British variety shows on American TV

[Corky Marlowe]

"Thinking back again, I have dim memories of a (late 60's?) summer replacement variety show that was not British but European, with acts from France, Germany, etc. performing in their native languages. The acts were film or tape clips, tied together by a US host. I seem to recall Jim Backus, though he may have been only one of several rotating hosts."

From the Dumb Stuff I Remember For No Real Reason File: I think that might have been called "Hippodrome".

"I remember watching Morecambe and Wise's classic comedy show on Saturday nights on WOR-TV in New York back in the early 80's." From what I've seen of them, they were pretty awesome. A very funny clip of their English show was featured on "The Beatles Anthology" (The one with the Beatles joining them on a barbershoppy rendition of "On Moonlight Bay").

Somebody mentioned Paul Hogan...I always loved the story of how he became a TV star in Australia. He was a construction worker, and one day he and the other guys on the jobsite were talking about the Aussie version of "The Gong Show". The host apparently was really rough on the bad acts, with a nasty streak that Chuck Barris never had. The general consensus was that somebody ought to go on the show and give it right back to the host. Hogan said, "What the heck, I'll do it!" So he came up with some sort of half-baked act, got on the show, got gonged, and then pretty much ripped the host a new one, becoming an instant celebrity in the process.

 

[Ultimajock]

I wonder if anyone remembers "The Spike Mulligan Show" on ABC?

...you mean Spike Milligan, the self-proclaimed famous typing error. Milligan was a regular on The Marty Feldman Comedy Machine, which ran on ABC in the Spring and Summer of 1972 as a mid-season replacement for The Smith Family, so that's probably what you're thinking of...

 

[blackgold]

Does anybody remember "Supersonic" from Thames TV in 1976? I do! It was a rock concert series with a control room ready to bring up the acts.

 

[installLSC]

That's exactly what it was called. I've got a TV Guide from 1970 that lists a special that pairs Juliet Prowse with Buddy Greco. All the guests listed are British.

I just found out that "Showtime" originally aired as a summer replacement for "Red Skelton" in 1968, and was ran as "The Big Show" in the UK. The syndicated airings were just reruns of the series, not new episodes.

 

[BD Sullivan]

ABC showed The Val Doonican Show in 1971. He was an Irish singer and I'm pretty sure ABC's low-budget options when it came to summer shows just basically brought this over the pond rather than actually produce it.

 

[rnigma1]

Spike Milligan was head writer and performer on "The Goon Show," which ran on BBC radio throughout the '50s, launched the career of Peter Sellers, and was a huge influence on Monty Python. The young Prince Charles was a fan of the show.
"The Marty Feldman Comedy Machine" had an animated opening and closing by Python's Terry Gilliam.

 

[rnigma1]

duplicate post deleted.

 

[LKellerIII]

"Thinking back again, I have dim memories of a (late 60's?) summer replacement variety show that was not British but European, with acts from France, Germany, etc. performing in their native languages. The acts were film or tape clips, tied together by a US host. I seem to recall Jim Backus, though he may have been only one of several rotating hosts."

From the Dumb Stuff I Remember For No Real Reason File: I think that might have been called "Hippodrome".

I think I remember this show. IIRC, it was the summer replacement for The Jackie Gleason Show - so on CBS at 7:30 Saturdays. It may have even had a tacky title like "The Jackie Gleason Summer Show," though Gleason was nowhere near it. For those who think music videos started with the MTV era in the 80s - not so. This show had them. I remember a video of "Walking in a Winter Wonderland" - in German - with the singers riding through the snowy woods on a sleigh. This was in July, mind you. It was an odd show.