March 19- the Katey Sagal/Sven Mystery Deepens!

Longtime fans of my shows may remember us showing a clip from a visit by Bette Midler to the original Jerry G. Bishop Svengoolie show in the early 70s.When we showed it on my “Son of” show, the director thought it would be better to “key” me over the image of Jerry’s Sven in the coffin, “for continuity’s sake.” Whatever. At that time, we noticed that one of her back-up singers (“The Harlettes”) was now a known star- singer Melissa Manchester! And, her pianist and musical arranger at the time who was there- but not on camera- was a young Barry Manilow!
Years later, as “Married with Children” became a hit, a film editor at Fox (back when they still HAD film editors) pointed out the resemblance of one of the other singers to “Peg Bundy”-actress Katey Sagal. Research showed that she had, indeed, been a back-up singer for the Divine Miss M for a while-so, we ended up showing the clip, conjecturizing that it might indeed be Katy.
What’s my point in bringing this up? Well, this past weekend-
There was a “Hollywood collector” show in the area, with many different favorite stars- everybody from Erik Estrada, Kathy Graver (“Cissy” from “Family Affair”) and Seinfeld’s “Soup Nazi” Larry Thomas- to-Katey Sagal! A member of our staff was in attendance, and asked Katy about the Sven appearance with Bette- and, she was surprised, saying that SEVERAL PEOPLE had asked her about it already that day! And the thing is- she doesn’t recall it! In fact, she had said that she was with Bette years later than that appearance would have been (around 1972-73)!
So- here’s the mystery- is it her or not? From what she’s saying, it’s not. A staff member here said that maybe it was, but she was using the “different years” to support whatever age her biography claims she is (i.e., that she isn’t as old as she actually might be!)When we’ve shown the clip, people seem to think it is her- or- is it some young woman who REALLY resembles her?
Unfortunately, I don’t have the clip handy- though you may be able to find it online in various places- I recall someone had once posted a still from it, as well. I was never sure if it was Katey or not, and always stated that we had no proof that it was her. To be honest, I’d tend to believe her-especially since her career isn’t built on her being a “young chick” and I wouldn’t think there would be any reason for her to fudge on her age. Some sources, like Wikipedia (which is only somewhat reliable) say she WAS with Bette in the late 70s- but sometimes contradict the years she stated she was with her.
So- the mystery deepens. And- for the record- our staff member said she was very nice, very charming, and was not the least offended by people asking if she was ever associated with a Svengoolie! (Seems appropriate, after playing a cartoon mutant Cyclops on “Futurama”- she’s practically part of the family!)