Dr. Pedantic might quibble, but ok, December, 1991. We've gone up to Greenwich Village to see an off-Broadway thing called "The Real Live Brady Bunch," in which stage actors act out actual Brady Bunch episodes, word for word, all while maintaining straight faces (we got to see the slumber party episode). A half hour isn't really that much bang for your buck, so they preceded this with something called "The Real Live Game Show," which as you might have guessed, is an event resembling a cheesy game show in which contestants chosen from the audience compete to be the big winner and have a chance in the Bonus Round to win A Brand New Car (ooh, ah).
Now for this, everyone in the audience was asked to write down three things about themselves, one true, and two false. Ten of these people would be selected to stand on stage during the Bonus Round. The Bonus Round would proceed as follows. The Host would read to the Contestant the three statements about the first person. The Contestant would have to say which was true. If right, he would move on to the next person. Otherwise, the Host would read the remaining statements, and again the Contestant would have to guess. And so on. The Contestant had one minute to get all 10, and if so, would win A Brand New Car (ooh, ah).
I don't remember the lies my future bride wrote about herself, but the truthful statement she wrote was "Enjoyed Ishtar". Sure enough, she was chosen to go up for the bonus Round, and when the Contestant was off-stage and soundproofed and the Host read the ten true statements he'd have to guess, her confession won the biggest gasp and applause. Needless to say, it took the Contestant all three guesses to get past her, and he did not win A Brand New Car (ooh, ah).
---
ken.kaufman@gmail.com
