Classic Television Showbiz: Merv Griffin

Thursday, May 2, 2013

Monday, November 19, 2012

The Merv Griffin Show with guests David Burns, Lainie Kazan and Colonel Sanders (1966)

You may have noticed that some of the old timers speak about this cat David Burns in reverence. He was prolific in Broadway revues and widely respected - and now I know why. Watch him in action, tearing apart The Merv Griffin Show. First, reflections from those who know:

Jack Carter: Davey Burns, a great comedian. Davey Burns was a great comic from Broadway. He was like a Jewish version of WC Fields. Oh, Davey Burns was a brilliant character. He didn't live very long, but he was funny. He was like a... you can't describe him! He was one of a kind. Davey Burns. Who would remember that?

Michael McKean: A great, great comic actor.

Irwin Corey: Davey Burns was a poor man's W.C. Fields. He was very, very funny.

Pat Carroll: David Burns was one of the funny men of the theater. He was a naughty, naughty man. He would do dreadful things. Oh, he was very bad and a very funny man. Great to work with and marvelous to watch. He always made me laugh.

Tommy Moore: Davey Burns was indeed a wildman. A friend of mine was in Hello Dolly with him. After the show, when people would come to compliment him in his dressing room, he would say, "Excuse me for a moment, I want to freshen up with some toilet water." He’d leave the bathroom door open, lift the toilet seat, and wildly splash himself with water, come out dripping wet, and continue the conversation as though nothing happened!

Orson Bean: I loved Davey. Davey had a foul mouth. He was so charming, he could get away with anything. I didn't find him foul, I found him hilarious. When we were in Men of Distinction the mayor came backstage with his wife, a stout lady of a certain age. He grabbed her and he kissed her and he said, "You crazy cooze! Leave this son of a bitch! Run away with me!" She was like Margaret Dumont, flattered and appalled in equal amounts.

Neil Simon: Davey Burns had the funniest foul mouth I ever heard. He came into rehearsal ten minutes late and apologized in a mock British accent, "I beg your pardon everyone. Please forgive me. I was in the lavatory having my cock sucked by the most charming cleaning lady." Pert Kelton would throw up her arms and say, "Oh, Davey, you are disgusting." To which he replied indignantly, "Some cleaning woman I never met is sucking my cock and you call me disgusting?”

Friday, November 9, 2012

The Merv Griffin Show with guests Dennis Hopper and WIllie Mays (1971)

This - like so much talk show footage of its era - is compelling as heck. I could watch talk show footage from 1965 through 1975, every day, all day and never get bored. Man, can you imagine a cable channel with nothing but Paar, Cavett, Douglas, Griffin and Carson reruns? Throw in some Tom Snyder, Les Crane and Joe Pyne for good measure? This footage is of particular interest for you adherents of Peter Bisskind's Easy Riders, Raging Bulls (which should mean all of you). Dennis Hopper talks about the reception of his notorious The Last Movie and interacts awkwardly with a panel that includes James Brolin, Willie Mays and Diane Baker. What a trip, man.