Mike Douglas Show - 1967 - Joan Fontaine as co host part 1

[sferrell1000]

What years was he in Cleveland Ohio?

[CYNLAGASCA]

Great! This is really great find on Joan Fontaine! I find and opened this after another TV episode of Steve Allen showing Olivia de Havilland and Bette Davis were guest on his show and that Bette sang Hush, Hush Sweet Charlotte.

[glenn20081965]

Good find!

[fromthesidelines]

Now that I think about it, 'wm', Mike probably began color videotaping in the fall of '67, while he was on WOR in New York....

[fromthesidelines]

In those days, Mike was on WOR-TV, Channel 9, in New York, weekdays at 4:30pm. He wouldn't "convert" to full color until 1968.

[wmbrown6]

@fromthesidelines - Actually, it was around the 1967-68 season that he began producing in color. In his last months at WOR, Mike was shifted to 6 P.M.; this, plus WABC-TV's debut of its 4:30 P.M. movie show (called "The Big Show" up to January 1969, only after then did it become "The 4:30 Movie"; and 2 hours up to September 1969), ultimately led to WCBS stealing away Douglas in March of 1968, as a lead-in to the 6 P.M. newscast. (WNBC's "Movie 4" by then was a joke in the ratings.)

[TheScrose]

As an Irishman I adore Michael Douglas How handsome and lovable! I remember walking into my grandfather's house forty years ago and he would be watching Mike! As I am "Mike" too! Watch his interview on the archive! And look up his biography on wikipedia. Very interesting! The Scrose

[wmbrown6]

GIven that this is B&W  . . . at what point in 1967 did the Douglas show go color?

[fastmandan88]

this is so cute. i love the song at the beginning.

[LizC2000]

Joan's speaking voice is just wonderful! Love to listen to it.

[YouTalker]

I agree! I wish I had a recording of Joan's voice to fall asleep to... she's so witty, too!

[glowworm2537]

I love it...I wish shows were like this today.

[CFVertigo]

I know what you mean.

[gymnastix]

Yes, I quite agree. TV talk shows today are, first of all, not really talk shows so much as "plugfests" for guests to pitch their latest projects and/or display their obnoxious, self-centered viewpoints, usually lacking in intelligence.

While that was always partly the case, the talk shows of the 1950s through '70s were also mostly about real conversation with interesting and talented guests.

[gymnastix]

And quite often guests were booked precisely because they were great talk show guests, who would mix in and sing, dance, participate in a cooking segment, tell jokes and anecdotes (unscripted), what have you.

Also, the typical talk show of the past was 90 minutes in length (allowing for a much more leisurely and relaxed pace) , as opposed to today's programs which are rushed to accommodate an audience that mostly suffers from Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder.

[gymnastix]

Sadly, the great talk show guests are lacking today simply because most of the so-called celebrities are either not very talented or their talents are very narrow and their egos too large.

It would be so wonderful to return to a time when a Lucille Ball, Jack Benny, Bette Davis, Groucho Marx or Truman Capote would sit down and talk with a talk show host for the better part of an hour.

[gymnastix]

John Lennon wasn't too big or proud to co-host with Mike Douglas for an entire week. Sebastian Cabot wasn't "too big" a star to read from "Winne The Pooh," and Robert Blake could always keep Merv Griffin or Tom Snyder in stitches with his tales of Hollywood's golden days and escapades of his nights.

Mike Douglas' tent was big enough to accommodate Minnie Pearl, Homer & Jethro, The Rolling Stones and Sly & The Family Stone--to raise the word "diversity" ( a favorite of the p/c crowd of today).

[gymnastix]

I know the clock may not be turned back. I just wish many more, true talents (not only actors, comedians, musicians & writers, but also all-around entertainers) would develop, and the more casual and civilized arenas in which to enjoy such if and when they do.

Of course that would mean a culture would have to evolve that included more than just reality programs, judge shows and forensic crime dramas.

[gmaureen]

@gymnastix And, Jerry, Maury and their like would go up in a puff of smoke.

[gymnastix]

TV needs more comedies, more musical variety, less formulaic dramas, and, most of all, writers who don't pander to the lowest common denominator nor insult a family audience.

And it isn't only older or "old enough" folks like myself who feel this way about TV. I have read comments by many younger persons here on You Tube who also recognize TV was once better; before cable, even with less channels on the air for less time, the quality of what was on was noticeably superior.

[gymnastix]

Well, glowworm2537, for you and others who prefer TV talk shows like "The Mike Douglas Show" here, the best I can suggest are "Charlie Rose" on PBS, and the syndicated "Live ! With Regis & Kelly" and "Rachel Ray."

[gymnastix]

"Rose" is often rather dry and serious. But when he does have interesting guests, the conversation is usually fairly coherent and intelligent.

But make no mistake, it's almost always from a left-wing political perspective (on the part of Rose and his guests). It wouldn't be on PBS if it was otherwise.

[gymnastix]

"Regis & Kelly" is very light, the last two-thirds of each show with guests mostly on to plug their latest projects, (albeit with the occasional musical performance). Typically the guests are not huge stars, but at least once a week a real talent or legend may appear--Julie Andrews, Bob Newhart, etc.

But because of veteran Philbin's old-school style, there may also be some fun contest or cooking segments made fun and/or funny by Philbin's involvement and good interaction with Ripa.

[gymnastix]

The best part of the program is the first 20 minutes, the light-hearted and unscripted banter between the co-hosts (which are best on days when Regis is not "on assignment") and sometimes with producer Michael Gelman, and the phone call to an at-home, contest participant..

"Rachel Ray" mixes an easy and casual conversation style with practical and easy-to-understand cooking segments. Her guest interviews are genuinely warm, sincere, and often funny.

[gymnastix]

Also fun & funny are occasional-but-regular, wild animal segments, which typically terrify Ray, and from which some viewers may derive a perverse pleasure.

[gymnastix]

I'll also give an honorable mention to "The Bonnie Hunt Show." Hunt has an amiable style, but her guests are nearly pure plugfest. And she, like Ellen DeGeneres and Oprah, adhere to that annoying practice (begun by the obnoxious and talentless Rosie O'Donnell) of relentless audience giveaways.

A good talk show need not bribe its audience or viewers. If the format, guests and host alone cannot sustain a program, then . . .

Most amusing segments are Hunt's web chats with her very own mom, Alice.