Celebrity Auditions

[The Pyramids]

I imagine it was standard to do practice runs with celebrity guests on tape dates, but were there ever instances where a show would audition celebrities in order to first be booked on a show?

[Bryce L.]

I imagine it was standard to do practice runs with celebrity guests on tape dates, but were there ever instances where a show would audition celebrities in order to first be booked on a show?

Can't swear to it, but I would imagine Pyramid (well, the Clark and Cullen versions, at least) tested their celebrities before they got on the air...

[tvrandywest]

I imagine it was standard to do practice runs with celebrity guests on tape dates, but were there ever instances where a show would audition celebrities in order to first be booked on a show?

The original Password would book celebs, then send a staffer to their homes to play the game with them. Those unable to play to a minimum standard were paid and released from the booking.

Randy
tvrandywest.com

[BillCullen1]

IIRC, Bert Convy or some celeb on Super Password said that celebs were tested prior to taping their shows. On the '70s Pyramid, announcer Bob Clayton mentioned several times during audience warmups that celebs came to the studio early on taping day to practice with old material, but they weren't tested in advance to the taping. This sometimes resulted in being stuck with a poor playing celeb for an entire taping day of five shows. Off hand, Jimmie Walker, Connie Francis, Paul Lynde and Mickey Rooney come to mind. IIRC, Walker and Francis never won a game the entire week they were on (no, they weren't on together).

[Mike Tennant]

It doesn't sound like You Don't Say!, at least in the sixties, prepared celebrities very well, or else they just ran across one particularly dense one. According to Mr. Nedeff's Tom Kennedy page, TK recalled:

[indent]I really don't want to use his name. He was one our best screen actors. Played many roles and always gave an outstanding performance. Anyway, he shows up to tape the show...If you remember the object of the game was to give a sentence, leaving off the last word. That word should sound like part of the name being played. This particular subject name was John Wayne. Our celebrity player proceeded to whistle the theme from 'The High and The Mighty.' I of course tried not to embarrass him but I had to stop the game and stop the tape from rolling. I told him he wasn't allowed to give clues like that. He looked at me, with a very serious expression on his face, and said, 'But he was in that movie.' I again explained the concept of the game to him and we then again started the taping. It wasn't thirty seconds into the taping and he again blurted out an answer that was completely against the rules. I again stopped the tape. I felt so sorry for him. Here he was this giant of an actor but he simply didn't understand the game. He finally just looked off stage at our producer and said he just didn't get it and he felt it would be better to just call it a night. We of course agreed and he left and we simply replaced him with another celebrity. But that was funny-this great actor whistling the theme from 'The High and The Mighty' and then saying, 'But he was in that movie.'
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[JasonA1]

Pyramid definitely did home auditions, per several recollections. And didn't we have anecdotes of Match Game doing the same thing, bringing in a celeb or two to the Goodson offices to play the game?

-Jason