What were they talking about, anyway?

[Adam Nedeff]

Well I'll be. 12-year-old me wasn't right about very much, but I'll take it.

/and it somehow makes complete sense that Jack Barry was the type to do this...

I think he explained it during a special or interview and said "This is what it looks like when I'm talking to you" while the contestants would smile and nod and keep up the ruse. Of course you can't hear them over the applause and theme tune.

I don't get it. Why not have a real chat, even if it's about the weather or the food in the green room before the show? Why is it to anyone's advantage to make it phony? The mill-arounds on To Tell the Truth were genuine. A friend was an imposter and recalled talking to Peggy Cass about one thing or another while the credits rolled.

Genuine but...perfunctory. I don't know that this particular game has ever been rerun, but Dick DeBartolo once came up with a game for To Tell the Truth that had to do with the mill-around. For a five-episode session, the show sent out one extra person for each of the first four shows, and tasked him with having a conversation with each of the four panelists. For episode #5, that extra person was the central character, and they established at the start that all four panelists had had a conversation with him within the past few hours. None of the four panelists recognized him.

[carlisle96]

I don't get it. Why not have a real chat, even if it's about the weather or the food in the green room before the show? Why is it to anyone's advantage to make it phony?

You also have to remember that there’s multiple episodes taking place at the same session, so everyone involved has had their attitude adjusted as the day’s worn on. You might have started out fine, but it’s getting to be 5:00 and you’ve been there all morning and afternoon and you just want it to be over. And this is on both sides.

I know that doesn’t really excuse it, but that’s how I came to see it. (Ten hours in a green room is not ideal.)

Still, these guys are broadcasters and having worked in the business, the ability to ad-lib is a requirement. But it doesn't take great skill or such a big intellect for Jack Barry or whoever to say "So tell me about your son... or "How did you find your job?"... or anything for two minutes. It certainly would be simpler than standing there doing a Marcel Marceau routine.

[carlisle96]

For some reason, I never felt quite comfortable watching Jack Barry. He just never seemed the least bit friendly or approachable.

He was neither of those things. I met him when NATPE was in San Francisco in 1976. I asked him about Break the Bank which they were trying to sell into syndication. He was cold and brusque. One walked away with a creepy feeling.

I can believe it. Remember TV critic's (Jack O'Brien?) review of Jack Barry hosting The Big Surprise? He said (paraphrasing) that Barry had all the warmth of a headwaiter who someone forgot to tip.

[PYLdude]

I don't get it. Why not have a real chat, even if it's about the weather or the food in the green room before the show? Why is it to anyone's advantage to make it phony?

You also have to remember that there’s multiple episodes taking place at the same session, so everyone involved has had their attitude adjusted as the day’s worn on. You might have started out fine, but it’s getting to be 5:00 and you’ve been there all morning and afternoon and you just want it to be over. And this is on both sides.

I know that doesn’t really excuse it, but that’s how I came to see it. (Ten hours in a green room is not ideal.)

Still, these guys are broadcasters and having worked in the business, the ability to ad-lib is a requirement. But it doesn't take great skill or such a big intellect for Jack Barry or whoever to say "So tell me about your son... or "How did you find your job?"... or anything for two minutes. It certainly would be simpler than standing there doing a Marcel Marceau routine.

I can say in the only experience I have with this, there was a conversation. Like about thirty seconds as whatever needed to roll rolled.

But really, in the grand scheme of things, is it so big a deal?

[Matt Ottinger]

I wish I could remember the specifics of the anecdote.  I think it was a guest (whose name I can't remember) telling about an appearance on Dick Cavett, but I could be wrong.

At the end of the program as the credits rolled, the guest said, "I always wondered what people are talking about when the mikes are off."  And Cavett responded, "Mostly, this."

[tyshaun1]

I can say in the only experience I have with this, there was a conversation. Like about thirty seconds as whatever needed to roll rolled.

But really, in the grand scheme of things, is it so big a deal?

I presume that if the host was interested in the contestant, they talked. If they weren't, they didn't. Simple as that, just like all of us.

[calliaume]

I presume that if the host was interested in the contestant, they talked. If they weren't, they didn't. Simple as that, just like all of us.

Yeah, but it was his job to be outgoing—and as the head of the company, you’d think he’d have a vested interest in it.

A few years ago my family and I were in Southern California, and I was meeting someone who was in the business. My son was balking at going. I explained, “This is someone who meets people they don’t know, and helps them get on television to win cash and prizes. You think they’re going to be difficult to talk to?” (He still wasn’t interested.)

[steveleb]

I can also confirm that I worked for people who did business with Jack on a regular basis on behalf of many of the stations that carried his shows, including JOKER'S at a time when its lineup was beginning to erode.  One would think that at least that sort of transactional relationship would have brought out his better side.  Nope.  Dick Colbert was consistently putting out fires that he would ignite.