'Concentration' prize he won't fur-get

The classic NBC-TV game show "Concentration" involved using your memory. Reading about Norm Blumenthal, producer of the long-running hit, in our Jan. 26 Act 2 cover story, certainly stirred the memory of Jerry Palladino, 58, of West Islip, who recalled being on the show in 1972.

One of his most vivid memories was solving the picture puzzle that translated into "Van Cliburn." ("It was a moving van, the letters CL plus an eye and a fire.") Equally unforgettable was winning a cream-colored mink bolero and then seeing the fur fly after host Bob Clayton invited Palladino's then-girlfriend, Lynn, to come onstage from the audience to model it.

"They got panic-stricken in the control room," he recalls. "They came out after the commercial and said, 'We didn't get you in trouble, did we?' I said, 'No you didn't.' They said, 'Are you married?' and I said no. They said, 'Thank God.' "

Blumenthal, who remembers infinite details about the show, doesn't remember Palladino's wins, but that's not surprising. The former producer interviewed many contestants while overseeing more than 7,000 games and creating all of the picture puzzles on "Concentration" for 15 years.

Palladino and his girlfriend parted ways, but he kept the mink. Over the years, his wife, Cathy, and daughter, Nicole, have worn it. The latest to model the jacket is Palladino's daughter-in-law, Kerry Corrie, also of West Islip.

The mink was his big prize, but Palladino also won Z-Bricks, faux brick panels he installed in his previous home; a sofa bed; a bowling ball; a black tuxedo and a white tuxedo. "My brother, who stayed slim, used the tuxedos for the longest time," Palladino says. His tally was worth about $2,800, equivalent to $15,400 today.

In all, Palladino, who was living in Bellerose when he appeared on "Concentration," won two games, tied one and lost game No. 4. "I panicked. I tried to get too much done in my move and I blew it," he says.

Since "Concentration" aired in the morning, Palladino remembers watching the shows with his co-workers. "They brought a TV into the office so we could watch it, and the girls there said, 'You had to see your face when you were on TV.' I had this sly grin."

Palladino, a mail carrier, had good reason to smile. And still does. "I try to relive that moment every once in a while," he says. "Something like that you just don't forget."