Best & Worst Classic Variety Shows Ever On TV

[Mark Giardina]

BEST

Carol Burnett ( Loved watching Tim Conway crack up Harvey Korman) ;D
Dean Martin
The Hollywood Palace
Jackie Gleason Show (Does the Honeymooners count as a variety show?)
The Tonight Show (with Johnny Carson) Does that count as a variety or talk show?
The Colgate Comedy Hour
Garry Moore Show

WORST

The Jerry Lewis Show (Both of them)
Milton Berle

 

[KeithE4]

BEST

Carol Burnett ( Loved watching Tim Conway crack up Harvey Korman) ;D
Dean Martin
The Hollywood Palace
Jackie Gleason Show (Does the Honeymooners count as a variety show?)
The Tonight Show (with Johnny Carson) Does that count as a variety or talk show?
The Colgate Comedy Hour
Garry Moore Show

I agree with you on Dean Martin and Carol Burnett. Flip Wilson, Ed Sullivan, and Red Skelton deserve a place on this list as well. Either I don't remember or I didn't watch the others.

The Gleason late '60s shows with the Honeymooners' musicals do count, but the 1955-era sitcom does not. Does anybody remember Gleason's Cavalcade of Stars on Dumont enough to determine if it goes on this list (it was a bit before my time)?

I wouldn't include The Tonight Show in any of its incarnations (Allen, Paar, Carson, Leno, or O'Brien) since it wasn't a prime time show.

WORST

The Jerry Lewis Show (Both of them)
Milton Berle

Berle's 1966 "comeback" show on ABC was a dud, but his 1948-55 NBC show was the classic early-TV variety show. It defined TV in that era, and was the main reason folks bought sets.

And how could you leave Pink Lady and Jeff off the "Worst" list? ;D

 

[FreddyE1977]

Carol Burnett was kind of in a league all by herself.

I always liked The Flip Wilson Show and Sonny & Cher.

For worst you would probably have to look at the summer replacement series.
"Pink Lady and Jeff", "Starland Vocal Band", etc.

I also remember The Mac Davis' show (which I believe started out as a summer replacement).
Was not all that great but he saved it with a bit he did at the end where he would
walk around the studio audience with his guitar and offer to write songs. The audience
would throw out oddball titles like "Zippers on Bananas" or "I Got My Toe Stuck in a Faucet"
and on the spot, Davis would compose and perform a serviceable song. Impressive.

 

[LKellerIII]

After his comeback show in 1966 failed, I believe it was Milton Berle who made the pithy remark that - if the nation wanted the Vietnam War to end, all they had to do was put in on ABC, and it would be over in 13 weeks.

 

[The Voice of Reason]

I would categorize this in the worst category, but Don Knotts had a variety show which didn't make it.

However I would categorize the Howard Cosell Show, or what ever it was called, as one of the worst variety shows on TV. Cosell tried to be another Ed Sullivan. He came across more like Mr. Ed.

As for Jackie Gleason, how many remember his show "Your In the Picture?" After the debut show aired Gleason spent most of the second show apologizing for the first one. He even called it "The biggest bomb ever to hit television."

 

[KeithE4]

I would categorize this in the worst category, but Don Knotts had a variety show which didn't make it.

However I would categorize the Howard Cosell Show, or what ever it was called, as one of the worst variety shows on TV. Cosell tried to be another Ed Sullivan. He came across more like Mr. Ed.

Ah, yes - Sa-tur-day Night Live With Hah-Wahd Co-Sell. Not only was the show awful in general, but in keeping with his lame attempt to be Ed Sullivan and importing British rock acts, he foisted The Bay City Rollers on an unsuspecting American public. At least Sullivan gave us the Beatles, the Stones, and the Dave Clark 5.

 

[gregg75]

Add Flip Wilson to the best and Tony Orlando to the worst.

The skits, music, clothing and everything else was so cheezy on Orlando. It was like watching a cheap college production......and not very funny either.

 

[wbhist]

I would categorize this in the worst category, but Don Knotts had a variety show which didn't make it.

However I would categorize the Howard Cosell Show, or what ever it was called, as one of the worst variety shows on TV. Cosell tried to be another Ed Sullivan. He came across more like Mr. Ed.

Ah, yes - Sa-tur-day Night Live With Hah-Wahd Co-Sell. Not only was the show awful in general, but in keeping with his lame attempt to be Ed Sullivan and importing British rock acts, he foisted The Bay City Rollers on an unsuspecting American public. At least Sullivan gave us the Beatles, the Stones, and the Dave Clark 5.

Not to mention that a late night sketch comedy show that debuted on another network not long after Cosell's disaster took to the air, had to call itself NBC's Saturday Night at the outset, not renaming itself Saturday Night Live until over a year had passed since the Cosell show ended.

But among the best, I'd count Steve Allen's 1956-61 NBC variety show which helped make the likes of Louis Nye, Don Knotts and Tom Poston famous . . .

If British comedy/variety shows counted for best and worst, let me submit The Benny Hill Show in both categories - best up to the 1970's, worst in the '80's.

 

[bpatrick]

How about "Your Show Of Shows" among the best?
Sid Caesar, Steve Allen, and Ernie Kovacs
were about the only comedians of the '50s doing things
with the television medium, rather than warmed-over
vaudeville, which would impact the likes of David Letterman
years later.

Likewise, I'm not sure if Jack Benny's show was a sitcom or
variety show (he tended to go back and forth between the
two) but so many of them have me on the floor I have to put
him on this list.

On the other side, I'd say "The Captain And Tennille" was one
of the great disappointments. Fred Silverman thought he had
another Sonny and Cher, but Darryl Dragon, in character, hardly
ever spoke, and Toni Tennille didn't do much but look good. Maybe
they were and are good musicians, but comedy was never their
strong suit, unlike the Bonos.

 

[Mark Giardina]

"The Captain And Tennille" was one
of the great disappointments. Fred Silverman thought he had
another Sonny and Cher, but Darryl Dragon, in character, hardly
ever spoke, and Toni Tennille didn't do much but look good. Maybe
they were and are good musicians, but comedy was never their
strong suit, unlike the Bonos.

Both the Captain and Tennille seemed to disappear after a few years. Are they still recording music?

 

[bpatrick]

I haven't heard anything from them in years, but AFAIK they're
both still alive, hence the use of the term "were and are good musicians."
Hard to believe, though, that by some accounts Toni Tennille is 70 (some
sources I've seen give her birthdate as 1940; others, 1943).

 

[KeithE4]

As for Jackie Gleason, how many remember his show "Your In the Picture?" After the debut show aired Gleason spent most of the second show apologizing for the first one. He even called it "The biggest bomb ever to hit television."

You're In The Picture was a game show, not a variety show. Gleason debuted his American Scene Magazine variety show a year or so later. That was a great show until he added a lame musical version of The Honeymooners (Sorry, but the whiny Shiela MacRae was no Audrey Meadows).

 

[therealjm12]

I have been watching "The Johnny Cash Show" on DVD, definitely on the best list. I don't remember it too much but Jimmy Dean had a show too. Seems like that was pretty good.
How about the Richard Pyror Show and Dick Van Dyke's attempt?......

 

[Corky Marlowe]

I have been watching "The Johnny Cash Show" on DVD, definitely on the best list. I don't remember it too much but Jimmy Dean had a show too. Seems like that was pretty good.

Cash's show was one of the best musically-oriented variety shows; Not much sketch comedy that I remember, and a really eclectic mix of musical guests from country, rock, pop, and folk circles. Jimmy Dean's show was pretty good; As a little kid, my favorite part was when he and Rowlf (from the Muppets, of course) would bust each other's chops.

How about the Richard Pyror Show and Dick Van Dyke's attempt?......

They both got raw deals from NBC, but for different reasons.

As far as Toni Tennille, I think she does pop standards concerts with a lot of orchestras these days.

Remember the name of the sketch comedy troupe on Cosell's show? "The Prime Time Players"...Yeah, that name does sound familiar...That show was an attempt to recreate the Sullivan ambience by using a host who wasn't an actual performer. An even worse attempt at that sort of show happened a few years later; "Live And In Person", hosted by a fellow named Sandy Gallin, who was Dolly Parton's manager at the time. THAT...was some bad TV.

 

[mleach]

I haven't heard anything from them in years, but AFAIK they're
both still alive, hence the use of the term "were and are good musicians."
Hard to believe, though, that by some accounts Toni Tennille is 70 (some
sources I've seen give her birthdate as 1940; others, 1943).

Totally forgotten now since its not even on their Wikipedia page but about 20 years ago the Captain & Tennille were very much involved in the then-popular heavy metal rock scene. No they never did record a metal version of "The Way I Want To Touch You" but rather they did own a recording studio which was very popular among that crowd back in those days and if memory serves the studio was called "Rumbo". I believe AC/DC, Metallica, Judas Priest and a number of others had done recordings there. I do remember checking about Hit Parader magazine back when I was "Gulp" a metal head and there was a photo of some band whose name I had long since forgot ( not hard to do )..right beside The Captain & Tennile, and Daryl still had his captain's hat on too.

 

[anotherguyTN]

On the other side, I'd say "The Captain And Tennille" was one
of the great disappointments.  Fred Silverman thought he had
another Sonny and Cher, but Darryl Dragon, in character, hardly
ever spoke, and Toni Tennille didn't do much but look good.  Maybe
they were and are good musicians, but comedy was never their
strong suit, unlike the Bonos.

In the 70's after Sonny and Cher were a hit, it seemed like the networks wanted to do variety shows with who knows how many one hit wonders, most of which bombed. Also, I'm surprised the Brady Bunch's variety show hasn't been mantioned as one of the worst. But to me most variety shows from the 70's were bad except for Carol Burnett, The Muppet Show, and SNL (if it counts). Also, if Laugh-in counts it would be one of the best. I tended to like the variety shows that were mostly comedy. Also, would Monty Python count?

Although I didn't see it much Johnny Cash's show seemed to be good in the shows that were mostly music. Also, would The Midnight Special count? to me that would be one of the best that was mostly music. I was reminded of that because of seeing an infomercial (GASP!) for DVDs of it.

I wasn't around at the time but from what I've seen on video Your Show of Shows would have been good, and I definitely liked Ernie Kovacs and have some tapes of him. I'd also agree that if Jack Benny counts he would be one of the best. I always liked the classic Honeymooners, but I don't know much about the rest of Jackie Gleason's show to know if I'd like it or not. From what I've seen of the Color Honeymooners on ALN, I think it would have been better if they had left the music out.

 

[WMC2006]

I enjoyed The Dana Carvey Show in 1996 but the show didn't last too long.

 

[Ultimajock]

Does anybody remember Gleason's Cavalcade of Stars on Dumont enough to determine if it goes on this list (it was a bit before my time)?

...it was a decade before my time, but I have a VHS of two kinescopes of the Gleason-emceed Cavalcade of Stars, and would place it on the best list. http://archive.org has a file of a Cavalcade of Stars program hosted by Jerry Lester, which is something much less than Gleason's version (or, for that matter, the kinnies archive.org has of Broadway Open House from the same period)...

 

[Ultimajock]

And how could you leave Pink Lady and Jeff off the "Worst" list? ;D

...Mark probably still pities Evanier for having to write that show ;D ...

 

[Ultimajock]

Ah, yes - Sa-tur-day Night Live With Hah-Wahd Co-Sell. Not only was the show awful in general, but in keeping with his lame attempt to be Ed Sullivan and importing British rock acts, he foisted The Bay City Rollers on an unsuspecting American public. At least Sullivan gave us the Beatles, the Stones, and the Dave Clark 5.

...aw, lay off the Bay City Rollers. All they were was a bunch of Scottish teenagers making music for other teenagers (at least in their earliest days). They never claimed to be Pink Floyd types, and on that basis they weren't that bad at what they did (mainly retreads and clones of Four Seasons and Beach Boys oldies). And, remember, Sullivan did screw over Bo Diddley and Leon Bibb (the '50s folk singer, not the Cleveland news anchor) ;D ...