Merv Griffin Gets A Ride On A Marconi Mark IV
Merv Griffin Gets A Ride On A Marconi Mark IV
This fun clip is from November 8, 1965. This was the first year of Merv’s Group W, syndicated daytime show and was done at The Little Theater at 240 West 44th Street in New York. This is now known as The Helen Hayes Theater.
In ’69, CBS picked up the show and moved it to late night to compete against Johnny Carson. The first season was done from The Cort Theater at 138 West 48th Street.
In the fall of 1970, Griffin relocated his show to Television City in Los Angeles, but without sidekick Arthur Treacher, who told him “at my age, I don’t want to move, especially to someplace that shakes”. From that point on, Griffin would do the announcing himself, and walk on stage with the phrase: “And now…, here I come!”
By early 1972, sensing that his time at CBS was ending, and tired of the restrictions imposed by the network, Griffin secretly signed a contract with rival company Metromedia. The contract with Metromedia would give him a syndication deal as soon as CBS canceled Griffin’s show. Within a few months, Griffin was fired by CBS. His new show began the following Monday and proved to be more successful than its network counterpart, running until 1986. Enjoy and share!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iDs8JxxAnlU
Jazz guitar icon Jim Hall sits in with Mort Lindsey and the band but Merv insists on putting him through his paces in a mock audition from 1965. Merv shows o…
Also the Dick Clark Saturday Night Beechnut Show!
Hall got the job.
The Little Theater was also home to other TV shows, including “BEAT THE CLOCK” and “THE DAVID FROST SHOW.” (until the former relocated to Montreal in late 1970, they both shared the facility; Frost’s show taping weekdays, “CLOCK” taping weekends).