''The Entertainers'' is a one-hour

American American(s) may refer to: * American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America" ** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America ** American ancestry, pe ...

variety show Variety show, also known as variety arts or variety entertainment, is entertainment made up of a variety of acts including musical performances, sketch comedy, magic, acrobatics, juggling, and ventriloquism. It is normally introduced by a co ...

which aired on CBS from September 25, 1964 through March 27, 1965. Produced by Joe Hamilton, the series featured three hosts: Hamilton's then-wife Carol Burnett, Bob Newhart, and Caterina Valente. In order to serve as a regular host, it was necessary for Burnett to leave her role in the Broadway musical ''

Fade Out - Fade In Fade or Fading may refer to: Science and technology * Fading, a loss of signal strength at a radio receiver * Color fade, the alteration of color by light * Fade (audio engineering), a gradual change in sound volume * Brake fade, in vehicle bra ...

'', and she was summarily sued by the show's producers for breach of contract, resulting in her return to the musical in February 1965 for what turned out to be its final weeks. Broadcast weekly from New York, where it was taped Friday evenings at CBS Studio 50 (now the Ed Sullivan Theater), the variety show format was typical of the period. It contained a mix of comedy sketches, musical numbers performed by a regular group of series artists and having one or two guest stars (such as

Boris Karloff William Henry Pratt (23 November 1887 – 2 February 1969), better known by his stage name Boris Karloff (), was an English actor. His portrayal of Frankenstein's monster in the horror film ''Frankenstein'' (1931) (his 82nd film) established ...

, Phil Silvers, and Chita Rivera) who hosted, alongside Burnett and Valente each week. It initially aired Friday nights at 8:30pm ET/PT, but after not doing well in the ratings the show was moved, in January 1965, to Saturdays at 9:00pm ET/PT, with the format slightly altered: Newhart and a few of the series' regulars left the cast, Burnett and Valente assumed co-hosting duties for the remainder of the series' run, and new theme music was created.

Repertory company

The repertory company included: * Art Buchwald *

Ruth Buzzi Ruth Ann Buzzi ( ; born July 24, 1936) is an American actress, comedian, and singer. She has appeared on stage, in films, and on television. She is best known for her performances on the comedy-variety show '' Rowan & Martin's Laugh-In'' from 196 ...

(joined in 1965) *Don Crichton * John Davidson * Dom DeLuise * Tessie O'Shea *The Ernie Flatt Dancers *The Peter Gennaro Dancers *The Harry Zimmerman Orchestra

Notable episodes

*25 September 1964: The show premiered on CBS the same week '' The Cara Williams Show'', '' The Munsters'', '' The Baileys of Balboa'', '' Gomer Pyle-U.S.M.C.'', '' The Reporter'', '' Gilligan's Island'', '' Mr. Broadway'', and ''

My Living Doll ''My Living Doll'' is an American science-fiction sitcom that aired for 26 episodes on CBS from September 27, 1964, to March 17, 1965. It was produced by Jack Chertok and filmed at Desilu studios by Jack Chertok Television Productions, in associa ...

'' debuted on the network. *13 November 1964: The show abandoned its usual format to present a full-hour documentary about the Beatles' American tour. ''The Entertainers'' had premiered the same week the Beatles film '' A Hard Day's Night'' opened in theatres. *11 December 1964: Thelma Ritter joined series regulars Newhart, Valente, and Dom DeLuise. *25 December 1964: Burnett, Valente, Buchwald and Newhart performed in a Christmas special.Theater, Television, Records, Cinema, and Books (Friday, December 25, 1964)
from ''Time'' magazine *16 January 1965: Burnett and Valente co-hosted, with

and Chita Rivera as guest stars. The

kinescope Kinescope , shortened to kine , also known as telerecording in Britain, is a recording of a television program on motion picture film, directly through a lens focused on the screen of a video monitor. The process was pioneered during the 194 ...

copy of this episode is the most viewed episode outside of its original broadcast, being widely circulated amongst collectors.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Entertainers, The CBS original programming Television series by CBS Studios 1960s American variety television series 1960s American sketch comedy television series 1964 American television series debuts 1965 American television series endings Black-and-white American television shows English-language television shows Television shows filmed in New York (state)