Customer Reviews

I'll Be Right Back: Memories of Tv's Greatest Talk Show

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1 star:		(1)

 

 

What a delightful book! For anyone who ever watched the Mike Douglas Show, this book is a must. It is filled with anictdotal gems from the show and behind the scenes. While reading the comedians chapter, I frequently laughed outloud. The stories about the various comedians are absolutely hilarious! Mike's easy-to-read style of writing takes you through the most memorable events from his years doing the show. What comes through loud and clear from reading this book is that Mike Douglas really loved doing his show, from singing with the most famous singers in the world to making people laugh with the most famous comics. Mike is a true gentleman. I loved his show and I loved and cherished every moment reading this book. It brought me back to simpler times, when people could be entertained by laughter and song rather than much of what is out there today.

When Douglas starts by making it crystal clear there will be no complaints or gripes about mean stars in his book, we expect a pleasant, harmless read. Foolish thought--nothing Douglas does is second-rate! He has created an exciting, sizzling book by using hundreds of spicy anecdotes and tons of exciting, top-quality black and white photos that appear every other page (our favorite--nutty Prof. Irwin Corey sitting between a doubled-over-with-laughter Douglas and a clearly frightened Liberace). The writing style is highly energized and original: "Traumatic childhood? Heck, no. I thought we were upper-middle-class. Did we have any problems? A couple, sure;" or, "...she started into 'Respect.' Oh my. Energy? She set the place on fire." His show aired every weekday starting Dec. 11, 1961, and, by 1964, was the #1 daytime show in the U.S. He claims his two decades of success with the show were due to his stiffling his ego and instead showcasing the guests, never confronting them. Douglas takes most pride in turning out a live 90-minute TV show daily, while producers today take months to do one special. While making it clear he loves everyone, Mike's hidden resentments come out loud and clear: a very difficult Sinatra, no-show guests, Gleason angry after losing to him at golf, and his quiet fury at being dumped at the end by Westinghouse after making them millions. This is one nice, classy man, but the hurts come across powerfully, and Mike forgets none of them. Along with anecdotes and hurts are deep insights into the singing talents of all the great vocalists of our time and wise advice for today's talk show hosts. And what stories! His losing a golf match to Nicklaus by on stroke; Malcolm X telling him he wanted to change his philosophy of violence; Prof Irwin Corey's being carried out by two studio workers after refusing to stop talking; a bear knocking his trainer out cold and then Mike's quietly leading him by his chain into a cage as the audience ran out, Mike's cutting in on President Johnson after LBJ danced too long with his wife. Douglas argues throughout the book that he is really a singer, and not a talk show success, but the evidence loaded into this book shows him to have been a brilliant, clever host with a beautiful heart that warmed up every guest. With tens of thousands of stories yet untold, readers can only hope Douglas follows this beautifully written book with numerous sequels. Let's hope that Mike will indeed "be right back."

....but, he was one of the best. He set a standard in his day that I'm sure many talk show host have aspired to, but frankly I can't think of anyone that did it as well as he did. Unfortunately, his book doesn't "show" how strong his connection to his guest and audience really was. I have my memory to serve me, but many of the readers probably weren't around during Mr. Douglas' heyday and don't know how unique he was. For example...he was one of the few greats that did something rather unusal. He listened! He offered his guest the opportunity to have the spotlight on themselves instead of constantly trying to catch the beam himself...which sadly is what so many of todays host do. Perhaps someone else could have captured Mike Douglas a little better then Mike Douglas did. His modesty may have tainted the outcome somewhat. But, it's still a better than normal read for a biography.

This book should be getting more attention. Mike writes a very interesting book on his feelings about past and present talk shows. His show was such a FUN show. It is a fast read and enjoyable.

"I'll Be Right Back" is a great trip in the 60's/70's Way Back Machine. I was fearful of a milquetoast account after reading Mike's initial disclaimer that he would avoid descending to depths of current media dirt merchants. Mike's does dish the dirt but he is subtle and discreet. However, it doesn't take too much insight to read between the lines on many performers and public figures. I was pleasantly surprised by the book. Although I still harbour a secret pleasure for watching the Jerry Springer circus, I really wish Mike Douglas would be right back sometime soon.

For those of us who remember watching Mike's show daily in the 1960s, browsing the photos, and having Mike's easy-going style expressed in the text, rather compensate for the flimsiness of the material Our own memories (particularly of the wonderfully diverse guests, from various entertainment fiels - and this in an era when there were topics other than sex and breast cancer to discuss) fill in the blanks.

Those looking for literary expression, intriguing anecdotes, or deep dimensions of character will need to look elsewhere. This book is just a casual visit with an old friend. As such, it might be a nice gift for a nostalgic relative.

i watched old Re-Runs of Mike Douglas's show&thought He had a laid-back quality to what he was doing.I enjoyed the fact that so many acts could come&go on His show&He was Classy about How He handled various details.this was a Guy who had his thing on Tv.a Good Book&reflects a different era&time period.

I found this book to be nothing more than a laundry list of famous names that appeared on the Mike Douglas show over the past century, and very little else. I was hardly expecting juicy gossip or lurid exposes, but at the very least some interesting anecdotes, and these were few and far between. I think Mr. D tried to cram too much into the book, and as a result didn't have much to say about anyone. (To be fair, he indicates he only knew most of them during the time they spent on his show.) Also, you will all be pleased to hear several times that Mr. Douglas has had just a swell, super-happy life, and is also married to the most fantastic woman in the entire universe. So there you go, if you're of a certain age, and you thrill to just the reading a list of the Big Names of yesteryear, and are as happy as Mike Douglas, then you will enjoy this book. I found it dull, crowded, and superficial.

I remember growing up watching the Mike Douglas Show after school and this book brought back lots of good memories. It will be hard for any talk show host to match Mike's graciousness and talent. He was able to make people from all walks of life open up and share a little bit of themselves (good or bad) and I'm really glad that Mike shares his memories with us so we can all enjoy some of those moments once again. I hope Mike writes volume 2 soon!

Yep, I also remember watching Mike after school, like so many others.

You are not getting controversy from him, not getting hard edges. Mike will never say anything bad about anyone else.

However, when you look at the guest list, wow!!!!!

His editors must have had a miserable time deciding what to leave out.

Am I imagining things or wasn't he based in Philadelphia for much of the show's run. Mike ignores that in the book and he ignores other things as well.

Still, I have extremely fond memories of him and wish he would come out of retirement. He is amazed that people remember him so well?