Page 111 - MN

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Ah, you say, but were you famous anywhere else?
Yes, for a couple of years I had my own TV show on the Canadian network, CBC, out of Vancouver, B.C.
I'd guested on some TV shows in Canada and apparently they thought I was ready to host a show. We did it in an in-the-round format and it was a good show because we had great guests. In Vancouver there was a huge nightclub called The Cave, and Las Vegas acts would come up to do a week to perfect their shows before taking them down to Vegas. (We big timers call it Vegas). So the Cave had some really big names pass through, and my producer, Ken Gibson, was really good at getting them to come on our show to help promote theirs.
I tried hard to be a good host. For one thing, I lobbied to have a cast of regulars on the show. I wanted to have a team to help carry the load and I still think it's a great idea. I wasn't the guy who wanted it all about me. So we got some local entertainers to be on with me every week. The big problem is I didn't know how to blend them in while I was dealing with guests, but I'm sure I could do it now if anyone wants an 80-year-old TV host. Push that envelope!
Ah, but the guests were great. Duke Ellington was the biggest prize and I was in awe. I tried to think of questions to ask him, like, "Have you ever thought of writing a Broadway show?" Luckily, I didn't ask because I found out later he'd done two or three already and they were famous. Oops. Happily he'd done thousands of interviews and just took off talking. Thank you, Mr. Ellington.
Another act that blew me away was the Mills Brothers. These guys had had some huge hits in the fifties and by the time they got on my show they were quite old. Also, one of them was nearly blind and had to be helped on stage. Wow, I thought, this might not be a good idea. Then they sang and it was glorious. Perfect harmonies, ultimate professionals, and so very, very smooth.
O.C. Smith was on my show, riding a huge hit song that I can't remember now. He was a great guest and afterwards he invited me to The Cave to see his show. We got there a little late and ended up sitting in the balcony. In the middle of his show he stopped and said, "I had a great time doing a TV show today and the host is here tonight. Let's hear it for Mike Neun!" I stood up and nobody noticed! I couldn't figure out what the hell was going on. No spotlight, nothing. I found out later that a fellow entertainer, Terry David Mulligan, had stood up on the ground floor and taken my bow, waving and laughing to the audience.
Then we come to a real downer. Rolf Harris was on my show. At the time he was riding high on a couple of hit songs and was a good guest. We played harmonicas together, talked, he sang a song and drew a cartoon. An all-around performance. Years later it came out that he was a pedophile and got sent to prison. So I can say I had Rolf Harris on my TV show and opened in Tahoe for