Joe Pyne: Way ahead of Jerry Springer

[onehunglow]

Pyne was confrontational with guests on his show and often attempted to throw them off-balance by opening the conversation with an insult. One occasion when this backfired was when he began a dialogue with Frank Zappa by saying, "So I guess your long hair makes you a woman." Zappa responded with "So I guess your wooden leg makes you a table."

Source:http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Joe_Pyne

[ComputerGuy]

NAW. Morton Downey Jr was even more contriversial

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Morton_Downey_Jr.

[don't_axe_me]

Or that other guy...Wally What's-his-name. Rebecca DeMornay's dad

[poppie]

JOE PYNE - I had not heard his name in many, many years. He was so obnoxious!!! Died in 1970 at age 44. How did he get so mean in that short a time.

[poppie]

Wally George was his name.

[don't_axe_me]

Thanks, poppie.....he was a winner, huh?

[onehunglow]

He did have a mean streak.

[JefeStone]

Is Wally George still alive?

[Jigsaw]

Is Wally George still alive?

I think he croaked. He always wore a white wig. Yuck.

jigsaw

[suzycreamcheese1]

NAW. Morton Downey Jr was even more contriversial

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Morton_Downey_Jr.

But Joe Pyne did it first.

[Cathy J.]

If you go to www.tvparty.com
sometimes they feature clips of Pyne's 60's show.

and speaking of Jerry Springer....one can thank Cincinatti TV legend the late Bob Braun for Springer's current TV show !! Back in the 80s, Braun hosted a talk show that was seen in a few cities around Ohio, West Virginia and I think Indianapolis. However Cincinati's WLW asked Braun is he wanted to take his show nationwide. Braun said no so WLW went to one of their local television news anchors if he wanted to do it. His name...Jerry Springer !!!!

By the mid 90s, Bob Braun was well into his golden years. I can't see him doing a show about fat, toothless strippers.

[hell0kitty]

wall ee wall eee walll eee wallleee

[Seagorath]

There is a great article on Joe Pyne in Shock Cinema Magazine...in a back issue. It stated he was a wicked chain smoker and went out early because of that. He would ramble on for hours and smoke and smoke and smoke. A pioneer though. A lot of today's media...there are hints of Joe Pyne.

[Joee]

I thought the Frank Zappa wooden leg statement was urban legend.

[Seagorath]

He supposedly did have a wooden leg...I'm assuming it was amputated from all the tobaccy smokin.'

[Joee]

He lost his leg in World War 2 while serving in the Marine Corps.

[Poo Bah MCGee]

He did a short run game show called "Show Down" for a time. There was a two person "boy band" called "The Bantams" that sang a really stupid song called, oddly enough, "Showdown" whenever two contestants challenged each other.
Joe Pyne was only one of several really blunt and rude television hosts in the earlier sixties. It was different at the time, but I doubt we're better off for it today.

[Seagorath]

Thanks for the clarification, Joee.

He lost his leg in World War 2 while serving in the Marine Corps.

[GSBLTD]

I used to stay up late nights as a kid in the 60's and watch Joe Pyne every week... he aired Saturday nights around midnight. I LOVED that show - especially his "soapbox" segment where people could stroll up and talk about anything/everything... and Joe could be counted on to be absolutely merciless with them. Think Pyne wasn't controversial? I remember two shows vividly even though I saw them around 50 years ago. One featured the notorious atheist Madalyn Murray O'Hair and the other was with a snarly group of Black Panthers with afros out to HERE! Pyne took them all in stride... perhaps because he was on record for keeping a loaded revolver in his onset desk! And: I don't doubt that tidbit one single bit!

A few years ago I decided to see if I could find any of Joe's old shows available on disc. I got LUCKY and found a guy up in Canada who burned a disc from some old kinescopes- including a grainy, b/w promo tape that Pyne sent out to prospective advertisers. BTW: Old Joe wasn't entirely nasty to his guests/audience - I remember that he could be a little sympathetic to someone who deserved it and even become a bit civil under the right circumstances... but, he always gave as good as he got... and then some.

One of the guests on my disc was the editor of an obviously tacky UFO magazine based out of L.A. - and no matter how hard he tried, Joe couldn't get a rise out of this very bright, sincere young man who presented his material calmly and simply refused to take Pyne's bait. Joe finally relents and just goes along with the flow. It's one of the better segments on the disc... even better than the one where a faith healer, a fundamentalist preacher and a Catholic priest all duke it out over the soul of an audience member. The faith healer actually lays hands on the poor shlub to heal his deviated septum while the priest shouts out accusations of heresy! The fundy? He was simply outclassed for the other two! Truly memorable vintage TV!!! And, YEAH: later on I also watched Morton Downey, Jr.... Now, THERE was a CHAIN-SMOKER!

[theotherlondon]

I used to stay up late nights as a kid in the 60's and watch Joe Pyne every week... he aired Saturday nights around midnight. I LOVED that show - especially his "soapbox" segment where people could stroll up and talk about anything/everything... and Joe could be counted on to be absolutely merciless with them. Think Pyne wasn't controversial? I remember two shows vividly even though I saw them around 50 years ago. One featured the notorious atheist Madalyn Murray O'Hair and the other was with a snarly group of Black Panthers with afros out to HERE! Pyne took them all in stride... perhaps because he was on record for keeping a loaded revolver in his onset desk! And: I don't doubt that tidbit one single bit!

A few years ago I decided to see if I could find any of Joe's old shows available on disc. I got LUCKY and found a guy up in Canada who burned a disc from some old kinescopes- including a grainy, b/w promo tape that Pyne sent out to prospective advertisers. BTW: Old Joe wasn't entirely nasty to his guests/audience - I remember that he could be a little sympathetic to someone who deserved it and even become a bit civil under the right circumstances... but, he always gave as good as he got... and then some.

One of the guests on my disc was the editor of an obviously tacky UFO magazine based out of L.A. - and no matter how hard he tried, Joe couldn't get a rise out of this very bright, sincere young man who presented his material calmly and simply refused to take Pyne's bait. Joe finally relents and just goes along with the flow. It's one of the better segments on the disc... even better than the one where a faith healer, a fundamentalist preacher and a Catholic priest all duke it out over the soul of an audience member. The faith healer actually lays hands on the poor shlub to heal his deviated septum while the priest shouts out accusations of heresy! The fundy? He was simply outclassed for the other two! Truly memorable vintage TV!!! And, YEAH: later on I also watched Morton Downey, Jr.... Now, THERE was a CHAIN-SMOKER!

Would of loved to hear the conversation between him and Madalyn Murray O'Hair.

[choff]

And, YEAH: later on I also watched Morton Downey, Jr.... Now, THERE was a CHAIN-SMOKER!

You got that right!! With Mort his cigarette (Merit Filters BTW ) really was his trademark. However with Morton Downey in his later years not only did he kick the habit but after he lost a lung he did went after the cigarette industry by doing a series of anti-smoking public service ads. Unfortunately for Mort the damage to his health was already done as he would die from lung cancer in 2001. Who knows had he lived if Pyne would had taken the same path.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Morton_Downey,_Jr.