Sunshine Matches

Started off the morning with breakfast and Bette Midler Sings the Peggy Lee Songbook. Having had success with songs performed by Rosemary Clooney, Midler moved on to the discography of an all-together different performer. Though Lee is probably best known today for performing and writing the songs from Lady and the Tramp, including "He's a Tramp," from the 50's through the 70's, she mostly sang languid ballads like "Is That All There Is?" and "Fever" or uptempo numbers from Broadway and movies like "Happiness Is a Thing Called Joe." Midler has a charming duet with her long-time friend and pianist Barry Manilow on "I Love Being Here With You."

Headed out to work after the CD ended. It didn't start well when I ran straight into a slippery puddle of floral-smelling blue goo oozing out of the trash in the back employee room. Someone must have dumped a bottle of dish washing liquid in the trash. Not only did it take forever to clean up, but several large, half-full soda bottles had broken the bag, making it nearly impossible to get out of the container. The frozen food manager had to help me get it out, then put two more bags around it to keep it from leaking. I was not a happy camper after all that. 

Thankfully, I spent the majority of the rest of the day outside, pushing carts and enjoying another gorgeous day. It was once again sunny, though a bit warmer and more humid than yesterday. There were two other baggers helping me as well. At least I had more to do. It was off-and-on steady, a bit busier than earlier in the week, but not overwhelming. I had no problems later in the day.

Though I did have dinner and took a shower later, I mostly spent the rest of the day watching tonight's Match Game marathon. Richard continued wearing his infamous red jacket through about 1976. Probably the most famous episodes he could be seen wearing it that year were the ones featuring the blond beauty Darlene, who definitely had a crush on him. She called him "Dickie Doo" and "The Red Devil." Richard also wore it on the New Year's Eve 1975 episode, when his then-girlfriend Jodie Donovan was on the panel. 

Even after he finally gave it up, Gene came up the slack with a bright red jacket of his own. That jacket was a lot more conspicuous than Richard's. Joey Bishop and Mary Wickes quipped about him looking like a matador in one episode. Richard opened another by wondering if he'd just come from Disneyland. Gene had more luck with a red vest he wore occasionally, notably on the famous 1978 Christmas Day show where Charles dressed as Santa and Brett was a bratty girl on his knee and when he carried Gary Burghoff and Patti Deusch into the studio earlier in 1978 imitating their children. 

Gene and Richard weren't the only ones who wore red on the show. Elaine Joyce wore red outfits on episodes of the syndicated show that looked fabulous on her. She and Eva Gabor wore red, and Gene sported a coat in a more subdued shade of red, on the episode where a young artist showed off his gorgeous renditions of woodland birds and the ladies held them up for all to see.

One of the funniest episodes of the entire nighttime run had Gene showing off a pair of bright red suede shoes he was enormously proud of. Those shoes got tossed around a lot when Charles argued the answer for  "The Eyes of ___" on the Audience Match with him. He, Brett, and Richard Paul sang "The Eyes of Texas" while the contestant ended up in Jamie Lee Curtis' lap and an amused Steve Kanaly (of Dallas) looked on. 

Red is the color of the panel's wardrobes and some of Gene and Richard's most outrageous jackets in this wild marathon!

Match Game Sunday Classics - Richard and Gene's Red Coats & Vests