in the Whoopi era. It was IMO very cheesy. He prank called people in Pennysaver ads, many which he had called before, becuase some of them said "Oh, it's YOU again". It MIGHT be funny to tease someone once, but to repeatedly do it is just plain harassment, and he could get in trouble.
Randy's warmup was much like Johnny's. He ran around the audience a couple times, and like Johnny, a little out of breath when he was done. Randy really got the audience going wild, and I'm sure Johnny was up there smiling down at him.
Gary Kroger (Card Sharks 01)- I can't really say if his warmup was good or bad. I think it was good considering he getting the audience involved in a show with a weak format. He explained about calling out higher or lower, or encouraging the player to use a chip clip. There were a couple moments when the crew didn't get the cards to Tammi to deal out fast enough before Pat explained the rules, and he would tease Tammi about being late on dealing hte cards.
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Here are some of the warm-ups I've seen:
Burton Richardson -- It Takes Two (1997) (B)
Considering there was maybe about 50-75 people in the crowd, he was very personable. A little Karaoke a few stories and a few jokes, but nothing over-the-top as I recall.
Charlie O'Donnell -- Wheel of Fortune (1997) (B)
He was pretty good, considering this was a road show and a few thousand in attendance, but it sounded like he was going through the motions, too. A great set of pipes, though!
Rod Roddy -- TPIR (2000) ©
He's a great announcer, but his delivery seemed too robotic.
Randy West -- TPIR (2003) (B+)
He really got the crowd going! Very Personable.
Gene Wood -- Super Password (1987) (A+)
If he had the time, he would have personally spent 10 minutes talking to each person separately in the studio -- that's how nice he was. He did a little bit of everything. Gene was Da Man!
Like a previous poster said, whoever did warm up for Whoopi's Squares in 2000 *was* really, really bad!
Speaking of Squares, I saw Davidson's Squares in 1987 at NBC, and I don't even remember a warm-up person there. All I seem to recall was Stormy Sacks playing a few tunes between shows, but that was it. IIRC, Milton Berle was casually telling some real dirty jokes to the audience from his square before the show started because the studio was too quiet.
/Wow, I forgot how many shows I've seen over the years!
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[quote name=\'whewfan\' post=\'143991\' date=\'Jan 20 2007, 06:04 PM\']
I didn't care 100% for the warmup guy that did HS in the Whoopi era. It was IMO very cheesy. He prank called people in Pennysaver ads, many which he had called before, becuase some of them said "Oh, it's YOU again". It MIGHT be funny to tease someone once, but to repeatedly do it is just plain harassment, and he could get in trouble. [/quote]
Like a previous poster said, whoever did warm up for Whoopi's Squares in 2000 *was* really, really bad!
I believe his name was Bob Sampson. He also did warmup (and may still do for all I know) for the Tonight show.
His name came up in conversation a few months ago when someone said he makes $3k for the Tonight show. I'm not sure if that's per week or per show. Good money either way in my book.
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Hmmm.... there's been quite a few good warm-up people that I've seen over the years, Randy West included.
However, by far, the worst one had to be Chunky B, or whatever it is he's called. His threats to do lap dances have scarred me for life... yea.
*shudders*
Rod always had a good warm-up to me, and it was awesome watching him get to do his routine every time. Also, Burton Richardson has gotten much better in the past few years. When I first saw him, I got tired of hearing "YMCA" over and over again... and I think I expressed that once.
Now he's actually got a pretty good warm-up routine that does not just include singing and music, and I found it very enjoyable the last time I saw him at "Family Feud."
Of course, getting him to say "Alter Cockers" and "Fighting Pudus" again always brings a smile to my face. =)
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[quote name=\'cmjb13\' post=\'144000\' date=\'Jan 20 2007, 05:31 PM\']
Like a previous poster said, whoever did warm up for Whoopi's Squares in 2000 *was* really, really bad!
I believe his name was Bob Sampson. He also did warmup (and may still do for all I know) for the Tonight show. [/quote]
That's Bob Perlow
Randy
tvrandywest.com
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I may be one of the few on this forum to have seen Johnny O. do a warmup (What's My Line, 1970). The problem was, he spoiled me for everyone else.
Also saw Alan Kalter for The Money Maze in 1975 -- surprisingly a little serious, but he pointed out that, due to the unique nature of the audience in that show, we had a responsibility to keep our yaps shut during the running of the maze in order to avoid distracting the contestants.
Millionaire in the second week of 1999 was done by some nonamo comic, who didn't tell us much about the game. I was sitting at stage level, and didn't realize they were going to put the damn Fastest Finger question board right next to me. I kind of sensed Regis was a little tense (remember, this was the second week of taping), and made a point of looking at my shoes or the floor when he was reading the question so as not to distract him.
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[quote name=\'calliaume\' post=\'144020\' date=\'Jan 20 2007, 07:59 PM\']
I kind of sensed Regis was a little tense (remember, this was the second week of taping), and made a point of looking at my shoes or the floor when he was reading the question so as not to distract him.
[/quote]
...and the entire time, Regis is trying to read the question and thinking "WHY is that guy looking at his SHOES?!?!"
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[quote name=\'calliaume\' post=\'144020\' date=\'Jan 20 2007, 07:59 PM\']
I was sitting at stage level, and didn't realize they were going to put the damn Fastest Finger question board right next to me.
[/quote]
So that was how they did it? I've always wondered if he had a teleprompter or not. Very interesting.
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[quote name=\'whoserman\' post=\'144030\' date=\'Jan 20 2007, 09:25 PM\']
So that was how they did it? I've always wondered if he had a teleprompter or not. Very interesting.
[/quote]
You confuse me, Kev. Why wouldn't he?
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[quote name=\'clemon79\' post=\'144032\' date=\'Jan 20 2007, 09:51 PM\']
You confuse me, Kev. Why wouldn't he?
[/quote]
Point taken. I was just thinking about the design of the set, and wondering how they'd manage it. Plus for most of the run, Reege would have the hot seat right in the way, wouldn't he?
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[quote name=\'whoserman\' post=\'144038\' date=\'Jan 20 2007, 10:20 PM\']
Plus for most of the run, Reege would have the hot seat right in the way, wouldn't he?
[/quote]
No, because for most of the run, they would remove the center island from the stage during FF, for exactly that reason.
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[quote name=\'clemon79\' post=\'144041\' date=\'Jan 20 2007, 10:28 PM\']
[quote name=\'whoserman\' post=\'144038\' date=\'Jan 20 2007, 10:20 PM\']
Plus for most of the run, Reege would have the hot seat right in the way, wouldn't he?
[/quote]
No, because for most of the run, they would remove the center island from the stage during FF, for exactly that reason.
[/quote]
IIRC, they started leaving the hot seat there for FF as early as January 2000. It certainly wasn't much later than that.
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[quote name=\'whoserman\' post=\'144042\' date=\'Jan 20 2007, 10:35 PM\']
IIRC, they started leaving the hot seat there for FF as early as January 2000. It certainly wasn't much later than that.
[/quote]
So they figure out how to put it off to one side, or maybe they drag it out and put it right in front. But I just don't see Reege working that without a net.
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[quote name=\'clemon79\' post=\'144044\' date=\'Jan 20 2007, 11:10 PM\']
So they figure out how to put it off to one side, or maybe they drag it out and put it right in front. But I just don't see Reege working that without a net.
[/quote]
Agreed. Again, just something I found interesting.
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[quote name=\'jdhernandez\' post=\'144006\' date=\'Jan 20 2007, 09:07 PM\']
However, by far, the worst one had to be Chunky B, or whatever it is he's called. His threats to do lap dances have scarred me for life... yea.
[/quote]
Chunky D.
I saw a taping of the Late Late show a few months ago and he was doing warm-up there as well.
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I'm sticking this link here because it fits with this topic better than the YouTube thread.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VIDA48rTHC8...ted&search= (http://\"http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VIDA48rTHC8&mode=related&search=\")
The warm-up guy for Chain Reaction...from GSN themselves.
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[quote name=\'tvrandywest\' post=\'144018\' date=\'Jan 20 2007, 10:35 PM\']
[quote name=\'cmjb13\' post=\'144000\' date=\'Jan 20 2007, 05:31 PM\'] Like a previous poster said, whoever did warm up for Whoopi's Squares in 2000 *was* really, really bad!
I believe his name was Bob Sampson. He also did warmup (and may still do for all I know) for the Tonight show. [/quote]
That's Bob Perlow
[/quote]
Yes... Bob Perlow. I know for a fact that there are some who can't seem to get enough of his kind of humor, but don't count me in that batch. I ended up on the front row once and became one of his random targets; it was all I could do not to just slap the guy and/or leave. Eventually he was replaced with Tom Riles, a PA who was given a shot at warm-up and did much better IMHO (he has since done Ryan Seacrest's warm-up on his ill-fated show, and is now doing it for Ellen's show).
My quick take on best and worst... The best was Johnny Olson, hands down (I saw him do one for Tom Kennedy's TPIR back in '85, a couple of months before he passed on). The worst (that I can remember) was probably Steve Saunders at Pyramid... as much as I like the game, the tapings were interminable because of him.
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[quote name=\'davidhammett\' post=\'144072\' date=\'Jan 21 2007, 01:05 PM\']The worst (that I can remember) was probably Steve Saunders at Pyramid... as much as I like the game, the tapings were interminable because of him.[/quote]
Hey, you took my answer!
Though David saw Pyramid plenty of times, he and I attended a taping together and were both stunned at Saunders' almost total lack of effort. He didn't really try to be funny, and he didn't really know anything about the game, so he couldn't answer questions. A warm-up kinda needs to do one or the other.
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[quote name=\'Matt Ottinger\' post=\'144074\' date=\'Jan 21 2007, 01:35 PM\'][quote name=\'davidhammett\' post=\'144072\' date=\'Jan 21 2007, 01:05 PM\']The worst (that I can remember) was probably Steve Saunders at Pyramid... as much as I like the game, the tapings were interminable because of him.[/quote]Though David saw Pyramid plenty of times, he and I attended a taping together and were both stunned at Saunders' almost total lack of effort. He didn't really try to be funny, and he didn't really know anything about the game, so he couldn't answer questions. A warm-up kinda needs to do one or the other.[/quote]The one time I went to Pyramid, he spent the whole time sucking up to Donny's family friends who were in the audience. The rest of us -- not so much attention at all. Thank goodness I was on a buzz from seeing Dick Clark and Betty White play Pyramid to care that much.
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This past summer I had the "pleasure" of seeing a taping session of Starface. The warm up guy was terrible, the jokes fell flat and his shtick pretty much was throwing candy minatures to the audience. I didn't laugh once.
And now, the rest of...................the story.
He starts getting into this riff on he could not be on a game show. He would get nervous, he wouldn't know the answers, etc. He then points to the person next to me and says "Have you ever been on a game show?"
The person sitting next to me was Kevin Olmstead.
So, at least, I finally did laugh.
--Mike
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[quote name=\'mmb5\' post=\'144080\' date=\'Jan 21 2007, 11:50 AM\']
This past summer I had the "pleasure" of seeing a taping session of Starface. The warm up guy was terrible...[/quote]
I wish I could help by providing his name. When I did warm-up for the first couple of weeks of episodes of "Starface", he was working craft services. He was a friend of the production company and it's understandable that he wasn't great as this was the first warm-up gig.
Randy
tvrandywest.com
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Thanks to Matt for the introduction to Mark Evanier's site. So many great thoughts on great topics. From Mark, on injuries to the cast during "It's a Mad Mad Mad Mad World": "Phil Silvers pulled a groin muscle (one of his own)."
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[quote name=\'rialtus\' post=\'144076\' date=\'Jan 21 2007, 11:02 AM\']
[quote name=\'Matt Ottinger\' post=\'144074\' date=\'Jan 21 2007, 01:35 PM\'][quote name=\'davidhammett\' post=\'144072\' date=\'Jan 21 2007, 01:05 PM\']The worst (that I can remember) was probably Steve Saunders at Pyramid... as much as I like the game, the tapings were interminable because of him.[/quote]Though David saw Pyramid plenty of times, he and I attended a taping together and were both stunned at Saunders' almost total lack of effort. He didn't really try to be funny, and he didn't really know anything about the game, so he couldn't answer questions. A warm-up kinda needs to do one or the other.[/quote]The one time I went to Pyramid, he spent the whole time sucking up to Donny's family friends who were in the audience. The rest of us -- not so much attention at all. Thank goodness I was on a buzz from seeing Dick Clark and Betty White play Pyramid to care that much.
[/quote]
Steve was yet one more reason why that show did not work. Inexplicably, I also attended a taping and was so disgusted at his lack of attention to most of the audience as well as his inability to quiet a rowdy school group during the taping, I left early. That's probably when I stopped watching the show, knowing that ship had sailed.
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[quote name=\'davidhammett\' post=\'144072\' date=\'Jan 21 2007, 01:05 PM\']
[The worst (that I can remember) was probably Steve Saunders at Pyramid[/quote]
John Cramer couldn't be bothered to do the warm-up himself?
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[quote name=\'Don Howard\' post=\'144105\' date=\'Jan 21 2007, 06:20 PM\']
[quote name=\'davidhammett\' post=\'144072\' date=\'Jan 21 2007, 01:05 PM\']
[The worst (that I can remember) was probably Steve Saunders at Pyramid[/quote]
John Cramer couldn't be bothered to do the warm-up himself?
[/quote]
I'm hard-pressed to think of a show where he has done the warm-up... it's always (usually?) just the announcing, and that's often done away from the taping itself. He certainly didn't do warm-up on "21", "Weakest Link" (where Randy had a yeoman's task at best for those epic tapings), or "Pyramid."
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[quote name=\'Matt Ottinger\' post=\'144074\' date=\'Jan 21 2007, 01:35 PM\']
[quote name=\'davidhammett\' post=\'144072\' date=\'Jan 21 2007, 01:05 PM\']The worst (that I can remember) was probably Steve Saunders at Pyramid... as much as I like the game, the tapings were interminable because of him.[/quote]
Hey, you took my answer!
Though David saw Pyramid plenty of times, he and I attended a taping together and were both stunned at Saunders' almost total lack of effort. He didn't really try to be funny, and he didn't really know anything about the game, so he couldn't answer questions. A warm-up kinda needs to do one or the other.
[/quote]
Actually, Matt, that was the only Pyramid taping I went to... hadn't made it to one before your visit, and certainly didn't go out of my way to get to one afterwards thanks to what I knew was in store for the studio audience.
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[quote name=\'davidhammett\' post=\'144106\' date=\'Jan 21 2007, 03:25 PM\']
I'm hard-pressed to think of a show where he has done the warm-up... it's always (usually?) just the announcing, and that's often done away from the taping itself. He certainly didn't do warm-up on "21", "Weakest Link" (where Randy had a yeoman's task at best for those epic tapings), or "Pyramid."
[/quote]
Think of how more enjoyable those 'Link' tapings were with Randy there. Can you imagine Chunky D or Steve Saunders warming-up 'Link'? There would have been an audience revolt.
EDIT: Didn't know the grammar police were in the crowd today.
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[quote name=\'matchgame\' post=\'144109\' date=\'Jan 21 2007, 03:33 PM\']
There would of have been an audience revolt.
[/quote]
There, fixed it for you. Sorry, but that's a pet peeve of mine.
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[quote name=\'whoserman\' post=\'144111\' date=\'Jan 21 2007, 03:45 PM\'][quote name=\'matchgame\' post=\'144109\' date=\'Jan 21 2007, 03:33 PM\']There would
of have been an audience revolt.
[/quote]There, fixed it for you. Sorry, but that's a pet peeve of mine.[/quote]Don't apologize. I'm the same way.
I was waiting for the StarFace warm-up where Shlubby the Clown asked Kevin Olmstead, "You sir? You must know what I'm talking about! What's the biggest thing YOU ever won?"
When I read that on Chris's blog, I actually LOL'd for several minutes. A completely geeky moment, sure, but I have no sympathy for a guy who can't string together a few jokes.
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[quote name=\'TLEberle\' post=\'144113\' date=\'Jan 21 2007, 03:59 PM\']
I was waiting for the StarFace warm-up where Shlubby the Clown asked Kevin Olmstead, "You sir? You must know what I'm talking about! What's the biggest thing YOU ever won?"
[/quote]
I've got to know. What was Kevin's response? Did he toy with him? Please say he toyed with him.
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[quote name=\'whoserman\' post=\'144115\' date=\'Jan 21 2007, 07:03 PM\']
[quote name=\'TLEberle\' post=\'144113\' date=\'Jan 21 2007, 03:59 PM\']
I was waiting for the StarFace warm-up where Shlubby the Clown asked Kevin Olmstead, "You sir? You must know what I'm talking about! What's the biggest thing YOU ever won?"
[/quote]
I've got to know. What was Kevin's response? Did he toy with him? Please say he toyed with him.
[/quote]
KEVIN: "I won on a little-known game show called 'Who Wants to be a Millionaire'..."
SHLUBBY: "Oh, and did you win a million dollars, final answer, yuk yuk?!"
KEVIN: "Actually, I did not win a million..."
SHLUBBY: "Yuk yuk...tough break! Well..."
KEVIN: "I won TWO million and change...heeeeere's your sign."
(allegedly)
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[quote name=\'fostergray82\' post=\'144119\' date=\'Jan 21 2007, 04:48 PM\']
KEVIN: "I won on a little-known game show called 'Who Wants to be a Millionaire'..."
SHLUBBY: "Oh, and did you win a million dollars, final answer, yuk yuk?!"
KEVIN: "Actually, I did not win a million..."
SHLUBBY: "Yuk yuk...tough break! Well..."
KEVIN: "I won TWO million and change...heeeeere's your sign."
[/quote]
He has done Kevin's everywhere proud. :)
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The aforementioned "Chunky D" is the absolute worst excuse for a comedian/warm-up guy I've ever seen or heard of. Ran afoul of him in 2002... as excruciating as an 8-hour long taping for one lousy episode of "Dog Eat Dog" was, his awful jokes and general rudeness to the audience were even worse. I damn near got up and left on more than one occasion... and I was being paid to sit there and watch!
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[quote name=\'CountdownRound\' post=\'144150\' date=\'Jan 21 2007, 09:32 PM\']The aforementioned "Chunky D" is the absolute worst excuse for a comedian/warm-up guy I've ever seen or heard of. Ran afoul of him in 2002... as excruciating as an 8-hour long taping for one lousy episode of "Dog Eat Dog" was, his awful jokes and general rudeness to the audience were even worse. I damn near got up and left on more than one occasion... and I was being paid to sit there and watch![/quote]I wish I could say I have trouble grasping the idea of a show like Dog Eat Dog taking eight hours to tape, but now...no I don't.
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[quote name=\'davidhammett\' post=\'144106\' date=\'Jan 21 2007, 06:25 PM\']
I'm hard-pressed to think of a show where he [John Cramer] has done the warm-up... it's always (usually?) just the announcing, and that's often done away from the taping itself. He certainly didn't do warm-up on "21", "Weakest Link" (where Randy had a yeoman's task at best for those epic tapings), or "Pyramid."
[/quote]
He did do the warmup on "The Hollywood Game" , as well as a pilot I worked on. He brought a bunch of trivia questions to work with. Nothing special.
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[quote name=\'TLEberle\' post=\'144153\' date=\'Jan 21 2007, 09:39 PM\']
I wish I could say I have trouble grasping the idea of a show like Dog Eat Dog taking eight hours to tape, but now...no I don't.
[/quote]
I never did. That was a damned lot of apparatus to drag in and out over the course of the show.
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[quote name=\'davidhammett\' post=\'144072\' date=\'Jan 21 2007, 10:05 AM\']
Yes... Bob Perlow. I know for a fact that there are some who can't seem to get enough of his kind of humor, but don't count me in that batch. I ended up on the front row once and became one of his random targets; it was all I could do not to just slap the guy and/or leave. Eventually he was replaced with Tom Riles, a PA who was given a shot at warm-up and did much better IMHO (he has since done Ryan Seacrest's warm-up on his ill-fated show, and is now doing it for Ellen's show).
[/quote]
Wow, I actually think the reverse. Perlow's could be a little mean, but much more of a pro.
The best over the years: Gene Wood and his audience skits between shows.
The worst: Too many to mention, but Rich Fields is in there with his Game Show Marathon debacle.
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[quote name=\'fostergray82\' post=\'144119\' date=\'Jan 21 2007, 07:48 PM\']
KEVIN: "I won on a little-known game show called 'Who Wants to be a Millionaire'..."
SHLUBBY: "Oh, and did you win a million dollars, final answer, yuk yuk?!"
KEVIN: "Actually, I did not win a million..."
SHLUBBY: "Yuk yuk...tough break! Well..."
KEVIN: "I won TWO million and change...heeeeere's your sign."
(allegedly)
[/quote]
Allegedly, yes. Actually, no. I can't remember the exact words since I was laughing way too hard, but Kevin was incredibly gracious about it, as he always is. If he had went down the line, Ed Toutant and James Dinan were there too.
Randy, if it helps jog the memory, he did mention he had done road-work stand-up comedy, because he did mention (and trash) playing in a Detroit suburb, which did not help his standing with Kevin and me, since, you know, live in the Detroit area.
--Mike
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Having organized the *Starface* taping trek (and I'm still apologizing, given, IMO, how bad the show was :) ), I'll try and add an extra cent.
IIRC, Kevin did note to the comic that Ed and I had appeared on game shows. I also made a brief comment that my wife (who also attended the taping) was with us as our groupie.
This was, BTW, the first time the Mrs. attended a TV taping. We went to see *The Tonight Show* the next day to make up for the *Starface* debacle.
In regards to the *DonnyMid* warmup guy -- I attended a Pyramid taping in 2002 -- Richard Jeni and Leeza Gibbons were the panelists -- and said warmup guy was pathetic. I was the only guy in the audience (not including family of contestants or crew) who wasn't paid to be there, and alleged "comic" spent most of his warmup handing out bags of M&Ms to contestants or asking a few of the paid audience members (some of whom had been there several times before) if they had any gigs or auditions coming up.
Finally he got to me.
COMIC: So, what's your name?
Me: James.
COMIC: Where you from?
Me: Just outside Washington, DC.
COMIC: Cool. What do you do.
Me: I work for the federal government.
COMIC: OK. What specifically do you do?
Me: If I told you, I'd then have to kill you.
He quickly moved to paid audience member #52 after that.
*2-Minute Drill* had a warm-up guy who did a weekend show on WFAN-AM called *Sports Rap*. He was a barrel-chested African-American gentleman who didn't look like he wanted to be there. He'd mumble something to an audience member, then move on for more of the same. True story: said warm-up guy passed away a few months after I taped the show from a heart attack.
Anyone hear of a guy who did warmups for Regis WWTBAM who called himself the *Q Man*? He was there when I taped that show, and he did all of three things...
1) Promote a cell phone commercial he filmed in Canada that he said "spoofed the Sopranos". Never saw that ad.
2) Promote that he does shows in Atlantic City. A fellow contestant worked at an AC casino, and openly contemplated running this guy over with his car if he saw him (Yikes!)
3) Had audience members sing TV theme songs. I remember one audience did a great performance of *Fresh Prince,* but the others were barely passable.
James
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When it comes to game show warmups, I've been to enough "J!" road tapings that I think I know Johnny Gilbert's act. (I also know where "Larry Sanders" got the idea to have Hank Kingsley say "This is exciting, now, isn't it?" right before the show started.)
Most of my other warmup experiences have been non-game show related, but I remember the guy doing "WWTBAM" in 2004 screwing up my name when calling out the people who passed the test and giving me a New Yawk insult when I called him out. Actually, not a bad guy.
In related, I got to see Marc Summers do a 1979 "Alice" warmup before he became *Marc Summers,* so to speak and liked his job. I also recall producer Hugh Wilson bringing out Loni Anderson between scenes on "WKRP" and saying the audience "Any questions for Loni?" When the room went quiet, he said, "That's exactly what she did to me when I first met her."
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[quote name=\'colonial\' post=\'144180\' date=\'Jan 22 2007, 10:27 AM\']
Anyone hear of a guy who did warmups for Regis WWTBAM who called himself the *Q Man*? He was there when I taped that show, and he did all of three things...
3) Had audience members sing TV theme songs. I remember one audience did a great performance of *Fresh Prince,* but the others were barely passable. [/quote]
Yeah, he was pretty awful, especially if you had to sit through him for three shows, as I did. His big shtick was asking audience members where they were from and yelling, 'Brooklyn's in da house! East Dumptruck, Idaho's in da house!' over and over again. During his "sing the theme song" game, he got ticked when a couple of us started singing the lyrics to "I Love Lucy," which he insisted didn't exist.
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[quote name=\'tomobrien\' post=\'144184\' date=\'Jan 22 2007, 09:10 AM\']
His big shtick was asking audience members where they were from and yelling, 'Brooklyn's in da house! East Dumptruck, Idaho's in da house!' over and over again.
[/quote]
I am reminded of this one-off MMA event that I came across on ESPN completely at random late one night, where the "ring announcer" (I use quotes because there wasn't really a ring, it looked like a "stadium" was erected on a soundstage someplace) was some comic that I was supposed to (but didn't) know from a sketch comedy show of some kind. And apparently his idea of adding "flavor" to the event was to bellow "IT'S ONNNNNNN!" after announcing the name of each combatant. Every. Single. Time. The ear bleach, it did nothing.