Mike Douglas (at left, with comedian Soupy Sales), who died Friday on his 81st birthday, may be all but forgotten today, but for two decades, he ruled the world of daytime celebrity chat. From 1961 to 1982, The Mike Douglas Show was a must-visit promotional stop for top politicians and celebrities, as well as a hothouse for new talent. Among those who made their TV debuts on the former big-band singer’s syndicated series: Barbra Streisand, Aretha Franklin, and Tiger Woods (who demonstrated his golf prowess opposite Bob Hope while he was still a tot). Even as pop culture was splintering into exclusive niches during those decades, the old-school Douglas appealed to everybody. (John Lennon and Yoko Ono famously served as guest hosts for a week in 1972.)
As a genial host who offered a friendly spotlight to let guests of all kinds shine, Douglas influenced numerous followers, from Merv Griffin to Dinah Shore to Rosie O’Donnell, who paid Douglas homage by inviting him to come out of retirement for a guest appearance on one of her first shows in 1996. Despite emerging once more in 2000 to publish a well-received memoir (called I’ll Be Right Back, naturally), Douglas was happy to spend his last years playing golf. Still, his influence lives on in the work of Jimmy Kimmel, Ellen DeGeneres, and even Isaac Mizrahi. As for Rosie, who’s about to return to daytime on The View, she’s probably glad Douglas chose to stay on the golf course all those years. As she told EW in 1996: ”If Mike came back, he’d be The King. And I’d be back working at Yuk Yuks.”
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Honest and lovely guy.. fun show. Just a little naughty when great talent sought him out and anything could happen as they spoke one on one. I remember him well as my parents adored him, kind and considerate.. Opps gave away my age. Rest in Peace Mike.
As a kid, I’d run home to watch The Mike Douglas Show, which came on right before Gilligan’s Island. He was, along with Merv Griffin, the mid-day version of Johnny Carson. Among my fondest memories of The Mike Douglas Show is the edition with a then ostracized Martha Mitchell talking about her husband George Mitchell during the heated fall-out of Watergate and the Nixon resignation. Mike asked a seemingly innocuous question about her husband, and Martha recounted the week following being told about the break-in and her husband’s reactions to her queries about it. No guest dared came out while she gave intimate details about the lives of the Watergate conspirators. Classic. I was a kid at the time (maybe 13) and I was fixed on the TV. Mike, you were a pro….one of the best.
The fact that Mr. Douglas wasn’t currently on T.V. doesn’t make him “all but forgotten.” Many of us remember him very well and with affection. We watched his show every day after school. He was recently mentioned by several current hosts as their idol. Rest in peace, Mr. Douglas–I hope that you are interviewing all those stars in the heavens again!
Wasn’t that his show furniture that Kramer managed to get ahold of on “Seinfeld”? Other than that, I had no idea who he was…he certainly isn’t referred to much, unlike Johnny Carson, Phil Donahue, Merv Griffin, or Jack Paar.
Brandonk, it was Merv Griffin’s set furniture in Kramer’s apartment.
Another fan who used to watch his show after school as a teen. 90 minutes back then! I loved how every year for “sweeps” he’d take the show to CA., and visit the sets of tv shows & movies. He seemed like such a class act, and down to earth. He & Carson were the best!
A very nice man, especially for show biz. They don’t make hosts like him anymore.
Yet another one who used to love watching Mike Douglas on TV after school. Especially nice touch in your choice of photo of Mike Douglas with Soupy Sales….a visual time capsule. Warm fuzzies, indeed.
Mike Douglas was a pioneer when it came to daily variety entertainment and talk programming. He was a gentleman, which is no wonder that Douglas was able to attract people from all facets of politics and show business to be his guests. People like Jackie Gleason, John Lennon just to name a few.
It’s rare for any TV show to last 21 years, let alone start out in a single market (Cleveland) and end up being carried nationwide by over 200 stations. That success can be attributed to Mike Douglas’ personality and talent.
The Mike Douglas Show was a program hosted by someone who not only loved his profession, but made his audience feel like they were part of a family. You don’t see that type of programming on TV these days.
Mr. Douglas must be also given a great deal of credit for refusing to allow his show to deviate from its format in order to compete with the gutter trash programs that were just starting to take off. Shows like Jerry Springer, Jenny Jones and the other copy-cats that bombarded the airwaves with profanity, adultery, and other topics targeting the lowest common denominator in television viewership.
When the distributors of the Mike Douglas Show tried to go for a more “hip” audience, they replaced Douglas with John Davidson. No offense to Mr. Davidson, but Mr. Davidson’s foray as a TV host lasted as long as an orange on a grocery shelf. Meanwhile Mike Douglas stayed on the air until he decided to retire.
Those of us who remember Mike Douglas and his show will miss him very much. It would be nice if one of the numerous cable TV networks would air rerungs of his program so that the current generation of TV viewers could see for themselves what a real entertainment program was like. And the rest of us can once again see a true entertainer on TV.
Mike Douglas was amazing. A total class act.
He’s been someone I’ve always admired. And, I learned a lot of people skills from watching Mike. Mike could talk to anyone well.
I am fortunate to have grown up watching some ground breaking television pioneers, so many of them in live television formats — Ohio was the place for these kind of break-out formats: Mike Douglas, Ruth Lyons, Paul Dixon, Phil Donahue, and in Central Ohio, Flippo. And, nationally there were hosts like Dick Cavett, Jack Parr, Johnny Carson, and Merv Griffin. All these talents contributed different formats, styles, and forums, and they paved the way.
They were all good natured, good listeners, inquisitive, open-minded, honest, and naturally responsive to anything that happened! They were all quick-witted and innately funny and comfortable to just roll into the unknown. Nothing was ever done at anyone else’s expense. And, on these shows anything could happen! Modern formats pale in comparison.
In the 60s and early 70s, Mike Douglas was an everyman who was open to the changing times — that weekly co-host concept was just so cool and I remember Moms Mabley, Pearl Bailey, Totie Fields, Phyliis Diller, John & Yoko, Sly Stone, and the comics and the music, and his discussions were topical! Mike was genuinely engaged in every conversation. You just got these amazing insights into the people who were willing to hang out with Mike for a week. And, who might stop by — you never knew — just like a tiny Tiger Woods and his Dad!
Mike Douglas was modern, cutting-edge, kind, and willing to roll with whatever might happen. He is someone to emulate. Thanks, Mike!
Chalk up another after-school fan. And if you happened to be an aspiring jazz trumpet player at the time, quite the rush to tune in and see him chatting with Maynard Ferguson about yoga breathing techniques. Not the kind of thing you’d ever see on Merv or Dinah.
Funny how when someone dies he becomes larger than life. I thought his show sucked.
Funny how when someone dies he becomes larger than life. I thought his show sucked.
Another after-school Mike-watcher. I remember when Alice Cooper was his co-host for the week. I was so excited, as I was a huge Coop fan. It was just so weird seeing him as a regular guy, soft spoken and funny. He even showed off his golf swing on the show.
Me, too…growing up in a VERY small town in Florida, seeing the Mike Douglas show was fantastic. Even in my naieve state at the time (mid-late 1970’s and I in my early teens), I resonate with the other posters on my enjoyment of Mr. Douglas’ persona and the “regular” nature of his interactions with his very FAMOUS guests.
Great stuff…
i really loved mike douglas . he was so entertaing . watched him many times GOD BLESS HIM AND FAMILY>
I also remember watching Mike Douglas after school and remember him as a great host. He had a certain deadpan look that would come on his face when something out of the ordinary would happen that was priceless. He was the same person no matter who was on his show; anyone from John and Yoko to Loretta Lynn. TV hosts now could learn a thing or two from him. And as someone else posted I wish the was a network that would show the old re-runs of his show. Rest in peace.
I remember seeing Totie Fields on the show and I thought she was the greatest. Mike always made me feel he was really in my living room, just me, him and a guest or two.
I wish I had thought about reading his book before but I will definetly run out and get it now.
I was an after school fan. He treated his guests, no matter who, with respect. His show had such a variety of people and entertainment and that was not common for a non-late evening talk show. Where else could you see John Lennon on TV for a whole week! I will have to read his autobiography.
God bless his soul.
Mike Douglas was the program I watched after my soap operas were over with when I was a young person. He had such great guests — Totie Fields, Brooke Shields, and George Burns.
I loved The Mike Douglas Show!…It was known as a talk show…But he brought on many musical guests from a variety of genres…After school I usually watched Mike Douglas…I wish reruns of his programs were available now…Because the Mike Douglas show was a barometer of the times for show biz…It would be really cool to see all those yesteryear Mike Douglas guests again…the way they were.
The Mike Douglas was always on after school (just after my cartoon shows ended) and as I got older I came to realize that he had a lot of interesting people on his show, and I started tuning in all the time. He was always kind-hearted to everyone, the guests were interesting and the show was always entertaining.
I think my most memorable moment was from the early ’70’s when Mike had 75 year-old MOE HOWARD of the Three Stooges on the show. Toward the end of his appearance, Moe started to walk slowly toward Mike with a cream pie in his hand (to the delight of everyone on stage, including Mike). Right at the moment when everyone thought Mike would be wearing it, Moe (while still looking Mike dead in the eye) sent the it directly into co-host John Davidson’s face (as he was right next to Mike). The laughter was unbelievable…and I will never forget it.
Getting a pie in the face from one of the Three Stooges – that would be like getting a guitar lesson from Jimi Hendrix!!!
Rest easy Mike – you will always be remembered as one of the talk / variety show pioneers who took the format to a new level.
“Funny how when someone dies he becomes larger than life. I thought his show sucked.”
It takes a special kind of idiot to post something negative about a man, who for 20 years entertained an entire generation and suddenly, without warning, passed away. He was a husband and a father, and for many people, an entertainer that was without controversy. He was as honest as it gets in a dishonest industry.
What “sucks”, Harry, is your lack of tact, respect and human compassion. His show sucked because you clearly lack morals and were obvisouly raised without respect and manners. You may not have liked his show, but for 20 years, it was THE TOP daytime talk show on the air. It’s not all about you, jackass.
The world lost one of the good guys… a woman lost her husband, children lost their father. My thoughts are with his family. He is not “larger than life because he died” as you so crudely put it, he is being remembered for what he gave to may people who had a healthy respect for good, honest, clean television.
Thanks Mike, for giving us entertainment that was good for the entire family to watch…something that is sorely lacking in America today.
How about the time Mike was on location at Cypress Springs, Florida, and comedian Marty Allen rode a donkey (or was it a horse) off the diving platform into a big pool????? That is as vivid a memory I have of seeing Mike’s show ever. RIP, Mike. You earned it.
MJ and Harry: both of you have shown that you don’t have 1/100 the class that Mike Douglas had…nor can you ever hope to. I’m sure there’s a reality TV show on right now that’s more your level.
mike douglas? didn’t he play in Wall Street and the streets of san diego?
i likes him in that show, where he beats the hell out of big-nose karl malden, then throws grenades into oncoming traffic and eats oatmeal w/ fiber//
i once wrestled MD on his show, and he clipped me in the head w/ his foot.
I beat the hell out of him, afterwards, and made him dance in his t-shirt and call me ’sally!’
MJ
Hide in cyberspace, you wuss. Come meet me in KC downtown at high noon Tuesday, and I will make you my Beee-atch!:) NOw go pop your zits.
I used to come home everyday from school and watch “The Mike Douglas Show”. His show is a very specific memory of my childhood. I thought the week that John Lennon and Yoko Ono guest-hosted was unforgettable. May you rest in peace, friend.
Echoing the first comment – Karen – I did the same thing. Came home, watched Mike Douglas. You might be old if… when you grew up there were only 3 networks
and you remember The Mike Douglas Show. I’m glad his final years were enjoyable. He deserved it.
Enough, MJ. You don’t like the show? Okay, you and Harry are entitled to not like it. But there’s a fine line between not liking a show and spewing hatred. THAT line you definitely crossed. Now just settle down and let the rest of us that DO like the show enjoy our memories. Thank you.
R.I.P. Mike