I seem to recall that on Phyllis Diller's variety show--and now I expect it was more NBC's "Mother MacKenzie" laugh track more than the real studio audience.
On Thu, Sep 27, 2012 at 12:25 PM, donz5 <[email protected]> wrote: > "As [Mike Post] explained it, Andy had taken his show off the air around > 1967, and in 1969 NBC decided to bring him back, putting him in an earlier > timeslot and trying to appeal to a younger audience by bringing in > younger-skewing guests like Linda Ronstadt, Elton John, and Simon and > Garfunkel." > > The dates are off a bit. Simon & Garfunkel performed on Andy's show in > 1968, singing their latest single, "Mrs. Robinson." The song was so new > that some in the audience were laughing at the lyrics, thinking that it was > a parody. > > > On Thursday, September 27, 2012 9:06:44 AM UTC-4, Diner wrote: >> >> >> On Wednesday, September 26, 2012 5:33:45 PM UTC-4, Mark Jeffries wrote: >>> >>> On TV variety, only Perry Como matched Mr. Williams' casualness--he >>> hosted several programs in his long-lasting career as a pop singer, the >>> early 60s one on NBC notable for introducing the Osmonds to television and >>> an early 70s stint on NBC for having producers Allan Blye and Chris Bearde >>> surround him with a cast of zanies like Prof. Irwin Corey, Charlie Callas >>> and a talking bear continually asking for cookies, of which the joke was >>> that the bear was the only thing that would make Mr. Williams lose his >>> trademark cool: >>> >>> http://www.chicagotribune.com/**entertainment/la-mew-andy-** >>> williams-dies-20120926,0,**7479266.story<http://www.chicagotribune.com/entertainment/la-mew-andy-williams-dies-20120926,0,7479266.story> >>> >> >> >> One of my earliest TV memories is watching The Andy Williams Show circa >> 1970 (I would have been about 5 years old) just to see the Cookie Bear. >> >> A few years ago I heard Andy's name come up twice on NPR's "Fresh Air" - >> despite the fact that host Terry Gross was *definitely* not a fan. One time >> she was interviewing Bernie Mac who said, in all seriousness, that he loved >> Andy's music and thought Andy was a better singer than Sinatra. Terry said >> "No offense, but you're crazy." But Bernie stuck to his guns. >> >> The other time was when she was interiewing TV music maven Mike Post. >> Mike was really playing up his own importance, claiming he had helped bring >> rock and roll to mainstream TV with rock-edged themes like "The Rockford >> Files." Terry then challenged him - if you're such a rock and roll guy, >> then why were you the bandleader on the 1969-71 version of The Andy >> Williams Show? But Mike defended his role on the show. As he explained it, >> Andy had taken his show off the air around 1967, and in 1969 NBC decided to >> bring him back, putting him in an earlier timeslot and trying to appeal to >> a younger audience by bringing in younger-skewing guests like Linda >> Ronstadt, Elton John, and Simon and Garfunkel. The producers would make >> inappropriate suggestions like "Let's have Andy sing 'Proud Mary' - won't >> that be great?" Mike would then respond "No, I think that would be a >> terrible idea. But if we put Andy in a sweater and have him sing 'Tracks of >> My Tears,' that would work much better." And Mike got his way. >> >> As for me, I can't say I was a huge fan of Andy's music. But his version >> of "It's the Most Wonderful Time of the Year" - a song that was written >> for him - is one of my favorite Christmas records. Andy's voice is so >> sincere, and the band swings so hard, that it overcomes any sentimentality >> in the lyrics. And as the YouTube clips from his variety series show, he >> may have been a little stiff, but he didn't take himself too seriously, and >> he was pretty much game for anything. R.I.P. >> >> -Tim >> >> > -- > TV or Not TV .... The Smartest (TV) People! > You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google > Groups "TV or Not TV" group. > To post to this group, send email to [email protected] > To unsubscribe from this group, send email to > [email protected] > For more options, visit this group at > http://groups.google.com/group/tvornottv?hl=en > -- TV or Not TV .... The Smartest (TV) People! You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "TV or Not TV" group. To post to this group, send email to [email protected] To unsubscribe from this group, send email to [email protected] For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/tvornottv?hl=en
