I miss variety shows!

[best12bars]

Posted: 11/4/07 at 7:50pm

Since my other "Sunday Night Variety Shows" whiny thread disappeared (how DARE they?), I thought I'd start anew...

...and the reason for the post is that I discovered on Sundays in the late afternoon on the Orange County PBS station (KOCE) they show...

...wait for it...

...VARIETY SHOWS!

I just finished watching (PJ, this is for you), a Doris Day Special, called interestingly enough, "The Doris Day Special!" It was from the mid-'60s. Do-Do turned up for the opening number in an orange jacket and Sherlock Holmes hat, riding a bicycle very slowly down a suburban street, singing "Feelin' Groovy" (also very slowly). Her guest star was (the even slower) Perry Como. They were on the most colorful, loudest sets I've seen in years. Not only don't they "sing 'em like they used to," apparently they cornered the market on color saturation back then too... and ran out of it. TV is so colorless today.

Now, I'm watching a Bing Crosby special (it's really a compilation special), showing clips of the many variety shows he did over the years.

*sigh*

I'm in heaven.

I hope they keep these up every Sunday. I'm not usually home in the late afternoons, so I'll have to record them.

Does anybody else have these specials shown in their PBS markets? If so, you have to watch them. They're nostalgic (if you remember them the first time around), and they're really friggin' TRIPPY if you don't.

Either way, you win.


EDITED: for a typo in the friggin' header.

Updated On: 11/4/07 at 07:50 PM

[artscallion]

Posted: 11/4/07 at 8:22pm

...and SPECIALS!!! What ever happened to SPECIALS? Not just Christmas specials, but plain old specials. Every star had specials. I want specials back! Variety shows and specials!!

If they can have a game show channel, they can certainly have a variety show and specials channel.

Remember the Hudson brothers? Spin off from Sonny and Cher, I think.



70s VARIETY SHOWS

[artscallion]

Posted: 11/4/07 at 8:23pm

My first double post!! I always thought you guys were idiots for double and triple posting. Now I know! It's the site!

Updated On: 11/4/07 at 08:23 PM

[best12bars]

Posted: 11/4/07 at 8:42pm

Oh, but seeing the Hudson Brothers TWICE would have been worth it.



Would you believe I saw them "live" in Kansas City in the Wizard of Oz, as the Scarecrow, Tinman & Lion... with Margaret Hamilton herself as the Wicked Witch of the West!?!?

I'm ALL for a Variety Show channel... in HD!!! (or at least up-rezzed, damn it)

[miss pennywise]

Posted: 11/4/07 at 8:47pm

Remember THE HOLLYWOOD PALACE? EVERYBODY was on that show!

[best12bars]

Posted: 11/4/07 at 8:50pm

That would be a great DVD release, Miss Penny.

At least a best-of!!

And I guess artscallion's posts (double or otherwise) don't COUNT.

His posts in this thread didn't trip the counter, or bump the thread up.

My GOD, man, you don't exist!

[artscallion]

Posted: 11/4/07 at 8:56pm

Hmmm. Maybe I should find a way to take advantage of that.


in the meantime...

[best12bars]

Posted: 11/4/07 at 8:59pm

Wow, that takes me back.

And takes me aback.

[StageFan2]

Posted: 11/4/07 at 9:05pm

I used to watch Red Skelton, The Dean Martin Show, Flip Wilson, and Carol Burnette religiously; and of course Ed Sullivan was standard fare in our house. As for the Hudson Bros. - I loved Chuckie Margolias!

*Sigh* I hadn't thought about it in along time, but yeah...I miss variety shows.

[Undeniably Bway]

Posted: 11/4/07 at 9:30pm

Before Steve and Eydie's show this afternoon they showed a 10 minute montage of clips of their performances from several variety shows (Carol, Judy, Perry, Dean). They included the classic clip of Steve singing with Johnny Carson on The Tonight Show.

It really brought back some great memories. One that was clip that was particularly touching was Steve's appearance on Godfrey's talent show at 18.

Seeing them today made us realize that it's sad that there really are no more all around "entertainers". They are a vanishing breed. S&E put on a wonderful show.

[Jane2]

Posted: 11/4/07 at 10:06pm

Remember the Andy Williams show? He had his wife on, I forgot her name at the moment, but then didn't she shoot him on the ski slopes or something?

[Jane2]

Posted: 11/4/07 at 10:10pm

Claudine Longet.

[Gothampc]

Posted: 11/4/07 at 10:15pm

The great thing about the variety shows is that they had all different styles.

Carol Burnett - where you could watch Carol sing with Beverly Sills a song that went "We're only an octave apart."

Sonny & Cher - even my grandmother watched this show.

Hee Haw - for the country music crowd

Donny & Marie

Flip Wilson

Judy Garland

I especially liked the Christmas shows.

The King Family - 4 blonde, squeeky clean Nordic sisters and their families celebrating Christmas. They made Donny & Marie look like chimney sweeps.

The Bing Crosby Christmas Show - the great David Bowie "Little Drummer Boy" segment, now a Christmas classic.

The Andy Williams Christmas Show

[Millie Lammoreaux]

Posted: 11/4/07 at 10:17pm

She shot and killed her lover, skiier Spider Sabitch. Can't remember if she went to jail for it, but it's worth Googling.

[Jane2]

Posted: 11/4/07 at 10:23pm

Oh, right! thanks for the reminder!

[mattonstage]

Posted: 11/5/07 at 12:36am

They did an early SNL (do we consider this a variety show?) where they were doing an Olympic skiing report and they showed a bunch of clips of skiers falling and they'd say, "Oh, he was accidentally shot by Claudine Longet" or something like that.

I also miss Shields and Yarnell, The Manhattan Transfer, etc.

[uncageg]

Posted: 11/5/07 at 12:53am

Let's not forget:

The Captain and Tennille

The Tom Jones show

Lawrence Welk

[LaurenB]

Posted: 11/5/07 at 6:44am

"The King Family - 4 blonde, squeeky clean Nordic sisters and their families celebrating Christmas. They made Donny & Marie look like chimney sweeps."

LOL. Remember the King Cousins?

[JustAGuy]

Posted: 11/5/07 at 7:55am

You people are OLD!

[best12bars]

Posted: 11/5/07 at 9:05am

I forgot Manhattan Transfer had a (very short-lived) variety show! I only vaguely remember it, but I'm such a fan of the group. At least I was in the '80s and '90s. I saw them five times in concert, back then.

And they still air Lawrence Welk shows out here on PBS, on the weekends, and YES, I take a peek once in a while. It's still as scary and nerdy as I remember. The clothes, the hair, the "church voices!" But I have a soft spot in my heart for it, because I remember my grandmother watching it when I was a little kid. I don't think I could sit through a whole episode today, but just flipping past it every now and then, I stop to remember Grandma.

And yes, I'm old, JAG.

Pot. Kettle. Black.

[madbrian]

Posted: 11/5/07 at 9:09am

Make room for me on the variety show bandwagon. Although, I have no desire to ever see Mumenschantz again.

[JerseyGirl2]

Posted: 11/5/07 at 9:22am

Ellen is doing a variety show this month, apparently.

[StageFan2]

Posted: 11/5/07 at 9:32am

Not so much old JAG, just wiser and more experienced.
Updated On: 11/5/07 at 09:32 AM

[Jane2]

Posted: 11/5/07 at 9:42am

I AM old, but Lawwrence Welk was a little too geriatric for me, lol!

[best12bars]

Posted: 11/5/07 at 10:01am

We need some eye candy in this thread! Visuals, please!!!