What the hell with Larry Blyden?

[clemon79]

In watching the Movie Game clip on the Page 'O' Clips an epiphany struck me:

How did Larry Blyden work as much as he did?

The only think I can think of is that he appealed to an entertainment world that thought New York was the center of the universe. (Alas, this hasn't changed much. Ask any New Yorker. They'll tell you.) The man had awful delivery and the personality of a rock (although I suppose when you follow Wally Bruner's act, anything would be an improvement, I guess). Every time I see him, the phrase "It'stimenowforthespecialfeatureofWhat'sMyLinetheappearanceofourmysteryguest" comes to mind.

So am I right, did Larry Blyden really suck, or is it just me?

[Matt Ottinger]

[quote name=\'clemon79\' date=\'Jun 14 2005, 02:44 PM\']So am I right, did Larry Blyden really suck, or is it just me?[/quote]
To my mind, Blyden had an odd quality that made him seem to suck if you were a fan of game shows.  Blyden appeared to be very comfortable when he made general chit-chat with celebrities or contestants alike, but appeared to be very UNcomfortable when he had to recite the mechanics of the game.  Most of the people we consider to be good hosts have the opposite problem, and the great hosts, of course, can do both with ease.

Keep in mind that he was first and foremost an actor, and actors, as we've said before, do not make good hosts.  This is also, BTW, one of the reasons that otherwise talented folks seem so stiff at awards shows.  That stiffness (what you see as suckiness) Blyden had in spades, but he was a natural charmer in other ways.

[Jimmy Owen]

Everytime you guys see clips of one of my heroes they get dissed.  Dennis James, Jim Lange, Bob Eubanks, Wally Bruner, Larry Blyden......

If you happen to see a link to a Sonny Fox clip, resist the urge to click.

[byrd62]

[quote name=\'clemon79\' date=\'Jun 14 2005, 01:44 PM\']In watching the Movie Game clip on the Page 'O' Clips an epiphany struck me:

How did Larry Blyden work as much as he did?

The only think I can think of is that he appealed to an entertainment world that thought New York was the center of the universe. (Alas, this hasn't changed much. Ask any New Yorker. They'll tell you.) The man had awful delivery and the personality of a rock (although I suppose when you follow Wally Bruner's act, anything would be an improvement, I guess). Every time I see him, the phrase "It'stimenowforthespecialfeatureofWhat'sMyLinetheintroductionofourmysteryguest" comes to mind.

So am I right, did Larry Blyden really suck, or is it just me?

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[/quote]

Never mind that Larry played Rance McGrew on a Twilight Zone spoof of TV westerns [shot in Hollywood, not New York] in the early 1960's entitled "Showdown with Rance McGrew".

"Stuntman!  Stuntman!"--Rance McGrew [Larry]

[clemon79]

[quote name=\'Jimmy Owen\' date=\'Jun 14 2005, 12:34 PM\']Everytime you guys see clips of one of my heroes they get dissed.  Dennis James, Jim Lange, Bob Eubanks, Wally Bruner, Larry Blyden......

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[/quote]
I'd rethink my heroes list, then.

[Jimmy Owen]

Actually they were more inspirational than heroic.  I would watch and say "If they can get a show, so can I!"

[whewfan]

I would agree if you watch the early episodes, Larry is quite uncomfy trying to get through the actual game portion, and he even had a script visible. He became much more laid back as the series progressed, and much more comfortable with the show.

[MikeK]

[quote name=\'Jimmy Owen\' date=\'Jun 14 2005, 03:34 PM\']Everytime you guys see clips of one of my heroes they get dissed.  Dennis James, Jim Lange, Bob Eubanks, Wally Bruner, Larry Blyden......[/quote]
You forgot Sinatra, the wacky host.

[Matt Ottinger]

[quote name=\'hmtriplecrown\' date=\'Jun 14 2005, 04:33 PM\'][quote name=\'Jimmy Owen\' date=\'Jun 14 2005, 03:34 PM\']Everytime you guys see clips of one of my heroes they get dissed.  Dennis James, Jim Lange, Bob Eubanks, Wally Bruner, Larry Blyden......[/quote]
You forgot Sinatra, the wacky host.[/quote]
Oh. God, I was TRYING to...

[Don Howard]

You should've seen Jamie Farr in "action" when he subbed for Tom Kennedy on Wordplay. Yoy!

[Ian Wallis]

You should've seen Jamie Farr in "action" when he subbed for Tom Kennedy on Wordplay. Yoy!

And Jamie *could* have had his own show - he reportedly hosted the Goodson pilot for the update of "Body Language".

[zachhoran]

[quote name=\'Ian Wallis\' date=\'Jun 14 2005, 04:24 PM\']

You should've seen Jamie Farr in "action" when he subbed for Tom Kennedy on Wordplay. Yoy!

And Jamie *could* have had his own show - he reportedly hosted the Goodson pilot for the update of "Body Language".

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[/quote]

Jamie hosted at least three pilots in the 80s: Oddball for Goodson on NBC in 1986, Surprise Surprise for ABC in 1986(he mentions this pilot on $100K Pyramid when he was a guest one week), and Double Up for Syndication and Dick Clark Productions in 1988. I didn't hear of him hosting the revamped Body Language, the Body Talk pilot was hosted by Vicki Lawrence for ABC in 1990.

[ilb4ever2000]

I guess after reading this thread, I should reconsider liking Larry on WML?

And speaking of Mr. Blyden, on Game Show Moments Gone Bananas 3, there was a clip from Showoffs. I swear I heard Larry's voice. I'd assume it was the pilot.

[TimK2003]

[quote name=\'ilb4ever2000\' date=\'Jun 14 2005, 06:03 PM\']And speaking of Mr. Blyden, on Game Show Moments Gone Bananas 3, there was a clip from Showoffs. I swear I heard Larry's voice. I'd assume it was the pilot.

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I dunno, but I do know that Dick Gauthier had nearly the same amount of appearances that Distraction had on "...Bananas 3".

[BrandonFG]

[quote name=\'zachhoran\' date=\'Jun 14 2005, 05:50 PM\']I didn't hear of him hosting the revamped Body Language

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And as we all know, if Zach didn't hear about it, then it obviously never happened.