Who Is Co-Hosting with Mike Douglas This Week?

For those who over the age of 45 who grew up either in this county or somewhere in the Delaware Valley, we share a number of experiences and cultural icons from Philly.
Among our shared cultural references: Sally Starr, Gene London, Dr. Francis Davis, Vince Leonard, Pixanne, American Bandstand with Dick Clark and the Mike Douglas Show.
It was always my ambition to attend a taping of the Mike Douglas Show in the basement of KYW but it never happened. It seemed I was always busy attending elementary school and all hope was lost when I moved to Florida while in junior high school.
Everybody made a guest appearance on the Mike Douglass Show at one time or another from the cast of Star Wars to John Lennon and Yoko Ono. I think local folks were a bit angry when Douglas moved the show to California in the 70s.
I made a connection last week with the Mike Douglas Show when I interviewed singer/songwriter Neil Sedaka. I vividly remember him co-hosting a week of the show.
As you may recall, Mike always had a co-host for a week, due in part to Philadelphia not having many celebrities on hand.
In Douglas’ biography, he tells of sending limousines to New York City to pick up guests. If you were appearing at the Latin Casino in Cherry Hill, you made a stop at the Mike Douglas Show and on Bill Corsair’s overnight radio show on WCAU.
Douglas was a very low key, polite interviewer. He didn’t seem to know much about rock star guests. His background was as a big band singer.
His most well-known week of shows was with John Lennon and Yoko Ono. In his book, Douglas said they trashed their dressing room using the carpet for an ashtray.
By the end of the week, Lennon enjoyed himself so much, he suggested he might consider being a TV host at some point in his life.
I think I most remember the comedians on the Mike Douglas Show: Jack E. Leonard, Marty Allen, Jackie Moms Mabry, the Ace Trucking Company, Leonard Barr, Frank Gorshin and Sandy Baron who concluded his career on Seinfeld.
The show was famous for the appearance of a 2-year old Tiger Woods. The Amazing Kreskin with his ESP abilities seemed to be a frequent guest. I had the opportunity to interview Kreskin a few years ago. I seem to be recycling guests from the Mike Douglas Show.
One of my most vivid memories of the show was Moe Howard of the Three Stooges as a guest. He was well into his 70s and his pudding bowl hair was grey.
Howard demonstrated the fine art of pie throwing with the help of Soupy Sales. I stayed home from school that day to see the episode. My other favorite guests were drummers Buddy Rich and Louis Belson playing their super fast solos.
For some reason, co-host appearances by songwriter Paul Williams, Jerry Lewis and Peter Falk stay in my mind.
Douglas seemed to be in search of hit record through many of the years of the show. He did have a hit in the 60s entitled “The Men in My Little Girl’s Life,” a sweet sentimental song about daughters growing up.
Above all, Douglas seemed to be a nice guy who loved his family and Philadelphia’s sports teams. He wouldn’t ask you a loaded question. Douglas seemed to do his homework when it came to political guests.
Douglas saw a resurgence of recognition when Rosie O’Donnell had him as a guest a number of times of her show before his death at the age of 81.
His show was entertaining, somewhat comforting for his personality and non-controversial format. Douglas seemed to be the kind of guy who you could loan your car and he’d return it undamaged and freshly washed.