''Steve Martin's The Winds of Whoopee'' (a.k.a. simply ''The Winds of Whoopee'') is a 1983 American comedy

television special A television special (often TV special, or rarely television spectacular) is a standalone television show which may also temporarily interrupt episodic programming normally scheduled for a given time slot. Some specials provide a full range of ent ...

NBC The National Broadcasting Company (NBC) is an American English-language commercial broadcast television and radio network. The flagship property of the NBC Entertainment division of NBCUniversal, a division of Comcast, its headquarters are l ...

, produced and written by

Steve Martin Stephen Glenn Martin (born August 14, 1945) is an American actor, comedian, writer, producer, and musician. He has won five Grammy Awards, a Primetime Emmy Award, and was awarded an Honorary Academy Award in 2013. Additionally, he was nominate ...

. The title was a take-off of ''

The Winds of War ''The Winds of War'' is Herman Wouk's second book about World War II (the first being ''The Caine Mutiny''). Published in 1971, ''The Winds of War'' was followed up seven years later by ''War and Remembrance''; originally conceived as one volume, ...

'', which premiered as a TV miniseries on the same night on

ABC ABC are the first three letters of the Latin script known as the alphabet. ABC or abc may also refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Broadcasting * American Broadcasting Company, a commercial U.S. TV broadcaster ** Disney–ABC Television ...

. In a 30-second spot,

Orson Welles George Orson Welles (May 6, 1915 – October 10, 1985) was an American actor, director, producer, and screenwriter, known for his innovative work in film, radio and theatre. He is considered to be among the greatest and most influential f ...

says: "Why spend 18 hours watching someone else's war, when you know how it comes out? We win, and then have to buy all their cars. Watch Steve Martin's ''The Winds of Whoopee''. See it all in one hour on Sunday." The show is a combination of old and new material compiled from past Martin specials and his appearances on ''

Saturday Night Live ''Saturday Night Live'' (often abbreviated to ''SNL'') is an American late-night live television sketch comedy and variety show created by Lorne Michaels and developed by Dick Ebersol that airs on NBC and Peacock (streaming service), Peacock. ...

'' and ''

The Tonight Show ''The Tonight Show'' is an American late-night talk show that has aired on NBC since 1954. The show has been hosted by six comedians: Steve Allen (1954–1957), Jack Paar (1957–1962), Johnny Carson (1962–1992), Jay Leno (1992–2009 and 201 ...

''.''Steve Martin's The Winds of Whoopie'' at TV.NYTimes.com
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References

External links

* 1983 in American television 1983 television specials 1980s American television specials 1980s in comedy NBC television specials Works by Steve Martin {{US-tv-prog-stub