Would You Like To Be Queen For a Day?
My grandmother began to wear wigs at the age of 52. It was about the same time she started watching the NBC TV show Queen of the Day. Her hair had been badly burned at the hands of a 1930's salon perm and her thinning hair failed to cover her bald spots. Even though she was a Canadian citizen she wrote NBC constantly hoping to get on the show. Grammy wanted a fancy new American-style wig as the ones she was buying in Montreal were out-of-date she said.
Once a week I would watch one contestant being chosen as Queen of the Day at the Moulin Rouge with Jimmy Cagney's sister Jeanne acting as Jack Bailey's Vanna White. Today, Queen of the Day is still considered one of the first big-prize giveaway shows and I can still remember Bailey ask,
"Would YOU like to be Queen for a day?"
This was basically nothing but a sympathy show with female contestants that all appeared to be excruciatingly poor and destitute. Each contestant had to explain why they were worse off than their peers on the show and then the audience would vote on whose story was more miserable. The ultimate decision was left up to the applause meter.
Some asked for washing machines, vacations, or one wanted close-fitting false teeth so she could resume her coronet playing. Of course she also got a years supply of Orafix, which was a sponsor of the show.
My Grandmother and I would share her cotton handkerchief many times during this particular TV show on a weekly basis. Queen For a Day is where I learned how to pity-cry on the spot and acquired knowledge about Ex-Lax and Sarah Coventry jewelry.
Often the requests were ridiculous and one just married wife asked for new underwear for her husband as she figured two months wear on his skivvies was enough. Sometimes the audience and the TV viewership rallied to the rescue when the contestants did not win. One particular woman's husband had just left her and was saddled with two hungry children and was shunned by the audience. The viewers donated a two room apartment free until she found a job, a years free babysitting service and 8 bucks from a man who won the money at the racetrack.
Mark Evanier, veteran television writer, has dubbed the show "one of the most ghastly shows ever produced" and further stated it was "tasteless, demeaning to women, demeaning to anyone who watched it, cheap, insulting and utterly degrading to the human spirit.
My grandmother was never chosen for the show but I think that this show had more impact than anyone realizes. Whether or not it was demeaning to women, the home audience lapped it up and the show increased its running time from 30 to 45 minutes to sell more commercials, at a then-premium rate of $4,000 per minute.
That was a lot of money in those days and the rights are still owned by television executive Michael Wortsman, and a Spanish-language company, Reina Por Un Dia. Worstman is shopping around for a deal and I bet the premise for the revived game show will be; whoever has the biggest "sob story" gets more government funding.
If I could pick anyone to host the show today it would be icon John Waters as I can hear him yell,
"This is John Waters, wishing we could make every woman a queen, for every single day!"
Photos by Google except the top one that is my family.
Bernice, Arthur, Fred and Mary Knight- with little Linda and Robin Knight. I am the last one standing and may they all rest in peace.
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Linda Blogs about this and that daily on:
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Comment
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Comment by Linda Seccaspina on May 23, 2012 at 8:41pm -
LOL I wish John was my brother..:)
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Comment by Jack Heart on May 23, 2012 at 8:39pm -
Yea I remember that show from when I was a small child in the sixties. That was when there was still good people in the entertainment industry: Walt Disney, Walter Cronkite, Marlin Perkins, and your boy John Waters.
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Comment by Linda Seccaspina on May 23, 2012 at 2:29pm
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Werner, Id clap for you..:)
Sheila.. we never thought about it then
JW would revamp that show I swear Mary and too bad Divine was not alive.
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Comment by Mary Katherine Manuel on May 23, 2012 at 2:21pm -
I watched it too, never realizing how awful it was for all the others who never became Q F A D.
I just wanted to be Princess for a Day.
I wonder if JW would change the wording, just a bit.
Thanks for the memories
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Comment by Sheila Luecht on May 23, 2012 at 11:14am -
The beginning of Reality TV. This one was fun because of the costume cape and crown and the roses. That was about all I got out seeing in it back in the day, as I was too young to understand the demeaning nature of it. Television exploited people then too.
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Comment by Werner on May 23, 2012 at 11:04am -
Whenever my kids and wife ask me what I want for my birthday or Christmas they always add "no, you can't have a Porsche" since that's pretty much my standard request, now I do have about 90 of them, ranging from 1:43 to 1:12 scale and many more to build.
However I'd gladly make the sacrifice, complete with tiara, handbag (made by Snap-On) and long gown, with a slit on the side to show off my beautiful unshaven legs and I know that my mustache might clash with the regal outfit, but there is only so much I'm willing to sacrifice for a chance to spend an intimate day with a Porsche at some romantic place place like Mosport or Watkins Glen as queen for a day.
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Comment by Linda Seccaspina on May 23, 2012 at 10:33am
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Zanelle: yes we are
Jason.. bachelor??:)
Marsha: LOL
Peggy.. all available on DVD now
Steve: perfect isnt it??:)
Creekend: Fred would get along smashing with them:)
Matt: Memory Lane:)
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Comment by Matt Paust on May 23, 2012 at 9:33am -
Hate to admit it, but I used to watch it. We'd just gotten out TV and my mom would watch it, and so would my sister and I. I'd completely forgotten this show until just now.
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Comment by CreekEnd_UK on May 23, 2012 at 8:32am -
"Gawd Bless the BBC and our monthly license fee FRed(tm). No adverts or Point Percy at the Porcelain Breaks but we do get a full hours worth of repeats and cheap programs that not even the Colon'olies would remember. Now which Queen is the Boss talking about? Not the San Francisco variety ? Nah she would, would She Boy?"
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Comment by Steve S on May 23, 2012 at 8:10am
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My grand-mere (pron Bubbie) loved that show.
The idea of a revival w/ Waters has shaken me to the core. It wo0uld be more than perfect. . . perfectly awful.
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