Mike Douglas - Moments & Memories

Description

It isn't easy boiling down a TV talk show that ran for more than 20 years and upwards of 5000 episodes into a highlight reel lasting less than an hour. The folks who compiled Mike Douglas: Moments & Memories have done that with notable success by staying true to the host's own style: i.e., focusing on the guests, respecting the audience, and providing a balance of interviews, performances, and other material guaranteed to appeal to a wide cross-section of viewers. Douglas, who died in 2006, was an up-and-coming singer (he provided the voice of Prince Charming for Disney's animated Cinderella in 1950) who moved into TV in the early '60s, and his daytime chat fest was a popular destination for celebs of every stripe, who recognized and appreciated that the confident but deferential host preferred to listen to his guests rather than compete with them and was more interested in making them look good than in promoting his own act. Moments & Memories contains clips with an extraordinary variety of visitors (from Martin Luther King, Jr. to Mother Teresa, from two-year-old Tiger Woods to Muhammad Ali, from Marlon Brando to Paul Newman, from Louis Armstrong to Kiss' Gene Simmons), but what distinguishes it from almost all DVDs of this ilk is the presence of complete musical performances, in this case by the Rolling Stones (performing "Not Fade Away" in '64, surely one of their very earliest TV appearances) and John Lennon (a nice version of "Imagine," backed by the Elephant's Memory band). Music fans will find those two gems alone worth the price of admission. Bonus features include about an hour's worth of additional interviews and Douglas bio material. --Sam Graham - Before there was Oprah or Dr. Phil or Ellen, or any of these people, there was Mike Douglas.- - Jay Leno, remembering Mike Douglas on The Tonight Show Legendary daytime talk show host Mike Douglas influenced many of today's biggest stars, including Barbara Walters, Jay Leno, Regis Philbin, and Rosie O'Donnell, among many others. He ruled daytime talk from 1961 to 1982, reaching as many as 15 million people with a single show and averaging an astounding seven million viewers a day. MOMENTS AND MEMORIES takes a look back at Douglas' tenure as talk-show-host extraordinaire. The program unlocks a plethora of amazing performances and interviews from the show's vaults, including Tiger Woods' first appearance on television and Marlon Brando's personal commentary on his role as The Godfather. Douglas' charming disposition drew in the viewers while also setting his high-profile guests at ease. Almost every major celebrity who hit it big in the 60s and 70s appeared on the show either as a guest or co-host. John Lennon and Yoko Ono co-hosted the program for a week in 1972, producing several poignant and memorable moments such as the duo's live performance of Imagine and their collaboration with Chuck Berry on the rock n roll classic Johnny B. Goode. A 2- year-old Tiger Woods also charmed the crowds like a seasoned performer, showcasing his early talent for golf while unknowingly matching wits with comedic heavyweight Bob Hope. Priceless moments like these captured the hearts and imaginations of viewers throughout the country. But it was Douglas' innate charm that endeared him to his fans. He frequently sang on the show, crooning out classic numbers like The Men in My Little Girl s Life. Douglas also kept the show light-hearted and entertaining, frequently choosing silly and outlandish stunts to make his audience laugh. Throughout the course of the program, Douglas wrestles with Andre the Giant, talks to a chimpanzee and clowns around with a variety of comedians. MIKE DOUGLAS MOMENTS AND MEMORIES gathers all these clips and more, taking viewers back to a bygone era filled with all the fun outfits, hairstyles, songs and attitudes of the 60s and 70s. 1. Opening 2. Getting Started with Ginny Simms and Kay Kyser 3. Cinderella 4. A New Show in Cleveland 5. The Rolling Stones 6. Mike and Legendary Entertainers (Alfred Hitchcock, Rodney Dangerfield, Bette Davis, Mel Brooks, Paul Newman, Jack Benny, Marlon Brando, Ingrid Bergman, Bill Cosby, Carol Burnett, Ron Howard) 7. Domestic Olympics (Mariette Hartley and Don Rickles) 8. Tiger Woods and Bob Hope 9. Newsmakers and Newsbreakers (Della Reese, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., Mike Wallace, Billie Jean King, Mother Teresa) 10. Time for Fun (Robert Goulet, Muhammad Ali & Howard Cosell, Joi Lansing & Dennis Day, Dom DeLuise, Red Skelton , Arnold Schwarzenegger, Sally Field) 11. A Week with John Lennon and Yoko Ono (Imagine, Bobby Seale, George Carlin, Jerry Rubin, Ralph Nader, Chuck Berry) 12. Introducing New Talent (Gene Simmons & Paul Stanley of KISS, Billy Crystal, Lily Tomlin, Steve Martin, George Carlin, Jay Leno, David Letterman) 13. Let's Have a Party! (Bob Hope, Tim Conway, Allen & Rossi, Dolly Parton, Professor Irwin Corey, Sammy Davis, Jr.) 14. Singing with Mike (Bill Cosby, Vic Damone, Louis Armstrong & Pearl Bailey, Bobby Darin) 15. The Men in My Little Girl's Life Bonus Features and Clips: Mike Douglas Biography Ingrid Bergman Alex Haley Mike Douglas John Lennon and Yoko Ono Tim Conway Paul Newman Johnny Cash Ron Howard Alfred Hitchcock Mother Teresa Produced by Mats Ogren Wanger Mike Douglas actually preceded the likes of Johnny Carson, Phil Donahue...even Jack Parr. It was his show that really revolutionized the variety and talk format, bringing celebrities from all walks of life into our living room five days a week, giving us thought-provoking interviews, hilarious comedy, and memorable music. But in the center of it all was always Mike. Douglas was a humble Midwesterner with a tremendous voice...in fact, it was Mike who provided the singing for Prince Charming in Disney's Cinderella. He was comfortable on radio, and equally so on television. His relaxed, everyman persona endeared him to fans everywhere, and his show, which ran from 1961 to 1982, became a daytime staple. It would be hard for me to think of growing up without remembering seeing Mike day after day. Mike Douglas: Moments and Memories attempts the impossible, which is to condense a twenty year career into under an hour. Fans of the show may quibble about what memories of theirs weren't included (for my own part, I missed seeing Mason Reece). But few could argue with the quintessential cross-section of celebrities that ARE featured, which is more than enough to impress the uninitiated and give a taste of just how far reaching and varied Mike's show was. You'll see clips of some of the best comics of all time, including Bob Newhart, Tim Conway and Bill Cosby in their prime (along with a very young Jay Leno and David Letterman). You'll listen in on interviews with some of Hollywood's most prolific stars, including Marlon Brando, Ingrid Bergman and Paul Newman. You'll listen in on some bona fide musical legends, including the week long appearance by John Lennon and Yoko Ono, but also including Chuck Berry, The Rolling Stones, and amusingly enough, Kiss. You'll even see sports legends like Billie Jean King, or future legends, including Tiger Woods as a child showing the stuff that would one day make him the most dominating player in golf! But above and beyond the cache of the cultural who's-who, what inspired me the most was Mike's chats with individuals who defy categorization and who truly left an indelible mark on the world. Listen to Mike sit down with Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., or Mother Theresa. It will give you goose bumps. See what I mean? Twenty years is a long time, but I've only mentioned a handful of the guests that appear on this DVD. This was a wonderful trip down memory lane...at the time, Mike Douglas' show was musical, funny, entertaining and topical, but looking back on it some 26 years after the program ceased to be, it seems like a time capsule. So many of these people, including Mike, are no longer with us. But these magical moments, when the brightest, funniest, most musical and most inspirational were relaxed enough just to be themselves in front of the camera, are the true testament to the enduring legacy of Mike Douglas. There is a bio on Mike Douglas, but even better, a collection of extended interviews with stars like John Lennon, Tim Conway, Ingrid Bergman and more. There's even a musical number from Johnny Cash, and a conversation with author Alex Haley, whose novel Roots continues to captivate generation after generation. Summary:I do indeed like Mike. His show, and this DVD freeze moments in time and history for all to view and contemplate first hand. Recommended. --DVD Movie Central Affable Douglas had the most politically edgy daytime variety show ever hosted by an Irish tenor. On this combination clip assemblage and Douglas family look-back, guests include John Lennon and Yoko Ono (who co-hosted for a week), Alfred Hitchcock, Ingrid Bergman, Bob Hope with tiny prodigy Tiger Woods and, in a head-spinning mix that was typical, Martin Luther King Jr. with singer Tony Martin. Three Stars --Mike Clark, USA Today, April 9 2008 Review: Book to read - I really enjoyed reading this book. I used to watch his TV show back in the day. I enjoyed seeing all the different celebrities that he had on his show. It was a very good book. I really like reading (auto) bios or regular bios on different people. They have such interesting lives. Thank you very much. Review: Mike Douglas Show - Moments & (GOOD) Memories - Very pleasant compilation of clips from the Mike Douglas Show with reminiscences recorded in 2007 from Mike's wife Gen, Billy Crystal, Bill Cosby, Della Reese, Mariette Hartley and a TV critic. This DVD brings back lots of good memories of when TV talk/variety shows were worth watching. Most of the shows best years and highest ratings were done in Philadelphia 1965-1978 though the DVD fails to make that clear. Wish that the clips were identified by year but they are not. Technical quality shows the amazing evolution of TV technology from 1961 black and white and the relatively new medium of videotape (then just 5 years old) to super sharp broadcast color done in Los Angeles. It's also curious to watch how the show developed from a very low budget local show in Cleveland to a nationally syndicated program shown in 170 markets and watched by at least six million people 5 days a week. Worth buying.