After my stint as one of Dean Martin's Golddiggers I became one of the Beautiful Downtown Beauties on the last season of "Laugh-In".
Working on Laugh-In with Dan Rowan and Dick Martin was amazing! I had the chance to work with incredible actors. Once again I was able to enjoy the comedic talents of Ruth Buzzi, who I had had the chance to perform comedy sketches with on "Chevrolet Presents the Golddiggers".
As most "Laugh-In" fans remember their was always a Flower Party at the end of the show. We would all Go-Go dance and then freeze to allow for some scintillating banter from the stars.
On one particular show John Wayne was the guest star and it was my privilege to dance with him! Mr. Wayne didn't really dance so it was decided that I would dance in a circle around him. John Wayne was a notorious drinker and true to form he had been happily "partying" before taping began. He was in a very good mood as we started the scene. At the first motion freeze, he "twirled" to follow my dance and started wobbling precariously. (can you even imagine John Wayne twirling?) I became very concerned. . . I think we re-shot the scene three times, with each take getting more wobbly. Thankfully I heard "that's a wrap" called just in the nick of time.
The possibility that I would end up in a heap with the 6'4, 200 lb plus, John Wayne had been averted.
Janice, just found your blog. It's very entertaining. I'm enjoying reading your stories. Even more, I enjoy that you seem to have enjoyed the experiences. Seems like many entertainers feel interactions with others in the industry are simply blase. And it appears you've met some of the "greats", which is pretty awesome.
ReplyDelete--Karen Rosa