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The Game Show Forum => Game Show Channels & Networks => Topic started by: The Pyramids on May 05, 2005, 09:54:56 PM

Title: Bye, Gordon
Post by: The Pyramids on May 05, 2005, 09:54:56 PM
As GSN moves into the second month of its remarkably improved line-up we are comming to an end of Gordon Elliott on 'To Tell the Truth.'

From the shows I saw I could tell he was a natural at it from the start. Did he host a Nineties 'Lets Make a Deal' pilot? Has he done anything else of note in America besides commercials for Glad trash bags?
Title: Bye, Gordon
Post by: BrandonFG on May 05, 2005, 10:04:55 PM
[quote name=\'PaulD\' date=\'May 5 2005, 08:54 PM\']As GSN moves into the second month of its remarkably improved line-up we are comming to an end of Gordon Elliott on 'To Tell the Truth.'

From the shows I saw I could tell he was a natural at it from the start. Did he host a Nineties 'Lets Make a Deal' pilot? Has he done anything else of note in America besides commercials for Glad trash bags?
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Well, there's also the Campbell's soup commercials. ;-)

He did do the LMAD pilot in 1999, but it didn't go to air, IIRC, it was because of lack of clearances in NY and/or LA. He also had a talk show in the mid-90s, and was one of the original reporters on "A Current Affair" (the original, not the current revival).

EDIT: Can't forget "It's Your Chance Of A Lifetime"...wait, I just did. ;-)
Title: Bye, Gordon
Post by: Pyramid80 on May 05, 2005, 10:38:55 PM
Glancing at the subject line, my heart sank.....I thought he had died or something.
Title: Bye, Gordon
Post by: aaron sica on May 05, 2005, 10:41:34 PM
[quote name=\'Pyramid80\' date=\'May 5 2005, 10:38 PM\']Glancing at the subject line, my heart sank.....I thought he had died or something.
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TTTT, my first thought was Roscoe Orman - "Gordon" on SS...
Title: Bye, Gordon
Post by: CoreyArcher on May 05, 2005, 11:16:08 PM
[quote name=\'PaulD\' date=\'May 5 2005, 08:54 PM\']As GSN moves into the second month of its remarkably improved line-up we are comming to an end of Gordon Elliott on 'To Tell the Truth.'

From the shows I saw I could tell he was a natural at it from the start. Did he host a Nineties 'Lets Make a Deal' pilot? Has he done anything else of note in America besides commercials for Glad trash bags?
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He did a great job on "Door Knock Dinners" for the Food Network. Don't think they show it at all now, but that was a fairly recent show.

- ca -
Title: Bye, Gordon
Post by: clemon79 on May 05, 2005, 11:19:01 PM
[quote name=\'CoreyArcher\' date=\'May 5 2005, 08:16 PM\']He did a great job on "Door Knock Dinners" for the Food Network. Don't think they show it at all now, but that was a fairly recent show.
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They will often air his "Follow That Food", especially during theme weekends.
Title: Bye, Gordon
Post by: davemackey on May 06, 2005, 06:38:03 AM
[quote name=\'aaron sica\' date=\'May 5 2005, 10:41 PM\'][quote name=\'Pyramid80\' date=\'May 5 2005, 10:38 PM\']Glancing at the subject line, my heart sank.....I thought he had died or something.
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TTTT, my first thought was Roscoe Orman - "Gordon" on SS...
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Well, the original Gordon, Matt Robinson, did pass a few years ago....
Title: Bye, Gordon
Post by: SRIV94 on May 06, 2005, 10:09:37 AM
[quote name=\'PaulD\' date=\'May 5 2005, 08:54 PM\']As GSN moves into the second month of its remarkably improved line-up we are comming to an end of Gordon Elliott on 'To Tell the Truth.'
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Don't we still have a couple more weeks before Swannie takes over?

Doug -- and the countdown to 1200 continues
Title: Bye, Gordon
Post by: Pyramid80 on May 06, 2005, 11:19:06 AM
[quote name=\'SRIV94\' date=\'May 6 2005, 09:09 AM\'][quote name=\'PaulD\' date=\'May 5 2005, 08:54 PM\']As GSN moves into the second month of its remarkably improved line-up we are comming to an end of Gordon Elliott on 'To Tell the Truth.'
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Don't we still have a couple more weeks before Swannie takes over?

Doug -- and the countdown to 1200 continues
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Looking at the episode guide that I found, looks like we have 3 more weeks before Lynn takes over.  Great to see that Steve Allen and Jayne Meadows should be on next week.
Title: Bye, Gordon
Post by: uncamark on May 06, 2005, 12:20:46 PM
And Elliott did his "door knock" schtick on WNYW New York's "Good Day New York" and whatever CBS was calling its morning show in the 90s at various points in between his other gigs.
Title: Bye, Gordon
Post by: xibit777 on May 30, 2005, 12:42:43 PM
Bye Gordon.  Today is the first day of Lynn Swan.   This kind of kills the show to me.   Although Gordon was odd, he was funny and entertaining.  I found today's show so boring and dull.

How much longer until Alex starts hosting?  I can't imagine he is any more interesting than Lynn though...  maybe someone can give some insight about how he is?
Title: Bye, Gordon
Post by: Jimmy Owen on May 30, 2005, 01:17:27 PM
[quote name=\'xibit777\' date=\'May 30 2005, 11:42 AM\']Bye Gordon.  Today is the first day of Lynn Swan.   This kind of kills the show to me.   Although Gordon was odd, he was funny and entertaining.  I found today's show so boring and dull.

How much longer until Alex starts hosting?  I can't imagine he is any more interesting than Lynn though...  maybe someone can give some insight about how he is?
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Lynn hosted for three months.  There isn't a whole lot of "wacky" from here on out.
Title: Bye, Gordon
Post by: Don Howard on May 30, 2005, 01:54:55 PM
[quote name=\'xibit777\' date=\'May 30 2005, 11:42 AM\']Bye Gordon.  Today is the first day of Lynn Swan. This kind of kills the show to me. Although Gordon was odd, he was funny and entertaining. I found today's show so boring and dull.
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Yep. We went from witty repartee with the panel to the following (soon to be heard almost verbatim on a subsequent Lynn Swann-hosted show):
LYNN: Kitty, how are you today?
KITTY: I'm fine.
LYNN: How about the rest of you?
ALL THREE MUMBLE: Fine.
LYNN: Good. All of you are doing fine.
By the way, gotta love the way he says, "Please! Read along with me". Just oozes.
You'll notice he squeezes his left breast after Burton introduces him. Guess that gives him that extra jolt of vim since Red Bull hadn't been invented yet.
Title: Bye, Gordon
Post by: tvwxman on May 30, 2005, 03:10:30 PM
[quote name=\'xibit777\' date=\'May 30 2005, 11:42 AM\']Bye Gordon.  Today is the first day of Lynn Swan.   This kind of kills the show to me.   Although Gordon was odd, he was funny and entertaining.  I found today's show so boring and dull.
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Agreed....Lynn lacked what Gordon had....pizazz....Lynn destroyed the momentum of one of the better revivals in GS History.

I'm of the opinion that had Gordon survived the "Get the Picture" lawsuit, not only would TTTT have lasted longer, but we would have seen Gordon establish himself on other game shows.... The New York Post page six column reported back then that the injunction was set to keep Elliot off of hosting game shows for 5 years. A Shame we didn't get to see him more often!
Title: Bye, Gordon
Post by: The Pyramids on May 30, 2005, 03:37:10 PM
[quote name=\'tvwxman\' date=\'May 30 2005, 02:10 PM\'][quote name=\'xibit777\' date=\'May 30 2005, 11:42 AM\']Bye Gordon.  Today is the first day of Lynn Swan.   This kind of kills the show to me.   Although Gordon was odd, he was funny and entertaining.  I found today's show so boring and dull.
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Agreed....Lynn lacked what Gordon had....pizazz....Lynn destroyed the momentum of one of the better revivals in GS History.

I'm of the opinion that had Gordon survived the "Get the Picture" lawsuit, not only would TTTT have lasted longer, but we would have seen Gordon establish himself on other game shows.... The New York Post page six column reported back then that the injunction was set to keep Elliot off of hosting game shows for 5 years. A Shame we didn't get to see him more often!
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Yeah, maybe a longer run for 'Truth' could have kept the medium on the networks a little longer. I could easily see Gordon standing behind a 'Password' podium at some point.
Title: Bye, Gordon
Post by: Don Howard on May 30, 2005, 04:07:52 PM
So now we come to our big question:
Why was Lynn Swann chosen for the high chair? Wasn't there an audition to see if he had the right stuff? Didn't NBC learn from the Rolf debacle?
Title: Bye, Gordon
Post by: clemon79 on May 30, 2005, 04:13:17 PM
[quote name=\'Don Howard\' date=\'May 30 2005, 01:07 PM\']So now we come to our big question:
Why was Lynn Swann chosen for the high chair? Wasn't there an audition to see if he had the right stuff? Didn't NBC learn from the Rolf debacle?
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My guess, based on his frequency as a panelist: he was available.
Title: Bye, Gordon
Post by: tvwxman on May 30, 2005, 04:32:13 PM
[quote name=\'clemon79\' date=\'May 30 2005, 03:13 PM\']
My guess, based on his frequency as a panelist: he was available.
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On REALLY short notice. I'd imagine (pure speculation) that there was little or no time to figure out who to take the reins of the show.

I myself would have preferred David Niven Jr....heck, why didn't Steve Allen do it?
Title: Bye, Gordon
Post by: Ian Wallis on May 30, 2005, 05:02:48 PM
Quote
Didn't NBC learn from the Rolf debacle?


They could have gotten Jimmy Cefalo  :)
Title: Bye, Gordon
Post by: sshuffield70 on May 30, 2005, 09:15:26 PM
[quote name=\'Ian Wallis\' date=\'May 30 2005, 04:02 PM\']
Quote
Didn't NBC learn from the Rolf debacle?


They could have gotten Jimmy Cefalo  :)
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That would have been intriguing.  Jimmy Cefalo for a whole hour (TTTT followed by "Trump Card".....)

On second thought.....maybe not......
Title: Bye, Gordon
Post by: BrandonFG on May 31, 2005, 12:21:37 AM
[quote name=\'sshuffield70\' date=\'May 30 2005, 08:15 PM\'][quote name=\'Ian Wallis\' date=\'May 30 2005, 04:02 PM\']
Quote
Didn't NBC learn from the Rolf debacle?


They could have gotten Jimmy Cefalo  :)
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That would have been intriguing.  Jimmy Cefalo for a whole hour (TTTT followed by "Trump Card".....)
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I know this is all a joke, but it would've been really funny in Norfolk, since the two aired against each other in this market.

OK, WHOOOOOSH!!! yeah, yeah, yeah. :-P
Title: Bye, Gordon
Post by: aaron sica on May 31, 2005, 12:29:31 AM
In Scranton/WB, WYOU-22 (CBS) had so much faith in their hometown boy that they put the show on at 5pm (EST). I wonder if any other cities had TC on or after 5pm (not counting the wee hours).
Title: Bye, Gordon
Post by: Terry K on May 31, 2005, 11:03:16 AM
Swann does seem very out of place in the host chair.  (Its been so long since I've seen these shows that I didn't recall how bad he was until I've seen his first 2 shows).  It doesn't look to me like they gave him much rehearsal time either.  With Swannie's second show, they have him doing a bit with the fastest pizza maker, this one had Gordon written all over it, and Swan looked so out of place on that bit.

Lynn lasted exactly 13 weeks, which kinda tells me they had hired him *just* for one cycle (isn't this the standard way of doing things?).  I'm guessing the only reason MG didn't replace him sooner was due to the fact they signed him for 13 weeks and they had to live up to it.  

As for hiring Trebek, he was already working for MG (Doing CC) and they just jugged the taping schedules around a bit (J! and CC)
Title: Bye, Gordon
Post by: FeudDude on May 31, 2005, 01:03:58 PM
Wasn't Gordon Elliot considered for TTTT2K?
Title: Bye, Gordon
Post by: calliaume on May 31, 2005, 08:57:24 PM
[quote name=\'tvwxman\' date=\'May 30 2005, 03:32 PM\']I myself would have preferred David Niven Jr....heck, why didn't Steve Allen do it?
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I doubt he was asked.  Steverino tended to make I've Got a Secret more about himself than Garry Moore ever did, and that really wouldn't have worked on TTTT.

As for the 2000 revival, it's possible Elliott should have been considered, but O'Hurley was so good, I don't think it would have made much difference one way or another.  On that revival, I had trouble with the celebrity panelists, who seemed to be working too hard to get laughs (not to mention the male celebs all looked like they picked out their wardrobes from the laundry pile for each show).
Title: Bye, Gordon
Post by: Neumms on June 01, 2005, 01:48:43 AM
Despite having TiVo or at least the cable company's version of it, I've missed another milestone episode. (I've missed the first WML? after Fred Allen's passing twice now.) So. . . how did Lynn explain his sudden appearance in the host's seat, or did he not explain it at all?

Another question--does anyone know why they wouldn't use Orson Bean as host? He'd hosted the Concentration pilot. Was it that bad?
Title: Bye, Gordon
Post by: clemon79 on June 01, 2005, 04:18:33 AM
[quote name=\'Neumms\' date=\'May 31 2005, 10:48 PM\']Despite having TiVo or at least the cable company's version of it, I've missed another milestone episode. (I've missed the first WML? after Fred Allen's passing twice now.) So. . . how did Lynn explain his sudden appearance in the host's seat, or did he not explain it at all?
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It was pretty obvious that he was in said seat on short notice. and also that he was fairly nervous. He was competent, but a little stiff. There was no mention of Gordon.
Title: Bye, Gordon
Post by: Terry K on June 01, 2005, 10:32:18 AM
There also appeared to be an edit at the first of the show.  I think it was explained and subsequently edited out.
Title: Bye, Gordon
Post by: Jimmy Owen on June 01, 2005, 11:13:53 AM
On NBC, the last Gordon ep had the panel (Niven, Allred, Swann and Purcell) in evening wear and a lady with a musical saw.  The first Swann on NBC had a bungee-jumping bride and Bean, Mobley, Niven and Carlisle.  Is that how GSN is airing it?
Title: Bye, Gordon
Post by: Don Howard on June 01, 2005, 11:31:30 AM
[quote name=\'Terry K\' date=\'Jun 1 2005, 09:32 AM\']There also appeared to be an edit at the first of the show.  I think it was explained and subsequently edited out.
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I think Lynn stumbled over the affidavit and had to do it over.
Title: Bye, Gordon
Post by: SRIV94 on June 01, 2005, 11:33:31 AM
[quote name=\'Jimmy Owen\' date=\'Jun 1 2005, 10:13 AM\']On NBC, the last Gordon ep had the panel (Niven, Allred, Swann and Purcell) in evening wear and a lady with a musical saw.  The first Swann on NBC had a bungee-jumping bride and Bean, Mobley, Niven and Carlisle.  Is that how GSN is airing it?
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The week airing now on GSN has Masak, Haje, Bean and Carlisle; I believe last week was Niven, Mobley, Swann and Bergen.  The bungee-jumping bride would be part of next week's shows if Marshall Akers' web page is correct (might be Monday, might not be Monday).

Doug