The Mike Douglas Show
| The Mike Douglas Show | |
|---|---|
| Genre | Talk/Variety |
| Presented by | Mike Douglas |
| Narrated by |
Jay Stewart (1961–78) Charlie Tuna (1978–81) |
| Opening theme | "Here's Mike" (1961–79) "Mike, It's Your Day!" (1979–81) |
| Country of origin | United States |
| Original language(s) | English |
| No. of seasons | 21 |
| No. of episodes | 4017 |
| Production company(s) | Group W Productions / Westinghouse Broadcasting Company (1961–80) Mike Douglas Entertainment (1980–82) |
| Distributor | Group W Productions (1961–80) Syndicast (1980–82) |
| Release | |
| Original network | Syndicated |
| Picture format |
Black-and-white (1961–67) Color television (1967–82) |
| Audio format | Monaural |
| Original release | December 11, 1961 – November 30, 1981 |
| Website | |
The Mike Douglas Show is an American daytime television talk show hosted by Mike Douglas. Initially it aired only in the Cleveland, Ohio area during much of its first two years on the air, followed by expansion to Philadelphia and nationwide. It went into syndication in 1963 and remained on television until 1981. It was distributed by Westinghouse Broadcasting and for much of its run, originated from studios of two of the company's TV stations in Cleveland and Philadelphia.
The program premiered on KYW in Cleveland on December 11, 1961, and featured a mix of light banter with guests and musical performances, along with more-serious interviews with prominent newsmakers. Joining Douglas as part of the everyday lineup was the Ellie Frankel trio, a local jazz group. Instead of an opening comedic monologue (as was the case with The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson, for example), Douglas, given his vocalist background, would begin each show by singing a popular song for the audience. Each week would have a different co-host who would appear every day with Douglas.
The inevitable growing pains of a new program were evident during the first week of shows, when the scheduled co-host, Irish singer Carmel Quinn, missed the first two shows due to a scheduling conflict in New York. In addition, faulty microphones on the inaugural broadcast were coupled with equally problematic chairs that caused a pair of guests to fall off stage.
Some moments of controversy developed in the opening months, including a guest's satirical look at First Lady Jacqueline Kennedy's televised tour of the White House that was criticized for bad taste, and a look at censorship that was to involve the reading of selections from books such as Lady Chatterley's Lover and Tropic of Cancer. The show was postponed until a representative for banning such books could be found.
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Wikipedia