Laguna Woods is redefining aging.
From their annual Woodstock Festival full of dancing to their vibrant singles scene, the seniors in this retirement community are sharp, horny and full of surprises, according to Phil Doran, the man behind Laguna Woods’ version of “The Dating Game.”
As part of the “Never Too Late To Be Great” program, produced by Doran and the Video Club of Laguna Woods, “Never Too Late To Date” is going on its second year on the community’s cable channel.
“I became aware of how vibrant the dating scene is in the Village, and my first job in television was working with ‘The Dating Game,’ ” Doran said. “I knew how that show worked, so I decided to do a version of ‘The Dating Game’ here.”
From 1966 to 1968, Doran worked alongside the show’s creator, Chuck Barris, who died at 87 on March 21.
“(Barris) was a unique human being and he was kind, warm, funny and a real genius,” Doran said. “He reinvented the game shows; no one was doing anything like it at that time.”
Doran strives to continue Barris’ legacy of creativity and fun in his own show, although this time without the film crew smoking marijuana or dating the contestants, he said.
“On ‘The Dating Game’ I worked with contestants who were in their 20s and 30s. At that age you kind of always think about how you are coming off and if people like you,” he said.
When you get older you honestly don’t care, Doran added. “Whatever is in your mind comes out your mouth and it makes it that much more outrageous.”
As homage to “The Dating Game,” the Laguna Woods version has one bachelor with three bachelorettes answering a series of questions. The primary difference in “Never Too Late To Date” is that all of its contestants are 90.
Resident Rena Middough won the third episode with a lunch date with John Dalis as her prize.
“I was completely surprised,” she said. “He was a lovely companion, he was very generous with his conversation and he dated me within three days of the taping of the show. We did really have a nice time.”
Middough said her relationship with Dalis will remain as friends, but she hopes to go on the show again in the future because it was fun.
“It gave me a nicer opinion of myself,” she said. “I’m super critical of myself, I didn’t expect to like myself at all and to my pleasure, I thought I was kind of nice.”
The second half of the one-hour show features a segment called “Never Too Late To Know Your Mate.” A spin-off of “The Newlywed Game,” this one features married couples quizzing each other. The winner is based upon couples’ predictions of each other’s answers.
Lela O’Connor-Lopez, 78, and her husband Richard, 80, appeared on the show. Lela said she got a kick out of the questions and hilarious answers from each contestant.
“They asked my husband what the first thing he noticed about me was,” Lela said, laughing. “He said ‘Her big chubascos’ and he made hand gestures like boobs.”
“I answered ‘Oh my boobs,’ I know that.”
Of the three couples in the show, Lela and Richard had been married the longest – 33 years. Although they didn’t win, Lela said she felt proud of her marriage.
Doran said he hopes the clips on “Never Too Late To Be Great” help inspire people in Laguna Woods to get out, if they haven’t.
“ ‘The Dating Game’ is only part of the story,” he said. “The story of the aging baby boomer generation has seemed to reinvent aging. If you go to our dances or functions, this isn’t your mother’s grandma. We’re young and hip, active and dancing. It’s a whole new way of aging.”