I Remember Mr. Lee on Mike Douglas Show

[Susan Pitcher]

I haven't had much time to check in, but I felt compelled to do so after learning of the death of American talk show host Mike Douglas yesterday (8/11) from complications after he apparently dehydrated while playing his beloved game of golf. He passed away on his 81st birthday.

Somewhere in my old dusty videotape collection I have a copy of Mr. Lee's appearance on the show back in the 1970s while he was promoting Wicker Man. Some things about that appearance still stick in my brain, and I thought now would be the time to share them (I'll see if the tape still runs later on to offer up some more).

The two of them had apparently been on the golf course recently, and their discussion went into playing for "nickels" and "quarters," which turned out not to be for five or 25 cents US but $5 or $25. Mr. Lee observed to the audience, "When you play golf with Mike Douglas, make sure that he is your partner and not your opponent," noting how costly that last golf outing had been. Mike later set up an onstage putting green to offer his guest a chance to even up the score, and each gave the other a practice shot (Mike joked that his golf ball apparently came from Walgreen's drug store).

Another guest on the show that day was Erin Moran (Happy Days), and the three way conversation included a round of tongue-twisters: Ms. Moran got to say, "coop up the cook" three times fast, while Mr. Lee gave a rousing rendition of "brisk, brave brigadiers brandished broad bright blades, blunderbusts and bludgeons." Never missed a beat.

Mike ran a few publicity photos from his guest's various films, and I believe there was a discussion of Bear Island, which Mr. Lee noted was "The animal, not in the buff: and certainly not where we were, in Alaska in the winter."

Mr. Lee offered up a bit of operatic singing which brought on applause from the audience.

I recall Mike saying it was Mr. Lee's first stint as a guest, though I'm not sure if there were more.

A studio in Philadelphia where Mike Douglas worked on the show into the 1980s is dedicated to him, and I'm sure that his former guests, as well as fans, are saddened to hear of his passing.