Celebrities who acted like jerks...

[BrandonFG]

[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.

[clemon79]

[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.)

[MrBuddwing]

[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.

[clemon79]

[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.

[MrBuddwing]

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.

[whewfan]

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.

[uncamark]

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.

[Robert Hutchinson]

Depending on what the stunt was, I think it's entirely possible that Paar redeemed himself by admitting who he was.

[calliaume]

[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.

[Adam Nedeff]

[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]

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.

[davemackey]

[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.)

[Ian Wallis]

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...

[calliaume]

[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).

[Don Howard]

[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.
[/quote]
Then how was Shannon Nicole conceived?

[Don Howard]

[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).
[/quote]
Jim asked Alan Sues to "be quiet". Big difference from "shut up", though I'm rather certain that's what Jim was thinking.