The Red Skelton Show is an American variety show that was a television staple for two decades, from 1951 to 1971. It was second to Gunsmoke and third to The Ed Sullivan Show in the ratings during that time. Skelton, who had previously been a radio star, had appeared in several motion pictures as well. Although his television series is largely associated with CBS, where it appeared for more than fifteen years, it actually began and ended on NBC. During its run, the program received three Emmy Awards, for Skelton as best comedian and the program as best comedy show during its initial season, and an award for comedy writing in 1961.
Caesar's Hour is a live, hour-long American sketch comedy television program that aired on NBC from 1954 until 1957. The program starred, among others, Sid Caesar, Nanette Fabray, Carl Reiner, Howard Morris, Janet Blair and Milt Kamen, and featured a number of cameo roles by famous entertainers such as Joan Crawford and Peggy Lee.
Widely considered a continuation of Caesar's earlier program, Your Show of Shows, Caesar's Hour included most of the same writers and actors, with the notable addition of Larry Gelbart in the latter show. Nanette Fabray replaced Imogene Coca, who opted to star in her own TV series in 1954, The Imogene Coca Show. The writing staff of the show was reunited in 1996 for an event at the Writers Guild Theater in Los Angeles called Caesar's Hour Revisited, excerpts of which were broadcast on PBS under the title Caesar's Writers.
The full two-hour special was available on VHS as a pledge premium from PBS. It was released on DVD for the first time on December 12, 2011. The reunion featured Caesar with Mel Tolkin, Neil Simon, Danny Simon, Mel Brooks, Carl Reiner, Larry Gelbart, Sheldon Keller, Aaron Ruben, and Gary Belkin. The moderator and researcher was Bob Claster.
A Show Called Fred was the successor series to The Idiot Weekly, Price 2d. It was made by Associated-Rediffusion and broadcast only in London area. It was 25 minutes plus adverts.
It was predominantly a sketch comedy attempting to translate the audio antics of the The Goon Show into visual antics in bizarre and often surreal comedy sketches which just suddenly ended with a new sketch beginning. Many performers played small parts in the shows like Ernest Clark, Jon Jon Keefe, Patricia Driscoll, etc. Famous people of the day like Hans and Lotte Hass were parodied. Canadian star, Patti Lewis had a singing spot about the middle of the show, and Max Geldray a music spot later on. There were few taboos with sketches showing people in various states of undress, cameramen, behind the scenes workers and the studios. The Ying Tong song was sung for no apparent reason at various times.
The series was written by Spike Milligan and produced and directed by Richard Lester.
It was followed by Son of Fred later in 1956.
A half hour special Best of Fred was broadcast on 18 September 1963 combining surviving sketches from A Show Called Fred and Son of Fred.
The 1995 convention of the Goon Show Preservation Society was billed as A Weekend Called Fred.
The Morecambe & Wise Show is the third TV series by English comedy double-act Morecambe and Wise. It began airing in 1968 on BBC2, specifically because it was then the only channel broadcasting in colour, following the duo's move to the BBC from ATV, where they had made Two of a Kind since 1961. The series was popular enough to be moved to BBC1, with its Christmas specials garnering prime-time audiences in excess of 20 million, some of the largest in British television history. After their 1977 Christmas special, retaining its title, the show moved over to ITV.
That Was the Week That Was, informally TWTWTW or TW3, is a satirical television comedy programme on BBC Television in 1962 and 1963. It was devised, produced and directed by Ned Sherrin and presented by David Frost. An American version by the same name aired on NBC from 1964 to 1965, also featuring Frost.
The programme is considered a significant element of the satire boom in the United Kingdom in the early 1960s. It broke ground in comedy through lampooning the establishment and political figures. Its broadcast coincided with coverage of the politically charged Profumo affair and John Profumo, the politician at the centre of the affair, became a target for derision. TW3 was first broadcast on Saturday 24 November 1962.
Not Only... But Also is a 1960s BBC comedy series starring Peter Cook and Dudley Moore.
A radio comedy sketch show, presented as a local variety show with Kenneth Horne as the host.
A groundbreaking, splendidly silly, surreal sketch comedy series written by and starring The Goodies' Tim Brooke-Taylor, Monty Python's Graham Chapman and John Cleese, and comedy legend Marty Feldman.
An American sketch comedy television program hosted by comedians Dan Rowan and Dick Martin.
The Carol Burnett Show is an American variety/sketch comedy television show starring Carol Burnett, Harvey Korman, Vicki Lawrence, Lyle Waggoner, and Tim Conway. It originally ran on CBS from September 11, 1967, to March 29, 1978, for 278 episodes and originated from CBS Television City's Studio 33. The series won 25 prime time Emmy Awards, was ranked No. 16 on TV Guide's 50 Greatest TV Shows of All Time in 2002 and in 2007 was listed as one of Time magazine's "100 Best TV Shows of All Time."
Innovative and influential, and originally envisaged as children’s show, Do Not Adjust Your Set was a madcap early-evening comedy sketch show that quickly acquired a cult following with Swinging Sixties adults, who rushed home from work to see it. Written by and starring Michael Palin, Terry Jones, Eric Idle, with great performances and additional material by David Jason and Denise Coffey, it also provided an early showcase for the hilarious animations of Terry Gilliam, and the brilliantly bizarre musical antics of the legendary Bonzo Dog Doo Dah Band.
Marty is a British television sketch comedy series, with Marty Feldman, Tim Brooke-Taylor, John Junkin, Roland MacLeod, Mary Miller and Peter Pocock which was made in 1968. There was a second series made in 1969, titled "It's Marty".
A compilation of sketches from the series has been released on DVD.
The writers were John Cleese, Tim Brooke-Taylor, John Junkin, Marty Feldman, Barry Took, Graham Chapman, Terry Jones, Philip Jenkinson, Donald Webster, Peter Dickinson, Terry Gilliam, John Law, Frank Muir and Denis Norden. Barry Took and Marty Feldman were given an award for the show by the actor Kenneth Horne. Kenneth fell from the podium after this and died.
Lionel Blair choreographed a routine from "It's Marty".
Broadcast on December 31st, Bye Bye is a comic year-in-review which consists of sketches that parody the political, cultural and social events of the past year.
Sez Les was a British comedy sketch show that starred Les Dawson, produced by Yorkshire Television, airing on ITV from 1969 to 1976. Roy Barraclough also joined from series four and would go on to become Dawson's most recognisable sidekick. The two most notably appeared together in drag as characters Cissie and Ada. John Cleese, who had quit the Monty Python team's television series, was also present from 1974 in two complete seasons. Other cast members included Norman Chappell, Brian Glover, Brian Murphy and Kathy Staff. Music was provided by Syd Lawrence and his orchestra.
A British sketch comedy series with the shows being composed of surreality, risqué or innuendo-laden humour, sight gags and observational sketches without punchlines.
Il Benny Hill Show è uno spettacolo televisivo comico britannico interpretato da Benny Hill e trasmesso in varie incarnazioni tra il 15 gennaio 1955 e il 30 maggio 1991 in oltre 140 paesi. Lo spettacolo si concentrava su schizzi pieni di slapstick, mimo, parodia e doppi sensi. La Thames Television cancellò la produzione dello spettacolo nel 1989 a causa del calo degli ascolti e degli ingenti costi di produzione di £ 450.000 per spettacolo.
A British television comedy series of the 1970s and early 1980s, combining surreal sketches and situation comedy.
The Two Ronnies is a British sketch show which aired on BBC1 from 1971 to 1987. It featured the double act of Ronnie Barker and Ronnie Corbett, the "Two Ronnies" of the title.
The Hui Brothers Show is a Hong Kong sketch comedy television series produced by TVB and hosted by and starring brothers Michael Hui and Samuel Hui that ran for 52 episodes from 1971 to 1973.