Work was busy almost the entire day. It's the beginning of the month, two days before the biggest holiday of the summer, and Sundays tend to be crazy even when there's nothing going on. It's the only day a lot of people can shop. Most people were in decent moods, probably due to the holiday, but we had the usual people who couldn't pay for a quarter of what was in their carts and had trouble with their cards. I was just glad when it slowed down enough by 6:30 for me to rush out with no relief.
(Oh, and it looked like it may have rained earlier in the afternoon. There were a few puddles left in the parking lot, but everything else was dry. It just started storming again about an hour ago.)
Hurried straight home, changed, had a late dinner, and spent the rest of the night watching the next Match Game 50th Anniversary marathon. It kicked off with Richard taking notes on two pretty contestants and Charles handing one a card for his "acting agency." In the next one, Ann Elder shows off her neat sequined star shirt, Bert Convy nearly runs off with the contestant, and head boss Mark Goodson shows up to give Gene a needlepoint bag in honor of Match Game being the top show in daytime.
There was the second episode where Gene climbed on top of the audience to get to a camera. McLean Stevenson chased Gene around the studio after starting off the show in the contestant's seat in mid-1974. Carolyn was the last major winner on Match Game in 1979; she went home with over $30,000, thanks to Brett. One poor contestant got so nervous on a PM episode, she forgot her husband's name. Gene and the others helped ease her into things.
McLean and Charles hosted the show on two separate occasions in the Syndicated episodes. In 1976, country singer Bill Anderson performed a song for Debralee Scott on his guitar. Brett and Charles joined him dressed as cowpokes. One of the best early Syndicated episodes had Joyce turn up in a bright orange fright wig and declare herself to be "the new kid on the block," while a nice contestant named Ginger gives an extremely peculiar answer to what a jock centipede needs for his feet.
This one ended with my favorite syndicated episode. Betty White turns up in the very beginning sporting a flaming scarlet minidress that showed off every bit of her still-excellent legs. After McLean gives his answer as to what type of wrestling a farmer thought should be an Olympic event, Sharon Farrell and Richard Paul end up on the floor to demonstrate the answer. There's also the contestant who shows up near the end claiming that he laughs his kids awake...but his shriek is more likely to give them nightmares than sweet dreams!
Oh, and today is the actual 50th anniversary of the day Match Game debuted. I didn't get to see it, but MGP repeated the first episode at 3:30, as it would have been seen in 1973. Here's the link to that, the marathon, and an interview with Sharon Farrell, so you can celebrate the start of one of the most beloved game show franchises ever, too!
No comments:
Post a Comment