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Show i ' 'I's N.:. ',. ', ri,,, A," i,,,,1::,'44k, , 90f1 t 41'''''.. ,,, ' z 41illoop , 041110 't , ..,, , e ,., -1.- ,, ,,,, Agi Ilir 4 tN, ,.. p 10 - , 4 , , At,, ' ' . ' -- ."e," -- - . ,,i , t i..t t,:!"0,,,,0-,- le, tt '' ,,,,, it ti d-' ' .,. ' V. 0 N. I'll : ,, Associated Press News Features I 1 .'2 X... .,., tinkering with a variety show in which the hostess is a cartoon character. NBC is stringing along a puppet. Now that Carol Burnett is leaving, and Red Skelton, Jackie Gleason and Milton Berle are long since gone, is this what television variety is coming to? IT COULD BE. ABC has "Donny and Marie." CBS has signed Mary Tyler Moore for one stint, and Dick Clark is putting together a show for NBC After that, it's anybody's guess. Maybe it'll be cartoons and puppets. At least, says one executive, they won't ask for bigger dressing rooms or fancier limos. Variety, which once ruled the airwaves and sold more TV sets than RCA, is in a sorry state. "It's very difficult to come to grips with today," says Bud Grant, head of programming for CBS. "Other than Mary I can't think of too many performers who can front a variety show today. "THERE WAS a period when we could take a Sonny and Cher, a Captain and Tenni Ile people who are basically recording artists and put them in a one-hoseries. They'd have to do comedy sketches and other things they hadn't done before." Dick Ebersol, NBC's vice president for comedy and variety, says, "I think one of the principal problems with variety shows is that they have lost their mystery. They've lost their mystery because of all the magazines like People and Us and the Star and all the talk shows. "You no longer hear people say, 'Hey, we got to see what Milton Berle's doing -.. ... ... . -7- 1 ...L ClEb----Pem''Lr- '''. 88 1 3SCL22,,D - Cudahy Ln -- vtge't 7- P'L1 OFF. ELSE Mon. & FrI. 10-- 1 Sot. 10--6 Dolly 10-- 7 3900 So. Highway 91, Bountiful AXIUM SEHRITY STO '''', X (From $8 Month) SITE ONE UsirAji Associated CBS is . . '. 292-454- 5 by Jerry Buck Press Writer LOS ANGELES elegant t f -,. - ,,l Dick Van Dyke and Carol Burnett team for a comedy number on "The Carol Burnett Show," now ending its days. The variety format which once ruled the airwaves and sold television sets by the thousands, is at a tow ebb at present; lure of variety is strong but how long it can endure is a pointed question. sterv -...- ......." EUENSEN1 FURNITURE L I kzel Anniversary Sale! All Floor Models 10 wisli .. isuo, ',:-- sleeper sofa makes into regular size bed! Comfortable foam mat-- : tress. Hardwood frame. Beautiful Herculon cover. i 4 .,.e.Ista-plt".;,- .!.. 4:tl. 0 ... 4,f77 '4' 'Ct.:,17t41:',:4;'St.31.1ttt '' , XI' This ,:,ta-..,- . - 4 sst,, 4.., Mart cP'.D 3.11.:::::::::. 4.' e ; is.'1'1 K 1.:1,,.' ' ,Atty1 f tOUNT IF tit 1 ir , SLEE0F1 SOFA ,. ....i....: 1 p , We're Celobrati nip with Special Values for you on fine furniture. Made in our own factory. 7;111.'1'11495il 1 4 .,k ?,1 , t I i 4 '' - ,,,,,,..... ' lb this week.' They already know more about Milton than they want to know. The mystery is gone." Comedian Dick Martin, who starred in "Laugh-In- " with Dan Rowan, echoes a similar opinion. "I think it's pretty hard to get anyone to watch variety if five days a week they can watch it in the afternoon," says Martin. "Mike Douglas, Dinah Shore, Mery Griffin. They're not talk shows. Pure and simple, they're variety shows. play there, but they're not the major stars who could have their own variety show," he says. "You might find the next Tim Conway or Vickie Lawrence there, but it's unlikely you'll find the next Carol Burnett." Goldie Hawn recently did a special for CBS, but Grant says, "Goldie's interested in specials and movies, not a weekly show. If she were interested, we'd be in- S 801266-549- 8 SITE TWO RAGE 350 So. Redwood Rd., Salt Lake City, Utah 84104 801328-404- 3 SITE THREE LT, 1 3528 So. 300 West, Salt Lake City, Utah 84115 801266-586- 1 SITE FOUR So. 300 West, Salt Lake City, Utah 84119 5174 J 801262-134- 7 , one-ho- "Just try to get on one of those shows to plug a book. But if you can sing and dance Dick Van Dyke, whose NBC variety show failed, says, "There are no more Carol SELL" na, a young standup comic. He's real. "I think it's a unique idea to look for a concept and then cast to that concept, rather than looking for someone who can do a variety show," says Grant. GRANT SAYS someone from CBS visits such clubs as the Comedy Store and the In Crowd every night looking for performers. "Talented people 4660 South 900 East, Murray, Utah 84107 Burnetts, Jackie Gleasons or Red Skeltons around any more. What variety you have now is mostly music. They're headed by singers. So whatever comedy they do is incidental. "I think variety has to be headed by a comedian like Carol Burnett, who can do everything. Chevy Chase would have a good chance. Richard Pryor, I think, went too far into left field. He left the public behind. I thought Redd Foxx was exceedingly good handling his show." Both Foxx and Pryor failed, while Donny and Marie Osmond, two singers not particularly adept at comedy, are a hit. Van Dyke also failed, although his show was well done. He says, "I was kicked around the schedule so much I'm still running into people who didn't even know I had a variety show." CBS' cartoon hostess is an animated girl named Bunni. The pilot show is "The Bunni and Fred Show," which may air in April. Fred is Fred Travele EL1,11 That's another problem. The people like Goldie, John Denver, Barbra Streisand or Lily Tomlin, who could attract a big audience, aren't interested in the weekly grind. For the same amount of time they can make more money doing movies or records or concerts and without the hassles and censorship of television. NBC has Steve Martin under contract and would love for him to do a show, but Martin says no. Ebersol, who helped de- "Saturday Night Live," says, "There are velop three ways to go. No variety at all. Find a method to combine the best of Ed Sullivan and the magazine shows, which is what we hope to do with Dick Clark. Or find a way that doesn't pin you down with the same personality each week. That's what we're doing with Column 4 See Page T-2- 2, 5 REASONS WHY YOU SHOULD CALL US NOW: 1. Planning and Design 1111Prrsr well-receiv- terested." A DBOVIKX,10 2. Quality Workmanship 3. Fast Completion 4. Reasonable Prices 5. Financing Available unt, FREE PLANNING SERVICE ON: ROOM ADDITIONS INTERIOR KITCHEN REMODELING LICENSED CONTRACTOR & Pendleton Builders 2684646 3551 So. 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