RODNEY DANGERFIELD SHOW, THE: "IT'S NOT EASY BEIN' ME" (TV)
Summary
This special stars comedian Rodney Dangerfield and his guests, singer Aretha Franklin, actor/comedian Bill Murray, and actress Valerie Perrine. Highlights include: Dangerfield opens with a monologue sporting jokes about his wife, his dog, his bad luck at gambling, and the lack of respect with which he is treated; Valerie Perrine joins the host and warns him that her contract precludes him from kissing or in any way touching her -- and she produces her lawyer to confirm this; in a takeoff on Perrine's recent "Superman" motion pictures, Dangerfield plays a portly superhero with a pompadour hairstyle who is dumped by girlfriend Perrine for another superhero -- "Him," played by Bill Murray; Dangerfield recalls the early days of his career working at a tough nightclub patronized by mobsters, leading to a sketch set in this club, featuring Dangerfield's stand-up comedy and a performance by Murray's lounge-lizard extraordinaire, Nick Fury; Dangerfield presents photos of his recent vacation with his dog; Dangerfield, on analyst Murray's couch, reflects on his odd family history, which leads to sketches featuring historical Dangerfields, including an uncle who fought in the American Revolution and the yodeling Gunther Dangerfield, of Switzerland; Aretha Franklin sings "Respect," with a group of back-up singer/dancers including a spandex-clad Dangerfield; the host's reflections on his early film and theater work lead to spoofs of "Brief Encounter" with Perrine, "A Chorus Line" with a Dangerfield who "lives to dance," Gilbert and Sullivan's "The Mikado" with Dangerfield as the Lord High Executioner and Murray as his dimwitted attendant, and finally, Dangerfield as "Mr. Lucky," the suave owner of a "smart" 1940's supper club where Aretha Franklin performs "Search On." Includes commercials, promos, and an "ABC New Brief" with Brit Hume. This program is closed-captioned.
(This program originally aired on Wednesday, May 12, 1982 at 10:00 PM EST. This is a repeat broadcast.)
Details
- NETWORK: ABC
- DATE: September 24, 1988 9:00 PM
- RUNNING TIME: 0:58:26
- COLOR/B&W: Color
- CATALOG ID: T:17610
- GENRE: Comedy/Variety; Specials
- SUBJECT HEADING: Comedy; Rock music
- SERIES RUN: ABC - TV, 1988
- COMMERCIALS:
- TV - Commercials - Alka-Seltzer antacid
- TV - Commercials - Aquafresh toothpaste
- TV - Commercials - Ban Solid anti-perspirant
- TV - Commercials - Breath Savers mints
- TV - Commercials - Care Free chewing gum
- TV - Commercials - Charmin toilet tissue
- TV - Commercials - Crest toothpaste
- TV - Commercials - Finesse hair conditioner
- TV - Commercials - Kellogg's Nut & Honey Crunch cereal
- TV - Commercials - Nabisco Teddy Grahams snacks
- TV - Commercials - Nuprin pain reliever
- TV - Commercials - Orville Redenbacher microwave popcorn
- TV - Commercials - Pringles potato chips
- TV - Commercials - Sara Lee cheesecake snacks
- TV - Commercials - Tide liquid detergent
- TV - Commercials - Vanish toilet bowl cleaner
- TV - Commercials - Whirlpool refrigerators
- TV - Commercials - Windex glass cleaner
- TV - Promos - "ABC Monday Night Football"
- TV - Promos - "ABC News" coverage of 1988 Presidential Debates
- TV - Promos - "Garry Shandling: Alone in Las Vegas"
- TV - Promos - "Liberace" (television movie)
- TV - Promos - "Roseanne" (series premiere)
CREDITS
- Estelle Endler … Executive Producer
- Harold Ramis … Producer, Writer
- Patti Person … Associate Producer
- Walter C. Miller … Director
- Deborah Miller … Direction (Misc.), Associate Director
- Rodney Dangerfield … Writer, Head Writer
- Steven Kampmann … Writer
- Stanley Myron Handelman … Writer
- Brian Doyle-Murray … Writer
- Brian McCormick … Writer
- Elayne Boosler … Writer
- Bob Zmuda … Writer
- Lenny Ripps … Writer
- Peter Matz … Music by
- Walter Painter … Choreographer
- Dennis Blair … Music (Misc. Credits), Special musical material by
- Rodney Dangerfield … Host, Performer
- Aretha Franklin … Performer, Singer
- Bill Murray … Performer
- Valerie Perrine … Performer
- Brian Doyle-Murray … Cast, the Waiter