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Show TV Today A Bind Date With 1,452 Girls ' doubt in my mind that a ; bomb had exploded i nearby. In fact, very i nearby. When we went Into i a commercial the producer I of the show came on stage i with an almost serene ; expression on his face and said soothingly, "Bob, . don't be upset about that noise. It was only a refrigerator re-frigerator that exploded in the kitchen." At that moment, a second bomb went off in the hotel itself. I turned to the producer and said, "We had better plan to go out to dinner tonight. There goes the Perhaps the most beautiful beau-tiful setting for any pageant was in Greece where we did the Miss Universe . pageant at the foot of the Acropolis on the stage of the Herod Atticus Theatre. It is an outdoor amphitheatre, amphith-eatre, utterly breathtaking. In the interest of fairness, fair-ness, the foreign girls who become one of the five finalists have the option of having an interpreter on hand to translate her final question for her. We have such interpreters standing by as needed. "'V' f 'Jt I I! S J, J J by Bob Barker I was distracted once by a contestant's evening gown falling off during a show but it was when two bombs exploded in the middle of a telecast that I became convinced that the cardinal rule for hosting the Miss USA and Miss Universe beauty pageants is to expect the unexpected. unexpect-ed. A sense of self-preservation self-preservation is second in importance only to a sense of humor in the pageant emcee's survival kit. On Monday, July 24, when the Miss Universe beauty pageant originates live on CBS-TV via satellite from Mexico, a worldwide audience estimated at 500-million 500-million will again watch me have "a blind date with 83 of the most beautiful girls in the world." It will be the 24th time that I have had this pleasure. They tell me that on that night I will "date" my 1,452nd beauty contestant. Basically, I consider it my job to help each contestant con-testant to present herself as well as possible on television. To accomplish this, it is my happy chore to get acquainted with each of the girls personally and to learn the facts about them, beyond measurements, that might titillate those 500-milhon viewers. There was one lovely contestant whom I was told wanted to be a soccer coach. I found this intriguing. intrigu-ing. But just to play it safe, I asked her before we went on the air, "Is it true that you want to be a soccer coach?" The typical, wholesome, All-American girl replied, "Yeah, Bob, I do. I dig soccer. I want to be a coach." So, on the air, my opening question to her was, "What do you want to do in the future?" She looked up at me in a most dignified fashion and said, "Mr. Barker, I want to be a brain surgeon." I wished her well. One year while we were in the middle of the evening gown competition, a bomb was set off in the parking lot of the hotel from which the pageant was being telecast. As the stage rocked, there was no calmly assured her that I her wish would be I granted. I Meanwhile, I went on to I the other finalists. As I was I talking to them, I could see I panic spreading through I the television crew. There I was no one around who I spoke Hebrew. The crew I was desperately combing j the audience, searching for I someone to translate. Fin- I ally, out of the corner of I my eye, I saw them find a I lady in the back of the I theatre. They brought her I down front. She was a I rather portly lady and it I took two men to lift her I bodily on stage. No matter, I we had our Hebrew inter- I prefer. I stepped up to Miss I Israel and said, "We're I ready for you now. This I lady will translate your I question into Hebrew." I Miss Israel looked at me, I smiled sweetly, and said, I "That's all right, Bob, just I ask it in English." "Certain- I ly, my dear," I replied and I hoped that I could restrain I the crew. I On one unforgettable I occasion, I received my I sign-off signal, I said good- I night, the photographers I rushed on stage and I I assumed that the show credits were being run over I a closing shot of this I exciting scene. (The unex- I pected rears its pesky I head again.) Suddenly, our I producer pushed his way I between two photo- I graphers and flashed a I little piece of note paper I which read, "Interview I Miss Universe for five min- utes!" The stage manager I had given me the signal to I close the show five min- I utes too soon. I But I got a break. The I new Miss Universe was I Miss Australia and just to I prove that you can't lose I them all, they speak Eng- I lish in Australia. I was able I to interview her for five I minutes there among the I photographers and it was a I dramatic climax to the j show. I Two things I can promise I you about this Monday I night in Mexico: one gor- I geous girl will end up being I Miss Universe and the I unexpected is bound to I occur. I Bob Barker and Helen O'Connell will co-host the 1978 Mis Universe Pageant. freezer." As the commercial commer-cial ended, I went back on camera, smiling confidently. confident-ly. At least, I think I was smiling confidently. Another time one of the young ladies' straps broke on her evening gown. She was close enough for me to grab it and hold it in place, which I did. I was proud that by my quick action I had prevented ours from becoming the first topless beauty pageant in television televi-sion history. However, there are some people who wish I had not been so agile. In Greece, Miss Israel became one of the finalists. fin-alists. She had spoken English during the week, so we had assumed that there would be no necessity of having an interpreter for her: (Remember what I said about expecting the unexpected?) I stepped up to Miss Israel and said, "Here is your final question." As I started to read it to her, she interrupted, "Please, I want it translated into Hebrew." Although I knew that we had not provided for a Hebrew interpreter, I |