Interview: John Davidson on The Girl with Something Extra, Hollywood Squares, Streets of San Francisco, That's Incredible! and more

John Davidson is a performer whose name inspires different memories depending on when you first became aware of him. Some know him as a singer, others remember him as an actor, still more are familiar with his work as a game show host. In my case, he first appeared on my radar when he was the host of an early reality show in the ‘80s called That’s Incredible! We talked about that series right out of the gate, and from there the topics of conversation were wide and varied, including all of the series mentioned in the title of this piece and more. In fact, we talked about so many things that we couldn’t fit them all into a single piece, so even as you finish this piece, know that there’s more yet to come!

First of all, I will freely admit that I've been a fan since watching That's Incredible! during its original run. 

Oh, great! Yeah, you must've been just about the right age. We had a young audience of kids then who were between 10 and 15. 

Yeah, in fact, I think I was 10 when it premiered. 9 or 10. It premiered in 1980, right?

Yeah, it ran five years, from 1980-1985. It started out as a top-5 show, and it stayed pretty high up for the majority of its run. It's the most successful show I've ever been a part of, and yet I didn't sing on it. So it's always a surprise to people who know me from that show when I open my mouth and start singing. [Laughs.] But, yeah, that was Fran Tarkenton and I and Cathy Lee Crosby, and it was an incredible show, and it exposed me to a lot of people who had no idea who I was. Maybe they followed up later to see where I came from. But it was a great opportunity. We made those shows very quickly, although the production team spent all their time on it, collecting these stories. And then Fran and Cathy Lee and I just came in and did the introductions, and sometimes we'd interview people in the studio. But it was a fascinating show. I had so much fun.

Well, just to confirm your premise, I'm from the generation who only knew you from that show and didn't even know that Fran Tarkenton played football.

There you go! 

Well, the initial reason I reached out to you - and I think your assistant probably told you - is that Crackle has put The Girl with Something Extra online for streaming.

Yeah, I did know that. I've had a lot of comments from people who've been writing in. That was an interesting show. 

How did that come about for you? Was it an audition situation, or was it offered to you? Because you were certainly well-established by that point as an actor.

Yeah, let's see, that was the '73-'74 season, I think. I'm not quite sure. But I came on the scene in '66 with a summer replacement show. I replaced Andy Williams and Perry Como on The Kraft Summer Music Hall. I hosted this variety show in the summertime, and my regulars on the show were George Carlin and Richie Pryor. We had all the major people on. We had the Everly Brothers on, although they were going through kind of a slump in their career before they became the icons that they are now.

Anyway, so by '73.. Let me see, I had already started playing Vegas, and I had made two Walt Disney films (The Happiest Millionaire and The One and Only, Genuine, Original Family Band), and...I didn't have to audition for The Girl with Something Extra. They just spotted me and said, "Would you like to do a series with Sally Field?" And I said, "You mean the Flying Nun?" [Laughs.] "You mean Gidget?" And all these other very light things that she'd done. And they said, "Yeah, this is a romantic comedy."

And...I guess I should've known then... I mean, I was so excited to meet Sally Field, because I'd been a fan, but I think the fact that it was a romantic comedy was one of the problems with the show, because they couldn't decide whether to make it romantic - real romance with real situations - or a comedy.  This was the Sally Field in transition. This was before she won all the Academy Awards, but everybody thought, "Wait a minute, there's something bubbling beneath this wonderful face. She's got so much more to give." And she did. And during that show, she was growing and I was growing.

First of all, I must say that the pilot for The Girl with Something Extra was called "Sally on My Mind." That's before they changed the title of the series to The Girl with Something Extra, which is a much better title. But she could read my mind. It's about a guy and a girl who get married, and she can read his mind. She has E.S.P. And I was just so excited to get to work with her. I had such a crush on her. I mean, I couldn't wait to get to the set the next day. And I think... She's never said this to me, but I think she had a crush on me! We were both married, and we both had little kids, but I had a feeling that she really liked me. And then we started making this series, and gradually... You know, you go to work week after week, and you really work at it, and I think we lost that crush on each other. We had some times when we had some little arguments and things. So by the end of that first year, we were probably not even really friends. I don't know.

But I just loved working with her. And I think I was hurt because I sensed that she didn't have a crush on me anymore. [Laughs.] And I was sad that we'd lost what we had during the pilot, which was just so special. I was in such awe of her. In many of the scenes, I would just watch her doing the process of acting and think, "This lady is something else." She's a great lady, so honest with herself and honest with other people. Just very straightforward. In your face, but in a friendly way. Just a great lady. And I was sorry that we didn't end with the same crush that we started with. But, you know, I think we probably are still friends. I've seen her several times after that, and we were fine. But it was very exciting to work with her, because I got tingles coming to the set. Truly, I did.

Having watched several episodes, I have to say that I really enjoyed Jack Sheldon on the show, too. 

Oh, yeah! Yeah, what a great guy. He added so much. He's got this crazy way of talking, sort of like he's stoned all the time. And he wasn't. He was very professional. I don't think he was stoned. I think he did smoke something that I was not smoking at the time. [Laughs.] But I think he would do that at night or something, because he was very much there on the set, and he knew his lines and was very professional. But he such had such a crazy way about him. I don't know even know if he's still alive. Do you know?

He passed away a couple of years ago, unfortunately. 

Oh, okay. [Sighs.] Yeah, I hadn't been in touch with him since the show. But he was a wonderful trumpet player, of course, for The Merv Griffin Band.

And he's someone who—like yourself with That Incredible!—I knew more for his work in later life as a voice on Schoolhouse Rock.

Oh, I didn't know that! He wrote a song that he sang to us on the set one time. It's called "Fuck You Very Much." Can I say that here?

Absolutely you can. Feel free.

[Laughs.] Okay, well, I said, "Where could you ever sing this?" [Crooning.] "Fuck you very muuuuuch..." It was a beautiful ballad! He was just crazy like that. What a great guy.

As someone who's a fan of obscurities as well as a fan of pilots that never made it to series, I had to ask about this one that some kind soul uploaded to YouTube: Goodbye Charlie.

[Long pause.] I don't know that.

That is the pilot you did with Suzanne Somers.

Oh, yes! Oh, now there's a great lady. I felt out of place on that show, in all honesty. I mean, she's great. Suzanne Somers is smarter than just about anybody, and she's so lovely. She and her husband just treated everybody so well. But something wasn't right about it. I think she deserved better. I think she deserved something better. I'd forgotten that I did that! It was all a good experience, but I don't think I was very good at it. I'm not sure I was right for her. I think her type of comedy... I wish I could've been more like John Ritter. I admired him so much. But I didn't think I was very good on that.

It was interesting. I'd never seen it before last night, but when I spotted it on your filmography, I looked it up and, lo and behold, someone had uploaded it. 

It's funny, now I'm remembering the sets, and I remember running lines with her. 

She played a character who had originally been a guy, a womanizing ad agent who was killed in a hang-gliding accident and was abruptly reincarnated as a woman. 

[Bursts out laughing.] How do you remember these things?

I mean, in this case, it's because I literally just watched it last night.

Oh, okay, then. [Laughs.] Yeah, I've done a number of pilots. I did one with... Oh, who's the football player who tried acting? I think his name was John Matuszak. Actually, I can't remember if it was a pilot or if it was just a screen test, a scene to try out and see if it would work. But he was a wonderful guy, and what I remember from that is that I said, "How are you doing today?" and he said, "Great! I get better every day!" That's a great attitude.

I wanted to ask you about the experience of working on Broadway. Your debut, I guess, was in Foxy. The opportunity to work with a legend like Burt Lahr right out of the box must've been amazing.

Yeah, I used to just watch Burt. The show was based on Volpone, about a guy who tries to screw his buddies but ends up getting screwed by his buddies instead, but this version, Foxy, takes place in the Yukon. I played Burt Lahr's nephew, I guess, who comes out to visit him. I had just gotten to New York, and I got that role. It was a David Merrick show, and I got the role because it was the part of a college graduate who's very clean-cut and goes to visit his dad, who's a shyster. And I had just graduated from college, and I was the epitome of clean-cut. And I sang a great love song. [Crooning.] "Talk to me, baby / Tell me lies / Tell me lies as sweet as apple pies..." That was a lyric by Johnny Mercer.

Anyway, so that was my first Broadway show, and I used to watch Burt Lahr from the wings because he was just so good, and every show would be different. He would play it different every show. And he'd come offstage and say [Grumbling.] "That just... That wasn't good enough!" He would be mad at himself. He'd be sitting in his dressing room going, "The laughs weren't big enough. I should've made 'em laugh more!" He was very hard on himself. His performance never seemed to be good enough for him. And I've met other people in the business like that. And I'm sort of like that! When I do a show, I often just think about all the stupid things I did in the show, and sometimes I don't realize that, oh, it was a standing ovation. You killed 'em! But I think, "Yeah, but I didn't do this or that exactly right." So I realize that I was a little bit like Burt Lahr. 

That was in '64, and then you made your way back to Broadway 30 years later with a revival of State Fair, and I couldn't help but notice that Andrea McArdle was in the cast.

Yes! Andrea McArdle, what a voice. She had a voice like a horn, and a wonderful actor, too. Yeah, that was fun to get a chance to go back to Broadway. It was Rodgers and Hammerstein, but it was an original Broadway show based on the movie of State Fair. But I was playing Abel Frake, a hog farmer, and...I just never believed I was a hog farmer. [Laughs.] I thought, "I'm not buying this, and the audience can't be buying this. I'm not an Iowa hog farmer. Come on!"

At that point, I was doing a lot of productions of The Music Man, where I was playing Howard Hill, and I was playing Starbuck in 110 in the Shade. I was a leading man, I wasn't a character actor. But here I was playing a hog farmer! So I just never believed it. It ran about four months on Broadway, and I was just always trying to figure out how to do it. I didn't think I was very good in State Fair. 

What's your favorite musical that you've done that you thought was underrated and that more people should've seen? I know you've done a lot of off-Broadway and been in a number of touring companies.

Yeah, I did a pretty good Man of La Mancha. [Singing] "To dream / The impossible dream..." I did a couple of productions of that. I did a really good Will Rogers in The Will Rogers Follies. I was pretty pleased with that. That was good. And I did a tour of Finding Neverland where I played Captain Hook and Charles Frohman - it was a dual role - and I got great reviews in that. That was really good. 

I did several national tours in Wicked, playing the Wizard. The trouble with Wicked... Well, it's not the trouble, but if you're playing the Wizard, you don't come on stage for an hour and 17 minutes. [Laughs.] So the witches... It's all about the witches. And the witches are going to see the Wizard. Well, the wizard is sitting on his ass in the dressing room, trying to figure out whether to read a book or to write a song or what to do for an hour and 17 minutes after the show starts! And then you get one scene, and it's the end of the first act. And then in the second act, you have some scenes. So even though everybody talks about the Wizard, it's a very small part. I just wanted to be onstage more! I guess because that's what I love. I didn't come here to sit on a chair in the dressing room!

So it was a mixed thing, but it was fun touring around, and it was a great cast. But by that point, I was in my sixties. I was about 65, and...I think that's why they let me go after a couple of years. They let me go when I was 71 or something like that, because I was just too old! [Laughs.] I'm 81 now, but I'm still singing. I feel great vocally. I have lots of energy, and I love what I do. Have you heard about Club Sandwich?

I have. Didn't you talk about it when you were on Gilbert's podcast?

Yeah, I think so! 

Several years ago - three years ago now - I found a barn. I live in the Lakes region of New Hampshire, in a little town called Sandwich, and there's an old barn downtown. And I thought, "Why not put a club there and call it Club Sandwich? That makes sense!" [Laughs.] By the way, it only has 42 seats, so it's very small, with a little stage. And it's a multimedia show. It has rear screen projections, so I can take people anywhere in the world. And with a bass player, I play guitar. I love singing and playing guitar as a troubadour. I've always loved it. Even when I was in Vegas, singing with full orchestras, people with strings and everything, I loved the guitar segment, where I just sang with my guitar.

So that's what I do at Club Sandwich: I sing with my guitar and the bass player, I do lots of jokes, lots of comedy, and a lot of original tunes. More than half the show are original songs I've written, but most of them are very funny. So I've been doing that for two years, and every show has been sold out for the first two years...because there's only 42 seats! It's easy to do when you've just got 42 seats. But it only goes from June to October. It's just five months of the year. So I'm going back for season three, it opens on June 2, and it's beautiful in New Hampshire. I grew up in Massachusetts, so I'm a New Englander, and this is kind of getting back to my roots. So I hope people will come by!

I wanted to ask you about the experience of hosting Hollywood Squares.

Well, of course, I had guested on the original Hollywood Squares, with Peter Marshall as the host. He's the classic host. He was on for 16 years and won all these Emmy Awards. And he's a good friend! So it came time to drop the show for awhile, but then they decided to re-do it, and a producer found me and  said, "Would you like to host The Hollywood Squares?" And at first I turned it down, because... "You mean I'm not going to sing on the show?" [Laughs.] And he said, "No, you're going to be a game show host!" And I said, "Well, what the hell. Yes, I'd like to do that!" And I've just never had more fun.

I got to meet so many people in the business, and I loved hosting Squares. I was basically doing a Peter Marshall impression, but I don't do impressions well, so nobody knew it! But I was just trying to do it like Peter Marshall, because I admire him a lot and he's a close friend. Later, Tom Bergeron was the host of the third version. Peter Marshall's center square was Paul Lynde, a classic funny guy, and my center square was Joan Rivers, who was also very funny and very sharp, and then Tom Bergeron's center square was Whoopi Goldberg, who's fantastic. It's a proven formula, Hollywood Squares. You've got nine stars, so you've got to like somebody! [Laughs.] And it's very entertaining. You know, they give jokes to all the stars, so that everyone got a chance to be funny. They can't tell you the questions ahead of time and they can't tell you the answers, but they can give you a joke. So it was a lot of fun, and I loved hosting it. I never met so many people in the business. It was like a big Hollywood party.

You were reportedly one of the great bluffers on the original show, when you were a contestant.

Yeah, I found that I couldn't just tell a joke. I took on the attitude of, like, Professor Irwin Corey, who was an expert on everything and absolutely nothing. [Laughs.] So I kind of did that, with the idea of, "Oh, yes, I know about this!" And there was all this stupid stuff that I made up, but the idea is, do you trust the stars or not? So I found that way to make it really fun, and I loved doing it. As a guest and as a host!

As a host, did you have favorite guests?

Oh, yeah. We had ALF on. Remember ALF? It was a puppet, but the guy behind him was so clever, so funny. Um...Betty White, everyone wants Betty White. And Joan Rivers, of course. She was so fabulous and such a pro. She worked so hard and was so funny. Shadoe Stevens was my announcer, and he had just an incredible voice. Everybody wanted to be like Shadoe Stevens. Jm. J Bullock was very funny on the show. He was all over the place...and still is! He's had a great career. I guess I liked any star who would come to play the game, to have fun. I mean, they're there to plug their new shows, their new movies, their books, or whatever, but if they play the game, if they go along with the fun of it, then that was great. 

You did an episode of The Streets of San Francisco, and...I just want to show you this album I picked up a few days ago, in case it might remind you of one of the songs you performed.

Is that a Carol Channing album?

It is indeed, yes.

Does it have... [Hesitates.] Carol Channing used to do a little bit that was the funniest thing to me. She said, "My name is Cecelia Sisson." And she could whistle when she said her name. 

I don't think it's on here, sadly.

Well, it's about a silent film star who can't figure out, now that the talkies have come in and she has to talk, why everybody dropped her...and it's because she whistles when she speaks! It was a very funny bit. Oh, Carol Channing was such a pro. I worked with her several times. But, yeah, on Streets of San Francisco I played the part of a female impersonator who was...mentally imbalanced, I guess you'd say. He couldn't stop himself from becoming the woman and then stabbing guys through the heart with a hat pin. So I had to dress in drag for it. It was just a very strange role. But that's what I was looking for: something different. I had just done a Movie of the Week with Karen Valentine called Coffee, Tea or Me? and my manager said, "Let's try to find something really different." So that was it: playing a drag queen. 

As it turns out, this interview was long enough to warrant turning it into a two-parter, so stay tuned for Pt. 2, which will feature John’s reminiscences about working with Lucille Ball, guest-hosting The Tonight Show, appearing in Airport ‘79: The Concorde, and more!