Bøger af Adam Nedeff

Once you watched The Gong Show, you could never forget it! All at once, it was trippy 1970s time capsule, a variety show, a showcase for new talent, a party, and a playground for its creator and star, the one and only Chuck Barris. Gong This Book is a celebration of this unique oddity in television history and the extraordinary staff of people - "Chuck's Lemmings"- who made it happen. Among those sharing their recollections for this book are celebrity judges Jamie Farr and Jo Anne Worley, Scarlett O'Hara, Rhetch Butler, Confusion the Philosopher, Larry and His Magic Trumpet, The Cowardly Lion, The Women of NBC, The Brothers Vert, Mike the Vike, Count Banjola, Dr. Flame-o, and even "The Prince of Puns! The Wizard of Whoopie! THE UNKNOWN COMIC!" Illustrating many of their tales is Vince Longo, the staff photographer for Chuck Barris Productions, whose camera lovingly captured every day on the set. Adam Nedeff is a researcher and archivist for the National Archives of Game Show History, part of the Strong National Museum of Play, in Rochester, New York. He's also worked behind the scenes on many game shows, including College Bowl, Double Dare, Idiotest, Master Minds, The Price is Right, and Wheel of Fortune. He's the author of several books about game shows, including Game Shows FAQ, Okay? Okay! Dennis James' Lifetime of Firsts, and Monty Hall: TV's Big Dealer.

Once you watched The Gong Show, you could never forget it! All at once, it was trippy 1970s time capsule, a variety show, a showcase for new talent, a party, and a playground for its creator and star, the one and only Chuck Barris. Gong This Book is a celebration of this unique oddity in television history and the extraordinary staff of people - "Chuck's Lemmings"- who made it happen. Among those sharing their recollections for this book are celebrity judges Jamie Farr and Jo Anne Worley, Scarlett O'Hara, Rhetch Butler, Confusion the Philosopher, Larry and His Magic Trumpet, The Cowardly Lion, The Women of NBC, The Brothers Vert, Mike the Vike, Count Banjola, Dr. Flame-o, and even "The Prince of Puns! The Wizard of Whoopie! THE UNKNOWN COMIC!" Illustrating many of their tales is Vince Longo, the staff photographer for Chuck Barris Productions, whose camera lovingly captured every day on the set. Adam Nedeff is a researcher and archivist for the National Archives of Game Show History, part of the Strong National Museum of Play, in Rochester, New York. He's also worked behind the scenes on many game shows, including College Bowl, Double Dare, Idiotest, Master Minds, The Price is Right, and Wheel of Fortune. He's the author of several books about game shows, including Game Shows FAQ, Okay? Okay! Dennis James' Lifetime of Firsts, and Monty Hall: TV's Big Dealer.

This is an unusual book chronicling many of television's firsts ... the first host of a TV variety show; the first host of a network game show; the first host of an infomercial; the first TV wrestling commentator; the first TV boxing commentator; the first reporter to cover a political convention for TV; the first person to host an Easter parade on network television; the first person to appear on a videotaped commercial; the host of the first major annual telethon; the first man to put Dick Van Dyke, Jonathan Winters, and The Carpenters on television; the first host hired for The New Price is Right. The unusual part is that this book is about one man: Dennis James. When it came to being first, he was number one. A portion of every book sold benefits United Cerebral Palsy. Dennis hosted the United Cerebral Palsy telethons for more than forty years, and UCP is honored to continue Dennis' legacy. ADAM NEDEFF has worked behind the scenes on game shows including Wheel of Fortune, The Price is Right, Idiotest, Emogenius, and Funny You Should Ask. When he's not working on game shows, he's writing about them, with previous titles including This Day in Game Show History, Quizmaster: The Life and Times and Fun and Games of Bill Cullen, The Matchless Gene Rayburn, and It's More Than Password: The Life (and Wife) of Allen Ludden. He is originally from Vienna, WV.

This is the HARDBACK version. Question: What do Bob Barker, Dick Clark, Pat Sajak, and Alex Trebek have in common? Answer: Bill Cullen hosted more game shows than all of them combined. And all of them have referred to Bill as the best game show host of all time. Quizmaster: The Life & Times & Fun & Games of Bill Cullen is the remarkable story of a "a kid with polio" who became a mechanic, truck driver, photographer, pilot, disc jockey, and the finest master of ceremonies that a game show could ever have. On the game show Quick as a Flash in 1949, host Bill Cullen was assisted for some of the questions by actress Mercedes McCambridge. In 1973, McCambridge supplied the voice for a child in what horror movie? THE EXORCIST On an episode of the game show Catch Me If You Can in 1948, host Bill Cullen welcomed a contestant who was unemployed and seeking work as an actor. That night, he won a gas range. The following year, that actor made his film debut, playing a painter in The Lady Takes a Sailor. His final film role, in 2000, was playing elderly Hardy Greaves in The Legend of Bagger Vance. Who was that actor? JACK LEMMON The long-running game show I've Got a Secret was created and produced by a comedy writer who later became a star in his own right with a wildly popular series of albums featuring his parodies of popular songs. Who was he? ALLAN SHERMAN In 1956, The Price is Right premiered with host Bill Cullen. Bill got the job after an actor-comic said no. In 1961, that actor's legendary sitcom made its debut on CBS. Who said no to The Price is Right? DICK VAN DYKE

This is the HARDBACK version. "I got interested in Gene Rayburn during the 1990s, when I was a teenager and I discovered a marvelous cable channel called Game Show Network. I'd been a fan of game shows my entire life, and I was excited about seeing all these shows that I just vaguely remembered from my early childhood. My biggest surprise was how obsessed I became with a show I had never heard of until I got Game Show Network; a show that was cancelled the same year I was born, funnily enough. It was a show called Match Game. Gene Rayburn, of course, was the host of Match Game, and I appreciated right away how different he was from other game show hosts. He was so hammy and mischievous and physical, and he fit the show he was hosting better than anybody I had ever seen hosting a game show. He and Match Game were absolutely made for each other. I think the biggest discovery I made was the way Gene just got repeatedly sidetracked during his career. He came to New York to become a star in musical theater. When he couldn't find work in musical theater, he wound up becoming a disc jockey. And after a decade of that, he decided to try being a television star. That didn't work out right away, so he took a job announcing a new show. Well, that turned out to be The Tonight Show. His career, right up to the end, was filled with little detours. Gene always wound up doing something besides what he was really trying to do. John Lennon was right and Gene was the proof; life is what happens when you're making other plans. The biggest pitfall I encountered was the dearth of materials from earlier in Gene's career. Because reruns weren't a consideration for so long, a considerable chunk of the man's work in television is just gone. Think about it-he's best remembered for the 1970s version of Match Game, a job that he started when he was 55 years old. So finding resources from earlier than that could be surprisingly tricky, but that made it all the more exciting when I finally did see the occasional kinescope or hear an audio recording. I think readers will enjoy #1, the memories, if they enjoy Match Game as much as I do, and #2, the surprises. Gene really had a remarkable career outside of that show. My hope for this book is that it makes that image on the TV screen a little more three-dimensional. Gene was very human, very flawed; he had his frustrations and disappointments like the rest of us." -- The Author

This book delves into Rayburn's life before the classic show. Rayburn, who was born Eugen Jeljenic in 1917, was a budding actor who got sidetracked at the start of his career and became a disc jockey. With Dee Finch, he co-hosted Anything Goes, the earliest "morning drive time" radio show, and dominated New York airwaves--one interviewee called Rayburn "The Howard Stern of the 1940s." His success as a disc jockey led to a contract with NBC, where, in 1954, Rayburn would become the first announcer/sidekick on The Tonight Show. Rayburn also amassed an impressive resume in theater, including the starring roles in Bye Bye Birdie and La Cage Aux Folles. In addition, The Matchless Gene Rayburn explores Rayburn's life away from the cameras, including his fractious relationships with Match Game panelist Richard Dawson and game show kingpin Mark Goodson, as well as his struggles finding employment after Match Game ended. As a television game show host, Rayburn was famous for his somewhat rebellious approach to the job. He told jokes, used silly voices when he read questions, dragged stagehands in front of the camera, drew the audience's attention to broken pieces of equipment, and encouraged the audience to boo when contestants gave what he called "rotten answers." He could be just as mischievous off the air. He was on the receiving end of numerous memos from NBC executives, scolding him for riding his bicycle in the hallways of the NBC offices. Among the interviewees that author Nedeff spoke to for the book were Match Game panelists Orson Bean & Dick Gautier, Hollywood Squares host Peter Marshall, animal trainer Warren Eckstein (The Mickey Mouse Club), and Rayburn 's daughter Lynne. All paint a portrait of Gene Rayburn as a complicated man torn by the success he enjoyed in television, and the frustration he felt about not getting the roles he truly wanted or the respect he felt he was owed.

Game shows have more stories to tell than they have washers and dryers to give away. This Day in Game Show History is a remarkable four-volume set chronicling the best stories-on camera and off-and the most noteworthy milestones for every day in the year.In this volume, you'll find out which game show used 50 gallons of whipped cream and 144 balloons per taping...the film star who credited The Hollywood Squares with launching his career...how a radio quiz show caused an outbreak of mumps among the New York Yankees...which game show host invented the first artificial heart...why Bob Barker personally disliked having beautiful women appear as contestants on his shows...and lots, lots more!ADAM NEDEFF has experienced TV game shows from both sides of the camera. As a contestant, he has played Trivial Pursuit: America Plays, Catch-21, and Who's Still Standing? As an employee, he has worked for The Price is Right and Wheel of Fortune. He is a freelance writer and former disc jockey originally from Vienna, West Virginia, and now residing in Glendale, California.

Game shows have more stories to tell than they have washers and dryers to give away. This Day in Game Show History is a remarkable four-volume set chronicling the best stories-on camera and off-and the most noteworthy milestones for every day in the year.In this volume, you'll find out which game show had a set so elaborate that it used four miles of electric wires...the game show host who was so nervous on his first day that he went thirty minutes without blinking...the game show Lucille Ball loved so much that she always kept a copy of the home game in her dressing room...the true identity of "The Walking Man" on Truth or Consequences...which Seinfeld cast member was implicated in the 1950s quiz show scandals...and lots, lots more!ADAM NEDEFF has experienced TV game shows from both sides of the camera. As a contestant, he has played Trivial Pursuit: America Plays, Catch-21, and Who's Still Standing? As an employee, he has worked for The Price is Right and Wheel of Fortune. He is a freelance writer and former disc jockey originally from Vienna, West Virginia, and now residing in Glendale, California.

Game shows have more stories to tell than they have washers and dryers to give away. This Day in Game Show History is a remarkable four-volume set chronicling the best stories-on camera and off-and the most noteworthy milestones for every day in the year.In this volume, you'll find out which game show had to build a new set as part of a lawsuit settlement...What exactly a Sony ECM-51 is and how often you saw them on television...Which legendary newsman hosted more game shows than Bob Barker and Pat Sajak combined...the game show host who moonlighted as a voice coach for TV anchormen...which radio game show was briefly interrupted when a contestant went into labor and gave birth on the air...and lots, lots more!ADAM NEDEFF has experienced TV game shows from both sides of the camera. As a contestant, he has played Trivial Pursuit: America Plays, Catch-21, and Who's Still Standing? As an employee, he has worked for The Price is Right and Wheel of Fortune. He is a freelance writer and former disc jockey originally from Vienna, West Virginia, and now residing in Glendale, California.

Game shows have more stories to tell than they have washers and dryers to give away. This Day in Game Show History is a remarkable four-volume set chronicling the best stories-on camera and off-and the most noteworthy milestones for every day in the year.In this volume, you'll find out which long-running cable game show had to make new props after visible bloodstains became a problem...The film icon whose first job was testing the stunts for each episode of Beat the Clock...What lovable announcer started his career as a shock jock in Texas...Why Gene Rayburn showed up ten minutes late for a live broadcast of a game show...the legendary host who composed songs for Tammy Wynette and Ray Price...and lots, lots more!ADAM NEDEFF has experienced TV game shows from both sides of the camera. As a contestant, he has played Trivial Pursuit: America Plays, Catch-21, and Who's Still Standing? As an employee, he has worked for The Price is Right and Wheel of Fortune. He is a freelance writer and former disc jockey originally from Vienna, West Virginia, and now residing in Glendale, California.

Question: What do Bob Barker, Dick Clark, Pat Sajak, and Alex Trebekhave in common?Answer: Bill Cullen hosted more game shows than all of them combined.And all of them have referred to Bill as the best game show host of alltime.Quizmaster: The Life & Times & Fun & Games of Bill Cullen is theremarkable story of a "a kid with polio" who became a mechanic, truckdriver, photographer, pilot, disc jockey, and the finest master ofceremonies that a game show could ever have.ADAM NEDEFF is a freelance writer originally from Vienna, West Virginia,now residing in Glendale, California. He is also the author of thefour-volume set This Day in Game Show History.