CAROL BURNETT SHOW, THE {LUCILLE BALL, MEL TORME} (TV)

Summary

One in this series of comedy/variety programs starring Carol Burnett. This program features special guests Lucile Ball and Mel Tormé.

Burnett and her guests, along with Harvey Korman, Vicki Lawrence, Lyle Waggoner, and a host of dancers, open the program with a performance of "Blue Skies," a "salute" to Los Angeles' infamous smog problem. Next, Burnett takes a few questions from the audience, discussing whether she would appear nude in a film, the story of her run-in with neighbor John Steinbeck, her surprising former nickname, and how she got to know her favorite comedian, Harvey Korman.

Tormé sings "Where Have All the Flowers Gone," and in the first sketch, Burnett and Ball portray two demanding stage mothers whose precocious young daughters are competing for a role in a Broadway show. After forcing their girls to show off their performing skills, the two mothers desperately kiss up to the producer, David Sinclair, only to learn that he's already awarded the part to another girl whose mother is judged "the most attractive."

Next, Burnett and Tormé perform a medley of duets honoring the films of Ginger Rogers and Fred Astaire, including "The Continental," "Carioca," and "Pick Yourself Up." Following this, Korman portrays a renowned stage actor, Leslie Amherst, who learns, minutes before curtain, that his leading lady is extremely drunk. He attempts to go through with the scene, in which his character shocks his wife with a request for a divorce and then is shot by her. However, the actress's loose-limbed, giggly attitude, as well as her continued onstage tippling, make the scene somewhat less dramatic.

Next, "The Early Early Show" presents a screening of "Some Like It Hotsy-Totsy," a parody of 1959's "Some Like It Hot," in which two 1920s showgirls emerge from a disastrous audition in Chicago just in time to see a trio of gangsters gunning down their rivals. Terrified of being rubbed out as witnesses, the girls disguise themselves as men and hop aboard a train to Miami; two of the gangsters soon join them and request to share bunks, which pleases one girl more than the other. At the Tropicana, "Terry and Tom" are forced into introducing the outlandishly costumed female contestants for the "Miss Underworld" contest, which highlights the most interesting aspects of gangster life. The roulette wheel lady is deemed the winner — but everyone, including the showgirls, are then arrested in a raid.

Burnett concludes the show with her signature song, then has Ball and Torme sign her autograph book. Commercials deleted.

Details

• NETWORK: CBS
• DATE: October 3, 1970 10:00 PM
• RUNNING TIME: 0:51:33
• COLOR/B&W: Color
• CATALOG ID: 105118
• GENRE: Comedy/Variety
• SUBJECT HEADING: Comedy/Variety; Music
• SERIES RUN: CBS - TV series, 1967-1978
• COMMERCIALS: N/A

CREDITS

• Joe Hamilton … Executive Producer
• Arnie Rosen … Producer, Writer
• Robert Wright … Associate Producer
• Dave Powers … Director
• Don Hinkley … Writer
• Kenny Solms … Writer
• Gail Parent … Writer
• Paul Wayne … Writer
• Jack Mendelsohn … Writer
• Gene Moss … Writer
• Jim Thurman … Writer
• Harry Zimmerman … Music by
• Ernest Flatt … Choreographer
• Carol Burnett … Host, Performer
• Harvey Korman … Cast
• Vicki Lawrence … Cast
• Lyle Waggoner … Cast
• Lucille Ball … Guest, Performer
• Mel Tormé … Guest, Performer
• Fred Astaire
• Ginger Rogers
• John Steinbeck