''The Andy Williams Show'' is an American television

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 comp� ...

hosted by singer

Andy Williams Howard Andrew Williams (December 3, 1927 – September 25, 2012) was an American singer. He recorded 43 albums in his career, of which 15 have been gold certified and three platinum certified. He was also nominated for six Grammy Awards. He hos ...

that ran on NBC (and was videotaped in color) from 1962 to 1971 (alternating during the summer of 1970 with ''Andy Williams Presents

Ray Stevens Harold Ray Ragsdale (born January 24, 1939), known professionally as Ray Stevens, is an American country music, country and pop singer-songwriter and comedian. He is best known for his Grammy-winning recordings "Everything Is Beautiful" and "M ...

''). It became a half-hour syndicated series beginning in the fall of 1976.

Series regulars

''The Andy Williams Show'' featured a number of regular performers including: *

Dick Van Dyke Richard Wayne Van Dyke (born December 13, 1925) is an American actor, entertainer and comedian. Dick Van Dyke on screen and stage, His work spans screen and stage, and List of awards and nominations received by Dick Van Dyke, his awards includ ...

(1958) *

The New Christy Minstrels The New Christy Minstrels are an American large-ensemble folk music group founded by Randy Sparks in 1961. The group has recorded more than 20 albums and scored several hits, including "Green, Green (song), Green, Green", "Saturday Night", "Tod ...

(1962-1963) * R.G. Brown (1962) * Marian Mercer (1962) * The Osmond Brothers (1962-1971) *

Jonathan Winters Jonathan Harshman Winters III (November 11, 1925 – April 11, 2013) was an American comedian, actor, author, television host, and artist. He started performing as a stand up comedian before transitioning his career to acting in film and te ...

(1965-1967, 1970-1971) * The Good Time Singers (1963-1966) * Professor Irwin Corey (1969-1970) *

(1969-1971) *

The Lennon Sisters The Lennon Sisters are an American vocal group that has been made up, at one time or another, of three or four sisters. The quartet originally consisted of Dianne (a.k.a. DeeDee; born Dianne Barbara, December 1, 1939), Peggy (born Margaret Ann ...

(1970-1971) *

Charlie Callas Charlie Callas (born Charles Callias; December 20, 1927 – January 27, 2011) was an American actor and comedian. He was most commonly known for his work with Mel Brooks, Jerry Lewis, and Dean Martin, and his many stand-up appearances on televisio ...

(1970-1971) *

Janos Prohaska Janos Prohaska (born János Prohászka; October 10, 1919 – March 13, 1974) was a Hungarian-born American actor and stunt performer. He appeared on American television from the 1960s and usually played the roles of animals (mostly bears and gori ...

(The Cookie Bear) (1969-1971)

Series synopsis

The first series began as a summer replacement on ABC in 1958 and on

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

in 1959. The weekly year-round series premiered on

NBC The National Broadcasting Company (NBC) is an American commercial broadcast television and radio network serving as the flagship property of the NBC Entertainment division of NBCUniversal, a subsidiary of Comcast. It is one of NBCUniversal's ...

in 1962, where it ran until 1967, when Williams reduced his workload to three specials a year. He returned to having a weekly series from 1969 through 1971. At the beginning of the weekly series

were the backup singers, but on December 20, 1962 The Osmond Brothers appeared on the show, and they became the regular backup performers for the rest of the series run. In 1967 Williams decided to cut back to three specials per year. However, two years later he returned to weekly television in a revised format that included

rock and roll Rock and roll (often written as rock & roll, rock-n-roll, and rock 'n' roll) is a Genre (music), genre of popular music that evolved in the United States during the late 1940s and early 1950s. It Origins of rock and roll, originated from African ...

acts and psychedelic lighting. Starting with the 1969 season more emphasis was placed on comedy.Andy Williams Show to Debut on Monday, ''Fairbanks Daily News-Miner'', October 18, 1969, page 11
/ref> Hungarian acrobat and stuntman

began appearing in a bear costume, asking for cookies. The bear never got any cookies in the series, but fans began mailing baked goods to Prohaska. Five years after his second weekly run at NBC had ended, Williams hosted a half-hour syndicated weekly variety show with

Wayland Flowers Wayland Parrott Flowers Jr. (November 26, 1939 – October 11, 1988) was an American actor, comedian and puppeteer. Flowers was best known for the comedy act he created with his puppet Madame. His performances as "Wayland Flowers and Madam ...

and orchestra leader

George Wyle George Wyle (born Bernard Weissman; March 22, 1916 – May 2, 2003) was an American orchestra leader and composer best known for having written the theme song to 1960s television sitcom ''Gilligan's Island''. He is the grandfather of musici ...

Awards and nominations

Partial list of guest stars

Judy Garland Judy Garland (born Frances Ethel Gumm; June 10, 1922June 22, 1969) was an American actress and singer. Possessing a strong contralto voice, she was celebrated for her emotional depth and versatility across film, stage, and concert performance. ...

Don Adams Donald James Yarmy (April 13, 1923 – September 25, 2005), known professionally as Don Adams, was an American actor. In his five decades on television, he was best known as bumbling Maxwell Smart (Secret Agent 86) in the television situa ...

Andy Williams Show, ''The Baltimore Sun'', April 11, 1966, page 16
/ref> *

Jack Benny Jack Benny (born Benjamin Kubelsky; February 14, 1894 – December 26, 1974) was an American entertainer who evolved from a modest success as a violinist on the vaudeville circuit to one of the leading entertainers of the twentieth century with ...

Benny, Jonathan Winters Guest on Andy’s Premier, ''Santa Maria Times'', September 22, 1964, page 30
/ref> *

Joey Bishop Joseph Abraham Gottlieb (February 3, 1918 – October 17, 2007), known professionally as Joey Bishop, was an American entertainer who appeared on television as early as 1948 and eventually starred in his own weekly comedy series playing a Talk ...

Bob Hope Leslie Townes "Bob" Hope (May 29, 1903 – July 27, 2003) was an American comedian, actor, entertainer and producer with a career that spanned nearly 80 years and achievements in vaudeville, network radio, television, and USO Tours. He appeared ...

Sid Caesar Isaac Sidney Caesar (September 8, 1922 – February 12, 2014) was an American comic actor and comedian. With a career spanning 60 years, he was best known for two pioneering 1950s live television series: ''Your Show of Shows'' (1950–1954) ...

Andy Williams Show, ''The Evening Sun'', November 15, 1965, page 28
/ref> *

Petula Clark Sally "Petula" Clark (born 15 November 1932) is a British singer, actress, and songwriter. She started her professional career as a child actor, child performer and has had the longest career of any British entertainer, spanning more than 85 y ...

Ella Fitzgerald Ella Jane Fitzgerald (April25, 1917June15, 1996) was an American singer, songwriter and composer, sometimes referred to as the "First Lady of Song", "Queen of Jazz", and "Lady Ella". She was noted for her purity of tone, impeccable diction, phra ...

* George GobelAndy Williams Show, ''The Tampa Times'', September 27, 1962
/ref> *

Peggy Lee Norma Deloris Egstrom (May 26, 1920 – January 21, 2002), known professionally as Peggy Lee, was an American jazz and popular music singer, songwriter, and actress whose career spanned seven decades. From her beginning as a vocalist on local r ...

Janet Leigh Jeanette Helen Morrison (July 6, 1927 – October 3, 2004), known professionally as Janet Leigh, was an American actress. Raised in Stockton, California, by working-class parents, Leigh was discovered at 18 by actress Norma Shearer, who helped he ...

Henry Mancini Henry Mancini ( ; born Enrico Nicola Mancini; April 16, 1924 – June 14, 1994) was an American composer, conductor, arranger, pianist and flutist. Often cited as one of the greatest composers in the history of film, he won four Academy Awards, ...

* Vaughn MeaderTV Programs, ''Portland Press Herald'', March 28, 1963, page 7
/ref> *

Maureen O'Hara Maureen O'Hara (; 17 August 1920 – 24 October 2015) was an Irish-born naturalized American actress who became successful in Hollywood from the 1940s through to the 1960s. She was a natural redhead who was known for playing passionate b ...

The Osmonds The Osmonds were an American family music group who reached the height of their fame in the early to mid-1970s. The group had its best-known configurations as a quartet (billed the Osmond Brothers) and a quintet (the Osmonds). The group has c ...

André Previn André George Previn (; born Andreas Ludwig Priwin; April 6, 1929 – February 28, 2019) was a German-American pianist, composer, and conductor. His career had three major genres: Hollywood films, jazz, and classical music. In each he achieved ...

Smothers Brothers The Smothers Brothers were the American duo of brothers Tom Smothers, Tom and Dick Smothers, who performed folk singer, folk singing, music, and comedy. The brothers' trademark double act was performing folk songs (Tommy on Steel-string guitar, a ...

Danny Thomas Amos Muzyad Yaqoob Kairouz, (born January 6, 1912 – February 6, 1991) known professionally as Danny Thomas, was an American comedian, actor, singer, producer, and philanthropist. He created and starred in ''The Danny Thomas Show''. In additio ...

References

External links

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Andy Williams Show, The 1959 American television series debuts 1959 American television series endings 1962 American television series debuts 1971 American television series endings CBS original programming NBC original programming 1950s American music television series 1960s American music television series 1970s American music television series 1950s American variety television series 1960s American variety television series 1970s American variety television series Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Variety Series winners American English-language television shows American television series revived after cancellation