#1 Sunset Strip to Beverly Hills & "Dating Game"

This debut episode starts with Bob's FBI-agent birthright and takes us through a childhood spent in Sunset Strip nightclubs where he hung out with Nat  "King" Cole, sang duets with Sophie Tucker and Johnny Ray, and was introduced to the joys of Parliament cigarettes...at age six! Raised with gun-toting West Coast Jewish mobsters as family role models, Bob reveals the details of youthful encounters with naked movie stars like Carol Baker and Rock Hudson...and describes his celebrity-filled school years living just down the street from the movie-star mansions of Beverly Hills. Life at Beverly Hills High--where Bob did a good job of "passing" as Jewish-- led to an eye-opening experience with anti-semitism which colors his attitudes even to this day. Suzanne gets Bob to reveal how Vietnam-era draft evasion caused him to change his name...and how repeated appearances on a handful of TV quiz shows propelled him toward an unusual career choice. Although he whimped out when he won a date with a Hollywood stripper,  Bob had a fresh taste of showbiz that he just couldn't shake.