Gentleman's agreement...

[cmjb13]

I had always thought that Game show announcers were exclusive to their production companies.

Is this not true or did production companies have a "gentleman's agreement" with each other in regards to filling in on other shows?

For example: Gene Wood with Hot Streak, Charlie O' sub announcing some Goodson shows.

[Jimmy Owen]

Weren't most freelancers?  Even Johnny Olson announced on a regular basis for non-Goodson shows like Jackie Gleason, Wally's Workshop and Memory Game.  Guys like John Harlan and Johnny Gilbert worked for pretty much every packager, including Goodson. If it was done at NBC in New York, chances are Don Pardo or Bill Wendell would announce, regardless of packager.

[calliaume]

[quote name=\'Jimmy Owen\' post=\'123640\' date=\'Jul 8 2006, 06:09 PM\']
Weren't most freelancers?  Even Johnny Olson announced on a regular basis for non-Goodson shows like Jackie Gleason, Wally's Workshop and Memory Game.  Guys like John Harlan and Johnny Gilbert worked for pretty much every packager, including Goodson. If it was done at NBC in New York, chances are Don Pardo or Bill Wendell would announce, regardless of packager.
[/quote]
Gilbert seems to freelance, but he's one of the few.  And you're right, NBC used their own staff announcers on the New York games.

Johnny Jacobs worked for Chuck Barris and Jack Barry simultaneously in the 1970s, and snuck in some other gigs as well.

Jackie Gleason was so convinced Olson was one of the keys to his success that he flew Johnny O. down to Miami every week to do the Gleason show when it moved there in the mid-60s.  I don't think non-game work was a problem (thus Wally's Workshop), and Joe Garagiola's Memory Game was a short-term gig, likely done with Goodson's approval during a period where, possibly, both WML? and TTTT had wrapped up production for the year.

Substitutes didn't seem to be locked into production companies, and Goodson gave Wood permission to freelance in the mid-80s (at that point, his only regular MGP gig was on Super Password).

Randy?

[zachhoran]

[quote name=\'calliaume\' post=\'123649\' date=\'Jul 8 2006, 11:45 PM\']



Substitutes didn't seem to be locked into production companies, and Goodson gave Wood permission to freelance in the mid-80s (at that point, his only regular MGP gig was on Super Password).


[/quote]

SP wasn't Wood's only regular Goodson gig for long, as he took over on Body Language after Johnny Olson died(with Bob Hilton subbing for a couple of weeks) within four months of Feud's end, and then he was regular announcer on Eubanks Card Sharks from the beginning. Add to that his tryouts on TPIR in late 1985(CBS and Kennedy version), and his non-Goodson gigs Your Number's Up and subbing on Love Connection.

[tvrandywest]

[quote name=\'calliaume\' post=\'123649\' date=\'Jul 8 2006, 08:45 PM\']
Randy?[/quote]
While there is a long and (I think) interesting answer to how it all worked, it must wait for another day. In short, none of "the guys" was exclusive to the producers with whom they are most closely associated. As the production companies each added shows they continued to utilize the same announcers because (1) there truly was a "family feel" on most of the sets, and a simplicity and efficiency with keeping the same folks working together, and (2) there were so many game shows in production and so few "A-listers" (most of whom were represented by the same agent) that availability was an issue. Subs were scheduled by simply calling that agent and finding out who was available for a given date.

It was not an issue of exclusivity. I have Johnny Olson's employment contracts with Goodson-Todman from the mid 1970s. John was never exclusive to Goodson, and in fact, didn't even have a formal contract with Goodson (with the exception of the individual AFTRA single-page standard forms signed on tape dates) for TPiR (daytime and nightime), MG (daytime and nightime), and Concentration until Jonathan Goodson whipped-up some minimal paperwork in the summer and fall of 1975 to cover those shows which were already airing! It was all based on mutual respect and a handshake.

Ahhh, simpler times!!


Randy
tvrandywest.com

[zachhoran]

[quote name=\'tvrandywest\' post=\'123667\' date=\'Jul 9 2006, 10:06 AM\']


It was not an issue of exclusivity. I have Johnny Olson's employment contracts with Goodson-Todman from the mid 1970s. John was never exclusive to Goodson, and in fact, didn't even have a formal contract with Goodson (with the exception of the individual AFTRA single-page standard forms signed on tape dates) for TPiR (daytime and nightime), MG (daytime and nightime), and Concentration until Jonathan Goodson whipped-up some minimal paperwork in the summer and fall of 1975 to cover those shows which were already airing! It was all based on mutual respect and a handshake.


[/quote]

Did Kenny Williams do any non Heatter-Quigley shows during their entire time as a producing duo, from Video Village to Las Vegas Gambit? I think he did all H-Q shows(not Heatter solo) other than Magnificent Marble Machine(Johnny Gilbert did that one).

[Jimmy Owen]

Kenny Williams probably was too busy to work anywhere else, of course, as you know Zach, he did work for Goodson-Todman before H-Q.

[uncamark]

[quote name=\'Jimmy Owen\' post=\'123676\' date=\'Jul 9 2006, 10:30 AM\']
Kenny Williams probably was too busy to work anywhere else, of course, as you know Zach, he did work for Goodson-Todman before H-Q.
[/quote]

And Kenny was a full-time employee of H-Q, usually credited as an associate producer (as "Ken" or "Kenneth" Williams) on many of their shows along with resident prize procurer Art Alisi.

[chris319]

How ironic that Johnny didn't have a contract, yet the Match Game regular panelists did. I believe the emcees had contracts as well.

Yes, you can't spell "The Price Is Right" without J.O.

[tvrandywest]

[quote name=\'chris319\' post=\'123830\' date=\'Jul 10 2006, 04:16 PM\']
How ironic that Johnny didn't have a contract, yet the Match Game regular panelists did. I believe the emcees had contracts as well. Yes, you can't spell "The Price Is Right" without J.O.[/quote]
It makes mores sense when you know that Johnny didn't have an agent. No rep would let his talent step on the stage without a signed contract. While Johnny would probably have ended up with a little more money in the course of his career if he had worked with an agent, "the work" and the relationships were more important to him than the pay.

And when hosts and announcers talk, the worthlessness of some agents is a regular topic. One of my best laughs came over a dinner with an agent and a couple of friends at a Studio City deli. When my sandwich arrived, I used my knife to push about 10% of my french fries onto the agent's plate and said, "Here, this is your cut"!


Randy
tvrandywest.com