Author Topic: Game Show Hosts/Hostesses Turned Authors (Read 10272 times)

calliaume · « **Reply #15 on:** August 10, 2009, 05:13:10 PM »

[quote name=\'chris319\' post=\'222500\' date=\'Aug 10 2009, 04:07 PM\']Gil Fates, the producer of What's My Line? from the beginning in 1950, wrote his memoir in 1978 but it was more about the show and the stars and is much more interesting reading. If you can find a copy, pick it up by all means. Interesting that Gil could craft such an interesting book out of such a simple show.[/quote]
Of course, the cheapest copy of this I've seen on either Amazon or Alibris (out-of-print books) is about $55 before postage; most go for $100 or more.

Happily, I paid about five bucks for my copy back in 1980 or so.

chris319 · « **Reply #16 on:** August 10, 2009, 05:14:16 PM »

This from a review of Gil's book on Amazon.com:

Quote

"Line" fans on Usenet have identified the "lady very large in television" on page 107 as Barbara Feldon, the "truly gorgeous and terribly bright singer-actress" on page 110 as Polly Bergen and the sleep-deprived "successful TV funnyman" on a page I forget as Joey Adams. Contacted several times on these matters before his 2000 death, Mr. Fates remained a gentleman, noting that all three people still worked "in the business."

Was Barbara Feldon the one who prematurely offered to take the place of D.K.?

chris319 · « **Reply #17 on:** August 10, 2009, 05:16:28 PM »

Quote

Of course, the cheapest copy of this I've seen on either Amazon or Alibris (out-of-print books) is about $55 before postage; most go for $100 or more.

The library is your friend :-)

calliaume · « **Reply #18 on:** August 10, 2009, 05:20:36 PM »

[quote name=\'chris319\' post=\'222505\' date=\'Aug 10 2009, 04:14 PM\']This from a review of Gil's book on Amazon.com:

Quote

"Line" fans on Usenet have identified the "lady very large in television" on page 107 as Barbara Feldon, the "truly gorgeous and terribly bright singer-actress" on page 110 as Polly Bergen and the sleep-deprived "successful TV funnyman" on a page I forget as Joey Adams. Contacted several times on these matters before his 2000 death, Mr. Fates remained a gentleman, noting that all three people still worked "in the business."

Was Barbara Feldon the one who prematurely offered to take the place of D.K.?
[/quote]
Doesn't make sense to me. Get Smart! had been running less than two months when Kilgallen died, and was filming in Hollywood. Feldon had never done a game show at that point (other than The $64,000 Question as a contestant). I don't think G-T would have made that big a leap; the schedules likely wouldn't have meshed (Feldon would have been on planes most of the day Sunday and Monday, since WML? was still live), and I doubt NBC or CBS would have been very happy about the situation.

Matt Ottinger · « **Reply #19 on:** August 10, 2009, 05:27:02 PM »

[quote name=\'chris319\' post=\'222505\' date=\'Aug 10 2009, 05:14 PM\']Was Barbara Feldon the one who prematurely offered to take the place of D.K.?[/quote]
I'd never heard that, though I had heard the speculation about Bergen and Adams. Plus, "Line fans on Usenet" would pretty much be US back in the day, wouldn't it? I mean, there wasn't an alt.tv.whats-my-line. We never spoke of it as I remember, and a search in the old group doesn't turn up her name.

Feldon hadn't done the show (and wouldn't even be a mystery guest until 1973), so it sees even more out of place for her to have make an out-of-nowhere request like that. Finally, and probably most importantly, Get Smart had only been on the air for two months when Dorothy died, so Feldon was hardly "very large in television" at the time.

EDIT: Plus, you know, what Curt said.

chris319 · « **Reply #20 on:** August 10, 2009, 05:30:09 PM »

Right, but is the reference to a "lady very large in television" on page 107 a reference to the person who offered to take the place of Kilgallen upon her passing? I agree, Feldon would not have qualified as such at the time.

calliaume · « **Reply #21 on:** August 10, 2009, 05:39:54 PM »

[quote name=\'chris319\' post=\'222511\' date=\'Aug 10 2009, 04:30 PM\']Right, but is the reference to a "lady very large in television" on page 107 a reference to the person who offered to take the place of Kilgallen upon her passing? I agree, Feldon would not have qualified as such at the time.[/quote]
It's on IMDB, but that doesn't mean it's accurate.

TimK2003 · « **Reply #22 on:** August 10, 2009, 09:08:34 PM »

Surprised nobody said Jim McKay yet.

Don Howard · « **Reply #23 on:** August 10, 2009, 09:22:44 PM »

[quote name=\'TimK2003\' post=\'222536\' date=\'Aug 10 2009, 09:08 PM\']Surprised nobody said Jim McKay yet.[/quote]
This is because no one felt like it, no one thought of it or we were saving it for you.
I'M surprised Randy West didn't mention himself yet.

Matt Ottinger · « **Reply #24 on:** August 10, 2009, 10:43:16 PM »

[quote name=\'TimK2003\' post=\'222536\' date=\'Aug 10 2009, 09:08 PM\']Surprised nobody said Jim McKay yet.[/quote]
I don't think it's so odd we might forget someone whose fame comes from some other venue, and whose game show hosting consists of only a handful of episodes.

Meanwhile...surprised nobody said William Shatner yet.

clemon79 · « **Reply #25 on:** August 10, 2009, 11:13:09 PM »

[quote name=\'Matt Ottinger\' post=\'222548\' date=\'Aug 10 2009, 07:43 PM\']Meanwhile...surprised nobody said William Shatner yet.[/quote]
We're trying to forget.

JCGames · « **Reply #26 on:** August 10, 2009, 11:13:36 PM »

Jack Paar.

He hosted two short-lived game shows in the early 50s: UP TO PAAR and BANK ON THE STARS. Before that, he briefly hosted TAKE IT OR LEAVE IT, the "$64 question" show on radio.

His books were:
I Kid You Not
My Saber is Bent
Three on a Toothbrush
P.S. Jack Paar: An Entertainment

In his first book, Jack recalled that during the time he was hosting the CBS MORNING SHOW around 1955, an advertising agency man had given him live commercial copy for a lipstick company that Jack rejected because he thought it was no good. He said that the sponsor dropped him from contention to be the host of a new quiz show they were starting that summer. The show turned out to be THE $64,000 QUESTION, and the sponsor, Revlon, became a household word.

I kid you not.

tvrandywest · « **Reply #27 on:** August 11, 2009, 12:22:32 AM »

[quote name=\'Don Howard\' post=\'222540\' date=\'Aug 10 2009, 06:22 PM\'][quote name=\'TimK2003\' post=\'222536\' date=\'Aug 10 2009, 09:08 PM\']Surprised nobody said Jim McKay yet.[/quote]
This is because no one felt like it, no one thought of it or we were saving it for you.
I'M surprised Randy West didn't mention himself yet.
[/quote]
I'm not a host. And my legs have stood in the way of a career as hostess ;-)

Randy
tvrandywest.com

chris319 · « **Reply #28 on:** August 11, 2009, 01:33:00 AM »

Quote

And my legs have stood in the way of a career as hostess ;-)

Especially that third leg.

How about Art Linkletter? How about Fred Allen?

Marc412 · « **Reply #29 on:** August 11, 2009, 02:50:33 AM »

Weakest Link hostess Anne Robinson's autobiography was titled Memoirs of an Unfit Mother.

Author Topic: Game Show Hosts/Hostesses Turned Authors (Read 10272 times)

JCGames