416     January 11, 1961
Johnny Carson, Betsy, Henry, Bess

Pat McMahon from Cathedral City, California: “During World War II…President-elect John F. Kennedy saved my life” 
In August, 1943, the patrol torpedo boat PT-109 under the command of Lieutenant Kennedy, was rammed and sliced in half by a Japanese destroyer.  “Pappy” McMahon, the oldest member of the crew and the only man in the engine room when the attack occurred, suffered serious burns in the ensuing explosion.  Kennedy not only got McMahon back to the remains of the boat safely, he later towed McMahon three and a half miles to a small island where they and the remaining survivors were rescued more than a week later.  The event would be dramatized in the film PT-109 (1963).  Cliff Robertson played Kennedy, and McMahon was played by prolific actor James McCallion.   


Janet Champion from San Diego, California:  “This year I’m attending classes in…20 different schools in 20 different cities” 
15-year-old Janet is a featured skater with the Shipstads and Johnson Ice Follies.  She is also a sophomore in high school, and physically attends classes in various schools along her tour.  She was to perform here, but the show could not maintain even a small ice rink under the hot studio lights.  Founded in 1936, the Ice Follies, minus the founders’ names, continues today.  Among the shows they produce are the Disney On Ice spectacles.   


Special Guest Patrice Munsel has the panel listen to people on stage while blindfolded and try to describe what they might look like based on their voices.

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