CBS ON THE AIR: A CELEBRATION OF 50 YEARS ~ Part 2

March 26 – April 1, 1978

[For more background on CBS: On the Air, see Part 1.]

To
celebrate its fiftieth year of broadcasting, CBS devoted seven nights
to a celebration of their history – nine
and a half hours of air time: “CBS:
On The Air – A Celebration of 50 Years.” The goal was to bring
together more than 100 network stars, past and present, with Walter
Cronkite and Mary Tyler Moore serving as overall hosts. Other stars
and personalities stepped up to host nights they were associated
with. The
event was produced by Alexander H. Cohen and written by his wife,
Hildy Parks.

The Schedule:

• Sunday,
  March 26 – “Night of 100 Stars” – co-hosted by Telly Savalas and
  Jean Stapleton.
• Monday,
  March 27 – “Have a Laugh on Us” – with Lucille Ball, George
  Burns, Arthur Godfrey, and Bea Arthur.
• Tuesday,
  March 28 – “Chills
  and Thrills with a Laugh Chaser” with Alan Alda, Garry Moore, and
  Phil Silvers.
• Wednesday,
  March 29 – “Dreams
  Come True” with Dick Van Dyke, Buddy Ebsen, Cicely Tyson, and Danny
  Kaye.
• Thursday,
  March 30 – “Join the Family” with Richard Thomas and cast members
  from “The
  Waltons”.
• Friday,
  March 30 – “We’re
  Getting Personal” with Lauren Bacall, Eve Arden, Bert Convy,
  Richard Crenna, Bonnie Franklin, Jim Nabors, and Linda Lavin.
• Saturday,
  April 1 –
  “A Rootin’, Tootin’, Hootin’ & Hollerin’ Salute to
  Cowboys and Clowns” with Carol Burnett, Carroll O’Connor, Art
  Carney, Isabel Sanford, Tony Randall, and Sherman Hemsley.

Lucille Ball, who helped bring the television network to prominence in the 1950s, was part of the celebrations on Sunday as one of the 100 stars, and on Monday, the night she ruled on CBS with her three sitcoms. She was also briefly seen on the Saturday finale. 

Like other network anniversary celebrations, “CBS: On the Air” has never been repeated nor has it been officially released on any format. However, The Paley Center for Media has more than 40 listings relating to the specials, including complete installments, clip compilations, and rough cut reels.

Monday,
March 27 – “Have a Laugh On Us”

CAST

Beatrice
Arthur
(“Maude”) starred opposite Lucille Ball in the 1974 musical film
Mame,
recreating the role she created on Broadway. Like Valerie Harper,
she paid tribute to Ball in song at “The Kennedy Center Honors”
in 1986.  

Lucille
Ball (“I
Love Lucy” / “The Lucy Show” / “Here’s Lucy”) had been seen on NBC the previous evening in “A
Tribute to ‘Mr. Television’ Milton Berle.”

George Burns (“Burns and Allen”) and Lucille Ball appeared on many TV variety and award shows together. In 1966 he played himself on “The Lucy Show” and did a cameo as himself on a 1970 episode of “Here’s Lucy.”  

Arthur
Godfrey
(“The
Arthur Godfrey Show”)
also hosted “Talent Scouts” on which Lucile Ball did a guest
appearance in 1963. After a career lull, Ball guest starred him on
“The Lucy Show” as himself in March 1965. 

Mary
Tyler Moore
(Host), like Dick Van Dyke, invited Lucille Ball to guest star on her
short-lived variety show, “The Mary Tyler Moore Hour,” in March
1979.  

The
evening included clips from CBS shows:

• “Arthur
  Godfrey’s Talent Scouts”
  (1948-58)
  with
  Don Knotts and Lenny Bruce
• “The
  Goldbergs”
  (1949-57)
• “The
  George Burns and Gracie Allen Show” (1950-58)
• “I
  Love Lucy”
  (1951-57)
• “December
  Bride”
  (1954-59) filmed at Desilu
• “Father
  Knows Best”
  (1954-60) starring Robert Young and Jane Wyatt
• “Hennesey”
  (1959-62) starring Jackie Cooper and Don Rickles
• “The
  Andy Griffith Show”
  (1960-68) with Don
  Knotts and Ron Howard
• “East
  Side / West Side” (1963-64)
  starring George C. Scott and Cicely Tyson
• “Family
  Affair”
  (1966-71) starring Brian Keith and Sebastian Cabot
• “The
  Doris Day Show” (1968-73)
• “Maude”
  (1972-78) starring Bea Arthur and Bill Macy

The “I Love Lucy” clip included is “Lucy and Harpo Marx” (ILL S4;E28) from 1955.  

The
highlight of the hour is a vaudeville-style song “What’s
So Funny About Monday?”
by Jerry Herman introduced by George Burns and performed by Lucille
Ball and Bea Arthur. Four years earlier the pair sang “Bosom
Buddies” (also by Jerry Herman) in the film Mame.

As
a baggy pants clown, Lucy sets off dynamite with the explosion
triggering quick clips of her in “I Love Lucy,” and “The Lucy
Show.” The song culminates in Lucy kicking Bea Arthur in the
behind. They shake hands and Lucy’s hand comes off in Bea’s –
which sets off a series of quick clips from “Maude.”  

The
vaudeville stage breaks away revealing an elegant pink and red
ballroom with Lucy and Bea dressed in formal gowns and the backup
dancers in tails. Naturally this glamorous finale ends with both
ladies getting a cream pie in the face!

Although Arthur was on the record as being critical of the film Mame, she held no animosity for Lucille Ball herself, who was the studio’s choice to play the role. 

On
Saturday evening, April 1, the final episode concluded with a reverse
chronology of CBS history. From 1978 to 1928 the years are projected
over still photos and video clips of shows from those years. A still
from from “Lucy Visits Grauman’s” (ILL S5;E1) overlaps 1953…

…and 1954.  The show was actually aired in 1955.