Awesomesauce.
I’m in 7th grade all over again.
That was totally AWESOME!
(Except for Beth, I can’t stand that song)
The late, great Margaret Hamilton (aka The Wicked Witch of the West) makes it worth watching!
And Billie Hayes as Witchiepoo.
And seeing Florence Henderson do a (very bad) Disco “That Ol’ Black Magic” cover as an opening for KISS.
Not as bad as the Star Wars Christmas Special, but it came close.
Yeah, but “Detroit Rock City” was all kinds of awesome. KISS, at their prime, appearing on the Paul Lynde Halloween Special–the '70s were a weird time.
I’m not sure that there was ever any idea for a holiday special that was rejected in the 1970s.
“Shields and Yarnell’s Labor Day in Vegas… perfect! Get the ugly redhead kid from that commercial, the guy who does that “You can call me Ray or you can call me Jay” routine, Bea Arthur or Golde Meir one or the other, and the Harlem Globetrotters, and for musical guest either Jefferson Starship or Tony Bennett. We don’t have money for a script just get the jokes from the Dom Deluise Easter special and change the word Easter to Labor Day.”
… Which sounds just about the right level to ever appreciate it. :rolleyes:
The “ugly redhead kid”—Mason Reese? :dubious:
I was getting this mixed up in my head with “Joys”, the Bob Hope Special. I had assumed that it was a Halloween show too, what with all the murder, but apparently it came out in March of the same year. Scared the hell out of me when I was 6. Saw it at my Grandma’s house and I kept expecting black-gloved hands to reach out from behind things and strangle me.
Was that the one where somebody is killing off a bunch of stars (every so often you get an overhead shot of a swimming pool with progressively more and more “dead bodies”) and the final shot shows the black-masked killer sitting in the studio audience. He suddenly pulls off the mask and it’s…
Johnny Carson! 
Yep. And “Rhinestone Cowboy” figures into it somehow.
Yup. Probably Groucho Marx’s last network appearance. Mainly he just sorta sat there while Billy Barty (!) ran around dressed up like him.
I don’t remember that, but I barely remember the special itself at all. THe only other thing I can remember about it was a conversation between Desi Arnaz and Charo. He was talking about his autobio, which he entitled “A Book.”
“‘A Book’?” Charo replied, incredulous.
“What did you want me to call it,” Arnaz shot back, “‘A Helicopter’?”
It’s more memorable with the accents, trust me. :rolleyes:
I watched that show in 1976, and that was actually the first time I ever saw Kiss perform.
Of course, even then I knew they were lip-synching, because their strumming didn’t match the music being played (Ace and Paul were both constantly a second too early or late with their power chords).
Yes- Wayne Newton comes to Bob’s door, and wants to come in. Bob won’t let him in until the guy at the door “proves” he’s really Wayne Newton. So he sings “Rhinestone Cowboy” in the driveway!
I also remember Glen Campbell singing “Rhinestone COwboy” on a DOug Henning special.
I would love to see this “Joys”. I love the old style “Christmas Specials” which had weird combos which gave us David Bowie and Bing Crosby singing a duet.
The duet of Bing and David on “The Little Drummer Boy” gets re-played every year, but Bing Crosby died before the special was completed, and I’m not sure if the special itself ever aired.
Yes, it aired. I remember the special airing, because it was weird he had died, but HERE’S HIS CHRISTMAS SPECIAL!
Also, here’s a cite, which is great, because I don’t specifically remember the David Bowie duet being on it (obviously, I’m aware of the duet, but didn’t remember it being on that particular Christmas special - he had one every year. Well, until he died. And then just one more).
And if no one will appear, we can always get Sid Caesar. He’s so desperate for work, he’ll even go on “Pink Lady and Jeff”!