Surrounded by great production, nostalgic jingles and hilarious drop-ins, (with a guest appearance by ‘Al Roker’), The “Real” Bob James spends a weekend on WNBC’s “Time Machine”. But that “Time Machine” almost took him somewhere else. In the late 1970s, after having won 5 Emmy Awards for his work in Cleveland television, Bob moved to L.A. While there, he heard about a syndicated game show that was looking for a new host, and managed to get three separate auditions. They played a phony game, with Phony contestants and a phony audience. Only the result was real–or maybe that should be “Real”, as Bob aced the tryout.
It came down to our intrepid hero and one other guy. It was close, but that ‘other guy’ won. You may have heard of him. His name is Pat Sajak. And the show is “Wheel Of Fortune”. But as this aircheck proves, Bob’s loss was our gain. Because anyone can turn a letter. But it takes something far more to turn a phrase. And as you’ll hear here, not even Vanna White can beat The “Real” at that game.