# When things go horribly wrong on live television **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [November 3, 2011, 12:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-things-go-horribly-wrong-on-live-television/601733 "2011-11-03T12:08:03Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![Spoke](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a88e57/32.png) [@Spoke](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spoke)\ **Post date:** [November 3, 2011, 7:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-things-go-horribly-wrong-on-live-television/601733/41 "2011-11-03T19:47:59Z")
Home shopping ladder demonstration [gone very wrong](http://youtu.be/6ZhMfzc9RbU). ---
**Author:** ![Baron\_Greenback](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/baron_greenback/32/48_2.png) [@Baron\_Greenback](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Baron_Greenback)\ **Post date:** [November 3, 2011, 7:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-things-go-horribly-wrong-on-live-television/601733/42 "2011-11-03T19:51:48Z")
Very much in a lighter vein, BBC children’s programme _Blue Peter_ once invited a baby elephant into the studio. Hilarity ensued… [![](https://i.ytimg.com/vi/N_Cj2TtFd_E/hqdefault.jpg "Blue Peter - elephant") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N_Cj2TtFd_E) ---
**Author:** ![postcards](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/8e8cbc/32.png) [@postcards](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/postcards)\ **Post date:** [November 3, 2011, 8:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-things-go-horribly-wrong-on-live-television/601733/43 "2011-11-03T20:07:42Z")
> [@Don\_Draper](#): > > 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). ---
**Author:** ![BrotherCadfael](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/977dab/32.png) [@BrotherCadfael](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrotherCadfael)\ **Post date:** [November 3, 2011, 8:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-things-go-horribly-wrong-on-live-television/601733/44 "2011-11-03T20:13:36Z")
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. ---
**Author:** ![SSG\_Schwartz](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e9a140/32.png) [@SSG\_Schwartz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SSG_Schwartz)\ **Post date:** [November 3, 2011, 8:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-things-go-horribly-wrong-on-live-television/601733/45 "2011-11-03T20:19:16Z")
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 ---
**Author:** ![Duke](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e8c25b/32.png) [@Duke](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Duke)\ **Post date:** [November 3, 2011, 8:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-things-go-horribly-wrong-on-live-television/601733/46 "2011-11-03T20:44:44Z")
> [@Czarcasm](#): > > 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. ---
**Author:** ![panache45](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/panache45/32/64_2.png) [@panache45](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/panache45)\ **Post date:** [November 3, 2011, 9:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-things-go-horribly-wrong-on-live-television/601733/47 "2011-11-03T21:08:20Z")
And nobody has mentioned [this](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Awy3h5QK7WI). I was watching it live from my college rooming house. ---
**Author:** ![panache45](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/panache45/32/64_2.png) [@panache45](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/panache45)\ **Post date:** [November 3, 2011, 9:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-things-go-horribly-wrong-on-live-television/601733/48 "2011-11-03T21:12:21Z")
> [@Duke](#): > > 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. ---
**Author:** ![Kent\_Clark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kent_clark/32/105_2.png) [@Kent\_Clark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kent_Clark)\ **Post date:** [November 3, 2011, 10:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-things-go-horribly-wrong-on-live-television/601733/49 "2011-11-03T22:04:37Z")
> [@Don\_Draper](#): > > 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. ---
**Author:** ![Eve](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/9e8a1a/32.png) [@Eve](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Eve)\ **Post date:** [November 3, 2011, 11:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-things-go-horribly-wrong-on-live-television/601733/50 "2011-11-03T23:33:03Z")
> [@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. 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](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q-h2xujhrwQ) ---
**Author:** ![Ian\_D.Bergkamp](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/5f8ce5/32.png) [@Ian\_D.Bergkamp](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ian_D.Bergkamp)\ **Post date:** [November 3, 2011, 11:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-things-go-horribly-wrong-on-live-television/601733/51 "2011-11-03T23:49:12Z")
[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. ---
**Author:** ![An\_Gadai](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/d6d6ee/32.png) [@An\_Gadai](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/An_Gadai)\ **Post date:** [November 4, 2011, 12:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-things-go-horribly-wrong-on-live-television/601733/52 "2011-11-04T00:00:24Z")
The [broken record](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pnsizkVjGm8) is my favourite though. ---
**Author:** ![Typo\_Negative](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/typo_negative/32/484_2.png) [@Typo\_Negative](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Typo_Negative)\ **Post date:** [November 4, 2011, 12:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-things-go-horribly-wrong-on-live-television/601733/53 "2011-11-04T00:04:27Z")
MLB Umpire John McSherry suffered a fatal heart attack seven pitches in to the Opening Day game in 1996 ---
**Author:** ![Chimera](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/8e8cbc/32.png) [@Chimera](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chimera)\ **Post date:** [November 4, 2011, 12:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-things-go-horribly-wrong-on-live-television/601733/54 "2011-11-04T00:13:26Z")
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. ---
**Author:** ![Leaffan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/leaffan/32/299_2.png) [@Leaffan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Leaffan)\ **Post date:** [November 4, 2011, 12:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-things-go-horribly-wrong-on-live-television/601733/55 "2011-11-04T00:47:19Z")
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. ---
**Author:** ![Kent\_Clark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kent_clark/32/105_2.png) [@Kent\_Clark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kent_Clark)\ **Post date:** [November 4, 2011, 1:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-things-go-horribly-wrong-on-live-television/601733/56 "2011-11-04T01:05:21Z")
> [@Eve](#): > > 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](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. ---
**Author:** ![VOW](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/vow/32/3043_2.png) [@VOW](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/VOW)\ **Post date:** [November 4, 2011, 1:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-things-go-horribly-wrong-on-live-television/601733/57 "2011-11-04T01:07:25Z")
What football game was it that caught the dogs screwing on the football field? ~VOW ---
**Author:** ![MsWhatsit](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/eb8c5e/32.png) [@MsWhatsit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MsWhatsit)\ **Post date:** [November 4, 2011, 1:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-things-go-horribly-wrong-on-live-television/601733/58 "2011-11-04T01:08:10Z")
> [@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. WOW. That is…a lot of blood. A lot. ---
**Author:** ![BrotherCadfael](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/977dab/32.png) [@BrotherCadfael](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrotherCadfael)\ **Post date:** [November 4, 2011, 1:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-things-go-horribly-wrong-on-live-television/601733/59 "2011-11-04T01:32:07Z")
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. ---
**Author:** ![Mahaloth](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mahaloth/32/1079_2.png) [@Mahaloth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mahaloth)\ **Post date:** [November 4, 2011, 1:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-things-go-horribly-wrong-on-live-television/601733/60 "2011-11-04T01:36:00Z")
> [@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. This sounds like their act. Are you sure it was really a mistake? [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-things-go-horribly-wrong-on-live-television/601733.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-things-go-horribly-wrong-on-live-television/601733.md?page=4)