Hold the Roses (32 page)

I took one look at her, grabbed her and said, "Daddy's gone."

We both cried and my mother said, "You go to bed. Dr. Levy gave me
these pills for you, so I'll make you a cup of tea and you lie down and take
these pills."

I remember thanking Bill Loeb and he said not to worry, he would
take care of things. I didn't know what he said or meant-I was starting to
get very groggy. I didn't want to go into my bedroom, so I went in the back
bedroom and lay down.

I woke up about 9:30 and my mother made me something to eat. I
couldn't even think about food. I was all sleepy and dopey, so I went back
to bed and fell asleep. I didn't sleep in my own bedroom for a year!

Everyone was so kind. The flowers were unbelievable-from everyone we had ever known. Bill Loeb and Harry Ince took care of the funeral.
They laid out the money for everything. I couldn't think or talk. I just
wanted to be left alone. I guess my mother helped them with the information they needed and she took care of all the social things. I didn't want to
see anybody or talk to anyone.

I must say everybody from The Dick Van Dyke Show was there and
they were just wonderful. They called and came over to try and talk to me.
I tried to cope with it all and just couldn't. Even Morey, bless him. He and
his wife Kay were traveling in China, and Kay's father called them and told
them about Bobby. Morey wanted to know if I wanted him to come back
and whether he could he do anything. I said, "No, stay in China. Don't
come back just for me."

I was glad when it was all over. I couldn't stand talking to people. I
just wanted to sit and cry. Even my mother could not shake me out of it. I
was lost. I had decided I couldn't work anymore. I had a mental block with
my throat; I couldn't sing, I could hardly talk... and I just wanted to be left
alone.

I called Sheldon Leonard and said I couldn't do the last year of The
Dick Van Dyke Show. (We had been informed before going off for the
summer that the coming year would be the last year.) Dick wanted to do
movies and Carl thought we should quit on top. Sheldon was angry-he
said they would back up the Brinks truck if Dick wanted it. So we never
made a show in color-we could have gone two years on that alone. In any
case, I didn't think it was a big deal not to do the final year. John Rich
called and said he wanted to come over and talk to me. I said, "Sure." I had
no idea what he wanted to talk to me about.

He came over one night at 8 o'clock and talked until 1:30 in the
morning. My mother came out and said, "Don't you think it's about time
you left?"

He said, "Have I convinced you?"

I said, "Yes."

He said, "Then I've done my job."

He had talked me into doing the last year of the show.

He said, "What are you going to do?"

I said, "I don't know what I want to do. I may just quit everythingperiod."

He said, "You have to finish the last year. It would look very bad if
you didn't do it. You'll need to do it to keep your mind going." He was
right, I knew that-but somehow I couldn't see myself as I was before,
working, joking, coming home-and no Bobby. It all seemed so unreal! I
agreed to do the last year and John went home. Dear John, another one of
my special angels.

d oeeyood Squo es

I wore black for a year. That was my way of showing respect for my husband. Everyone looked at me like a woman from the old country. I didn't
care. Everyone at the show was) ust great. Richard Deacon told everybody,
"Don't put your arm around her or she'll start to cry. Don't bring up any
subject relating to Bobby-if she wants to talk about it, fine." They changed
lines in the show that would remind me of anything... they were absolutely the best!

We went on to do the last year of The Dick Van Dyke Show. I've
already told you about the last day of shooting. Even though everyone
went his or her own way, we remained good friends and still see one another all the time, usually at parties or award shows. Morey and I were very
close. I'm his daughter's godmother. I was and am very honored that they
asked me. Cathy, my godchild, is a beautiful young lady who just got married. We're family! Carl and Dick and I see each other every once in a while.
When Mary comes into Los Angeles, we sometimes see one another.

For about a year after the end of The Dick Van Dyke Show, I did
nothing. I couldn't sing or even think about working. But then I got a call
from Dinah Shore. She was doing a teenage special show and wanted Noopy
and me to do the show. I didn't want to, but Noopy wanted to do it and
she begged me to please do the show. So we did. Dinah and her daughter
Missy, Noopy and I. We sang, we danced. It was a great show, and Dinah
was wonderful to me. She told me to get off my ass and go to work. I said,
"Yeah, it's not that easy."

They called me to do The Dean Martin Show and sing a ballad. I said, "I can't sing. It doesn't come out right." Guess what song they wanted me
to sing? "Little Girl Blue," a real tearjerker if there ever was one. Greg
Garrison, the director, called me and said he wanted me to sing a straight
song and not do comedy. Greg was Milton Berle's director on the old Texaco
TV show, and he knew Bobby. They had talked cars all the time. He said
he wanted to show the dramatic part of me-whatever that meant.

I finally said, "Okay," and went to the studio to record the song, with
Les Brown's Orchestra. I couldn't go through with it. I broke down and
cried and ran into my dressing room. I had never done anything like that
in my life, and I felt like an idiot. Greg didn't come to get me-he let me
cool off and just waited for me to go back to the mike and record. All the
guys in the band knew. They had all known Bobby, so thank God, they
understood.

The Dean Martin Show was great. They did all kinds of effects for my
number and it was nominated for an Emmy. Then Dean sang, "When
You're Smiling" to me and I couldn't help it, the tears began pouring down.
Then Dean kissed me and held me in his arms. It was quite a memorable
moment. I did Dean's show three more times. Of course, I knew Dean
when he was with Martin and Lewis. It was always special to do his show.

I got a call from Mary Markham. She used to book all the talent for
the game shows, and we were good friends. I had done all the game shows:
Password, You Don't Say, Pantomime Quiz, and so on. I was getting to be
known as the Arlene Francis of the West! She said they were doing a pilot
for a new game show called The Hollywood Squares. They wanted me to be
a regular. There were to be five regular squares and four guests. The regulars were Morey Amsterdam, Wally Cox, Charlie Weaver, Abby Dalton,
and me. We made a pilot with Sandy Baron as the host. Nothing happened. We made another pilot with Bert Parks and that didn't sell. I understand Morey spoke to the producers and suggested Peter Marshall as the
host. We never made a pilot with Peter-we just went on the air. I was
with the show for fourteen years, and boy, I saw a lot and heard a lot!

We did five shows in one day, once a week. Heatter and Quigley were
the producers, and Art Alisi was in charge of the prizes and distribution.
We were the top daytime show for years, and we had the greatest stars as
guests. In time, Morey left because he could make more money on the
road, which he liked, and Abby Dalton left too. Charlie Weaver (played by
Cliff Arquette), Wally Cox, and I stayed. We also started doing the nighttime Squares. The money was lousy, but it was home and I didn't have to sing. Just sit in a square and answer questions once a week. With the nighttime Squares coming on the air, I worked twice a week. The schedule for
the daytime shows remained the same. The nighttime Squares was only
seen once a week, however, so on the one day we taped nighttime Squares,
we taped five of them, which would be seen for the next five weeks. We
would arrive at the studio shortly before 7:00 P.M., get made up and dressed
and the first audience would arrive. We'd do three shows and break for
dinner. They always had a nice caterer come in. After dinner, we'd have the
second audience come in and we'd tape the last two shows. I would usually
get home about 10:30 or 11:00 P.M. It varied sometimes because of technical mistakes, of which there weren't too many because we had a great director, Jerry Shaw. Don't forget: He had nine people to cover, and when Peter
would ask a question, Jerry would have to be ready to put the camera on that person, as well as to anticipate a joke from one of the other squares.
He did a brilliant job-he's a great friend too.

Some of the regulars and a few guest stars who appeared on Hollywood Squares
during its fourteen-year run: Host Peter Marshall, Rose Marie, Tony Randall,
Shelley Fabres, Dennis Weaver, George Gobel, Susan Clark, Jack Albertson, Paul
Lynde, and Robert Goulet

Since Squares was seen every weekday plus one night a week, they
tried to introduce variations on the original theme once we'd been on the
air for a while. "Storybook Squares," where we all had to dress up as fairytale characters, was one theme they tried. It really didn't work and it was
soon abandoned. The big hit was the "original" Squares.

We had some great people on. Carol Channing did the show a few
times. She would arrive with her own food in a little carrying case-I think
it was buffalo meat! Karen Valentine was a particular favorite of mine. I
love her like a second daughter-she did the show many times. I also worked
with her in Bus Stop, with James Naughton, on the Kenley Circuit in Ohio.
During the hiatus periods I would do many plays around the country:
Everybody Loves Opal in Chicago; Bye Bye Birdie in Dallas and Los Angeles;
and Everybody's Girl in Chicago, Dallas and Seattle. While I was in Seattle
doing Everybody's Girl, I became good friends with Bob Nichols, who was
the director and also had a part in the show. He told me I needed a good
show written especially for me, and he wrote Up a Tree, which is now
known as RingAround Rosie. I did the play in Chicago and San Antonio. It
was a big hit, and I'm still working on getting it on TV as a sitcom.

Back to The Hollywood Squares. The producers were all right guysBob Quigley and Merrill Heatter. Bob was in vaudeville at one time, so we
got along great. As to who picked the guests, well, we never knew. We had
people on who couldn't spell "cat," but if they were in a series or very hot at
the time, they got on. Thank God for Peter Marshall. He knew how to get
in and out of some awkward situations. Really, he's the greatest straight
man to help you get a joke across.

Paul Lynde joined the show later as a regular and always sat, of course,
in the center square. Most of his gag answers were written for him, but the
real answers were never given to anybody. Some of Paul's written jokes
were hilarious. Peter once asked him, "Why do motorcycle riders wear
leather jackets?"

Paul answered, "Because chiffon wrinkles."

Or, "When does a lamb become a sheep?"

And Paul answered, "That depends on the shepherd."

But my favorite was, "If you're doing seventy miles an hour on the
freeway and your brakes give out, what would you do?"