Friday, Dec. 26, 2003 | 3:51 a.m.
WEEKEND EDITION
Dec. 27 - 28, 2003
Who: Peter Marshall.
When: 7:30 p.m. Jan. 3-4.
Where: The Suncoast Showroom at the Suncoast.
Tickets: $38.50, $49.50.
Information: 636-7075.
Peter Marshall doesn't consider himself a game show host.
Marshall, 73, had already established an entertainment career before beginning his 16-year stint with "Hollywood Squares" in October 1966.
Born Pierre La Cock in Huntington, W.Va., Marshall made his show-business debut as a band singer at 15.
Later he teamed with comedian Tommy Noonan to create the comedy-music act Noonan and Marshall. The two played in nightclubs and theaters nationwide and appeared on "The Ed Sullivan Show" before they amicably parted so that Marshall could pursue a career in theater.
From there, Marshall landed starring roles in the London production of "Bye Bye Birdie" with Chita Rivera and on Broadway with Julie Harris in "Skyscraper."
He also appeared in movies, including "Ensign Pulver," the sequel to "Mister Roberts," and "The Cavern."
Still, Marshall will forever be known as the host of "Hollywood Squares" for 6,000 episodes. Last year Marshall even wrote a book about his life on and off the show, "Backstage with the Original Hollywood Square" ($24.99, Rutledge Hill Press).
Marshall has since returned to his musical roots and released a CD in 2000, "Peter Marshall, Boy Singer," a collection of big-band music recorded live with a full orchestra.
Marshall will perform songs from the disc Jan. 3 to Jan. 4 at the Suncoast Showroom.
The Las Vegas Sun recently spoke by phone with Marshall from his home in the San Fernando Valley about his history with Las Vegas, his favorite celebrity guest on "Hollywood Squares" and what he thinks about the clothes he wore on the show.
Las Vegas Sun: Since you're best known as the host of "Hollywood Squares," how has the response been to your singing?
Peter Marshall: Oh, it's wonderful. The music I do is coming back right now. It's amazing. I've been doing big-band music for 50 years.
Sun: You have quite a history in Las Vegas.
PM: I opened the Desert Inn in 1950. I was in a very successful comedy team, Tommy Noonan and Pete Marshall. So I worked Vegas with Tommy. I did more booked shows in Vegas than anybody. I did the original booked show at the ol' Last Frontier with Marilyn Maxwell, I did "Panama Hattie." At the Thunderbird I did "High Button Shoes" and "Anything Goes" for eight months. Then I did "Bye Bye Birdie" because I had done it in London with Chita Rivera, and Sammy Lewis called me and said, "Would you go into the Riviera?," which I did for about four months with "Bye Bye Birdie." Then I did a show at the Tropicana, the second show they ever had, called "All About Sin" with Tommy Noonan with Carol Channing and Eddie Fisher. We were there for about six or seven months.
When I was doing "Squares" I was at the Sahara for 10 years ... I opened for everybody: Jerry Lewis, (Johnny) Carson and (Buddy) Hackett, the Mills Brothers. That's what I did. So, I worked Vegas all my life. Without Vegas I don't think I could have raised my kids. Vegas has been very good to me.
People say, "Have you ever worked Vegas before?" I say, "I opened this hotel 110 years ago."
Sun: When was the last time you worked in Las Vegas?
PM: A long time ago. I followed Keely Smith in the lounge at the Desert Inn. I was there for eight weeks.
Sun: Did it sadden you to see the Desert Inn leveled?
PM: It broke my heart, to be frank. It just really did. It was my favorite spot. When I'd go to Vegas and I wasn't working, I would always stay at the DI. I was a member of the golf course and I'd play golf there. And I knew everybody. It was my favorite hotel.
Sun: What do you think of the changes Las Vegas has undergone?
PM: I love the old Vegas. I'm old-fashioned. I was telling somebody the other day, when I first worked Vegas they only had one cab driver. His name was Louie and he worked the Strip. Nobody flew in. McCarran field was a Quonset hut and everybody drove. Every room had a chorus line. All the acts would meet after the show either at the Copa Lounge or ... I can't think of the little bar up the street from there. And we'd all drink and so we'd all take cabs. Louie would take us all from club to club. There was one cab driver on the street. That's a true story.
It was fun. It was like a small town. You have a small town and you see it grow into a metropolis. There are advantages, but I prefer the small town.
Sun: For your Las Vegas concerts, will you be bringing in an orchestra?
PM: I'm bringing in a group of about five guys. I have a synthesizer and piano and four rhythm. It will all be Vegas guys, guys I've worked with for years, so they know my charts. I do all '30s and '40s music. If you like big-band music, which that's what's Rod Stewart's recording and Boz Scaggs is doing and Cyndi Lauper is doing ... they're all doing my stuff, which is nice.
Sun: Why do you think big-band music has suddenly come back?
PM: I don't know. I just think that the music was so god-awful, kids were looking for alternative music. I mean, it's the best music ever written and recorded. (Johnny) Mercer and Jimmy Van Hensen, Sammy Cahn and Harry Warren -- they wrote great music and kids are really into it now. I work a lot and the more and more places I work, I see more and more young people, which really knocks me out.
I have a radio show, I'm in about 185 markets with (the syndicated show) "Music of Your Life." Wink Martindale's on it, Gary Owens ... and that's the kind of music I play. So I'm starting to play all of these old artists who are playing songs that I've been doing for years.
Sun: With a career spanning stage, film, TV and now radio, do you have a preference?
PM: My preference is live entertainment. I've done Broadway many times. I've done London and I've done more theaters than anything. But nightclubs is what I prefer. I love getting out and looking at people and saying, "Hey, how are you? What would you like to hear? Let's have some fun." I just love to be able to see and touch the people, really.
Sun: Do you regret that "Hollywood Squares" took you away from that?
PM: It took me out of the musical genre and made me a game show host, which I never really wanted to be. It's a double-edged sword, really. It made me a lot of money and made me an entity of sorts. Certainly people know who the hell I am. They don't know that I'm a singer. If somebody asks me what do I do, I tell them, "Well, I'm a singer. I'm a musical-comedy performer." I'm not a game show host. I only did the one game and I did it for 16 years. Thank God for it, it was a lot of fun and I met a lot of people. I did wonderfully financially. But while I was doing "Squares," I always did at least 20 weeks in Vegas. In fact, the last years of "Squares" we did at the Riviera. We taped a year in Vegas.
Sun: Who was your favorite celebrity guest on "Hollywood Squares"?
PM: I had a lot of them. But my closest friend on "Squares" was George Gobel. We worked together a lot. He was wonderful. I knew Cliff Arquette -- Charley Weaver -- since I was 18. Rose Marie I knew all my life. I knew Paul Lynde back when he was doing "New Faces." He had done "Bye Bye Birdie" in New York with Chita and I had done it in London with Chita. So these were not new friends of mine. These were old pals. But my closest friend on the show -- well, Vincent Price was a close friend -- but the really close friend was George Gobel.
Sun: Did they enjoy performing on the show?
PM: They had more fun doing the show. It was the most fun anybody ever had. It was the silliest thing. I talk about it in the book. We had parties. We would take vacations together -- 60 or 70 of us -- go to Jamaica or Mexico, all over. We were all friends and we were all young and we drank and we were crazy. We did all those things that all the young people are doing today.
It was really a great job and it was a wonderful way to make a living. I do talk about "Squares" during the show and I do about a 10-minute film of outtakes, things that never got on the air. They use my outtakes a lot on these (blooper) shows, things that I don't even remember.
My shows are back on the Game Show Network -- all the old shows, when I was young and cute.
Sun: Are you an avid viewer of the Game Show Network?
PM: I think it's terrific for people who love game shows, but I'm not a huge game show fan.
Sun: One of the best aspects of watching the old game shows is the outfits.
PM: Some of the clothes that I wore were just ludicrous. But they made me dress like that because they got money for it. They plugged some outfitters. These god-awful tuxedos that I would wear. I look back and I say, "Why in the hell would I put that thing on?"
Sun: What was your approach in hosting the show?
PM: You've got to remember that I was on my feet since I was a kid. I worked nightclubs and I worked with comics, so for me it was just an easy job. I never rehearsed. I would go over the questions and I'd say, "Hello, stars, how are you?" And then I would ask these inane questions. I love people, so I didn't have any problems with the contestants. I was never intimidated by anything. And it was an easy job.
People say, "That must have been a difficult job working with those nine (celebrities)." And I say, "Are you crazy? They were nine friends of mine and we had a great time."
Sun: So everyone got along well?
PM: Once in a while we had a little grief. I talk about that in the book, too. How certain people gave us problems, but that was rare. If they gave us problems, you never saw them on the show again.
And once in a while you'd have a huge star who didn't understand the function of the show. The function of the show is, I ask a question and if you have a joke, go with it and go right to the question. You can't do a monologue. Groucho (Marx) was on the show and he just didn't understand the function. He thought he had to do a monologue. And we'd have to stop tape. I felt so badly because I didn't want to embarrass the man, I am such a fan. So once in a while you'd have a problem, but that was so rare.
Sun: Have you seen the new version of "Hollywood Squares"?
PM: Yeah, sure, I was on it. I went on it to plug the book. In fact, I even hosted it. I went on and I was the center square for four days and I hosted one of the shows.
Sun: How was it to be the center square?
PM: It was fun, it really was. Tom Bergeron (the new host) is a real nice guy.
Sun: What about returning to hosting duties?
PM: It was fun, too. They said, "Do you need a rehearsal?" I said, "Are you crazy? I did 6,000 shows, I don't think I need a rehearsal." So I went up there and had a great time.
Sun: What do you think about the new version?
PM: The show's OK. It can't be what it was. It was just a classic. You just can't repeat those. Where are you going to find Paul Lynde and George Gobel and Charlie Weaver and Wally Cox? There aren't any of those guys anymore. So that's the problem with it. But it's certainly not Tom Bergeron's fault. He's fine. But the show never really went through the roof like ours did. But it was fun to do and they were really nice for me.
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