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Author Topic: Howard Felsher  (Read 32739 times)

tyshaun1

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Howard Felsher
« Reply #30 on: April 30, 2004, 06:40:46 PM »
[quote name=\'adamjk\' date=\'Apr 30 2004, 05:28 PM\'] I was speaking of when Ira got banned from the Match Game set. [/quote]
 He wasn't banned, Chris said Richard tried to have Ira banned (which is news to me). It makes sense then that Richard "stopped participating" on the show as a result, though.

Tyshaun

adamjk

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Howard Felsher
« Reply #31 on: April 30, 2004, 06:48:40 PM »
Ah, I see. Anyone have a clue why Dickie wanted Ira banned to begin with?

tyshaun1

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Howard Felsher
« Reply #32 on: April 30, 2004, 07:00:04 PM »
[quote name=\'adamjk\' date=\'Apr 30 2004, 05:48 PM\'] Ah, I see. Anyone have a clue why Dickie wanted Ira banned to begin with? [/quote]
 My educated guess is because of why he wanted Felsher out: Disagreement on judging calls.

Tyshaun

adamjk

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Howard Felsher
« Reply #33 on: April 30, 2004, 07:05:28 PM »
Hmm, I wonder if the school riot episode from 77, may have had a play in why all this nonsense got started.

bpatrick

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Re: Howard Felsher
« Reply #34 on: August 03, 2015, 06:25:05 PM »
Dawson and Felsher had an on-air set-to once over an answer a family gave which was a synonym for the answer that actually appeared on the board.  Felsher called them wrong; Dawson felt they were close enough to be counted right.  Finally Dawson said, "Either they'll be back on this show tomorrow or I won't."  Guess who won the argument.

As for Dawson's tendency to use his opening comments to speak his mind, he once said of Henry Kissinger, "He's the man who said
 'peace is at hand', then put the world on hold while another 10,000 people died."  When a couple of advertisers threatened to pull off the show, Dawson said, in effect, go ahead; we've got advertisers lined up to get on this show.  Guess you can say that when you've got the number-one daytime show.

And there was the time TV Guide did a cover story about game-show hosts and Dawson refused to appear because he thought he was going to be the only one on that cover.

clemon79

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Re: Howard Felsher
« Reply #35 on: August 03, 2015, 07:16:45 PM »
While absolutely on-topic, I gotta think that eleven years and three months is some kind of record.
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bpatrick

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Re: Howard Felsher
« Reply #36 on: August 03, 2015, 07:23:13 PM »
True, and ego or not, I don't think anyone else was as good hosting "Feud" as Dawson.  I just wanted to point out (1) that Dawson and Felsher had their occasional on-air tiffs; and (2) Dawson was not afraid to speak his mind.  As he once put it, when a contestant gave an obviously stupid answer he called them on it.  "Bob Barker and those other guys want to be Charlie Charming--good try but incorrect.  But when an answer is obviously dumb, you have to call them on it, right?"

TLEberle

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Re: Howard Felsher
« Reply #37 on: August 03, 2015, 07:40:00 PM »
But when an answer is obviously dumb, you have to call them on it, right?"
No, you really don't. Richard Dawson has hundreds of hours being on air--game show contestants get one chance and lots of times aren't at their best because there's lots of distractions going on.

I do think it is indicative of a huge flaw in Richard's character to say that.
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clemon79

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Re: Howard Felsher
« Reply #38 on: August 03, 2015, 09:29:42 PM »
True, and ego or not, I don't think anyone else was as good hosting "Feud" as Dawson.

Um, I was talking about bumping a prehistoric thread.
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JakeT

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Re: Howard Felsher
« Reply #39 on: August 03, 2015, 09:30:40 PM »
True, and ego or not, I don't think anyone else was as good hosting "Feud" as Dawson.  I just wanted to point out (1) that Dawson and Felsher had their occasional on-air tiffs; and (2) Dawson was not afraid to speak his mind.  As he once put it, when a contestant gave an obviously stupid answer he called them on it.  "Bob Barker and those other guys want to be Charlie Charming--good try but incorrect.  But when an answer is obviously dumb, you have to call them on it, right?"

Yeah...sure...it is a game show host's place to humiliate a contestant on national TV...of course it is...

JakeT

BrandonFG

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Re: Howard Felsher
« Reply #40 on: August 03, 2015, 11:27:03 PM »
Number one show or not, Richard Dawson was a spoiled brat during Feud's peak. He was a great host, yes, but he was also a prima donna, and a lot of his actions were totally unprofessional, whether they benefited the family or not.

Act like you've been there before.
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whewfan

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Re: Howard Felsher
« Reply #41 on: August 04, 2015, 06:40:06 AM »
Regarding Allen Ludden, in Betty White's book "Here We Go Again", Betty said that Allen could at times be blatantly honest, and sometimes being TOO honest could get them into trouble. That likely came into play with Password and Password Plus. Ludden was obviously not a fan of the lenient judging early in the run of Password Plus ("Firewoman" was accepted for the clue "Fireman") but it's likely they did that to get celebs and contestants comfortable with the game, then the judging got more strict when they became more accustomed to the game and the puzzle format. Also, because opposites were being used too often for clues, they decided to have a "no opposite" rule. Ludden seemed to have reservations about this change too, but it did make the game more interesting to watch.

Also, with Password All Stars, there were so many format changes and too many layers. This included adding a DOUBLE option in the main game, the option being decided by flashing arrows, and the complicated scoring of the bonus game. Scoring each celeb individually for the final show also must've been a headache. Just watch Ludden host the finale. On the surface it's business as usual, but one can also tell that Ludden didn't like waiting for the flashing arrows, and you can tell he's thinking "geez this is a lot to explain" when he's breaking down the scoring during the bonus game.

It's interesting with Richard Dawson's excellent playing skills that he never appeared on Password Plus, but it's also no surprise considering Felscher produced that show too. Then again, Felscher also produced Password All Stars, but if Dawson had any ego problems, they weren't evident in 1975 because this was before Family Feud. In fact, watch any episode of Match Game '75, Dawson was at his peak and seemed quite happy in general.

BrandonFG

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Re: Howard Felsher
« Reply #42 on: August 04, 2015, 01:44:26 PM »
It's interesting with Richard Dawson's excellent playing skills that he never appeared on Password Plus, but it's also no surprise considering Felscher produced that show too. Then again, Felscher also produced Password All Stars, but if Dawson had any ego problems, they weren't evident in 1975 because this was before Family Feud. In fact, watch any episode of Match Game '75, Dawson was at his peak and seemed quite happy in general.
I snipped that part for space, but the Allen Ludden points are all from 11 years ago, as is this thread bumping. As for him not being on P+, I imagine Richard it was because he hosted a daytime game show on a competing network.

It was a little different with MG, since he'd already been there a few years by the time Feud premiered. Reminds me of a MG episode (though I believe it was the PM version), where Gene mentioned Feud's premiere, but said he couldn't mention the network. Richard simply asked "What are the first three letters of the alphabet... (Gene: "ABC.") ...that's the network it airs on."
"They're both Norman Jewison movies, Troy, but we did think of one Jew more famous than Tevye."

Now celebrating his 22nd season on GSF!

narzo

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Re: Howard Felsher
« Reply #43 on: August 05, 2015, 09:27:32 PM »
True, and ego or not, I don't think anyone else was as good hosting "Feud" as Dawson.  I just wanted to point out (1) that Dawson and Felsher had their occasional on-air tiffs; and (2) Dawson was not afraid to speak his mind.  As he once put it, when a contestant gave an obviously stupid answer he called them on it.  "Bob Barker and those other guys want to be Charlie Charming--good try but incorrect.  But when an answer is obviously dumb, you have to call them on it, right?"

Hate to say it, but Gene Rayburn was far more vocal, about pointing out a bad answer, or when a contestant was outright "stupid".  I've always found him to be outright rude when telling a contestant their answer sucks (even thought we all may think it does).  I think Richard gets a bad rap.  In fact Richard would often do it with a wink and a "kiss", Gene just walked away and rolled his eyes. 

Another example is the episode on now, on Buzzr.  After several tiebreakers where the champion has had 3 chances to win the game, after she picks her question, Gene says something to the effect of "all you need are three matches to win the game, but somehow you'll manage to not do it" as he struts away to get the stars answers. 

jjman920

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Re: Howard Felsher
« Reply #44 on: August 05, 2015, 10:01:32 PM »
I think that Match Game, for what it became, allowed for bad answers to be called out by Gene. I mean, the audience would absolutely devour a contestant or celebrity for a bad answer. Plus, with its popularity, most contestants knew what they were walking into when they got on to the show. I don't think it's entirely fair to call Gene out and not mention how the atmosphere fostered such an attitude that was encouraged.
Me: Of all of the game shows you've hosted besides Jeopardy!, like High Rollers or Classic Concentration, which is your favorite?
Alex Trebek: I'd have to say To Tell The Truth, because it was the first time in my career that I got to sit down while I was hosting.