The Game Show Forum
The Game Show Forum => The Big Board => Topic started by: aaron sica on July 23, 2006, 11:01:20 PM
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After having Daveromanjr, ChuckNet, and Mystery7 over for a weekend of game shows and fellowship, I finally got to see the last set of "The $25,000 Pyramid"'s week of shows with with Melody Thomas (Scott) and Tony Danza.
For those who may not know, Tony Danza acted like a complete moron (walking off the set after, when trying to describe "torpedo", he actually said the word) to the point where Dick Clark actually asked him if he's composed himself.
Besides he (and George Peppard, of course) what other celebrities were never invited back to a show because of how they acted?
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Was William Shatner ever invited back to The $20,000 Pyramid after flinging a chair?
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Even though he was a regular, I'd say Richard Dawson on MG.
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Kay Stevens on MG. My god...the most annoying celebrity I can ever recall.
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[quote name=\'toddyo\' post=\'124883\' date=\'Jul 23 2006, 11:21 PM\']
Kay Stevens on MG. My god...the most annoying celebrity I can ever recall.
[/quote]
She wasn't really a jerk, she was more like...an annoying camera hog?
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[quote name=\'PYLW\' post=\'124914\' date=\'Jul 23 2006, 11:07 PM\'][quote name=\'toddyo\' post=\'124883\' date=\'Jul 23 2006, 11:21 PM\']Kay(e) Stevens on MG. My god...the most annoying celebrity I can ever recall.[/quote]She wasn't really a jerk, she was more like...an annoying camera hog?[/quote]Curiously, per an MG spreadsheet I developed using the panel info from matchgame.com (which has once again Vanished Mysteriously), Kaye appeared on seven weeks' worth of MG '74, and that's it. (I also STR Kaye flirting with handsome male contestants and her infectious laugh (as well as Conny Van Dyke's) on Rhyme and Reason, but that show seemed to thrive on so-called "jerk" celebs (excluding Nipsey, of course))
Esoteric Eric... I had lost all recollection that Dawson appeared on R&R until I saw it again on Page O' Clips (http://\"http://www.pageoclips.com/\"); I find it interesting that he would do what was so obviously an ersatz version of MG
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I had lost all recollection that Dawson appeared on R&R until I saw it again on Page O' Clips; I find it interesting that he would do what was so obviously an ersatz version of MG
That was the pilot that Richard appeared on. I can't remember if he also appeared on a regular week (I'll have to go back and check my TVGuides). Sometimes they'd re-use the best contestants for pilot episodes (that was even talked about at the Congress), and I guess the same could hold true for celebrities if it would help sell a show.
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Richard was never on the actual R&R series. How can one actually tell if someone is not invited back? Maybe there's a scheduling conflict, logistics, no outside show to promote, etc.? For example, I thought Michael Landon was kinda weird on his week of MG'73, but I figured he didn't need to or have time to do any game shows after Little House was in the pipeline and in production, and not that he wasn't invited back.
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Similar question to Mark's--what about Tony Randall on P+ (start with the "marijuana" puzzle and work your way up)? Was he never invited back, or was he offered but declined?
Doug -- and the countdown to 2100 continues
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[quote name=\'SRIV94\' post=\'124935\' date=\'Jul 24 2006, 09:51 AM\']
Similar question to Mark's--what about Tony Randall on P+ (start with the "marijuana" puzzle and work your way up)? Was he never invited back, or was he offered but declined?[/quote]
I've always had the view that he simply didn't care for this version of "Password" and preferred his "Password" pure--at least that's the impression I've always had from his one week on "Plus."
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And wasn't there a guest panelist on What's My Line? who one night guessed all the contestants' occupations as well as the mystery guest? Supposedly he was never invited back because they found out that a friend of his in the audience read the contestants' lines on the studio monitor and began hand-signaling the panelist the answers.
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Kin Shriner was certainly no prize when he appeared on MG 98. It was blatantly obvious he didn't want to be there, and was completely turned off by all the hijinks that happened during the show. He even refuses to join in with the panel at the end of the show when they're doing the usual dancing and goofing off. Oddly enough, he appeared on the show for at least a few weeks.
The same could be said for many soap stars on MG. Diedre Hall sort of had that "Ok, let's just get this overwith" look about her on MG/HS, and there were also soap stars on MG 90 that weren't having much fun either.
While this wouldn't qualify as acting "like a jerk", Jaye P. Morgan of course was fired by NBC for flashing Chuck Barris on The Gong Show. She would appear briefly on the last show during Gene Gene's final dancing segment.
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Not that she ever would have been invited back anyway, but Naomi Judd baited her opponents on Celebrity Jeopardy (Teri Garr and Jane Curtin) to the point where I was wondering which one would strangle her first.
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[quote name=\'whewfan\' post=\'125027\' date=\'Jul 24 2006, 08:23 PM\']
While this wouldn't qualify as acting "like a jerk", Jaye P. Morgan of course was fired by NBC for flashing Chuck Barris on The Gong Show. She would appear briefly on the last show during Gene Gene's final dancing segment.
[/quote]
I'd quibble with that--a little. GONG did continue for two syndie nighttime seasons (one taped at NBC concurrently with the last of the daytime GONGs, the other moved to the Chuck Barris Stages [with DATING, NEWLYWED and 3AC in tow]) and Jaye appeared in episodes during both of those seasons. Yes, technically NBC banned her, but it's not as if she was barred from working on the lot again.
As happenstance would have it, Jaye did do the following week's shows after the flash (I'm guessing they were taped the next day).
Doug -- and the countdown to 2100 continues
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For some reason, two images came to mind when I saw this thread. One is a memory of Paul Lynde being openly hostile to one of the contestants on a Squares episode. I wish I could be more specific, he was probably rude to a lot of them, but in the happy-happy world of game shows, that's always stuck with me.
The other memory I have is of Marty Feldman attempting to cheat on Celebrity Sweepstakes. After hearing the correct answer in the double-up round, he gave that answer verbally even though he had written something else. They quickly called him on it, of course, but in the era before that sort of stuff was reshot and edited, man was it awkward television. I don't remember him returning.
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[quote name=\'Matt Ottinger\' post=\'125035\' date=\'Jul 24 2006, 10:07 PM\']
For some reason, two images came to mind when I saw this thread. One is a memory of Paul Lynde being openly hostile to one of the contestants on a Squares episode. I wish I could be more specific, he was probably rude to a lot of them, but in the happy-happy world of game shows, that's always stuck with me.
[/quote]
I remember reading from Peter Marshall's book that when Lynde didn't like a contestant, he would give a false answer, and insist they agree with him.
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[quote name=\'fostergray82\' post=\'125038\' date=\'Jul 24 2006, 07:23 PM\']
I remember reading from Peter Marshall's book that when Lynde didn't like a contestant, he would give a false answer, and insist they agree with him.
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Then, right after Peter would throw it to a break, he'd give 'em a smarmy "Gotcha, didn't I?"
(It helps if you read that in your best Paul Lynde impression. Roger from American Dad will do in a pinch.)
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[quote name=\'clemon79\' post=\'125040\' date=\'Jul 24 2006, 10:28 PM\']
[quote name=\'fostergray82\' post=\'125038\' date=\'Jul 24 2006, 07:23 PM\']
I remember reading from Peter Marshall's book that when Lynde didn't like a contestant, he would give a false answer, and insist they agree with him.
[/quote]
Then, right after Peter would throw it to a break, he'd give 'em a smarmy "Gotcha, didn't I?"
(It helps if you read that in your best Paul Lynde impression. Roger from American Dad will do in a pinch.)
[/quote]
Given what I perceive as the low stress level of being a contestant on "Squares" - the celebrities did all the heavy lifting, all the contestant had to do was agree or disagree - I'm wondering how or why Paul Lynde (or any of the other celebs) would take a strong enough dislike to any of the contestants to the point of actively trying to sabotage them.
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[quote name=\'MrBuddwing\' post=\'125046\' date=\'Jul 24 2006, 08:21 PM\']
I'm wondering how or why Paul Lynde (or any of the other celebs) would take a strong enough dislike to any of the contestants to the point of actively trying to sabotage them.
[/quote]
By all reports, Paul Lynde, during most of his run on the show, was a drunkard and an asshole.
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I'm sure we've all seen the tape of Jack Paar messing up eight ways to Sunday on the original "Password" ("crank," "crew," etc.). A perfect example of an intelligent, articulate person who was a terrible "Password" player because he obviously didn't give a damn (as opposed to someone like Alan King, an intelligent, articulate fellow who did give a damn about playing well).
If Paar was ever invited back to "Password," I'd be surprised.
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I could be wrong, but I think Jack Paar did the nighttime Password twice.
Speaking of Jack Paar, he was a fan of Candid Camera and asked Allen Funt if he could help out with a Candid Camera stunt. So, he was dressed up like a policeman, and pulled over this lady for something very silly (I can't remember what it was) but Jack's conscience got to him and he quickly admitted to this lady who he was and what was going on. He apologized to Allen Funt, who was present. He said he just couldn't go through trying to bother this nice lady.
Jack redeemed himself later when he appeared on Candid Camera, this time not blowing the joke.
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And on the A&E "Biography" show, Marshall did mention that he would have to tell Lynde to lay off the contestants during the commercial breaks whenever he was schnockered.
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Depending on what the stunt was, I think it's entirely possible that Paar redeemed himself by admitting who he was.
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[quote name=\'whewfan\' post=\'125055\' date=\'Jul 24 2006, 10:40 PM\']
I could be wrong, but I think Jack Paar did the nighttime Password twice.
[/quote]
Paar was a big enough star at that point -- if he wasn't doing The Tonight Show at that point, it hadn't been long -- that they likely would have forgiven him that issue. It wasn't as if big bucks were at stake.
It seems to me that if Paul Lynde had acted the same way on a G-T show as he did on Squares, he would have been fired a lot sooner. Say what you will about Richard Dawson's behavior the last year or so, but he never screwed around with the contestants.
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[quote name=\'Jimmy Owen\' post=\'124932\' date=\'Jul 24 2006, 10:12 AM\']
For example, I thought Michael Landon was kinda weird on his week of MG'73, but I figured he didn't need to or have time to do any game shows after Little House was in the pipeline and in production, and not that he wasn't invited back.
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I'm pulling something out of my memory without a source but I recall an interview with somebody (Ira Skutch?) on the perfesser's site where he speaks of Michael not liking the new format of MG, thinking that the "match each panelist once" rule made the game unfair. So if he was weird, it might be that he just didn't like the new show.
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[quote name=\'Jimmy Owen\' post=\'124932\' date=\'Jul 24 2006, 10:12 AM\']
For example, I thought Michael Landon was kinda weird on his week of MG'73, but I figured he didn't need to or have time to do any game shows after Little House was in the pipeline and in production, and not that he wasn't invited back.
[/quote]
Speaking of Michaels (and crossing the gender line while doing so), we never saw Michael Learned on Match Game again after the one week she did (which I think was either the premiere week or the second week). I guess she was just too busy up on Walton Mountain to come down and do some more. But she wasn't obnoxious.
But bringing this back around to celebrities that acted like jerks.... best example I can think of is Alan Sues, who was famous for being on "Rowan and Martin's Laugh-In" like so many other game show fixtures of the time (Arte Johnson, Jo Anne Worley, Dickie Dawson, Patti Deutsch, Sarah Kennedy, etc... and come to think of it, Janice Pennington was one of their go-go girls...) Sues was the guy who did the sports doing the news segment and he also played "Big Al, The Kiddie's Pal".
Anyway, Alan Sues was on the original "Cross-Wits" with Jack Clark, and Sues was anxious to play the end game but was never picked. Finally, he is selected by a contestant to play the bonus round! And Alan stands there for sixty seconds AND SAYS ABSOLUTELY NOTHING! Offers no help whatsoever.
Never saw Alan Sues on "Cross-Wits" after that, that was for sure!
(He was probably beaten into submission by Jerry Payne and Bruce Belland after the show.)
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Say what you will about Richard Dawson's behavior the last year or so, but he never screwed around with the contestants.
That's true, but I remember reading an article about two years into the show where Dawson was complaining about the stupid answers some of the contestants give. Later on, he said he much preferred regular contestants to the celebrities who would sometimes appear because the celebrities were more worried about their image to play the game properly. Never at a loss for words...
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[quote name=\'davemackey\' post=\'125206\' date=\'Jul 26 2006, 07:01 AM\']
Speaking of Michaels (and crossing the gender line while doing so), we never saw Michael Learned on Match Game again after the one week she did (which I think was either the premiere week or the second week). I guess she was just too busy up on Walton Mountain to come down and do some more. But she wasn't obnoxious.
[/quote]
Second week, per IMDB. I had thought she was too much of a feminist to put up with MG (remember she was billed as "Miss Michael Learned"?). Turns out, per Wikipedia, that billing was only to make sure people didn't think she was a man, baby.
best example I can think of is Alan Sues, who was famous for being on "Rowan and Martin's Laugh-In"
Anyway, Alan Sues was on the original "Cross-Wits" with Jack Clark, and Sues was anxious to play the end game but was never picked. Finally, he is selected by a contestant to play the bonus round! And Alan stands there for sixty seconds AND SAYS ABSOLUTELY NOTHING! Offers no help whatsoever.
Never saw Alan Sues on "Cross-Wits" after that, that was for sure!
Page O' Clips showed the final ep of Celebrity Sweepstakes where he was being pretty obnoxious, especially while Jim MacKrell was trying to do the final goodbyes. Jim finally asked him to shut up (those exact words).
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[quote name=\'calliaume\' post=\'125188\' date=\'Jul 25 2006, 11:53 PM\']
Say what you will about Richard Dawson's behavior the last year or so, but he never screwed around with the contestants.
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Then how was Shannon Nicole conceived?
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[quote name=\'calliaume\' post=\'125208\' date=\'Jul 26 2006, 09:01 AM\']
Page O' Clips showed the final ep of Celebrity Sweepstakes where he was being pretty obnoxious, especially while Jim MacKrell was trying to do the final goodbyes. Jim finally asked him to shut up (those exact words).
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Jim asked Alan Sues to "be quiet". Big difference from "shut up", though I'm rather certain that's what Jim was thinking.
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Jim asked Alan Sues to "be quiet". Big difference from "shut up", though I'm rather certain that's what Jim was thinking.
I think Jim had had enough of him by that point...he appeared on the last six weeks or so of the show, sitting in the No. 3 position next to Carol.
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[quote name=\'davemackey\' post=\'125206\' date=\'Jul 26 2006, 08:01 AM\']
Never saw Alan Sues on "Cross-Wits" after that, that was for sure!
(He was probably beaten into submission by Jerry Payne and Bruce Belland after the show.)
[/quote]
Probably with Jerri Fiala's stick. :)
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[quote name=\'MrBuddwing\' post=\'125046\' date=\'Jul 24 2006, 10:21 PM\']
[Given what I perceive as the low stress level of being a contestant on "Squares" - the celebrities did all the heavy lifting, all the contestant had to do was agree or disagree - I'm wondering how or why Paul Lynde (or any of the other celebs) would take a strong enough dislike to any of the contestants to the point of actively trying to sabotage them.
[/quote]
There is at least one 1976 NBC ep on the trading circuit where the male contestant is a bit obnoxious and annoying. He can't just say "I agree" or "I disagree," he had to overthink everything out loud, almost as if the celebrity just challenged him to a debate instead of giving an answer. McLean Stevenson even makes a "tick tock" and buzzer noise while the guy is taking his time on one question.
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How about Lynn Redgrave on a 1994(?) Celebrity Jeopardy? She didn't seem to appreciate getting smashed in the first round by Stephen King and David Duchovney, and she let it show. It DID provide for a hell of a zinger from Alex, however.
Alex: And Lynn at $-100.
Lynn: Why?! Why am I minus?! Tell me! Give me a good reason! I've been answering, I've been beeping! These beastly people next to me aren't helping me in any way! They don't say "After you, Lynn," as any real gentleman would. What's the matter?
Alex: Does the word..."stupid" mean anything?
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I think that's part of Lynn's schtick, unfortunately, being a bit of an "overactor". I dreaded seeing her on WML reruns on GSN. It was obvious she had no questions prepared and spent her time just stalling... I kept yelling "JUST PASS! PLEASE!"
Let's not forget Peter Lawford on 20k Pyramid. In Pyramid's early years, he was a decent player, but in 1979, he was past his prime, and boy did it show. I got an email from a lady that was a contestant that week he was on. She said the producers argued over whether to let him play, especially since he refused to wear socks. Peter appeared obviously drunk and/or stoned, his speech slurred, and unable to stay in his seat throughout the game. His gameplay ability was hampered by being so frustrated with a contestant that was obviously nervous and not playing the game well.
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I often wondered if Tony Randall was never invited to play on $25,000/$100,000 Pyramid from 1982-1988 because of how he would often voice his disagreement on the judges call, or if he just wasn't interested.
Another Pyramid guest whom I don't recall making any future appearances after her first was Kaye Ballard. In an episode I have on tape, (which I believe is very early in the 1973 CBS series), her partner was having a difficult time guessing the word she was describing and at least twice she shouted "NO!" to the contestant. She really sounded rude, though I'm sure she didn't mean it.