The Andy Williams Show
Encyclopedia
The Andy Williams Show is a television variety show
which ran from 1959 to 1971 (alternating during the summer of 1970 with Andy Williams Presents Ray Stevens), and a short-lived run in syndication, beginning in the fall of 1976. It was hosted by crooner
Andy Williams
, with a number of regular performers, including, from time to time:
The show began as a summer replacement series in 1959 on CBS
. Later it was picked up by NBC
in 1962, where it ran until 1967, then revived from 1969 through 1971.
When the show first started, it was tailored to Williams's pop music
stylings, with "adult contemporary" style musicians. But in 1969 it was restaged, bringing in rock and roll
acts and psychedelic
staging. The audience sat on risers which moved around the stage, following Williams about as he moved.
Starting in 1971, Williams opted instead to produce seasonal specials (especially at Christmas
) in lieu of a weekly series.
Although the show was generally categorized as a musical variety show, it was also very popular in part for its wacky comedy skits. Crazed acrobats The Flying Silverman Brothers would hurtle across the screen, a giant talking bee would offer snide comments, a suitcase (actually a performer in a suitcase costume) would walk into the shot. One recurring comedy sketch involved Williams' encounters with "The Cookie Bear" a tall, comical animal whose escapades (and begging for a cookie) would frustrate Williams to the point of his shouting at him, with increasingly high pitch, that he did not want to see him again, "Not Now... Not Ever... NEVER!!" This send-off, which became a popularly-used phrase at that time, was funny due to its contrast with the suave performing demeanor Williams was known for. The bear would then turn to the camera, utter some depressed line, and fall straight over onto his face.
Five years after his second weekly run at NBC had ended, Williams tried his hand at a half-hour weekly variety show, this time in syndication. But it lasted only one season (1976–1977).
Variety show
A variety show, also known as variety arts or variety entertainment, is an entertainment made up of a variety of acts, especially musical performances and sketch comedy, and normally introduced by a compère or host. Other types of acts include magic, animal and circus acts, acrobatics, juggling...
which ran from 1959 to 1971 (alternating during the summer of 1970 with Andy Williams Presents Ray Stevens), and a short-lived run in syndication, beginning in the fall of 1976. It was hosted by crooner
Crooner
Crooner is an American epithet given to male singers of pop standards, mostly from the Great American Songbook, either backed by a full orchestra, a big band or by a piano. Originally it was an ironic term denoting an emphatically sentimental, often emotional singing style made possible by the use...
Andy Williams
Andy Williams
Howard Andrew "Andy" Williams is an American singer who has recorded 18 Gold- and three Platinum-certified albums. He hosted The Andy Williams Show, a TV variety show, from 1962 to 1971, as well as numerous television specials, and owns his own theater, the Moon River Theatre in Branson, Missouri,...
, with a number of regular performers, including, from time to time:
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- The New Christy Minstrels
- Jonathan WintersJonathan Winters-Early life:Winters was born in Bellbrook, Ohio, the son of Alice Kilgore , a radio personality, and Jonathan Harshman Winters II, an investment broker. He is a descendant of Valentine Winters, founder of the Winters National Bank in Dayton, Ohio...
- Professor Irwin Corey
- Ray StevensRay StevensRay Stevens is an American country music, pop singer-songwriter who has become known for his novelty songs.-Early career:...
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("The Cookie Bear")
The show began as a summer replacement series in 1959 on CBS
CBS
CBS Broadcasting Inc. is a major US commercial broadcasting television network, which started as a radio network. The name is derived from the initials of the network's former name, Columbia Broadcasting System. The network is sometimes referred to as the "Eye Network" in reference to the shape of...
. Later it was picked up by NBC
NBC
The National Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network and former radio network headquartered in the GE Building in New York City's Rockefeller Center with additional major offices near Los Angeles and in Chicago...
in 1962, where it ran until 1967, then revived from 1969 through 1971.
When the show first started, it was tailored to Williams's pop music
Pop music
Pop music is usually understood to be commercially recorded music, often oriented toward a youth market, usually consisting of relatively short, simple songs utilizing technological innovations to produce new variations on existing themes.- Definitions :David Hatch and Stephen Millward define pop...
stylings, with "adult contemporary" style musicians. But in 1969 it was restaged, bringing in rock and roll
Rock and roll
Rock and roll is a genre of popular music that originated and evolved in the United States during the late 1940s and early 1950s, primarily from a combination of African American blues, country, jazz, and gospel music...
acts and psychedelic
Psychedelic
The term psychedelic is derived from the Greek words ψυχή and δηλοῦν , translating to "soul-manifesting". A psychedelic experience is characterized by the striking perception of aspects of one's mind previously unknown, or by the creative exuberance of the mind liberated from its ostensibly...
staging. The audience sat on risers which moved around the stage, following Williams about as he moved.
Starting in 1971, Williams opted instead to produce seasonal specials (especially at Christmas
Christmas
Christmas or Christmas Day is an annual holiday generally celebrated on December 25 by billions of people around the world. It is a Christian feast that commemorates the birth of Jesus Christ, liturgically closing the Advent season and initiating the season of Christmastide, which lasts twelve days...
) in lieu of a weekly series.
Although the show was generally categorized as a musical variety show, it was also very popular in part for its wacky comedy skits. Crazed acrobats The Flying Silverman Brothers would hurtle across the screen, a giant talking bee would offer snide comments, a suitcase (actually a performer in a suitcase costume) would walk into the shot. One recurring comedy sketch involved Williams' encounters with "The Cookie Bear" a tall, comical animal whose escapades (and begging for a cookie) would frustrate Williams to the point of his shouting at him, with increasingly high pitch, that he did not want to see him again, "Not Now... Not Ever... NEVER!!" This send-off, which became a popularly-used phrase at that time, was funny due to its contrast with the suave performing demeanor Williams was known for. The bear would then turn to the camera, utter some depressed line, and fall straight over onto his face.
Five years after his second weekly run at NBC had ended, Williams tried his hand at a half-hour weekly variety show, this time in syndication. But it lasted only one season (1976–1977).