Tag Archives: TV special

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The Bootleg Files: The World of Kurt Weill

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BOOTLEG FILES 901: “The World of Kurt Weill” (1967 television special starring Lotte Lenya).

LAST SEEN: On YouTube.

AMERICAN HOME VIDEO: None.

REASON FOR BOOTLEG STATUS: Most likely, there is a music rights clearance issue.

CHANCES OF SEEING A COMMERCIAL DVD RELEASE: Not likely.

From the mid-1960s to the early 1970s, one of the most intriguing series on American television was “NET Playhouse.” NET stood for National Educational Television and it served as the forerunner of the Public Broadcasting Service.

“NET Playhouse” primarily focused on adaptations of classic plays and stories that featured both established stars and up-and-coming actors – then-unknowns Dustin Hoffman, Martin Sheen and Jon Voight turned up in the series’ 1966 premiere season. The series rarely offered musical presentations, and one of those tuneful diversions included the 1967 hour-long production “The World of Kurt Weill” that celebrated the career of the German-born composer.
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The Bootleg Files: A Special Valentine with the Family Circus

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BOOTLEG FILES 897: “A Special Valentine with the Family Circus” (1978 animated television special).

LAST SEEN: On YouTube.

AMERICAN HOME VIDEO: On VHS video.

REASON FOR BOOTLEG STATUS: It fell through the cracks.

CHANCES OF SEEING A COMMERCIAL DVD RELEASE: Oh, God, I hope not.

If you ever want to encounter the most passionate vitriol to stain the Internet, type in the words “Family Circus Hate” into your search engine and then set aside several hours to read the blog posts and forum messages from people who have an aggressive loathing to that long-running newspaper comic strip “The Family Circus” about a wholesome family and their treacly-thick approach to life’s minor inanities. But if you really love to hate “The Family Circus” – or if you really hate yourself and you feel that you need to be punished for genuine or perceived character flaws – then please set aside about a half-hour to endure the 1978 animated TV special “A Special Valentine with the Family Circus.”
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The Bootleg Files: Bob Hope’s Comedy Christmas Special

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BOOTLEG FILES 889: “Bob Hope’s Comedy Christmas Special” (1976 television offering wit guests John Wayne, Dyan Cannon and Neil Sedaka).

LAST SEEN: On YouTube.

AMERICAN HOME VIDEO: None.

REASON FOR BOOTLEG STATUS: A perceived lack of commercial viability.

CHANCES OF SEEING A COMMERCIAL DVD RELEASE: No thanks for these memories!

On this day in 1976, NBC showed its contempt for the American public by broadcasting “Bob Hope’s Comedy Christmas Special” in prime time.

Okay, maybe that introduction was a wee bit harsh. This particular production wasn’t that bad – but as with most of Hope’s 1970s specials, it wasn’t that good, either. While Hope managed to score a number of humorous one-liners in this 90-minute presentation, the show was mostly too safe, too sedate and too square to resonate.
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The Bootleg Files – B.C.: The First Thanksgiving

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BOOTLEG FILES 887: “B.C.: The First Thanksgiving” (1973 animated television special).

LAST SEEN: On YouTube.

AMERICAN HOME VIDEO: On a VHS video release.

REASON FOR BOOTLEG STATUS: It fell through the cracks.

CHANCES OF SEEING A COMMERCIAL DVD RELEASE: Probably not.

The transition from newspaper comic strip to film or television production is not an easy journey. For every “Popeye the Sailor” or “Peanuts” that seamlessly moved from the funny pages to the screen, there are too many comic strips that tried and failed to make the jump.
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The Bootleg Files: Around the Beatles

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BOOTLEG FILES 885: “Around the Beatles” (1964 British television special).

LAST SEEN: On YouTube.

AMERICAN HOME VIDEO: Bits and pieces of the show turned up on home entertainment release.

REASON FOR BOOTLEG STATUS: The full show has been unavailable for years.

CHANCES OF SEEING A COMMERCIAL DVD RELEASE: Not likely.

Sixty years ago today, ABC broadcast “Around the Beatles,” an hour-long musical special that was first broadcast on Britain’s ITV on May 6, 1964. This production was notable as the rare television variety special with the Beatles as the starring attraction – for the most part, the Fab Four only showed up as guests on someone else’s small-screen music and comedy revue.
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The Bootleg Files: The Strollin’ ’20s

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BOOTLEG FILES 856: “The Strollin’ 20s” (1966 all-star television special).

LAST SEEN: On YouTube.

AMERICAN HOME VIDEO: None.

REASON FOR BOOTLEG STATUS: There is most likely a rights clearance issue.

CHANCES OF SEEING A COMMERCIAL DVD RELEASE: Not likely.

Black entertainers have been part of the American television experience since the medium’s beginning, with no less a figure than the legendary Ethel Waters starring in an eponymous special in 1939 when television was still mostly experimental and extremely limited in its reach. Once television became more prominent in American living rooms, Hazel Scott and Billy Daniels briefly had their own programs, while in the mid-1950s NBC’s decision to have Nat King Cole host his own variety show created unexpected controversy when no national sponsor was willing to back the program. Harry Belafonte headlined a 1959 special that was sponsored by Revlon, but he rejected further productions backed by the company when he was ordered not to integrate his song and dance ensemble.
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The Bootleg Files: John Denver and the Ladies

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BOOTLEG FILES 842: “John Denver and the Ladies” (1979 television special featuring Tina Turner, Valerie Harper, Cheryl Ladd, Erma Bombeck and Cheryl Tiegs).

LAST SEEN: On YouTube.

AMERICAN HOME VIDEO: None.

REASON FOR BOOTLEG STATUS: No perceived reissue value.

CHANCES OF SEEING A COMMERCIAL DVD RELEASE: Not likely.

During the 1970s, John Denver was a ubiquitous presence on television, both as a guest on variety programs, awards productions and talk shows, and as the star of an occasional TV special. By the end of the decade, Denver tried to push himself away from his folk-country-pop persona into different areas. He scored a box office hit in his first movie, working with George Burns in the 1977 “Oh, God!”, but he opted not to vigorously pursue acting and would not appear in another film for nine years. He became an increasingly vocal activist focused on conservation and humanitarian issues. And while he didn’t lose his core audience, his new music in the late 1970s (which was more complex and mature than his earlier sing-along hits) did not generate the sales as his output from the earlier part of his decade.
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