Needless to say, I rushed straight home after that. Watched the 1966 version of The Canterville Ghost while I changed and had a snack. I go further into this surprisingly good TV retelling of the Oscar Wilde short story at my Musical Dreams Movie Reviews blog.
Finished the night with a shower, dinner and a very long marathon on YouTube. Singer Jack Jones, who passed away yesterday, had a long association with game shows. He did at least two What's My Line episodes in the early 60's as a Mystery Guest and another later in the decade on the panel. His first appearance on the original 60's Password was early in the series with Carol Lynley; he would do a color week later in the 60's with none other than Joan Fontaine. In both cases, he played very well, easily getting his contestants through the Lightning Round.
He turned up in Password Plus with Audrey Meadows late in its run when Tom Kennedy was the host. (Tom mentions Allen Ludden recovering and returning. Sadly, Allen died before that could happen.) He did even better on a wild week of Super Password in 1984 with Jo Ann Worley. Host Bert Convy took a rather big pratfall coming out at one point, while Jo Ann easily flew through two Super Password bonus rounds and almost got another. His only appearance on Hollywood Squares was late in its run, when it was being filmed at the Riviera in Las Vegas. Paul Lynde, Steve Kanaly, George Gobel, Foster Brooks, and Pearl Bailey are among the celebrities joining him.
By far the most unique show on this stream was the one of two remaining episodes of the 1979 Goodson-Todman flop Mindreaders. Two teams of men and women read a celebrity captain's mind via yes and no questions. The bonus round has them trying to guess how ten people in the audience will answer a certain question. Dick Martin is a charming host, but the format is ridiculous. The "guess how ten people in the audience will react" thing would work better in the 1986 Card Sharks. No wonder the show only lasted five months in late 1979-early 1980.
Jack appeared in some of the most memorable weeks of Match Game in 1979. His first week was actually in late 1978. In fact, he would be around to see Charles, Gene, and Brett christen the new sign with screw-in numbers on New Year's Eve and Gene turn up covered in streamers and stumbling around on New Year's Day. He was on the week later in 1979 where Gene auctioned off Loni Anderson's bathing suit poster (and Charles won it) and Joyce Bulifant and a contestant showed off their sterling jitterbug skills.
By the time he returned near the end of 1979, the show had moved to syndication. Cheeky Alfie White and Patty Duke joined up just in time to see Charles finally do some emoting for Oscar-winner Patty. Patty got help with her bruised knee from an attractive physical therapist, leading Jack to run out and try to do the same. Jack also turned up in one of the most memorable later nighttime episodes. Charles got so frustrated after a contestant didn't choose him, he tore his name off the Star Wheel and tried to leave.
Let's make another run with some lollipops and roses and honor this beloved ship-shape crooner!
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