Dick Van Dyke Show Remembered, The (1994) (TV)

Seeing this simply described around the internet as "A retrospective of the 1961-66 sitcom starring Dick Van Dyke and Mary Tyler Moore" is inadequate. Much more fun than you might expect (especially from that description) and hosted by the stalwart Charles Kuralt, this will be a fun watch for anyone who has ever crushed on MTM.

The Dick Van Dyke Show Remembered (1994) (TV)

Cast: Morey Amsterdam, Rose Marie, Mary Tyler Moore, Sheldon Leonard, Carl Reiner, Dick Van Dyke, Charles Kuralt

M*A*S*H, Tootsie & God: A Tribute to Larry Gelbart (1998) (TV)

From the Writers Guild Theater in Beverly Hills, California and hosted by Bill Maher. Attended by a large room full of left leaning black-tie wearers, this was LiberalFest '98. Politics aside the late Mr. Gelbart was responsible for a decade of laughs during my most formative years. This is an excellent document on the professional life of one of Hollywood's most prolific players. He should have lived forever. RIP

Here is a short piece from The New York Observer By Deirdre Dolan dated March 16, 1998 - Comedy genius Larry Gelbart is feted at the Beverly Hills Writers Guild Theater in M*A*S*H, Tootsie and God: A Tribute to Larry Gelbart. “You shouldn’t have to endure people being kind to you for two straight hours,” Mr. Gelbart told NYTV by phone from his place in Los Angeles. “It’s really an embarrassment of riches. I think you can see how uncomfortable I am on the tape.” …

M*A*S*H, Tootsie & God: A Tribute to Larry Gelbart (1998) (TV)

Cast: Alan Alda, Edward Asner, Rene Auberjonois, Mel Brooks, Gary Burghoff, Red Buttons, Larry Gelbart, Wayne Knight, Christopher Lloyd, Bill Maher, Howard Morris, Jack Paar, Carl Reiner, Helen Shaver, Jeffrey Tambor

11th Annual American Comedy Awards (1997) (TV)

This is the usual star-studded affair to honor all things comedic. A huge room with a sea of faces, look for your favorites. A few of the obvious; David Alan Grier, Brooke Shields with Andre Agassi, John Cleese, Carol Burnett, Kathy Bates, Kelsey Grammer, Ellen Degeneres, Rosie O'Donnell, Lily Tomlin, Dennis Farina, Phil Hartman, Paul Reiser, Mel Brooks, Carl Reiner, Rob Reiner and it just goes on and on. The energy in the room is high and the production is well done except the lighting and color gel usage seem excessive. The entire ballroom is awash in over-saturated color making things look a little muddy, I prefer a sharper picture. Overall a real fun time. God bless Phil Hartman.

11th Annual American Comedy Awards (1997) (TV)

Host: Kelsey Grammer

Carol, Carl, Whoopi and Robin (1987) (TV)

TV REVIEW; 'A CAROL BURNETT SPECIAL' ON ABC  

By JOHN J. O'CONNOR
Published: February 10, 1987



ONCE upon a time, variety shows were a television staple. Hardly a night passed without some performer or personality being host of an hour or so of comedy and music. "The Ed Sullivan Show" led the way on Sunday evenings for years. And then, suddenly, there were none. Perhaps the public had heard all the jokes and seen all the production numbers. Ratings plummeted, and programmers turned almost exclusively to sitcoms and action-adventures. A measure of what was lost can be glimpsed, tonight at 10 on ABC, in "A Carol Burnett Special . . . Carol, Carl, Whoopi & Robin." The executive producers are Marcy Carsey and Tom Werner from "The Cosby Show."

Ms. Burnett was, of course, one of television's most outstanding variety stars. Her show ran for 11 years, with a little help from such talented comics as Harvey Korman and Tim Conway. On this evening's special, after an opening musical number, she steps out before the audience to the sounds of her familiar theme music. In fact, she's appearing in the same studio where her old show was taped. She takes questions from the audience, and she even gives her left ear the familiar tug for luck before walking off to resume the show. In the past few years, Ms. Burnett has been acclaimed elsewhere - from dramatic roles on television and in films to a concert version of Stephen Sondheim's "Follies" - but she still shines most comfortably in the old variety format.

For this occasion, the star shares most of the show with her guests. Carl Reiner, Whoopi Goldberg and Robin Williams join her for the curtain raiser, a clever musical lecture on laughing, on titters and cackles, on chuckles and chortles, and especially on guffaws. The rest of the show - directed by Mr. Korman and Roger Beatty - is largely monopolized by sketches Ms. Burnett does separately with Mr. Williams and Ms. Goldberg. (Mr. Reiner is limited to a brief skit with Mr. Williams on the perils of Shakespeare's iambic pentameter.) The Burnett routine with Mr. Williams is hilarious as he, a touch deranged and garishly dressed, visits her in a funeral home. He has come to pay his respects to her departed husband, the only person who was ever nice to him on the commuter train. "Do you want to keen?" asks the looney mourner, "or how about singing a Negro spiritual?" In an unusual gambit, the entire sketch is then repeated with, we are told, Mr. Williams doing a complete and unrehearsed improvisation. "Death," he observes, "is nature's way of saying, 'The check, please.' "
The material featuring Ms. Goldberg is far too predictable and runs on too long. With Ms. Burnett playing the mother and Ms. Goldberg the daughter, the performers trace a relationship from cradle to old age. It's the kind of turn that Marcel Marceau used to do better and faster without words. But disappointment is part of the variety experience. It didn't work this time, but it would be fun to see the two stars try something else next time. Not long ago, that next time would have been next week. Now, who knows? Meanwhile, this "Carol Burnett Special" adds up to an affecting reminder of how one departed television format used to be surprisingly entertaining.

Carol, Carl, Whoopi and Robin (1987) (TV)

Cast: Carol Burnett, Carl Reiner, Whoopi Goldberg, Robin Williams