Your First Face to Face Meeting....

[DjohnsonCB]

Unless you count Judy Landers as a Match Game 7x panelist (whom I met at an auto show in Des Moines in the '80s; a picture of us together is on my home page), the only true GS personality I ever got to talk to was Vanna White, at the 1991 opening of an Omaha mall.  

I took the opportunity to try and assure her that all those critics were off the mark in their all-too-expected finger-pointing at her acting ability as the sole reason her "Goddess Of Love" TV movie bombed.  I told her she shouldn't have been faulted there and she had the potential to prove herself as a good actress with the right project, and I still feel it's true.  Though I didn't tell her what I thought of the film itself, it's problem was the story and the writing; Ava Gardner couldn't have saved that thing.

And yes, Vanna was noticably appreciative of me for "being on her side".

[dmota104]

Some of you have heard this story.  But, for those who haven't, take a look...

http://www.dougmorris.net/scrapbook/weseure.jpg

...that's me with Wesley Eure, original "Finders Keepers" host and guest on such shows as MG (syndie) and P+.  He's a native of Hattiesburg, MS and visited WDAM to plug his children's Christmas book, "The Red Wings of Christmas".

Great guy.  He said it was fun to do a game show.

[Don Howard]

Jack Clark after a taping of Wheel Of Fortune in 1985.
One of the nicest people ever to trod the planet.

[tvwxman]

I love this topic!

10 Years old, for my birthday, my dad called in some favors, and got me backstage at the "Bob Barker Fun and Games Show", on location in Miami. Before the show i was brought to an open room behind the stage where I got to meet my childhood idol..

Hands down, one of the coolest moments of my life.

Since then, as a tv reporter/host, i've had the great and rare experiences to have one on one conversations (some of them lengthy!) with Trebek, Sajak, Regis, Dick Clark, Tom Bergeron, and Chris Harrison...Even better, I have all of the interviews on tape.

And last year I added Monty Hall to the list, but that was a quick hello before his live show....Somewhere there's a picture....

[geno57]

Last summer I met Peter Marshall and his son Pete LaCock, and got to chat with them at some length. They were visiting the radio station where I work, during a local golf tourney with which they were involved.

In 2000, I spent some time with Ed McMahon at the Nashville radio station where I worked at the time. He was touring with the new incarnation of Star Search.

[aaron sica]

Only one I can stake claim to is Todd Newton, at the GSN "Get Schooled" event in June, 2003 at the King of Prussia Mall. Very nice guy, just as nice off camera as on.

[ClockGameJohn]

[quote name=\'aaron sica\' date=\'Jan 4 2005, 10:06 AM\']Only one I can stake claim to is Todd Newton, at the GSN "Get Schooled" event in June, 2003 at the King of Prussia Mall.

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I'm only about 20 minutes from the mall, Aaron - not sure how I even missed that one!

Not counting attending a game show, the first REAL face to face was with Wink Martindale around 1989 at a Broadway show in NY.  He sat right next to my parents & I.  I still have my Playbill autographed by him...somewhere.

[uncamark]

Well, there's the time I shook Susan Stafford's hand in a Chicago hotel lobby and got a shock of static electricity.  I also kissed my hopes of getting on "Wheel" goodbye when I told her I was trying out and she then introduced me to Nancy Jones (S&P doesn't appreciate any previous host contact...)

Also, at an AIDS benefit in Chicago some years ago I spoke to Skip Lackey, who was in a touring company of "The Secret Garden" at the time.  When I sheepishly mentioned that I saw him on "Think Fast" "one day when I was sick," he turned red-faced.  Still a nice guy, though--I think he knew he wasn't cut out for game shows and didn't enjoy doing the one he did.

[Bob Zager]

The very first game show personality I met was former Barker's Beauty Janice Pennington.  She was in the Detroit area autographing paperback copies of her book "Husband, Lover, Spy."  She'd been working on another book that was to be titled "The Price Hasn't Always Been Right," but it was never published.

The first game show host I'd met was Bob Eubanks, when he hosted the "Wheel of Fortune Live Tour," in 1996.  He did a good job hosting this road show version of "America's Game."

[The Ol' Guy]

During our trip to California in '79, I hit the jackpot - brief but nice face to face conversations with Jack, Dan, Wink, and Ron Greenberg, after years of corresponding and occasional phone conversations with the first two. I saw Bob Hilton at the taping, but we didn't converse. Jack autographed my home version of Joker as well. Quite the time.

[ChuckNet]

In 89, when I was just 10, I met Marc Summers (along w/Dave and Robin) when the DD Roadshow stopped at my local mall...gave me an autographed 8x10 and posed for a pic, which I may have to put on my page sometime. :-)

Chuck Donegan (The Illustrious "Chuckie Baby")

[tomobrien]

My first one was Alex Trebek, back about 20 years ago now during the first season of his hosting "Jeopardy!"  I wish I could say it was a pleasant experience, but my memory of him was as being rude, demanding and a bit arrogant (even down to his not liking the way I wrote my name on the TV screen...so he came over and did it himself).  Simply one man's opinion; as they say, your mileage may vary.

(A "near miss" in 1992: I had an invitation to a party at Dick Clark's home when one of his companies bought the firm I worked for in Seattle.  Two days before the party, his secretary calls and says they've overbooked, so some people had to be "disinvited."  Oh, well.)

Fast forward eight years to Regis in 2000.  A nice guy all around--with the contestants, their families, the staff and audience.  Definitely the kind of guy you'd like to sit and have a beer with...and his comments as we taped the "closing wave" at the end of the episode were priceless.

[BrandonFG]

[quote name=\'tomobrien\' date=\'Jan 5 2005, 01:06 AM\']My first one was Alex Trebek, back about 20 years ago now during the first season of his hosting "Jeopardy!"  I wish I could say it was a pleasant experience, but my memory of him was as being rude, demanding and a bit arrogant (even down to his not liking the way I wrote my name on the TV screen...so he came over and did it himself).  Simply one man's opinion; as they say, your mileage may vary.

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Going by that assessment, I'd have to agree with you. :-)

BTW, how'd you do on Jeopardy!?

[whewfan]

[quote name=\'tomobrien\' date=\'Jan 5 2005, 01:06 AM\']
My first one was Alex Trebek, back about 20 years ago now during the first season of his hosting "Jeopardy!"  I wish I could say it was a pleasant experience, but my memory of him was as being rude, demanding and a bit arrogant (even down to his not liking the way I wrote my name on the TV screen...so he came over and did it himself).  Simply one man's opinion; as they say, your mileage may vary.

That's interesting. When I attended a J! taping recently, the only contact he had with the players was during one break when he had his picture taken with all 3 players, and of course during the end credits. Do you think it was his role as executive producer (at the time) that made him concerned about how the players wrote their names, and made him demanding?

[tomobrien]

[quote name=\'whewfan\' date=\'Jan 5 2005, 04:21 AM\']
[quote name=\'tomobrien\' date=\'Jan 5 2005, 01:06 AM\']
 Do you think it was his role as executive producer (at the time) that made him concerned about how the players wrote their names, and made him demanding?

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Can't really say.  All I know is when you look at the tape, it looks like my name was written by a 4-year-old with one of those giant Crayolas you started out with in kindergarten.  I just remember really feeling sorry for the staff (who were all exceedingly pleasant and helpful) when he was yelling at them.  Maybe just a bad day for him.