Monthly Archives: April 2008

Here's the pilot for the short-lived 1976 version of I've Got a Secret. Bill Cullen was the host, and there's something to be said about that. Mr. Cullen was, of course, a longtime member of the panel on the earlier version of I've Got a Secret, the one hosted by Garry Moore. When Moore departed that show in 1964, Cullen seemed like the natural replacement but the producers decided to bypass him and bring in Steve Allen instead. Why? Well, it was not exactly a secret but it also wasn't publicized that Mr. Cullen had a bad limp from a childhood problem with polio. As an adult game show star, it prevented him from working "on his feet" and the producers of Secret felt that their host had to be able to do that. Too many of their best spots had required that of the moderator.

So on the panel he stayed. In '76 when they brought the series back for a few weeks to fill a time slot that needed filling, it was decided that it was more important to try and capture the flavor of the old show…and Cullen seemed like the host most likely to achieve that. So they avoided spots that would have required him to stand or move about and they installed him as Master of Ceremonies. It didn't help. This version only lasted four weeks.

The guest in this segment is Rodney Dangerfield but that's not what's interesting about it. His secret involves a gentleman named Vance Colvig. Actually, his name was Vance Colvig, Junior. His father (Vance Colvig, Senior) was also known as Pinto Colvig, the voice of Goofy and many other classic cartoon characters. Dad was also the original Bozo the Clown, initially on records and then on early television.

Later, Vance Junior became a Bozo. He was Bozo the Clown on Los Angeles TV, appearing every weekday on KTLA, Channel Five from 1959 to 1964. He was also an occasional cartoon voice, most notably playing Chopper the Bulldog on the Yakky Doodle cartoons for Hanna-Barbera. Later, he did all sorts of film and TV acting jobs and for some reason, usually wound up playing a wino or derelict. One of his last roles — as a bum, of course — was in the Weird Al Yankovic movie, UHF. Anyway, if you were a fan of anything he did, here's a rare chance to get a look at him.

Also in this clip is a gentleman named John Twomey, who billed himself as a "manualist," playing music by emitting farting sounds from his hands. He did it once on Johnny Carson's show and it was such a funny spot that offers poured in, and Mr. Twomey wound up with an actual career, playing lounge shows in Vegas and elsewhere. A few years ago, Garrison Keillor had him play "Stardust" on Prairie Home Companion…not a bad gig for a guy who did what he did.