Richard Dwyer from Los Angeles: “I’m going to ice skate
without ice”
Dwyer’s skating surface of choice is Teflon, the brand name
of a compound discovered by DuPont in 1938 and used in non-stick cookware since
1961. The entire stage is covered in the
stuff for Dwyer to do some spins and moves.
Dwyer is a well-known name in ice skating circles. He would spend thirty years with the Ice
Follies, officially retiring in 1980 but continuing to perform for decades
after. His signature routine in the Ice
Follies was as “Mr Debonair,” skating in top hat and tails while surrounded by
girls in evening gowns.
[Jim Steveson] from El Cajon: “I’m a champion garbage
collector”
He brings with him the trophy to prove it. Steveson placed
first in something called the Refuseman’s Rodeo, an event that was part of the
Trash Lifter’s Olympics in El Cajon, near San Diego. He describes it as an
obstacle course event judged on speed and safety. Thing is, we can’t find any record of this
event in El Cajon. Another event by that
name took place in Palm Desert in February 1973 and drew scant attention. Various communities over the years have
staged their own versions of garbage collection competitions.
Special guest Allen Ludden: “There’s an adorable, timid
little mouse under Anita’s chair”
Rather than questioning their guest, the panelists play Password,
with Allan giving clues to the panelists for each of the key words of the
Secret. Password, one of the
jewels in the Goodson-Todman crown, aired on CBS from 1961 until 1967, and
since 1971 has been on the ABC daytime schedule. The show would continue to air on ABC, with
occasional format tweaks, until 1975, and would return in a dramatically
different form on NBC as Password Plus in 1979.
Ludden hosted all the versions until a bout with cancer required him to
step down from Password Plus in October 1980. He died in 1981.
[Mrs Marilyn Sennett] from Sherman Oaks has brought an
item in a bag: “It’s a giant lemon”
The lemon is the size of a large grapefruit. It’s a big lemon.
