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Entertainment | 11/25/2008 2:10 pm

Carol Burnett, Julie Andrews and 8 Other Unforgettable Variety Acts! (Video)

By The Staff at wowOwow.com
© AP

Oh, The Carpenters! We don’t care how old you were in the ’70s – or if you were even born – it’s hard not to feel instant nostalgia upon seeing siblings Richard and Karen sing their hearts out in this clip from their 1971 NBC variety show, “Make Your Own Kind of Music.” The song, in case you can’t tell from the repetitive verses, is called “We’ve Only Just Begun.”

Andy Williams was a mainstay on the variety circuit for more than a decade — from 1959-1971, in fact. The legendary crooner hosted a whole slew of stars, but we couldn’t resist this 1969 clip of Williams playing alongside Ray Charles.

19 Reader Comments (so far…) Sign In or Register to comment

Barbara Taylor
I loved variety shows back then, I watched all of the shows…. of course, Carol Burnett was my favorite. I hope Rosies show does well, just leave out the politics. That’s entertainment.
By Barbara Taylor on 11/25/2008 2:41 pm
Elizabeth Bennett
Judy Holliday briefly had a variety show that I loved, but that was a long time ago and probably was not put on tape. I am glad to see variety shows return. These days all we have is SNL.
By Elizabeth Bennett on 11/25/2008 2:50 pm
christine w
Actually, the title “We’ve Only Just Begun” isn’t in the chorus at all, but in the verses. Anyway, it’s great to see the wonderful Karen Carpenter, who had one of the purest voices ever.
By christine w on 11/25/2008 2:50 pm
Grande Camper
The classics are great! I loved them.
By Grande Camper on 11/25/2008 2:55 pm
Emcye Edwards
The classics are great! Who could argue with that? Sid Caesar and Nanette Fabray would: http://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=side+caesar+and+nanette+fabr…
By Emcye Edwards on 11/30/2008 10:53 pm
Emcye Edwards
By Emcye Edwards on 11/30/2008 10:57 pm
Grande Camper
Oh! That one was good. I hadn’t seen that one. Thanks.
By Grande Camper on 12/01/2008 9:53 am
Sherrie Crews
I’m reading this at work right now so I can’t run the clips. I certainly will when I get home though. I remember all of these shows and most of them were favorites of mine. I’m looking forward to Rosie’s show as well as the one Ellen has planned. I wish I hadn’t missed Ellen’s first but I watch TV so seldomly that I didn’t even know it was on.
By Sherrie Crews on 11/25/2008 3:14 pm
Patrice Baldwin
Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh, Andy. How I loved him for such a looooong time.*sigh*
By Patrice Baldwin on 11/25/2008 7:09 pm
DeBúrca obj
I still remember watching the very last Carol Burnett Show and crying at the end. After watching nearly every week from the age of 10 until I was about 21, having it go off the air felt like losing an old friend.
By DeBúrca obj on 11/25/2008 8:21 pm
Josie Sullivan
Ahhh, the variety show. You all covered most of the greats! I loved watching Julie Andrews tap dancing in a tux with Sammy. She looked good in a tux much later on in a film…can someone name it for me. I would google it but I’ve already typed this much. No, really. She played a woman playing a man who was performing as a drag queen. Geez. I can’t believe I don’t remember. Anyhow, y’all out did yourselves in the list of variety shows. Flip Wilson brought back a childhood memory for me. He came to Nashville and visited our neighborhood to see some friends of his. The kids, me included, got the word and waited at the bottom of the condo stairs. He was nice and silly with us. I remember seeing him on his show and imitating him imitating a woman. Just innocent silliness. Thanks for the Dean Martin and Lena Horne clip… Dolly too. And Then you had an Ed Sullivan bit…another flash to childhood. I was in kindergarten and the other kids kept teasing me and saying that Ed Sullivan was my father. I told my mom and she said, Just tell them he’s your great uncle and they’ll leave you alone. So, I did… And, they did. LOL I love the Muppet finale! Liza was on some morning news show today and she looked great! Turkey Hugs, Josie
By Josie Sullivan on 11/26/2008 12:56 am
rocky rocky
Josie, it was Victor/Victoria. Happy Turkey …
By rocky rocky on 11/26/2008 8:22 pm
Lisa Sperling
Carol Burnett’s character, the flakey secretary Mrs. Wiggins, was one of my favorites. And the skit mocking the Easy Off commercial where she, reclined and dressed in an evening gown, says, “I’m cleaning my oven.” The camera pans down to her feet, and you see brushes strapped to them as she kicks her feet up and down and literally cleans her oven. What a hoot!!
By Lisa Sperling on 11/26/2008 8:49 am
Diana T
Carol Burnett delivered some of the funniest sketches in TV history when Tim Conway was on. And, I will never forget the Bob Mackie designs of her gowns. Especially when she appeared as Scarlet O’Hara in the infamous dress made from the curtains. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TjhtxfSMIWk Or Tim Conway’s infamous elephant story when he went off script and ad-libbed: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3qqE_WmagjY
By Diana T on 11/27/2008 9:43 pm
Melanie Waldrop
Every Saturday night during my childhood I had to watch The Mary Tyler Moore Show and then the Carol Burnette show! I absolutely adore Carol, and I particularly liked her skits based on classic films such as Gone With the Wind, Casablanca, and Sunset Boulevard. The image of her coming down the stairs wearing green velvet curtains (complete with the rod!), as she spoofed Scarlett O’Hara, is etched in my memory for all time!
By Melanie Waldrop on 11/28/2008 3:45 pm