Headed out after that. I pushed carts the entire day, and I wouldn't have wanted to be anywhere else. The weather was absolutely gorgeous. It remained windy, but it was also sunny and warmer, in the lower 50's, much closer to usual for this time of year. It was busy when I arrived, but it slowed down once everyone got to their birthday parties and family get-togethers. I did have to fix the trash can, which had somehow ended up half-way across the front of the store. Other than that, I handled the carts and enjoyed the weather. Even used an online coupon to get a free bag of store brand blue corn chips on the way out.
Soon as I got home, I hit the shower, then grabbed dinner and went upstairs for tonight's Match Game marathon. Grumpy character actor Jack Klugman had an off-and-on affiliation with the 70's Match Game. He was in the pilot episode and the first week, where he frequently talked about (and complained about) his then-wife Brett Somers. Tired of her hanging around the house, he suggested she appear on the show. Jack's off-the-cuff idea proved to be more fitting than anyone could have guessed. Witty, party-loving Brett was a natural for the panel. Unlike her husband, she stuck around for the entire remaining nine-year-run.
They appeared together frequently during 1973, with Jack sitting next to her on the upper tier. She had to stop him from running off when he disapproved of a question during the week with "Mama" Cass Elliott, and he heard her answer that would have gotten her into a lot of trouble nowadays during the week with stand-up comedian Stu Gillian. They frequently fought and joked and insisted that their marriage was doing just fine now, thank you.
Truth be told, it wasn't. According to Brett later, all they did was fight, off and on-screen. They were separated by 1974, and by 1977, had either divorced or separated permanently. That didn't stop Goodson-Todman from bringing Jack back to sit in Richard Dawson's old seat in 1978, a few weeks after Dawson left the show. Jack and Brett proceeded to prove why they split up when they got into a fight over whether Hallmark Hall of Fame was a legitimate answer for "__ Hall of Fame" on the Audience Match. By the end of the week, they warmed up enough to each other that the others held a mock wedding for them, complete with champagne and a napkin "veil" for Brett.
That would be Jack's last appearance with Brett on Match Game, but he did turn up solo near the end of its run in 1981. He sat in Brett's usual seat while she was out doing a play, mainly so he wouldn't have to pay her alimony. As he had during the week in 1978, he complained on the PM episode that the panelists don't get prizes. They finally gave him a nifty maroon jacket. He got so excited near the end of the episode when the contestant won, he ran all over the stage, spinning the Star Wheel and dashing into the audience!
Given his volatile relationship with Brett, there would occasionally be references to Jack even when he wasn't physically present. He was the answer to a question in 1974 about how Will Rogers said he never met a man he didn't like, but he hadn't met Jack. There was also the two times during the syndicated run when Charles made fun of the absurdly tiny diamond pendant Jack bought Brett.
You don't need an autopsy or a cleaning-obsessed best friend to enjoy this wild marathon featuring one of TV's most notorious grouches and his relationship with one of its tipsiest actresses!
No comments:
Post a Comment