Mike Douglas

Host

"The main thing I was there for was to talk to the guests, make it interesting, and draw whatever you could out of them. Never top them, never belittle them, never say, 'you’ve been into something, you’re not right today.' No put downs. It worked for me and it’ll work for you."

About This Interview

Mike Douglas (1925-2006) was interviewed for three hours in Beverly Hills, CA. Douglas talks about his start in television as the host of the local Chicago series Hi Ladies and discusses his career as a singer and a voiceover artist (he provided the singing voice for Prince Charming in the Disney classic, Cinderella.) He recounts his numerous appearances on television, including work as a regular of Kay Kyser’s Kollege of Musical Knowledge and speaks in great detail about his long-running stint as the host of The Mike Douglas Show. He describes moving the show from Ohio to Pennsylvania and finally to California and how each locale affected the program. Douglas details his “casting” by producer Woody Fraser, the rigorous production schedule, and notable guests including Aretha Franklin, Judy Garland, John Lennon and a 2-year-old golf prodigy named Tiger Woods. The interview was conducted by Karen Herman on March 31, 2005.

Highlights

Chapters

Shows

Carol Burnett Show, The (1967-1978)
- Make Douglas appearing on The Carol Burnett Show (airdate: January 1, 1968) NOTE: He did not appear on the premiere telecast in 1967 (05m 28s)
Ed Sullivan Show, The aka Toast of the Town
- Mike Douglas on his appearance on The Ed Sullivan Show (airdate: May 26, 1968) (02m 43s)
Kay Kyser’s Kollege of Musical Knowledge
- Mike Douglas on how he got his name (02m 43s)
Mike Douglas Show, The
Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson, The
- Mike Douglas on guests doing his show and T he Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson (01m 16s)

People

Ann-Margaret
- Mike Douglas on how Ann-Margret would want to do his shows before others because she knew Douglas would be nice to her (00m 54s)
Roger Ailes
Don Ameche
- Mike Douglas on co-hosting The Mike Douglas Show with Don Ameche (01m 18s)
Morey Amsterdam
- Mike Doulgas on the story Zsa Zsa Gabor told on The Mike Douglas Show that turned it from a live to taped program (01m 31s)
Paul Anka
- Mike Douglas on booking Paul Anka as co-host for The Mike Douglas Show (00m 59s)
Fred Astaire
- Mike Douglas on having Fred Astaire and Gene Kelly on The Mike Douglas Show (03m 30s)
Lyndon B. Johnson
- Mike Douglas on President Lyndon B. Johnson (04m 23s)
Lucille Ball
- Mike Douglas on interviewing Lucille Ball (04m 07s)
- Mike Douglas on Lucille Ball and Mary Tyler Moore (02m 03s)
Jack Benny
- Mike Douglas on comedian Jack Benny (03m 07s)
Milton Berle
- Mike Doulgas on Milton Berle and Richard Pryor appearing together on The Mike Douglas Show (01m 01s)
Chuck Berry
- Mike Douglas on John Lennon and Yoko Ono and Chuck Berry (01m 21s)
Carol Burnett
- Make Douglas on appearing on The Carol Burnett Show (05m 28s)
Joan Collins
- Mike Douglas on demands Joan Collins made in order to be interviewed (01m 46s)
Tim Conway
- Make Douglas on Tim Conway (01m 25s)
Bill Cosby
- Mike Douglas on comedian Bill Cosby (02m 00s)
Walter Cronkite
- Mike Douglas on news anchor Walter Cronkite (01m 51s)
Billy Crystal
- Mike Douglas on discovering young comics Billy Crystal and Michael Keaton (01m 41s)
Sammy Davis, Jr.
- Mike Douglas on final say for booking guests (01m 24s)
- Mike Douglas on Sammy Davis, Jr.'s appearance on The Mike Douglas Show (02m 13s)
Fred De Cordova
- Mike Douglas on The Tonight Show producer Fred De Cordova (00m 43s)
Walt Disney
- Mike Douglas on voicing "Prince Charming" in the Disney feature film Cinderella; on Walt Disney's legacy (03m 09s)
Phil Donahue
- Mike Douglas on talk show host Phil Donahue (01m 19s)
Joe E. Brown
- Mike Doulgas on co-hosts for The Mike Douglas Show (00m 43s)
Robert F. Kennedy
- Mike Douglas on interviewing Robert F. Kennedy (00m 32s)
Mia Farrow
- Mike Douglas on interviewing Mia Farrow (01m 01s)
Ella Fitzgerald
- Mike Douglas on "the mix" (01m 20s)
Aretha Franklin
- Mike Douglas on interviewing Aretha Franklin (03m 24s)
Woody Fraser
Judy Garland
- Mike Douglas on interviewing Judy Garland (05m 07s)
- Mike Douglas on his favorite moments from The Mike Douglas Show (01m 46s)
Jackie Gleason
- Mike Douglas on how Jackie Gleason didn't like to rehearse (02m 50s)
Berry Gordy
- Mike Douglas on booking African-American acts for The Mike Douglas Show and working with Motown founder Berry Gordy (01m 42s)
Bob Hope
- Mike Doulgas on how Ohio native Bob Hope helped promote The Mike Douglas Show (01m 19s)
Michael Keaton
- Mike Douglas on discovering young comics Billy Crystal and Michael Keaton (01m 41s)
Gene Kelly
- Mike Douglas on having Fred Astaire and Gene Kelly on The Mike Douglas Show (03m 30s)
Rose Kennedy
- Mike Douglas on having tea with Rose Kennedy before she appeared on The Mike Douglas Show (01m 36s)
Kay Kyser
- Mike Douglas on how he got his name (02m 43s)
Peter Lawford
- Mike Douglas on co-hosting the show MGM star Peter Lawford on the episode in which Judy Garland appeared (03m 15s)
John Lennon
- Mike Douglas on five shows with John Lennon and Yoko Ono (04m 19s)
Jerry Lester
- Mike Doulgas on co-hosts for The Mike Douglas Show (00m 43s)
David Letterman
- Mike Douglas on late night talk show host David Letterman (01m 03s)
Martin Luther King, Jr.
- Mike Douglas on interviewing Martin Luther King, Jr. (01m 28s)
Richard M. Nixon
Liza Minnelli
- Mike Douglas on his favorite moments from The Mike Douglas Show (00m 40s)
Yoko Ono
- Mike Douglas on five shows with John Lennon and Yoko Ono (04m 19s)
Richard Pryor
- Mike Doulgas on bleeping words on the episode of The Mike Douglas Show on which Richard Pryor appeared (03m 01s)
Frank Sinatra
- Mike Douglas on never having Frank Sinatra on The Mike Douglas Show (01m 43s)
- Mike Douglas on Frank Sinatra (05m 41s)
Tom Smothers
- Mike Douglas on The Smothers Brothers (01m 33s)
Dick Smothers
- Mike Douglas on The Smothers Brothers (01m 33s)
Barbra Streisand
- Mike Doulgas on a young Barbra Streisand performing on The Mike Douglas Show (05m 34s)
Ed Sullivan
- Mike Douglas on his appearance on The Ed Sullivan Show (airdate: May 26, 1968) (02m 26s)
Mary Tyler Moore
- Mike Douglas on actress Mary Tyler Moore and Lucille Ball (02m 03s)
Barbara Walters
- Mike Douglas on watching Barbara Walters interview (01m 03s)
John Wayne
- Mike Douglas on interviewing John Wayne (00m 28s)
Oprah Winfrey
- Mike Douglas on his opinion of Oprah Winfrey (01m 44s)
Tiger Woods
- Mike Douglas on introducing the world to Tiger Woods (01m 21s)
- Mike Douglas on Tiger Woods' appearance on The Mike Douglas Show (03m 18s)
Malcolm X
- Mike Douglas on interviewing Malcom X two days before his assassination
  (01m 04s)
Zsa Zsa Gabor
- Mike Doulgas on the story Zsa Zsa Gabor told on The Mike Douglas Show that turned it from a live to taped program (01m 31s)

Topics

Historic Events and Social Change > Civil Rights Movement (c. 1960s)
- Mike Douglas on interviewing Martin Luther King, Jr. and the day he was assassinated (01m 28s)
Historic Events and Social Change > Diversity in Television > Minorities
- Mike Douglas on booking African-American acts for The Mike Douglas Show (03m 03s)
Historic Events and Social Change > JFK Assassination and Funeral
- Mike Douglas on the assassination of President Kennedy while he was on-air with The Mike Douglas Show (04m 57s)
Pop Culture > Characters & Catchphrases
- Mike Douglas on "the mix" (01m 20s)
- Mike Douglas on his catchphrase "I'll be right back" and The Mike Douglas Show"asterisk" sets (01m 44s)
Television Industry > Censorship / Standards & Practices
- Mike Doulgas on the CBS censor on the early days of The Mike Douglas Show (01m 31s)
Television and the Presidency > Nixon
- Mike Doulgas on how television hurt the Presidential candidacy of Richard Nixon (00m 58s)

Genres

Submitted by Kevin S.Butler on Sat, 2011-11-19 22:25.

Kids tv hosts/performers:Paul Tripp,"Buffalo Bob"Smith,Paul Winchell,Jimmy Nelson,Soupy Sales,Chuck McCann,Dayton Allen and Shari Lewis were guests on Mr.Douglas' tv talk/variety show.

Capturing Television History, One Voice At A Time