SECOND CITY REVUE, THE (TV)
Summary
One in these series of sketch comedy specials presented by the Second City comedy troupe in Chicago. This program features sketch players Bob Dishy, MacIntyre Dixon, Paul Dooley, Andrew Duncan, Barbara Harris, and Anthony Holland. Prior to the sketches, the actors read articles from the newspaper, commenting sarcastically about Alabama Governor George Wallace, Barry Goldwater's paranoia about communism, and objections to separation of church and state. Harris follows this opening by crooning a song. Sketches include: Duncan as a representative for Acme Fallout Shelter Company, interviewing aspiring salesmen -- portrayed by Dooley, Holland, and Dishy -- in a shabby New York motel; Dooley and Harris showing what occurs in an astronaut's mind while he is circling the globe; Dooley as a dentist and Dishy as his patient in a pantomime of an oral exam; Holland and Dixon in a parody of Eugene O'Neill plays, employing themes, symbolism, and theatrical techniques associated with the playwright's work; Harris as a shy woman listening to an instructional record album called "How to Win a Boyfriend"; Duncan as a news reporter who interviews Holland's Dr. Erestes Frown, a Los Angeles City College professor of eurythmics who is both a ranking member of the ultraconservative John Birch Society as well as a practicing communist; a parody of Japanese filmmaker Akira Kurosawa's work featuring Harris as a woman whose meal is temporarily interrupted by the wooing of two very competitive suitors, played by Dixon and Dooley; a parody of athletes in commercials featuring Dooley as New York Mets star Ron Hunt, Dishy as a rookie teammate, and Holland as Casey Stengel; and "Camp Counselor" in which Duncan plays a forlorn camp counselor and Holland is his tense, paranoid young charge. The program concludes with a mock protest march as the players carry placards emblazoned with their names. Commercials deleted.
Details
- NETWORK: WNEW-TV
- DATE: July 31, 1963 8:00 PM
- RUNNING TIME: 0:53:58
- COLOR/B&W: B&W
- CATALOG ID: T85:0346
- GENRE: Specials; Comedy/Variety
- SUBJECT HEADING: Comedy; Satire
- SERIES RUN: WNEW (New York, NY) - TV, 1963
- COMMERCIALS: N/A
CREDITS
- Arthur Forrest … Director
- Jack Wood … Direction (Misc.), Associate Director
- Larry Arrick … Direction (Misc.), Staged by
- Second City Company, The … All Material Created by
- Tom O'Horgan … Composer, Original music composed and played by, Instrumentalist, Pianist
- Bob Dishy … Cast
- MacIntyre Dixon … Cast
- Paul Dooley … Cast
- Andrew Duncan … Cast
- Barbara Harris … Cast
- Anthony Holland … Cast
- Ron Hunt
- John Birch Society
- Akira Kurosawa
- Casey Stengel
- George Wallace