Gary Burghoff on Match Game 75

[vitoscotti]

Amazon prime has classic game show match game. The show, it's regulars , and semi-regulars are marvelous. I love the fact it's not pc. Just one laugh after another.

Charles Nelson Reilly was apparently on hiatus on Match Game 75 ,the beginning of the year. Gary Burghoff is sitting in the seat of Charles Nelson Reilly while he's gone.

I like Gary Burghoff as radar O'Reilly. Absolutely brilliant character.

But on Match Game he's so unfunny. His humor is so forced, amateurish and unskilled. It's just one bad joke after another. Trying to be a clone of The Talented Charles Nelson Reilly ripping Brett Somers. It just doesn't work for Gary Burghoff. Much material he uses literally makes no sense. You can see Richard Dawson just cringing at the bad humor. And Dawson took some Jabs at his material too. it was very uncomfortable watching it. Looks like he caught lightning in a bottle with his radar O'Reilly character.

Curious if any Mash fans have seen these match games with burghoff and what they think of it?

[PracTz]

Originally Posted by vitoscotti

Amazon prime has classic game show match game. The show, it's regulars , and semi-regulars are marvelous. I love the fact it's not pc. Just one laugh after another.

Charles Nelson Reilly was apparently on hiatus on Match Game 75 ,the beginning of the year. Gary Burghoff is sitting in the seat of Charles Nelson Reilly while he's gone.

I like Gary Burghoff as radar O'Reilly. Absolutely brilliant character.

But on Match Game he's so unfunny. His humor is so forced, amateurish and unskilled. It's just one bad joke after another. Trying to be a clone of The Talented Charles Nelson Reilly ripping Brett Somers. It just doesn't work for Gary Burghoff. Much materiel he uses literally makes no sense. You can see Richard Dawson just cringing at the bad humor. And Dawson took some Jabs at his material too. it was very uncomfortable watching it. Looks like he caught lightning in a bottle with his radar O'Reilly character.

Curious if any Mash fans have seen these match games with burghoff and what they think of it?

I saw his stints on "Match Game" and, while on M*A*S*H, Radar had a good dry sense of humor but kept the viewers' sympathies for being likable and naive in spite of being a thoroughly capable clerk in a chaotic environment, Mr. Burghoff seemed to think that being sarcastic and meanspirited to the contestants and other panelists was clever and charming. Perhaps, he wanted to show the TV audience he was smarter and more worldly than Radar but he just wound up making himself seem unpleasant for others to have to deal with.

[vitoscotti]

I find whenever in match game if you want a finger on the pulse of things look at Richard Dawson's face . His face is so honest and expressive of what's going on . Or just if he responds to an other panelists quips, or even smiles. He never smiles at a burghoffs jokes or interacts.

I don't believe Gary Burghoff had any TV success other than Mash. I think he was pretty much a one-trick pony.

Gene Rayburn always spoke fondly on the show of him. I think they were buddies. Gene Rayburn would praise His dinner theater shows here and there .



Some of the guest stiff panelists would interact a little bit but Gary Burghoff was non stop in match game yapping at every twist and turn.

[Heenan Fan]

Gene Rayburn and Gary Burghoff were in fact long time personal friends. Gary wasn't very good on Match Game, I admit. He was still much better than Bill Daily though. I liked Daily on I Dream Of Jennie and Bob Newhart. But the real Bill Daily was illiterate and had the IQ of a houseplant (Trapper line about Radar). He should of never been on MG. He would always scribble his (wrong) answer so the audience wouldn't catch on that he couldn't read or write. He was o.k. in the first chair, but he should of never replaced Dick Dawson in the main spot.

[Bonniegirl]

I don't want to sound mean, but I can't get over that big mole or wart or whatever it is on Gary Burghoff's forehead! I have seen him recently on Match game on BUZZR !

[Heenan Fan]

Originally Posted by Bonniegirl

I don't want to sound mean, but I can't get over that big mole or wart or whatever it is on Gary Burghoff's forehead! I have seen him recently on Match game on BUZZR !

That's one of the reasons Radar always wore a hat - to try and hide it. Also, Radar was only suppose to be 19 and he was quickly going bald.

If you didn't like his mole, you should try to check out his left hand. Gary Burghoff only had 3 fingers on his left hand. That's why Radar was constantly carrying a clipboard or something with that hand, so he could curl his fingers and hide it.

Gary got the mole removed around 1978 or so, shortly before he left MASH.

[Lastkidpicked]

Originally Posted by PracTz

I saw his stints on "Match Game" and, while on M*A*S*H, Radar had a good dry sense of humor but kept the viewers' sympathies for being likable and naive in spite of being a thoroughly capable clerk in a chaotic environment, Mr. Burghoff seemed to think that being sarcastic and meanspirited to the contestants and other panelists was clever and charming. Perhaps, he wanted to show the TV audience he was smarter and more worldly than Radar but he just wound up making himself seem unpleasant for others to have to deal with.

Yes!
And if you want to be charitable about it you could say that he was "trying too hard". Like the guy at the party dancing around with a lampshade on his head, thinking he's hilarious.

[GameShowFan]

One time he was funny during a question about a musical saw. Gary was in the first chair and he began talking in a deep voice, then he went into a Charles Nelson Reilly imitation which was hilarious! Charles himself was quite delighted as he was back on the panel for that show.

[Scrabjan1]

Didn’t I hear somewhere that Alda said Burghoff was a great actor playing Radar because he was totally not a nice person and Radar was such a nice person. Maybe Gary felt he was dealt a bad “hand” having only 3 fingers and tried harder to be accepted being insecure. I actually thought Dawson was incredibly obnoxious and self absorbed thinking he was the one every contestant should pick.

[Sgt. Saunders]

I remember on one episode of the show, Gary Burghoff was blabbing away in his seat on the second level when Gene Rayburn was telling the winning contestant that her question was, “Blank_Newman.”

While The Match Game guitar song was being played and Gary Burghoff was writing down his response, the contestant, Gene Rayburn and the other celebrity panelists are were all smiling confidentally, knowing that the contestant was going to reply, “Paul_Newman” to the question, which she did.

Just then, an embarrassed Gary Burghoff apologized, saying that he thought that Gene Rayburn had said, “Blank_Truman” instead and Burghoff had written “Harry” as his response.

Well, you could obviously see the look of great disappointment and even anger on the woman’s after face having lost $5,000 because of Gary Burghiff’s inattention. In fact, Brett Somers contradicted Gary Burghoff, saying, “I understood what Gene was saying when he stated the question.” The implication being if Gary Burghoff hadn’t been such a self-absorbed windbag, and listened attentively to Gene Rayburn, then that woman would have been $5,000 richer in correctly responding to so easy a question.

Oh, yeah, when Gene Rayburn asked the woman another question, she got it wrong and lost out on the $5,0000. “Thank you, so much,” Radar O’Reilly.

[Alan Brady's Hair]

Most popular answer today would probably be, "Hello, Newman."

[Sgt. Saunders]

I heard that the late Harry Morgan disliked Gary Burghoff very much after Burghoff made disparaging remarks about Harry Morgan’s wife, who was the lady in that photograph on Colonel Potter’s desk.

[Heenan Fan]

Originally Posted by Sgt. Saunders

I heard that the late Harry Morgan disliked Gary Burghoff very much after Burghoff made disparaging remarks about Harry Morgan’s wife, who was the lady in that photograph on Colonel Potter’s desk.

Interesting. I have read several books about M*A*S*H, but I've never heard that story before.

[DEH55]

I could not stand Gary off of Mash. he had a arrogant personality and he was not funny and his taste in clothes was terrible. i know it was the 70s but still.

[Edward216]

Originally Posted by Scrabjan1

Didn’t I hear somewhere that Alda said Burghoff was a great actor playing Radar because he was totally not a nice person and Radar was such a nice person. Maybe Gary felt he was dealt a bad “hand” having only 3 fingers and tried harder to be accepted being insecure. I actually thought Dawson was incredibly obnoxious and self absorbed thinking he was the one every contestant should pick.

Richard Dawson really was obnoxius and self absorbed. That's why he quit Match Game and got himself made the host of Family Feud so he could be the center of attention. He really did believe he was all that, and he'd even make jokes subtly insulting the contestants.

Ed.