''George Burns Comedy Week'' is a

comedy Comedy is a genre of fiction that consists of discourses or works intended to be humorous or amusing by inducing laughter, especially in theatre, film, stand-up comedy, television, radio, books, or any other entertainment medium. The term o ...

anthology

television series A television show – or simply TV show – is any content produced for viewing on a television set which can be broadcast via over-the-air, satellite, or cable, excluding breaking news, advertisements, or trailers that are typically placed be ...

broadcast in the United States by

CBS CBS Broadcasting Inc., commonly shortened to CBS, the abbreviation of its former legal name Columbia Broadcasting System, is an American commercial broadcast television and radio network serving as the flagship property of the CBS Entertainm ...

as part of its 1985 fall lineup, hosted by

George Burns George Burns (born Nathan Birnbaum; January 20, 1896March 9, 1996) was an American comedian, actor, writer, and singer, and one of the few entertainers whose career successfully spanned vaudeville, radio, film and television. His arched eyebr ...

Overview

As he was age 89 when the show premiered, George Burns was billed as the oldest person ever to "star" in a television series. Burns had been around television in one way or another since shortly after its inception; like many old-time radio stars he had brought his routine over more-or-less intact from the older medium. However, his actual role in this series was rather slight; aside from lending his name, introducing the night's program, and providing an occasional voice-over narration, Burns was not involved in any of the episodes as an actor and those who tuned in expecting to see him as such were disappointed. Several well-known comedians appeared in episodes of this show, including

Joe Piscopo Joseph Charles John Piscopo ( ; born June 17, 1951) is an American actor, comedian and conservative radio talk show host. He was a cast member on ''Saturday Night Live'' from 1980 to 1984, where he played a variety of recurring characters. His f ...

Robert Klein Robert Klein (born February 8, 1942) is an American stand-up comedian, singer, and actor. He is known for his appearances on stage and screen. He has released four standup comedy specials: ''A Child of the 50s'' (1973), ''Mind Over Matter'' (197 ...

Don Rickles Donald Jay Rickles (May 8, 1926 – April 6, 2017) was an American stand-up comedian and actor. He became known primarily for his insult comedy. His film roles include ''Run Silent, Run Deep'' (1958) with Clark Gable, Carl Reiner's ''Enter La ...

Martin Mull Martin Eugene Mull (born August 18, 1943) is an American actor, comedian and musician who has appeared in many television and film roles. He is also a painter and recording artist. As an actor, he first became known in his role on '' Mary Hartman ...

, Don Knotts, and Howard Hesseman. The show is probably best known for two particular segments, one being "Christmas Carol II: The Sequel" in which an adult Tiny Tim has come to exhibit many of the characteristics once defining his father's old boss, Ebenezer Scrooge, and another starring

Valerie Perrine Valerie Ritchie Perrine (born September 3, 1943) is an American actress. For her role as Honey Bruce in the 1974 film ''Lenny'', she won the BAFTA Award for Most Promising Newcomer to Leading Film Roles, the Cannes Film Festival Award for Bes ...

and

Harvey Korman Harvey Herschel Korman (February 15, 1927May 29, 2008) was an American actor and comedian who performed in television and film productions. His big break was being a featured performer on CBS' '' The Danny Kaye Show'', but he is best remembered ...

in what proved to be the

pilot An aircraft pilot or aviator is a person who controls the flight of an aircraft by operating its directional flight controls. Some other aircrew members, such as navigators or flight engineers, are also considered aviators, because they a ...

for their short lived

sitcom A sitcom, a portmanteau of situation comedy, or situational comedy, is a genre of comedy centered on a fixed set of characters who mostly carry over from episode to episode. Sitcoms can be contrasted with sketch comedy, where a troupe may use ...

, '' Leo & Liz in Beverly Hills''.

Episodes

Reception

''George Burns Comedy Week'' did poorly in the Nielsen ratings and was last broadcast on

Christmas Christmas is an annual festival commemorating the birth of Jesus Christ, observed primarily on December 25 as a religious and cultural celebration among billions of people around the world. A feast central to the Christian liturgical year ...

night 1985. It marked Burns' last ongoing role in a television series, although he continued to appear as a guest on programs for the next nine years, until suffering a serious fall at age 98 which ended his active performing career (Burns died at age 100).

References

* Brooks, Tim and Marsh, Earle, ''

The Complete Directory to Prime Time Network and Cable TV Shows ''The'' () is a grammatical article in English, denoting persons or things already mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in English. ''The'' is the ...

External links

* 1985 American television series debuts 1985 American television series endings CBS original programming 1980s American comedy television series 1980s American anthology television series Television series by Universal Television English-language television shows George Burns {{US-comedy-tv-prog-stub