Mike Douglas will be missed

My own father was the greatest guy in my life, so he was a hard act to follow. Mike Douglas came close. Working with him was my first job in TV and I landed on the hottest daytime show in the country. As a segment producer I met stars and wannabes in an era before they were surrounded by handlers.

"The Mike Douglas Show" came out of a basement studio in a far-away land called Philadelphia. When movie stars, TV personalities, music acts, and legends came to visit, they loved it. Our little studio, staffed by high energy kids like me, was a magic place for them and for us. The magic began with Mike-it was all Mike.

The father of daughters, he was our protector, telling guests like John Lennon he had to make Yoko behave or the remaining few shows we had to do with John would be cancelled. Yoko had made one of Mike's staff cry. Mike didn't like that. His team came first and so did good behavior.

When the house band teased me about my ties, I was ashamed. Mike called me into his dressing room office, opened his closet door, and said, "I hear you need a few ties, Bob, take what you want." I still have one someplace.

What I also have is the memory of a multi-talented performer at the top of his game. Even when an excited fan called him "Merv," mistaking him for fellow daytime star Merv Griffin, Mike always signed and joked and said "Thanks."

But I think Merv made a lot of new fans who thought they had met Merv, when it was really Mike. He just loved what he did and he passed a lot of that on to fans, to kids on his staff, and to millions that spent every afternoon with him.

I worked for a happy guy who counted his blessings and was grateful for what he had-and America loved him back big time.

Thanks, Mike. Every kid needs a role model and I lucked out for sure. Bob Raser Westlake Village