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The Late Late Show
April 28, 1979
Rod Taylor was a guest on this long-running Irish chat show,
to promote "Cry of the
Innocent," which was in production at the time. The episode is
notable for the arm-wrestling match between Oliver Reed and Rod,
pictured below in a photo circulated on
social media by Irish TV
network RTÉ on the 28th anniversary of the episode.
Seated in the background are author Frederick Forsyth and former RTÉ
producer Morgan O'Sullivan. Forsyth wrote the story upon which "Cry
of the Innocent" was based, and O'Sullivan was the film's executive
producer.
A
trivia item on IMDb says that Oliver Reed and Susan George were
on the show to promote their movie, "Tomorrow Never Comes." The item
says that Reed, who had "over-imbibed," became amorous with Susan
George. To help distract Reed, fellow guest Rod Taylor challenged
him to an arm wrestling competition. Another version, related by a
viewer, states that the show's host, Gay Byrne, goaded the two
actors into arm wrestling on the studio floor. The viewer added,
"PS: Rod Taylor won."
 Another fan also reported that Rod opened
Waterford [Ireland] City Shopping Centre with Byrne in the mid- to
late-1970s. Byrne was the host of "The Late Late Show" from its
start in 1962 until 1997. The show continues today and is
regarded as an Irish television institution. It airs on Raidió
Teilifís Éireann (RTÉ) and is the world's second longest-running
chat show, after the "The Tonight Show" in the U.S.
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