#Paul Rodriguez

[dance-world]

Alvaro Madrigal Arenilla - Compañía Nacional de Danza, Spain - photo by Paul Rodriguez 

[clarkkantagain]

by paul rodriguez

[oldshowbiz]

Mitzi Shore and Paul Rodriguez at the Comedy Store

[mondaymorning]

[nosamyrag]

[lilysether]

Paul Rodriguez- getting ready in Street Dreams

[madamemaximoff06]

You guys don’t understand how much I need him to **** ** ** **** * ***** **** *******

[warhead]

[saleintothe90s]

497. The Pat Sajak Show, 1989-1990

Back in 2007, a friend had sent me all her old childhood tapes after she had digitized her copies to DVD. I then digitized the commercials to DVD. She had all the CBS prime time cartoons on tape from the late 80s, and I saw this promo for...The Pat Sajak Show?! I remember kinda giggling trying to picture a celebrity hanging out with Pat, because he was known for talking to the every man every day, his contestants on Wheel you know?

In January of 1989, the show premiered, unfortunately around the same time of another television legend:

(article)

Arsenio said in this article:

''My personality is a little easier than Dave's,'' Mr. Hall says. ''I'm just a nice guy. I don't know how to be any different. Let's just say that I'm a warmer version, a warmer brown-bread version of David Letterman. Call me the pumpernickel of late-night.'' 1

If Arsenio was Pumpernickel, then Pat was Wonder Bread compared to Arsenio:

Musical guests will include the likes of Debby Boone, Michael Feinstein, Alabama, the Commodores and the ubiquitous K. T. Oslin - far closer to the easy-listening center than Mr. Hall's. 1

Arsenio's first guests were Brooke Shields, Leslie Nielsen and Luther Vandross. Pat's? Chevy Chase, Joan Van Ark, The Judds, the Commissioner of Major League Baseball, and Michael Gross. I know you're reading that list like "dang, that's a lot of guests." And it was -- the show was a mind numbing 90 minutes long. Who, even in 1989 had the attention span late at night for that. It took me a second to realize why the show scheduled Joan Van Ark the first night, then I remembered she was on Knots Landing which was a big show for CBS back then. I have no clue why the Baseball Commissioner (Peter Ueberroth) was there. What an odd pick for the first night of your big deal nation wide major network late night talk show.

Unfortunately I can't find all of the first night! Just this 40 minute clip of assorted clips from the show.

/edit/

I found the whole episode with commercials!

Luv that plaid jacket. He pulled a Herbalife joke as his first joke! "now that I have you all here, I'd like to talk to you about something called ... Herbalife". Oh us anti-MLM girlies love that joke.

The majority of the clip is very painful. Pat's set is sad and beige, Pat's bandleader is awkward, I didn't even realize that his sidekick was his sidekick at first, I thought he was introducing his producer at first. Pat has too many pencils on his desk and Chevy Chase make fun of him for it.

To me, Michael Gross was the highlight of this clip. He also highlights how redic. a 90 minute show is, look at all the hands he has to shake! It looks more like a parody of a talk show.

Mr. Sajak asked Michael Gross of ''Family Ties'' what was going to happen to the Keatons in this, their last scheduled season. Mr. Gross: ''I hope they die in a plane crash.'' He later explained that he would not like to see them being brought back for phony reunions.  2

I found another full episode from April of 1989, and the audience just isn't with Pat through the monologue. He even told a suction cup car window Garfield joke and it bombed. Poor Pat.

Finally, Finally, in October of 1989, the show was reduced to an hour.

By March of 1990, Pat had a hipper, darker set. He didn't stand up for the monologue by then either. He was making Nest door bell jokes 25 years before Nest doorbell cameras were a thing! This is probably the latest episode of the show with Pat hosting that is on YouTube. Yes, "with Pat hosting". By 1990, Pat wasn't hosting the show on Fridays, he handed the show to a guest.

Pat wasn't even there for his last episode, Paul Rodriguez hosted. :

I don't want to get sentimental or nothing but let me just take the second to tell you that uh Pat Sajak uh is one of the nicest people I've ever had the opportunity to know and to meet I'm sure on behalf of his whole staff he'd like me to say how wonderful it was to be here and work with all of you in 15 months that you guys were on and it's terrific, and there is a tomorrow for him.

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Oh hey, there's a sale going on at my Etsy right now til June 15th.

Meisler, Andy. “TELEVISION; Two TV Veterans March Into the Late-Night Fray.” The New York Times, January 1, 1989, sec. Arts. https://www.nytimes.com/1989/01/01/arts/television-two-tv-veterans-march-into-the-late-night-fray.html. https://archive.is/4CxFw

O’Connor, John J. “Review/Television; Late-Night Chitchat Additions: Pat Sajak and Arsenio Hall.” The New York Times, January 11, 1989, sec. Arts. https://www.nytimes.com/1989/01/11/arts/review-television-late-night-chitchat-additions-pat-sajak-and-arsenio-hall.html. https://archive.is/Z0vun

[orangebapecamoprint]

[kanunsuzhukukcu]

Hunting is not a sport. In a sport, both sides should know they're in the game.

[dance-world]

Alvaro Madrigal Arenilla - Compañía Nacional de Danza, Spain - photo by Paul Rodriguez 

[clarkkantagain]

by paul rodriguez

[oldshowbiz]

Paul Rodriguez sitting with the crowd

[lilysether]

Paul Rodriguez in Street Dreams

[footballhq]