Variety show
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
A variety show is a show with a variety of acts, often including music and comedy skits, especially on television.
The format is basically television's version of the music hall format. Variety in the UK evolved in theatres and music halls, and later in Working Men's Clubs. Most of the early top performers on television and radio did an apprenticeship either in stage variety, or during World War II in ENSA. In the UK, the ultimate accolade for a variety artiste for decades was to be asked to do the annual Royal Command Performance at the London Palladium theatre, in front of the monarch. In the 1960s, even the Beatles undertook this ritual. In the US, shows featuring Milton Berle, Jackie Gleason, Bob Hope and Dean Martin also helped to make the Golden Age of Television successful.
From 1948 to 1971, The Ed Sullivan Show was one of CBS's most popular series. Using his no-nonsense approach, Ed Sullivan allowed every known act possible from every known medium to get their "fifteen minutes of fame." Sullivan was also partially responsible for bringing Elvis Presley and The Beatles to US prominence, while in the UK The Good Old Days, which ran from 1953 to 1983, featured modern artistes performing dressed in late Victorian-early Edwardian costume, either doing their own act or performing as a music hall artiste of that period. The audience was also encouraged to dress in a similar fashion.
On television, variety reached its peak during the period of the 1960s and 1970s. With a turn of the television dial, viewers around the globe could variously have seen shows featuring Andy Williams, Julie Andrews, The Carpenters, Olivia Newton-John, Lynda Carter, Sonny and Cher, Bob Monkhouse, Carol Burnett, Rod Hull and Emu, Flip Wilson, Dinah Shore, Lawrence Welk, Glen Campbell, Donny & Marie, Barbara Mandrell, Judy Garland, the Captain & Tennille, The Jacksons, Bobby Darin, Sammy Davis Jr., Mary Tyler Moore, Tony Orlando and Dawn, The Smothers Brothers, Dick Van Dyke, Buck and Roy or The Muppet Show. Variety shows were once as common on television as Westerns, courtroom dramas, suspense thrillers, or sitcoms.
During the 1960's and 70's, there were also several one-time variety specials, featuring stars such as Shirley MacLaine, Frank Sinatra, or Mitzi Gaynor, none of whom ever had a regular television series.
The last major network attempt at a traditional variety show was Dolly, featuring Dolly Parton, which ran on ABC during the 1987-88 season. By that time, the format had fallen out of fashion (due largely to changing tastes and the advent of MTV), and the series was not successful.
A contemporary version of the variety show format, NBC's Saturday Night Live, which made its debut in 1975, is still airing today, with its combination of comedy sketches and musical performances, but Saturday Night Live places most of its emphasis on comedy, while Perry Como's old variety show, to mention just one example, placed most of its emphasis on the music.
Since 1962, the Spanish variety show known as Sábado Gigante has been hosted by Don Francisco. It currently is broadcast by Univision on Saturday evenings.
In 2004, ABC's The Nick and Jessica Variety Hour attempted to revive the prime-time variety hour as a special for today's generation. The first show was a ratings success, and it was followed by Nick & Jessica's Family Christmas in early December of that year.
The Scouting Gang Show performed principally by young people 18 yeas of age and under in many locations around the world is an example of a variety show format that has endured for over seventy years.
Another of today's variety shows in Asia is Taiwan's Variety Big Brother. Taiwanese variety shows are infamous for its constant use of artificial laugh tracks even though there is a studio audience.
Japanese television programs such as Music Station and Utaban continue in an almost pristine format from the same variety shows of years before. The only major changes have been the increasing dissapearance of live backup music since the 1980s.
Many television specials continue to resemble the variety show format to this day.
