December 27, 1971…’The Sonny And Cher Show’ Debuts On CBS
December 27, 1971…’The Sonny And Cher Show’ Debuts On CBS
It was a 1971 guest spot on the ‘The Merv Griffin Show’ that convinced CBS programming head Fred Silverman that Sonny and Cher could be the network’s next big thing.
When ‘The Sonny and Cher Comedy Hour’ debuted on CBS the first day of August in 1971, it was a trial run…a five-week summer replacement series but it was an immediate ratings hit.
CBS was looking to regain the young audience they lost when they canceled ‘The Smothers Brothers Comedy Hour’ two years earlier – Sonny and Cher proved to be the show the network was looking for, and with good reason. The producers, Allan Blye and Chris Bearde and the writers were all Smothers Brothers’ alumni. Tommy Smothers once remarked, “I turned on the TV one night and there was our show. Only it starred Sonny and Cher!”
Based on the success of the summer show, ‘The Sonny and Cher Comedy Hour’ was back on the air December 27, 1971, replacing ‘The Chicago Teddy Bears’ Friday nights at 8:00.
By the fall of 1972, in its Wednesday night at 8:00 time slot, the show became a consistent top-ten winner. Below is a funny outtake that shows us the kind of magnetism their personalities had in attracting audiences. Enjoy and share! -Bobby Ellerbee
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nOfU5iwyL6E
I pissed my self laughing
Was a good show. Everyone in my family liked it, which wasn’t always the case.
I miss doing what I did for a living…watching TV!
Nor one like The Smother Brothers, maybe like Laugh In, but on Comedy Central…
This was a really smart show. Especially in hindsight. You could never get a show like this on the air today.
I’ve seen some really great outtakes elsewhere.
thinks Art Fisher’s energetic directing contributed to the show’s success