Showoffs PILOT - RARE LAST LARRY BLYDEN SHOW

Check out this VERY RARE pilot of Show Offs hosted by Larry Blyden. This was taped 5/25/75 and Larry died on 6/6/75...the show ended up on ABC daytime with Bobby Van taking over hosting duties. This very well could have been the last TV episode Larry taped.
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[@gridlockjoe]

A very tragic loss. Larry did so well with the syndicated "What's My Line?".

[@PJade]

What a pilot, and such a rare one too! That's really very sad though... I think Larry Blyden would've been great on this show. Very likable guy in my opinion.

[@bodaciousbiker]

Larry Blyden was a versatile and gifted performer and my favorite host of 'What's My Line'. His death less than two weeks after shooting this pilot was tragic.

[@andyleclerc3600]

I only got to watch during the original run in ABC a few times, when I was a boy, and it was such a treat when I did get to watch.

[@QHMCQ]

1. As we've also seen on Body Language, Dick Gautier was GREAT at pantomime. 2. Larry Blyden was an excellent emcee and an underrated entertainer in general. Fun upload! Thank you, sir!

[@franklincourten8281]

This is a great show! A predecessor to “Body Language”!

[@JensMom1985]

Thank you so much for posting this! I have been wanting to see it since 1975!

[@twlightzone2065]

Wink- I enjoy the rare shows you post here on KZbin. Thanks for sharing this !

[@kgruber17]

What a find! Thanks so much for showing this.

[@lobstertexas]

@3:27 "Just so's everybody will understand" .. greatness.

[@illustriousrocket4476]

It's amazing to get to see this.

[@jeffandbike4503]

Great game of charades. Thank you for loading this Wink Martindale

[@KrakenMan5853]

This brings back memories of the original run on ABC with Bobby Van. Great game from the same Goodson-Todman unit that produced Family Feud. Lead by producer Howard Felsher and director Paul Alter.

[@franklincourten8281]

I love the sound effects! Pre-Family Feud!

[@pbatommy]

Family Feud got all their sound fx from this show and from Password.

[@andrewschroy6368]

I think a lot of Goodson-Todman games for ABC tended to use them-- even non-GT shows for the network such as Hot Seat, Bruce Forsyth's Hot Streak, Double Talk, and Bargain Hunters.

[@MMB18abel]

If I remember correctly, if you didn't win the bonus round in the Bobby Van SHOWOFFS, THE PRICE IS RIGHT losing horns would blare.

[@marcpower4167]

Bobby Van did a nice job, but what could have been if Larry had done the series.

[@jamaalthecashier]

As a 36 year old, I love watching shows like this because I get to research the hosts, actors & actresses. So I’m guessing this was what Body Language turned out to be. RIP Larry Blyden. This was a great pilot. Love this channel.

[@MountainHawkPYL]

This was not what Body Language turned out to be. Showoffs ran for six months in 1975. Body Language was more of a revival with some tweaks.

[@thewipsportstalkfan3160]

@@MountainHawkPYL basically BL was a fusion of Showoffs with Password Plus.

[@jamaalthecashier]

MountainHawkPYL Appreciate that. I just remember watching Body Language on GSN. Always learning something new.

[@user-xo6rm7oz3k]

This is a May 1975 pilot episode of the American 70s game show "Showoffs" (before the actual series debuted on ABC). 🇺🇸 🇺🇸

[@jayalhadeff3663]

I love this game and wish they had others from this version to see.

[@jeprice08]

Something tells me that I'm REALLY going to enjoy this!

[@fansontherun]

great one, thx

[@ronrondon9780]

Winiker im happy i saw the pilot episode and it is great let us know if you have the Bobby Van episodes first ans last episodes

[@KiddBloo86]

I love how Larry was already making little trademarks in the show with "Big Mike" and "The Box"!

[@musicom67]

Yeah, but Dick Gautier licking "Big Mike" in 31 flavors is an entirely other thing.

[@blakerice6238]

“Yes” or “No” to tell!

[@theweysermanisback5205]

When I 1st saw the "Honeymoon" clip, I kept looking at Linda, and saying that she looked like Challen Cates from "Big Time Rush".

[@illustriousrocket4476]

Buzzr is going to be airing an episode of Showoffs at the end of this month for the Lost and Found block. It's not clear if it's this pilot or a surviving Bobby Van episode, but still, even for one day only it's back after all these years!

[@AustinLaPlante]

If you didn't see it, they shown the Christmas Day 1975 episode (2nd to last episode of the series).

[@ShanetheFreestyler]

It's like Body Language, but without the full in the blank puzzles. Also, I think I remember seeing the "honeymoon" bit in a game show clip special when I was a kid.

[@arciem1959]

Showoffs ran from June 30 to December 26 1975. But Body Language ran from June 4 1984 to January 3 1986 Maybe Wink can explain how the Bobby Van version had a short run, but the spinoff version Body Language with Tom Kennedy ran a year and a half.

[@bjhughes8402]

It was aired at noon EST, so it was pre-empted by local news in many markets. It also was up against CBS's "The Young and the Restless", which ate up practically every show aired opposite of it.

[@ericjonmagnuson2728]

​@@bjhughes8402 I think that ABC might've also been generally too aggressive and impatient with its daytime schedule in '75--possibly spooked by that year's expansions of shows at both NBC and CBS. At this same time, the network added Ryan's Hope, Rhyme and Reason, the revived You Don't Say, and a temporary return of Brady Bunch reruns. On the flipside, CBS in the mid-'80s would've cared mostly about making sure that more affiliates weren't dropping its 4:00 p.m. ET show (the revived Tattletales, then Body Language, then the last months of Press Your Luck) altogether.

[@119Agent]

Sad seeing Larry right before he died.

[@Shellinois]

This show should have been a hit. I found myself laughing outloud many times. The trade off between the actors gave the game an edge, and one team an advantage over the other by playing the same words. Of all the 70s game shows, this one could actually work today. Very fun. Clever name too, SHOW-OFFS. Goodson-Todman shows had the best punny names.

[@BlaqC]

How does playing the game words give one team an advantage? It's actually the opposite, no?

[@spwash1000]

By the time ABC picked this show up to series, Bobby Van would now become host also Mr. Blyden passed away in a car crash while in Morocco at the age of 50 a month after this pilot was shot. BTW, I also liked those theater 🎭 (each representing those colors Red & Blue) you see on the set and in the theater while enjoying a show. Also that correct ding SFX was also used as a precursor to Family Feud! Plus this game show was a pre-Body Language which debuted 9 years later!

[@howtube61]

The show would have had a longer run with Larry Blyden as host. Bobby Van was thrust into the host role when Blyden died in a car accident in Morocco. Van didn't have the hosting experience that Blyden had and that's what hurt the show. On the brighter side of things, most of the sound effects were later used on Family Feud, one of the best game shows of all time.

[@marcpower4167]

There's a theory he may have been robbed and murdered, when they found him he had no wallet or i.d. so it took a while to identify him....😔

[@billyshepard5514]

I didn't know he passed away in the 70s while on vacation in a foreign country. Two of my relatives died on vacation. Be extra careful on vacation people. On the audio commentary for the 2009 DVD of What Makes Sammy Run? Blyden's co-star Barbara Rush claimed that Blyden had been carjacked by bandits and killed.

[@marcpower4167]

That's the "conspiracy theory" if you will, When he was found he had no wallet or ID on him which is unusual, and it took a long time for I'm to be identified.

[@jehobden]

According to the WML book, Larry missed his daughter's graduation to appear on this show, since Goodson slowed down the show so much to in his mind improve it.

[@edwardokraska7812]

Elaine Joyce was beautiful

[@ryanstrnad1852]

It wouldve been interesting to see on what kind of established game shows (that made it on the air) Larry Blyden wouldve hosted had he wouldnt had died prematurely. It could have deprived some other hosts.

[@cijidunne]

I think I prefer this format as opposed to the other format of showoffs that's circulating

[@zeeboss2762]

4:21 Hey it's the feud bell!

[@sha11235]

True, Dick was in Mel Brooks' show When Things Were Rotten. So it's the second show he did for Mel.

[@libertubey2199]

The first: Get Smart. Bernie Kopell also did both shows, but they never shared scenes on GS.

[@aschoenPERT]

This looks like Body Language with more people.

[@TimBoyd2012]

It is considered a direct predecessor.

[@diamonddog13]

It's Body Language without the puzzle.

[@Whammy51]

Eventually, this show became Body Language.

[@SP84Fanatic]

Out of all the charades-based formats Goodson-Todman tried over the years, this one has the best execution and the least flaws, in my opinion. As it is, this could work today as an hour-long primetime game show. Find the right host, mix of celebrities, and contestants, and this would be fun to watch.

[@RonGerstein-tf5tp]

The female celebrities in this pilot are still alive (5/29/24).

[@BarrCode674]

8:50 is the moment from all the funny game show compilations.

[@dirtyoldman7356]

I'd like to see more "Showoff's" episodes surface. But I'm being optimistic.

[@martinmoore2468]

The same familiar SFX from Family Feud.

[@diamonddog13]

The actors who play contestants on game show pilots are always so over the top.

[@4seeableTV]

I guess with pilots, they feel they need to be overly energetic as opposed to being too blase.

[@ronflatter1235]

Sad that Blyden died less than two weeks later on an African vacation. He was only 49. Bobby Van, who was called in as the 11th-hour replacement, was Elaine Joyce’s husband. He, too, died only five years later at age 51.

[@kierstenobuch4566]

What happened in Africa?

[@gwenniegirl50]

@@kierstenobuch4566Larry Blyden was on vacation in Morocco. The official story was that he died from injuries in a one-car accident. Family and fellow actors, such as, Barbara Rush and Dina Merrill, stated Larry was kidnapped/carjacked by bandits for Larry's automobile and valuables. In either case, because there was no identification on his body, it took several days for family and others to be informed of Larry’s death.

[@RonGerstein-tf5tp]

Elaine Joyce's 3rd husband was Neil "Doc" Simon, the famous Broadway playwright.

[@matthewclark9652]

The late Tom Kennedy 1985 CBS show "Body Language" inspired that show!!!

[@marciacarson676]

Showoffs predates Body Language. Showoffs was from 1975.

[@louistenore2185]

How long after What;s my line was this tapped ?

[@epaddon]

What's My Line ceased production in December 1974 with enough episodes in the can for the remainder of the 74-75 season. They waited to see if enough stations would remain on board for another season and by March they felt the numbers were too low and so they cancelled it officially and that freed up Blyden to relocate to LA and take on the job of hosting this show, but of course he had his fatal accident two weeks in Morocco after taping this pilot (he knew the show had been sold and was fitting in a last vacation before production would start).

[@michaelfalkner1186]

And that eventually became Body Language.

[@justincastillogayray]

That Honeymoon segment has appeared in Funniest Game Show Moments before. P.S. This would later get remade as Body Language, right?

[@LittleRockElevators]

Correct

[@martinmoore2468]

This game show was Larry Blyden's final show.

[@VegasInsight]

If only Wink had thought to note that in the description.

[@martinmoore2468]

@@VegasInsight true.

[@3mango]

This practically body language (RIP Tom Kennedy)

[@Pmfried]

I can’t say for sure. But just remembering the sets, when Bobby Van (Elaine Joyce’s husband) took it over, it was called, “Make Me Laugh,” In which the object of the game was NOT to laugh, (if you can believe that). Can anyone verify that?

[@chuckers40]

Bobby Van took over for Larry Blyden as the host of Showoffs. Bobby Van then went on to host "Make Me Laugh" in 1978.

[@bonscott602]

I remember Larry from two twilight zone episodes, neither character of which were nice guys.

[@jmiller297]

Origins of *"Body Language"*

[@Lupton2000]

Ah, I thought this was the Showoff finale.

[@nextbarker2702]

You think had Larry had not passed, this show might've lasted ?

[@raymondswenson5529]

Yes or no?.....Did Soupy Sales ever appear on this series?

[@Tubewings]

Even though there are two weeks that aren't listed, I'm leaning towards the no.

[@wschmrdr]

Family Feud sound effects must have been ABC stock, given its usage here...

[@dirtyoldman7356]

This preceded Family Feud. This only lasted a year. 1975-76

[@LittleRockElevators]

Yep.

[@marques0818]

this looks like body language

[@RedStrikerBeetleborg]

the bonus was too similar to Body Language's bonus but good show

[@KiddBloo86]

I noticed that too, even the name! However, at least the Showoffs Sweepstakes made for more money to a contestant than the 2nd Payoff Round.

[@marcpower4167]

Showoffs came before body language though....

[@jessyleppert2]

Gene Wood announcer

[@scottlevin3966]

I love elaine’s slacks.

[@dirtyoldman7356]

I love Elaine.

[@houseofproctor]

Body language without Tom Kennedy

[@MelvinGaines]

It was his final taping but I don't think it ever aired.

[@markschildberg1667]

This show was reworked into Body Language.

[@Shellinois]

Was this Gene Wood's entry as a Goodson-Todman announcer?

[@chuckrawlings9518]

Gene was the announcer then host on Beat The Clock(early 70's), but before that he did a black-and-white Password(1965) with Allen Ludden and celebrity guests Lauren Bacall and Jack Palance.

[@dirtyoldman7356]

He announced"Tattletales" starting early '75.

[@ericjonmagnuson2728]

​@@chuckrawlings9518 In addition, by the time that this was taped, he had become the primary announcer on Tattletales--and had subbed on Now You See It (reuniting him, ironically, with Jack Narz).

[@Kepley100]

Glad to see the SHOWOFFS pilot. Larry Blyden, being a stage actor, hosted this really good despite how taxing the run-through was on him. (According to Gil Fates, Blyden had a phobia of wasting time.) It really is a shame that he died so soon before the series went to air. But Bobby Van, another stage actor and singer, did extremely well hosting the series, and his hosting got better with THE FUN FACTORY and MAKE ME LAUGH before he succumbed to cancer. I'm glad that Mark Goodson updated this show into BODY LANGUAGE, one of my favorite Tom Kennedy-hosted game shows!

[@raekuul]

Dick: "I'm going to be Robin Hood in September." Larry: "For Mel Brooks." Couple decades early there, Larry

[@WinkMartindaleGames]

They're referring to "When Things Were Rotten", a Brooks Robin Hood sitcom.

[@tnate6004]

I think Bobby Van was a much better fit as host but he, too, died too young. I think Body Language improved on the concept but the best charades show ever was Stump the Stars.

[@lauragriffin6512]

This guy is a terrible game show host.

[@marcpower4167]

Really? I thought he did good. Maybe this isn't the best vehicle for him, i'll agree with that.

[@JohnM-bh5vn]

In my estimation, Mr. Blyden was a superb game show host. Understandably, the highly regarded producers of successful television game shows, Mark Goodson and Bill Todman (Goodson-Todman Productions) selected Larry to host “Showoffs”. They were absolutely right! Tragically, Larry passed away shortly after the initial taping of this show in 1975. I still miss his presence after all these years.