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SHOWTIME / THE BIG SHOW -------------------------------------- ATV-ITC Production
VanBernard Productions, Inc. (also produced "The Red Skelton Show")
Taped at ATV-ITC Elstree Studios, London, England
Executive Producer: Bob Tamplin / Producer: Jon Scofield
"Showtime" (US title)
CBS US (Tuesdays 8:30-9:30pm ET) (11Jun68-17Sep68)
US Summer Replacement for "The Red Skelton Show"
"The Big Show" (UK title)
ATV-ITC UK, Ulster TV (Sundays 8:25-9:25pm) / ABC-UK, STV, Border TV
(Sundays 10:05pm) (07Apr1968 - 28Jul68) UK Occasional Summer Replacement for The
Sunday Night at the London Palladium"
US/UK Music/ Variety series Spring / Summer 1968 12 episodes x 60min
(No Regular Host or Stars)
Featured Regulars: The London Line Dancers
The Mike Sammes Singers
Jack Parnell and his Orchestra
### Showtime (US title) / The Big Show (UK title) ###
################# Spring / Summer 1968 ##############
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[01] Showtime (US title): Guest Host: SHELLEY BERMAN
11-June-1968 CBS color / Showtime, no. 3 / ODAT: 8Jun68 / No. 680611
Guests: Shirley Bassey (vocalist) / Matt Monro (singer) Hope and Keene (comedy team) / Acker Bilk and his Paramount Jazz Band Los Magicos Paraguayos feat. Luis Alberto del Paraná (group from Paraguay) Bert Garden (a German comic juggler).
Music:
Shirley Bassey sings "Come Back to Me" and "If Ever I Would Leave You."
Matt Monro sings "Rain Sometimes," "Just in Time" and "I Have Dreamed."
Acker Bilk and his Paramount Jazz Band perform "After You've Gone."
Los Paraguayos (a group of musicians and singers from Paraguay) perform
"Jerusalem."
Comedy:
Shelley Berman acts out a conversation between a Russian and American ambassador
and their confused interpreter.
Hope and Keen, a British comedy team of real-life cousins, perform a wild, comic
sword-fight.
Also:
Bert Garden juggles such props as tennis rackets, butterfly nets and even a gun.
[--] The Big Show (UK title): SHELLEY BERMAN (Host)
28-Apr-1968 ATV-London b/w, Sun 8:25-9:25pm (ABC 10:05pm)
Starring:
Shelley Berman (host), Shirley Bassey, Acker Bilk and his Paramount Jazz Band,
Bert Garden, Hope and Keen
[02] Showtime (US title):Guest Host: LIBERACE
18-June-1968 CBS color / Showtime, no. 9 / ODAT: 15Jun68 / No. 680618
(CBS repeat: 17-Sep-1968)
Guests:. Marian Montgomery (vocalist) / David King (comedian) Nina and Frederick (folksingers from Denmark) /Professor Stanley Unwin (double-talk comedian) The Trio Moi (aka Trio-Moia, acrobats from Italy) /Les Farfardets (French pantomime act).
Music:
Liberace (piano solos) - "Strangers in the Night," "Alley Cat" and "Born Free."
Liberace (piano-and-vocal) - "Let Me Call You Sweetheart" & "The Impossible
Dream."
Liberace (piano-and-dance) - "Mame."
Marian Montgomery sings "Put On a Happy Face" and "If I Had My Way."
Nina and Frederik perform "Follow" and "North, South, East and West."
Comedy:
Prof. Stanley Unwin double-talks his version of "Snow White and the Seven
Dwarfs."
Also:
Les Farfardets perform The Little Boy and the Butterfly.
*NOTE: Nina and Frederik were Baroness Nina Van Pallandt and her husband
Frederik van Pallandt.
[--] The Big Show (UK title): LIBERACE (Host)
09-June-1968 ATV-London b/w, Sun 8:25-9:25pm
Starring:
Liberace (guest), Les Farfadets, Dave King, Trio Moia, Marian Montgomery
[03] Showtime (US title):Guest Host: EDDIE ARNOLD
25-June-1968 CBS color / Showtime, no. 7 / ODAT: 22Jun68 / No. 680625
Guests: Roy Castle (song-and-dance man) / Derek Dene (comic juggler & dancer) Prof. Jimmy Edwards (comedian) / Freddie & The Dreamers (pop vocal group) Susan Lane (vocalist) / Janie Marden (vocalist) / Susan Maughan (vocalist).
Music:
Eddie Arnold sings "Cotton Fields," "Sitting on Top of the World," "Across the
Wide Missouri," "Turn the World Around," "Dear Heart," "Oh, Lonesome Me" and
"Hello, Dolly."
Freddie and the Dreamers perform "Bachelor Boy."
Susan Maughan - "I'm Just Wild About Harry."
Roy Castle - "Give a Little Whistle."
Janie Marden - "The Boy Next Door."
Susan Lane - "This Is My Beloved."
[--] The Big Show (UK title): EDDIE ARNOLD (Host)
26-May-1968 ATV-London b/w, Sun 8:25-9:25pm
Starring:
Eddy Arnold (host), Roy Castle, Derek Dene, Jimmy Edwards, Freddie and The
Dreamers, Susan Lane, Janie Marden, Susan Maughan.
[04] Showtime (US title): Guest Host: FRANK FONTAINE
02-July-1968 CBS color / Showtime, no. 8 / ODAT: 29Jun68 / No. 680702
Guests:.
(Fontaine was best known for playing Jackie Gleason's bartender pal, Crazy
Guggenham.)
with The Four Freshmen (folk group) / Kathy Kirby (British vocalist) Manitas de Plata (French Gypsy guitarist) / Phillipe Genty (French puppeteer, from Spectacle D'animation) El Gran Picaso (Spanish juggler) / Mac Ronay (comic magician)
Music:
Frank Fontaine sings "Danny Boy."
The Four Freshmen perform "Love Is a Happy Thing" and "Day by Day."
Kathy Kirby sings "Sometimes I'm Happy," "Thinking of You" and "More Than You
Know."
[--] The Big Show (UK title): FRANK FONTAINE (Host)
07-July-1968 ATV-London b/w, Sun 8:25-9:25pm
Starring:
Frank Fontaine (host), The Four Freshmen, Kathy Kirby, Manitas De Plata, The
Grand Picasso (Picaso)
[05] Showtime (US title): Guest Host: TERRY-THOMAS
09-July-1968 CBS color / Showtime no. ?
Episode taped on November 12, 1967.
Guests: Rudolf Nureyev (ballet star) / Ulli Wührer (Viennese ballerina) Mireille Mathieu (French vocalist) / Dorothy Loudon (American comedienne) The Dallas Boys (vocal quintet from England) / Neville King (English ventriloquist-magician) Tanya (performing elephant presented by Jenda Smaha)
Highlights:
A highlight of the hour is the appearance of the great ballet star, Rudolf
Nureyev, who performs a pas de deux from "Don Quixote" with ballerina Ulli
Wührer.
Music:
Mireille Mathieu sings "Ce Soir, Ils Vont S'Aimer" and "Quand Tu T'En Iras."
The Dallas Boys sing "Holiday."
Terry-Thomas, with the London Line dancers, performs a 'Bird' medley: "When the
Red, Red Robin Comes Bob, Bob, Bobbin' Along," "Bye, Bye, Blackbird" and "The
Willow Song."
Comedy:
Dorothy London clowns at the piano and sings "You've Got to See Mama."
[--] The Big Show (UK title): TERRY-THOMAS (Host)
07-Apr-1968 ATV-London b/w, Sun 8:25-9:25pm
Episode taped on November 12, 1967.
Starring:
Terry-Thomas (host), Rudoph Nureyev, Mireille Mathieu, The Dallas Boys, Neville
King, Dorothy Loudon
[06] Showtime (US title): Guest Host: DON KNOTTS
16-July-1968 CBS color / Showtime, no. 12 / ODAT: 12Jul68 / No. 680716
Produced by Jon Scofield / Written by Barry Cryer / Designer Brian Bartholomew
Musical Numbers Staged by Malcolm Clare
Musical Associated Derek Scott and Jack Chivers
Guests: Julie London (vocalist) / Errol Garner (jazz pianist) Robert Morley (actor, father of Sheridan) / Lonnie Donegan (singer) Juan Quintero and his Flamenco Dancers,
The London Line (regulars)
The Mike Sammes Singers (regulars)
Jack Parnell and his Orchestra (regulars)
Comedy:
Don Knotts does a football monologue. Knotts also portrays a nervous public
speaker and a weatherman.
Robert Morley demonstrates the difficulties one might encounter when asking
strangers for directions.
Music:
Julie London sings "Cry Me a River," "Straight Shooter" and "The Man That Got
Away."
Lonnie Donegan sings "If You're Looking for a Man," a song from the London
musical "The Four Musketeers."
Note:
Julie London was a US sultry ballad singer, later actress, who married Jack Webb
star of "Dragnet." She performed her classic record "Cry Me A River" in 1956
film "The Girl Can't Help it."
[--] The Big Show (UK title): DON KNOTTS (Host)
28-July-1968 ATV-London b/w, Sun 8:25-9:25pm
Starring:
Don Knotts (host), Julie London, Erroll Garner, Robert Morley, Lonnie Donegan,
Juan Quintero and his Flamenco Dancers.
[07] Showtime (US title):Guest Hostess: PHYLLIS DILLER
23-July-1968 CBS color / Showtime, no. 5 / ODAT: 19Jul68 / No. 680723
Guest: The Shadows (musical performers) / Frankie Vaughan (singer) Anita Harris (singer) / Dickie Henderson (vocalist-dancer) Michael Bentine (comedian) The Five Luxors (jugglers from the Hungarian State Circus)
Music:
The Shadows perform "Naughty Nippon Nights."
Frankie Vaughan ?sings "Cabaret."
Anita Harris sings "Turn Around" and "Summertime."
[--] The Big Show (UK title): PHYLLIS DILLER (Host)
05-May-1968 ATV-London b/w, Sun 8:25-9:25pm
Starring:
Phyllis Diller (host), The Shadows, Frankie Vaughan, Anita Harris, Dickie
Henderson, Michael Bentine, Alfred Ravel, and The Five Luxors.
Note:
Alfred Ravel is not mentioned on the guest list for the 23-July-1968 CBS
broadcast.
[08] Showtime (US title):Guest Host: DAVE ALLEN
(Irish comic)
30-July-1968 CBS color / Showtime, no. 4 / ODAT: 26Jul68 / No. 680730
Guests: Dusty Springfield (singer) / Frank Ifield (singer-yodeler from Australia) Frank Fontaine (American comedian) / Max Wall (comedian) The High Windows (Israeli vocal trio) / The Ted Kavanagh Irish Dancers
The Claddagh Ceili Band /Los Rios (Moroccan acrobats-balancing act)
Music:
Dusty Springfield sings "Look of Love" and "Mediation."
The High Windows perform "El El Israel."
Frank Ifield sings "Daybreak" and "Funny How Time Slips Away."
The Cladagh Ceili Band, with the Ted Kavanagh Irish Dancers, perform an old
Irish number, "The Bride's Favourite."
[--] The Big Show (UK title): DAVE ALLEN (Host)
21-Apr-1968 ATV-London b/w, Sun 8:25-9:25pm (ABC 10:05pm)
Starring:
Dave Allen (host), Dusty Springfield, Frank Ifield, Frank Fontaine, Max Wall,
The High Windows, The Ted Kavanagh Irish Dancers, The Claddagh Ceili Band, Los
Rios.
[--] 06Aug1968 CBS Tue - "Showtime" pre-empted for coverage of the Republican
National Convention.
[09] Showtime (US title): Guest Hostess: JULIET PROWSE
13-Aug-1968 CBS color / Showtime, no. 10 / ODAT: 9Aug68 / No. 680813
Guests: Bruce Forsyth /
Buddy Greco
Joan Carlyle (soprano) / Joe Baker (comedian) The Dave Clark Five (British pop group) / Jo, Jac and Joni (comic trio)
The London Line Dancers (regulars)
The Jack Parnell Orchestra (regulars)
Synopsis:
Juliet Prowse dances and clowns with singer pianist Buddy Greco and a roster of
British guests.
English comic Bruce Forsyth is a disarming song-and-dance partner in "Cinderella
Rockefella", then spoofs the
British tea-time gambit.
Music:
Juliet Prowse - "My Shining Hour."
The Dave Clark Five - "Everybody Knows (You Said Goodbye)."
Buddy Greco - "Girl Talk," "A Day In The Life Of A Fool" & "I Had A Ball."
Joan Carlyle - "All The Things You Are" & "Just Say Goodbye."
Juliet Prowse and the Dancers - "Burlesque."
[--] The Big Show (UK title): JULIET PROWSE (Host)
14-July-1968 ATV-London b/w, Sun 8:25-9:25pm
Starring:
Juliet Prowse (host), Joe Baker, Joan Carlyle, The Dave Clark Five, Bruce
Forsyth
[10] Showtime (US title): Guest Host: STEVE ALLEN
20-Aug-1968 CBS color
(Episode possibly taped May 5, 1968)
Guests: Lulu (Scottish singer) / Cliff Richard (British Singer) The Bonzo Dog Doo-Dah Band /Jayne Meadows (Mrs. Steve Allen) Mike Newman (Irish comedian) / The Rumanian National Dance Company, Jan Bazz Brothers (Iranian balancing team)
The Mike Sammes Singers (regulars)
Comedy:
Jayne Meadows interviews Senator Philip Buster (played by Steve Allen).
Music:
Lulu sings "Love Loves To Love Love."
Lulu and Steve Allen sing "I Love You Today," a song Mr. Allen wrote for a
musical about the late Sophie Tucker.
Bonzo Dog Doo Dah Band perform "A Room With a View."
Cliff Richard sings "The Day I Met Marie" and "Shout."
[--] The Big Show (UK title): STEVE ALLEN (Host)
23-June-1968 ATV-London Sun b/w
(Episode possibly taped 5-May-1968)
Starring:
Steve Allen (host), Lulu, The Bonzo Dog Doo-Dah Band, The Janbaz Brothers, Jayne
Meadows
[--] 27-Aug-1968 CBS - "Showtime" pre-empted for coverage of the Democratic
National Convention.
[11] Showtime (US title): Guest Host: GEORGE GOBEL
03-Sep-1968 CBS color / Showtime, no. 6 / ODAT: 31Aug68 / No. 680903
Guests: Soupy Sales (American comedian) / Ray Alan (British ventriloquist) Georgia Brown (actress-singer) / Finn Jon (illusionist from Norway) Kenneth McKellar (Scottish tenor) / The Peddlers (British pop trio) The Royal Sutherland Highlanders Band
Music:
Georgia Brown sings "I'm Riding on the Moon" and "If 'You Go Away."
The Peddlers perform their version of "Smile."
Kenneth McKellar sings "My Love Is Like a Red, Red Rose."
McKellar, accompanied by drums of the Argyll and Sutherland Highlanders,
performs "Wi a Hundred Pipers."
Comedy:
Soupy Sales gets involved with a gorilla and a "Venusian" in a comedy skit.
Ventriloquist Ray Alan presents his puppet, Lord Charles, an inebriated
aristocrat.
[--] The Big Show (UK title): GEORGE GOBEL (Host)
30-June-1968 ATV-London b/w, Sun 8:25-9:25pm
Starring:
George Gobel (host), Ray Alan, The Pipes and Drums of The Argyll and Sutherland
Highlanders, Joyce Blair, Georgia Brown
Note:
Joyce Blair is not mentioned on the guest list for the 03-Sep-1968 CBS
broadcast.
[12] Showtime (US title): Guest Host: GODFREY CAMBRIDGE [Final Episode]
10-Sep-1968 CBS color / Showtime, no. 11 / ODAT: 6Sep68 / No. 680910
Guests: Allan Sherman (American satirist) Esther and Abi Ofarim (Israeli husband-and-wife singing duo) Millicent Martin (singer) Jerry and Montigny (French comedy team) Denny Willis and his Hunting Quartet Yvonne Michel and Erik (apache dancers from Paris)
Music:
Godfrey Cambridge sings "Stick Around" in a production number with the London
Line Dancers.
Esther and Abi Ofarim perform "She's Leaving Home" and "El Vito."
Millicent Martin sings "Can't Take My Eyes Off You" and dances to a medley of
Beatles' hits.
Comedy:
Allan Sherman sings "Hello Muddah, Hello Fadduh (A Letter from Camp)," "Won't
You Come Home, Disraeli?" and "Cockles and Mussels."
Scotsman Denny Willis and his Hunting Quartet perform "Sweet and Low" and "The
Fox Has Left His Lair."
[--] The Big Show (UK title): GODFREY CAMBRIDGE (Host)
21-July-1968 ATV-London b/w, Sun 8:25-9:25pm
Starring:
Godfrey Cambridge (host), Millicent Martin, Esther & Abi Ofarim, Allan Sherman,
Jerry and Montigny, Denny Willis and his Hunting Quartet, Yvonne Michel and Erik
[--] Showtime
17Sep1968 CBS - Repeat from 18Jun68 CBS with guest host Liberace.
Syndicated Repeats:
A few local U.S. stations aired reruns of "Showtime" in 1972.
-------------------------------------------
THE BIG SHOW (UK broadcasts)
ATV-London b/w, Sun 8:25-9:25pm
(8:25pm Sun on Ulster TV)
(10:05pm Sun on ABC-UK, STV & Border TV)
07-Apr-1968 UK - BIG SHOW: Terry-Thomas (host)
14-Apr-1968 UK - SPOTLIGHT: Benny Hill and Paul Anka
21-Apr-1968 UK - BIG SHOW: Dave Allen (host)
28-Apr-1968 UK - BIG SHOW: Shelly Berman (host)
05-May-1968 UK - BIG SHOW: Phyllis Diller (host)
(12-May-1968 UK - pre-empted for "Howerd's Hour")
(19-May-1968 UK - pre-empted for "A Special Royal Performance")
26-May-1968 UK - BIG SHOW: Eddie Arnold (host)
02-June-1968 UK - SPOTLIGHT: Trini Lopez (host), Georgia Brown, Frank Gorshin.
09-June-1968 UK - BIG SHOW: Liberace (host)
16-June-1968 UK - SPOTLIGHT: Frankie Vaughan, Vikki Carr & Bill Dana.
23-June-1968 UK - BIG SHOW: Steve Allen (host)
30-June-1968 UK - BIG SHOW: George Gobel (host)
07-July-1968 UK - BIG SHOW: Frank Fontaine (host)
14-July-1968 UK - BIG SHOW: Juliet Prowse (host)
21-July-1968 UK - BIG SHOW: Godfrey Cambridge (host)
28-July-1968 UK - BIG SHOW: Don Knotts (host)
(28Jul68 was the final night of old ITV franchises & ATV's final night in
London)
------------------------
U.S. Newspaper article:
Albany NY Times Union (June 8, 1968 TV supplement)
Razzle-Dazzle 'Showtime' Variety Hour Premieres on CBS
By EDGAR PENTON
HOLLYWOOD - Red Skelton is leaving his top-rated television hour in good hands
during the summer.
"Showtime," a London-based program offering a cross-section of some of the
world's biggest and best variety acts, runs for 12 weeks, beginning this
Tuesday, June 11,8:30-9:30 p.m.,
Eastern time, in color on CBS.
"It's straight-on variety, with a true international flavor, " says executive
producer Bob Tamplin. "Each show will have a different performing host or
hostess, most of them American
stars."
"Comedian Shelley Berman takes the reins for the opening broadcast. Other
headliners: Steve Allen, Phyllis Diller, George Gobel, Eddy Arnold, Frank
Fontaine, Liberace, Juliet Prowse,
Godfrey Cambridge, Irish-born comedian Dave Allen, Britain's gap-toothed
Terry-Thomas and Don Knotts.
The stunning troupe of London Line Dancers, Jack Parnell and his orchestra and
the Mike Sammes Singers — all associated with British television — are to be
regulars on the series.
"The roster of guest stars is pretty impressive, " says Tamplin, " … Rudolph
Nureyev, Shirley Bassey, the Dave Clark Five, Matt Monro, Lulu, Dusty
Springfield, Soupy Sales,
Herman and the Hermits, Buddy Greco, Jayne Meadows and others.
"But name value wasn't the sole standard in booking the series. We looked for
acts that offer as much variety and excitement, in an international sense, as
possible.
"There's Mireille Mathieu, an enchanting singer from France, acclaimed by some
critics as a natural successor to the late, great Edlth Plaf; the Adorable
Tanya, a most remarkable
elephant who does some of the most fantastic tricks I've ever seen; a fine group
of musicians and singers from Paraguay called Los Paraguayos; the colorful
Romanian National Dance Company
and Orchestra; a wild, crazy British music-comedy group called the Bonzo Dog
Doo-Dah Band, a name as offbeat as the act; and many, many more."
One of the big reasons for taping the show in England, Tamplin says, is that it
is possible to offer many acts that are difficult to get in America.
Rather than bring the acts to this country, it seemed simpler to take the emcees
to London.
With the exception of Tamplin, the production staff of "Showtime " is almost all
British. The producer is Jon Scoffteld, who has been responsible for many of
London's top variety show.
The writers are also British, which raises the question of whether the comedy on
the series might seem more British-oriented than American.
"Not really," says Tamplin. "There's not that much difference in our senses of
humor."
•
Tamplin did find a few differences between producing such a show in England and
doing it in this country.
"In England, they start with the smaller acts and build to the big ones as in
the theater, whereas in America we try to start with a bang and follow a faster
pace," says Tamplin.
"This offers a bit of an editing problem, since 'Showtime' is made for both
British and American audiences.
"Also, the American version is in color, while the English version is
black-and-white.
*
"Showtime" was taped at ATV Studios in Elstree, about 25 miles from midtown
London, so it was the studio audience that went on location," not the show.
They were transported to the studio by special bus.
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