So interesting news out of Burbank that Pat Sajak, beloved host of Wheel of Fortune since I remember watching TV and I'm not young enjoyed a margarita or six before hosting Wheel of Fortune.
Lots of questions here:
1) In the entertainment business, can being tipsy allow one to be more entertaining?
2) In a regular work place, can being tipsy allow one to be more creative, innovative, personable?
3) Does Vanna White enjoy tire treads over her back from the bus she was just thrown under?
4) Why the heck is Dan Le Batard breaking this news on an ESPN show?
Let's look at one thing at a time.
1) I say emphatically, "yes". Word of mouth stories have tied actors like, oh, John Belushi, who might chug an entire bottle of Jack (and come out of it knowing foreign languages, apparently) to get in character to being a bit loaded on the set. Other than the obvious problems with binge drinking, anything of it? I say "no". If I were an actor, I wouldn't hesitate (contract allowing) to get a little loose before going in front of the lights.
2) Hmmm, slippery slope here. I can handle my one or two or six (here's to you Pat) but the guy next to me may not. He might fly off the handle and come at me when I ask why his report is late. The gal next to him might break down in tears after a few if you mention something as simple as "your hair looks nice today" and she replies "pickles is gone, my cat is dead..." Lost productivity having to listen to her go on and on for 30 minutes about a cat you could give a flip less about. So I'm going to have to say "no". For more information, this summary highlights the possiblities with beer at work. You don't have to stretch the imagination for the liability involved, be it sexual harassment, imparted driving, workplace injury, etc. Short story is that I could pull it off, a work force of 100 people will see problems.
3) Yeah, I'm pretty sure Vanna didn't want to have anything to do with this leaking. I'm sure a publicist is working right now to disassociate herself from the comments of Pat and Pat alone. I say as a disinterested (legally) but interested (from an adolescent male), I did not notice any evidence of stumbling or disorientation of her and turning those letters so she's innocent until proven guilty.
4) Those who follow sports are familiar with Dan Le Batard, a great sportswriter, a fill in for ESPN's Pardon the Interruption, and a wit from the show highlighted above. Good catch, credit to his producers who found Sajak and thought this might be a story. You figure CNN could have found this and made it a big story on one of their fledgling shows (like whoever that guy who isn't Larry King) but DLB got it!
All that being said, I think a glass of beer or wine with lunch (European style) should be more tolerated here stateside.
As a complete non-sequitor, does anyone else remember when former San Diego Chargers Kicker Rolf Benirschke hosted Wheel for some reason? What was that about????
