# 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:** 5
**Author:** ![sco3tt](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/45deac/32.png) [@sco3tt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sco3tt)\ **Post date:** [November 4, 2011, 4:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-things-go-horribly-wrong-on-live-television/601733/81 "2011-11-04T16:57:45Z")
> [@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. [That might have been smoker’s cough](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b84HlPyoc1g). ---
**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, 6:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-things-go-horribly-wrong-on-live-television/601733/82 "2011-11-04T18:09:47Z")
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 ---
**Author:** ![Dendarii\_Dame](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/bbce88/32.png) [@Dendarii\_Dame](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dendarii_Dame)\ **Post date:** [November 4, 2011, 6:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-things-go-horribly-wrong-on-live-television/601733/83 "2011-11-04T18:37:29Z")
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!” ---
**Author:** ![FordTaurusSHO94](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/f07891/32.png) [@FordTaurusSHO94](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FordTaurusSHO94)\ **Post date:** [November 4, 2011, 7:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-things-go-horribly-wrong-on-live-television/601733/84 "2011-11-04T19:51:13Z")
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. ---
**Author:** ![MovieMogul](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f08c70/32.png) [@MovieMogul](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MovieMogul)\ **Post date:** [November 4, 2011, 8:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-things-go-horribly-wrong-on-live-television/601733/85 "2011-11-04T20:13:21Z")
> [@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. Cite? ---
**Author:** ![Oakminster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/77aa72/32.png) [@Oakminster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Oakminster)\ **Post date:** [November 4, 2011, 8:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-things-go-horribly-wrong-on-live-television/601733/86 "2011-11-04T20:54:56Z")
> [@Zebra](#): > > 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. ---
**Author:** ![Muffin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/muffin/32/4341_2.png) [@Muffin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Muffin)\ **Post date:** [November 4, 2011, 9:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-things-go-horribly-wrong-on-live-television/601733/87 "2011-11-04T21:31:19Z")
> [@Oakminster](#): > > 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? ---
**Author:** ![Haunted\_Pasta](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/94ad74/32.png) [@Haunted\_Pasta](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Haunted_Pasta)\ **Post date:** [November 4, 2011, 9:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-things-go-horribly-wrong-on-live-television/601733/88 "2011-11-04T21:39:38Z")
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. ---
**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 4, 2011, 10:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-things-go-horribly-wrong-on-live-television/601733/89 "2011-11-04T22:06:58Z")
> [@sco3tt](#): > > [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. 😃 (I will not attach the link of Susan’s panties. ) SFC Schwartz ---
**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 5, 2011, 12:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-things-go-horribly-wrong-on-live-television/601733/90 "2011-11-05T00:12:24Z")
> [@MovieMogul](#): > > 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) > [@David Niven's "streaker" comment.](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/david-nivens-streaker-comment/398973/7): > > 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. ---
**Author:** ![Earl\_Snake-Hips\_Tucker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/earl_snake-hips_tucker/32/3269_2.png) [@Earl\_Snake-Hips\_Tucker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Earl_Snake-Hips_Tucker)\ **Post date:** [November 5, 2011, 1:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-things-go-horribly-wrong-on-live-television/601733/91 "2011-11-05T01:36:15Z")
> [@sco3tt](#): > > [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. ---
**Author:** ![FlyByNight512](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/82dd89/32.png) [@FlyByNight512](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FlyByNight512)\ **Post date:** [November 5, 2011, 3:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-things-go-horribly-wrong-on-live-television/601733/92 "2011-11-05T03:00:02Z")
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. ---
**Author:** ![cochrane](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cochrane/32/10441_2.png) [@cochrane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cochrane)\ **Post date:** [November 5, 2011, 3:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-things-go-horribly-wrong-on-live-television/601733/93 "2011-11-05T03:20:29Z")
> [@Mahaloth](#): > > [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. > **[Robert Opel](https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Robert_Opel)** > > Robert Opel (né Oppel; October 23, 1939 – July 7, 1979) was an American photographer and art gallery owner most famous for streaking during the 46th Academy Awards in 1974. > Opel was born in East Orange, New Jersey, in 1939. As a child, he lived in Canada, Kansas, and Kentucky before his family settled in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, where he attended grade school, high school, and college. Born Robert Oppel, he dropped the second "p" from his name after becoming an activist to distance himself from... ---
**Author:** ![El\_Kabong](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/el_kabong/32/496_2.png) [@El\_Kabong](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/El_Kabong)\ **Post date:** [November 5, 2011, 3:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-things-go-horribly-wrong-on-live-television/601733/94 "2011-11-05T03:27:26Z")
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. ---
**Author:** ![JohnT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnt/32/15048_2.png) [@JohnT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JohnT)\ **Post date:** [November 5, 2011, 3:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-things-go-horribly-wrong-on-live-television/601733/95 "2011-11-05T03:39:33Z")
> [@Earl\_Snake-Hips\_Tucker](#): > > 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? ---
**Author:** ![Inner\_Stickler](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/inner_stickler/32/318_2.png) [@Inner\_Stickler](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Inner_Stickler)\ **Post date:** [November 5, 2011, 4:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-things-go-horribly-wrong-on-live-television/601733/96 "2011-11-05T04:03:00Z")
Yeah, I’m confused too because they sure look like cigarettes to me. ---
**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 5, 2011, 4:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-things-go-horribly-wrong-on-live-television/601733/97 "2011-11-05T04:14:21Z")
> [@Inner\_Stickler](#): > > Yeah, I’m confused too because they sure look like cigarettes to me. Same here, and Robin has confessed to smoking before. SFC Schwartz ---
**Author:** ![FordTaurusSHO94](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/f07891/32.png) [@FordTaurusSHO94](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FordTaurusSHO94)\ **Post date:** [November 5, 2011, 5:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-things-go-horribly-wrong-on-live-television/601733/98 "2011-11-05T05:21:16Z")
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. ---
**Author:** ![Superdude](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/superdude/32/13450_2.png) [@Superdude](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Superdude)\ **Post date:** [November 5, 2011, 6:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-things-go-horribly-wrong-on-live-television/601733/99 "2011-11-05T06:04:58Z")
> [@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. 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) ---
**Author:** ![Don\_Draper](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b2d939/32.png) [@Don\_Draper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Don_Draper)\ **Post date:** [November 5, 2011, 1:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-things-go-horribly-wrong-on-live-television/601733/100 "2011-11-05T13:23:15Z")
> [@MovieMogul](#): > > 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. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-things-go-horribly-wrong-on-live-television/601733.md?page=4) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-things-go-horribly-wrong-on-live-television/601733.md?page=6)