My Time on Password Plus

It was a terrible summer. At least it felt that way in the beginning. I had been fired from my first teaching job, and my life was utterly adrift.

When the school year ended, I didn't know what to do. Having to look for another teaching job while trying to explain it to any school system that bothered to interview me was too much for me to bear.

My father encouraged me to take a break and regroup. He and his brother, my Uncle Mike, had reconciled, and they would pay for my flight to visit him.

Uncle Mike was a television director, now retired. I had stayed with him for a couple years, starting when I was just five years old. He helped me get parts in a few programs, including his most significant achievement as a Director, Peter Gunn, where I had a recurring role playing the son of Peter Gunn's secretary. I also had a brief appearance in Twilight Zone and also Gunsmoke. I didn't mind it, but I was too young to understand what I was doing.

Then something happened that upset my father, and I was brought back home to Michigan. I don't know what it was - maybe a wild party or drugs or something that Uncle Mike was doing my father didn't like.

I wasn't a traumatized child actor like you read about. I was too young and my career too small to really affect me. It's hard to explain why I didn't go back to it. I did some acting in high school but nothing in college, except in an acting class where the professor really didn't like me and thought I had no talent. Then by the time I soared as a community theatre actor, it seemed too late. And sadly, my Hollywood connection, Uncle Mike, had passed away.

When I came out that summer of '78, I was surprised that Uncle Mike had used his connections one final time to book me as a potential contestant on Password Plus. Allen Ludden, the Password host who was married to Betty White, had revived his show of the 60s and would remain involved with the show until his untimely cancer death in 1981.

Most of the time I was there was spent waiting to see if they would call you up to compete. You spend time with the other potential contestants, both backstage and as part of the audience. Five shows were taped at a time. It took most of a day to do that.

I got to know my fellow contestants more than the celebrity contestants. We had much more time to talk to each other. I really got to talk to one of the contestants quite a bit. Her name was Suzie Wilson. She was a few years older than me, recently single, and very funny.

In the third episode, my name was finally called. It felt surreal to actually be on television again. I saw the cameras, the small audience, the celebrities, and Allen Ludden, but it was hard to absorb that millions might soon be seeing this.

The celebrity I was paired with for that first game was Elaine Joyce. She was (and still is) beautiful. She had a spotty acting record, mostly guest appearances on shows like Love Boat and Carol Burnett, and was very frequently on game shows. Later she married Neil Simon, the playwright.

 It was hard for me to hear anything; my heart was pounding so loud. Allen Ludden asked me to say something about myself, and I stuttered out my name and that I was a teacher in Michigan. I mentioned that I like to write and read, specifically naming comic books. Ms. Joyce wrinkled her nose at that like she had smelled something foul.

 

The other celebrity contestant was Bart Braverman. No, that's real. I'm not making it up. He was a regular on the TV show Vegas and had appearances on M*A*S*H.

I wish I could tell all the clues I was given or gave, but much of it was a blur. You had to guess a word based on the one-word clues you were given. Then, if you got that right, the word would be used as part of up to five words representing something you would have to guess.

The contestant with Bart was named Kelly. I don't remember her last name. I only remember Kelly because it was on her name tag. She had won before I came on, winning Alphabetics and collecting $5,000.

One I remember was where the first clue was piano. Elaine got me to say it on the second try. I think prior clues and been like instrument, keys, and I got it when she said ivory. Then Kelly got lessons when Bart said instructions. Amazingly, Kelly missed the third clue.  It came back to us, and when Elaine said tick, I said tock. Taking the three clues into account - piano, lessons, tock - I guessed metronome and was right! That gave us 100 points.

This was a different time. The level of contact between celebrities and contestants was much greater than it is now (thanks and a hat's tip to COVID, and sharper views on sexual harassment). If you remember Richard Dawson macking on virtually every contestant on Family Feud, you'll know what I'm talking about. Although the most contact between me and Elaine Joyce was her squeezing my lower arm once, Kelly and Bart were going to town. Constantly touching, kissing at every answer or clue. If they got one right, it would be full on the lips. Even at that time, it was kind of uncomfortable to watch. Allen Ludden asked if they needed to get a room.

At any rate, I surprised myself and won the first game, 300 pts to 100. This entitled me to go to Alphabetics with Elaine Joyce. They presented you with words from ten letters, and if you got all ten, you won $5,000!

We started with the letter D, and I remember most of these. Elaine would give me a one-word clue, and I would guess. She could provide another clue if I gave the wrong answer. We had 60 seconds. This is what I remember - the hint that got me there from her is in italics, and my correct answer follows -

School  Desk

Escalator Elevator

Bird, Maltese Falcon

Stone Gem

Service Help

Break Intermission

Clown Jester

Diamond Karat

Italian ???

Castle Moat

Yep. I missed one. I didn't get Lasagna. Now Alison's Lasagna is one of my favorite things, but it was fairly unknown to me back then.

I became the champion for the next round, paired this time with Bart Braverman. Luckily, he was able to keep his hands off me. I think he was kind of miffed that I had eliminated Kelly.  

My challenger was Suzie Wilson, who I had talked to so much. She smoked me. I'm not saying Bart didn't try hard to help me, but, you know, the suspicion was there.

Suzie stayed on through two more challenges, actually winning two Alphabetics, collecting over $11,000. We talked some between games. Enough so that I actually worked up the nerve to ask her out.

We had a pretty intense few days, but it soon ended. My excursion was over, and I went back to Michigan.

I had earned $1,200. Not a fortune, but it was enough to fund my next trip. To Georgia, where, unlike Hollywood, I wound up staying.*

*April Fools! I never was on a game show, I do not have an Uncle Mike, I was not a child actor. What is true is that the Password programs have become my retirement guilty pleasure. That and my overactive imagination,