Martin initially refused to do the show, partly because he didn’t want to turn off the nightclub and the movies. His terms were deliberately outrageous: he demanded a high salary and that he should only gather for the actual taping of the show. To his surprise, the network agreed.
As the daughter of Diana Martin remembered after networking meetings and making demands that Martin returned home and announced to his family, “They went for it. So now I have to do it.”
(Contrary to his established concerns, Martin’s commitment to the program ultimately did not prevent him from appearing in a number of Matte Helm films parallel to the run-through show, as well as other projects such as playing a major role in the Airport’s first film in 1970.)
