Match Game

Convenience link to: PO9: ILX HOLLYWOOD SQUARES!!!

They hadn't quite set the canonical seating in most of the Match Game '73s. Only Dawson was present at the beginning, with Somers and CNR joining as they went along, but they didn't become regulars till late in the season, or maybe in '74.

x-posts That's an early episode from before the seating arrangement got solidified, with Elaine Joyce obv taking Brett Somers' rightful seat there.

To elaborate on my seating taxonomy -

top left: comedian or impressionist, hunky actor, not-very-bright actor, any actor from a new TV show, athlete, sometimes a "hip" dude
top middle: Brett Somers
top right: Charles Nelson Reilly
bottom left: eye candy, ingenue, not-very-bright actress, glamorous older star
bottom middle: Dickie Dawson, later frequently Bill Daily or Bart Braverman, later still McLean Stevenson
bottom right: funny lady, kook, oddball... having red hair a plus

Elaine Joyce being a looker was a natural for the bottom left, but since she was also a bit of a kook she could take the bottom right when needed

Scoey Mitchell is an example of a "hip" dude who would properly be in the top left seat

Neither I nor my mom--who was alive when it aired--had any knowledge of the original, serious version of Match Game til we watched Behind the Blank. It seems like a gag, a la "Homonym" in 30 Rock. Even the first dozen or so episodes of the rebooted version had very generic, overly broad unfun questions. "Mary was hungry and went to the store and bought blank" or whatever.

Yeah those early episodes are odd to see... I said this upthread but oftentimes early on the questions would be of a leading type as if they were trying to entice the stars to say something risqué, but at first none of the stars would bite since they weren't sure what was allowed on daytime TV. Then one day Bert Convy says "boobs" and the floodgates are opened.

Yeah and later on it was the reverse wasn't it? The setup sounded dirty with the "blank" in it but the "correct" answer was tame. "Daffy Dory was astounded by the size of the plumber's blank" but the logical answer would be wrench.

right, and the best was when on occasion you would get a naive contestant who would "go there" and say something definitively out-of-bounds. I think eventually the contestants were pre-coached on what words to use for what, but being on the spot during the actual taping they would sometimes forget these guidelines

That elaborated seating taxonomy may be the greatest thing ever, Josefa. Wondering if a similar thing could be done for other game shows, although I'm not sure I would care nearly as much.

I’d love to see a toxicology report on an average episode of Match Game 74. Mötley Crüe couldn’t handle the volume of drugs and alcohol in those bodies. pic.twitter.com/VIyYGEQUUq

— Super 70s Sports (@Super70sSports) July 20, 2021

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nJHICKg2Mkg

Gene Rayburn only came here to use a skinny microphone and kick some ass. Looks like he’s done talking. pic.twitter.com/Ea1bS0eI3n

— Super 70s Sports (@Super70sSports) December 1, 2021

Get ready to match the stars!

Orson Bean!

Brett Somers!

Charles Nelson Reilly!

Scoot Japson!

Joyce DeBrille!

Debralee Scott!

Who is Joyce DeBrille?

Assuming those are joek names and Joyce DeBrille is a play on Joyce DeWitt.

Except Debralee Scott is real.

Couldn't tell you about Scoot Japson though.

Tonight's episode brought to you by the bottle of Southern Comfort under the table of RICHARD DAWSON!!

xp Scoop Jackson I guess

I want Louisa Moritz in one of these fake people’s seat

I was going for more of a Scoey Mitchell homage. He's still alive! 91

So it seems that Scoey Mitchell was a bit actor, but his main claim to fame is being on Match Game? Could that be true?

I remember asking my mom who he was and she knew of him from things other than Match Game but yeah I guess he's like Charles and Brett and well basically all the regulars: C level celebrities prior and now best known for being on Match Game.

My mom is just a trove of "who's that? What were they in?" knowledge. She got hooked for awhile on watching Tattletales on GSN too, interesting to see how some couples interact on that show given her knowledge of how their marriage turned out

I believe Scoey Mitchell was more of a Broadway actor who did a little TV and film on top of a ton of game shows.

interesting to see how some couples interact on that show given her knowledge of how their marriage turned out

There's a wild week of Tattletales featuring Bob Crane and his widow who supposedly had him off'd.

That’s why Tattletales is the darkest show that’s ever been on US TV. Imagine doing that show nowadays,

Wow at this latest.

Just found an image of Scoey Mitchell as a boxer with Marlo Thomas and Ted Bessell looking on which, of course, was from an episode of That Girl.

Also came to note that it doesn't seem Conny Van Dyke has been mentioned yet.

RIP Scoey Mitchell (92)

RIP. May his memory be a BLANK.

Lol, didn’t know he was Jewish.

Real name was Scoey Mitchlll, which is not a typo believe it or not.

https://encrypted-tbn0.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcThU56S7s7IC9hIquM8LJzTcjOJ1-Oy0uj0hg&usqp=CAU