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Show Gene Kelly and Henry Winkler host "America Salutes Richard Rogers "America Salutes Richard Rodgers: The Sound of His Music, with hosts Gene Kelly and Henry Winkler a tribute to the composer whose thousand songs and 42 show scores have echoed around the world for 50 years will be broadcast as a two-homusical special, featuring performances by some of the most distinguised stars of the music world, Thursday, Dec. 9 (8:00-10:0- 0 p.m.) on the CBS Television Network, it was announced today by B. Donald Grant, Vice President, Programs, for the Network. d The musical special will feature multitalented Gene Kelly and Henry Winkler (renowned as the Fonz" on the popular television series, "Happy Days") as they represent Rodgers' two famous lyricist partners Oscar Hammerstein II and Lorenz Hart reminiscing about their classic collaborations with the preeminent composer and showman. In performances of selections from Rodgers' prodigious work, the program will star in alphabetical order, Diahann Carroll, Vic Damone, Sammy Davis Jr., Sandy Duncan, Lena Horne, Cloris Leachman, Peggy Lee, Frank Sinatra and John Wayne. n "America Slautes Richard Rodgers" is a in association Production presented by 20th Century-Fo- x star-studde- Smith-Hemio- PAGE TO TV WEEK with Talent Associates. It is produced by Gary Smith and Dwight Hemion, and directed by Hemion from a script by Buz Kohan and Theodore Strauss. Jack Haley Jr. and David Susskind are executive producers for 20th Century-Fo- x and Talent Associates, respectively. Included in the two hours of memorable music will be numbers from such favorite Rodgers scores as The Sound of Music," "Carousel, "The King and I," South Pacific," "Oklahoma!" and others, as well as film clips from motion pictures for which Rodgers wrote the scores, or which were film versions of his hit Broadway musicals. Kelly and Winkler will introduce the classic film footage spotlighting Rodgers melodies as sung by Mary Martin and Ezio Pinza, Jeanette MacDonald and Nelson Eddy, Julie Andrews, Yul Brynner, Maurice Chevalier, Bing Crosby, Jimmy Durante, Al Jolson, Deborah Kerr, and Martha Raye. Groucho Marx will introduce Rodgers and Hammerstein In a treasured film excerp from his popular television series, You Bet Your Life." Music director for the special is Ian Fraser, with special musical material by Larry Grossman. Ron Field is choreographer and the art direction is by Bob Kelly. |