In 2018, community sites took turns covering a book every week. You can see "In 2018, we read books" to review that coverage. We didn't want to repeat ourselves in 2019 or 2020. So when Marcia came up with a way to cover books but with a twist, we were all for it. Marcia's idea was for us to digital books -- we're largely a printed text crowd -- and to use AMAZON's KINDLE UNLIMITED. So for 2021, we'll be trying to do a book a week and trying to just use KINDLE UNLIMITED. This week, after many weeks with nothing, we're returning to the feature to speak with Trina about her "Remember Hollywood Squares?"
Trina, you read Peter Marshall's book about the long running game show he hosted. The book is entitled BACKSTAGE WITH THE ORIGINAL HOLLYWOOD SQUARE: RELIVE 16 YEARS OF LAUGHTER WITH PETER MARSHALL, THE MASTER OF THE HOLLYWOOD SQUARES. The show was a tic-tac-toe board with nine squares. So nine celebrity guests each episode?
Trina: No, sometimes more than nine. Sonny & Cher were on and they were one square. Peter notes that three of the Monkees were on and they were one square.
Who are some of the celebrities that Peter Marshall notes in the book?
Trina: Lily Tomlin did the show, Phyllis Diller, Mickey Rooney, Jackie Mason who basically walked out on a week's worth of shows, Buddy Hackett, Rose Marie, Eartha Kitt, Dolly Parton, Michael Landon, Rodney Dangerfield, Burt Reynolds, Leslie Uggams, Vincent Price, author Jacqueline Susann, Gloria Swanson, George C. Scott, Gene Hackman, Betty Grable (she had cancer and needed an appearance on something to keep her insurance), Sammy Davis Jr., Andy Kaufman, Ginger Rogers, Teresa Graves, Alice Cooper, Susan St. James, Don Rickles and many more. They played with theme shows -- a week of soap opera stars, a week of sports stars and a week of music stars. The soap opera stars did very well in the ratings and the music did well but the sports stars weeks performed very poorly in the ratings.
What's one thing you learned from the book?
Trina: I used to watch that show constantly. I always enjoyed the shows as the week went on and thought that was just me. Turns out the ones airing Thursdays and Fridays were the most popular with viewers. They were funnier. And I always assumed that was due to the fact that people got more comfortable each day as they taped the show. That's not what happened. They taped a weeks worth of shows in one day. All the shows. And they broke for dinner after the third taping. So, according to Peter, they had a meal and drinks and people came back a little 'looser' which is why the Thursday and Friday shows were funnier.
What about the jokes?
Trina: Peter reveals that Joan Rivers and Mel Brooks always wrote their own jokes; however, others would take the jokes written by the staff. Paul Lynde would use the staff's jokes unless he thought of one funnier.
You enjoyed reading the book?
Trina: I really did.
How about KINDLE UNLIMITED.
Trina: I hadn't used it in months. No one else had so I felt guilty and decided to find something quick for my weekend post. It's an easy book to read, I read it in about an hour. My post contains details not discussed here so there's a great deal in the book. But while I was looking for something to read, I did notice that KINDLE UNLIMITED had updated the inventory and there were a lot of new choices. I wish they'd done it sooner. I doubt so many of us would have stopped using it if they had done some updating during the first six months.
Will you continue to subscribe after this year?
Trina: Yes, I will. We've got several of our adult children who have moved back in due to the pandemic and we have several grandchildren as a result. The monthly fee is more than worth it if you've got your family using the service. If it were just me, no. But with a family, there are several books a week that are getting read.
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