''Magnavox Presents Frank Sinatra'' (or ''Ol' Blue Eyes Is Back'') is an

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 ...

musical

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 en ...

starring

Frank Sinatra Francis Albert Sinatra (; December 12, 1915 – May 14, 1998) was an American singer and actor. Honorific nicknames in popular music, Nicknamed the "Chairman of the Board" and "Ol' Blue Eyes", he is regarded as one of the Time 100: The Most I ...

broadcast on November 18, 1973. The special was written by

Fred Ebb Fred Ebb (April 8, 1928 – September 11, 2004) was an American musical theatre lyricist who had many successful collaborations with composer John Kander. The Kander and Ebb team frequently wrote for such performers as Liza Minnelli and Chita ...

, directed by

Marty Pasetta Martin Allen Pasetta (June 16, 1932 – May 21, 2015) was an American television producer and director, best known for his work on the telecasts for multiple awards shows, including the Oscars, the Grammys, and the AFI Life Achievement Awards. ...

, and produced by Howard W. Koch. The announcer for the special was Hank Simms.

Gene Kelly Eugene Curran Kelly (August 23, 1912 – February 2, 1996) was an American dancer, actor, singer, director and choreographer. He was known for his energetic and athletic dancing style and sought to create a new form of American dance accessibl ...

, the

guest star The term guest appearance generally denotes the appearance of a guest in an artistic or pop-culture setting. The guests themselves (referred to as guest artists, featured artists, guest stars, or guest fighters, depending on context), are disting ...

on the special, had last worked with Sinatra on the 1949 film '' On the Town''. The television special and subsequent album, '' Ol' Blue Eyes Is Back'', represented a return to performing for Sinatra, who had retired in June 1971. The special was seen by an estimated audience of 40 million. The special was sponsored by

Magnavox Magnavox (Latin for "great voice", often stylized as MAGNAVOX) is an American electronics brand. It was purchased by North American Philips in 1974, which was absorbed into Dutch electronics company Philips in 1987. The predecessor to Magnavox w ...

as part of a $9 million advertising campaign for their 1974 products, with the special representing the largest single amount that the company had spent on advertising in its history. Commercials during the special marketed Magnavox products, including

Odyssey The ''Odyssey'' (; ) is one of two major epics of ancient Greek literature attributed to Homer. It is one of the oldest surviving works of literature and remains popular with modern audiences. Like the ''Iliad'', the ''Odyssey'' is divi ...

, the first

video game console A video game console is an electronic device that Input/output, outputs a video signal or image to display a video game that can typically be played with a game controller. These may be home video game console, home consoles, which are generally ...

. The song "Can't Do That Anymore" had originally been written by Ebb for his abandoned musical with

John Kander John Harold Kander (born March 18, 1927) is an American composer, known largely for his work in the musical theater. As part of the songwriting team Kander and Ebb (with lyricist Fred Ebb), Kander wrote the scores for 15 musicals, including ''Cab ...

and

Dale Wasserman Dale Wasserman (November 2, 1914 – December 21, 2008) was an American playwright, perhaps best known for his 1965 book, ''Man of La Mancha''. Early life Dale Wasserman was born in Rhinelander, Wisconsin, the child of Russian Jewish immigr ...

, ''Wait for Me, World!''. Ebb found making the special a disheartening experience, and was upset by Sinatra's treatment of his employees and Kelly. Ebb has said that Sinatra had originally wanted the comedian

Redd Foxx John Elroy Sanford (December 9, 1922 – October 11, 1991), better known by his stage name Redd Foxx, was an American stand-up comedian and actor. Foxx gained success with his raunchy nightclub act before and during the civil rights movemen ...

to be his guest on the special, but Ebb, not knowing how to write for Foxx, had persuaded Sinatra to choose Kelly. Sinatra had been unhappy with the decision to choose Kelly and nicknamed him "Shanty". Ebb described Kelly as "humble and gracious". Sinatra's changes to the script left the special with holes that remained unresolved due to Sinatra's refusal to read the script until the day of filming. Ebb also said that Sinatra had not wanted to record the scenes with Kelly on the day, though he changed his mind when Kelly appeared for filming. The special was nominated for two

Primetime Emmy Award The Primetime Emmy Awards, or Primetime Emmys, are part of the extensive range of Emmy Awards for artistic and technical merit for the American television industry. Owned and operated by the Academy of Television Arts & Sciences (ATAS), the P ...

s at the

26th Primetime Emmy Awards The 26th Emmy Awards, later known as the 26th Primetime Emmy Awards, were handed out on May 28, 1974. Johnny Carson hosted the ceremony. Winners are listed in bold and networks are in parentheses. The top shows of the night were '' M*A*S*H'' and ...

. Pasetta was nominated for the Emmy Award for Best Directing in Comedy-Variety, Variety or Music and Koch and Sinatra were nominated for the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Variety, Music, or Comedy Special.

Song list

# "

My Way "My Way" is Paul Anka's English-language lyrical adaptation of the French song " Comme d'habitude", released by Frank Sinatra in 1969. The original song was written by Jacques Revaux, Gilles Thibaut, and Claude François, and was first recor ...

" (Instrumental) # "You Will Be My Music" # "

I Get a Kick Out of You "I Get a Kick Out of You" is a song by Cole Porter, which was first sung in the 1934 Broadway musical '' Anything Goes'', and then in the 1936 film version. Originally sung by Ethel Merman, it has been covered by dozens of prominent performers, ...

" # " Street of Dreams" # " I've Got You Under My Skin" # " I've Got the World on a String" # Saloon trilogy: " Last Night When We Were Young"/" Violets for Your Furs"/"

Here's That Rainy Day "Here's That Rainy Day" is a popular song with music by Jimmy Van Heusen and lyrics by Johnny Burke that was published in 1953. It was introduced by Dolores Gray in the Broadway musical '' Carnival in Flanders''. Frank Sinatra Frank Sinatr ...

" # "

Take Me Out to the Ball Game "Take Me Out to the Ball Game" is a 1908 waltz song by Jack Norworth and Albert Von Tilzer which has become the unofficial anthem of North American baseball, although neither of its authors had attended a game before writing the song. The song' ...

" (Instrumental) # "I Begged Her" (Instrumental) # Medley with

: "Can't Do That Anymore"/"

"/" For Me and My Gal"/"

New York, New York New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on New York Harbor, one of the world's largest natural harb ...

" # "Nice 'n' Easy" # "Let Me Try Again" # " Send in the Clowns" # "You Will Be My Music" (Reprise)

References

External links

{{IMDb title, tt0365247 1973 in American television 1973 television specials Films produced by Howard W. Koch Frank Sinatra television specials NBC television specials Television shows directed by Marty Pasetta