Michael Delaney Dowd, Jr., better known as Mike Douglas, was the host of the famous Mike Douglas Show, a singer of American "Big Band" era and a talented entertainer. He was born in Chicago on the 11th of August, 1925. He was interested in music from an early age, beginning as a choirboy. By his teenage years he was already working as a singer on a dinner cruise ship. After serving in the Navy, he left Chicago for Los Angeles to participate in the Ginny Simms radio show. After that, Mike joined the big band of Kay Kyser as a singer.

In the fifties, big band swing faded from popularity, and Douglas was literally left in the musical dustbin, just like many other older singers. To survive the lean years, Mike and his wife had to "flip" their Los Angeles homes. Anyway, in 1961 Douglas started hosting his own talk show, which immediately gained popularity, went into syndication two years later and remained on TV until 1981.

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