Match Game 77 (Episode 973) (HAVANA ____________)

Dick Smothers, Brett Somers, Charles Nelson Reilly, Meg Bennett, Richard Dawson, and Fannie Flagg

[@johnalang]

"Bark" for tree question

[@km-zu6qm]

They were too hung up on what a dog would do to a tree and how that might be reversed. But "bark" was my first thought as well.

[@marvinmeeker5765]

Totally agree.

[@kevansf]

H/H match update: ... Today's action: In the closing moments of the previous episode, our champion won the game one-to-zero without even needing his second-round question! This will be his third go at the Super-Match. Today's (first) audience match question: "Havana ________ " (My thoughts: Cuba, Cigar, Hat) The celebs: Richard (Cigars), Fannie (Cuba), Brett (no answer) The choice: Cuba The answers: Airlines, Cuba, Cigar A little bad luck and/or a couple of harder questions the last two days and our champ has yet to score a H/H match. He first chose Meg and then Fannie. In the past, I've seen a repeated tendency for contestants to ditch celebs after just one H/H miss, except for Richard. He's the one celeb that a champion will choose again and again without matching. I have a feeling he's going to go with Richard this time... I called it! He chooses Richard. I wouldn't be surprised if today's question is a gimme after the last couple of hard ones. Anyway, this is now King Richard's first consecutive play and now he's been chosen 100 of the past 108 times. (Charles answered three of the remaining questions, Fannie took two, and Rosemary Forsyth, Nipsey Russell, and Meg Bennett got one each.) Richard has matched 66 of his 155 most recent attempts (42.6%), 49 of his last 112 attempts (43.8%), 29 of his last 62 attempts (46.8%), and 5 of his last 15 attempts (33.3%). His overall success rate is 41.8% and this is his 633nd attempt so far. For the sake of comparison: Charles has matched 33 of his 66 attempts (50.0%), Fannie has matched 13 of her 28 attempts (46.4%), and Brett has matched 28 of her 68 attempts (41.2%). Meg Bennett missed her one attempt, and Dick Smothers hasn't been chosen for a head-to-head question yet. Today's (first) H/H question: "Week ________ " (Just in time for Richard, a super-easy question. Basically only one good answer and maybe one halfway decent answer. Either week-end or week day. I'll say week-end.) Richard files his (seemingly short) answer in about three seconds flat. The contestant gives the predicted response and receives a hearty round of applause. It's got to be a shoe-in today... Yup. Richard scores his 265th H/H match today. ~~~ A quick games ends in a 2-1 victory for our challenger. Today's (second) audience match question: "________ Marshall" (My thoughts: Thurgood, Penny*, Grand) *MG Trivia: Penny Marshall sat in the fourth seat for episodes 306-310 of Match Game '74. That was her only week on the panel. She was never chosen for the H/H. The celebs: Richard (Peter), Brett (Penny), Dick (Hebert) The choice: Peter The answers: U.S., Grand, Peter I fully expect our new champion to follow the crowd and choose Richard... Yes, this is now King Richard's second consecutive play and now he's been chosen 101 of the past 109 times. (Charles answered three of the remaining questions, Fannie took two, and Rosemary Forsyth, Nipsey Russell, and Meg Bennett got one each.) Richard has matched 67 of his 156 most recent attempts (42.9%), 50 of his last 113 attempts (44.2%), 30 of his last 63 attempts (47.6%), and 6 of his last 16 attempts (37.5%). His overall success rate is 41.9% and this is his 634th attempt so far. For the sake of comparison: Charles has matched 33 of his 66 attempts (50.0%), Fannie has matched 13 of her 28 attempts (46.4%), and Brett has matched 28 of her 68 attempts (41.2%). Meg Bennett missed her one attempt, and Dick Smothers hasn't been chosen for a head-to-head question yet. Today's (second) H/H question: "Pure ________ " (My first thought was "...as the driven snow." But I'm thinking there was a common household product name or tagline back then that included the word "Pure." I'll just stick with my first thought.) Richard pauses only briefly to look toward Fannie before completing his answer. The contestant says "Pure Magic." Hmm. Definitely a valid answer, but I don't think it's too likely to match. The audience hated it. Richard says Pure "Gold." Not bad. No match this time. ~~~Here's our updated leader board showing the 11 celebs with at least 3 H/H matches, ranked by accuracy: (Note: An asterisk before a celebrity's name signifies that she has "retired" from the show and her H/H stats are now complete.) (Note: For tied scores, I consider the one with the greater number of matches to be higher; if the matches are equal, the celeb who first achieved that score goes on top.) Orson Bean - 100% (4 wins in 4 attempts). TIE: (*)Jo Anne Worley - 75% (3 wins in 4 attempts). TIE: Joyce Bulifant - 75% (3 wins in 4 attempts). Gary Burghoff - 71.4% (5 wins in 7 attempts). TIE: Charles - 50.0% (33 wins in 66 attempts). TIE: Betty - 50.0% (19 wins in 38 attempts). Fannie - 46.4% (13 wins in 28 attempts). Jo Ann Pflug - 44.4% (8 wins in 18 attempts). Richard - 41.8% (265 wins in 634 attempts). Brett - 41.2% (28 wins in 68 attempts). Bert Convy - 33.3% (5 wins in 15 attempts). *These stats include every head-to-head match from episode 1 through 973, excluding the lost/missing/damaged episodes: 31, 32, 33, 311, 312, 313, 324, 325, 645, and 910. (As per MatchGameProductions, these episodes "are nowhere to be found and also aren't in the Goodson/Todman Library. Sadly, looks like they are lost forever!") -- Also, note that episode 849 was never produced. Additionally, these stats do, however, include the H/H results of missing episode 968 as those results were revealed in episode 969.

[@maynardsmoreland]

"Star Wars" premiered the week this episode aired.

[@janejayne8152]

Thanks for the context, hard to imagine that.

[@RandysVault]

I live in Alaska....love this

[@LVSignChick]

Thank you, Dick Smothers, for helping get "Dickie Dawson" off Richard's back!

[@sdlively27]

On this date in 1907, Arlene Francis was born..

[@ddruxman3579]

Havana nice time, singing Havana-Gila

[@briansk8362]

Her second round question had a definitive answer and she missed it, but still won the game.

[@nickko2500]

wow when i was hearing charles response i thought i misheard he said shed on the paper and i thought he said the word that ends in it instead of ed wow i would of laughed hard

[@sdlively27]

I have to remember that one, that was so good Charles! ROFL!!

[@PtolemyJones]

Wow, I was cure the answer for the guy who trained the tree was 'bark'.

[@musicloverme3993]

2:37 brief delay at ding and the lighting up of $500.

[@saraflint2982]

Clue: Havana ____. Me: Oh na-na. Half of my heart is in... Oh, that's right. This was 1977. 20 years before Camila Cabello was even born. 17 years before I was born.

[@tomsaaristo6294]

Teach the tree to "bark" (speak)

[@FerintoshFarmsPhotography]

So weird to hear my name, is her name Lanny? Or lami? Or annie? I guess I see why people ask me that now. Is a little hard to hear it what my name is

[@GizmoFromPizmo]

They messed up the end of the show. Good save, tho.

[@MikeSebastianVideos]

I wonder how the contestants felt when panelists wasted their responses with something cute, rather than trying to match.

[@what-uc]

The panel are there to think up amusing answers, not to match with the contestant

[@km-zu6qm]

@@what-uc Are you completely (blank) in the head? It's said many times that the celebrities are there to match the contestants. You can be creative with a correct answer (as Charles often does) but it still needs to be within the realm of common sense.

[@lesburns7395]

@@km-zu6qm Thank You, that made no sense to me either

[@kristabrewer6736]

@@what-uc HAHAHAHAHAHAHA (now THAT was funny) 🙄

[@patcrites5274]

And yet most of the celebrities match the cintestants

[@eddieafterburner]

Was Meg anticipating the sun spontaneously shining into the windowless studio?!

[@zq9m3xh8]

I don't know, I think for the Marshall one I would have gone with Herbert. Who else is with me? lol

[@bethdibartolomeo2042]

Odd to see them go straight to the goodbye without a commercial break. Was the commercial cuer late again?

[@jefftanner3803]

NO, It was the uploader Match Game Productions, the way he (Or they) edited it.

[@musicloverme3993]

@@jefftanner3803 20:12 It doesn't appear to be editing, Gene is about to say going to commercial and changes in mid-sentence to saying goodbye.

[@markkonzerowsky8871]

Get those contestants out there on cue. Uncle Gene does not like to be kept waiting!

[@Uniquely-Unoriginal]

sometimes I really thing they get nearsighted and farsighted backwards...but anyway...lol.

[@LVSignChick]

I'm definitely nearsighted...I can read a book or screen without glasses, but to drive I need them...

[@km-zu6qm]

Seriously... Son tried to shoot father?.. "PopGun"! I wasn't even alive in 77 and that's the first thing I thought of 🙄

[@deedenehy5280]

My thought as well

[@willwaning3476]

Tried to shoot him with a Pop gun.

[@markjamesmeli2520]

HAVANA ____________Geelah

[@jimjonrs3932]

Fetch

[@pencils812]

Has anyone seen the episode that Betty is talking about at the end of the video at 2:50? kzbin.info/www/bejne/mHa9nHakibB6jZY