This article does not cite any references or sources. Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. (March 2009)

The Mike Douglas Show is an American daytime television talk show hosted by Mike Douglas that originally aired only in the Cleveland area during much of its first two years on the air. It then went into syndication in 1963 and remained on television until 1982. It was distributed by Westinghouse Broadcasting and for much of its run, originated from studios of two of the company's TV stations in Cleveland and Philadelphia.

History in Cleveland[link]

The program premiered on WKYC in Cleveland on December 11, 1961, and featured a mix of light banter with guests and musical performances, along with more-serious interviews with prominent newsmakers. Joining Douglas as part of the everyday lineup was the Ellie Frankel trio, a local jazz group. Instead of an opening comedic monologue (as was the case with The Tonight Show with Johnny Carson, for example), Douglas, given his vocalist background, would begin each show by singing a popular song for the audience. Each week would have a different co-host who would appear every day with Douglas.

The inevitable growing pains of a new program were evident during the first week of shows, when the scheduled co-host, Irish singer Carmel Quinn, missed the first two shows due to a scheduling conflict in New York. In addition, faulty microphones on the inaugural broadcast were coupled with equally problematic chairs that caused a pair of guests to fall off stage.

Some moments of controversy developed in the opening months, including a guest's satirical look at First Lady Jacqueline Kennedy's televised tour of the White House that was criticized for bad taste, and a look at censorship that was to involve the reading of selections from books such as Lady Chatterley's Lover and Tropic of Cancer. The show was postponed until a representative for banning such books could be found.

In February 1963, singer Barbra Streisand was the show's co-host. During that week, she was performing in a local club, and was asked by the club owner to promote her appearances on Douglas' show each day. The reason given was because Cleveland newspapers were in the midst of a lengthy labor strike, preventing any consistent advertising. Douglas later said that the station erased the videotapes of Streisand's appearance in order to re-use them for station editorials.

Just a few months later, Douglas had atheist Madalyn Murray as a guest, three days after the U.S. Supreme Court had ruled in her favor in the Abington School District v. Schempp case, which banned Bible reading in public schools.

In September 1963, Douglas' show was syndicated to four other television markets that had a Westinghouse-owned station: Pittsburgh, Boston, Baltimore and San Francisco. Less than one year later, the show had expanded to a total of 27 cities.

On November 22, 1963, Douglas was speaking with Federal Housing Administrator Robert C. Weaver, when station newscaster John Dancy interrupted the live broadcast by walking through the audience in order to give the first reports of the assassination of President John F. Kennedy. The show soon ended as NBC began its four-day coverage of the tragedy.

During the July 23, 1964 program, comedian Henry Morgan made a brief appearance at the start of the show, but later walked out when Douglas was interviewing Dr. Sam Sheppard, who had been released from prison one week earlier.

History in Philadelphia[link]

When the program moved to Philadelphia in August 1965, the show was broadcast from a small 140-seat basement studio located in the KYW-TV building at 1619 Walnut Street (see photos on right). It continued to be aired live until later that year when Zsa Zsa Gabor called Morey Amsterdam a "son of a bitch" for interrupting her joke. After that, the program aired on a one-day tape delay basis, allowing for the editing out of any objectionable material. Live broadcasts (with a seven-second delay) were attempted only on a few special occasions thereafter, such as when the Philadelphia Flyers won the Stanley Cup.

In July 1972, the show moved to a new studio in the newly constructed KYW-TV studios at 5th and Market Streets in Philadelphia. That studio ("Studio A") was the first and only studio especially constructed for the program. While the overall new studio was larger, it accommodated only 120 seats. Ellie Frankel continued as musical director until 1967, when Joe Harnell, an accomplished musician, composer, and band leader took over the position until 1973. Harnell was followed by Frank Hunter, and the show ended with Joe Massimino in that role.

During much of its time on the air, the show remained strong in ratings, consistently finishing among the most popular daytime television shows nearly every season. Douglas took the success lightly. He made a surprise visit in 1976 to the set of Match Game, a competing show which managed to score higher ratings than Douglas' program during the mid-1970s, in order to congratulate host Gene Rayburn on making the game show the #1 daytime TV show.

The show's run spanned 21 years and more than 6,000 episodes. In 1978, production of the show moved to Los Angeles, where it remained until the end of the show's run in 1982.

In the fall of 1980, Westinghouse dropped Douglas in favor of John Davidson, although his show continued, with Syndicast taking over the program's distribution. However, in an effort to boost falling ratings during the show's final season, a third of the staff was fired and the program was revamped with a traveling roadshow format, retitled The Mike Douglas Entertainment Hour. The format change did not help, and Douglas' show was cancelled at the end of the 1981-82 season.

Guests[link]

The show featured the first television appearance of then 2 year old Tiger Woods who showed off his swing for Bob Hope and James Stewart. Others who appeared on the show over the years include Malcolm X, Martin Luther King, Jr., James Meredith, Sam Sheppard, Mother Teresa, Jerry Rubin, Angela Davis, Madelyn Murray O'Hair, Alfred Hitchcock, Fred Astaire, Judy Garland, Bette Davis, Gene Kelly, Gene Tierney, Lucille Ball, Vivian Vance, Mark Hamill, Ginger Rogers, Ricardo Montalban, Howard Keel, Celeste Holm, Dorothy Lamour, Dana Andrews, Vincent Price, Natalie Wood, Joan Crawford, Cliff Robertson, Peter Lawford, Nanette Fabray, Jack Lemmon, Tony Curtis, Lee Marvin, Paul Newman, Sean Connery, Roger Moore, Carrie Fisher, Robert Wagner, Diahann Carroll, George Hamilton, Victor Buono, Peter Ustinov, Tammy Grimes, Valerie Harper, Richard Dreyfuss, John Travolta, Louis Armstrong, Rosemary Clooney, Bing Crosby, Ethel Merman, Sammy Davis, Jr., Harrison Ford, Eydie Gorme, Jack Jones, Harry Belafonte, Liza Minnelli, Paul Anka, Robert Goulet, Carol Lawrence, Edie Adams, Debbie Reynolds, Gwen Verdon, Connie Francis, Olivia Newton-John, Ben Vereen, Joey Heatherton, Frankie Laine, Eartha Kitt, Sergio Mendes, Buddy Rich, Jerry Vale, Lola Falana, Frankie Valli, Pearl Bailey, Lou Rawls, Yank Barry, Tina Turner, Tom Waits, Eddy Arnold, Johnny Cash, Roy Clark, Kenny Rogers, Ray Stevens, Janis Ian, Bernie Taupin, Ian Anderson, Marcel Marceau, Muhammad Ali, Howard Cosell, Joe Namath, Mason Reese, Ralph Nader, Rex Reed, Martha Mitchell, Victor Borge, Kreskin, Imogene Coca, Phyllis Diller, Fannie Flagg, Lily Tomlin, Joan Rivers, Elayne Boosler, Milton Berle, George Burns, Sid Caesar, Mel Brooks, Alan King, Bill Cosby, Henny Youngman, Jack Carter, Redd Foxx, Rodney Dangerfield, Jan Murray, Shecky Greene, Buddy Hacket, Joey Bishop, Red Skelton, Steve Allen, Dan Rowan, Dick Martin, George Schindler^[1], Marty Allen, Robert Klein, George Carlin, Sandy Baron, Artie Johnson, Frank Gorshin, Soupy Sales, Jonathan Winters, Charlie Callas, Norm Crosby, Rip Taylor, Foster Brooks, Irwin Corey, Leonard Barr, Pat Cooper, Rich Little, Stan Kann, Steve Landesberg, Andy Kaufman, Jimmie Walker, Jay Leno, Moe Howard of The Three Stooges, Gloria Parker with her Musical Glasses, Ruth Dickson, Jimmy Edmonson (better known as "Professor Backwards" who appeared more times than any other guest).

Musical performers[link]

• The 5th Dimension
• James Brown
• The Beach Boys
• The Bee Gees
• Chuck Berry
• Brooklyn Dreams
• Ray Charles
• Cher
• Bo Diddley
• Minnie Riperton
• The Electric Light Orchestra
• The Electric Prunes
• Every Mother's Son
• Aretha Franklin
• Liberace
• Virgil Fox
• Gary Lewis and the Playboys
• Genesis
• Herman's Hermits
• The Jacksons
• Jefferson Airplane
• Dick Jensen
• John Lennon
• The Chambers Brothers
• KISS
• Little Anthony & the Imperials
• The Miracles
• Moby Grape
• The Rolling Stones
• Linda Ronstadt
• Marilyn McCoo and Billy Davis, Jr.
• Sly & the Family Stone
• Barbra Streisand
• Donna Summer
• The Supremes
• The Turtles
• Frank Zappa
• Billy Joel
• The Raspberries
• Luiz Bonfá
• The Four Aces
• Player

Guest co-hosts[link]

There was a different co-host every week on the show during its entire run, including James Brown, Cesar Romero, Jackie Gleason, Barbra Streisand, Joan Fontaine, Anne Baxter, Jimmy Dean, Richard Thomas, Florence Henderson, Brooke Shields, Shelley Berman, Richard Pryor, Dyan Cannon, The 5th Dimension, Suzanne Somers, Jerry Lewis, Don Rickles, Mike Connors, Minnie Pearl, Shirley Bassey, Bobby Darin, Tony Randall, Kaye Ballard, Totie Fields, David Brenner, Ted Knight, Bernadette Peters, Kate Jackson, Harry Chapin, Rod McKuen, Dick Gregory, Joe E. Brown, Forrest Tucker, Pat Carroll, Vivian Vance, Anita Bryant, Louie Nye, Pat O'Brien, Linda Darnell, Les Paul and Mary Ford, Pat Harrington, Jr., George Jessel, Dody Goodman, Billy DeWolfe, Hildegarde, The Smothers Brothers Cicely Tyson, Karen Valentine, Johnny Mathis, Joel Grey, Carol Channing, Anne Murray, Anthony Newley, Marvin Hamlisch, Patty Duke, Cher, Mel Tillis, Steve Lawrence, Martha Raye, Tony Bennett, Mel Torme, Frankie Avalon, Charlton Heston, Gordon MacRae, Richard Harris, Red Buttons, Billy Crystal, David Steinberg, Hugh O'Brian, Burt Reynolds, William Shatner, John Lennon & Yoko Ono. The producer for the episodes with John Lennon and Yoko Ono was Michael A. Krauss, who came up with the idea to book John and Yoko.

The Muppets[link]

The Muppets appeared in several episodes and ended co-hosting some episodes with Mike Douglas. Jim Henson, Frank Oz, Jerry Juhl, and Jerry Nelson appeared during the week of July 19, 1966:

1. Episode Dated July 19, 1966 - Kermit and the monsters introduce the show. Rowlf the Dog sings with Mike Douglas and Carmel Quinn. Jim Henson, Frank Oz, and Jerry Juhl play with the Southern Colonel. Kermit the Frog and Harry the Hipster show "The Art of Visual Thinking" (as seen in Sam and Friends). Carmel Quinn talks to Rowlf the Dog about Lassie. The "Sclrap Flyapp" act is shown. Carmel Quinn sings with Rowlf the Dog. The Mills Brothers sing to a sketch featuring Rowlf the Dog and Billy and Sue (performed by Jim Henson and Jerry Juhl). Rowlf the Dog and Beautiful Day Monster play over the credits.
2. Episode Dated July 20, 1966 - Mike Douglas and Rowlf the Dog introduce the show. The Two-Headed Muppet Monster (performed by Jim Henson and Frank Oz) sing "Let's Call the Whole Thing Off." Florence Henderson sings to Rowlf the Dog. Chef Bernardi (performed by Jim Henson with the hands done by Frank Oz) makes a sixty second salad flambé. Rowlf the Dog, Florence Henderson, and Charlie Manna introduce Mike Douglas. Mike Douglas, Jim Henson, and Jerry Juhl talk about Time Piece. Jim Henson identifies the Floating Face character to perform the Idea Man. A "Behind the Scenes" with the Idea Man. The Floating Face performs "I'm Nobody." Florence Henderson sings "My Funny Valentine" to Kermit. Rowlf and the Two-Headed Muppet Monster play over the credits.
3. Episode Dated July 21, 1966 - Rowlf the Dog, Mike Douglas, and Marty Allen introduce the show. The Muppets perform a jazzy number with hands. Hermione Gingold sings "I Remember It Well" with King Louie (performed by Jim Henson). Marty Allen talks to Rowlf the Dog and a Snerf. Chatting with Jim Henson and Jerry Juhl about the story boards for Southern Bread. The showing of commercial reels with Wilkins Coffee, Claussen's Bakery, Federal Housing Administration, La Choy, and Aurora Bathroom Tissue. Tommy from the "Kern's Bakery" ad sings "Money." Rowlf the Dog plays charades with Freddie Garrity, Hermione Gingold, Marty Allen, and Mike Douglas. Hermione Gingold sings "Thank Heaven for Little Dogs" to Rowlf the Dog. The Ostrich Feathers sing "Good Lovin'." Freddie and the Dreamers sing with Marty Allen, Mike Douglas, and a Whatnot on backup. Tommy, Rowlf, a Whatnot, and an Ostrich Feather play over the credits.
4. Episode Dated July 22, 1966 - Rowlf the Dog and Mike Douglas address Rowlf's mother Tilly (performed by Jerry Juhl) in the audience. Kermit and Big V perform the "Inchworm" sketch. Jerry Lester, Buddy Greco, Mike Douglas, and Rowlf the Dog sing through a request medley. A sketch with Polly Cramer of the Polly's Pointers column and Rowlf the Dog. Jerry Lester talks to a Muppet robot from the "Bell Data Communications Seminar." Jim Henson and Jerry Juhl chat with Mike Douglas. The Floating Face performs "Organizing the Brain." Mike Douglas sings "You're Nobody 'Till Somebody Loves You" to Rowlf the Dog. Rowlf the Dog sings "You and I and George" to Donna McKechnie. The Muppet robot sings "Anything You Can Do." Rowlf the Dog, Beautiful Day Monster, Two-Headed Muppet Monster, and Yorick play over the credits.
5. Episode Dated May 1968 - Part of Youth 68 is shown.
6. Episode Dated February 5, 1975 - Kermit the Frog and Dr. Teeth perform.
7. Episode Dated October 14, 1976 - Jim Henson promotes The Muppet Show which has started production and also shows some clips from the show. Dom DeLuise and Dr. Teeth sing "Tenderly."
8. Episode Dated October 3, 1977 -
9. Episode Dated October 24, 1977 - Kermit the Frog and Fozzie Bear sing with Victoria Mallory.
10. Episode Dated October 31, 1977 - Dr. Teeth sings "Bein' Green." Kermit the Frog and Mike Douglas sing "Sing." A clip from The Muppet Show featuring the Swedish Chef making lobsters is shown.
11. Episode Dated September 11, 1979 - Jim Henson and Frank Oz appear alongside Burt Reynolds and the Boomtown Rats. Mike Douglas and Miss Piggy sing 'Let's Call the Whole Thing Off'. Jim, Frank and the other Muppets add their two cents worth at Leeds Castle outside London.

Awards[link]

References[link]

External links[link]

• Official website, being licensing link for Mike Douglas Show clips from King World Productions, now part of CBS Television Distribution.
• The Mike Douglas Show at the Internet Movie Database
• The Mike Douglas Show at TV.com
• The Mike Douglas Show at Muppet Wiki

v t e The Muppets Characters Andy and Randy Pig Animal Annie Sue Beaker Bean Bunny Beauregard Beautiful Day Monster Bobo the Bear Bubba the Rat Camilla the Chicken Clifford Crazy Harry Dr. Teeth and The Electric Mayhem The Elvises Foo-Foo Fozzie Bear The Frackles George the Janitor Gonzo the Great Dr. Bunsen Honeydew Johnny Fiama Kermit the Frog Lew Zealand Link Hogthrob Mildred Huxtetter Miss Piggy Mr. Poodlepants The Muppet Newsman Pepe the King Prawn Pops Rizzo the Rat Robin the Frog Rowlf the Dog Sam the Eagle Scooter Statler and Waldorf Steel Rabbit Dr. Julius Strangepork Marvin Suggs The Swedish Chef Sweetums Uncle Deadly Waldo C. Graphic Yolanda the Rat Muppet performers Terry Angus Pam Arciero Don Austen Jennifer Barnhart Bill Barretta Cheryl Blaylock Fran Brill Julianne Buescher Tyler Bunch Leslie Carrara-Rudolph Kevin Clash Stephanie D'Abruzzo Alice Dinnean Michael Earl John Eccleston Peter Friedman Dave Goelz Louise Gold Tim Gosley Brian Henson Jim Henson John Henson Richard Hunt Eric Jacobson Jerry Juhl John Kennedy Tim Lagasse Bruce Lanoil Peter Linz John Lovelady Noel MacNeal Jim Martin Drew Massey Frank Meschkuleit Ron Mueck Brian Muehl Kathryn Mullen Jerry Nelson Carmen Osbahr Frank Oz Eren Ozker Bob Payne Karen Prell Mike Quinn Martin P. Robinson David Rudman Sandra Shamas Michelan Sisti Judy Sladky Caroll Spinney Bob Stutt John Tartaglia Nikki Tilroe Matt Vogel Cheryl Wagner Steve Whitmire Mak Wilson Victor Yerrid Television series Sam and Friends (1955–61) The Mike Douglas Show (Muppet segments, 1966–79) The Ed Sullivan Show (Muppet segments, 1966–70) Our Place (1967) Sesame Street (1969–present) Saturday Night Live (The Land of Gorch segments, 1975) The Muppet Show (1976–81) Fraggle Rock (1983–87) Muppet Babies (1984–91) Little Muppet Monsters (1985) The Jim Henson Hour (1989) Muppets Tonight (1996–98) Bear in the Big Blue House (1997–2006) Web series Statler and Waldorf: From the Balcony (2005–06) The Muppets Kitchen with Cat Cora (2010) Feature films The Muppet Movie (1979) The Great Muppet Caper (1981) The Muppets Take Manhattan (1984) Sesame Street presents – Follow That Bird (1985) The Muppet Christmas Carol (1992) Muppet Treasure Island (1996) Muppets from Space (1999) The Adventures of Elmo in Grouchland (1999) The Muppets (2011) Television specials Hey, Cinderella! (1969) The Muppets on Puppets (1970) The Great Santa Claus Switch (1970) The Frog Prince (1972) The Muppet Musicians of Bremen (1972) Emmet Otter's Jug-Band Christmas (1977) John Denver & the Muppets (1979) The Muppets Go Hollywood (1979) The Muppets Go to the Movies (1981) The Fantastic Miss Piggy Show (1982) Rocky Mountain Holiday (1983) The Muppets: A Celebration of 30 Years (1985) The Tale of the Bunny Picnic (1986) The Christmas Toy (1986) A Muppet Family Christmas (1987) Cartoon All-Stars to the Rescue (1990) The Muppets at Walt Disney World (1990) The Muppets Celebrate Jim Henson (1990) Mr. Willowby's Christmas Tree (1995) It's a Very Merry Muppet Christmas Movie (2002) The Muppets' Wizard of Oz (2005) Studio DC: Almost Live (2008) A Muppets Christmas: Letters to Santa (2008) Direct-to-video Wow, You're a Cartoonist! (1988) Muppet Classic Theater (1994) Kermit's Swamp Years (2002) Video games Muppet Adventure: Chaos at the Carnival (1989) Muppet RaceMania (2000) Muppet Monster Adventure (2000) Muppets Party Cruise (2003) Disney Universe (2011) Discography Albums The Muppet Show (1977) Muppet Beach Party (1993) Kermit Unpigged (1994) The Muppet Show: Music, Mayhem, and More (2002) The Muppets: A Green and Red Christmas (2006) Muppets: The Green Album (2011) The Muppets: Original Soundtrack (2011) Songs "The Muppet Show Theme" "Rainbow Connection" "Bein' Green" "Mahna Mahna" "I Hope That Somethin' Better Comes Along" "I'm Going To Go Back There Someday" "Bohemian Rhapsody" "Man or Muppet" Other media Muppet Meeting Films (1975–93) Muppet*Vision 3D (1991–present) Muppet Mobile Lab (2007–present) The Muppet Show Comics Before You Leap Related The Muppets Studio The Walt Disney Company The Jim Henson Company Jim Henson's Creature Shop Sesame Workshop Sesame Street Muppets Portal:Muppets

This article does not cite any references or sources. Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. (January 2011)

Mike Douglas
Douglas in 1966.
Born	(1925-08-11)August 11, 1925 Chicago, Illinois, United States
Died	August 11, 2006(2006-08-11) (aged 81) Palm Beach Gardens, Florida
Occupation	Entertainer
Website
Official Website

Mike Douglas (August 11, 1925 – August 11, 2006) was an American "Big Band" era singer, entertainer, and television talk show host.

Early life and Career[link]

Douglas was born Michael Delaney Dowd, Jr., in Chicago, Illinois, and began singing as a choirboy. By his teens he was working as a singer on a Lake Michigan dinner cruise ship. After serving briefly in the United States Navy near the end of World War II and as a "staff singer" for WMAQ-TV in Chicago, he moved to Los Angeles. He was on the Ginny Simms radio show. Then, he became a vocalist in the big band of Kay Kyser, with whom he was featured on two notable hits, "Ole [or Old] Buttermilk Sky" in 1946 and "The Old Lamplighter" the following year. Kyser was responsible for giving him his show business name, and he remained part of Kyser's band until Kyser retired from show business in 1951. In 1950, he provided the singing voice of Prince Charming in Walt Disney's Cinderella. In 1950s Douglas, living in Burbank, California, tried to keep his singing career going, working as house singer for a nightclub and going on the road to stay busy. He preferred not to switch to rock and roll, which limited his opportunities as big band music was declining in popularity. In the leanest years, he and his wife survived by successfully "flipping" their Los Angeles homes.

Talk show[link]

He next surfaced in 1961 in Cleveland, where a onetime Chicago colleague hired him for $400 a week as an afternoon television talk-show host at WKYC-TV, then known as KYW-TV. The Mike Douglas Show rapidly gained popularity, and ultimately, national syndication in August 1963 on the five Westinghouse-owned stations. The show was broadcast "live" on KYW-TV in its city of origination, but this practice ended in 1965 after guest Zsa Zsa Gabor used inappropriate language on-the-air when referring to stand-up comedian and comic actor Morey Amsterdam of the Dick Van Dyke Show. As KYW-TV's owner, Group W, successfully had a station swap with NBC overturned by the FCC. Westinghouse returned to Philadelphia on June 19, 1965 with call letters KYW-TV. Along with the station swap came The Mike Douglas Show, which aired its first Philadelphia-based show on August 30, 1965. Even after ownership reverted back to NBC, WKYC in Cleveland continued to carry the program for many years afterward. Guests ranged from Truman Capote and Richard Nixon to The Rolling Stones, Herman's Hermits and Kiss, with an occasional on-camera appearance from Tim Conway (who would later be discovered at WJW). Moe Howard of "Three Stooges" fame was a guest several times, with a pie-fight inevitably happening at the end of the interview and platform speaker on nonverbal communication (body language) Dr. Cody Sweet. The show helped introduce entertainers such as Barbra Streisand and Aretha Franklin. After the move to Philadelphia, Douglas also attempted to revive his own singing career, logging his lone Top 40 single as a solo artist, "The Men In My Little Girl's Life" in 1966. By 1967, The Mike Douglas Show was broadcast to 171 markets and 6,000,000 viewers each day, mostly women at home. It earned $10.5 million from advertisers, while its host was paid more than $500,000. In 1967, the program received the first Emmy Award for Individual Achievement in Daytime Television from the National Academy of Television Arts & Sciences. Most weeks, Douglas would be joined by a co-host, including Cesar Romero, Jackie Gleason, Joan Fontaine, Anne Baxter, Jimmy Dean, Richard Thomas, Florence Henderson, Brooke Shields, Shelley Berman, Richard Pryor, Dyan Cannon, Suzanne Somers, Jerry Lewis, Don Rickles, Minnie Pearl, Shirley Bassey, Bobby Darin, Tony Randall, Kaye Ballard, Totie Fields, David Brenner, Ted Knight, Bernadette Peters, Kate Jackson, Harry Chapin, Rod McKuen, Cicely Tyson, Karen Valentine, Johnny Mathis, Joel Grey, Carol Channing, Anne Murray, Anthony Newley, Marvin Hamlisch, Patty Duke, Cher, Mel Tillis, Steve Lawrence, Martha Raye, Tony Bennett, Mel Torme, Frankie Avalon, Charlton Heston, Gordon MacRae, Richard Harris, Red Buttons, Billy Crystal, David Steinberg, Hugh O'Brian, Burt Reynolds, William Shatner, Sly Stone, John Lennon & Yoko Ono. In July 1978, the talk show's home base was transferred to Los Angeles, where it remained until finally going off the air in 1982. A second series, The Mike Douglas Entertainment Hour, ended production in 1982, after which Douglas hosted CNN's Los Angeles-based celebrity interview show, People Now, taking over the hosting duties from Lee Leonard. He was replaced in January 1983 by WTBS personality Bill Tush.

Other notable achievements[link]

Douglas became a local cultural icon in Philadelphia, often inviting prominent players from the city's professional sports teams to be guests on his show (he had a particular affinity for the city's pro football team, the Philadelphia Eagles, constantly referring to the team as "Our Eagles", and he could often be seen in attendance at Eagles' home games, especially whenever they appeared on Monday Night Football). He also assisted in mayor Frank Rizzo's campaign against derisive jokes often told by outsiders about the city, acting as chief spokesperson for the "Anti-Defamation Agency" Rizzo had set up for this purpose.

Douglas sang the The Star-Spangled Banner before the first Philadelphia Phillies game at Veterans Stadium on April 10, 1971, and also sang the national anthem prior to a Cincinnati Bengals-Miami Dolphins playoff game on December 23, 1973. He wrote two memoirs: My Story (1979) and I'll Be Right Back: Memories of TV's Greatest Talk Show (1999). He also wrote a cookbook, The Mike Douglas Cookbook (1969), featuring recipes from him, his family, and the show's guests. 40 years after Douglas began his talk show at KYW-TV, his granddaughter Debbie Voinovich Donley designed successor WKYC's new broadcast facility on Lakeside Avenue, completed in 2002. In 2007, a new documentary film Mike Douglas: Moments and Memories was shown on PBS stations.

Death and Legacy[link]

Douglas developed prostate cancer in 1990, but after surgery he was cancer-free. He died in 2006 on his 81st birthday, at Palm Beach Gardens Medical Center in Palm Beach Gardens, Florida. Though the cause of his death has not yet been disclosed, his wife, Genevieve, told the Associated Press that he became dehydrated on a golf course a few weeks previously and had been treated for that off and on since. "He was coming along fine," said Genevieve. "We never anticipated this to happen." Douglas was survived by his widow, daughters Kelly and twins Michele and Christine, and several grandchildren and great-grandchildren.

Notable guests[link]

• His highest ratings came with a show co-hosted by John Lennon and Yoko Ono.
• Bill Cosby credits Mike Douglas for his "discovery."
• Jackie Gleason and Art Carney are guests on "The Mike Douglas Show" in their roles as Kramden and Norton on an episode of "The Color Honeymooners" musical-variety TV programs in the late 1960s.
• Tiger Woods appeared on the show as a toddler, golfing with Bob Hope and Jimmy Stewart.

See also[link]

United States Navy portal

• The Mike Douglas Show

External links[link]

• Mike Douglas at the Internet Movie Database
• CNN.com – Talk show host Mike Douglas dead
• WKYC-TV – Talk Show host Mike Douglas remembered
• Philadelphia KYW-TV article

Tiger Woods
Woods at a Chevron World Challenge charity event (2011)
Personal information
Full name	Eldrick Tont Woods
Nickname	Tiger
Born	(1975-12-30) December 30, 1975 (age 36) Cypress, California
Height	6 ft 1 in (1.85 m)
Weight	185 lb (84 kg; 13.2 st)
Nationality	United States
Residence	Jupiter Island, Florida
Spouse	Elin Nordegren (2004–2010)
Children	Sam Alexis (b. 2007) Charlie Axel (b. 2009)
Career
College	Stanford University (two years)
Turned professional	1996
Current tour(s)	PGA Tour (joined 1996)
Professional wins	99[1]
Number of wins by tour
PGA Tour	72 (3rd all time)
European Tour	38 (3rd all time)[2][3]
Japan Golf Tour	2
Asian Tour	1
PGA Tour of Australasia	1
Other	16
Best results in Major Championships (Wins: 14)
Masters Tournament	Won: 1997, 2001, 2002, 2005
U.S. Open	Won: 2000, 2002, 2008
The Open Championship	Won: 2000, 2005, 2006
PGA Championship	Won: 1999, 2000, 2006, 2007
Achievements and awards
PGA Tour Rookie of the Year	1996
PGA Player of the Year	1997, 1999, 2000, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009
PGA Tour Player of the Year	1997, 1999, 2000, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009
PGA Tour leading money winner	1997, 1999, 2000, 2001, 2002, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009
Vardon Trophy	1999, 2000, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2005, 2007, 2009
Byron Nelson Award	1999, 2000, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009
FedEx Cup Champion	2007, 2009
(For a full list of awards, see here)

Eldrick Tont "Tiger" Woods (born December 30, 1975)^[4][5] is an American professional golfer whose achievements to date rank him among the most successful golfers of all time. Formerly the World No. 1, he is the highest-paid professional athlete in the world, having earned an estimated US$90.5 million from winnings and endorsements in 2010.^[6][7]

Woods turned professional in 1996, and by April 1997 he had already won his first major, the 1997 Masters. He first reached the number one position in the world rankings in June 1997. Through the 2000s, Woods was the dominant force in golf, spending 264 weeks from August 1999 to September 2004 and 281 weeks from June 2005 to October 2010 as world number one. From December 2009 to early April 2010, Woods took leave from professional golf to focus on his marriage after he admitted infidelity. His multiple infidelities were revealed by several different women, through many worldwide media sources.^[8] This was followed by a loss of form, and his ranking gradually fell to a low of #58 in November 2011.^[7][9] He snapped a career-long winless streak of 107 weeks when he captured the Chevron World Challenge in December 2011.^[9] As of April 8, 2012, he is ranked #8.^[10]

Woods has broken numerous golf records. He has been world number one for the most consecutive weeks and for the greatest total number of weeks of any other golfer. He has been awarded PGA Player of the Year a record ten times,^[11] the Byron Nelson Award for lowest adjusted scoring average a record eight times, and has the record of leading the money list in nine different seasons. He has won 14 professional major golf championships, the second highest of any player (Jack Nicklaus leads with 18), and 72 PGA Tour events, third all time behind Sam Snead and Nicklaus.^[12] He has more career major wins and career PGA Tour wins than any other active golfer does. He is the youngest player to achieve the career Grand Slam, and the youngest and fastest to win 50 tournaments on tour. Additionally, Woods is only the second golfer, after Jack Nicklaus, to have achieved a career Grand Slam three times. Woods has won 16 World Golf Championships, and won at least one of those events in each of the first 11 years after they began in 1999.

Background and family[link]

Woods was born Eldrick Tont Woods in Cypress, California, to Earl (1932–2006) and Kultida (Tida) Woods (born 1944). He is the only child of their marriage, but does have two half-brothers, Earl Jr. (born 1955) and Kevin (born 1957), and a half-sister, Royce (born 1958) from the 18-year marriage of Earl Woods and his first wife, Barbara Woods Gray.^[13] Earl, a retired lieutenant colonel and Vietnam War veteran, was of mixed African American, Chinese, and Native American ancestry. Kultida (née Punsawad), originally from Thailand (where Earl had met her on a tour of duty in 1968), is of mixed Thai, Chinese, and Dutch ancestry. This makes Woods himself half Asian (one-quarter Chinese and one-quarter Thai), one-quarter African American, one-eighth Native American, and one-eighth Dutch.^[14] He refers to his ethnic make-up as "Cablinasian" (a syllabic abbreviation he coined from Caucasian, Black, American Indian, and Asian).^[15]

Woods' first name, Eldrick, was coined by his mother because it began with "E" (for Earl) and ended with "K" (for Kultida). His middle name Tont is a traditional Thai name. He was nicknamed Tiger in honor of his father's friend Col. Vuong Dang Phong, who had also been known as Tiger.^[16]

Woods has a niece, Cheyenne Woods, who is an amateur golfer on Wake Forest University's golf team.^[17]

Early life and amateur golf career[link]

Woods grew up in Orange County, California. He was a child prodigy, introduced to golf before the age of two, by his athletic father Earl, a single-figure handicap amateur golfer who had been one of the earliest African-American college baseball players at Kansas State University.^[18] In 1978, Tiger putted against comedian Bob Hope in a television appearance on The Mike Douglas Show. At age three, he shot a 48 over nine holes over the Cypress Navy course, and at age five, he appeared in Golf Digest and on ABC's That's Incredible.^[19] Before turning seven, Tiger won the Under Age 10 section of the Drive, Pitch, and Putt competition, held at the Navy Golf Course in Cypress, California.^[20] In 1984 at the age of eight, he won the 9–10 boys' event, the youngest age group available, at the Junior World Golf Championships.^[21] He first broke 80 at age eight.^[22] He went on to win the Junior World Championships six times, including four consecutive wins from 1988 to 1991.^{[23][24][25][26][27]}

Woods' father Earl wrote that Tiger first beat him when he was 11 years old, with Earl trying his best. Earl lost to Tiger every time from then on.^[28][29] Woods first broke 70 on a regulation golf course at age 12.^[30]

Woods' first major national junior tournament was the 1989 Big I, when he was 13 years old. Woods was paired with pro John Daly, then relatively unknown, in the final round; the event's format placed a professional with each group of juniors who had qualified. Daly birdied three of the last four holes to beat Woods by only one stroke.^[31] As a young teenager, Woods first met Jack Nicklaus in Los Angeles at the Bel-Air Country Club, when Nicklaus was performing a clinic for the club's members. Woods was part of the show, and impressed Nicklaus and the crowd with his skills and potential.^[32] Earl Woods had researched in detail the career accomplishments of Nicklaus, and had set his young son the goals of breaking those records.^[30]

While attending Western High School in Anaheim at the age of 15, Woods became the youngest ever U.S. Junior Amateur champion (a record which stood until it was broken by Jin Liu in 2010).^[33] He was named 1991's Southern California Amateur Player of the Year (for the second consecutive year) and Golf Digest Junior Amateur Player of the Year. In 1992, he defended his title at the U.S. Junior Amateur Championship, becoming the first multiple winner; competed in his first PGA Tour event, the Nissan Los Angeles Open (he missed the 36-hole cut); and was named Golf Digest Amateur Player of the Year, Golf World Player of the Year, and Golfweek National Amateur of the Year.^[34][35]

The following year, Woods won his third consecutive U.S. Junior Amateur Championship; he remains the event's only three-time winner.^[36] In 1994, at the TPC at Sawgrass in Florida, he became the youngest-ever winner of the U.S. Amateur Championship, a record that stood until 2008 when it was broken by Danny Lee.^[37] He was a member of the American team at the 1994 Eisenhower Trophy World Amateur Golf Team Championships (winning), and the 1995 Walker Cup (losing).^[38][39]

Woods graduated from Western High School in 1994 at age 18, and was voted "Most Likely to Succeed" among the graduating class. He had starred for the high school's golf team under coach Don Crosby.^[40]

College golf career[link]

Woods was recruited very heavily by college golf powers, and chose Stanford University, the 1994 NCAA Division I champion. He enrolled at Stanford in the fall of 1994 under a golf scholarship, winning his first collegiate event, the 40th Annual William H. Tucker Invitational, that September.^[41] He declared a major in economics, and was nicknamed "Urkel" by college teammate Notah Begay III.^[42] In 1995, he successfully defended his U.S. Amateur title at the Newport Country Club in Rhode Island^[37] and was voted Pac-10 Player of the Year, NCAA First Team All-American, and Stanford's Male Freshman of the Year (an award that encompasses all sports).^[43][44] He participated in his first PGA Tour major, the 1995 Masters Tournament, and tied for 41st as the only amateur to make the cut. At age 20 in 1996, he became the first golfer to win three consecutive U.S. Amateur titles^[45] and won the NCAA individual golf championship.^[46] In winning the Silver Medal as leading amateur at The Open Championship, he tied the record for an amateur aggregate score of 281.^[47] He left college after two years and turned professional.

Professional career[link]

Woods in 2001

Woods became a professional golfer in August 1996, and immediately signed deals with Nike, Inc. and Titleist that ranked as the most lucrative endorsement contracts in golf history at that time.^[48][49] Woods was named Sports Illustrated's 1996 Sportsman of the Year and PGA Tour Rookie of the Year.^[50] In April 1997, he won his first major, the Masters, becoming the tournament's youngest-ever winner.^[51] Two months later, he set the record for the fastest-ever ascent to #1 in the Official World Golf Rankings.^[52] After a lackluster 1998, Woods finished the 1999 season with eight wins, including the PGA Championship, a feat not achieved since 1974.^[53][54]

In 2000, Woods achieved six consecutive wins, the longest winning streak since 1948. One of these was the 2000 U.S. Open, where he broke or tied nine tournament records in what Sports Illustrated called "the greatest performance in golf history."^[55] At age 24, he became the youngest golfer to achieve the Career Grand Slam.^[56] At the end of 2000, Woods had won nine of the twenty PGA Tour events he entered and had broken the record for lowest scoring average in tour history. He was named the Sports Illustrated Sportsman of the Year, the first and only athlete to be honored twice, and was ranked by Golf Digest magazine as the twelfth-best golfer of all time.^[57][58]

Woods at the 2004 Ryder Cup

Woods' victory in the 2001 Masters Tournament made him the first player to hold all four major professional golf titles at the same time.^[59] Following a stellar 2001 and 2002 in which Woods continued to dominate the tour, Woods' career hit a "slump".^[53][60] He did not win a major in 2003 or 2004. In September 2004, Vijay Singh overtook Woods in the Official World Golf Rankings, breaking Woods' record streak of 264 weeks at #1.^[61] Woods rebounded in 2005, winning six official PGA Tour money events and reclaiming the top spot in July after swapping it back and forth with Singh over the first half of the year.^[62]

In 2006, Woods began dominantly, winning his first two PGA tournaments but failing to capture his fifth Masters championship in April.^[63][64] Following the death of his father in May, Woods took a nine-week hiatus from the tour and appeared rusty upon his return at the U.S. Open, missing the cut at Winged Foot.^[65] However, he quickly returned to form and ended the year by winning six consecutive tour events. At the season's close, with 54 wins and 12 majors wins, Woods had broken the tour records for both total wins and total majors wins over eleven seasons.^[66]

Woods at the 2006 Masters Tournament

He continued to excel in 2007 and the first part of 2008. In April 2008, he underwent knee surgery and missed the next two months on the tour.^[67] Woods returned for the 2008 U.S. Open, where he struggled the first day but ultimately claimed a dramatic victory over Rocco Mediate, after which Mediate said, "This guy does things that are just not normal by any stretch of the imagination," and Kenny Perry added, "He beat everybody on one leg."^[68][69][70] Two days later, Woods announced that he would miss the remainder of the season due to further knee surgery, and that his knee was more severely damaged than previously revealed, prompting even greater praise for his U.S. Open performance. Woods called it "my greatest ever championship."^[71][72][73] In Woods' absence, TV ratings for the remainder of the season suffered a huge decline from 2007.^[74]

Upon Woods' much-anticipated return in 2009, he performed well, including a spectacular performance at the 2009 Presidents Cup, but failed to win a major, the first year since 2004 that he failed to do so.^[75][76][77] After his marital infidelities came to light at the end of 2009 and received massive media coverage, Woods announced in December that he would be taking an indefinite break from competitive golf. In February 2010, he delivered a televised apology for his behavior. During this period, several companies ended their endorsement deals with Woods.

He returned to competition in April at the 2010 Masters Tournament, where he finished in a tie for fourth place.^[78] He followed the Masters with poor showings at the Quail Hollow Championship and the Players Championship, where he withdrew in the fourth round citing injury.^[79] Shortly afterward, Woods' coach since 2003, Hank Haney, resigned the position; he was replaced in August by Sean Foley. The rest of the season went badly for Woods, who failed to win a single event for the first time since turning professional, while nevertheless finishing the season ranked #2 in the world.

Woods' performance continued to suffer in 2011, taking its toll on his ranking. After falling to #7 in March, he rebounded to #5 with a strong showing at the 2011 Masters Tournament, where he tied for fourth place.^[80][81][82] Due to leg injuries incurred at the Masters, he missed several summer events; in July he fired his longtime caddy Steve Williams, replacing him temporarily with friend Bryon Bell.^[83][84] After returning to tournament play in August, Woods continued to falter, and his ranking gradually fell to a low of #58.^[9] He rose to #50 in mid-November after a third-place win at the Emirates Australian Open, and broke his winless streak with a victory at December's Chevron World Challenge.^[9][85]

His 2012 season started at the Abu Dhabi HSBC Golf Championship on the European Tour in late January. For the first two days of play Tiger was grouped with Rory McIlroy and world No.1 Luke Donald. He shot under par rounds of 70 and 69 on Thursday and Friday respectively, which left him in joint 4th place at 5-under par. His low round of the week came on Saturday, shooting a 6-under par 66, giving him the joint lead with England's Robert Rock. Woods struggled on Sunday and couldn't mount a big enough charge, shooting a level par 72 and settling for joint 3rd place. Woods' second tournament of the year came at the AT&T Pebble Beach National Pro-Am in early February which he had not played since 2002. His amateur partner for the week was Dallas Cowboys quarterback Tony Romo. Woods shot solid rounds of 68-68-67 on the first three days, and began Sunday in third place, four shots behind leader Charlie Wi. However, he struggled with his putting and shot a final round 75 while his playing partner Phil Mickelson shot a 64 and won the tournament.

His next tournament was the WGC-Accenture Match Play Championship in Arizona. Woods battled to win his first round match against Gonzalo Fernández-Castaño, 1-up, and then played Nick Watney in the second round. On the 18th hole, Woods had to make birdie to extend the match, however his 5 foot putt missed and he was knocked out of the tournament. Woods commented that his putting was hindered technically and required some work after battling with it throughout the round.^[86] The following week Woods teed off at the Honda Classic in Palm Beach Gardens, Florida. Woods commented that he had referred back to putting basics instead of new technique he had been applying. Woods' putting over the first three days of tournament play was noticeably better, but the ball was struggling to fall into the hole. Tiger began the fourth round on 2-under par, 9 shots behind leader Rory McIlroy. After parring the first hole and being delayed by adverse weather, Woods returned and played the remaining 17 holes in 8-under par including two eagles and no bogeys. A birdie-eagle finish set up Woods to possibly claim the title, however McIlroy kept his cool and won the tournament. Tiger finished joint second, and the round also marked his lowest final round score in his PGA Tour career.

Woods played the following week at the WGC-Cadillac Championship in Miami, Florida. Tiger spent the first three days near the top of the leaderboard and shot 72-67-68 to start the fourth round in tied 8th place at 9-under par, 8 shots behind leader Bubba Watson. Woods struggled on the front 9 and shot 2-over par going out. He then began to noticeably limp on the next three holes and went on to withdraw from the tournament with an apparent left leg injury, which was later confirmed as a strain on his left Achilles tendon that had been injured previously at the 2011 Masters Tournament. After a short time off, Woods played in the Tavistock Cup at the Lake Nona Golf and Country Club, representing Team Albany, finishing 4th. The same week, Woods began the Arnold Palmer Invitational. After three rounds of 69, 65 and a 71, he began Sunday in the lead at 11-under par, one shot ahead of Graeme McDowell. Woods remained in the lead throughout the round and shot a 2-under par 70 to claim his seventh win at Bay Hill and also marked his first win on the PGA Tour since the BMW Championship in September 2009. After a week off, he returned to Augusta for the Masters Tournament. Over the four days, Woods was never close to contending the title, and shot rounds of 72-75-72-74 to finish tied 40th. After a 3 week break from competition, Woods traveled to Charlotte, North Carolina, for the Wells Fargo Championship. Although starting positively with a 1-under par 71, Woods' second round of 73 (1-over) derailed his tournament hopes and resulted in him missing his eighth cut as a professional by 1 shot and second in as many years for the tournament. The following week, Woods played The Players Championship. After an opening round of 74 (2-over), he was in threat of missing a second consecutive cut, a first for his professional career, however after a 4-under 68, he was firmly staying in the tournament as well as being in the hunt for the weekend. However, a weekend charge never mounted despite good ball striking and he settled for T40th at 1-under par.

Endorsements[link]

Woods has been called the world's most marketable athlete.^[87] Shortly after his 21st birthday in 1996, he began signing endorsement deals with numerous companies, including General Motors, Titleist, General Mills, American Express, Accenture, and Nike, Inc. In 2000, he signed a 5-year, $105 million contract extension with Nike. It was the largest endorsing deal ever signed by an athlete at that time.^[88] Woods' endorsement has been credited with playing a significant role in taking the Nike Golf brand from a "start-up" golf company earlier in the past decade, to becoming the leading golf apparel company in the world, and a major player in the equipment and golf ball market.^[87][89] Nike Golf is one of the fastest growing brands in the sport, with an estimated $600 million in sales.^[90] Woods has been described as the "ultimate endorser" for Nike Golf,^[90] frequently seen wearing Nike gear during tournaments, and even in advertisements for other products.^[88] Woods receives a cut from the sales of Nike Golf apparel, footwear, golf equipment, golf balls,^[87] and has a building named after him at Nike’s headquarters campus in Beaverton, Oregon.^[91]

In 2002, Woods was involved in every aspect of the launch of Buick's Rendezvous SUV. A company spokesman stated that Buick is happy with the value of Woods' endorsement, pointing out that more than 130,000 Rendezvous vehicles were sold in 2002 and 2003. "That exceeded our forecasts," he was quoted as saying, "It has to be in recognition of Tiger." In February 2004, Buick renewed Woods' endorsement contract for another five years, in a deal reportedly worth $40 million.^[88]

Woods collaborated closely with TAG Heuer to develop the world's first professional golf watch, released in April 2005.^[92] The lightweight, titanium-construction watch, designed to be worn while playing the game, incorporates numerous innovative design features to accommodate golf play. It is capable of absorbing up to 5,000 Gs of shock, far in excess of the forces generated by a normal golf swing.^[92] In 2006, the TAG Heuer Professional Golf Watch won the prestigious iF product design award in the Leisure/Lifestyle category.^[93]

Woods preparing for a photo shoot in 2006

Woods also endorses the Tiger Woods PGA Tour series of video games; he has done so since 1999.^[94] In 2006, he signed a six-year contract with Electronic Arts, the series' publisher.^[95]

In February 2007, along with Roger Federer and Thierry Henry, Woods became an ambassador for the "Gillette Champions" marketing campaign. Gillette did not disclose financial terms, though an expert estimated the deal could total between $10 million and $20 million.^[96]

In October 2007, Gatorade announced that Woods would have his own brand of sports drink starting in March 2008. "Gatorade Tiger" was his first U.S. deal with a beverage company and his first licensing agreement. Although no figures were officially disclosed, Golfweek magazine reported that it was for five years and could pay him as much as $100 million.^[97] The company decided in early fall 2009 to discontinue the drink due to weak sales.^[98]

According to Golf Digest, Woods made $769,440,709 from 1996 to 2007,^[99] and the magazine predicted that by 2010, Woods would pass one billion dollars in earnings.^[100] In 2009, Forbes confirmed that Woods was indeed the world's first athlete to earn over a billion dollars in his career (before taxes), after accounting for the $10 million bonus Woods received for the FedEx Cup title.^[101][102] The same year, Forbes estimated his net worth to be $600 million, making him the second richest "African American" behind only Oprah Winfrey.^[103]