''America 2 Night'' is the continuation of the
talk-show parody
A parody is a creative work designed to imitate, comment on, and/or mock its subject by means of satire, satirical or irony, ironic imitation. Often its subject is an Originality, original work or some aspect of it (theme/content, author, style, e ...
series ''
Fernwood 2 Night'', broadcast weeknights from April 10 to July 7, 1978. As on ''Fernwood'',
Martin Mull portrays host Barth Gimble and
Fred Willard appears as sidekick/announcer Jerry Hubbard.
Frank De Vol returns as bandleader Happy Kyne.
Premise
The setting of the show moved from the fictional Fernwood, Ohio, to the fictional "Quad-City" area of Alta Coma, El Tijo, Alta Luna and the City of Merchandise in
Southern California
Southern California (commonly shortened to SoCal) is a geographic and Cultural area, cultural List of regions of California, region that generally comprises the southern portion of the U.S. state of California. Its densely populated coastal reg ...
. According to Hubbard's announcement at the beginning of every show, Alta Coma was "the unfinished furniture capital of the world!". This new Southern California setting made it more plausible for Hollywood celebrities to appear on the show as themselves.
Among the celebrities who appeared as guests were
Charlton Heston
Charlton Heston (born John Charles Carter; October 4, 1923 – April 5, 2008) was an American actor. He gained stardom for his leading man roles in numerous Cinema of the United States, Hollywood films including biblical epics, science-fiction f ...
,
Vincent Price,
George Gobel,
Carol Burnett,
Burt Lancaster
Burton Stephen Lancaster (November 2, 1913 – October 20, 1994) was an American actor. Initially known for playing tough characters with tender hearts, he went on to achieve success with more complex and challenging roles over a 45-year caree ...
,
Steve Allen,
Milton Berle,
Paul Lynde
Paul Edward Lynde (; June 13, 1926January 10, 1982) was an American comedian, actor, and game-show panelist. A character actor with a distinctively campy and snarky persona that often poked fun at his closeted homosexuality, Lynde was well know ...
,
Rita Moreno,
Barbara Feldon,
Cindy Williams,
Rob Reiner,
Carl Reiner
Carl Reiner (March 20, 1922 – June 29, 2020) was an American actor, author, comedian, director and screenwriter whose career spanned seven decades. He was the List of awards and nominations received by Carl Reiner, recipient of many awards and ...
,
Peter Frampton,
Mark Hamill,
Gary Coleman,
Karen Black
Karen Blanche Black (née Ziegler; July 1, 1939 – August 8, 2013) was an American actress, screenwriter, singer, and songwriter. She rose to prominence for her work in various studio and independent films in the 1970s, frequently portr ...
,
Steve Garvey,
Arte Johnson,
Sherman Hemsley,
McLean Stevenson,
Billy Crystal,
Connie Stevens,
Anne Murray,
Lou Rawls,
Tom Waits
Thomas Alan Waits (born December 7, 1949) is an American musician, composer, songwriter, and actor. His lyrics often focus on society's underworld and are delivered in his trademark deep, gravelly voice. He began in the American folk music, fo ...
and
José Feliciano. In the final episode, Mull and Willard guested as themselves.
''America 2 Night'' was broadcast on the fictional UBS network, located on the UBS Broadcast Mall, whose logo featured an ear (a spoof of the
CBS "Eye" logo) and whose slogan was "We put U before the BS".
In 2001, Martin Mull and Fred Willard reprised their roles of Barth and Jerry in a stage appearance and retrospective at the
US Comedy Arts Festival in
Aspen, Colorado
Aspen is the List of municipalities in Colorado#Home rule municipality, home rule city that is the county seat and the List of municipalities in Colorado, most populous municipality of Pitkin County, Colorado, United States. The city population ...
.
Recurring characters
* William W.D. 'Bud' Prize (
Kenneth Mars)
* Susan Cloud (Susan Eliott)
* Tony Rolletti (
Bill Kirchenbauer)
* Virgil Simms (
Jim Varney)
* Jason Shine (
Robin Williams)
* Chuck Emmitt Saugis (
Paul Willson)
Syndication
Repeats of ''Fernwood/America 2 Night'' were broadcast on
Nick at Nite
Nick at Nite (stylized as nick@nite since 2009) is an American nighttime programming block on Nickelodeon. List of programs broadcast by Nick at Nite, The block's programming broadcasts from prime time to Late-night television, late night, with ...
from 1990 to 1993 and
TV Land in 2002. The program has never been officially released on home video in any format.
See also
*
List of late night network TV programs
References
External links
*
{{Norman Lear
1978 American television series debuts
1978 American television series endings
1970s American late-night television series
1970s American satirical television series
1970s American sitcoms
1970s American television talk shows
American English-language television shows
First-run syndicated late-night television series
First-run syndicated sitcoms
Television series about television
Television shows set in California
American television spinoffs
Television series by Sony Pictures Television
Television series created by Norman Lear