Since it was still cloudy at that point and getting late, I called Uber. They picked me up within 9 minutes. It started showering as I ducked out and hurried in with a few minutes to spare.
Work was a pain in the rear. We were busy all day. I kept getting called to clean up spills, including a gallon of cheap generic fruit punch someone dropped at the self-checkout line. It went all over, including behind the self-checkout stands. Even a mop couldn't get all of it. Two other puddles in the produce and deli were likely caused by whole watermelon that were sweating and dripping for some reason. I kept getting behind with the carts, and I never did get to the trash.
At least the weather improved. The rain vanished within minutes. By the time I went out to do carts, the sun was out, and it was warm, breezy, and humid. It remained beautiful for the rest of the day.
I found out at least some of the reasons for the busy day from the afternoon Uber driver, who picked me up in 10 minutes. She was so grateful for picking up someone in South Jersey who just needed a five-minute drive, she practically sobbed with relief! Apparently, there was a ton going on in Philly and Camden this weekend, including a festival at the Italian Market, huge block parties all over town, and graduations for Drexel, Jefferson, and Rutgers. She'd been driving all over the city, dodging horrible traffic. We had a lively, enjoyable conversation all the way back. (And there was no traffic here - it must have all still been in Philly.)
Changed when I got home, then spent the rest of the night eating dinner and watching the Match Game marathon. This one went a different route, featuring the man who created and produced many of the shows I highlight on this blog, Mark Goodson. Goodson and Todman began writing and producing game shows on radio. Their first hit was What's My Line in 1950. We got a rare glimpse of Goodson's partner Todman (who preferred to focus on the business end of things) in a mid-50's Line episode with them as Mystery Guests, and later when Todman was a Mystery Guest on the early 70's syndicated Line and Goodson was a panelist.
Goodson also joined Arlene Francis and John Charles Daily as the hosts of the special What's My Line at 25, highlighting the best moments of the show's long run on CBS. It mostly focused on the Mystery Guests and some of the better-known or funnier panelists, like Groucho Marx and Ernie Kovacks. We saw Danny Kaye take forever to ask a very long question, Groucho Marx makes cracks about blondes and sex, and how Mystery Guests disguised their voices so well, sometimes, the panelists thought they were the opposite sex or not even human. (And at least one Mystery Guest wasn't. Edgar Bergen came around with Charlie McCarthy.) Incidentally, though some of the episodes highlighted do exist in full, many others were cut to bits for this special and can no longer be found in the Goodson-Todman Archives.
Match Game saw three memorable appearances from Goodson. He briefly replaced Charles Nelson Reilly while he was getting his toupee done on Halloween 1974. A few months earlier, he came out on the turntable with the contestant to give Gene a bag for his needlepoint in honor of how well the show was doing. He also gave a heartfelt speech on the show's success at the end of the 1976 New Year's Eve episode, including a joke question about "Old Man Rayburn" hosting Match Game '99. (Which did not happen. Goodson passed away in 1992. Gene died in November 1999. Michael Berger hosted the notoriously bad 1998-1999 Match Game.)
Goodson's favorite of all his games was To Tell the Truth. He once sat in for Bud Collyer on the original 50's- 60's run and briefly took over for Alex Trebek in 1991 when his wife was having a baby. He was also on the panel a couple of times. He got to see a parade of beautiful bridal fashions circa 1970 and meet three men dressed in World War I pilot costumes who restored and flew antique Jenny bi-planes.
Usually, Goodson turned up to celebrate a milestone, as in the first episodes of the 19th and 20th seasons of The Price Is Right. He also made a few appearances on the Richard Dawson Family Feud. Richard was delighted to be crowned King of the game show hosts in the late 70's, when the show was at the height of its original success. Goodson also turned up at least once just off-camera, watching the proceedings as Richard chatted with the most adorable little toddler boy.
Get to know the man behind some of the most beloved game shows of all time in this delightful trip down memory lane!
(Oh, and the marathon ran so long, I ran out of time for musical reviews. Look for Mufasa: The Lion King tomorrow!)
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