MG/HS cheating?

[Neumms]

This from Mark Evanier, who's always great. So which celebrity is Bowzer referring to?
https://www.newsfromme.com/2019/11/02/twice-two-4/

[SuperMatch93]

It couldn't have been Bowzer himself, could it? I haven't seen enough episodes to know if he would throw questions.

[TLEberle]

Why would Jon out himself?

[Casey]

It couldn't have been Bowzer himself, could it? I haven't seen enough episodes to know if he would throw questions.

Given that he got enough screen time, you know, hosting half the show, I'm pretty sure it wasn't him...

[SamJ93]

Assuming Bauman's story is true (not saying he's lying, but he is going on 35-year-old memories), it would have to have been someone on the bottom row, right? I don't see how he could be aware of what's going on above him...

[calliaume]

This was discussed briefly in another thread a couple of weeks ago:

http://www.gameshowforum.org/index.php/topic,31342.195.html

Given another week or so to consider this, I wonder if Jon might have been exaggerating this - it may have happened, but not regularly.  I'd think that if Gene had seen someone writing two answers (and he would have the better opportunity to see it happen), he'd call it out to the producers.

Also, MGP was pretty protective of the contestants, and this clearly would have been affecting the outcome of the game (what if the contestant loses by one match?).  Richard Dawson was quoted in Maxine Fabe's book about the 1970s show thusly:  "Some of the worst celebrities on game shows are the stand-up comics.  They're getting big laughs with an ad lib, and the contestant's ten thousand bucks [are] going down the the drain.  All someone has to do on Match Game is to try that one and they're never invited back.  There's just too much at stake for our contestants for one wise guy to blow it all on a joke."

[Kevin Prather]

They're getting big laughs with an ad lib, and the contestant's ten thousand bucks [are] going down the the drain.  All someone has to do on Match Game is to try that one and they're never invited back.  There's just too much at stake for our contestants for one wise guy to blow it all on a joke."

And yet Patti Deutsch was invited back again and again.

[Neumms]

The story, and I’m sorry to miss the earlier link, is seeming dodgier. Bad for contestants but not rule-violating would be to simply write way-out-there answers in round 1. The game is made for that.

If Bowzer saw it himself during the MG/HS run in which he’s seriously vested, one would think he’d tell the producers immediately. Possibly he did, the star stopped doing it, and Bowzer is inflating the story.

I accuse Fred Travelena. He was a screen hog, and Evanier would know him by reputation.

[Neumms]

And yet Patti Deutsch was invited back again and again.

Yes. She matched no less often than Joyce Bullifant, but her answers were clever and funny. Same for Marcia Wallace.

[rebelwrest]

And yet Patti Deutsch was invited back again and again.

Yes. She matched no less often than Joyce Bullifant, but her answers were clever and funny. Same for Marcia Wallace.

I believe Patti gave the wacky answers in round 1 only and did it for both contestants.  In round 2, she played it straight.  The women in the 6th seat knew when to play for laughs and when to try to match the contestants.  This is why they were invited back for MANY years.

[Eric Paddon]

Their patience ran out on Deutsch in 79.   She never was on the syndie MG even while she was still getting booked on "Beat The Clock."   

Being invited back frequently doesn't always mean it was a wise decision as the multiple times of Jonathan Winters wasting time on HSQ demonstrated.

[chris319]

There were problems with Della Reese on MG, predating MGHS hour. Ultimately they stopped booking her.

Bauman implies that HS was played dishonestly at one time. Giving the panelists answers but not the civilian players is allowed and is perfectly acceptable.

[knagl]

I accuse Fred Travelena. He was a screen hog, and Evanier would know him by reputation.

Apologies for bumping a sightly old thread, but after watching MG/HS this past weekend, I came to the same conclusion.

Jon Bauman sits in seat four, Fred Travalena was in seat five (was he typically seated there?). Bauman would have had an excellent vantage point to see what was allegedly going on, and plenty of opportunity for Travalena to do a quick swap of the cards (or perhaps he had two cards inserted in the slot and knew which one he wanted to grab?) without being seen on camera while Uncle Gene is getting the responses from the top row of the panel.

As Neumms said above, Fred Travalena certainly liked the spotlight on the show, and I could see him taking steps to ensure that he'd get maximum screen time.

[Bryce L.]

Bauman would have had an excellent vantage point to see what was allegedly going on, and plenty of opportunity for Travalena to do a quick swap of the cards (or perhaps he had two cards inserted in the slot and knew which one he wanted to grab?) without being seen on camera while Uncle Gene is getting the responses from the top row of the panel.

I'm a little surprised there wasn't an NBC C&P guy standing off-camera, with a line of sight on the desks, specifically to catch this sort of sleight-of-hand in the act, on the off-chance anybody got any funny ideas.

[Mike Tennant]

on the off-chance anybody got any funny ideas.

And on this show, that was definitely an off-chance.