I'll Be Right Back: Memories of TV's Greatest Talk Show

by Mike Douglas

A memoir of one of the great talk-show hosts of all time looks back on interviews with Barbra Streisand, Malcolm X, Fred Astaire, Mother Teresa, Milton Berle, John Wayne, Groucho Marx, Jimmy Hoffa, Yoko Ono, Jay Leno, and many others.

Genres: Memoir, Biography, Nonfiction

320 pages, Hardcover

First published December 2, 1999

Reviews

[Scott]

4.5 stars

"A minute is a long time. You don't think so? Ask the ad people that fork over two million dollars for sixty seconds during the Super Bowl. Better yet, ask a stand-up comic who's dying a slow death on national TV, with the flop sweat dripping and the studio audience as quiet as mourners at a state funeral. I've seen it - and lived through a few myself. A minute can be like a stiff sentence from a merciless judge. And we did over half a million of them - every one an adventure." -- on pages 30-31

Although somewhat forgotten about these days - as times marches on, and our pop culture trends and likes move at the speed of sound - Mike Douglas (born Michael Delaney Dowd in 1926) once hosted one of the most popular and durable daytime television series in U.S. history. From 1961 to 1981, the WWII veteran and former nightclub / big band vocalist presented a weekday afternoon talk show - first from Cleveland (1961-1965), then most memorably from Philadelphia (1965-1978), and finally from Hollywood (1978-1981) - showcasing an eclectic array of guests from the worlds of sports, entertainment, politics, comedy and average 'in real life' types. Although bookended with chapters that are more autobiographical (including an incredibly touching section on his wife of 63 years, Gen), Douglas' I'll Be Right Back is largely a cheerful memoir on his 20 years in the chat biz and that astounding roster of personalities who appeared on his show. Unlike the trash-talk formula that took firm hold in the 1990's, Douglas simply wanted to conduct freewheeling, non-confrontational, and occasionally probing Q&As with his guests on the 4,000+ (!) episodes. The anecdotes abound - boxer 'Smokin' Joe' Frazier rebuking the chemically-altered duo of Richard Pryor and Sly Stone when they were playin' the fool in his presence backstage; the 'surprisingly approachable' and 'humorous' side of a loquacious Malcolm X; a young Austrian bodybuilder whom Douglas privately advised to change his name and take elocution lessons (Arnold Schwarzenegger didn't listen 😆); and an edgy, up-and-coming British Invasion band that caused the adolescent ladies present to go into hysterics (welcome, The Rolling Stones!!!). It really was fun to follow the avuncular Mr. Douglas along in his recollections, and the American airwaves sure could use his interview or show style back in vogue.

[Jon]

This is a pretty thorough and detailed account of the career of the much-beloved talk show host/singer. He states in the beginning that the book will not be catty, gossipy or malicious and pretty much lives up to that throughout. However, it isn't boring because the man met SO MANY people in his career and it's interesting to hear about them and get his take on the experiences. One only wishes that he'd have been able to include even more memories because he mentions a lot of people who were on the show, but it simply wasn't possible to recap everything that these guests said and did (even if he could recall it all, which no one in his position could!) He also offers a vivid depiction of the behind the scenes production and syndication aspects and how tenuous the life of a show can be in the face of ratings and competition. He was a rare soul and its sad that his type of show is basically over, though I do recall being appalled as a kid at some of his latter day attempts to sing current pop music in his dated way...

[Chy]

When I picked this up I had never heard of Mike Douglas before and wasn't sure what to expect, but I have to say I was pleasantly surprised by both him and this book!

I really enjoyed reading about all the work that went into producing a show that aired 5 days a week at a whopping 90 minutes per episode with a lot of them airing live as well as learning about what the guests were like which included any and everyone from Hollywood stars to athletes to comedians to politicians to any and everyone who was famous during the airing of the show. As someone who loves reading about old Hollywood stars that was a treat for me and I liked how he didn't do a lot of badmouthing about the guests even though I can imagine quite a few weren't easy to work with.

One of the things that gave me the ick though - and granted I know this was written in the 1990s so well before people fully knew the horrors of Bill Cosby and Roger Ailes were really like behind the scenes - was how much praise he heaped on those two men particularly the latter which didn't sit well with me.

But other than that and the pearl clutching when he talks about some of the talk show hosts in the 1990s like Jerry Springer and Jenny Jones and while I'm not defending either of them or the shows that they produced and had a hand in during that era it was just a little strange how shocked and taken aback he was by those two. And I get that it's a generation gap thing because he grew up in a different era and time than I did, but yeah I just thought it was a little weird.

But aside from those two issues above I did enjoy this a lot more than I expected!

[Katy Lovejoy]

For the supposed in greatest talk show.I've never heard of this guy, then again.I'm twenty one

[Malbadeen]

I'm not even sure if this is the right book but it was definitely about Merv Griffen. I was a nanny for a lady that had this book and I picked it up and started reading it, it wasn't until about 3/4 way it to it that I realized, it wasn't about Donahue (he was big when I was 15) but I finished it anyway and I don't remember a thing about it - expect the ephinany that I was reading about somebody I didn't know from atom.

[Sandra]

TV's first celebrated talk show host recalls his start in the entertainment business and as a pioneer in the talk show genre. Not too much time is spent on his personal life, but there are enough stories to keep readers entertained with those guests who appeared during the course of his 20-some years doing a 90-minute daytime show.

[Vikki]

Mike Douglas tells of his talk show which was live for 90 minutes five days a week for many years. There are a lot of anecdotes of famous people. Very good book. Mike Douglas appears like a very nice man. He did not speak ill of any of his guests.

[Eileen]

I love this book. It's dense with wonderful stories. With each page I want more and more to find copies of every show so I can watch for myself. I can't wait to see what comes next, even as I hate getting closer to the end. I bet that's how Mile Douglas felt on every show.

[Stephan]

In retrospect this memoir to me is comical, and vital to my understanding a generation before my own. It also does not encourage "bad mouthing" or "image bashing". A must read for those who are fascinated with the entertainment business.

[Linda]

Gave mom a signed copy for Christmas.

[Cat.]

Fun to read, and obviously fun to write. I actually wish he hadn't limited himself so strictly--this could have been a much longer book. Maybe he could write "Volume 2."

[Anne]

Enjoy reading this. Remembering all the times watching with my Mom.