When things go horribly wrong on live television

[Quarter Lane]

I was wondering about how cast and crew react to unexpected circumstances during live television broadcasts. Not the occasional wardrobe malfunction or curse word getting through, but real emergencies, or things that go so off course that the only option is to cut to commercial if possible.

I'm thinking of things that turn out to be minor, such as when Marie Osmond fainted on Dancing With The Stars. Quick cut to a commercial, but then the show came back on with Marie herself telling the camera and audience she was okay.

Then, of course, there was Owen Hart's accident. The accident itself wasn't shown on T.V. but when the announcers came back on the screen, as scheduled, it was obvious to the fans at home that something had gone really, really wrong. It seemed like no one producing the show had any idea what to do for a few minutes, and we kept getting shots of the audience while the announcers tried to buy time.

Anyone else know of stories like this?

[Airman Doors, USAF]

The big one that everybody knows about was Budd Dwyer (http://dwyermovie.com/), which went out live on what was a snow day for most of Pennsylvania. It can't go much more horribly wrong than that. Someone will inevitably argue that it didn't happen on live TV, but the makers of the documentary I linked to say that it did, and that's good enough to confirm my memory of it. Rare is the time when you see a newscaster flustered or at a loss for words, but that day they had a hell of a time, even with what was a hell of a scoop.

More interesting is what they did with the footage afterward, but that's a journalistic ethics story all its own. Most local news programs replayed it (with the usual "juicy stuff coming so don't miss it" warning), and some played it in its entirety, all the way to where he's lying on the ground bleeding out.

And I didn't link to the actual video, feel free to have a look for yourself if you've got the stomach.

[amanset]

One that all Brits of a certain age know about is Tommy Cooper's death form a heart attack on stage in 1984:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tommy_Cooper#Death_on_a_live_television_show

An assistant had helped him put on a cloak for his sketch, while Jimmy Tarbuck, the host, was hiding behind the curtain waiting to pass him different props which he would then appear to pull from inside his gown.[10] The assistant smiled at him as he collapsed, believing that it was a joke.[11] Likewise, the audience laughed as he fell, until it became apparent he was seriously ill.[10] At this point the show's director, Alasdair MacMillan, cued the orchestra to play music for an unscripted commercial break (noticeable by several seconds of blank screen whilst LWT's master control contacted regional stations to start transmitting advertisements)[10] and Jimmy Tarbuck's manager tried to pull Cooper back through the curtains. It was decided to continue with the show. Dustin Gee and Les Dennis were the act that had to follow Tommy Cooper, and other stars proceeded to present their acts in the limited space in front of the stage. For a long time, a rumour circulated that the size 13 feet from his 6' 4" frame protruded underneath the curtains. While the show continued, efforts were being made backstage to revive Cooper, not made easier by the darkness. It was not until a second commercial break that ambulancemen were able to move his body to Westminster Hospital, where he was pronounced dead on arrival. His death wasn't officially reported until the next morning, although the incident was the lead item on the news programme that followed the show.

The video is on YouTube. I've just seen it (for the first time ever, I would have been ten at the time) and I find it more disturbing than I thought I would,mainly due to the continued laughing. I won't link to it here for that reason, but a search for "tommy cooper live from her majesty's" at YouTube finds it.

[Jim's Son]

There was the Monday night Football game in the early 1970s that was a blowout and when the TV camera showed one solitary fan, he put up his middle finger. One of the producers had the presence of mind to shout "He's saying we're number one" and Don Meredith repeated it.

Ed Sullivan once persuaded lion Tamer Clyde Beatty to perform in a cage with several animals despite Beatty's fears the small stage would be dangerous. Beatty lost control of the animals, and a nervous Sullivan went into the crowd to introduce celebrities (Walter Brennan and Eddie Arcaro?) while in the background you hear Beattly shooting his blank gun and cracking the whip. Beatty regained control so Ed's "rilly big shew" didn't have a man eaten by lions on it.

[Mahaloth]

Well, this is far from serious, but Australia's Top Model once announced the wrong winner on a live show. It was awkward, to say the least. (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MqiD0KTZrKE)

[madmonk28]

Andy Kaufman intentionally screwed up a skit on the show Fridays. Some people on the show were aware of the plan, but others were not. It got really weird and really tense.

Charlie Rocket dropped the F bomb on Saturday Night live.

[tdn]

Andy Kaufman intentionally screwed up a skit on the show Fridays. Some people on the show were aware of the plan, but others were not. It got really weird and really tense.

Are you talking about this (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bN5vhvIAqY8)?

[Hampshire]

I saw the Ashlee Simpson SNL performance live when it happened. The recorded track that she was lip-syncing to was screwed up and she froze looking off stage and did some sort of impromptu jig while the recorded vocals continued. They put up a SNL screen still and then shortly cut to commercial.

[madmonk28]

Are you talking about this (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bN5vhvIAqY8)? Indeed I am. Per the wikipedia article The only staff members aware of the plan were Richards, Melanie Chartoff, producer John Moffitt and producer/announcer Jack Burns....http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fridays_(ABC_TV_series)#The_Andy_Kaufman_incident, so it's more of a case were some people think things are spinning out of control, while others are in on the joke.

[Chicagojeff]

Probably none worst than this..

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

Host committed suicide on air on television on a local Florida station..

[Ichbin Dubist]

Here's a video (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jF7OFF29KEc) of the New Wave band Human Sexual Response singing "I Wanna Buttfuck" on live TV. At least one person in the crowd is wearing only paint. It goes on for 2 1/2 minutes before they finally get cut off. Granted, it was local only, and apparently at 2 AM, but still.

Warning: this is a very concentrated dose of 1980s fashions, please take with a full glass of water.

[madmonk28]

How about the Max Headroom incident in Chicago? http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Max_Headroom_broadcast_signal_intrusion

It might not fit exactly, but it one of the coolest things to happen in the 80s.

[Soylent Juicy]

I watched the race but didn't see what happened after Dale Earnhardt crashed - does anyone know?

[Annie-Xmas]

NYC's News Channel 4 was covering a shootout in the Bronx. Chuck Scarborough said "Let's go to the news copter," looked down at the screen below the news desk and turned white. He looked up and said "Go to commercial." Sue Simmons looked at him like "WTF"?

Turned out the news helicopter had crashed onto a rooftop. The Channel 7 helicopter flying above it got perect footage (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oxYzhtDevLE) of it. Watch as the pilot goes crazy trying now to crash onto the crowded street before.

Of course, the biggest live event has to be the second plane flying into the World Trade Center. ON MSNBC, Katie Couric was talking with the screen behind her when the entire studio just gasped. She said "What?" turned around and looked at the moniter, and if you listen very closely you can hear her say "Oh, fuck!"

[jonesj2205]

I watched the race but didn't see what happened after Dale Earnhardt crashed - does anyone know?

The ambulance came and drove away slowly. The announcers had very little information and lots of speculation. I was with my wife's family and they had the race on and at the time we were trying to speculate right along with them.
When they drove away without the full lights and sirens we said that's either very good or very bad.
It was very bad.

[MsWhatsit]

There's a lot of stuff from SNL. In addition to the aforementioned Charles Rocket f-bomb, Norm MacDonald did it once as well. (So did a recent cast member whose name I can't remember, a couple of seasons ago.) There was the Ashlee Simpson lip-syncing debacle, and also there was the time that Sinead O'Connor rather unexpectedly tore up a photo of Pope John Paul II live on the air.

Also, in the second season of the show, Buck Henry was hosting, and during a Samurai skit, John Belushi accidentally sliced Henry's forehead open with the samurai sword. Henry instinctively turned away from the camera but later said he wished he hadn't, so that people could have seen him bleeding and known it was really live. He had to wear a bandage on his forehead for the rest of the show.

[Dogzilla]

I was watching the news in Miami once and they showed this woman who had asked Telemundo to do a segment about her daughter's suicide. They went to the cemetary for this woman to place flowers on the grave and the ex-husband showed up and shot her 12 times at point blank range. The whole thing was shown on the evening news.

I'm not going to link to the video here, but if you google the woman's name, you can find it, in Spanish. Wiki article (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maritza_Martin).

[Idle Thoughts]

NYC's News Channel 4 was covering a shootout in the Bronx. Chuck Scarborough said "Let's go to the news copter," looked down at the screen below the news desk and turned white. He looked up and said "Go to commercial." Sue Simmons looked at him like "WTF"?

Turned out the news helicopter had crashed onto a rooftop. The Channel 7 helicopter flying above it got perect of it. Watch as the pilot goes crazy trying now to crash onto the crowded street before.

Of course, the biggest live event has to be the second plane flying into the World Trade Center. ON MSNBC, Katie Couric was talking with the screen behind her when the entire studio just gasped. She said "What?" turned around and looked at the moniter, and if you listen very closely you can hear her say "Oh, fuck!"

On the same note, there were two helicopters that crashed into each other here a few years back, while they were covering the same story (about a car chase). So while it was airing the live story (from one of the helicopters about to get into the crash), you could hear the last words of the guy and him screaming right as it cut back to the anchor person. All people on both the choppers died.
If you're not too weirded out by the morbid, here's the story http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V0wPrf6aCBU ([/url) (complete with interruption due to crash).


And here's what happened. It's a shot from a third news helicopter who happened to catch the crash on tape: [url]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=27aEB-k4wg8

[Duke]

I'm not sure this counts as "horribly wrong", but it is horribly funny. Johnny Carson once had a tomahawk thrower on The Tonight Show--this kind of shows you how talk shows have changed over the years--and the thrower demonstrated how to hit the target. And hit the target he does! (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1Qqy_N9KaG4)

[The Other Waldo Pepper]

I'm not sure this counts as "horribly wrong", but it is horribly funny. Johnny Carson once had a tomahawk thrower on The Tonight Show--this kind of shows you how talk shows have changed over the years

Well, maybe not quite as much as you'd think: the guest was a television actor, starring at the time as Daniel Boone's "faithful Indian companion", who got around to showing off his tomahawk-throwing skills after talking about his role du jour.

[Annie-Xmas]

Nobody's mentioned Space Shuttle Challenger (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j4JOjcDFtBE)? How much more horribly wrong can live TV go?

[kunilou]

There was the earthquake that hit during the opening minutes of the 1989 World Series (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z8ExMR0c0aM). If you watch carefully (beginning about 4 minutes in) you'll notice that first the video is disrupted, then the audio lasts just long enough to hear Al Michaels ad lib (obviously to the question "what's going on?") "I'll tell you what, we're having an earth---." Then everything falls silent for a few seconds, then you can hear Michaels come back on an obviously inferior audio connection, probably a telephone, and go to a commercial.

Of course, there were incidents where there was nothing to do but stay with it: the Lee Harvey Oswald shooting, the Challenger explosion, and 9/11.

A friend of mine who worked for ABC likes to talk about the day they changed David Brinkley's pre-taped opening, so Brinkley had to do the new opening live. He slipped up and instinctively said "oh fuck!' - then continued with the opening as if nothing had happened.

[Czarcasm]

I'm not sure this counts as "horribly wrong", but it is horribly funny. Johnny Carson once had a tomahawk thrower on The Tonight Show--this kind of shows you how talk shows have changed over the years--and the thrower demonstrated how to hit the target. And hit the target he does! (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1Qqy_N9KaG4)That "tomahawk thrower" was the Ed Ames, who played "Mingo" on Daniel Boone, and was a member of the Ames Brothers singing group.

[ftg]

Getting back to the OP's question about what does the crew do when someone flakes out, take a look at Kim Delaney (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CY1JzSwYjcw) melting down at a veteran's award ceremony.

Nearly 2 minutes in you can hear an announcer start to read the intended lines over her and then a stage manager comes and gets her off stage. But they really let her ramble on far too long.

[VOW]

There was a young, blonde newscaster on NBC weekend news who also did "Newsbreak." In October, 1983, she did a completely botched broadcast that had people questioning whether or not she was doing drugs. Her name was Jessica Savitch.

In the LA area, car chases are frequently followed by helicopters, and the programming is commandeered to show idiots driving on freeways, through residential neighborhoods, and sometimes even going the wrong way. The stuff is live. I remember a pursuit one evening, and it had gone on for quite some time. I believe it began with a child custody dispute. IIRC, the driver ended up on I-5, north of the urban area, where the gradual climb begins in the freeway. The right hand lane fills up with trucks using lower gears to make the grade. The driver in the chase was clipping along 70-80 MPH, and then veered quickly to slam into the back of one of the semis. The voiceover said something like, "Oh my God!" and the picture cut. The chase was mentioned in later newscasts, but the final outcome was always edited out.


~VOW

[An Gadaí]

Insufferable arseholes (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OiIsIE8iT28).

[cochrane]

How about a drunk Joe Namath hitting on sideline reporter Suzy Kolber (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HQqIQyT-RuM) during a Monday Night Football game? She never got flustered and thanked Namath for the "compliment." Stay classy, Joe.

[Quarter Lane]

Well, this thread took a bit of a morbid turn. I'm not complaining--I appreciate all these stories. For example, I had heard that Tommy Cooper had died in mid-performance, but I didn't realize it was being broadcast at the time. Interesting.

Another, less morbid example I thought of: a once well-respected news reporter named Geraldo Rivera did a live special on the opening of a vault in a hotel used by Al Capone. Most of us know how well that worked out. Geraldo's reaction to the disappointment apparently was to follow through on a bet--and sing a song (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P84OKTUx6LY). He admits was embarrassed, but it might have been the best thing to happen to his career. Would we have remembered him as well if there had been something more interesting in that vault?

[Push You Down]

I was watching the news in Miami once and they showed this woman who had asked Telemundo to do a segment about her daughter's suicide. They went to the cemetary for this woman to place flowers on the grave and the ex-husband showed up and shot her 12 times at point blank range. The whole thing was shown on the evening news.

I'm not going to link to the video here, but if you google the woman's name, you can find it, in Spanish. Wiki article (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maritza_Martin).

I remember that. A Current Affair w/ Bill O'Reilly showed the footage as well.

[Morbo]

The best part of this (http://youtu.be/8-QI1aZ3P5M) video is the follow-up when the reporter admitted that she wasn't a cat person.

[alphaboi867]

During the Great Papal Deathwatch of '05 I remember seeing a female CNN reporter starting to get hysterical over a report of his death (before he was actually dead). They either cut to commericial or a clip and a new reporter was there when they returned. Didn't Fox News also prematurely announce the Pope's death a couple times?

[bup]

I remember that. A Current Affair w/ Bill O'Reilly showed the footage as well.Oh, yeah, Bill O'Reilly did a bumper live that he thought was taped and it went...horribly wrong.

[janis_and_c0]

What about Serene Branson (http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/02/18/serene-branson-speaks-abo_n_824939.html)? She experienced aphasia on the air due to complex migraine.

[kenobi 65]

On a 1976 episode of Saturday Night Live, John Belushi clipped host Buck Henry's forehead with his katana during their recurring "Samurai" sketch. Henry had to wear a bandage on his head for the rest of the episode; to "disguise" this fact, everyone else in the cast also wore a bandage for the rest of the episode, as well.

[woodstockbirdybird]

On a 1976 episode of Saturday Night Live, John Belushi clipped host Buck Henry's forehead with his katana during their recurring "Samurai" sketch. Henry had to wear a bandage on his head for the rest of the episode; to "disguise" this fact, everyone else in the cast also wore a bandage for the rest of the episode, as well.

Post 16.

[kenobi 65]

Post 16.

Gah!

[FlyByNight512]

There's always this classic: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1s0dRcdyizU

A late-night infomercial for a cheap katana goes awry when the sword breaks and stabs the demonstrator. Yes, he was seriously injured, no, I don't believe it was fatal.

[DCnDC]

The Krist Novoselic bass toss (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u8oT9ag631Q). Not all that "horrible wrong" but definitely a gaffe and hilarious to boot. I love the part where he gets up and stumbles around the stage.

[Don Draper]

Also, in the second season of the show, Buck Henry was hosting, and during a Samurai skit, John Belushi accidentally sliced Henry's forehead open with the samurai sword. Henry instinctively turned away from the camera but later said he wished he hadn't, so that people could have seen him bleeding and known it was really live. He had to wear a bandage on his forehead for the rest of the show.

Also from SNL's second year on air, Chevy Chase was doing his trademark "stumble & fall" bit during the cold opening, he injured himself pretty badly and had to be rushed to the hospital. The show of course had to make a few emergency recasts for some sketches. The most notable one being that Jane Curtain had to take over the SNL News Anchor desk for the first time.

On another episode, during the early 80s, the punk band "Fear" were the musical guests. There is an ongoing debate over what really happened, but during the middle of a number, the camera simply cut to a commercial.


During the early days of TV (well, perhaps during the early 60s but no later), Steve Allen was host of "the Tonight Show" (pre-Johnny Carson.) Apparently, Allen became so fed up with interference from the network that one night during a live broadcast he went on a tirade about a sham the whole TV business was and pronounced "there has to be a better way to make a living" and abruptly quit and walked off the set. The rest of the show (90 minutes back in those days) was "hosted" by that evening's guests.

[IvoryTowerDenizen]

What about Serene Branson (http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/02/18/serene-branson-speaks-abo_n_824939.html)? She experienced aphasia on the air due to complex migraine.

Came to post that one.

[Spoke]

Home shopping ladder demonstration gone very wrong (http://youtu.be/6ZhMfzc9RbU).

[Baron Greenback]

Very much in a lighter vein, BBC children's programme Blue Peter once invited a baby elephant into the studio. Hilarity ensued...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N_Cj2TtFd_E

[postcards]

During the early days of TV (well, perhaps during the early 60s but no later), Steve Allen was host of "the Tonight Show" (pre-Johnny Carson.) Apparently, Allen became so fed up with interference from the network that one night during a live broadcast he went on a tirade about a sham the whole TV business was and pronounced "there has to be a better way to make a living" and abruptly quit and walked off the set. The rest of the show (90 minutes back in those days) was "hosted" by that evening's guests.
That was Jack Paar (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tonight_Starring_Jack_Paar#Highly_emotional).

[BrotherCadfael]

I understand that theater productions have plans for various things that can go wrong - a failed prop, a blown entrance, etc. The performers rehearse what they will do to cover when these events - inevitably - happen.

[SSG Schwartz]

A couple months ago, Robin Meade had a tickling in her throat while on air, so she went to commercial early, she said, to clear her throat. When she came back, the first 30 seconds or so was nothing but a shot of Robin coughing up a lung before she was able to croak out, "Oh, Jen. Jennifer Westhoven, one of Robin's co-hosts, took over the broadcast after another early commercial break.

SFC Schwartz

[Duke]

That "tomahawk thrower" was the Ed Ames, who played "Mingo" on Daniel Boone, and was a member of the Ames Brothers singing group.

OK, but did he mean to hit the cowboy in the crotch? I'm thinking that was totally unscripted.

[panache45]

And nobody has mentioned this (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Awy3h5QK7WI). I was watching it live from my college rooming house.

[panache45]

OK, but did he mean to hit the cowboy in the crotch? I'm thinking that was totally unscripted.

No, the location was unscripted. I like Carson's comment, "I didn't know you were Jewish." Carson later said that this was the funniest thing that ever happened on his show.

[kunilou]

During the early days of TV (well, perhaps during the early 60s but no later), Steve Allen was host of "the Tonight Show" (pre-Johnny Carson.) Apparently, Allen became so fed up with interference from the network that one night during a live broadcast he went on a tirade about a sham the whole TV business was and pronounced "there has to be a better way to make a living" and abruptly quit and walked off the set. The rest of the show (90 minutes back in those days) was "hosted" by that evening's guests.

Nitpick, actually it was Jack Paar in 1960. He had wanted to tell a shaggy dog story about a tourist confusing a "Wayside Chapel" (WC) with a water closet (what we Americans call a toilet.) Paar walked off, left his announcer (Hugh Downs) to do the show, and cooled off for three weeks. When he came back, his first words were "As I was saying..." and that while he thought there had to be a better way to make a living, he discovered there wasn't.

[Eve]

There was a young, blonde newscaster on NBC weekend news who also did "Newsbreak." In October, 1983, she did a completely botched broadcast that had people questioning whether or not she was doing drugs. Her name was Jessica Savitch.
That "young blonde" was the biggest star in network news--the equivalent of Brian Williams melting down today. Died a horrible death shortly thereafter.

It wasn't live--well, not broadcast live--but Carmen Miranda suffered a heart attack while filming The Jimmy Durante Show in 1955. She dropped to one knee, and Jimmy took her lines (they were both Professionals). She died from a second attack later that night.

The whole show is on YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q-h2xujhrwQ

[Ian D. Bergkamp]

This (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aMS0O3kknvk) was one of the first viral videos that I can remember, of a morning show's grape-stomping competition going horribly--but amusingly--wrong.

[An Gadaí]

The broken record (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pnsizkVjGm8) is my favourite though.

[Typo Negative]

MLB Umpire John McSherry suffered a fatal heart attack seven pitches in to the Opening Day game in 1996

[Chimera]

I remember long ago seeing Penn Jillette on David Letterman, or maybe it was when Johnny Carson was still running the Tonight Show. He was horsing around dunking things like bananas and flowers into this coffee pot of liquid nitrogen. Then he pulls out this live mouse and does some slight of hand, drops an obviously fake mouse into the nitrogen, pulls it out and smashes it.

About a minute later, the real mouse runs out of his pocket, down his arm, he tries to grab it and it falls into the liquid nitrogen.

End of that bit. He put the LN behind the chair and they just talked for the rest of the segment.

[Leaffan]

NHL

1989

St. Louis Blues vs Buffalo Sabres

Clint Malarchuck has his internal carotid artery severed during a routine play.

Buckets of blood (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=plvKlnguJVE) ensue.

He lived.

[kunilou]

It wasn't live--well, not broadcast live--but Carmen Miranda suffered a heart attack while filming The Jimmy Durante Show in 1955. She dropped to one knee, and Jimmy took her lines (they were both Professionals). She died from a second attack later that night.

The whole show is on YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q-h2xujhrwQ

Also in 1955, kid show host Pinky Lee suffered what was variously described as a heart attack, a perforated stomach ulcer or something else while performing on the air, in front of a studio audience full of kids. Although the camera cut away from him quickly, the live audio feed continued, complete with Lee's moans and the shrieks of horrified children.

[VOW]

What football game was it that caught the dogs screwing on the football field?


~VOW

[MsWhatsit]

NHL

1989

St. Louis Blues vs Buffalo Sabres

Clint Malarchuck has his internal carotid artery severed during a routine play.

Buckets of blood (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=plvKlnguJVE) ensue.

He lived.

WOW. That is...a lot of blood. A lot.

[BrotherCadfael]

Jerome Rodale (the organic gardens, guy) died on the Dick Cavett show. Cavett turned away to talk to another guest, turned back to Rodale, and the guy was gone.

[Mahaloth]

I remember long ago seeing Penn Jillette on David Letterman, or maybe it was when Johnny Carson was still running the Tonight Show. He was horsing around dunking things like bananas and flowers into this coffee pot of liquid nitrogen. Then he pulls out this live mouse and does some slight of hand, drops an obviously fake mouse into the nitrogen, pulls it out and smashes it.

About a minute later, the real mouse runs out of his pocket, down his arm, he tries to grab it and it falls into the liquid nitrogen.


This sounds like their act. Are you sure it was really a mistake?

[Baron Greenback]

NHL

1989

St. Louis Blues vs Buffalo Sabres

Clint Malarchuck has his internal carotid artery severed during a routine play.

Buckets of blood (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=plvKlnguJVE) ensue.

He lived.

Holy fuck! :eek: Nasty.

[Superdude]

No one's mentioned Kanye West interrupting Taylor Swift's acceptance speech at the VMA's a few years ago? To her credit, I love how shocked and embarrassed Beyonce was.

Or his "George Bush doesn't care about black people?"

[Don Draper]

Nitpick, actually it was Jack Paar in 1960. He had wanted to tell a shaggy dog story about a tourist confusing a "Wayside Chapel" (WC) with a water closet (what we Americans call a toilet.) Paar walked off, left his announcer (Hugh Downs) to do the show, and cooled off for three weeks. When he came back, his first words were "As I was saying..." and that while he thought there had to be a better way to make a living, he discovered there wasn't.

Oops! :smack:

Anyway, here's the most infamous episode of the Newlywed Game (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4XM5hbS7GlU). Not nearly as horrible as some others, but certainly a memorable one.

[An Gadaí]

No one's mentioned Kanye West interrupting Taylor Swift's acceptance speech at the VMA's a few years ago? To her credit, I love how shocked and embarrassed Beyonce was.

Or his "George Bush doesn't care about black people?"

Or Jarvis Cocker interrupting Michael Jackson (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HTpnnuYi9os) at the Brit Awards.

[Muffin]

Heavy metal band The Cumshots and their special guests Fuck for Forest gave a performance at the Quart Music Festival that was, well. . . , it just was. It really was.

You can find it on Redtube by searching for Fuck for Forest.

I have to wonder just what the festival organizers were thinking when the surprise performance took place.

[Superdude]

Or Jarvis Cocker interrupting Michael Jackson (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HTpnnuYi9os) at the Brit Awards.

How have I NEVER seen this??

[Love Rhombus]

The big one that everybody knows about was Budd Dwyer (http://dwyermovie.com/), which went out live on what was a snow day for most of Pennsylvania. It can't go much more horribly wrong than that. Someone will inevitably argue that it didn't happen on live TV, but the makers of the documentary I linked to say that it did, and that's good enough to confirm my memory of it. Rare is the time when you see a newscaster flustered or at a loss for words, but that day they had a hell of a time, even with what was a hell of a scoop.

More interesting is what they did with the footage afterward, but that's a journalistic ethics story all its own. Most local news programs replayed it (with the usual "juicy stuff coming so don't miss it" warning), and some played it in its entirety, all the way to where he's lying on the ground bleeding out.

And I didn't link to the actual video, feel free to have a look for yourself if you've got the stomach.

Came in to post about this one. My dad knew him and was on the way to the press conference, I believe, when he heard the news. Oy.

[Spoke]

Or Jarvis Cocker interrupting Michael Jackson (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HTpnnuYi9os) at the Brit Awards.

Most excellent.

[Senegoid]

Nobody's mentioned Space Shuttle Challenger (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j4JOjcDFtBE)? How much more horribly wrong can live TV go?

Well, from back in the newsreel days (okay, not exactly live TV), there was that little airship malfunction with the Hindenburg http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xiAT9xvTVKI

[Zebra]

I understand that theater productions have plans for various things that can go wrong - a failed prop, a blown entrance, etc. The performers rehearse what they will do to cover when these events - inevitably - happen.

Not really.

There is just no way you can prepare for every emergency and have back up procedures in place. Theaters are not run by NASA.

Now if something is risky, they may have some sort of contingency plan but not for things like blown entrances.

[Bakhesh]

Or Jarvis Cocker interrupting Michael Jackson (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HTpnnuYi9os) at the Brit Awards.

Jarvis became a bit of a hero for me when he did that. About a year later I found out that we have mutual friends, and got to meet him.

He said that he had regretted doing this, because afterwards he received so many death threats from irate MJ fans that he had to go into hiding for the next 12 months.

[jjimm]

Is radio acceptable? And something that isn't depressing?

I heard this (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SJdlF-DCUKs) live on BBC Radio 4 (national network in the UK) one morning a few years ago and it had me cracking up for the entire day.

[jjimm]

Jarvis became a bit of a hero for me when he did that. About a year later I found out that we have mutual friends, and got to meet him.

He said that he had regretted doing this, because afterwards he received so many death threats from irate MJ fans that he had to go into hiding for the next 12 months.A fantastic addendum to that story is that Bob Mortimer, who used to be a lawyer and is a mate of Jarvis, offered to represent him and accompanied him to the police station. When they got there they saw MJ's legal team lined up and looking fierce, so Bob did a runner!

[nudgenudge]

Is radio acceptable? And something that isn't depressing?

I heard this (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SJdlF-DCUKs) live on BBC Radio 4 (national network in the UK) one morning a few years ago and it had me cracking up for the entire day.
Another Radio 4 example (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YS5mVoqJpUk). I had the pleasure of hearing this as it happened, while driving to work. The presenter was talking about a government minister, "Jeremy Hunt, the Culture Secretary", but was visited by the spirit of Reverend Spooner and swapped the C for the H. A true :eek: moment, made more hilarious by his attempt to pass it off as a coughing attack. As I recall, his fellow presenters ribbed him about it periodically for the remainder of the programme.

[Krokodil]

Jenny Slate was the last SNLer to say "fuck" into a live mic. To their credit, she stayed on the show for the remainder of the season.

On some talk show I don't remember the name of, Erik Estrada clocked Bill Maher during a commercial break. They both covered it with admirable professionalism right afterwards.

[Mahaloth]

On some talk show I don't remember the name of, Erik Estrada clocked Bill Maher during a commercial break. They both covered it with admirable professionalism right afterwards.

Is this what you mean? I don't think that is live. It's Win, Lose, or Draw and it is an accident. (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l5LLHBttHS4#t=39s)

[Annie-Xmas]

Jane Dornacker (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jane_Dornacker) was giving a traffic report on WFAN radio when the helicopter crashed into the Hudson River. Listeners were able to hear her final words: HIT THE WATER! HIT THE WATER!

[Sailboat]

Nobody's mentioned Space Shuttle Challenger (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j4JOjcDFtBE)? How much more horribly wrong can live TV go?

Not really.

There is just no way you can prepare for every emergency and have back up procedures in place. Theaters are not run by NASA.

That was a weird juxtaposition.

[Atomic Mama]

I, too, saw Lee Harvey Olswald murdered "Live -- On TV!" I was fourteen years old. It was so horrifying that I ran away upstairs to my bedroom and burst into tears. My parents followed me and had to calm me down.

[Don Draper]

Has anyone yet mentioned the 1974 Academy Awards where a streaker dashed across the stage (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2IIl3zSYL8k)?

David Niven's witty retort however was not an ad-lib. Since streaking at big venues (like sports games) was a phenom of the day, the producers had instructed all their presenters to say that line - in the "off chance" that a streaker got on stage.

[sco3tt]

A couple months ago, Robin Meade had a tickling in her throat while on air, so she went to commercial early, she said, to clear her throat. When she came back, the first 30 seconds or so was nothing but a shot of Robin coughing up a lung before she was able to croak out, "Oh, Jen. Jennifer Westhoven, one of Robin's co-hosts, took over the broadcast after another early commercial break.

That might have been smoker's cough (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b84HlPyoc1g).

[VOW]

I remember a streaker running in front of the camera on "Password."

Allen Ludden was the host, and he was doubled over the podium with laughter.


~VOW

[Dendarii Dame]

Once an actress was playing a dying woman on stage. She was supposed to ring a bell for a maid. One night, the bell wasn't there. As woefully as she could, she called out, "Ting-a-ling!"

[FordTaurusSHO94]

A lot of SiriusXM channels have a sports update at the end of the hour. Last week, the update guy started coughing, apologized, then started back up again and they let him cough or choke or whatever for about 10 more seconds until the segment was over.

[MovieMogul]

Has anyone yet mentioned the 1974 Academy Awards where a streaker dashed across the stage (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2IIl3zSYL8k)?

David Niven's witty retort however was not an ad-lib. Since streaking at big venues (like sports games) was a phenom of the day, the producers had instructed all their presenters to say that line - in the "off chance" that a streaker got on stage.Cite?

[Oakminster]

Not really.

There is just no way you can prepare for every emergency and have back up procedures in place. Theaters are not run by NASA.

Now if something is risky, they may have some sort of contingency plan but not for things like blown entrances.

I have heard that the Broadway production of O Calcutta had a plan in case one of the male performers had an erection during a nude scene.

[Muffin]

I have heard that the Broadway production of O Calcutta had a plan in case one of the male performers had an erection during a nude scene.Was the plan to go down on him?

[Haunted Pasta]

I remember a Monday Night Football game when I was a kid. Howard Cosell was in the booth, and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers were on the field. At some point, the camera showed fans holding up a huge painted bedsheet that said "GO BUCS!" A couple of them started shouting excitedly and pointing at the TV camera, at which point the people holding the sheet dropped it to reveal a second sheet behind it. The camera cut away quickly, but not before you could read the sign painted on the second sheet: "HOWIE SUCKS!"

Actually, I'd call that an example of things going awesomely right on live television.

[SSG Schwartz]

That might have been smoker's cough (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b84HlPyoc1g).

Thanks, not only for reminding me of that video, but for letting me see how depraved some news viewers are. Some of the other videos that are suggested by youtube on that link demonstrates that people watch Robin and Susan Hendricks for more than to get updated on current events. :D (I will not attach the link of Susan's panties. )

SFC Schwartz

[Mahaloth]

Cite?

The only reference to it not being a genuine ad-lib that I can find is what RealityChuck said on this very board. (http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showpost.php?p=8436763&postcount=7)

There's some belief that Niven's remarks (and the entire incident) were scripted. It appears that the streaker had an all access pass -- something the Academy guards jealously -- that he refused to account for.

[Earl Snake-Hips Tucker]

That might have been smoker's cough (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b84HlPyoc1g).Maybe, and maybe not--but that's most definitely not a pack of cigs.

[FlyByNight512]

I'm a little surprised no-one has mentioned the Superbowl 'wardrobe malfunction' yet. It's debatable whether that was really an accident, but I do know I've never heard so much about Ms. Jackson before or since.

[cochrane]

The only reference to it not being a genuine ad-lib that I can find is what RealityChuck said on this very board. (http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showpost.php?p=8436763&postcount=7)

According to Wikipedia, not only was Niven's remark scripted, there is evidence the entire thing might have been staged.

Unfazed, Niven turned to the audience and quipped, "Well, ladies and gentlemen, that was almost bound to happen... But isn't it fascinating to think that probably the only laugh that man will ever get in his life is by stripping off and showing his shortcomings?" Later, some evidence arose suggesting that Opel's appearance was facilitated by the show's producer Jack Haley, Jr. as a stunt. Robert Metzler, the show's business manager, believed that the incident had been planned in some way. During the dress rehearsal, Niven had asked Metzler's wife to borrow a pen so he could write down the famous ad-lib. Opel apparently had to cut through an expensive seamless background curtain in order to reach the stage.

http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Robert_Opel

[El_Kabong]

The various gaffes on SNL wouldn't be complete without mention of Elvis Costello's 1977 performance where he stopped the band in the middle of "Less Than Zero" and played "Radio Radio" instead, an initiative that got him banned from the show until 1989. Even better, Costello apparently was a last-minute replacement for the Sex Pistols (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Radio_Radio), who had trouble getting visas due to their checkered history with the law, heh.

[JohnT]

Maybe, and maybe not--but that's most definitely not a pack of cigs.

Looks like a pack of Marlboro Lights sitting on top of a lighter to me... what do you think it is?

[Inner Stickler]

Yeah, I'm confused too because they sure look like cigarettes to me.

[SSG Schwartz]

Yeah, I'm confused too because they sure look like cigarettes to me.

Same here, and Robin has confessed to smoking before.

SFC Schwartz

[FordTaurusSHO94]

Professional wrestling is full of mistakes on live tv. My favorite is this (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a1o82BVKFp8) one where Booker T calls Hulk Hogan a racial slur and then immediately realized what he said. Search wrestling botches to find more.

[Superdude]

NHL

1989

St. Louis Blues vs Buffalo Sabres

Clint Malarchuck has his internal carotid artery severed during a routine play.

Buckets of blood (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=plvKlnguJVE) ensue.

He lived.

I think sports could have their own thread, really. A few examples:

Bryce Florie, on his comeback after being hit in the face with a batted ball (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hW9rqT5st1M). At about the 1 minute mark.

Joe Theismann's leg breaking. (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BUIf5m0bgu0)

Tyler Colvin hit in the chest by a broken bat, resulting in a punctured lung (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8V8gvPj4MQ8).

Jack Tatum laying a hit on Darryl Stingley, leaving Stingley paralyzed from the chest down. (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nPlNhnT84Kc&feature=fvst)

[Don Draper]

Cite?

Well, here's this wiki page about the streaker (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Robert_Opel) himself, in which it was mentioned that David Niven wrote down his famous "ad lib" at the dress rehearsal before the show.

[JohnT]

I think sports could have their own thread, really.

Currently active in the Game Room:

Greatest sports play(s) you've ever seen (http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=630118)

Most embarassing sports play you've seen (http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=629959)

[elbows]

Back in the dawn of time, in the early days of tv, when no one dared say anything or acknowledge the most basic bodily functions, those afternoon game shows were being broadcast live.

On one of those 'guess the...' shows they had a circus guy who brought along an elephant. Big response when the curtain opens, the audience is wowed, everything is going exactly as the producers had hoped. And then, well, nature called and the elephant responded. The camera operator didn't know what to do, the host was beyond talking, the gamers were aghast and the audience was in tears of laughter. So, he focused on the only one in the studio who was still composed - the elephant - until they could cut to commercial!

[Superdude]

If I recall correctly, the Shockmaster (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Rf9FVoozgBA&feature=related)'s infamous debut was live.

[Springtime for Spacers]

Judy Finnegan's wardrobe malfunction (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0apAF7GXPz4).

Being Britain most of the ensuing commentary focused on the omg why was she wearing a white bra under a black dress question-- when they weren't laughing at husband Richard for thinking the audience reaction was for his Ali G impersonation.

[Sitnam]

Andy Kaufman intentionally screwed up a skit on the show Fridays. Some people on the show were aware of the plan, but others were not. It got really weird and really tense.
The 'I can't act stoned' one? Yeah, that was uncomfortable as hell. But the skit was stupid anyway.

[FordTaurusSHO94]

If I recall correctly, the Shockmaster (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Rf9FVoozgBA&feature=related)'s infamous debut was live.

The coversation here (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y5oMiqJRVqs&feature=related) is hilarious.

[Infovore]

WWF's Sid Vicious broke his leg pretty much in half on a live telecast. Here it is (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WFfx4f3aimQ). Warning, it's pretty disturbing. No blood, but...legs aren't supposed to flop like that.

[SSG Schwartz]

WWF's Sid Vicious broke his leg pretty much in half on a live telecast. Here it is (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WFfx4f3aimQ). Warning, it's pretty disturbing. No blood, but...legs aren't supposed to flop like that.


Thanks, man, I would rather see the Theisman break again 100 times than to see that.

SFC Schwartz

[Nobody]

Shoot, despite seeing it on TV a few times I cannot find a specific failed marriage proposal online. It's at a game, I can't remember what kind, maybe basketball. Anyway, the girlfriend is taken on to the court to a large box. The boyfriend pops out of the box with the ring, the girlfriend stares in shock and then walks off.

Since I can't find that one, I'll just post 9 public proposals gone painfully wrong (http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2010/02/22/9-public-proposals-gone-p_n_469167.html).

[SweetLucy]

Back in the dawn of time, in the early days of tv, when no one dared say anything or acknowledge the most basic bodily functions, those afternoon game shows were being broadcast live.

On one of those 'guess the...' shows they had a circus guy who brought along an elephant. Big response when the curtain opens, the audience is wowed, everything is going exactly as the producers had hoped. And then, well, nature called and the elephant responded. The camera operator didn't know what to do, the host was beyond talking, the gamers were aghast and the audience was in tears of laughter. So, he focused on the only one in the studio who was still composed - the elephant - until they could cut to commercial!


There was a Red Skelton "blooper" sketch (I think I saw it on video years ago) with a cow or horse (I can't remember which) answered the call of nature.

[Gray Ghost]

Shoot, despite seeing it on TV a few times I cannot find a specific failed marriage proposal online. It's at a game, I can't remember what kind, maybe basketball. Anyway, the girlfriend is taken on to the court to a large box. The boyfriend pops out of the box with the ring, the girlfriend stares in shock and then walks off.

Since I can't find that one, I'll just post 9 public proposals gone painfully wrong (http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2010/02/22/9-public-proposals-gone-p_n_469167.html).


Was it this one (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W285WPD87bc)?

[rowrrbazzle]

I remember seeing a Johnny Carson "Tonight Show" with some naturalist who had brought a coyote or fox. The camera showed the animal beginning to squat, then cut away to Johnny and the guests (I think one was Godfrey Cambridge) with their slightly disgusted reactions to the call of nature.

[cochrane]

Well, here's this wiki page about the streaker (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Robert_Opel) himself, in which it was mentioned that David Niven wrote down his famous "ad lib" at the dress rehearsal before the show.

Which I mentioned in post #93. ;)

[Earl Snake-Hips Tucker]

Looks like a pack of Marlboro Lights sitting on top of a lighter to me... what do you think it is?
Yeah, I'm confused too because they sure look like cigarettes to me.
Yeah, I'm confused too because they sure look like cigarettes to me.
I agree with you all, and I thought the same thing when I first saw it--but I recall this when it happened, and shortly after a photo of her showed up actually holding whatever it was [some kind of electronical device]. You'll notice the small "bulge" in the front right corner. The photo of her holding the doohickey had the same characteristic bulge. I'll try to find it. If you look closely at it, and an image of Marlboro Lights, it's close, but not it--and I don't know what brand it might have been to have had that kind of marking (but I am not a cig expert).

[Earl Snake-Hips Tucker]

Found it (http://s294.photobucket.com/albums/mm119/badger60/?action=view&current=meadephot.jpg)

[JustinC]

Shaun Ryder/ Black Grape on TFI Friday (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2mgPnTUkJqA) was pretty bad for TFI Friday, although it was amusing to see.

[Nobody]

Was it this one (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W285WPD87bc)?
Sorry, but no.

[TBG]

WWF's Sid Vicious broke his leg pretty much in half on a live telecast. Here it is (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WFfx4f3aimQ). Warning, it's pretty disturbing. No blood, but...legs aren't supposed to flop like that.

You didn't really see it on the live PPV, it was the next night on Monday Nitro where they kept replaying it over and over again. Also, it was in WCW, not WWF.