Dwight Hemion

Here's Television Entertainment

Dwight Hemion

A review of television variety series and specials.

Snowden on Ice

Dwight Hemion

Ekaterina Gordeeva, Kurt Browning

A musical holiday special aired on CBS.

Julie Andrews: The Sound of Christmas

Dwight Hemion

Julie Andrews, Plácido Domingo

Julie Andrews joins John Denver, Placido Domingo, and The King's Singers for a Christmas journey through time in the city of Salzburg, Austria. Written and sang with many references to "Sound", the journey takes individuals to the many filming locations and haunts that are personal to the cast with music interludes along the way.

Petula

Dwight Hemion

Petula Clark, Peggy Lee

In a staggering example of lacking imagination, Petula Clark's third US TV Special was given the exact same name as her first. Unbelievably, a third special also had that exact same title a few years later! Guests: Peggy Lee, Dean Martin, the Everly Brothers, David Frost. Songs: Beautiful Sounds, duet w/ Peggy Lee (I'm A Woman/Wedding Bell Blues), Games People Play (w/ The Everly Brothers), duet medley w/ Dean Martin on a horse (Hey Good Lookin'/Detour/Things/I Walk The Line/Just A Little Lovin'), medley (Come Together/Great Come And Get It Day), When Johnny Comes Marching Home (w/ Lee), Fool On The Hill.

Barbra Streisand: One Voice

Dwight Hemion

Barbra Streisand, Barry Gibb

Originally broadcast as an exclusive special on HBO, Barbra Streisand launched her September 6, 1986 concert One Voice, in part, as a protest against Reagan-era nuclear arms proliferation in the late Cold War; the event marked the diva's first official live performance since 1972.

Bette Midler: Ol' Red Hair Is Back

Dwight Hemion

Bette Midler, Dustin Hoffman

In 1977, Bette Midler's first television special premiered, featuring guest stars Dustin Hoffman and Emmett Kelly. It went on to win Bette her first Emmy Award for Outstanding Special — Comedy-Variety or Music. To make the show palatable to home viewers, the special featured heavily cleaned up versions of the material Midler was performing at that time on stage. The title of the show, Ol' Red Hair is Back, was a takeoff on the title of Frank Sinatra's recent album Ol' Blue Eyes Is Back.

My Name Is Barbra

Joe Layton, Dwight Hemion

Barbra Streisand

Barbra Streisand's first television special, featuring a medley of her hit songs, such as "People," "Happy Days Are Here Again" and "My Man."

Ann-Margret Smith

Dwight Hemion

Ann-Margret, Roger Smith

Book-ending the year 1975 with two big budget TV Specials, Ann -Margret also earned her second Oscar nomination that year, for Tommy. In January, "Ann-Margret Olssen" premiered and was titled with the star's maiden name. This second special premiered late in the year and was titled with the star's married name. Her husband Roger Smith also appears in the opening sequences. Presented by the Bell System's Family Theatre, the program was filmed at the ATV Studios at BBC Elstree Centre, Borehamwood, England.

Shirley MacLaine... 'Every Little Movement'

Dwight Hemion

Shirley MacLaine

A salute to movement in various forms, both literal (the physical movement of a dancer or gymnast) and figurative (movement in a relationship between two people).

Baryshnikov on Broadway

Dwight Hemion

Mikhail Baryshnikov, Liza Minnelli

Mikhail Baryshnikov and his guests perform numbers from over a dozen renowned Broadway musicals including Oklahoma!, Fiddler on the Roof, Can-Can, The King and I, Cabaret, Where's Charley, Hello Dolly, Ain't Misbehavin', Guys and Dolls, The Boyfriend, Kiss Me Kate and A Chorus Line.

Singer Presents Burt Bacharach

Dwight Hemion

Burt Bacharach, Barbra Streisand

On March 14, 1971, SINGER PRESENTS BURT BACHARACH was shown on CBS and featured Barbra Streisand joining the composer at the piano for an intimate conversation about life, love and music, as well as several performances - in addition to appearances by Tom Jones, Rudolf Nureyev and Bettie De Jong, too.

Frank Sinatra: A Man and His Music Part II

Dwight Hemion

Frank Sinatra, Nancy Sinatra

The second annual TV special thrills from start to finish, with unforgettable performances of signature songs "Fly Me To The Moon," "Luck Be A Lady" and "That's Life." Frank is joined by daughter Nancy in a playful duet in this delightful hour of music.

Color Me Barbra

Dwight Hemion

Barbra Streisand

Barbra Streisand's second television special, aired in 1966 just after the singer-songwriter had completed a successful Broadway run of hit show 'Funny Girl'. Streisand sings surrounded by animals in a circus dream sequence and wanders the Philadelphia Museum of Art in a moody eight-minute piece. Filmed in spectacular colour, this companion piece to her first special is one for the ages. The vibrant colours become a metaphor for imagination, inventiveness, fantasy, and sheer brilliance.

Bing Crosby's Merrie Olde Christmas

Dwight Hemion

Bing Crosby, Stanley Baxter

Bing Crosby and his family spend Christmas at the estate of a distant relative in England.

Neil Diamond: Greatest Hits Live

Dwight Hemion, Peter Israelson

Neil Diamond, Richard Bennett

Neil Diamond performing his greatest hits at the Aquarius Theatre in Los Angeles, California.

Elvis in Concert

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Elvis Presley, James Burton

Elvis In Concert is a posthumous 1977 TV special starring Elvis Presley. It was Elvis' third and final TV special, following Elvis (aka The '68 Comeback Special) and Aloha From Hawaii. It was filmed during Presley's final tour in the cities of Omaha, Nebraska, on June 19, 1977, and Rapid City, South Dakota, on June 21, 1977. It was shown on CBS on October 3, 1977, two months after Presley died. It is one of the few videos of Elvis which remain unlikely to ever be released for home viewing and is only available in bootleg form.