I wasn't a fan of this when I first picked it up, but the show has grown on me over the years. Among the better songs are Pierce's "Coffee Shop Nights," his "A Tough Act to Follow" with Jill Paice as the ingenue who falls for him, the lovely "I Miss the Music" for the show's songwriter (Jason Danielely), and "It's a Business" for the hard-nosed producer (Debra Monk). Monk, Pierce, and the book were nominated for Tonys; Pierce got the show's only win. Honestly, if you're a fan of Pierce, Holmes, or Kander and Ebb, this is worth hearing for the performances and some decent songs.
Headed to work before the CD ended. Work began well. It was steady but not overwhelmingly so until around 3 PM...which is when the morning bagger left, of course. And they had no one to replace him until I left. I fell behind on the carts rather badly for the last hour and a half, not helped by being pulled to put cold items away and clean up dropped sushi.
At least the weather's improved. It's sunny, with a brilliant blue sky, but the frigid wind vanished overnight, and the clouds had blown away with it. It was a perfectly normal for mid-January lower 40's, making pushing carts a pleasure.
I did have dinner and take a shower later, but I spent most of the night watching the second Password Plus marathon. Allen Ludden was already sick in 1979. By mid-1980, he had been diagnosed with cancer and was resting at home. Bill Cullen took his place for a few weeks in April. He was amiable and funny, but tended to chat too much and really moved too slow for this show. Allen returned after a month, but his health was worsening, and he was gone for good by October. His good friend Tom Kennedy took his place.
Tom may not have been as affable and warm as Ludden, but he was sure as heck hilarious. Some of the funniest episodes of the entire run took place during his tenure. Dick Martin protested when he gave "France" as a clue for "French" and it wasn't passed. Kennedy had to give him a lesson in phonics to explain why they couldn't use it. Gene Rayburn appeared at least three times, and while he wasn't much of a Password player (he tended toward long-winded explanations), his expressions were a riot. Married couple Patty Duke and John Astin played each other twice, and were incredibly competitive - and very funny - both times.
Some of the lunacy that happened on the show was technical and not the fault of the panelists or contestants. Kennedy had to spend half of an episode with Rayburn and Wink Martindale explaining a puzzle that someone at NBC had inadvertently erased. There were also the times when the panelists got a little too into the show. Betty White really enjoyed playing man-hungry Sue Ann Nivens from The Mary Tyler Moore Show during an all-star week, happily flirting with Robert Pine from CHips and Denver Pyle from The Dukes of Hazard. Betty would turn up again later in 1981 with Pat Sajak to celebrate the latter having just taken over Wheel of Fortune.
Sajak and Martindale weren't the only hosts who appeared on the show. Bert Convy turned up late in 1981 with Marcia Wallace, who sported a really nice Password Plus jacket. Regis Phillbin did a week with Audrey Landers earlier in 1981 to promote what eventually became Regis and Kathy Lee (now known as Live With Kelly and Mark). Though he was retired by 1982, Kennedy's brother Jack Narz still did a week on the show with soap star Steve Ford. Jack got so upset after an especially grueling Alphabetics bonus round, he switched places with Tom just to show him how it felt to give answers instead of read questions (and honestly did quite well).
Password Plus survived Fred Silverman canceling NBC game shows in favor of The David Letterman Show (which promptly bombed), but not constant schedule shuffling or ending up in the noon spot. By 1982, NBC affiliates were ignoring the daytime programming all together or running news at noon. It finally ended in March 1982. Audrey Landers and Tom Poston were the last panelists who got to hear Kennedy's heartfelt speech about it really being Allen's show and how Password would return. (And of course, it did return, and on NBC...but that's another story for another time...)
Check out more of the best of Password Plus in this delightful and heartfelt marathon!
Password Plus Classics - Best Episodes (1980 - 1982) with Allen Ludden, Bill Cullen, and Tom Kennedy
Oh, and I checked the scores for the Eagles - Packers playoff game throughout the afternoon and evening. Apparently, the game wasn't terribly good, but the Eagles' defense managed to hold off the Packers long enough to win 22 - 10. The Commanders played a far better and more interesting game, just barely squeaking by the Buccaneers 23 - 20 in the last seconds.
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