What Happened To The Variety Shows Of The '60s And '70s?
By | September 15, 2017
Left: Cher (center) and the popular musical group the Jackson 5 in prehistoric garb for a skit on the television variety show 'The Sonny & Cher Comedy Hour,' 1972. (Photo by CBS Photo Archive/Getty Images) Right: Tom Jones and Janis Joplin performing a du
Back in the '60s and '70s, it seemed like almost every well-known celebrity had their own variety show. They were goofy, groovy and sometimes great! With comedy, music acts, acrobats and sometimes ventriloquism, viewers tuned in to watch their favorite variety shows. With legends like Ed Sullivan, Dean Martin, Lawrence Welk, Andy Williams, Sonny and Cher, The Carpenters and the list goes on! Popular TV families like The Brady Bunch, Donny and Marie, Barbara Mandrell and The Mandrell Sisters (in the 80’s) and The Hudson Brothers were mainstays for singing and dancing. The Carol Burnett Show kept viewers in stitches with the hilarious antics of Carol Burnett, Tim Conway, Vicki Lawrence, Harvey Korman and Lyle Waggoner. Singer and actor Glen Campbell had his Goodtime Hour, country music had Hee Haw, the hippies had psychedelic fun with Laugh-In, rock music had Midnight Special, pop music had The Captain and Tennille along with comedy provided by Flip Wilson in his variety show. They had popular celebrity guests on every week, even The Muppets had their own variety show with star-studded guests.
Some Variety Shows We Will Never Forget. Others We Can't Remember
Dean Martin and The Golddiggers' on 'The Dean Martin Show.' -- Photo by: NBCU Photo Bank
Singers and bands like Mac Davis, John Denver, Sha Na Na, Tony Orlando and Dawn had popular variety shows in the 70’s. Do you remember the mime duo and comedy of Shields and Yarnell?
Who Didn't Try Hosting A Variety Show?
Sonny & Cher. Source: Pinterest
Sitcom queen Mary Tyler Moore had a short-lived variety show called, you guessed it, Mary! After only three episodes it was cancelled. Another clunker was Saturday Night Live With Howard Cosell. Monday Night Football was much better to him, after bad reviews and ratings his show was cancelled after 18 episodes. Sonny Bono tried his luck with his solo variety show, the Sonny Comedy Revue. Unfortunately his ex-wife Cher had her own variety show around the same time, which was called Cher, and it fared much better than Sonny’s. His was cancelled after 13 episodes. Dolly Parton even tried her hand at hosting her own variety show called Dolly in 1987-88 that lasted for 23 episodes.
Late-Night Talk Shows Survived
Farrah Fawcett with Johnny Carson on 'The Tonight Show.' Source: Pinterest
When the prime time variety shows fizzled, the late night talk shows came into the spotlight -- though they involved comedy and musical guests, they lacked the classic "let's put on a show in the barn" showbiz vibe. The long-running legend was Johnny Carson on The Tonight Show; David Letterman, who idolized Carson, built a nice little program out of Late Night, but was passed over for Johnny's job in a much-publicized struggle with Jay Leno. These big dogs of late night television paved the way for Conan O’Brien, Jimmy Fallon and Jimmy Kimmel.
Can The Variety Show Come Back?
Donny and Marie Osmond. Source: Closer Weekly
Will prime time variety shows ever make a comeback? In the afternoon the talk-variety show The Ellen Show, is going strong with major celebrities visiting her five days a week. But will the prime time slot ever revive again? Perhaps a superstar like Carrie Underwood or Jennifer Lopez would fit the bill and bring back the glory days of song and dance with comedy and celebrities. The goofiness, grooviness and greatness known as the variety show!
