| Other Regulars and Semi-Regulars |
The lovely ABBY DALTON (1966-70) was one of the very first squares, having appeared on the unaired Bert Parks pilot and in the earliest years. She was promoted as a full-time regular and also did similar duties on the NBC prime time version in 1968 and The Storybook Squares in 1969. Her list of guest TV credits run from The Rifleman to L.A. Heat. She was a regular on Hennessey, The Joey Bishop Show and Falcon Crest, and appeared as the title character's wife in the pilot to Barney Miller (but not in the actual series). When she appeared with Peter Marshall in 2002 to help promote his book, many noted how young and attractive she appeared even then. MOREY AMSTERDAM (1966-69) was certainly no stranger to one-liners or even game shows when he helped launch the Marshall Squares. In his teens, he was already playing violin and throwing out one-liners, at one point even working in a speakeasy owned by Al Capone. When he went to Hollywood he wrote jokes for Fanny Brice and Will Rogers among others. By the late 1940s he had so many radio shows Fred Allen once quipped, "The only thing I can turn on without getting Amsterdam is the faucet." In early television he starred in The Morey Amsterdam Show and panel shows like Who Said That? He had been around the block, and earned his reputation as "the Human Joke Machine" (getting emergency calls from the likes of Jackie Gleason whenever anyone needed one more last minute joke on a given subject) when he landed the role for which he will likely be best remembered, Buddy Sorrell on The Dick Van Dyke Show. Amsterdam appeared in the unaired pilot and earliest years of the Marshall Squares. He died in 1996, the same year he and his Squares and Van Dyke co-star Rose Marie were reunited in an episode of Caroline in the City. WAYLAND FLOWERS, with MADAME (1976-81) was a frequent guest as far back as 1976, but was apparently pressed into service as a full-time regular in late 1979 to help offset the loss of Paul Lynde, and remained on the Las Vegas version even after Lynde returned. A ventriloquist often appearing with the foul-mouthed puppet Madame, sometimes with the fouler-mouthed Jiffy, or the "baby" Smedley. Wayland Flowers first worked on TV as a puppeteer in the landmark ABC children's special Free to Be...You and Me (an obvious inspiration for the "Smedley" puppet). He later made personal appearances with Liberace before touring on his own. Other TV gigs include Solid Gold and Madame's Place. A Georgia native, Wayland Flowers died in Los Angeles in 1988 after a battle with AIDS. Other semi-regulars became comfortable with the show like a second home. One night when two celebrities failed to show up for a taping, Rich Little occupied both squares; he jumped square to square to imitate them and answer questions at the same time. Some got into the game itself; Robert Fuller and John Davidson were especially known as great bluffers. Among the semi-regulars (more than 30 weeks on the NBC daytime version): Marty Allen, Pearl Bailey, Kaye Ballard, Jim Backus, Bill Bixby, Charo, John Davidson, Sandy Duncan, Earl Holliman, Nanette Fabray, Robert Fuller, Florence Henderson, Arte Johnson, Harvey Korman, Michael Landon, Rich Little, Roddy McDowall, Jan Murray, Vincent Price, Tony Randall, Joan Rivers, McLean Stevenson, Leslie Uggams, Karen Valentine, Jimmie Walker. Click here to find out about the show's celebrity guests. Morey Amsterdam: There's a new perfume out that's driving all the women wild. It smells like money! Peter Marshall: Can boys join the camp fire girls? Marty Allen: Only after lights out. Peter Marshall: Helen Gurley Brown recently said of Henry Kissinger, "His most outstanding endearing quality is his ability to make someone feel..." Feel what? Jan Murray: His thighs. Peter Marshall: True or false, having a good memory is a sign of a well-adjusted personality. Karen Valentine: What was the question? Peter Marshall: U.S. News and World Report says Governor Reagan has recently been deluged with a tremendous amount of requests that he do one particular thing. What is it? Suzanne Pleshette: Retire. (Correct answer: run for president) Peter Marshall: What can you tell about the Pope when he puts on his purple robe? Tom Poston: He's ready for his pipe and slippers! Peter Marshall: In William Shakespeare's "Hamlet", Hamlet's mother dies because she gets something that was meant for her famous son. What was it? Roddy McDowall: A dozen roses and a box of candy. Peter Marshall: Were the Marines active during the Revoluntionary War? Marty Allen: If there were any Marines around I'm sure they found a little action! Peter Marshall: For a thousand dollars...what is the plural of "titmouse"? McLean Stevenson: Ooh-kay, got your mouse, got your meece and got your mice. It's titsmouse. (laughter) Titsmice...uh, (more laughter) Titmice! Peter Marshall: Why did we repeal the 19th Amendment to the Constitution, John? John Davidson: We replaced the 19th Amendment, Peter, with the 20th. That's why the 20th was enacted...(audience and stars laugh) Wait a minute...Do we laugh at stars when they give answers? Peter Marshall: I'm not laughing, John. (correct answer: we never repealed the 19th Amendment, but the 18th; it was a trick question, like most of the ones Davidson got) Peter Marshall: Is the padded bra industry really-- Suzanne Pleshette: WHY did you give me this question?! Peter Marshall: Paul Lynde recently stated, "If there's anything helpful for other actors to be drawn from my experience, it is this: don't try to fake..." What? Karen Valentine: Anything! Peter Marshall: McLean's in a new movie right now, "The Cat from Outer Space," for Walt Disney. McLean Stevenson: It's for the Disney Studio, not Mr. Disney himself. Marshall: Of course, Mr. Disney is no longer with us. Stevenson: No, Mr. Disney went night-night. Peter Marshall: Do most women think a gambling casino is a good place to meet a man? (Wayland &) Madame: I'll lay ya eight to five...or ten to midnight! Peter Marshall: When Fernando Cortez captured this city, he called it "The Venice Of The New World". What do we know that city as today? Marty Allen: South Philadelphia. Peter Marshall to another celebrity: Hickory Dickory Dock, the mouse ran up the clock ... Morey Amsterdam (interrupting): The clock struck one and the other one got away! (laughter) Peter Marshall: Thanks a lot, Morey, the question was going to be, "What time was on the clock?" (tosses question aside) (this was the first one from the "Zingers" album to actually be seen on GSN) Peter Marshall: True or false, rubbing grapefruits on your body makes you sexy? Marty Allen: Whose grapefruits? Peter Marshall: Madame, is it true that people who smoke get rear-ended more often? (Wayland &) Madame: Hi sailor, got a light? Peter Marshall: According to a recent survey by Futurist magazine, what was named as the most boring job on Earth? Vincent Price: Rose Marie's social secretary. Rose Marie: I knew you were gonna start! Peter Marshall: According to experts, can you have a one-second dream? A dream lasting one second? Can you? Harvey Korman: Well sure, but I always ask for some of my money back. I mean one second! Peter Marshall: What state is known as The Granite State? Morey Amsterdam: The Granite State? That's where the famous man said "Just because your head is made of marble, don't take everything for granite". Peter Marshall: If you see your dog chewing on the grass in your backyard, is that a sign that he's not feeling well? Morey Amsterdam: It's a sign that he doesn't like the grass in the backyard. Peter Marshall: According to the San Francisco Examiner, what land animal has the biggest eyes of all? Rich Little (imitating): Oh, that's Carol Channing! And Carol's eyes are so big because she's got her finger in a light socket! Peter Marshall: In the Bible, King Balshazar saw the handwriting on the wall, and later that night something unfortunate happened. What? Joan Rivers: Yeah, well, he found out that Shirley's number had been disconnected. Peter Marshall: In 1976, who made headlines by saying "I can't type! I can't file! I can't even answer the phone!"? Harvey Korman: Richard Nixon. Peter Marshall: Time Life Books calls it the most complex lump of matter known to man. What is it? Joan Rivers: My eggs benedict! Peter Marshall: According to fashion experts in the Arkansas Gazette, are bow ties making a comeback? Tony Randall: Why would you suppose that I would read the Arkansas Gazette?! Peter Marshall: Alexander Graham Bell of telephone fame spent 30 years of his life trying to get a female sheep to do something. To do what? Marty Allen: Return his phone call. Peter Marshall: According to the Bible, they never get old, and not one of them has been known to get sick. Who are they? Charo: The Osmonds. Peter Marshall: According to animal experts, what usually gets an ostrich to bury its head in the sand? David Brenner: A falling piano. Peter Marshall: In what event are you most likely to be confronted by a dog leg? Vincent Price: Oh, sleeping under a tree everytime! Peter Marshall: Readers Digest recently carried a cover story listing three things entitled "Don't Let Them Wreck Your Marriage". Two were money and sex. What was the third? Joan Rivers: Well first of all, I know that my marriage was almost wrecked over a silly little nothing. Peter: Really? Joan: Yeah, that lived next door to us...little 18-year-old tramp! Peter Marshall: If you surprised your wife with a gift of a roll of aluminum foil, what anniversary would you be celebrating? Vincent Price (laughs): It would be my last! I'd be wrapped up in it and put in the deep freeze! Peter Marshall: What new motion picture has an ad campaign that states "He's a lonely forgotten man desperate to prove that he's alive"? Marty Allen: Nixon Goes To China. (Abby Dalton is dressed as Little Miss Muffett on Storybook Squares) Peter Marshall: Is that your porridge? Abby Dalton: That's actually spaghetti, I overcooked it a little. Peter Marshall: The Pittsburgh Press quotes Doris Day as saying that when she first came to Hollywood, she didn't care if she became a star. What she wanted to do was to what? Earl Holliman: She wanted to play opposite Lassie. Peter Marshall: If you had twins and they weren't identical, what would they be called? Nannette Fabray: Peter and Debra! Peter Marshall: According to Ann Landers, you husband, Edgar, is talking in his sleep. Should you be upset if he talks about his secretary? Joan Rivers: And how...his secretary is a guy! (Charley Weaver is looking under his desk in his square) Peter Marshall: What are you doing? Charley Weaver: I have a pot roast under here. Abby Dalton: You certainly do! Home | History | Square Facts | More Square Facts | Square Bluffs | Square Rules | Peter Marshall | Paul Lynde | Charley Weaver | Rose Marie | George Gobel | Wally Cox | Kenny Williams | Heatter & Quigley | Other Regulars | | Guests | Politically Incorrect | Square Sights | Square Sights II | Square Sounds | 1970 article | Square Bluffs | Links | Dixon's Wish List |
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| Charo doing the Hoochy-Koochy |
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| Joan Rivers imitating Charo |
| Peter Marshall: In Hawaiian, does it take more than three words to say "I love you"? Vincent Price: No, you can say it with a pineapple and a twenty. We all love and remember Rose, Paul, Wally, Charley and George, but they weren't the only regulars. There were plenty of semi-regulars (30 or more weeks of appearances), frequent guests (between 10 and 30 weeks) and three more full-time regulars. |
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