[Harp-L] Butterfield on TV; was To Tell the Truth

[Aeskow@xxxxxxx]

The image of the young Butterfield--no  doubt stoned, hung-over, and packing 
a .22 in a calf-holster or tucked under his  belt--staring across a game-show 
set at the likes of George Gobel, Dorothy  Kilgallen, Kay Francis, and Bill 
Cullen, would almost seem too surreal to be  true...unless you actually lived 
through that period, when it could almost seem  routine.  Does anyone know if 
the noteworthy panel busted Paul, or if he  managed to lie his way to victory 
before they cut to the Timex  commercial?
 
But this was definitely not the last of  Butterfield's weird TV appearances.
 
I have a vivid memory of seeing him  on--bizarrely enough--The Merv Griffin 
Show
with the Better Days line-up, right after  they released that great first 
album.  Ronnie Barron (RIP) ripped through a  phenomenal version of Louisiana 
Flood, and then they did either  Small-Town Talk (viva Bobby Charles) or Nobody's 
Fault But  Mine.  In between, the unctuous Mr. Merv--himself a Grade-Z Jerry 
Vale  wanna-be, obviously bewildered by this new "bag" the "kids" were "hep"  
to--shoved a Shure into Paul's face and asked him what this kind of music was  
called.  As if naming it would finally make it go away.
 
I remember how Paul fought to keep a  straight face, but I don't know if he 
ever answered the question.  And at  the end of the show, Merv sat down at the 
piano and did Drink To Me Only With  Thine Eyes.  A fitting conclusion.
 
That's another piece of video I'd give  anything to see...
 
Peace and Respect
Johnny T