10 Questions with Pat McMahon

Actor, TV host and Valley legend

1. Your parents were vaudeville performers. What was that like, growing up as a child?

It was a dream childhood. My playmates were magicians, comedians and acrobats. I was homeschooled grades one to eight as we traveled through 50 states and several countries.

2. You were in special services in the Army and performed for troops across the U.S. What did you learn from this experience?

Performing for the military was a fabulous way to serve. Besides, I would have been a lousy soldier.

3. How did you come to Phoenix?
After the stint in the Army, I decided to seek my broadcast fortune in New York, but stopped in Phoenix first. I never left.

4. How did you break into television?
I was in radio in Davenport, Iowa, and started my own “American Bandstand” type of show for teens.

5. You were part of “The Wallace and Ladmo Show” for 30 years. What’s your favorite memory from that time?

All 30 years make for one incredible memory.

6. Can you share any tips for talking to kids?

Steven Spielberg said he learned NOT to talk down to kids from “The Wallace and Ladmo Show.”

7. Tell us about the Ladmo Bag and how it started.
We used to have our winners pick out a toy. That process took forever, so we decided we’d put sponsors’ products like Twinkies and Animal Crackers in a bag that Ladmo signed. We could never have imagined what a “Super Prize” it would become.

8. The bag is back on a limited basis. Tell us about it.

It’s so limited only the CIA knows. But seriously, after all these years, they are still available exclusively to the lucky people who WIN them.

9. They recently added a Wallace and Ladmo memorial bench at the Phoenix  Zoo. What does this mean to you?

It’s far more than a bench. There are three life-size bronze sculptures of us. Imagine, along with Barry Goldwater and Coach Frank Kush, there’s a statue of Wallace, Ladmo and Gerald. Unbelievable.

10. The Wallace and Ladmo Foundation seeks to preserve, nurture and continue the Wallace and Ladmo legacy of encouraging creativity and camaraderie in Arizona’s children. What’s going on with the foundation today?

The officers of The Wallace and Ladmo Foundation are Wallace’s son David Thompson, Ladmo’s son Robin Kwiatkowski and me. We have an advisory board helping us do “good stuff” for the community. We have some really exciting things coming up later this year, so stay tuned. Captain Super would want it that way.