GREAT SCOTT! 40 Years Behind A Mike - By Richard (Dick Scott) Pratz
CHAPTER: Tonite Not Tonight (Continued)
Another time, I donned a cowboy hat and took part in some horse racing. The show went to a race track to demonstrate the fine art of chariot racing. Again, doing anything for ratings, I climbed aboard a homemade chariot and took part in an actual race. With my hat blowing off my head and a cloud of dust behind me, I came in first ... although it was later pointed out to me that my competitors had held back to make me look good. Each chariot was pulled by two horses and we really flew. I had to stand in a crouching position in the chariot and hold onto the reins for dear life. When I got home that evening, my legs were so sore I could hardly stand! Another newspaper article read – “The Tonite Show on Cambrian Broadcasting television has been on the air six weeks at the end of October. Its presentation of information and entertainment continues to attract more viewers each evening. Tonite Show Producer Larry Gavin says ‘Northern Ontario does not have access to big name guests such as television stations in southern Ontario markets, so we try to bring to Northern Ontario the people and personalities who are part of the north, people from all walks of life. In our first six weeks of programming, The Tonite Show has presented a wide selection of guests from the Premier of the province to a young lady who has been subsidizing her living by trapping since she was five years old. We’ve talked to a homosexual, a stripper from Northern Ontario, a man who calls himself a ‘biker’ who has lived on the wild side, men who run funeral homes, the candidates for the Liberal leadership of Ontario, skiing legend Nancy Greene, movie actor Michael Parks and many more’. Soon, The Tonite Show will be moving out of the studios of Cambrian Broadcasting to locations where there is entertainment and live audiences. We feel we have a good combination of information and news. A great deal of time and money is spent at Cambrian Broadcasting in the preparation of the information part of The Tonite Show. We purchase a 90-minute daily feed of microwave from Ottawa, Toronto and centres of the U.S. and overseas to bring to Northern Ontario the happenings of the day around the world. A local news team covers not only activities in Sudbury but all Northern Ontario Centres. Host Richard Scott spends hours daily in preparation for his guests and in the quest for new and interesting people to talk to. We receive many telephone calls and letters about The Tonite Show and we respond to the needs and opinions of the viewing audience. Many people have called or written to suggest guests for The Tonite Show and those suggestions have proven to be interesting entertainment for the program. The Tonite Show requires over twenty people, personalities, writers, technicians and production personnel to put the program on the air each evening. It is a major undertaking of the Cambrian Broadcasting System’.”
A press release read – “It is the Cambrian region’s first entertainment/talk show, liberally sprinkled with a variety of guests put together by host Richard Scott. Expect anything from serious topics to live music to the positively ridiculous.” But the show was not without its critics. One newspaper reviewer wrote - “An exciting new concept of television is the new Tonite Show eleven to twelve midnight on CKSO Channel Five. However, when one attempts something new, one also takes the risk of a division of opinion on the merits of the program. Richard Scott, who is one of Canada’s finest newscasters, only manages most of the time to look highly embarrassed by the material he has to work with. One of the most glaring examples was the appearance of an avowed homosexual who appeared to be proud of his illness. Granted, homosexuality is a problem which, if it must be condoned, must only be condoned in the bedrooms of the nation, not in the glare of the TV camera. This man appeared to be proud of his affliction and some of his language left something to be desired.”
I didn’t worry much about reviews such as that from a critic who obviously was blatantly ignorant on the subject of homosexuality, but it was the 70s after all and attitudes were not as liberal. I agreed, however, with his assertion that I may have looked embarrassed with some of the material I had to work with. I was!
There was no doubt of the sexual orientation of one of my guests. She was Martha Smith, the July Playboy Playmate for 1973. Gee, where could I go to interview Martha? How about....the swimming pool of the local Holiday Inn so we could both wear bathing suits and swim around a little? After all, the public probably hadn’t had enough of me in a bathing suit at the polar bear dip. Ya right! That’s where we did the show that evening. Bikini-clad Martha and I did a sort of lame water ballet to piped in music and had a lot of laughs. The main body of the show was then done from poolside chaise lounges with me trying to cover up as much of myself as possible with towels in contrast to Martha who didn’t try to cover herself up at all! To open that show, the camera focused on me in the middle of the pool where I was treading water. The lights came up, the lively trumpet-blaring opening theme played, and the announcer said, “Live from Sudbury’s Holiday Inn, it’s Richard Scott and 
The Tonite Show! And here he is....Richard Scott!” Up came the applause and down went the theme as I swam to the edge of the pool where a hand microphone rested on a towel. Still in the water, I grabbed the mike and greeted the audience, outlining who was on the show that night. Then I broke for a commercial during which I hopped out of the pool and prepared for the show. It wasn’t until an hour later when someone remarked to me, “It’s lucky you weren’t electrocuted standing in water and holding that microphone!” There were many things I did for ratings, but electrocution was not one of them! I later raised hell about the incident and everyone shook their heads in agreement, but nothing came of it. I was just plain lucky! Martha autographed two pictures of herself for me. One was an 8x10 glossy on which she wrote - “To Dick, World’s wettest interviewer! It was fun! Best wishes, Martha Smith, July Playmate 73”. The other was her Playboy centrefold picture which she signed right across her navel! The next day in the newspaper, an item appeared that read - “Local TV host Dick Scott, was seen enjoying a private swim session with a leggy blonde in a bikini. Bathing attire unbelievable! Tch, tch.” The Holiday Inn liked the publicity it had garnered from that program and offered us the use of their “Flannigan’s Lounge” for a week from which to broadcast. CKSO took them up on their offer and the live program was aired from the lounge for five nights. I liked it because it meant I only needed one guest a night and could spend the rest of the program chatting to the standing-room-only customers.
