Upon our
recent post about watching Buzzr, the over the air classic game show network, one of our long-term readers (who's truly been in it for the long haul all these years!) noted that the station plays the same episodes over and over again. Sadly, I've found that to be true, particularly with some of the shows I was most interested in such as the early-'70s renditions of
To Tell the Truth and
What's My Line? However, even with this dreary news that I've probably already seen all I'm going to see for now of these (and other) programs, I still dug up a few fun bits I want to share with you today! Now off we go.
I realize that as of late it seems to have nearly become Kitty Carlisle's Underworld. LOL I can't help it. Something about her just makes my day and getting to see her in color lately has made it all the more enjoyable. I just love her helmet hair and glitzy get-ups.
 |
| "Get a piece of the rock..." |
 |
| I always love it when she throws her head back in laughter. |
 |
| The brooch! |
 |
| This ep was about a teen boy who designed jewelry using a variety of minerals and gems. |
 |
| The model actually achieved the impossible by out-accessorizing Miss Kitty! |
 |
| On International Women's Day, Buzzr ran a series of special episodes devoted to famous women. This shot is from a later version of TTTT. |
 |
| The panel was charged with identifying one Miss Rosa Parks... |
 |
| Though she was thrilled to meet her, Carlisle got it wrong (and wasn't the only one.) |
 |
| That same day, Buzzr ran a Super Password that featured two comic legends working together. You ought to be able to tell from even this far off glimpse who they are... |
 |
| Not too much natural hair on the set that day! |
 |
| Sadly, Ball would be gone within two years of this 1987 broadcast while Channing lived on for more than thirty years! |
 |
| Take a look at this hair-raising episode of Supermarket Sweep. |
 |
| In the late-'80s/early-'90s it was "the bigger the better" (I'm talking about hair.) |
 |
| The name of the game was PERM. Ha ha! Today, gals add in all sorts of hair extensions, falls, etc... but back in the day chicks like Sherri had no need of things like that. |
 |
| Pity poor Michelle and her dreary head of limp, thirsty, crispy waves and tower of "mall bangs." |
 |
| More my style was humpy Seth, a fireman who appeared on the show with his girlfriend Darla... |
 |
| They won the Big Sweep, but got hung up on a question and lost the $5,000 grand prize. |
 |
| Thus, they were invited back for a show featuring past winners who missed scoring the final prize. He and Darla probably had a long, happy life together, but I've shoved her into a Christmas tree in so many of my dreams. LOLOL! |
 |
| Tattletales had a couple of the players sharing an ashtray during the 30-minute program! |
 |
| Curmudgeonly comic Scoey Mitchell. |
 |
| Mr. Tan, George Hamilton. |
 |
| Often, a combination of sun & cigs leads to some real lizard-face by old age, but he's managed to hold it together (with obvious help!) nonetheless at seventy-nine. |
 |
| Moving on now to Card Sharks, there was this contestant (with child at the time) named Sue who really looked for all the world like a '70s version of Ramona Singer of The Real Housewives of New York! |
 |
| Or what about the time Roger Daltrey of The Who, in the guise of contestant Steve, stopped in for a few quick hands? Ha ha! |
 |
| Jean looked terrifyingly similar to one of Andrea Martin's old SCTV skit characters! |
 |
| Classic Concentration put forth a contestant named Jolene who somehow opted to wear this conglomeration on national television... |
 |
| Alex seems tickled by something yet all four hands of the players are within view. |
 |
| She sort of reminded me of a mix of Blanche Devereaux and one of the burly gals who portrayed women's prison matrons on TV shows like Charlie's Angels! |
 |
| And then there's Marjorie Todson, daughter of the show's creator, rocking a sparkly banana clip and tormenting her poor dog Punky as she was wont to do. |
 |
| Even more canine torment lay in store for these pooches from an episode of What's My Line?, in which the contestant was a doggie clothing designer. |
 |
| At least WML had the divine Miss Arlene Francis and her almost always visible signature heart necklace. |
 |
| One Mystery Guest of the program was Broadway legend Lotte Lenya and you really had to hear the way Arlene pronounced the name, giving it its full Austria-Hungarian due. |
 |
| WML had its own jewelry designer episode and bedecked their model with a large collection of examples! |
 |
| If the rule of thumb is that one should stop and remove one piece of jewelry before leaving the house, this gal would still be quite overdressed. |
 |
| Another Mystery Guest of note was the famed dancer/actress Miss Ginger Rogers. |
 |
| At the time Rogers was hoofing it all across America to promote affordable JC Penney clothing! The host Larry Blyden attempted to tease her about it, but she was having none of that. A fashion show followed... |
 |
| I could not love shit like this any more. Ever since The Women (1939), I've been nuts over any TV show or movie that includes a fashion show. |
 |
| Nearly always, the flashiest or most elegant outfit is saved for last. |
 |
| And, of course, I also have always loved people in arrangements! |
 |
| For some reason, Ginge was in white gloves the entire time. Not sure if those were from JC Penney or not. |
 |
| Is that CHER on Sale of the Century?? |
 |
| False alarm... it's just Dara in costume. |
 |
| In even less of a costume (thank you, Jesus) is our fave spokesmodel David, allegedly showing off a camera, but actually we didn't really notice! |
 |
| David Gibbs was one awesome looking man. |
 |
| I still marvel that daytime television of the 1980s had moments like this that I completely missed. |
 |
| Here practically the whole cast is having a ball. |
 |
| If you missed it earlier, there's a whole big post about this show right here! |
 |
| I've been startled a time or two by some of the things that got on TV in the early-'70s. Take this What's My Line? installment about the designer of male bodysuits! A vignette about them took place in a makeshift locker room. |
 |
| Then the next model sauntered in wearing this busy number. |
 |
| This pic and the next one were added several days after I posted this because the episode re-ran again and I was able to get a few more angles... |
 |
| "How 'bout them Giants last night, huh?" |
 |
| That's
pretty much flank for a 1970s morning TV game show, not to mention the
fact that they were alternately dressing/undressing. |
 |
| Another beefy turn of events occurred on this To Tell the Truth about an Olympic wrestler. |
 |
| Can you spot the real one? |
 |
| His coach came out and put him in a headlock! |
 |
| Then the guys got busy with a demonstration. |
 |
| I love these flimsy li'l singlets and I must say I was appalled when the Olympics discontinued Greco-Roman wrestling, one of the original cornerstone sports, as a competitive event. |
 |
| I probably should have kept some beefcake for the end, but I opted instead to wind up with this hoot. As Garry Moore introduced Kitty Carlisle and Peggy Cass on this ep of TTTT, he had them stay on stage to model the caftans they'd been given to wear just before taping. |
 |
| Kitty did a turn and went to her seat, then it was Peggy's turn. It was then revealed where the clothing had originated. They were Jean Louis originals based upon designs of his from the expensive (and hugely belly-flopping) musical Lost Horizon (1973.) |
 |
| Kitty's gown was based on a design for Sally Kellerman. |
 |
| Peggy's, must to her chagrin, was based on a design for George Kennedy!! LOL They may have been pulling her leg as I don't recall this from the movie, but perhaps not! |
 |
| They next had to guess which of these men was the real Jean Louis. |
 |
| This is the real Jean Louis, responsible for creating Rita Hayworth's Gilda (1946) dress, Marlene Dietrich's "nude" beaded gowns, Lana Turner's eleganzas in Imitation of Life (1959), all the clothes of Thoroughly Modern Millie (1967) and so much more. An Oscar-winner for The Solid Gold Cadillac (1956) and a nominee 13 other times, he was wed three times, the final time to Miss Loretta Young. He'd been responsible for virtually all of her famous entrance gowns on The Loretta Young Show. |
 |
| That closes the door on this post! |
Wow, Poseidon!
ReplyDeleteThat was some flashback game show glitz!
I love Kitty's "piece of the rock" necklace... Joan Crawford would have said, "I Saw What You Wore" to Miss Kitty!
And Ginger's white gloves in late career, that's where Madonna picked up that mature fashion tip from!
And the last half of your post looks like outtakes from "Can't Stop the Music!"
What fun, and cheers, as usual,
Rick
I unexpectedly caught a show with Lucy, Carol and Richard Simmons which I didn't recall. Charades with a twist. Watching it was surreal. I missed the TTTT with Jean Louis and that sucks.
ReplyDeleteI suspect Ginger's gloves served the same purpose as that cowl neck - hiding those parts of the body that show age the worst. I recall a picture that showed Carol Channing's hands and they looked like vulture claws.
ReplyDeleteI have a fun book on the history of "What's My Line?" by producer Gil Fates. He notes that, in an attempt to get in more game time, they dispensed with the walk-on intro and just had everyone seated at the start of the show. There were howls of protest - ladies in the audience wanted to see what Arlene and Dorothy were wearing! I do miss the notion that there are times and places worth dressing up a bit for. I go to funerals and weddings now and some folks look like they're ready for a day at the dog park.
That frizzy 80's hair is alive and well back in my small Appalachian home town. When you have a look that works.....
Rick - LOL! - "I Saw What You Wore!" That needs to be the title of a reality show (not that we need more of them...) Also hysterical about "Can't Stop the Music." Why aren't the locker rooms I go to anything like this? Ha ha!
ReplyDeleteNorma, that was "Body Language!" Usually it was just one male and one female celeb (like maybe Robert Morse and Elaine Joyce or Isabel Sanford and JM J Bullock!) with everyday contestants, but that was an all celebrity edition. It's a fun show. I can't believe you never saw the Jean Louis TTTT, especially after you were the one bemoaning the hideous repeats....!! It will be on again. LOL Thanks.
D ODay, you're right, I'm sure about Ginger's gloves. I doubt they were to take care in curating those JC Penney wash 'n wear clothes. Ha ha! You can tell that these WML on Buzzr are edited because Larry Blyden comes out and makes remarks about the things said in the intros, yet we don't get to see the intros!!! Pisses me off. I also like to see what the gals are wearing. Joanna Barnes rocked some crazy outfits in the 1960s/70s version. I TOTALLY concur about the wedding & funeral thing. My God, there has to be SOME occasions where we spiff up and put our best foot forward. Doesn't have to be everyday but it's good for the soul to spruce up every now and again. Thanks!
Hi Poseidon!
ReplyDeleteWhat a nice way to re-charge my day, wrestlers on To Tell the Truth! Those singlets beat caftans any day. I remember coming home from school and watching TTTT but can't recall any episode quite like this one. I did see one on youtube in which panelists were invited to guess the real Bette Davis (by voice only). Wasn't really a very good episode because you could tell by their faces that they knew who the real one was right away. My favorite panelist was Orson Bean, because he seemed off-beat and drew pictures on the cards. I've since discovered to my dismay that he has gone down the rabbit hole of right-wing evangelism and has written a lot of anti-gay stuff. If Peggy Cass were around, I bet she'd smack him!
Thanks for the great post, Huston.
Hi Huston and thanks! I saw that Bette Davis one... too many impersonators are just not even close when confronted with the real thing! It seems easy until you're right next to her and her inimitable sounds. I used to loathe Orson, then grew to love him (and his artwork.) His sense of humor was so perverse (not perverted, though he was clearly always a ladies man!) I knew he found religion, but at age 90 I guess some folks see the end of the tunnel and begin to cling to something. I didn't know he was anti-gay, but he was a guest star on "Modern Family!!" I mean, how anti-gay could he be and then show up on that most liberal of liberal shows? Did you know he is married to Alley Mills, who was the blonde mom on "The Wonder Years??" Amazing...! Oh well...
ReplyDeleteThe hands are one part of the body that can't be helped much by cosmetic surgery, unlike faces and necks. They've more recently gotten better with procedures (at least according to a "Nip/Tuck" episode where guest star Jacqueline Bisset extorts a "hand job" out of the doctors), but back in Ginger's day, you wore gloves.
ReplyDeleteThe 1978 movie "Fedora" (based on one section of Tom Tryon's multi-story Hollywood horror novel "Crowned Heads") has a scene where "ageless" Garboesque star/cosmetic surgery junkie "Fedora" is revealed to have a whole dresser drawer full of white gloves, because "you can't fix hands"-- but later, there's actually a major plot twist involving this beauty secret. (Sadly, this movie was a real disappointment that deviated too much from the source material and had the spectre of director Billy Wilder's classic "Sunset Blvd." hanging over it.)
That segment with the wrestler on TTTT reminded me of one I saw back in the '70s that featured pro bodybuilder Frank Zane, who was deceptively small when covered up. When the "reveal" came, he stood up, stripped to the waist, and flexed for them.
A major part of my pre-school years was the weekly "entrance" on Loretta Young's show. I was so fixated on that, I actually made my poor Mom recreate that moment with our living room entrance every time she got dressed up to go out! It's nice to finally know that it was Jean Louis who was dressing her. (Loretta, I mean, not my Mom!)
And "I've shoved her into a Christmas tree in so many of my dreams" nearly made me fall in the floor laughing. (Constance Ford/Sandra Dee in "A Summer Place" or Divine in "Female Trouble"?)
Great post, as always!
I will begin at the end, I of all people should not stereotype but you floored me with Jean Louis being married....to any woman. Leave it to you Poseidon to get some jaw droppers out of game shows.
ReplyDeleteKitty's purple strapless manages not be hoochy at all, that is an expensively constructed dress, and she looks like a million in it. I too have always loved her hair. I went to a show last week with a friend who's almost 10 years older than I, which means he was lucky enough to see EVERYONE that I like in person. He said in the later years Kitty sported a wig as big as her former glorious hairdos.
Speaking of big hair, my Sister who would be gingergirl to my guy had both of those hair styles that Libby and Mari are sporting. I think it was Paul Mitchell hairspray.
Is that George Hamilton around "Love At First Bite" time? His salt and pepper is fabulous.
Jolene, Jolene!
I am going to guess that the JCP fashion show is 1974?
Male bodysuits, WTH? they must have snaps in front. Holy cow that is sexy for tv but so impractical.
Now I have to watch Lost Horizon again, I bet George Kennedy did wear a caftan so he could be sheepish/tough in it. This game show post is a prize winner.
Dear Poseidon,
ReplyDeleteLoved this post as it has every ingredient to make the most interesting read with visual excitement. Wrestlers, singlets, hunks in Speedos and Peggy Cass in a caftan! From Lost Her Reason, no less! And of course the fab-u-lash Miss Kitty Carlisle, always perfectly accessorized.
But I wanted to share with you the one time I saw Ginger Rogers in person. Sadly, it wasn't on stage, it was on Sixth Avenue in NYC sometime in the mid-1980s, when she would have been in her 70s. Ginger was appearing at Radio City Musical Hall with the legendary Rockettes. I worked in the neighborhood at that time and one Spring day during lunch hour I was walking down Sixth Avenue and noticed all the people coming toward me were doing double-takes and actually stopping and staring at someone walking about a half block in front of me. As I got closer, I could see two Amazonian Rockettes flanking a flaxen haired woman half their size. I realized it was Ginger, who was walking with them arm in arm and when we got to the cross-walk I stood right next to them to get a good look. Ginger's cotton candy hair was down her back and a bright light yellow color. She had on enormous sun glasses which did not conceal her gigantic false eyelashes, and a gash of candy pink lipstick, plus a full face of makeup that looked like it was designed for the stage. I had never seen anyone wear so much makeup in broad daylight before, even the drag queens on Gay Pride Day. She was dressed in California colors, lime green and orange, I seem to remember, with the requisite scarf around her neck, white gloves, shoes and matching handbag. Clearly she enjoyed being noticed and recognized. She was a tiny little thing but she sure lit up Sixth Avenue! She got her start on Broadway and became a star, along with Ethel Merman, in the Gershwin's Girl Crazy in 1930. A devout Christian Scientist, it is highly unlikely she ever had plastic surgery or any other kind of surgery for that matter. "So I put a little more mascara on," to paraphrase the great Jerry Herman. It was great to see someone I considered a living legend and say hello on a beautiful Spring day in NYC.
George Kennedy does wear a caftan like that, because his character goes Full Native in "Lost Horizon".
ReplyDeleteI will second / third / etc about the gloves. Madonna wears them a lot too these days.
That Supermarket Sweep Mustache Bear!!! Yowza!!!
VictorG, The bodysuit ep of WML was on this morning again (!) and I snapped another quick series of pics (it's hard with live TV to get good ones!) that I added in. That was QUITE a sight that you beheld - Miss Ginger and those tall dancers waltzing down the street! They say that NYCers rarely stop in their tracks at the sight of, well, anything, but that was one time they apparently did. LOL The remarks about her makeup were cracking me up! Interesting angle about the Christian Scientist thing. Was Lillian Hellman one, too? I don't think she ever got work done. Ha ha ha!
ReplyDeleteForever1267, I recall George in a caftan, even in a color close to this, but it didn't seem much like the same design (much less with a slit up the side!!) BTW, it's so sad that I fell so hard for Seth of SS, when he's probably ancient now or dead. LOL Men on the show tended to be either very femme or very butch with little in between!
I'd heard about the Lost Horizon clothing line but hadn't seen them before. A quick scan of the internet informs me that there were 12 designs, made of Dupont's Qiana (I guessed as much) and retailed for $175 to $250. For Qiana!?! As my mother would've said: "Ish."
ReplyDeleteFor those handy with a needle and thread McCalls had a line of patterns-
https://blog.pattern-vault.com/2018/08/03/inspired-by-lost-horizon/
Also turned up a pic of Jean Louis in one of his LH outfits-
https://picclick.com/Vintage-JEAN-LOUIS-Fashion-DESIGNER-Original-COLUMBIA-8x10-303002689092.html#&gid=1&pid=1
I actually saw Lost Horizon first run with the dancing native boys intact.
Thanks Poseidon. You always make my day.
EricSwede, thanks for the extra info complete with pictures. You know, in 1974, $175 - $250 was a PRETTY PENNY for clothing. Hell, even now I wouldn't pay that. Sorry, JL!
ReplyDeletehsc & Gingerguy, I don't know how, but I somehow neglected to respond to your comments earlier. Please forgive me!
hsc, I have never read Fedora, but I was lucky to see the movie finally about a year or two ago thanks to one of my loyal friend and true readers. Some day I'll have to get around to the book. I know the film had a lot of troubles during it. I can sort of understand Loretta Young's apprehension about those entrances (and she successfully sued when one of the TV programmers neglected to cut them as dictated in the syndication agreements), but Lord... her clothing in the actual show is "dated" too, so who cares?! I would love to see those entrances in a good quality image instead of grainy seventh generation. The early ones were fun enough, but the double door ones are to die for. LOL about you and your mother!!! Glad you liked the Christmas tree reference. I was thinking about Constance and Sandra, but Divine was a hoot, too!
Gingerguy, I am a bit boggled by Jean Louis and his nuptials, too! Of course anyone can marry. Rock Hudson was married! LOL I believe you about the wig on Kitty, but I was also told several years ago by someone in the know that she kept her black pageboy-ish 'do because it was one she could still style herself. And in her very last years, it always looked like real hair, simply arranged? RE: George Hamilton, YES, this ws just prior to his comeback in "Love at First Bite" (followed by the lesser "Zorro, the Gay Blade.") The JCP clothing was @ 1973, so you were quite close! Lastly, I looked up the men's bodysuits of this era and they came in either button front, snap-front or even zipper (and I think the zippers ran horizontally, not vertically, which would have made for a lot of wrangling in the men's room with the pants over top!! We won't even go into issues with #2, one reason these probably bit the dust rather swiftly. You'd have to undress completely to do your thing!) Thanks!
Kitty was wonderful!! I noticed you never posted anything on Lindsay Wagner, I loved as a teen! And that voice!
ReplyDeleteKlee, on the contrary, Lindsay Wagner has her own extensive tribute here. Posted in late May of 2012.
ReplyDeletehttps://neptsdepths.blogspot.com/2012/05/would-you-like-little-lindsay.html
Over the years I’ve met people that worked with or for Ginger Rogers. The common threads; Ginger hated communists/democrats/hippies (all 3 were the same in her mind) and she was bereft of a sense of humor especially about herself. Sometimes GR got very testy/belligerent if there was a mention of any of her ex-husbands
ReplyDelete