A Look Back at the Work of Mike Douglas (2007)

[traceymallard]

this was just beautiful and a wonderful tribute to such a cool person! i watched his show some of the time when i was a little girl but i wasnt as interested as i would be if it were on now even the reruns would be a treat right now in comparison to whats on now at 3 oclock!

[ChihuahuaboyDH]

Gosh, I feel old! I remember watching "The Mike Douglas Show" every weekday after I came home from school! Mike had such a unique personality with sensational interviewing skills! Today's talk shows fail in comparison to Mike Douglas & "The Merv Griffin Show". There will never, ever be another Mike Douglas! Thank you, sir, for your many years of service in the entertainment industry. This man also displayed a nice set of vocal pipes as well!

Bravo, Thomas O'Dowd (Mike Douglas)! R.I.P.

[pbrick6301]

Mike Douglas never realized it was such a great great singer. We miss you Mike.

[skeilak]

ಠ_ಠ

[davehutchinson67]

the old starts...such familiarity...I guess watching a lot of these shows growing up made me appreciate the country we lived in then...not quite so commercialized....

[dvdspd21]

That being said, it's a testimony to the force of MD's personality and of these clips - even devoid of dialogue - that it took a # of viewings before the music even began to grate. Speaking of the post-WWII Kay Kyser days, not only Mike's jazz roots but also his longstanding link w/ arranger Jerry Fielding (later a famed film composer of "The Wild Bunch" & many, many more) dated from that time. For my upload of one of their mid-60s collaborations, simply search for "Mike Douglas Irish".

[dvdspd21]

Besides being probably one of the sweetest souls to ever inhabit a body, he really was a wonderful singer; it's a shame the song he's featured on is this insipid Michel Legrand knockoff, w/ typically pedestrian accompaniment from composer Marvin Hamlisch. Mike's jazz roots went back to his days with Kay Kyser right after WW II; he had the wherewithal to do subtle and wonderful things w/ a ballad but Hamlisch gives him precious little, as either a composer OR a sideman, to sink his teeth into.

[pbrick6301]

This is the most beautiful rendition of this song I have ever heard. People seem to forget just how wonderful of a singer that Mike Douglas was.

[fromthesidelines]

MIke daily 90 minute show originated on Westinghouse's WKYC in Cleveland in 1961, By 1965, he was at KYW in Philadelphia, and he began to be seen by a wider audience through Westinghouse's syndicated division; in New York, WOR-TV [Channel 9] carried him from 1965 through '68. Then, WCBS-TV [Channel 2] replaced their "EARLY SHOW" film showcase with Mike in '68...then cut him to an hour in '75 (pairing him with an hour version of "DINAH!"), even though the 90 minute edition aired elsewhere...

[xvoy2002]

I was supposed to be on this show in 1974 when i invented a household gadget that could have changed the cooking world.

Unfortunately, i tripped back stage and threw my back out only seconds before going on. I guess it caused trouble because they grabbed some guy from the audience and threw him i my spot. He was talking abuot my kitchen gadget like it was his,, but he screwed it all up and told them it was for peeling sugar beets. I lost a lot of money over that.

[wellsfargotruth]

@xvoy2002 wow I feel sorry for you. I wish that had never happened, whatever became of your invention?

[xvoy2002]

@wellsfargotruth Well, thank you for your kind reply.

I guess my career as an inventor was short lived. But it was all for the best because when i went to the hospital i met a nurse who became my wife! So that was karma, and changed my life. As for the invention, i seriously don't remember what ever became of it. With the new age in kitchen gagets, i guess it just got lost in the shuffle. But the good thing is,, my near appearance on the show resulted in marriage, three children, and happines

[hunclemike]

Two things that Mikey Douglas loved more than anything, Chesterfield smokes and black putang! I was a roadie for the show, I know this for a fucking fact!

[nargilaw]

love mike. he was a great after school friend!!!!!!!

[Lupton2000]

I just saw the PBS special We'll Be Right Back. Did they use clips from his final show? When did the final show air? I think it was in April of 1982 and it began with Mike doing a song and then showing clips from the past.

[01hipster]

UI will always remember the time Sally struthers was his co Host & he had Moe Howard on which meant pies galore sally struthers on the Friday show got destroyed oh how she cried wish they could find that clip

[agoradoll71]

I could listen to him sing all day long...he was the best!

[SHRINA17]

What memories watching that show....now we have too many of these shows and they stink and actors over over-exposed so it's not exciting when they are on.

[wellsfargotruth]

@SHRINA17 that's because these shows were REAL talk shows. Mike Merv Dinah, even early Regis during his WABC days. when Rosie brought back said format it was full of HER ego. Oprah, went from leader of the crowd to false deity. and Regis takes a back seat to kelly as they sell everything from soup to nuts (TD bank, A&P grocery stores, et, al.) the View is an Atrocious catfight and I can do without 2 hours of Today. do I really need to know about Angies new adoptions on 4 shows in the same day?

[dantean]

I love Mike. As a kid I thought he was just a corny old, washed-up former boy singer from the pop standards / big band era (which he basically was), but what he apparently ALSO was was secretly cool. As another poster points out, just look at the list of his musical guests. He had very, very good taste in late 60s - early 70s bands or he let himself be schooled by someone on his staff who did. The painful intros and awkward interviews bookend amazing performances on his shows. He was hip!

[wellsfargotruth]

@dantean As one who actually likes and loves said "corny lame old washed up ossified dated stale"standards big band era music and entertainment product the ability of Mike to coexist with the top acts of the day and mix his conservative style

with it shows a harmony of coexhistence that will never be seen again I'm thinking he had producers that knew who were the big draws and Mike was always game for it. he was never afraid to take risks. RIP Mike.

[dantean]

@wellsfargotruth I didn't mean that as disrespectfully as it may sounded. I love Mike now even my view of was not especially evolved when I was 11 and he was on TV every afternoon. I also like corny big band etc now as opposed to then.

[TraciMarie210]

He Was A Very NICE Man ... Who, Incredibly Had Some of The Best Guests Ever ... ie: John Lennon, Frank Zappa, Tiger Woods as A Kid ( Who Knew ) etc ... God Bless Him - Thanx Mike !!! ... :)

[Rlotpir1972]

I couldn't help it but looking at the symbols around the stage. Wasn't the show produced by game show icons Mark Goodson and Bill Todman?

[micmac99]

No, Mike's show was produced by Group W which owned several network affiliates around the country (and later acquired CBS). The TPIR-like symbol I believe was just a coincidence.

[streetcarjay]

No, but the famous six-teardrop asterisk was used by Mike Douglas long before Mark Goodson and Bill Todman

[Eyemallfunkedup]

I loved Mike when I was a kid. A class act all the way.

PEACE and LOVE

[How5by5]

Good shows good times.

[gymnastix]

I miss Mike Douglas' show, which was unique in that his co-hosts were usually co-hosts for an entire week, took part in sketches, singing with Mike and cooking segments, etc. This was a true talk-variety show, not just a program for celebs to plug their latest projects, with guests actually conversing and entertaining.

[gymnastix]

And Douglas' show, like Merv Griffin's, David Frost's and Dick Cavett's daytime show, was a leisurely 90-minutes, not a commercial-packed hour, like contemporary offerings from the likes of Rosie O'Donnell, Ellen DeGenerate, or the unjustly-deified Oprah, none of who can hold a candle to Merv or Mike in terms of having class. Even Art Linkletter's "House Party," itself an hour format, offered so much more than the shows of today.

[gymnastix]

The closest a current, daytime talk show comes to the old shows of Merv & Mike is that of Regis Philbin with his co-host Kelly Ripa. But mostly daytime TV is just trailer trash shoutfests and redundant judge shows, plus an unnecessary, two extra hours of "Today." Bring back genuine talk shows, daytime network sitcoms and panel game shows!

[carlynutt]

A clsss act indeed. We need shows like this today instead of crap like Maury and Springer. Ellen is OK but Rosie's old daytime show came the closest to the class that Merv, Dinah and Mike Douglas had. Get rid of all those friggin Judge shows too, including Judy!

[bctvguy]

The Mike Douglas Show was simply one of the best TV talk-entertainment programs ever which is why it lasted over 20 years.

[gwengoad]

He was real and he listened!

[mikma]

mikma was here

[Annlindgk]

Mike was a class act all the way. The best!

[jupitersmoon]

what a neat guy he was

[VinBad007]

Mike was cool.