Professional Game Show Celebrities
Jeff Amdur
I have noticed through the years that there seems to be one type of
so-called "celebrity" that never did anything of note except be a
"celebrity" on a string of game shows. I guess Shadoe Stevens was the
most recent incarnation of someone who is famous only because of his
presence on game shows as a panelist.
Some from the past..
Ilka Chase---I don't know who the hell she was, and neither did people who
were adults during the fifties when Ilka frequently showed up as a
panelist on such shows as "Masquerade Party" and "Pantomime Quiz"
Conny Van Dyke---Some starlet, I guess, whose agent was savvy enough to
have her booked as a celebrity panelist on a variety of mid-70's game
shows. It was assumed we all knew who she was when in reality she was
nobody except a creation of this publicist. She was hot on game shows for
about a year, then I guess people realized she was nobody and thus stopped
booking her.
Jaye P. Morgan---a minor night-club singer of the fifties who had one or
two hit records, she surfaced more than two decades later as a "Gong Show"
panelist. Unlike the aforementioned Ms. Chase or VanDyke, Jaye P.
actually displayed some wacky talent and was perhaps the best-remembered
of the Gong panelists.
--
Jeff Amdur
Quality foreign language instruction since 1971 (Oy, gevalt! THAT long?!?)
Quality timekeeping for sports events since 1973
Doing all that stuff at Arundel High School in Gambrills, Md. since 1977
e-mail je...@clark.net or (VERY last resort) jia...@umd5.umd.edu
John Himpe
Jeff Amdur wrote:
>
> I have noticed through the years that there seems to be one type of
> so-called "celebrity" that never did anything of note except be a
> "celebrity" on a string of game shows. I guess Shadoe Stevens was the
> most recent incarnation of someone who is famous only because of his
> presence on game shows as a panelist.
>
> Some from the past..
I've got some to add to that list too...
Fanny Flagg and Brett Sommers -- Brett's husband is Jack Klugman. They
were orignally going to use him, but Geno says that Brett was 100 times
better. Never saw her anywhere else but on MG. Same with Fanny Flagg.
Charles Neilson Reiley -- Very big producer, but that would be like
having Ira Sktuch on a show like Liar's Club, no one but those of us who
monitor the Game Show world would know him.
By the Way ... could you imagine Regis Philbin as a panalist on a "To
Tell The Truth" or "What's My Line"? (Scary Thought!)
Speaking of What's My Line, another one, Bennett Cerf, who is prominant
for founding Random House is another good example of "Celeberties" who
are just there for the sake of having "Celeberties". He only became
famous after WML.
--
----------------------------------------------
John Himpe jhi...@awinc.com
Visit the Game Show Web!
http://www.hmtnet.com/users/jhimpe/index.html
----------------------------------------------
Dave Mackey
Jeff Amdur (je...@clark.net) wrote:
: I have noticed through the years that there seems to be one type of
: so-called "celebrity" that never did anything of note except be a
: "celebrity" on a string of game shows. I guess Shadoe Stevens was the
: most recent incarnation of someone who is famous only because of his
: presence on game shows as a panelist.
I must come to the defense of Shadoe Stevens. He's far outgrown his role
as game-show announcer. He took over "American Top Forty" from Casey Kasem
years ago, he made a couple of lousy movies, and he appears weekly in a
major supporting role on Harry Anderson's sitcom "Dave's World" based on
the life of Dave Barry. He's also done some cartoon voices, narrating the
"Fender Bender 500" segments for the Hanna-Barbera series "Wake, Rattle
And Roll".
If I had pipes like his I'd still be in radio!
--
dma...@raven.cybercomm.net Dave Mackey
Visit my Home Page! http://raven.cybercomm.net/~dmackey
T. Jay
John Himpe wrote:
> Fanny Flagg and Brett Sommers -- Brett's husband is Jack Klugman. They
> were orignally going to use him, but Geno says that Brett was 100 times
> better. Never saw her anywhere else but on MG. Same with Fanny Flagg.
T. Jay:
Brett Sommers had a recurring role on The Odd Couple in the early 70s before
MG, and Fannie was a regular (perhaps a sidekick?) on a talk or variety show.
And to add to the list...
Mary Cadorette -- a regular on the Pyramid, her only claim to fame was
playing the Wife of Jack Tripper/John Ritter on the short-lived 3s Company
spinoff, 3s a Crowd.
C Alliaume
In article <31839A...@mail.ohio.net>, "T. Jay" <net...@mail.ohio.net>
writes:
Fannie Flagg is a published author -- her "Fried Green Tomatoes at the
Whistle Stop Cafe" was the basis, of course, for the movie "Fried Green
Tomatoes." She's probably published other books as well. She was also a
supporting cast member in "The New Dick Van Dyke Show" (so was Richard
Dawson, although not simultaneously) and "Harper Valley" (a 1980-81 series
with Barbara Eden).
Mary Cadorette has appeared in the film "Stewardess School," which pops up
occasionally on Comedy Central, on an episode of "The Bradys" (the '90s
sequel to "The Brady Bunch") as Peter's soon-to-be-ex-girlfriend, and a
few episodes of "Night Court" (with reddish-brown hair) as Harry Stone's
reporter girlfriend (who eventually went into the witness protection
program). I don't know if she was a great actress, but she definitely fit
into the Helen Hunt/Sandra Bullock cute-as-a-button category in my book.
I have some thoughts about game show celebrities and celebrity games in
general -- sometime I'll actually write it down.
-- Curt Alliaume
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
-------
Look for Turnstile (a literary magazine I work on) at a bookstore
or newsstand near you!
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
-------
"Imitation is the sincerest form of television." -- Fred Allen
Jeff Amdur
> John Himpe wrote:
>
> > Fanny Flagg and Brett Sommers -- Brett's husband is Jack Klugman. They
> > were orignally going to use him, but Geno says that Brett was 100 times
> > better. Never saw her anywhere else but on MG. Same with Fanny Flagg.
Fannie Flagg first came to the public's attention as the successor to
Dorothy Collins on "Candid Camera", as Allen Funt's set-up girl for
various candid situations.
She appeared as a comedienne on variety and talk shows of the sixties.
her imitation of Lady Bird Johnson ("Let's beauutifaaaaaah Ameeeyrica.
Plant a tree, a shruuuuuuuub or a buuuuuuussh") was one of the more
hilarious routines of that time.
She has since embarked on a career as an author. Her novel "Fried Green
Tomatoes at the Whistle Stop Cafe" was made into a successful motion
picture.
Dave Mackey
T. Jay (net...@mail.ohio.net) wrote:
: Brett Sommers had a recurring role on The Odd Couple in the early 70s before
: MG, and Fannie was a regular (perhaps a sidekick?) on a talk or variety show.
Fannie Flagg later felt the urge to write, and came up with a book that
was later adapted into a movie. You may have heard of it: "Fried Green
Tomatoes".
Chris Holland
John Himpe <jhi...@awinc.com> wrote:
>I've got some to add to that list too...
>Fanny Flagg and Brett Sommers -- Brett's husband is Jack Klugman. They
>were orignally going to use him, but Geno says that Brett was 100 times
>better. Never saw her anywhere else but on MG. Same with Fanny Flagg.
BZZZT! Fanny Flagg is a known writer of screenplays and books.
>Charles Neilson Reiley -- Very big producer, but that would be like
>having Ira Sktuch on a show like Liar's Club, no one but those of us who
>monitor the Game Show world would know him.
DOUBLE BZZZT! CNR was a huge Broadway actor.
>Speaking of What's My Line, another one, Bennett Cerf, who is prominant
>for founding Random House is another good example of "Celeberties" who
>are just there for the sake of having "Celeberties". He only became
>famous after WML.
TRIPLE BZZZZT! Cerf was one of American's best known humorist writers
of his time....go to the library and see how many best selling books
he wrote in the 1940s and 50s!
Chris Holland
chol...@wow.com
DETOUR 64
and WHILE we're on the subject - mary cadorette was a BRILLIANT Pyramid
player... and won Patty Geiger $100,000 in 1986!!! anyone THAT good at
their game deSERVES to be on it!!!
Bill Wunner
Shelley Smith was a professional game show celebrity if ever there was one.
Her only claim to fame was a failed sitcom in 79-80, and she milked that
for nearly 15 years of "celebrityhood". Teresa Ganzel was another.
Most shows would invite sitcom second-bananas while their shows were on,
then drop them after their shows disappeared... but the Pyramid was fond
of keeping them. If the celebrity was a good player, they became a
member of "the club", and would keep coming back... even if no one
remembered what made them a "celebrity" in the first place!
--Bill W
randy amasia
> je...@clark.net (Jeff Amdur) writes:
> I have noticed through the years that there seems to be one type of
> so-called "celebrity" that never did anything of note except be a
> "celebrity" on a string of game shows. I guess Shadoe Stevens was the
> most recent incarnation of someone who is famous only because of his
> presence on game shows as a panelist.
Spent many years in Top-40 and AOR format radio stations.
Also appeared regularly as "Fred Rated" in TV com'ls for
local LA stereo chain, The Federated. Very funny com'ls...
and he wrote the copy himself.
> Some from the past..
>
> Ilka Chase---I don't know who the hell she was, and neither did people who
> were adults during the fifties when Ilka frequently showed up as a
> panelist on such shows as "Masquerade Party" and "Pantomime Quiz"
>
> Conny Van Dyke---Some starlet, I guess, whose agent was savvy enough to
> have her booked as a celebrity panelist on a variety of mid-70's game
> shows. It was assumed we all knew who she was when in reality she was
> nobody except a creation of this publicist. She was hot on game shows for
> about a year, then I guess people realized she was nobody and thus stopped
> booking her.
She was on a mid-70s sitcom, obviously not one of the biggies.
> Jaye P. Morgan---a minor night-club singer of the fifties who had one or
> two hit records, she surfaced more than two decades later as a "Gong Show"
> panelist. Unlike the aforementioned Ms. Chase or VanDyke, Jaye P.
> actually displayed some wacky talent and was perhaps the best-remembered
> of the Gong panelists.
noughts and crosses of random access madness
- randy
James Dinan
Jeff Amdur (je...@clark.net) wrote:
: I have noticed through the years that there seems to be one type of
: so-called "celebrity" that never did anything of note except be a
: "celebrity" on a string of game shows. I guess Shadoe Stevens was the
: most recent incarnation of someone who is famous only because of his
: presence on game shows as a panelist.
Actually, Shadoe's done a lot of work over the years. He's now on
"Dave's World," hosted "American Top 40" for a number of years, and did
numerous voiceover and radio work since the early 1970's (remember his
voice in "Kentucky Fried Movie"?)
Speaking of professional game show celebrities, how about
1. Pat McCormack - besides game shows, the only time I've ever
seen him on TV/movies was in the "Smokey and the Bandit" trilogy. Has he
done anything else?
2. Phyllis Diller - she does infomercials and occassional sitcom
spots, but was she ever big on TV or in the movies besides game shows?
3. Stuart Pankin - he was a regular "Pyramid" player long after
"Not Necessarily the News" went off the air, and he's done little since
(with the exception of doing the voice of Earl on "Dinosaurs".)
--
James J. Dinan
(di...@gwis2.circ.gwu.edu)
PULSE - IZZY - JONES - ACEVEDO - BROGNA - KENT - HUSKEY - ORDONEZ
The 1996 New York Mets
Catch the Future - TODAY!!!!
WILSON - HUNDLEY - GILKEY - JOHNSON - HARNISCH - ALFONZO
T. Jay
James Dinan wrote:
>
> Speaking of professional game show celebrities, how about
>
> 1. Pat McCormack - besides game shows, the only time I've ever
> seen him on TV/movies was in the "Smokey and the Bandit" trilogy. Has he
> done anything else?
T. Jay:
Pat, from Rocky River, Ohio (Cleveland) has been a comedy writer for some
very big shows, (I believe he was a writer at one time for the Tonight Show
with Johnny Carson).
>
> 2. Phyllis Diller - she does infomercials and occassional sitcom
> spots, but was she ever big on TV or in the movies besides game shows?
T. Jay:
Phyllis, from Lima Ohio, has been a successful comedienne, and started off her
television career as a contestant on Groucho's You Bet Your Life. She then
turned her life as 'slightly attractive' housewife into a comedy act, gaining quick
stardom by appearing on shows like The Ed Sullivan Show.
John Himpe
James Dinan wrote:
> 2. Phyllis Diller - she does infomercials and occassional sitcom
> spots, but was she ever big on TV or in the movies besides game shows?
Wonderful Stand-Up act! As Dana Carvey said on his show (as Charles
Grodin...) "She always told those jokes about her husband, but we never
knew him, and if we did we always knew he'd be a wonderful guy
and....aaaaaaaaaaaaaah......" :>
John Saponaro
While we're on the subject, who was Arlene Francis before she was a WHAT'S MY
LINE panelist?
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"Reading maketh a full man, conference a ready man,
and writing an exact man." -- Francis Bacon
*****************************************************************************The Liz Smith Of Cyberspace... ...Except I Don't Gossip
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Dave Mackey
James Dinan (di...@gwis2.circ.gwu.edu) wrote:
: 1. Pat McCormack - besides game shows, the only time I've ever
: seen him on TV/movies was in the "Smokey and the Bandit" trilogy. Has he
: done anything else?
He was a writer for "The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson". He's also
hosted several installments of "Best Chest In The West" for Playboy
Channel. He'd be "bronskied" by someone like Candy Samples and would
remark, "I'm happy to accept the Nobel Prize for culture."
: 2. Phyllis Diller - she does infomercials and occassional sitcom
: spots, but was she ever big on TV or in the movies besides game shows?
She was a successsful comedienne and actress who did have one series, "The
Pruitts Of Southampton."
Eric Paddon
je...@clark.net (Jeff Amdur) wrote:
>I have noticed through the years that there seems to be one type of
>so-called "celebrity" that never did anything of note except be a
>"celebrity" on a string of game shows. I guess Shadoe Stevens was the
>most recent incarnation of someone who is famous only because of his
>presence on game shows as a panelist.
>
To this, we can also add the sub-category of "washed up celebrity" who
can't get any kind of work other than appearing on a game show. Peter
Lawford was the most notorious example in the late 1960s and 1970s, and
one of his biographers has mentioned that there was a stretch when game
show appearances amounted to his total income. (Between shows he was
usually getting stoned)
Eric Paddon
randy amasia
> di...@gwis2.circ.gwu.edu (James Dinan) writes:
> Jeff Amdur (je...@clark.net) wrote:
> : I have noticed through the years that there seems to be one type of
> : so-called "celebrity" that never did anything of note except be a
> : "celebrity" on a string of game shows. I guess Shadoe Stevens was the
> : most recent incarnation of someone who is famous only because of his
> : presence on game shows as a panelist.
>
> "Dave's World," hosted "American Top 40" for a number of years, and did
> numerous voiceover and radio work since the early 1970's (remember his
> voice in "Kentucky Fried Movie"?)
>
>
> seen him on TV/movies was in the "Smokey and the Bandit" trilogy. Has he
> done anything else?
He was a writer for Carson, and as such, an occasional member
of the Mighty Carson Art Players.
> 2. Phyllis Diller - she does infomercials and occassional sitcom
> spots, but was she ever big on TV or in the movies besides game shows?
She's been doing stand-up for *years!*
That woman's had more face lifts than I've had birthdays!
> 3. Stuart Pankin - he was a regular "Pyramid" player long after
> "Not Necessarily the News" went off the air, and he's done little since
> (with the exception of doing the voice of Earl on "Dinosaurs".)
Isn't he one of James Garner's cronies?
- randy
JEFF CARLSON
In article <4m8ovq$l...@crow.cybercomm.net> Dave Mackey wrote:
> 2. Phyllis Diller - she does infomercials and occassional
sitcom
>: spots, but was she ever big on TV or in the movies besides game
shows?
>
>She was a successsful comedienne and actress who did have one
series, "The
>Pruitts Of Southampton."
>
Good Night Irene! Someone ELSE remembers that show??? :()
Dude
Jeff Amdur
In article <318829...@village.ios.com>, John Saponaro
<joh...@village.ios.com> wrote:
> While we're on the subject, who was Arlene Francis before she was a WHAT'S MY
> LINE panelist?
She was a well-know and well-respected actress on the New York stage, as
was her husband Martin Gabel.
Jeff Amdur
In article <4m8ovq$l...@crow.cybercomm.net>, dma...@cybercomm.net (Dave
Mackey) wrote:
> James Dinan (di...@gwis2.circ.gwu.edu) wrote:
> : 2. Phyllis Diller - she does infomercials and occassional sitcom
> : spots, but was she ever big on TV or in the movies besides game shows?
>
> She was a successsful comedienne and actress who did have one series, "The
> Pruitts Of Southampton."
Phyllis Diller was a *major* comedienne in the sixties, doing the
forerunner of the "domestic goddess" shtick later perfected by Roseanne.
Her (first) husband Sherwood Diller, whom she called "Fang" in her act,
was the butt of many of her jokes. She got her big break as a contestant
on "You Bet Your Life" in (I believe) 1960, the last year of that show.
I can't believe that there is a whole generation out there who knows
Phyllis Diller simply from infomercials. She was a BIG-TIME star.
Besides, she probably has set the world's record for most facelifts in one
lifetime :-)
Jeff Amdur
In article <4ma9im$q...@news-e2b.gnn.com>, OASI...@gnn.com (JEFF CARLSON)
wrote:
> >She was a successsful comedienne and actress who did have one
> series, "The
> >Pruitts Of Southampton."
Was that the show Paul Ford did after his stint as Colonel Hall on "Sgt.
Bilko"? Or am I again confusing this show with "The Baileys of Balboa",
another lame sitcom of the early 60's.
John Himpe
Jeff Amdur wrote:
>
> In article <318829...@village.ios.com>, John Saponaro
> <joh...@village.ios.com> wrote:
>
> > While we're on the subject, who was Arlene Francis before she was a WHAT'S MY
> > LINE panelist?
She was also a game show host on radio! She hosted Blind Date on radio
and on television for a bit.
--
Tom Michael
In article <4m8ovq$l...@crow.cybercomm.net>,
{deletia}
>: 2. Phyllis Diller - she does infomercials and occassional sitcom
>: spots, but was she ever big on TV or in the movies besides game shows?
>
>She was a successsful comedienne and actress who did have one series, "The
>Pruitts Of Southampton."
She did a couple of movies in the '60's with Bob Hope. But she's really
appropriate as a GS celebrity, because her "big break" was appearing as
a contestant on Groucho's _You Bet Your Life_.
--
Tom Michael Speaking only for myself
Auburn University Montgomery M.Ed. Student (Counseling & Development)
"...and maybe, just maybe, somewhere there's a heavenly choir that sings
off key." The Dead Milkmen, "God's Kid Brother," _Soul Rotation_ (1992).
C319Chris
Before becoming a standup comedienne, Phyllis Diller had a successful
career in local radio in the San Francisco bay area. She worked behind
the microphone at KROW Oakland and was later promotion director at KSFO
San Francisco. She was a pioneer for women in broadcasting. She
developed her early comedy routines at the Hungry I.
A few years back she was a celebrity on a game show with which I was
associated. During an end game the tension became too much for her and we
had to stop tape. We loaded some easier material and continued without a
problem.
CHRISTOPHER WEST
Let us not forget NIPSEY RUSSELL the man with the limericks on 10 & 25
thousand dollar pyramid, and chain reaction and the Great ARTE JOHNSON of
Liar's Club and a guest appearance on GO!
Chris Holland
we...@nevada.edu (CHRISTOPHER WEST) wrote:
And guest letter turner after Susan Stafford left Wheel of Fortune!
Chris Holland
chol...@wow.com
T. Jay
CHRISTOPHER WEST wrote:
>
> Let us not forget NIPSEY RUSSELL the man with the limericks on 10 & 25
Nipsey, as I recall was either a regular comedian or sidekick on a variety show
of the 60s.
ARTE JOHNSON of
> Liar's Club and a guest appearance on GO!
Arte was one of the more popular stars of Rowan & Martins Laugh In for several
years. I think he was on that show from start to finish??
Chris Lambert!
In article <318D43...@mail.ohio.net>, T. Jay <net...@mail.ohio.net> wrote:
>CHRISTOPHER WEST wrote:
>>
>> Let us not forget NIPSEY RUSSELL the man with the limericks on 10 & 25
>> thousand dollar pyramid, and chain reaction.
>
>Nipsey, as I recall was either a regular comedian or sidekick on a variety show
>of the 60s.
>
Here's a fuller non-game show credit list for Nipsey:
"Barefoot in the Park" (comedy) 9/24/70 - 1/14/71, ABC
as Honey Robinson, pool-hall owner and friend
of show star Scoey Mitchlll's (sic) character
"Car 54, Where Are You?" (comedy) 9/17/61-9/8/63, NBC
as Officer Anderson (hint: this is the big one)
"Dean Martin's Comedyworld" (variety) 6/6/74 - 9/15/74, NBC
roving comedy reporter
"The Dean Martin Show" (variety) (regular from 1972-74; this one is big,
too)
"Nightlife" (late-night variety) 3/8/65 - 11/12/65, ABC
sidekick
>ARTE JOHNSON of
>> Liar's Club and a guest appearance on GO!
>
>Arte was one of the more popular stars of Rowan & Martins Laugh In for several
>years. I think he was on that show from start to finish??
>
Arte left Laugh-In after the 1971-72 season, as did virtually the
entire remaining cast at that time; the only ones to appear from
start to finish were Dan Rowan & Dick Martin, Gary Owens, and Ruth
Buzzi.
Other game show people of note as "Laugh-In" regulars:
Ann Elder (1970-72)
Richard Dawson (1971-73)
Larry Hovis (1968; 1971-72)
Charlie Brill & Mitzi McCall (1968-69)
Patti Deutsch (1972-73)
Which reminds me....evrybody keep an eye out for game shows with another
Laugh-In'er, Barbara Sharma. Another of my many TV crushes.
Chris " sure wouldn't be a quickie " L!
--
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
Chris Lambert * wlam...@indiana.edu * http://silver.ucs.indiana.edu/~wlambert
--Renown IU/Big10 women's basketball and TV game show fan - and a swell guy.--
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Warrior JS
st...@tiac.net (Stan Ryckman) wrote:
>>je...@clark.net (Jeff Amdur) wrote:
>>>I have noticed through the years that there seems to be one type of
>>>so-called "celebrity" that never did anything of note except be a
>>>"celebrity" on a string of game shows. I guess Shadoe Stevens was the
>>>most recent incarnation of someone who is famous only because of his
>>>presence on game shows as a panelist.
>>>
>Wasn't he a DJ or something first (local fame at least)?
I think so. Also, he did commercials for Federated... I can remember
one time I saw some outtakes from his commercials: He broke a wine
bottle on his head, but I don't think it was breakaway glass... he let
out one bid OWWWWWW!
- Jeremy Go Chicago Bulls (SF 2-0) ! Next Stop: Conf. Finals !
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