In this video clip I posted here recently, a young David Letterman spoke of being about to tape a pilot for a game show he would host. This brought an e-mail from David Feldman, the writer who pens those great Imponderables books…

That link to the David Letterman interview brought back some memories. The game show pilot that Letterman alludes to was shot just before I started working for NBC daytime in New York City, but one of my first duties when I started working in NBC Daytime Programming department was attending the focus group for The Riddlers. Here, minus the Elvira wraparound is what our group of women saw:

At the time, Family Feud was the hottest show in daytime, and the VP of NBC daytime was looking for a comedian who could create the kind of byplay with contestants that Richard Dawson accomplished on a daily basis. I believe we already had a holding deal with Letterman. Everyone knew he was a great talent and game-show hosting was unlikely to be his ultimate gig. Wheel of Fortune and Hollywood Squares were performing reasonably well for us, but Knockout and The New High Rollers were not. Since we were paying Letterman anyway, why not see if he could fulfill a need for us?

I remember how much fun it was to sit on the "police side" of the one-way glass and watch the focus group watching The Riddlers. There was a lot of laughter on both sides of the glass. Everyone knew the premise of the show was flimsy: The crucial element would be how much the audience liked the host, and whether Letterman's wisecracks would be perceived as affectionate witty banter or cruel sarcasm. As much as the audience laughed at Letterman, they were clearly taken aback by Letterman's banter, especially toward the "civilians" (celebrities were fair game). Combined with research indicating that the gameplay itself generated no interest, The Riddlers was destined for oblivion. But as copies of the pilot circulated around 30 Rock, Letterman's stock went up rather than down, and helped cement the idea of giving Letterman his morning show.

They don't seem to do it a lot these days but there was a time when the networks loved to sign "talent" (performers, writers, etc.) to holding deals and the following would happen: The talent would think, "Great! They love me and they're going to pay me a lot of money and because they're paying me all that money, they really have an incentive to find the perfect show for me!"

And then they'd do one or two failed pilots — or maybe none — and everyone at the network would lose interest in the person. The talent would wind up realizing that at a moment when they were hot and others might be bidding for their services, they'd accepted money to be taken off the market.

Letterman was an exception to that. A couple of guys at NBC liked him. Legend has it that Fred Silverman had to find someone to entertain at a big, important dinner and when no Big Star was available, someone suggested that Letterman kid. Dave did well and that led to Silverman putting on Dave's morning show which led to replacing Tom Snyder. I don't recall all the details but I do remember how close Dave came to being one of those gifted guys who disappears into a network deal and is never seen again. Leno almost did, too. I believe Jon Stewart actually did vanish into such a contract for a while there.

The Riddlers really does look like an unsold game show pilot to me. It was done by Bob Stewart and everyone else who was doing $10,000 Pyramid (or whatever denomination they were then up to) and I'll bet after it was dropped, Letterman started thinking that NBC didn't have a place for him. And if Bill Cosby had agreed to speak at Silverman's dinner, that might have turned out to be true.

I officially love this news story…

On Tuesday, Timothy Ray Murray (pictured) challenged longtime incumbent Rep. Frank Lucas (R-OK) for the Republican nomination in Oklahoma's 3rd Congressional district. Murray lost, but he did manage to pull in 3,442 votes, good for 5.2 percent of the total. Now Murray says he will contest the outcome of the election. Because, he says, Lucas is dead and has been replaced by a "look alike."

"The election for U.S. House for Oklahoma's 3rd District will be contested by the Candidate, Timothy Ray Murray," Murray wrote in a press release posted on his campaign website. "I will be stating that his votes are switched with Rep. Lucas votes, because it is widely known Rep. Frank D. Lucas is no longer alive and has been displayed by a look alike."

On the website, Murray claims that Lucas and "a few other Oklahoma and other States' Congressional Members," were executed "on or about" Jan. 11, 2011 in southern Ukraine.

"On television they were depicted as being executed by the hanging about the neck until death on a white stage and in front of witnesses," the website claims. "Other now current Members of Congress have shared those facts on television also. We know that it is possible to use look alike artificial or manmade replacements, however Rep. Lucas was not eligible to serve as a Congressional Member after that time."

Oh, I hope this is true. I hope this is true. I know it's nuts but can still I hope it's true.

This is a lively rendition of one of my favorite Noel Coward songs. The singer is Broadway actor Greg Hildreth…

I was up much of last night. Around 3:30 AM, just before I thought I was going to bed, I went out to reset my trash cans. My gardener had placed them curbside for this morn's pickup but some scavenger person had gone through them and moved them out of position. While out there, I noticed several gushers of water shooting out from a neighbor's house, mostly through the garage, like a big water pipe had burst somewhere on the property. I knocked on the neighbor's door but got no answer so I ran back into my home and phoned the Department of Water and Power.

I defy you to get someone at the D.W.P. on the phone at 3:30 in the morning. I did, however, hear a lot of recorded announcements about how I could pay my bill over the phone or online.

Giving up on that, I phoned the non-emergency line of the police department, explained the situation to them and they connected me to the fire department. I explained what was going on to a nice man there and he said, "We'll send someone out." About eight minutes later, a full-scale hook 'n' ladder rolled up with lights flashing but no siren. I showed them what was going on and they were able to roust the neighbor.

It turned out that it was just a garden hose in the back yard that had been left running but it had apparently been left running for a long time. The back yard and garage were flooded and there was much damage.

With all the running around, I didn't get to bed until after 5. Then at 8 AM, the phone rang and I wasn't in sufficiently-deep sleep to not be awakened…

ME: Hello?

MAN: Mr. Evanier [he said, trying to put the dreaded French inflection on it], this is Bob at Annoying Construction. We're out on your street today doing some construction for one of your neighbors and he said you had some work you needed done on your property.

ME: Really? Which house are you working on?

MAN: Uh, I don't have that information here.

ME: Which neighbor of mine told you that?

MAN: I don't have that information, either.

ME: Well then, how can I call them and see how satisfied they are with your work? Wouldn't you do that if you were me before you hired you?

MAN: Yes, I just don't have that information right here.

ME: Is it possible you don't have that information because there is no neighbor and you're not working on my street?

MAN: Uh, something like that. Sorry to have bothered you.

It was a shame he went all dishonest on me. I don't need any work done on my house but I could have sent him to a neighbor who suddenly needs a lot of it.

I said here recently said that I spent one weekend in 1977 helping Gabe Kaplan out at a taping of The Battle of the Network Stars. I need to correct/clarify that.

ABC broadcast the first Battle of the Network Stars on November 13, 1976. It pitted teams from all three networks against one another in athletic events and ABC won two ways. Its team won the competition and the network had a special that got huge ratings and cried out for sequels. Quickly, they set up a rematch with the same team captains and some of the same team members.

The second one — the one I witnessed — aired on February 28, 1977 and it was actually called The Challenge of the Network Stars. Thereafter, they called them Battle of the Network Stars III, Battle of the Network Stars IV, etc., and retroactively referred to the one for which I was present as Battle of the Network Stars II. The teams were…

ABC Team: Gabe Kaplan (Team Captain), Levar Burton, Darleen Carr, Richard Hatch, Lawrence-Hilton Jacobs, Ron Howard, Hal Linden, Kristy McNichol, Penny Marshall, Jaclyn Smith

CBS Team: Telly Savalas (Team Captain), Sonny Bono, Kevin Dobson, Mike Farrell, David Groh, Linda Lavin, Lee Meriwether, Rob Reiner, Loretta Swit, Marcia Wallace

NBC Team: Robert Conrad (Team Captain), Elizabeth Allen, Lynda Day George, Carl Franklin, Karen Grassle, Dan Haggerty, Art Hindle, Kurt Russell, Jane Seymour, W.K. Stratton

I do not know who one or two of those people are and didn't then. A couple of them weren't sure at the time, either. For a while, I was sitting on the ABC bench and I had a clipboard with pages listing all the competitors and the schedule of events. Various stars were coming up to me, pointing to other competitors and asking, "What show is he [or she] on?"

It was all shot at Pepperdine University — half on Saturday and half on Sunday. One online reference says the hosts were Howard Cosell, Bruce Jenner and O.J. Simpson but I only recall seeing Mr. Cosell on the premises.

Gabe Kaplan introduced me to him. I shook the hand of the man they called with great sarcasm, Humble Howard and my gaze fixed on a toupee that wouldn't have fooled Quincy Magoo during a total eclipse. Gabe looked on as Cosell held onto my mitt with both hands and shook it over and over and told me, "Young man, I envy you this moment. It is rare that a pedestrian individual such as yourself has the opportunity to bask in the aura of true greatness. In years to come, not a day will go by that you will not boast of having met the famous Howard Cosell. Your children, your grandchildren, your great-grandchildren…they will all hear that you shook the hand of this nation's intellectual conscience."

I turned to Gabe and said, "You're right. He is an asshole."

Gabe laughed hysterically. A few other folks within earshot laughed. And Howard, to his credit, managed a chuckle.

I don't know why I said that. Well, I do know: to get the laugh. But that kind of remark usually isn't my style. Something about Mr. Cosell's little self-parody just brought it out in me.

An hour or so later, I was standing off in an area from which the general public was excluded, trying to act casual and watch something without appearing to be watching it. It was the sight of Jane Seymour in a clingy, wet nylon swim suit trying to dry her extremely-long hair. She was, then as now, a woman of stunning beauty.

In my quest to not look like I was ogling Ms. Seymour when I in fact was, I noticed Howard Cosell standing near me, trying to pretend he wasn't staring at her, too. It had already dawned on me that I might well owe the man an apology and this seemed like a fine time. I didn't think he'd taken umbrage. I thought what I'd said was in precisely the spirit that was demanded by his comment to me.

But he was a guy I kinda admired for some of the stands he'd taken…so just in case, I sidled over to him, nodded in the direction of Jane Seymour and said, "Now, isn't this better than interviewing Dick Butkus in the shower room?"

Mr. Cosell laughed and said, "Anything is better than interviewing Dick Butkus in the shower room. Or outside it for that matter."

I apologized to him for my remark. He said it wasn't necessary. I said, "I was very impressed back there with what a fine job you did of acting just like Howard Cosell."

He gave out with a long sigh. "It's a lot of work being me," he said. "I never know if I'm supposed to live up to my reputation or down to it."

Just then, he was called away to tape an interview for the show. He shook my hand like a normal human being and departed…but every time I saw him after that on TV, I thought about that remark: "I never know if I'm supposed to live up to my reputation or down to it." I suspect anyone who gains a rep for being outrageous in some way has to grapple with the same quandary.

A little later, I tried without any success to strike up a conversation with Ms. Seymour. I didn't really have it in mind that I might get her phone number or ask her to dinner but I also wasn't not thinking of those things.

I do not recall what I said but she smiled at me — which is all I was realistically seeking — and in the most polite, charming, civilized manner told me that she wasn't the least bit interested in talking to me, let alone going out with me. I hadn't even broached the latter activity but I guess she could sense I didn't not have it on my mind.

A week later at a party, I struck up a conversation with a young lady named Brenda. I don't remember what I said to her either but the first thing out of my mouth was whatever I'd said to Jane Seymour…only in this case, it led to us both saying many other things and then going to dinner the following evening. It was a terrible date — no rapport, no laughs, no spark.

By the time the waiter brought the check, we both wanted to be home and in bed — not in the same home and certainly not in the same bed — so we called it off then and there in the restaurant. I couldn't help but muse that having Jane Seymour say no was a much more pleasurable experience than having Brenda say yes.

Getting back to Pepperdine: I had two other encounters with glamorous actresses. Larry Hilton-Jacobs from Kotter introduced me to Joanna Cameron, who had been starring as the super-heroine Isis on a Saturday morning TV series. We hung out together for a while, then got separated in the crowds before she could turn me down. If and when she had, I probably would have replied, "You know, you could learn something from Jane Seymour."

Then a few weeks after the event, a photo of me turned up in not The Enquirer but one of those other tabloids. Actually, it was a picture of Jaclyn Smith from Charlie's Angels, sitting on the ABC bench next to me. I was not identified but the caption, ignoring body language that screamed "No,", wondered if I might be the latest in a long (apparently) series of Jaclyn's boy friends. Alas, Jaclyn missed out on that wonderful opportunity by never saying one word to me.

And I think that's all I recall of the weekend, apart from what I mentioned in this earlier piece and this one. An interesting experience to say the least.

From last New Year's Eve: The five undead members of Monty Python on The Graham Norton Show. (I almost typed "The Graham Chapman Show")…

So is there still anyone out there who thinks Gay Marriage can be halted and banned and undone? Yes, I suppose there is because there are politicians and pundits out there who think they can rally support and donation$$$ by telling people the fight is not over. But when you lose in Utah, come on! Now you're just like the guy who writes me all the time asking for money so he can prove Hillary Clinton murdered Vince Foster. You don't believe the cause is winnable any more than Max Bialystock believed Springtime for Hitler would be a smash hit. (Never mind that it was. It's that when he sold it to all those little old ladies, he thought there was money to be made despite the failure…)

• Sarah Palin's saying she might join a tiny, non-mainstream political party. If she waits a few months, she could just stay a Republican.

Today (Wednesday), Stu Shostak welcomes his resident TV critics, Steve Beverly and Wesley Hyatt.  Among the topics they'll try to get to (they don't always make it) will be the cancellation of The Arsenio Hall Show after it was originally picked up for its now-not-to-be second season, David Letterman's retirement and who they're going to get to follow Mr. Colbert at 12:30, the Supreme Court's Aereo pending decision, how the "mini digi-networks" (ME-TV, Antenna TV, Bounce, etc.) are really doing viewer-wise, Net Neutrality and the bill just introduced to Congress to ban "Fast Lane Priority" plus much, much more.

Stu's Show can be heard live (almost) every Wednesday at the Stu's Show website and you can listen for free there. Webcasts start at 4 PM Pacific Time, 7 PM Eastern and other times in other climes. They run a minimum of two hours and sometimes go to three or beyond.  Shortly after a show ends, it's available for downloading from the Archives on that site. Downloads are a paltry 99 cents each and you can get four for the price of three.  Do this.

In the meantime: As I've mentioned here Stu's lady friend, the lovely Jeanine Kasun, was hospitalized with a sudden brain aneurysm last November. I visited her in the hospital several times and it was very sad because while she seemed to be recovering in some ways, she still couldn't talk. Well, it turns out that Jeanine has good genes or good doctors or both because she's mending rapidly. Last evening, she even phoned me from her hospital bed…and while her voice is hoarse and still requires much healing, it was just a joy to hear her again at all. That was one of the happiest sounds I've heard in a long while.

Here's a list of 11 Common Words You're Probably Mispronouncing.

I take partial issue with #1 which says that Dr. Seuss pronounced his surname to rhyme with "rejoice." I guess he did at one point but there are plenty of interviews around with him pronouncing it to rhyme with "goose." Here's one with his widow and she pronounces it the way we all say it.

The late/great Larry Gelbart discusses one of his most famous quotes. It's often said that he said it during the tumultous outta-town rewrites of A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum…and maybe he did, also. First time I met him I asked and he wasn't sure but here, he seems to have decided it was said with regard to another, much less successful venture…

I spent yesterday (a) voice-directing The Garfield Show and (b) catching up on sleep I didn't get over the weekend working on the script. The session went well thanks to a superb cast: Frank Welker, Gregg Berger, Wally Wingert, Jason Marsden, Laraine Newman, Candi Milo and Corey Burton. Today, we have all those folks back plus Laura Summer, Jewel Shepard and the legendary Stan Freberg. As I am fond of saying, when you hire the best actors, a rhesus monkey could direct one of these things. Normal blog posting should resume shortly.

Many of you have noted the new headers on this page — not just one but several new drawings of me by a man of mystifying talents. His name is Sergio Aragonés and I'd hoped the new art would go quietly unnoticed for a time but no. (I love the folks who are writing me to ask if I noticed it had changed.) There are more drawings yet to come.

Also to come on this blog: In the next day or three, I hope to post a long piece about the situation by which Bob Kane is credited as the sole creator of Batman while his collaborator Bill Finger is not equally heralded on the strip or the movies or the Hollywood Walk of Fame. I shall mount the best defense I can of Mr. Kane and make a few points in his favor on this. But you'll still conclude, as I did, that it's awful that Finger's name is not there.

Also, I haven't forgotten that I promised more tales of working on Welcome Back, Kotter and witnessing, live and in person, a Battle of the Network Stars. And there's that long essay about the late Al Feldstein I said I'd get around to. And a few other things..

As usual, I will be doing more than a dozen panels at Comic-Con International this year down in lovely San Diego. There will be all the usual ones plus a few new things and I'll post my schedule here as soon as the convention is ready to release the total list.

By the way: Please don't write me about three things. One is getting into the convention. Another is helping you find lodging during the convention. And the third is suggesting programming, especially long after the schedule is locked, which it pretty much was a few weeks ago. You'd be amazed at the number of people who write or call me each year a week or less before the con to ask if some panel they want to do can be added. I don't program that stuff. There are people paid to do that and they have to do it way before the con.

I gotta get to the studio. Back later.

If you need me, I'll be in a recording studio for the next two days, directing voices for The Garfield Show. Try not to need me 'til we're done.

This actually happened the other day. I type these up from memory right after they occur…

HIM: Mr. Evanier, how are you? I'm Darryl with Whatever Construction and I spoke to you about six months ago about some work you wanted done on your house when you were ready for it.

ME: No, we didn't speak six months ago. We've never spoken.

HIM: Oh, yes we did, sir.

ME: Oh, no we didn't, sir.

HIM: Hey, I'm sorry. This is what they tell us to say.

ME: Congratulations. You're the first one in over a hundred of these calls to be honest about it so I'm going to do you a favor. There's no way I'm going to have your company do any work in my house so don't waste any more of your time with me. Go call someone else and see if you can make some money.

HIM: I appreciate that but could I ask you one question?

ME: Sure.

HIM: You don't happen to need any toner for your copier or printer, do you? Because I also make calls for a company that sells that shit.

You know…if I needed toner, I might actually have bought some from the guy.

Steve Rossi, who served as straight man to Marty Allen (and several other comedians) has died at the age of 82 following a long bout with cancer. In his day, he worked with everyone, including Mae West who gave him his first break and who changed his name to Steve Rossi.

I saw Allen and Rossi in one of their very last Vegas engagements. I also sat through a show that Rossi mounted a few years later with himself as headliner and a lot of…uh…unusual acts. I will tell you about them but not now. I'm still on the deadline. I'm also bothered that when I announce I'm too busy to post much, people die and I have to pop back here to post obits. Maybe there's a connection. Anyway, watch for a post about Mr. Rossi later this week.