Zoneboy
03-31-2009, 04:38 PM
In Honor of the Osbournes' Return, We Revisit Odd Variety Shows of the Past.
Link (http://www.californiachronicle.com/articles/yb/128266142)
When Ozzy and Sharon Osbourne and their adult children, Jack and Kelly, talked to TV critics about their new Fox show Osbournes: Reloaded in January, the family was a little skittish about the term "variety" series.
"See, that word frightens us," Kelly Osbourne said in response to a critic who brought up the "v" word (so far, all critics have to go by is a highlight reel of the offbeat show). "The way that we see that it's a variety show is that there's a variety of different things. And with no disrespect to other variety shows from the past ... it's just not what we do. We're not going to be Sonny-and-Cher-ing it."
Regardless of what they do to it, the idea of the guy who once sang "Generals gathered in their masses/Just like witches at black masses" and his brood hosting a variety series is even weirder than the idea of them spawning a subgenre of reality TV. But the Osbournes are far from the first weird choices to host a variety program.
Below, we take a look at some past oddities. The focus is on series, which explains the exclusion of bad Rosie O'Donnell and Nick Lachey/Jessica Simpson specials, and on forgotten or nearly forgotten shows. There's way more where this came from, but we only have so much room.
Playboy After Dark (1969)
The hook: It would seem to be the title, which promised the swinging sexiness of Playboy magazine in a late-night format, that might allow the show to be a little more naughty than it could be in prime time. But it doesn't describe how bizarre, and even chaste, the show was: One episode began with host Hugh Hefner and a group of attractive young women and men playing Simon Says. Not strip Simon Says, either.
Regulars: Hef and a bunch of comely young women, including but not limited to whomever he was dating at the time.
Guests: From Vegas-friendly entertainers such as Sammy Davis Jr. and Vic Damone to '60s funksters the Chambers Brothers and a young Linda Ronstadt. Fort Worth native Gayle Hunnicutt appeared in a couple of episodes. The series is on DVD and really is one of the oddest pop-culture artifacts of the '60s.
Weird trivia: One episode ended with Hef persuading Bill Cosby to do the Fat Albert dance -- backed by Iron Butterfly, of In-A-Gadda-Da-Vida fame. That's not on YouTube, but clips featuring the Grateful Dead and Deep Purple are.
The Hudson Brothers (1974)
The hook: The Hudson Brothers (Bill, Brett and Mark) were supposed to be the Next Big Thing, so CBS signed them to do this wacky variety show, which lasted all of a month in prime time but found life on Saturday mornings as The Hudson Brothers Razzle Dazzle Show. The brothers produced at least two hits: the top 40 song Rendezvous, and Kate Hudson, Bill's daughter with Goldie Hawn (although Kate considers Kurt Russell, who raised her, to be her father).
Regulars: Besides the Hudsons, Ronny Graham and Rowan & Martin's Laugh-In alum Gary Owens were prime-time regulars. The Saturday show included Murray Langston, who would become better-known -- or unknown -- as the Unknown Comic.
Guests: Kinda tough to find, but there is a YouTube clip featuring Andy Griffith talking to the Hudsons, all of whom seem like ancestors of Kenneth the Page on 30 Rock. Ken Berry also appeared.
Weird trivia: The Hudsons tried again in 1979 with the even-more-forgotten Bonkers!, on which Rita Moreno and Twiggy appeared. Mark Hudson, especially, has remained busy in show biz and was one of the mentors on The One, ABC's really, really awful attempt to do its own version of American Idol in 2006.
The Brady Bunch Hour (1977)
Hook: Here's the story of a lovely lady whose family hosts a variety show, all as their fictional characters, which is a marginally better idea than doing The Brady Bunch as a drama, which happened with The Bradys in 1990.
Regulars: Florence Henderson, Robert Reed, et al.; the only original Brady Bunch cast member to take a pass was Eve Plumb, leaving young character actress Geri Reischl to play Jan (she became known as "Fake Jan"). You really haven't lived till you've seen the Bradys cover Carly Simon's hit Attitude Dancing -- and you might not want to live afterward, but it's on YouTube.
Guests: Vincent Price, Rip Taylor, Milton Berle and Tina Turner all appeared. Hope those were sweet paychecks.
Weird trivia: Reischl beat out Kathy Hilton, Paris Hilton's mom, in the competition to replace Plumb as Jan. According to the Internet Movie Database, Reischl was one of the finalists for the Linda Blair role in The Exorcist, but her mother took her out of contention when a neighbor dropped by with a copy of the book.
The Starland Vocal Band Show (1977)
The hook: Washington, D.C.-based Starland Vocal Band had one enormous summer smash hit, Afternoon Delight, and that was enough to earn them a summer replacement series.
Regulars: See weird trivia.
Guests: If there's a guest list out there on the Internet, we can't find it. Even Bill Danoff's Web site doesn't have one, and he was in the band and co-hosted the show.
Weird trivia: The show's writers and performers included political satirist Mark Russell (well, they were a D.C. group); Phil Proctor and Peter Bergman of surreal and subversive comedy troupe Firesign Theatre; and a 30-ish writer named David Letterman.
Sha Na Na (1977-81)
The hook: What's weirder: that 1950s-imitating act Sha Na Na played Woodstock, or that they had a late-'70s syndicated variety series that lasted 97 episodes? Remember, grease is the word. In fact, the show's slogan was "Grease for peace!"
Regulars: Sha Na Na, although the one everyone members is bass-voiced, skinny pseudo-tough guy Jon "Bowzer" Bowman. Non-Sha Na Na regulars included Avery Schreiber, Kenneth Mars and Soupy Sales.
Guests: Authentic '50s acts (Sha Na Na really did respect the decade's music) such as Chuck Berry, Bo Diddley and Brenda Lee, with a few early '60s acts and comedians such as Phyllis Diller.
Weird trivia: Broadway legend Ethel Merman did a guest shot, during which she sang a duet of Anything You Can Do with Bowzer.
Pink Lady (better-known as Pink Lady and Jeff, 1980)
The hook: No history of bizarre variety shows would be complete without a mention of this short-lived footnote, featuring female Japanese rock duo Pink Lady, who spoke little English, and comedian Jeff Altman (who also worked on The Starland Vocal Band Show) as their American guide and interpreter. Lots of YouTube on this one, including the show-concluding "Hot Tub Time," an excuse to get the Pink Lady duo into bikinis. It has to be seen to be believed.
Regulars: The stars and Jim Varney, who would go on to more fame, and possibly even more class, as the star of the Ernest movies.
Guests: Sid Caesar, then super-hot New Wave group Blondie, Alice Cooper and Cheap Trick. This info is out there, and the guests on The Starland Vocal Band Show think they have to hide?
Weird trivia: The show's producers were Sid & Marty Krofft, better known for kid fare such as H.R. Pufnstuf. Not only was Pink Lady huge in Japan, one of the duo's biggest hits was a cover of the Village People's In the Navy. Yep, that's on YouTube, too.
Link (http://www.californiachronicle.com/articles/yb/128266142)
When Ozzy and Sharon Osbourne and their adult children, Jack and Kelly, talked to TV critics about their new Fox show Osbournes: Reloaded in January, the family was a little skittish about the term "variety" series.
"See, that word frightens us," Kelly Osbourne said in response to a critic who brought up the "v" word (so far, all critics have to go by is a highlight reel of the offbeat show). "The way that we see that it's a variety show is that there's a variety of different things. And with no disrespect to other variety shows from the past ... it's just not what we do. We're not going to be Sonny-and-Cher-ing it."
Regardless of what they do to it, the idea of the guy who once sang "Generals gathered in their masses/Just like witches at black masses" and his brood hosting a variety series is even weirder than the idea of them spawning a subgenre of reality TV. But the Osbournes are far from the first weird choices to host a variety program.
Below, we take a look at some past oddities. The focus is on series, which explains the exclusion of bad Rosie O'Donnell and Nick Lachey/Jessica Simpson specials, and on forgotten or nearly forgotten shows. There's way more where this came from, but we only have so much room.
Playboy After Dark (1969)
The hook: It would seem to be the title, which promised the swinging sexiness of Playboy magazine in a late-night format, that might allow the show to be a little more naughty than it could be in prime time. But it doesn't describe how bizarre, and even chaste, the show was: One episode began with host Hugh Hefner and a group of attractive young women and men playing Simon Says. Not strip Simon Says, either.
Regulars: Hef and a bunch of comely young women, including but not limited to whomever he was dating at the time.
Guests: From Vegas-friendly entertainers such as Sammy Davis Jr. and Vic Damone to '60s funksters the Chambers Brothers and a young Linda Ronstadt. Fort Worth native Gayle Hunnicutt appeared in a couple of episodes. The series is on DVD and really is one of the oddest pop-culture artifacts of the '60s.
Weird trivia: One episode ended with Hef persuading Bill Cosby to do the Fat Albert dance -- backed by Iron Butterfly, of In-A-Gadda-Da-Vida fame. That's not on YouTube, but clips featuring the Grateful Dead and Deep Purple are.
The Hudson Brothers (1974)
The hook: The Hudson Brothers (Bill, Brett and Mark) were supposed to be the Next Big Thing, so CBS signed them to do this wacky variety show, which lasted all of a month in prime time but found life on Saturday mornings as The Hudson Brothers Razzle Dazzle Show. The brothers produced at least two hits: the top 40 song Rendezvous, and Kate Hudson, Bill's daughter with Goldie Hawn (although Kate considers Kurt Russell, who raised her, to be her father).
Regulars: Besides the Hudsons, Ronny Graham and Rowan & Martin's Laugh-In alum Gary Owens were prime-time regulars. The Saturday show included Murray Langston, who would become better-known -- or unknown -- as the Unknown Comic.
Guests: Kinda tough to find, but there is a YouTube clip featuring Andy Griffith talking to the Hudsons, all of whom seem like ancestors of Kenneth the Page on 30 Rock. Ken Berry also appeared.
Weird trivia: The Hudsons tried again in 1979 with the even-more-forgotten Bonkers!, on which Rita Moreno and Twiggy appeared. Mark Hudson, especially, has remained busy in show biz and was one of the mentors on The One, ABC's really, really awful attempt to do its own version of American Idol in 2006.
The Brady Bunch Hour (1977)
Hook: Here's the story of a lovely lady whose family hosts a variety show, all as their fictional characters, which is a marginally better idea than doing The Brady Bunch as a drama, which happened with The Bradys in 1990.
Regulars: Florence Henderson, Robert Reed, et al.; the only original Brady Bunch cast member to take a pass was Eve Plumb, leaving young character actress Geri Reischl to play Jan (she became known as "Fake Jan"). You really haven't lived till you've seen the Bradys cover Carly Simon's hit Attitude Dancing -- and you might not want to live afterward, but it's on YouTube.
Guests: Vincent Price, Rip Taylor, Milton Berle and Tina Turner all appeared. Hope those were sweet paychecks.
Weird trivia: Reischl beat out Kathy Hilton, Paris Hilton's mom, in the competition to replace Plumb as Jan. According to the Internet Movie Database, Reischl was one of the finalists for the Linda Blair role in The Exorcist, but her mother took her out of contention when a neighbor dropped by with a copy of the book.
The Starland Vocal Band Show (1977)
The hook: Washington, D.C.-based Starland Vocal Band had one enormous summer smash hit, Afternoon Delight, and that was enough to earn them a summer replacement series.
Regulars: See weird trivia.
Guests: If there's a guest list out there on the Internet, we can't find it. Even Bill Danoff's Web site doesn't have one, and he was in the band and co-hosted the show.
Weird trivia: The show's writers and performers included political satirist Mark Russell (well, they were a D.C. group); Phil Proctor and Peter Bergman of surreal and subversive comedy troupe Firesign Theatre; and a 30-ish writer named David Letterman.
Sha Na Na (1977-81)
The hook: What's weirder: that 1950s-imitating act Sha Na Na played Woodstock, or that they had a late-'70s syndicated variety series that lasted 97 episodes? Remember, grease is the word. In fact, the show's slogan was "Grease for peace!"
Regulars: Sha Na Na, although the one everyone members is bass-voiced, skinny pseudo-tough guy Jon "Bowzer" Bowman. Non-Sha Na Na regulars included Avery Schreiber, Kenneth Mars and Soupy Sales.
Guests: Authentic '50s acts (Sha Na Na really did respect the decade's music) such as Chuck Berry, Bo Diddley and Brenda Lee, with a few early '60s acts and comedians such as Phyllis Diller.
Weird trivia: Broadway legend Ethel Merman did a guest shot, during which she sang a duet of Anything You Can Do with Bowzer.
Pink Lady (better-known as Pink Lady and Jeff, 1980)
The hook: No history of bizarre variety shows would be complete without a mention of this short-lived footnote, featuring female Japanese rock duo Pink Lady, who spoke little English, and comedian Jeff Altman (who also worked on The Starland Vocal Band Show) as their American guide and interpreter. Lots of YouTube on this one, including the show-concluding "Hot Tub Time," an excuse to get the Pink Lady duo into bikinis. It has to be seen to be believed.
Regulars: The stars and Jim Varney, who would go on to more fame, and possibly even more class, as the star of the Ernest movies.
Guests: Sid Caesar, then super-hot New Wave group Blondie, Alice Cooper and Cheap Trick. This info is out there, and the guests on The Starland Vocal Band Show think they have to hide?
Weird trivia: The show's producers were Sid & Marty Krofft, better known for kid fare such as H.R. Pufnstuf. Not only was Pink Lady huge in Japan, one of the duo's biggest hits was a cover of the Village People's In the Navy. Yep, that's on YouTube, too.