Up for auction "Time Machine" John Davidson Hand Signed First Day Cover Dated 1977.
ES-5296
John Hamilton Davidson (born
December 13, 1941) is an American actor, singer, and game-show
host known for hosting That's Incredible!, Time Machine, and Hollywood Squares in the 1980s, and a revival
of The $100,000 Pyramid in
1991. Davidson was born to two Baptist ministers in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania,
and graduated from high school in White Plains, New York,
before entering Denison University. He thought about following in his
parents' footsteps but ultimately decided that he would rather sing about love
than preach it.
Davidson
went on to work in various television roles, including sitcoms, game shows, variety shows, and talk shows. He is a protégé of television producer Robert James "Bob" Banner Jr., and as a tribute to
his mentor, he ran a summer camp for would-be performers for two summers in
the 1970s.[ As the 1980s began, he became well
known for hosting, alongside Fran Tarkenton and Cathy Lee Crosby, That's Incredible! (1980–84),
a human-interest/stunt-themed series whose creation, by Alan Landsburg, followed in the tradition of the 1950s
television show You Asked for It. Davidson made his film debut in The Happiest Millionaire, released
in 1967, alongside Lesley Ann Warren and Fred MacMurray. The next year saw Warren and Davidson co-star
again in The
One and Only, Genuine, Original Family Band. In 1969,
Davidson was the mystery guest on What's My Line? with host, Wally Bruner at the time.Davidson's Career was managed by
Alan Bernard former manager of Andy Williams and one of the B’s from BNB the
largest personal management firm in the 1970s. During an appearance on the game
show Scrabble in 1987,
he told the national television audience that he appeared as an underwear model
in the 1959 Sears catalogue; he would have been 17 at the time. He made his Broadway debut in the 1964 production of Foxy, which
starred Bert Lahr. He also appeared in State Fair in
1996. He was a member of the regular repertory company on the short-lived CBS variety show The Entertainers (1964–65). He made more than a hundred
appearances on the original Hollywood Squares during its 1966–81 run.[ He
was a regular player on many anthology and variety series of the 1970s–80s,
including The Ed Sullivan Show, The Sonny & Cher
Comedy Hour, Love American Style, The Love Boat, Fantasy Island, and Spenser: For Hire.
Davidson
made numerous appearances on the original Hollywood Squares, from
the game show's 1966 premiere to its 1981 cancellation, and he was there known
for his long-winded bluffs. None of the comparatively minor celebrities who
were guests of producers Merrill Heatter and Robert "Bob" Quigley
were more convincing at getting contestants to believe his (often ridiculous)
answers to questions the program's "Square-Master," or host,
entertainer Peter Marshall,
posed. Most times, Marshall could barely conceal a grin as Davidson started in
on some far-fetched but plausible explanations for his answers, often prefaced
with something to the effect of: "I just read about it in the New England Journal of
Medicine, it was a fascinating study, and it said that.... Davidson
sold these preposterous stories with such sincerity that contestants were often
duped more than once in the same show. In 1973 and 1974, he starred
alongside Sally Field on the
situation comedy The Girl with Something
Extra. (The "something extra" Field's character
had was psychic powers.) In 1974 he guest-starred on the television series The Streets of San
Francisco, in the episode "Mask of Death,"
portraying a cross-dressing lounge singer who murders his/her fans. In the
episode, Davidson sings in drag while impersonating such notables as Carol Channing, singing "Diamonds are a Girl's Best
Friend." Also in 1974, the singer posed near-nude (with a
strategically placed towel) for the magazine Cosmopolitan. In 1977
Davidson was present at the Beverly Hills Supper Club
fire in Southgate, Kentucky. He was expected to appear onstage
as the headline act the
evening the fire broke out, killing 165. Davidson helped others escape before
fleeing through a back door. Davidson's then–music director,
Douglas Herro, was among the victims. Davidson was not injured and later
participated in a charity concert to raise funds for the families of fire
victims. In the late 1970s the actor became one of four regular guest hosts
(along with Joey Bishop, McLean Stevenson, and Joan Rivers) on The Tonight
Show Starring Johnny Carson, and hosted the show 87 times. In the early 1980s he hosted his
own talk show, produced by Westinghouse Broadcasting/Group W, after it
canceled The Mike Douglas Show. Davidson's
show aired daily in syndication from 1980 to 1982. In 1985 he hosted the NBC
daytime game show Time Machine.