Jimmy referenced in Carol Merrill bio
Posted: February 20, 2006 6:25 pm
Jimmy's song "Door Number Three" is referenced in this web site about Carol Merrill.
http://home.earthlink.net/~nuttbait/wor ... rdaddy.htm
HER SWINGIN' '60s CREDENTIALS: The only model for the first twelve seasons of one of the decade's most popular game shows, "Let's Make a Deal."
CATEGORIES OF SWINGIN' CHICK: TV Star and Model
BIRTH: This is one of the rare times at our site when we have no birthday info, not a date, not a birthplace, nothing. But we're still looking.
IMPACT ON THE '60s: "They put us on reluctantly and gave us thirteen weeks," host Monty Hall told Biography magazine in December, 2001. "But we were an instant hit. We ran for 27 years." Such was the impact of "Let's Make a Deal," the popular game show that started on NBC in 1963 (the show switched to ABC in '69). All three of the show's on-air personalities -- host Hall, model Carol, and announcer Jay Stewart -- became celebrities. Carol, hired for about $80 an episode in '63, was the popular model Monty would point out next to whatever merchandise he was offering to the contestants: "Where the lovely Carol Merrill is now standing" was his oft-heard statement. The show has grown in affection and stature to become one of the most-recognizable icons of American TV and something of a symbol of American consumption. One person the show (and Carol) had an impact on was singer Jimmy Buffett; he included her in a song called "Door Number Three" on his early A1A album:
"Oh I took a wrong turn, it was the right turn
My turn to have me a ball
Boys at the shop told me just where to stop
If I wanted to play for it all
I didn't know I'd find her on daytime TV
My whole world lies waiting behind door number three
I chose my apparel, wore a beer barrel
And they rolled me to the very first row
I held a big sign that said 'Kiss me I'm a baker,
and Monty I sure need the dough!'
Then I grabbed that sucker by the throat
Until he called on me
'Cuz my whole world lies waiting behind door number three
And I don't want what Jay's got on his table
Or the box Carol Merrill points to on the floor
No, I'll hold out just as long as I am able
Until I can unlock that lucky door
Well, she's no big deal to most folks
But she's everything to me
'Cuz my whole world lies waiting behind door number three
Oh Monty, Monty, Monty, I am walking down your hall
God be, I lost my seat but I'm not a man to crawl
No I didn't get rich you son of a b****
I'll be back just wait and see
'Cuz my whole world lies waiting behind door number three
Yes my whole world lies waiting behind door number three"
CAREER IN THE '60s: Early in the '60s Carol was voted Miss Azusa. Then came modeling. The official "Let's Make a Deal" Web site gives this summary of her early career: "She began her modeling career in her teens and was eventually discovered by television actor, Gardner McKay, star of "Adventures in Paradise," who introduced her to a top modeling agency. Starting with fashion photography, her career evolved to include television commercials and then game shows." One of those shows (prior to working on "Let's Make a Deal") was the CBS game show "Your Surprise Package" hosted by George Fenneman (earlier Fenneman was Groucho Marx's foil on the old "You Bet Your Life" show). On "Let's Make a Deal," Carol was not only the hostess who pointed to doors, boxes, and prizes, she was also part of the "zonks," the joke prizes sometimes given away. For one of these zonks, the prize was Carol herself, riding a tricycle. Another time she was dressed as an old lady (missing a few teeth) who was turning an old-fashioned washing machine. Other zonks featured announcer Jay Stewart dressed up as Little Bo Peep, riding in a baby buggy, and driving a tiny car. Besides "Let's Make a Deal," the Internet Movie Database lists two other '60s screen credits for Carol: appearances on an episode of "Burke's Law" in '63 and in Disney's The Gnome-Mobile in '67 (Carol's listed as a "Married Gnome").
CAREER OUTSIDE THE '60s: While she was still on "Let's Make a Deal," Carol, according to the Internet Movie Database, played a nurse in the '71 flick This Stuff'll Kill Ya, a little-seen comedy that used the ad line "Too Much Lovin'! Too Much Likker! Too Much Lawbreakin'!" Mostly, though, she was known for her work with Monty Hall, and because of her "Let's Make a Deal" celebrity she made appearances on a number of '70s talk shows, including "Good Morning America," "The Phil Donohue Show," "David Letterman," "Geraldo," "People Are Talking." Biography magazine (December 2001) summarized her post-'70s work: "After Merrill retired from modeling in the late '70s, she took up a life of growing organic foods, teaching holistic medicine, and promoting volunteerism."
TALENT: Although she was on thousands of episodes of "Let's Make a Deal," Carol rarely got the chance to do more than point at prizes. She only spoke once: On the 2,500th show she talked nonstop as a gag. As a proponent of healthy living, Carol has published articles, one of which, "Can I Eat This? And Other Spa Secrets," is on view at the "Care 2 Make a Difference" Web site: www.care2.com/channels/solutions/self/289.
HER '60s LOOK: Rarely seen up close on "Let's Make a Deal," Carol was an attractive, long-legged, wholesome presence on the show. Those legs were shown off to good effect in skirts and even hot pants (on the November 6th, 1971 show). The official "Let's Make a Deal" Web site says this about her looks and how they led her to pursue a healthy lifestyle: "Carol's professional life always depended on her ability to look and feel good. This, along with a desire to improve the health of her family, took her on a path of discovering better, more natural ways to live her life. So, with the close of Carol's game show career, she entered into the health field by working closely with her own doctor, a natural health care practitioner. During the ensuing ten years, she gained invaluable knowledge and practical experience along the way. Today she devotes her life to continuing natural health research and organic gardening. She is sought out by many for ideas and methods of living more lightly upon the earth by using products which are user-friendly and ecologically-sound. Her recent environmental work was recognized and honored when she received the Hawaii County Mayor's Award of Excellence and the First Lady's Outstanding Volunteer Award from the State of Hawaii."
http://home.earthlink.net/~nuttbait/wor ... rdaddy.htm
HER SWINGIN' '60s CREDENTIALS: The only model for the first twelve seasons of one of the decade's most popular game shows, "Let's Make a Deal."
CATEGORIES OF SWINGIN' CHICK: TV Star and Model
BIRTH: This is one of the rare times at our site when we have no birthday info, not a date, not a birthplace, nothing. But we're still looking.
IMPACT ON THE '60s: "They put us on reluctantly and gave us thirteen weeks," host Monty Hall told Biography magazine in December, 2001. "But we were an instant hit. We ran for 27 years." Such was the impact of "Let's Make a Deal," the popular game show that started on NBC in 1963 (the show switched to ABC in '69). All three of the show's on-air personalities -- host Hall, model Carol, and announcer Jay Stewart -- became celebrities. Carol, hired for about $80 an episode in '63, was the popular model Monty would point out next to whatever merchandise he was offering to the contestants: "Where the lovely Carol Merrill is now standing" was his oft-heard statement. The show has grown in affection and stature to become one of the most-recognizable icons of American TV and something of a symbol of American consumption. One person the show (and Carol) had an impact on was singer Jimmy Buffett; he included her in a song called "Door Number Three" on his early A1A album:
"Oh I took a wrong turn, it was the right turn
My turn to have me a ball
Boys at the shop told me just where to stop
If I wanted to play for it all
I didn't know I'd find her on daytime TV
My whole world lies waiting behind door number three
I chose my apparel, wore a beer barrel
And they rolled me to the very first row
I held a big sign that said 'Kiss me I'm a baker,
and Monty I sure need the dough!'
Then I grabbed that sucker by the throat
Until he called on me
'Cuz my whole world lies waiting behind door number three
And I don't want what Jay's got on his table
Or the box Carol Merrill points to on the floor
No, I'll hold out just as long as I am able
Until I can unlock that lucky door
Well, she's no big deal to most folks
But she's everything to me
'Cuz my whole world lies waiting behind door number three
Oh Monty, Monty, Monty, I am walking down your hall
God be, I lost my seat but I'm not a man to crawl
No I didn't get rich you son of a b****
I'll be back just wait and see
'Cuz my whole world lies waiting behind door number three
Yes my whole world lies waiting behind door number three"
CAREER IN THE '60s: Early in the '60s Carol was voted Miss Azusa. Then came modeling. The official "Let's Make a Deal" Web site gives this summary of her early career: "She began her modeling career in her teens and was eventually discovered by television actor, Gardner McKay, star of "Adventures in Paradise," who introduced her to a top modeling agency. Starting with fashion photography, her career evolved to include television commercials and then game shows." One of those shows (prior to working on "Let's Make a Deal") was the CBS game show "Your Surprise Package" hosted by George Fenneman (earlier Fenneman was Groucho Marx's foil on the old "You Bet Your Life" show). On "Let's Make a Deal," Carol was not only the hostess who pointed to doors, boxes, and prizes, she was also part of the "zonks," the joke prizes sometimes given away. For one of these zonks, the prize was Carol herself, riding a tricycle. Another time she was dressed as an old lady (missing a few teeth) who was turning an old-fashioned washing machine. Other zonks featured announcer Jay Stewart dressed up as Little Bo Peep, riding in a baby buggy, and driving a tiny car. Besides "Let's Make a Deal," the Internet Movie Database lists two other '60s screen credits for Carol: appearances on an episode of "Burke's Law" in '63 and in Disney's The Gnome-Mobile in '67 (Carol's listed as a "Married Gnome").
CAREER OUTSIDE THE '60s: While she was still on "Let's Make a Deal," Carol, according to the Internet Movie Database, played a nurse in the '71 flick This Stuff'll Kill Ya, a little-seen comedy that used the ad line "Too Much Lovin'! Too Much Likker! Too Much Lawbreakin'!" Mostly, though, she was known for her work with Monty Hall, and because of her "Let's Make a Deal" celebrity she made appearances on a number of '70s talk shows, including "Good Morning America," "The Phil Donohue Show," "David Letterman," "Geraldo," "People Are Talking." Biography magazine (December 2001) summarized her post-'70s work: "After Merrill retired from modeling in the late '70s, she took up a life of growing organic foods, teaching holistic medicine, and promoting volunteerism."
TALENT: Although she was on thousands of episodes of "Let's Make a Deal," Carol rarely got the chance to do more than point at prizes. She only spoke once: On the 2,500th show she talked nonstop as a gag. As a proponent of healthy living, Carol has published articles, one of which, "Can I Eat This? And Other Spa Secrets," is on view at the "Care 2 Make a Difference" Web site: www.care2.com/channels/solutions/self/289.
HER '60s LOOK: Rarely seen up close on "Let's Make a Deal," Carol was an attractive, long-legged, wholesome presence on the show. Those legs were shown off to good effect in skirts and even hot pants (on the November 6th, 1971 show). The official "Let's Make a Deal" Web site says this about her looks and how they led her to pursue a healthy lifestyle: "Carol's professional life always depended on her ability to look and feel good. This, along with a desire to improve the health of her family, took her on a path of discovering better, more natural ways to live her life. So, with the close of Carol's game show career, she entered into the health field by working closely with her own doctor, a natural health care practitioner. During the ensuing ten years, she gained invaluable knowledge and practical experience along the way. Today she devotes her life to continuing natural health research and organic gardening. She is sought out by many for ideas and methods of living more lightly upon the earth by using products which are user-friendly and ecologically-sound. Her recent environmental work was recognized and honored when she received the Hawaii County Mayor's Award of Excellence and the First Lady's Outstanding Volunteer Award from the State of Hawaii."
