Dwight Hemion
Bing Crosby and Christmas - they're inseparable. It was only natural for the voice that sold more than 100 million copies of 'White Christmas' to eventually celebrate the season on television. This second volume of Crosby television specials showcases those Christmas shows. Included in this premiere, two-disc collection are Bing's first holiday special, produced in England in 1961, his first color special from 1962 with Mary Martin, Bing Crosby and the Sounds of Christmas with Robert Goulet and Mary Costa from 1971, and Bing s final special, Bing Crosby's Merrie Olde Christmas, which includes the iconic duet of 'The Little Drummer Boy / Peace on Earth' with David Bowie. These treasured programs have been meticulously restored from the original film and videotape sources, and are presented with all the original performances intact.
Neil Diamond performs Christmas songs in informal settings, joined by choirs from around the country.
The Earth Day Special is a television special revolving around Earth Day that aired on ABC on April 22, 1990. Sponsored by Time Warner, the two hour special featured an all-star cast addressing concerns about global warming, deforestation, and other environmental ills.
This is Jackie Mason’s first one-man Broadway show, which played to sold-out standing-room-only crowds for two years and was a phenomenal success on its American and European tours. This show earned Mr. Mason a special Tony award for outstanding theatrical achievement in 1989 as well as his first Outer Critics Circle Award, ACE Award, Emmy Award, and Grammy nomination. Once in a generation a performer emerges who is so extraordinary and so brilliant that everyone else in the field is measured against them. Jackie Mason is such a performer, and is widely regarded as one of the greatest stand-up comics of all time.
Neil Diamond performing his greatest hits at the Aquarius Theatre in Los Angeles, California.
Julie Andrews joins John Denver, Placido Domingo, and The King's Singers for a Christmas journey through time in the city of Salzburg, Austria. Written and sang with many references to "Sound", the journey takes individuals to the many filming locations and haunts that are personal to the cast with music interludes along the way.
Originally broadcast as an exclusive special on HBO, Barbra Streisand launched her September 6, 1986 concert One Voice, in part, as a protest against Reagan-era nuclear arms proliferation in the late Cold War; the event marked the diva's first official live performance since 1972.
Andy and the NBC kids search for Santa, starring from Finland.
Danny Kaye tours EPCOT Centre, singing its praises in Future World and the World Showcase. He meets celebrities and park characters like Dreamfinder and Figment, and speaks with some of the people responsible for creating the park.
Film clips of stars like Billie Holiday and Bojangles Robinson meld nicely with burlesque skits, singing and dancing by the hosts, Billy Eckstine, Bunny Briggs, Cab Calloway, Gladys Knight and the Pips, the Mighty Clouds of Joy, Nipsey Russell, Doc Severinsen, Sandman Sims, the Temptations, Jack Albertson and Sarah Vaughan. Natalie Cole, Lou Rawls, Flip Wilson and Ben Vereen headline a flamboyant yet sophisticated paean to Harlem's famed music-and-comedy crucible.
“Linda In Wonderland” is Linda Lavin’s variety television special that aired on Thanksgiving Day, 1980. Special guests include; Lynn Redgrave, Anthony Newley and Ron Leibman. Her characters of “Alice Hyatt” and “Sam Butler” from her television show “Alice” also make appearances as Ms. Lavin plays dual roles for both. Ms. Lavin and her guests perform Broadway and other musical numbers in various settings and medleys, mixed in with solo performances and Linda giving us a little background about herself growing up, along with some humor and pizzazz.
A salute to movement in various forms, both literal - the physical movement of a dancer or gymnast; and figurative - movement in a relationship between two people.
Mikhail Baryshnikov and his guests perform numbers from over a dozen renowned Broadway musicals including Oklahoma!, Fiddler on the Roof, Can-Can, The King and I, Cabaret, Where's Charley, Hello Dolly, Ain't Misbehavin', Guys and Dolls, The Boyfriend, Kiss Me Kate and A Chorus Line.
George Burns, Dom DeLuise, Danny De Vito, Dean-Paul Martin and Roger Moore provide arms for A-M to lean on as she impersonates Hollywood stereotypes, from a rejected script girl to an over-the-hill sex symbol. Highlights include Ann-Margret's slowed-down rendition of I Will Survive and a jaw dropping version of Stouthearted Men that looks like it is set in the backroom of a 70s gay club!
A TV musical special starring Cheryl Ladd and her guest stars in various musical numbers and vignettes.
Luke Skywalker and Han Solo battle evil Imperial forces to help Chewbacca reach his imperiled family on the Wookiee planet - in time for Life Day, their most important day of the year!
In 1977, Bette Midler's first television special premiered, featuring guest stars Dustin Hoffman and Emmett Kelly. It went on to win Bette her first Emmy Award for Outstanding Special — Comedy-Variety or Music. To make the show palatable to home viewers, the special featured heavily cleaned up versions of the material Midler was performing at that time on stage. The title of the show, Ol' Red Hair is Back, was a takeoff on the title of Frank Sinatra's recent album Ol' Blue Eyes Is Back.
Bing Crosby and his family spend Christmas at the estate of distant relative in England.
Peter Pan is a 1976 musical adaptation of J. M. Barrie's Peter Pan, or the Boy Who Wouldn't Grow Up, produced for television as part of the Hallmark Hall of Fame, starring Mia Farrow as Peter Pan and Danny Kaye as Captain Hook, and with Sir John Gielgud narrating. Julie Andrews sang one of the songs, "Once Upon a Bedtime", off-camera over the opening credits. It aired on NBC at 7:30pm on Sunday, December 12, 1976, capping off the program's 25th year on the air. The program did not use the score written for the highly successful Mary Martin version which had previously been televised many times on NBC. Instead, it featured 14 new and now forgotten songs, written for the production by Anthony Newley and Leslie Bricusse.
A musical special promoting the then-upcoming release of the 1973 musical version of "Lost Horizon".
A benefit concert for the Special Olympics and an opportunity to promote Streisand's upcoming film (Funny Lady), this special was a combination of Streisand interview with Dick Cavett and Streisand concert. Attended by President Gerald Ford and a star-studded audience, the concert section features a handful of Funny Lady songs and a couple of Barbra standards. Streisand's Funny Lady co-star James Caan also makes an onstage appearance for a duet of Paper Moon / I Like Him and Muhammed Ali presents Barbra with a special award.
Ann-Margret gave viewers a double dose of movie star glamour in 1975, with a pair of TV specials designed to showcase her musical and comedic talents. Arriving first up in January was this program "Ann-Margret Olsson" with guest stars The Osmonds and Ike & Tina Turner Turner. (The follow-up special "Ann-Margret Smith" debuted in November.)
Book-ending the year 1975 with two big budget TV Specials, Ann -Margret also earned her second Oscar nomination that year, for Tommy. In January, "Ann-Margret Olssen" premiered and was titled with the star's maiden name. This second special premiered late in the year and was titled with the star's married name. Her husband Roger Smith also appears in the opening sequences. Presented by the Bell System's Family Theatre, the program was filmed at the ATV Studios at BBC Elstree Centre, Borehamwood, England.
This program features then-newcomer Sandy Duncan in her first network television special. Only a few years after being passed over by Gene Kelly for a role in Hello Dolly, Duncan's star had ascended so far so fast that he was now her special guest star. Paul Lynde is also featured in a campy version of "Bad, Bad Leroy Brown".
Julie on Sesame Street was one of a series of Julie Andrews TV specials, produced by ATV and distributed by ITC. It was broadcast on ABC on November 23, 1973 and later in the UK on ITV on July 10, 1974. Using the alleys and stoops of the Sesame Street neighborhood as the venue for this television special, Julie Andrews and Perry Como join forces with the Sesame Street Muppets for an hour of music and antics.
A mulitcultural musical potpourri, Barbra's fifth television spectacular is her most adventurous. Performing a startling array of new songs and classic hits, with genre-bending arrangements, Barbra Streisand... and Other Musical Instruments is a feast for the eyes and ears. Featuring an extended sequence with Ray Charles and The Ralettes
«James Paul McCartney» is a 1973 television special produced by ATV and starring English musician Paul McCartney and his then current rock group Wings. It was first broadcast on 16 April 1973 in the United States on the ABC network, and was later broadcast in the United Kingdom on 10 May 1973. «James Paul McCartney» was McCartney's first such special since the Beatles' 1967 television film «Magical Mystery Tour» and was intended to showcase his versatility as an artist and entertainer.
A funny anthology featuring various sketches about people having trouble with love and sex.
On March 14, 1971, SINGER PRESENTS BURT BACHARACH was shown on CBS and featured Barbra Streisand joining the composer at the piano for an intimate conversation about life, love and music, as well as several performances - in addition to appearances by Tom Jones, Rudolf Nureyev and Bettie De Jong, too.
In a staggering example of lacking imagination, Petula Clark's third US TV Special was given the exact same name as her first. Unbelievably, a third special also had that exact same title a few years later! Guests: Peggy Lee, Dean Martin, the Everly Brothers, David Frost. Songs: Beautiful Sounds, duet w/ Peggy Lee (I'm A Woman/Wedding Bell Blues), Games People Play (w/ The Everly Brothers), duet medley w/ Dean Martin on a horse (Hey Good Lookin'/Detour/Things/I Walk The Line/Just A Little Lovin'), medley (Come Together/Great Come And Get It Day), When Johnny Comes Marching Home (w/ Lee), Fool On The Hill.
The Bonanza star hosts this yuletide half-hour with the UNICEF Children's Choir on their imaginary trip to the Charles Dickens-era of England.
Barbra Streisand's second television special, aired in 1966 just after the singer-songwriter had completed a successful Broadway run of hit show 'Funny Girl'. Streisand sings surrounded by animals in a circus dream sequence and wanders the Philadelphia Museum of Art in a moody eight-minute piece. Filmed in spectacular colour, this companion piece to her first special is one for the ages. The vibrant colours become a metaphor for imagination, inventiveness, fantasy, and sheer brilliance.
The second annual TV special thrills from start to finish, with unforgettable performances of signature songs "Fly Me To The Moon," "Luck Be A Lady" and "That's Life." Frank is joined by daughter Nancy in a playful duet in this delightful hour of music.
Barbra Streisand's first television special, featuring a medley of her hit songs, such as "People," "Happy Days Are Here Again" and "My Man."
Kraft Music Hall is an umbrella title for several television series aired by NBC in the United States from the 1950s to the 1970s in the musical variety genre, sponsored by Kraft Foods, the producers of a well-known line of cheeses and related dairy products. Their commercials were usually announced by "The Voice of Kraft", Ed Herlihy.
