The Mike Douglas Show: Muppets, Tiger Woods And More

By | October 3, 2017

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Left: Roger Moore and Mike Douglas on 'The Mike Douglas Show.' Right: Tiger Woods. Sources: Photo by Ron Galella, Ltd./Ron Galella Collection via Getty Images; Pinterest

For nearly 20 years, The Mike Douglas Show was a hugely successful talk show that brought entertainers and other celebrities -- even Tiger Woods and the Muppets -- into American homes during daytime hours. The program went into syndication in 1963 and was a staple on American television until 1981. Douglas was a former big-band singer turned TV host whose 7 million viewers tuned in to see the celebrity guests that would be on the popular show on a daily basis. At the height of its popularity, in the late 1960s, it was one of the most watched shows on television.

Mike Douglas Kept Housewives Entertained

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In 1967, his show became the first syndicated show ever to win an Emmy. "Dishes go unwashed and shirts remain unironed when Mike Douglas comes on," TV Guide once quoted, referring to the show’s audience of which the majority was made up of housewives at the time.

“Mike is the glue,” his producer Roger Ailes (the future Fox News CEO) said in 1967, the year the show won its first of five Emmy Awards. “Without him the show would fall apart.” Larry Rosen (another producer of the show) called Mike “a piece of clay, you can do anything with him.”