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110-450: The Carol Burnett Show is an American variety / sketch comedy television show that originally ran on CBS from September 11, 1967, to March 29, 1978, for 279 episodes, and again with nine episodes in fall 1991. It starred Carol Burnett , Harvey Korman , Vicki Lawrence , and Lyle Waggoner . In 1975, frequent guest star Tim Conway became a regular cast member after Waggoner left the series. In 1977, Dick Van Dyke replaced Korman but it

220-498: A brief time in the late 1980s, the show was replaced with The American Radio Company of the Air , also hosted and created by Keillor, was set in a more urban environment and likewise was based on old-time radio; its short run eventually morphed into a revival of A Prairie Home Companion ). In 2016, following Keillor's retirement, Chris Thile took over the program and, over the course of the next year, transformed it into Live from Here ,

330-516: A bunch of head-banging, beer-crushing rock jocks blew up a pile of disco records in the Chicago White Sox outfield . If any art form truly encapsulates the entirety of '70s culture, it is the variety show. After all, the variety show was not an art form, it was all art forms. A variety show packed sketch comedy, dance choreography, guest celebrities and concert performances (okay, lip-synching) into one anything-goes show. A variety show

440-471: A charity or cause. The Jerry Lewis MDA Telethon was one of the best known telethons in the US, but it too was eventually canceled after several years of shortening (originally over 21 hours, by the time of its last telecast in 2014, by which point Lewis had been gone from the telethon several years, it was down to two hours). Another popular telethon, for United Cerebral Palsy , ended its run in 1998 shortly after

550-503: A cooking show or a talent competition but end in various results. Iran had a private television company that had broadcast Iran television network channel before national television, it aired variety shows. Variety programming has remained one of the dominant genres of television programming. While Japanese variety shows are famous abroad for their wild stunts, they vary from talk shows to music shows, from tabloid news shows to skit comedy. The prominent use of telop on screen has created

660-461: A fast-paced setting, with scenes repeating or fast forwarded. Another popular variety show in Taiwan was Kangsi Coming (2004–2016). It was famous for its bantering, which was scripted. The first Cantonese variety show to become a major success was Hong Kong's Enjoy Yourself Tonight , which first aired in 1967 and ran for 27 years. In Hong Kong, variety shows are often combined with elements of

770-435: A female audience and produced by Elle chief editor Daisy de Galard. Each episode of Dim Dam Dom was hosted in an all-white studio set by a different speakerine (a female continuity announcer), usually a popular actress or singer like Françoise Hardy , Marie Laforêt , Geraldine Chaplin , France Gall , Jane Birkin , Françoise Fabian , Romy Schneider . Variety shows with an emphasis on comedy sketches were popular in

880-838: A few shows (such as Hee Haw and The Lawrence Welk Show ) surviving and moving into first-run syndication . Variety shows continued to be produced in the 1970s, with most of them stripped down to only music and comedy. Popular variety shows that ran in the 1970s include The Flip Wilson Show (1970–1974), The Sonny & Cher Comedy Hour (1971–1977, in various incarnations), The Bobby Goldsboro Show (1973–1975), The Hudson Brothers' Razzle Dazzle Show (1974–1975), The Midnight Special (1973–1981), Don Kirshner's Rock Concert (1973–1981), The Mac Davis Show (1974–1976), Tony Orlando and Dawn (1974–1976), Saturday Night Live (1975–present), Donny & Marie (1976–1979), The Muppet Show (1976–1981), and Sha Na Na (1977–1981). Of all of these, only Saturday Night Live remains on

990-412: A few years, reruns of most of those shows (except The Flip Wilson Show ) were discontinued. Similarly, CMT held the rights to Hee Haw but broadcast very few episodes, opting mainly to hold the rights to allow them to create performance videos from the episodes to be shown in its video blocks. The current rights holder of Hee Haw , RFD-TV , has been more consistent broadcasting complete episodes of

1100-458: A flurry of new variety shows with rural appeal: The Johnny Cash Show (1969–1971), The Jim Nabors Hour (1969–1971), The Glen Campbell Goodtime Hour (1969–1972) and Hee Haw (1969–1992). Entertainers with less successful variety shows in the 1960s include Judy Garland and Sammy Davis Jr. Some consider disco to be the boiled-down essence of Seventies pop culture . But that doesn't quite cover it. Not everyone liked disco. In fact,

1210-500: A house vocalist, music from the house band , a stand-up monologue and a short comedy sketch . Variety shows centered on running comedy sketches with recurring characters eventually evolved into sitcoms (situation comedies). Variety shows were among the first programs to be featured on television during the experimental mechanical television era. Variety shows hosted by Helen Haynes and Harriet Lee are recorded in contemporary newspapers in 1931 and 1932; because of technical limits of

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1320-412: A more streamlined musical variety series. Live from Here , which moved to New York City in 2019, was cancelled due to budget cuts in 2020. Improvisational comic Wayne Brady , coming off his successful appearances on the panel game Whose Line Is It Anyway? , launched an eponymous variety show in 2001, which aired on ABC. The Wayne Brady Show lasted only one summer season in its variety format; when

1430-468: A music hall artist of that period. The audience was also encouraged to dress in period costume in a similar fashion. Other long-running British variety shows that originated in the 1950s include Tonight at the London Palladium (1955–1969), The Black and White Minstrel Show (1958–1978), The White Heather Club (1958–1968) and Royal Variety Performance (an annual event televised since

1540-722: A parody of rightwing pundits). The Richard Bey Show combined the variety show with the tabloid talk show , not only having its guests talk about their problems but also having them participate in absurdist games, and Sally Jesse Raphael was known for occasionally having music and fashion in the show, especially drag and gender-bending performances. American sketch comedy series such as Saturday Night Live , In Living Color , Almost Live! (and its successor Up Late NW ), MADtv , and SCTV also contain variety show elements, particularly musical performances and comedy sketches. The most obvious difference between shows such as Saturday Night Live and traditional variety shows

1650-733: A radio announcer. In 1936, Kirby was an announcer for WLW in Cincinnati, Ohio. In 1937, an Associated Press news story reported that he "made a name for himself" with his reporting on the Ohio River flood of 1937 . He also worked at radio stations in Chicago and Indianapolis. Kirby served in the United States Navy during World War II . Following the war, Kirby hosted Club Matinee in Chicago with Garry Moore on

1760-511: A regular. Actor Lyle Waggoner had recently auditioned for the title role in the ABC series Batman but was passed over in favor of Adam West . Shortly after, Waggoner auditioned for the Burnett show and was immediately hired. He would often play a handsome man for Burnett to fawn over. His participation on the series was somewhat modeled on Durward Kirby of The Garry Moore Show , as Waggoner

1870-467: A run on CBS in the early 2000s during the reality television boom; The Gong Show , which reached its peak in the 1970s but has had occasional revivals since then; and the worldwide Got Talent franchise. The variety show format also continued in America in the form of the telethon , which feature variety entertainment (often music) interspersed with appeals for viewers to make donations to support

1980-574: A series of variety shows that collectively ran from 1948 to 1969, followed by variety specials that ran until 1994. Shorter-lived variety shows during this period include The Frank Sinatra Show (1950–1952), The Jimmy Durante Show (1954–1956) and a different The Frank Sinatra Show (1957–1958). In the UK The Good Old Days —which ran from 1953 to 1983—featured modern artists performing dressed in late Victorian /Early Edwardian costume, either doing their own act or performing as

2090-427: A special a year. Within the first five years of this contract, she had the option to "push the button", a phrase the programming executives used, and be put on the air in 30 one-hour, pay-or-play variety shows. After discussion with her husband Joe Hamilton , in the last week of the fifth year of the contract, Burnett decided to call the head of CBS Michael Dann and exercise the clause. Dann, explaining that variety

2200-570: A spin-off sitcom titled Mama's Family , starring Vicki Lawrence and Ken Berry, which ran from 1983 to 1990. It occasionally featured Burnett and Korman guest-starring as Eunice and Ed Higgins; Burnett's involvement in Mama's Family was limited due to her divorce from producer Joe Hamilton . In the first year and a half of the show's run, Korman also appeared as narrator Alastair Quince, introducing each episode (a parody of Alastair Cooke hosting Masterpiece Theatre ) and he also directed 31 episodes of

2310-612: A style that has influenced variety programming across Asia. One of the most popular variety shows in Japan includes Downtown no Gaki no Tsukai . In South Korea , the hugely popular show Infinite Challenge , has been broadcast by MBC from 2005 to 2018, was a new model of this, called "Real Variety Show". It combined comedy and variety scenes including unscripted stunts and special guest stars while taking place in various settings. Although many variety shows have existed in Korea long before

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2420-602: A summer series. Taking that idea, Burnett and Hamilton approached CBS about doing a four-week program in the summer of 1979. CBS already had its schedule filled for the summer months and rejected the idea. However, ABC was interested, and as a result, four postscript episodes of The Carol Burnett Show were produced. Under the title Carol Burnett & Company , the show premiered on Saturday, August 18, 1979, and included many favorite sketches such as "Mr. Tudball and Mrs. Wiggins", "The Family", "As The Stomach Turns", and Burnett doing her impersonation of Queen Elizabeth II. Its format

2530-452: A supporting regular remained vacant. Don Crichton , the lead male dancer on the show, began to inherit some of Waggoner's duties. Then in season nine, because of his many popular guest appearances on the series, Tim Conway was signed as a full-time regular, joining Korman and Lawrence. In November 1976, the series' tenth year, The Carol Burnett Show presented what would become one of its best-known and most well-regarded sketches: " Went with

2640-448: A two-day marathon of episodes hand-picked by Burnett. The marathon would be available on Shout! Factory's website, streaming device channel, Twitch channel, and YouTube channel on May 30 and 31, 2020. This is the first time the complete series will be available on a streaming platform, although the episodes themselves are all edited down to 22 minutes, resulting in 30 minutes removed from each episode. These same episodes, edited-down from

2750-605: A variety show starring SNL performer Maya Rudolph . Like Rosie Live , the broadcast was intended to be a one-off special, but with the possibility of additional episodes depending on its performance. The special won its time slot, due mainly to a strong lead-in, and spawned the May 2016 premiere of Maya & Marty , adding fellow SNL cast member Martin Short ; under that format, Maya & Marty lasted six episodes. Earlier that season, NBC aired Best Time Ever , an adaptation of

2860-559: A yearly summer event, but it never happened. In 1980, Joe Hamilton produced The Tim Conway Show , a variety series in the same vein with Conway as host and much of the staff of Carol Burnett & Company carrying over. Harvey Korman would join Conway as a co-host later in the show's short run; it ended in 1981. The "Family" sketches led to a 1982 CBS made-for-television film called Eunice starring Burnett, Korman, Lawrence, Betty White, and Ken Berry. The success of this program spawned

2970-504: Is Broadway meets Solid Gold meets Saturday Night Live meets Saturday morning . MeTV In 1970 and 1971, the American TV networks, CBS especially, conducted the so-called " rural purge ", in which shows that appealed to more rural and older audiences were canceled as part of a greater focus on appealing to wealthier demographics. Many variety shows, including long-running ones, were canceled as part of this "purge," with

3080-437: Is a "man's genre", offered Burnett a sitcom called Here's Agnes . Burnett had no interest in doing a sitcom, and because of the contract, CBS was obliged to give Burnett her own variety show. The popular and long-running variety show not only established Burnett as a television superstar, but it also made her regular supporting cast household names. It was nominated for 70 Emmys and won 25 times. In addition to Carol Burnett,

3190-593: Is best remembered for The Garry Moore Show in the 1950s and Candid Camera , which he co-hosted with Allen Funt from 1961 through 1966. Kirby was born on August 24, 1911, in Covington, Kentucky, to father Homer C. Kirby and mother Alma Haglage. His family moved to Indianapolis , Indiana , when he was 15. He graduated from Arsenal Technical High School in Indianapolis, then entered Purdue University to study engineering. However, he dropped out to become

3300-403: Is the lack of a single lead host (or hosts) and a large ensemble cast . SNL has used different guest hosts ever since its inception. Televised talent shows have a variety show element, in that they feature a variety of different acts. Examples of US talent shows that feature entertainers from a broad variety of disciplines include Star Search , which had a run in the 1980s in syndication and

3410-590: The Marx Brothers , George Burns and Gracie Allen , W. C. Fields , and Jack Benny honed their skills in the Borscht Belt before moving to talkies , to radio shows, and then to television shows, including variety shows. Radio variety shows were the predominant form of light entertainment during the Golden Age of Radio from the late 1920s through the 1940s; such radio shows typically included

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3520-568: The NBC Blue radio network before moving to television in 1949 as an announcer. He also worked on Meet Your Navy and Honeymoon in New York on network radio. Kirby was a regular on Moore's television shows from 1950 to 1968. The Associated Press's obituary for him gives his years of working with Moore's television show as 1950–1951, 1958–1964, and 1966–1967. Kirby also appeared as a host, announcer, or guest on other television programs. In

3630-399: The " Family " sketches (with Burnett as Eunice, Korman as her husband Ed, and Lawrence as Eunice's mother) were introduced and the "Carol and Sis" segments were phased out. At the end of that season (the series' seventh), after having been with The Carol Burnett Show from the beginning, Lyle Waggoner left the series to pursue other acting opportunities. The following season, Waggoner's spot as

3740-433: The 100 greatest TV shows of all time. After the original run ended, material from 1972 to 1977 (seasons 6–10) was repackaged as a half-hour series known as Carol Burnett and Friends , which has aired in various syndicated outlets more-or-less continuously since the original series ended. Because of this format, material from the first five seasons did not air, outside of their original run, until 2019 when MeTV acquired

3850-478: The 1950s). Popular American variety shows that began in the 60s include a revival of The Jackie Gleason Show (1960–1970), The Andy Williams Show (1962–1971), The Danny Kaye Show (1963–1967), The Hollywood Palace (1964–1970), The Dean Martin Show (1965–1974), The Carol Burnett Show (1967–1978), The Smothers Brothers Comedy Hour (1967–1969) and Rowan & Martin's Laugh-In (1968–73). 1969 saw

3960-554: The British variety game show Ant & Dec's Saturday Night Takeaway starring actor Neil Patrick Harris which was ultimately unsuccessful. Starting in the 1950s, some entertainers became associated with variety television specials that would recur on a regular basis, in some cases for decades, on American network TV. Such entertainers included Bob Hope , Bing Crosby , Perry Como , Andy Williams and Mitzi Gaynor . Many of these were Christmas variety specials, which often showed

4070-478: The Hitler puppet, made it into the final broadcast; others, like a notably convoluted story about Siamese elephants joined at the trunk (ad-libbed during a 1977 "Mama's Family" sketch), were edited, the uncensored version only appearing years later on CBS specials. Conway's favorite victim was Harvey Korman, who often broke character reacting to Conway's zaniness, such as when Conway played a dentist misusing Novocain or

4180-405: The U.S. Sábado Gigante ) began in 1962 with Don Francisco and lasted into the 1990s. His daughter, Vivianne Kreutzberger, currently hosts the program under the title Gigantes con Vivi , while Don Francisco has hosted the U.S. version since 12 April 1986 until the end of the show's run on 19 September 2015. Throughout the 1960s and the 1970s, the producers Maritie and Gilbert Carpentier created

4290-745: The UK, the ultimate accolade for a variety artist for decades was to be asked to do the annual Royal Command Performance at the London Palladium theatre, in front of the monarch. Later known as the Royal Variety Performance (from 1919), it continues today. In the 1940s, Stan Laurel revisited his music hall days when he performed at the Royal Variety show. In the United States former vaudeville performers such as

4400-491: The United Kingdom from the late 1960s until the 1980s. Two of the longest-running and most popular series were Morecambe and Wise and The Two Ronnies . [REDACTED] The dictionary definition of variety show at Wiktionary Durward Kirby Homer Durward Kirby (August 24, 1911 – March 15, 2000; sometimes misspelled Dirwood Kirby or Durwood Kirby ), was an American television host and announcer. He

4510-566: The United States bringing on a new type of the Korean wave globally. Variety shows are a huge part of daily life in the Philippines, with all of the major networks running their own variety shows usually during lunchtime and can be on the air for between one and a half hours to three hours. The most notable Philippine variety show is the longest-running Eat Bulaga , which premiered in 1979 and has aired on RPN , ABS-CBN , GMA , and TV5 in

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4620-678: The United States can be considered a direct predecessor of the "variety show" format. Variety in the UK evolved in theatres and music halls, and later in working men's clubs . British performers who honed their skills in music hall sketches include Charlie Chaplin , Stan Laurel , George Formby , Gracie Fields , Dan Leno , Gertrude Lawrence , and Marie Lloyd . Most of the early top performers on British television and radio did an apprenticeship either in stage variety, or during World War II in Entertainments National Service Association (ENSA). In

4730-516: The United States in 1986, continued to produce and broadcast new episodes on Univision until its cancellation in September 2015. At least one national variety show continued on national radio into the 21st century. A Prairie Home Companion was founded and created by Garrison Keillor in 1974 as an homage to rural radio variety shows, featuring sketch comedy based on radio dramas of the old-time radio era, complete with faux commercials. (For

4840-516: The Univision networks in the United States. In Venezuela , the best known variety show is Súper Sábado Sensacional . Originally established in 1968 (as Sábado Espectacular ) on Radio Caracas Television , the show moved to Venevision in 1970 and was renamed Sábado Sensacional . In 1990, "Súper" was added to the title, and is how the show is currently known today. The Spanish-language variety show known as Sábados Gigantes (forerunner of

4950-490: The Wind! " a parody of the 1939 film Gone with the Wind , which had its television debut on NBC the week before. After the 1976–77 season ended, Harvey Korman decided to leave the series. After a decade of working with Burnett and winning several Emmy Awards, Korman had been offered a contract by ABC to headline his own series. Also, the ratings had begun to decline with the series ending its 10th season in 44th place as opposed to

5060-479: The Wind" number 53 on its list of the 100 Greatest Episodes. On September 13, 2016, Burnett released her memoir about the show titled In Such Good Company: Eleven Years of Laughter, Mayhem, and Fun in the Sandbox . The book, full of anecdotes about the 1967–1978 variety series, covers the history of how Burnett created the show, how she cast her co-stars, the co-star she once fired (and quickly rehired), and all of

5170-610: The age of 88. He was buried next to his wife, Mary, in Coburn Cemetery in Fairfield County, Connecticut , where they had a summer home. Kirby's name was spoofed in the animated series The Rocky and Bullwinkle Show , wherein a man's hat (size 7-5/32) was called the "Kirward Derby". It supposedly had magic powers that made its wearer the smartest person in the world. Kirby considered suing, but his business manager pointed out that it would only bring more attention to

5280-410: The air today, and has become the second-longest-running variety show in the history of American television. Entertainers with weekly variety shows that ran for one season or less in the 1970s include Captain & Tennille , The Jacksons , The Keane Brothers , Bobby Darin , Mary Tyler Moore , Julie Andrews , Dolly Parton , Shields and Yarnell , The Manhattan Transfer , Starland Vocal Band , and

5390-473: The broadcast of Infinite Challenge , this program has given a rise to a new page in the history of Korean variety shows by introducing unscripted stunts. As a result, other broadcasting channels such as KBS and SBS have followed its path and introduced programs such as 2 Days & 1 Night and Running Man . These types of Korean variety shows are grabbing foreign interest of countries such as Japan, China, Thailand, Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore, and even

5500-696: The camera. This required a fair amount of strength, not only to burst the developer pods but to rip through the stops on the film pack. Kirby wrote three books — My Life, Those Wonderful Years ; Bits and Pieces of This and That ; and a children's book, Dooley Wilson . Kirby married Mary Paxton Young on June 15, 1941, in Chicago, Illinois. Paxton was a singer and actress on radio. She died in 1994. They had two sons, Durward Randall, a.k.a. Randy Kirby, an actor (born December 5, 1942) and Dennis Paxton (born June 11, 1949). Kirby died of congestive heart failure in Fort Myers, Florida , on March 15, 2000, at

5610-676: The cameras followed, she excitedly ran off stage into the audience to greet Kirby and his wife before returning to complete her monologue. Kirby acted in summer stock theater , including three years' appearances in productions at the Cherry County Playhouse in Michigan. Kirby was 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) tall and had a mellow personality that served well as a foil for the stars with whom he worked. A versatile performer, he acted in sketches, sang, and danced. He moved with ease from slapstick to suave sales pitches for

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5720-552: The case of a one-off Christmas special, the Christian-leaning network INSP ); JLTV dropped Kaye from its schedule at the end of 2018. The Carol Burnett Show , which had aired in severely edited form sporadically in syndication since it ended in 1977, returned intact in 2019 on numerous platforms. Digital multicast network getTV shows variety shows on an irregular basis. The Spanish language variety show Sabado Gigante , which began in 1962, and then moved from Chile to

5830-538: The cast consisted of: Comedic actor Harvey Korman had done many guest shots in TV sitcoms. From 1963 to 1967, he had been a semi-regular on the CBS variety series The Danny Kaye Show . Burnett already had become an admirer of Korman's talent as a sketch comedian on that series. When Kaye's program ended in the spring of 1967, Burnett insisted that he be signed for her series and Korman immediately joined The Carol Burnett Show as

5940-446: The cast of The Brady Bunch . Entertainers with variety-based TV specials in the 70s include Carpenters , John Denver , Shirley MacLaine , Diana Ross , Bob Hope, and Pat Boone. Paul Lynde hosted a string of irregularly scheduled Comedy Hours through the late 1970s. By the late 1970s nearly every TV variety show had ended production. Audiences were clearly tiring of the format; the highest-rated variety show of 1975, Cher ,

6050-449: The cast, featurettes, and a 24-page commemorative booklet. Previously, due to an ongoing legal battle with the production company Bob Banner Associates, the episodes from those seasons had never appeared in syndication nor been released on home media. On April 27, 2020, Shout! Factory announced that all 11 seasons of The Carol Burnett Show would be available for viewing through their streaming channel beginning June 1, 2020, kicked off by

6160-411: The character's distinctive posture and walk. In a 2003 interview with Terry Gross , she said Mackie would put rice in the “older woman” undergarments, where typically cotton would’ve been used, to make the saggy breasts have weight and movement as the characters walked or danced, such as when Burnett portrayed Norma Desmond or Charo's mother. Burnett estimated that Mackie had created 17,000 outfits for

6270-487: The comedy sketches in featured roles, especially in the earlier seasons. Such actors include William Schallert , Isabel Sanford , Vivian Bonnell , and Reta Shaw . Lesser-known actors who appeared include Brad Trumbull , Bob Duggan , Dick Patterson , and Inga Neilsen . A favorite feature consisted of an unrehearsed question-and-answer segment with the audience in CBS Studio 33 lasting about three to four minutes at

6380-513: The current generation of U.S. hosts, late-night talk shows vary widely on their resemblance to the original variety format, with Jimmy Fallon 's incarnation of The Tonight Show putting heavy emphasis on sketch and game segments incorporating celebrity guests (especially involving music), while The Late Show with Stephen Colbert has placed a larger emphasis on news satire similar to its host 's previous Comedy Central late-night program The Colbert Report (where Colbert portrayed himself as

6490-415: The death of its founder and figurehead, Dennis James . Likewise only a handful of long-established local telethons remain. The prime time variety show format was popular in the early decades of Australian television, spawning such series as In Melbourne Tonight , The Graham Kennedy Show , The Don Lane Show , and Hey Hey It's Saturday , which ran for 27 years. Recent prime time variety shows include

6600-402: The drop in the price of her Polaroid stock is because the company hired Laurence Olivier to do its television commercials. She says they should have saved money and hired Kirby (a reference to his Polaroid commercial incident). In the movie Pulp Fiction (1994), the character Mia Wallace ( Uma Thurman ) orders a "Durward Kirby" burger. The eponymous title track on the album Scraps by

6710-561: The episodes to its library on April 14, 2019. The cast of The Carol Burnett Show was reunited on four CBS television specials: Note : only the first appearance by the guest star is listed. Considering her large body of work, and due in great part to this TV show, Burnett received Kennedy Center Honors in 2003, and was awarded the Mark Twain Prize for American Humor in October 2013. In 2009, TV Guide ranked "Went with

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6820-561: The era, no recordings of either show have been preserved. After World War II , the genre again was an early favorite of the burgeoning electronic television industry; Hour Glass , dating to 1946, is the earliest surviving variety show, preserved in the form of audio recordings and still photographs. The genre proliferated during the Golden Age of Television , generally considered to be roughly 1948 to 1960. Many of these Golden Age variety shows were spin-offs or adaptations of previous radio variety shows. From 1948 to 1971 The Ed Sullivan Show

6930-470: The fall of 1972, when the ratings slipped. In December 1972, CBS again moved The Carol Burnett Show to Saturdays at 10:00 pm (EST) where, for the next four years, it not only received solid ratings, but was also part of a powerhouse Saturday-night lineup of primetime shows that included All in the Family , M*A*S*H , The Mary Tyler Moore Show , and The Bob Newhart Show . In the 1973–74 season,

7040-597: The format faded in popularity in prime time, it thrived in American late-night TV. Night-time variety shows eventually evolved into late-night talk shows , which combine variety entertainment (primarily comedy and live music) with the aspects of a talk show (such as interviews with celebrities). The Emmy Awards academy considers the two genres to be related closely enough that, until 2015, the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Variety, Music or Comedy Series

7150-476: The genre arose in the late 1980s and early 1990s. Variety shows from this era included Dolly (starring Dolly Parton ), which ran for 23 episodes on ABC during the 1987–88 season; The Tracey Ullman Show which aired on Fox from April 1987 through May 1990; a revival of The Smothers Brothers Comedy Hour from 1988 to 1989; a revival of The Carol Burnett Show , which was broadcast by CBS for nine episodes in 1991 (following up on Carol & Company on NBC

7260-424: The longest-running variety show in U.S. television history. " The Arthur Murray Party " (1950–1960) was wildly popular and one of only 5 shows in the history of television to appear on all four major networks at the same time. The premise was a large dance party hosted by Kathryn Murray and Arthur Murray that showcased a new dance and a celebrity guest along with dozens of professional dancers. The show also hosted

7370-414: The most popular variety shows on French television , including Le Sacha Show (1963–1971) hosted by Sacha Distel , Top à... (1972–1974), Numéro Un (1975–1982) and a lot of television specials presented by various famous singers ( Johnny Hallyday , Sylvie Vartan , Claude François , Petula Clark ). From 1965 to 1970 was also aired Dim Dam Dom , a modern, playful and sophisticated show intended for

7480-1075: The only television appearance of Buddy Holly and The Crickets . The Lawrence Welk Show (1955–1982) would go on to become one of U.S. television's longest-running variety shows; based on the concept of the big band remote from the old-time radio era, it was already one of the last shows of its kind when it debuted and far outlasted all other big-band centered broadcast series by the end of its run. Other long-running American variety shows that premiered during this time include Texaco Star Theatre (1948–1956), Jerry Lester 's Cavalcade of Stars , Broadway Open House and Chesterfield Sound-Off Time (1949–1952); The Jackie Gleason Show (1950–1955), The Garry Moore Show (1950–1967, in various incarnations), The Morey Amsterdam Show (1950–1954 in various incarnations), The Colgate Comedy Hour (1950–1955), Your Show of Shows (1950–1954), The Red Skelton Show (1951–1971), The Dinah Shore Show (1951–1957), The George Gobel Show (1954–1960) and The Dinah Shore Chevy Show (1956–1963). Perry Como also hosted

7590-538: The original broadcast 52 minutes to 22 minutes, were subsequently carried by Amazon Prime Video . Half-hour edited episodes are broadcast on MeTV and full hour episodes on the Catchy Comedy channel. Variety show While still widespread in some parts of the world, such as in the United Kingdom with the Royal Variety Performance , and South Korea with Running Man , the proliferation of multichannel television and evolving viewer tastes have affected

7700-407: The popularity of variety shows in the United States. Despite this, their influence has still had a major effect on late night television whose late-night talk shows and NBC 's variety series Saturday Night Live (which originally premiered in 1975) have remained popular fixtures of American television. The live entertainment style known as music hall in the United Kingdom and vaudeville in

7810-464: The previous year's Nielsen rating at No. 29. Nevertheless, CBS renewed Burnett's show for an 11th season. Dick Van Dyke, fresh from headlining his own short-lived Emmy-winning variety series, Van Dyke & Company , was brought in to replace Korman. However, his presence did not help stem the sagging ratings, as the show faced new competition in ABC's The Love Boat . After three months, Van Dyke departed

7920-409: The previous year); and Showtime 's The Super Dave Osborne Show hosted by Bob Einstein from 1987 to 1991 (itself a spinoff of John Byner 's Bizarre , which ran from 1980 to 1986). By the 1990s, networks had given up on the format; after initially promising Phil Hartman his own variety show, NBC backed out of the agreement believing a variety show could no longer succeed. By the 21st century

8030-504: The program; RFD-TV also airs numerous other country -style variety shows from the 1960s and 1970s up through the present day, in a rarity for modern television. Another notable exception is The Lawrence Welk Show , which has been frequently broadcast in reruns on the Public Broadcasting Service (PBS) since 1986. The Danny Kaye Show returned to television in 2017 with reruns on Jewish Life Television (and, in

8140-459: The public and only six episodes of this revival were aired. In 1996, reruns of the syndicated Carol Burnett and Friends package aired on The Family Channel . It also aired on TV Land from 2004 to 2005. Beginning in January 2015, the show airs on MeTV at 11:00 PM ET. The episodes of The Carol Burnett Show from 1967 to 1972 had never been released in syndication until 2019, when MeTV added

8250-418: The recurring role of "The Oldest Man" – an elderly, shuffling, senile man who slowly rolled down stairs and fell prey to various mechanical mishaps (including an electric wheelchair and an automated dry-cleaning rack). The show also became known for its closing theme song, written by Burnett's husband, Joe Hamilton, with these lyrics: At the close of each episode, Burnett tugged her ear. This silent message

8360-506: The regularly scheduled variety shows that spawned them by several years. Also, Barbara Mandrell Christmas special. Christmas variety specials' popularity continued into the 1990s, before starting to wane in the 2000s. Nevertheless, the tradition has continued. Entertainers who have hosted Christmas variety specials in the 21st century include Kid Rock , Nick Lachey and Jessica Simpson , Carrie Underwood , Lady Gaga , Michael Buble , Bill Murray , Gwen Stefani , and Darci Lynne . Though

8470-530: The rights to these earlier seasons and began airing them. The cast has periodically reunited for various one-off specials and short appearances, and several members of the cast went on to star in Mama's Family (1983–1990), a half-hour situation comedy based on " The Family " sketch series from The Carol Burnett Show . By 1967, Carol Burnett had been a popular veteran of television for 12 years, having made her first appearances in 1955 on The Paul Winchell Show and

8580-515: The run of the show, including the iconic curtain dress from the " Went with the Wind! " sketch, which is now housed in the Smithsonian Institution . Burnett credited him with coming up with comedic touches for various characters, such as the tight-legged skirt for Mr. Tudball's secretary, Mrs. Wiggins. She told Mackie the skirt was too baggy in the back for her physique, but he told her to stick her bottom out to fill it, resulting in

8690-501: The series, selected by Burnett. It also contains bonus features, including interviews with the cast, featurettes, sketches that were never aired, and a 24-page commemorative booklet. In August 2015, Time–Life released The Carol Burnett Show - The Lost Episodes on DVD in Region 1. This 22-disc set features 45 episodes from the series' first five years (1967–72), selected by Burnett. It also contains bonus features, including interviews with

8800-486: The series. NBC aired a comedy half-hour repertory series called Carol & Company that premiered in March 1990. It proved to be moderately successful in the ratings and was renewed for a second season. The regulars on the show included Peter Krause , Jeremy Piven , Terry Kiser , Meagen Fay , Anita Barone , and Richard Kind (and occasional guest stars, including Betty White and Burt Reynolds ); each week's show

8910-472: The short lived Micallef Tonight and The Sideshow . In Brazil variety shows are referred to as a show de auditório (lit. "auditorium show"). Among the longest-running variety shows on Brazilian television have been SBT 's Programa Silvio Santos (1963–present), which was originally hosted by SBT's owner and founder Silvio Santos (and is presently hosted by his daughter Patricia Abravanel ), and TV Globo 's Domingão do Faustão (1989–2021), which

9020-461: The show returned the next year in syndication, it had been reformatted as a talk show, under which format it ran until 2004. Fox's Osbournes Reloaded , a variety show featuring the family of rocker Ozzy Osbourne , was canceled after only one episode had been telecast in 2009. More than two dozen affiliates refused to telecast the first episode of the show. This series had been slated for a six-episode run. NBC has made repeated attempts at reviving

9130-550: The show's memorable characters. The audio format of the book, which she narrated, won a Grammy Award for Best Spoken Word Album. In the early 2000s, certain full-length episodes of The Carol Burnett Show were released on VHS and DVD by Columbia House on a subscription basis (now discontinued). Guthy-Renker released another DVD collection, The Carol Burnett Show Collector's Edition . In August 2012, Time–Life released The Carol Burnett Show - The Ultimate Collection on DVD in Region 1. This 22-disc set features 50 episodes from

9240-487: The show, and CBS, in a desperate attempt to save the series, moved The Carol Burnett Show from Saturdays at 10:00 pm (EST) to Sundays at the same hour, beginning in December 1977. Regular guest stars Steve Lawrence and Ken Berry were brought in to fill the void left by Korman and Van Dyke. The ratings improved considerably. CBS wanted to renew the show for another year, but by this time, Burnett had grown tired of

9350-1018: The show, and said his costume work added more humor to some of the skits Burnett felt were weaker than others. Jim Nabors was the guest star on every season premiere of the show. Burnett considered Nabors to be her annual good luck charm. Celebrity guests who appeared on a semi-regular basis included Steve Lawrence (29 appearances), Ken Berry (20 appearances), Eydie Gorme , Nanette Fabray (13 appearances), Bernadette Peters and Mel Torme (10 appearances). Other notable guests include Olivia De Havilland , Lucille Ball , Joanne Woodward , Rita Hayworth , Dinah Shore , Rock Hudson , Cher , Martha Raye , Maggie Smith , Don Rickles , George Carlin , Gloria Swanson , Ella Fitzgerald , Joan Rivers , Rita Moreno , Tony Randall , Betty White , Phyllis Diller , Eddie Albert , Carol Channing , Betty Grable , Sid Caesar , Jonathan Winters , Jean Stapleton , Robert Goulet , William Conrad and Liza Minnelli . In addition, several notable character actors were used in

9460-425: The show. Jay Ward , producer of The Bullwinkle Show , even offered to pay Kirby to sue him; however, he did not pursue any further action. A button reading "Durward Kirby for President in '64" appeared in the January 1964 edition of Mad magazine. In The Mary Tyler Moore Show episode " Phyllis Whips Inflation " (season 5, episode 114; aired January 18, 1975), the character Phyllis Lindstrom explains that

9570-468: The sitcom Stanley starring the comedian Buddy Hackett . In 1959, she became a regular supporting cast member on the CBS-TV variety series The Garry Moore Show . Departing the series in the spring of 1962, she pursued other projects in film, Broadway productions, and headlining her own television specials. Burnett signed a contract with CBS for 10 years which required her to do two guest appearances and

9680-472: The sponsor's product. Critic John Crosby called him "one of the most versatile muggers and comedians on the air." An embarrassing moment came during a Polaroid commercial, during which he forgot to pull the tab after taking a picture of Garry Moore holding his Christmas list. After nearly a minute of a Polaroid representative yelling, "Pull the tab!" from the audience, Kirby gave a mighty yank with his long arms and pulled all seven remaining pictures out of

9790-415: The spring of 1971, it consistently ranked among the top-30 programs. (For the 1969–70 season, it posted its highest rating ever, ranking at number 13.) For season five, CBS moved the show to Wednesdays at 8:00 pm (EST), where its chief competition was NBC's Adam-12 and the ABC sitcoms Bewitched and The Courtship of Eddie's Father . Despite the schedule change, the show continued to do well until

9900-416: The spring of 1979, a year after The Carol Burnett Show left the air, Burnett and her husband Joe Hamilton were dining in a restaurant with friends, including Tim Conway. At that gathering, Burnett got wistful and started reminiscing about the show and making suggestions to Conway concerning sketches that she wished they could be creating if the show were still running. Hamilton suggested to Burnett that she do

10010-511: The staff as "Conway's Capers". Conway would play the first taping straight, but (if the sketch had played well in the first taping, and could be used) would ad-lib bizarre scenarios during the second. Some notable clips included Conway as a Nazi interrogator berating an American captive (Lyle Waggoner). Using a Hitler puppet and a pencil as a "club", Conway sang " I've Been Working on the Railroad " as Waggoner tried in vain to ignore him. Some, like

10120-474: The star in a set meant to look like their home, welcoming singers and other guests to perform duets of Christmas songs . The popularity of these Christmas shows outlasted that of weekly variety shows. In 1973, for example, even as variety shows were starting to fade in popularity, variety Christmas specials hosted by Williams and Como both attracted an enormous 40% of the American television audience. Williams's and Johnny Cash 's annual Christmas specials outlasted

10230-402: The start of most shows. Burnett stated that she borrowed the concept from Garry Moore, who did the same on his variety show, but never taped it. Burnett asked for the lights to be turned up ("Let's turn up the lights...") and then randomly picked audience members who raised their hands. Burnett often ad-libbed funny answers, but occasionally ended up as the straight (wo)man. For example: The show

10340-663: The succeeding years. Recently many other TV networks are different formats of variety. ABS-CBN's It's Showtime has also shown great popularity and interest to Filipino viewers. Siempre en Domingo premiered in 1969 with Raúl Velasco hosting. It became Mexico's longest-running variety series, remaining on Televisa until 1998. Other long-running variety shows, most of which have been Televisa productions, have included La Carabina de Ambrosio , Anabel , Al Fin de Semana , Silvia y Enrique , La Parodia , Muevete , Desmadruga2 , and Sabadazo. . Most, if not all, of Televisa's variety shows have aired in other countries, including

10450-423: The summer of 1951, he was host of G. E. Guest House on CBS, replacing Oscar Levant after the third episode. He served as one of NBC Radio's Monitor "Communicators". In 1967, Carol Burnett introduced Kirby and his wife, Pax, sitting in the live audience during her opening remarks of season 1 episode 4 of The Carol Burnett Show . In the middle of her opening monologue, Burnett recognized him. Then as

10560-431: The summer of 1978. This is only a short list with brief descriptions of the show's well-known characters and sketches. In the fall of 1977, while the series was still running in prime time, the comedy sketches of the show were re-edited into freestanding programs; the resulting show enjoyed success for many years in syndicated reruns as Carol Burnett and Friends , a half-hour edition of selected 1972–77 material. In

10670-465: The variety format since the late 2000s (the network's last successful variety series, Michael Nesmith 's short-lived but influential Television Parts , was broadcast in the summer of 1985) . A pilot episode for Rosie Live was telecast the day before Thanksgiving Day in 2008 and, after receiving middling ratings and extremely poor reviews, was not picked up for its originally planned run in January 2009. In May 2014, NBC aired The Maya Rudolph Show ,

10780-482: The variety show format was practically extinct, due largely to changing tastes and the fracturing of media audiences (caused by the proliferation of cable and satellite television ) that makes a multiple-genre variety show impractical. Even reruns of variety shows have generally not been especially widespread; TV Land briefly broadcast repeats of some variety shows (namely The Ed Sullivan Show and The Sonny & Cher Comedy Hour ) upon its launch in 1996, but within

10890-598: The weekly grind and wanted to explore acting roles outside of the comedy genre, despite her success in it. With the changes in cast along with the mediocre ratings, she felt that television was undergoing a transition and that the variety series format was on its way out. Therefore, Burnett decided to end the series on her own rather than be canceled later. Thus, on March 29, 1978, in a special two-hour finale entitled " A Special Evening with Carol Burnett ", The Carol Burnett Show left primetime television after 11 years, finishing its last season in 66th place. Reruns were aired during

11000-493: Was a different half-hour comedy play. This program lasted until July 1991. CBS brought back The Carol Burnett Show for another run in the fall of 1991; new regulars included Meagen Fay and Richard Kind (brought over from the NBC show), and Chris Barnes , Roger Kabler , and Jessica Lundy . However, the times had changed and Burnett's humor was tame compared to the edgier comedy popular in the 1990s. The series failed to catch on with

11110-514: Was agreed that he was not a match and he left after 10 episodes. The series originated in CBS Television City 's Studio 33, and won 25 primetime Emmy Awards . In 2013, TV Guide ranked The Carol Burnett Show number 17 on its list of the 60 Greatest Shows of All Time, and in 2007 it was included on the list of Time ' s 100 Best TV Shows of All Time. In 2023, Variety ranked The Carol Burnett Show #23 on its own list of

11220-444: Was also the show's announcer in addition to playing in sketches. Vicki Lawrence, a young singer from The Young Americans , wrote a letter to Burnett when she was 17, remarking on their physical resemblance. This led to her audition and getting hired to play Burnett's kid sister in numerous "Carol and Sis" sketches. Bob Mackie created all of the costumes, including evening gowns, character outfits and dance clothing for guests during

11330-413: Was hosted by Fausto Silva until he departed the network to host a short-lived variety show on Rede Bandeirantes . Two notable Taiwanese variety shows are Guess (1996–2012) and 100% Entertainment (1997–present). East Asian variety programs are known for their constant use of sound effects, on-screen visuals and comedic bantering. Many of the shows are presented in a live-like presentation in

11440-401: Was meant for her grandmother, who raised her, and meant she was thinking of her at that moment. After her grandmother's death, Burnett continued the tradition. When The Carol Burnett Show made its network debut on CBS-TV on September 11, 1967, it was scheduled on Mondays at 10:00 pm (EST) opposite NBC 's I Spy and ABC 's The Big Valley . At the end of its first season and through

11550-531: Was one of CBS 's most popular television series. Using his no-nonsense approach, host Ed Sullivan was instrumental in bringing many acts to prominence in the United States, including Elvis Presley and The Beatles . One year after Sullivan's premiere, Music & the Spoken Word first aired on television. Having carried over from an already 20-year run on radio, the series airs a program of religious music, messages, and occasional interviews, and remains

11660-507: Was only the 22nd-most watched show of the year. By 1980 viewer interest in TV variety shows was rapidly waning. Most of the few new variety programs being produced were of remarkably poor quality (for instance, the infamous Pink Lady and Jeff ), hastening the format's demise, though a few moderately successful shows remained, such as Barbara Mandrell & the Mandrell Sisters (November 1980 to June 1982). A brief revival of

11770-515: Was open to any of these types of show; in 2015, the academy separated late-night talk shows and sketch comedy series into separate categories. During Johnny Carson 's tenure on The Tonight Show on NBC from 1962 to 1992, the show dominated late night ratings, and the other networks attempted late-night talk shows only sporadically. This changed with Carson's retirement, and other networks began to air their own talk show competitors, starting with Late Show with David Letterman on CBS in 1993. As of

11880-472: Was rehearsed each day until its two Friday tapings. Differently colored cue cards (black, blue, green, and red) were used for each major performer ("Carol Burnett: Bump-Up the Lights"). The second taping was fairly routine until Tim Conway came aboard as a guest star. As a recurring guest star from the show's launch and later a regular cast member, Conway inserted unrehearsed bits into sketches that became known to

11990-416: Was replaced by the show's lead dancer Don Crichton. The guest stars in that four-week period were (chronologically) Cheryl Ladd , Alan Arkin , Penny Marshall , and Sally Field . The reviews of the series were very favorable, with several critics heartily welcoming Burnett back to weekly television, albeit on a limited basis. The ratings also were respectable and plans were announced for the program to become

12100-409: Was very much similar to Burnett's series, with two exceptions. Due to the unavailability of Harvey Korman (who, ironically, had been under contract to ABC since he had left Burnett's show in 1977), comic actors Kenneth Mars and Craig Richard Nelson were added to the supporting cast, joining Lawrence and Conway. Ernie Flatt , who had been the choreographer on Burnett's show for its entire 11-year run,

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