
The most glittering, expensive, and exhausting videotaping session in television history took place Friday February 19, 1982 at New York's Radio City Music Hall. The event, for which ticket-buyers paid up to $1,000 a seat (tax-deductible as a contribution to the Actors' Fund) was billed as "The Night of 100 Stars" but, actually, around 230 stars took part. And most of the audience of 5,800 had no idea in advance that they were paying to see a TV taping, complete with long waits for set and costume changes, tape rewinding, and the like. Executive producer Alexander Cohen estimated that the 5,800 Radio City Music Hall seats sold out at prices ranging from $25 to $1,000. The show itself cost about $4 million to produce and was expected to yield around $2 million for the new addition to the Actors Fund retirement home in Englewood, N. J. ABC is reputed to have paid more than $5 million for the television rights.

The most glittering, expensive, and exhausting videotaping session in television history took place Friday February 19, 1982 at New York's Radio City Music Hall. The event, for which ticket-buyers paid up to $1,000 a seat (tax-deductible as a contribution to the Actors' Fund) was billed as "The Night of 100 Stars" but, actually, around 230 stars took part. And most of the audience of 5,800 had no idea in advance that they were paying to see a TV taping, complete with long waits for set and costume changes, tape rewinding, and the like. Executive producer Alexander Cohen estimated that the 5,800 Radio City Music Hall seats sold out at prices ranging from $25 to $1,000. The show itself cost about $4 million to produce and was expected to yield around $2 million for the new addition to the Actors Fund retirement home in Englewood, N. J. ABC is reputed to have paid more than $5 million for the television rights.
1982-03-08
6.75
7.4HBO presents one of the most gifted and revered performers of our time, Academy-Award winning Robin Williams, starring in his fifth exclusive HBO special, taped before a live audience at Washington's Constitution Hall.
6.5Comedian Kevin Hart performs in front of a crowd of 50,000 people at Philadelphia's outdoor venue, Lincoln Financial Field.
6.7Kevin Hart serves up laughs and brick oven pizza from the comfort of his home, and dishes on male group chats, sex after 40 and life with COVID-19.
6.6Comedy Central's best roasters and stand up comedians take a whack at actor/model Pamela Anderson.
6.0In this special live event, giants of stand-up come together to commemorate the 25th anniversary of Russell Simmons's groundbreaking "Def Comedy Jam."
6.9Time to hassle the Hoff at the rudest, raunchiest television event of the year--The Comedy Central Roast of David Hasselhoff. From running in slo-mo on the beach to inspiring Germany with the power of cheesy pop--it's almost too easy.
7.0John Mulaney and his kid pals tackle existential topics for all ages with catchy songs, comedy sketches and special guests in a nostalgic variety special.
7.82002 HBO Stand-up Special starring Robin Williams. Recorded and broadcast live from New Your City's Broadway Theater at the culmination of his historic 2002 sold-out tour, this special finds the Oscar-winning actor/writer/comedian returning after 16 years to his stand-up roots to deliver what the Washington Post calls "...in its madcap way, a seminal cultural event."
6.7Patton Oswalt delivers a fresh hour plus of stand-up, covering everything from misery to defeat to hopelessness. It's his most upbeat special to date.
6.3Celeste Talbert is the star of the long-running soap opera "The Sun Also Sets." With the show's ratings down, Celeste's ruthlessly ambitious co-star, Montana Moorehead, and the show's arrogant producer, David Seton Barnes, plot to aggravate her into leaving the show by bringing back her old flame, Jeffrey Anderson, and hiring her beautiful young niece, Lori Craven.
7.8A primetime special with performances from the superstar including Adele’s first new material in six years plus her chart-topping hits. The special will also feature an exclusive interview with Adele by Oprah Winfrey from her rose garden, in Adele’s first televised wide-ranging conversation.
6.6Comedians and writers Steve Martin and Martin Short perform a live comedy set with music by The Steep Canyon Rangers and jazz pianist, Jeff Babko, at the Peace Center in Greenville, South Carolina.
7.3The ambitious friends come together during the holidays after a mystery assailant targets one of their own. A comedic thrill-ride follows, as the wild and unpredictable Psych team pursues the bad guys, justice … and, of course, food!
7.9John Mulaney relays stories from his childhood and "SNL," eviscerates the value of college and laments getting older in this electric comedy special.
7.9Live Aid was held on 13 July 1985, simultaneously in Wembley Stadium in London, England, and the John F. Kennedy Stadium in Philadelphia, United States. It was one of the largest scale satellite link-ups and television broadcasts of all time: watched live by an estimated global audience of 1.9 billion, across 150 nations. "It's twelve noon in London, seven AM in Philadelphia, and around the world it's time for Live Aid...!"
6.7It's Donald Trump's turn to step in to the celebrity hot seat for the latest installment of The Comedy Central Roast.
6.2Kevin James makes his long-awaited return to stand-up in this family-friendly special, dishing on fatherhood, fans, his disdain for allergies and more.
6.6Kevin, Joe and Nick face down quick wits and deep cuts in this comedy special featuring Pete Davidson, John Legend and more. Hosted by Kenan Thompson.
7.3Scorned girlfriends Carly and Tori hatch a plot against the boy that they are both dating.
6.8Stand-up comedian Kevin Hart talks about his family, travel and a year full of reckless behavior in front of a live sold-out crowd in London.
6.8That bionic bonehead is off to the North Pole to stop Dr. Claw from taking over Santa's elves and workshop. Accompanied as usual by Penny and Brain who foil Claw's operations once again.
8.0The Muppets of Sesame Street and the cast of The Electric Company take over the ABC Nightly News when the newsroom staff takes a lunch break.
7.8A TV Land special reuniting the living cast members of The Brady Bunch who share their recollections from the series. Hosted by Jenny McCarthy.
8.0At the height of his KOJAK TV series fame, Telly Savalas starred in this variety special that was sponsored by Kraft Foods and shown without commercial interruption. Barbara Eden, Cloris Leachman, Diahann Carroll and others appear and join in the singing and dancing and mugging.
4.8There's been a glitch — all the humans are gone! Can you help pampered pet siblings Pud and Ham journey to the center of the universe to fix it?
6.7In his final comedy special, Norm Macdonald ponders casinos, cannibalism, living wills and why you have to be ready for whatever life throws your way.
4.733 1⁄3 Revolutions per Monkee is a television special starring the Monkees that aired on NBC on April 14, 1969. Produced by Jack Good, guests on the show included Jerry Lee Lewis, Fats Domino, Little Richard, the Clara Ward Singers, the Buddy Miles Express, Paul Arnold and the Moon Express, and We Three. Although they were billed as musical guests, Julie Driscoll and Brian Auger (alongside their then-backing band The Trinity) found themselves playing a prominent role; in fact, it can be argued that the special focused more on the guest stars (specifically, Auger and Driscoll) than the Monkees themselves. This special is notable as the Monkees' final performance as a quartet until 1986, as Peter Tork left the group at the end of the special's production. The title is a play on "33 1⁄3 revolutions per minute."
"The Helene Fischer Show" on Christmas Day with Germany's most popular entertainer and a varied program. Helene Fischer has put together a mixture of lots of music, spectacular artistry, surprising duets and great musical productions for her audience. For the first time, the show will be broadcast from the exhibition hall in Düsseldorf. The popular entertainer has invited a whole host of national and international musical guests to perform unprecedented duets with her and provide plenty of emotion and goosebump moments.
6.0Stars celebrate Bob Hope's 50 years with NBC.
7.2The Peanuts gang is nervous about going to a new school, so Lucy starts her own. She soon learns that teaching is tougher than she thought—and that change can be a good thing.
A joyful and exuberant song-filled retrospective about television’s greatest sister act, this musical documentary about the Lennon Sisters is a dazzling journey through the Great American Songbook and classic pop hits from the '50s, '60s, '70s and beyond.
0.0VH1's official kickoff to Super Bowl weekend with a special concert salute to the armed forces at Luke Air Force Base in Glendale, AZ. Fall Out Boy and Charli XCX headline with host Nick Lachey.
7.0A TV musical special starring Cheryl Ladd and her guest stars in various musical numbers and vignettes.
0.0Love them or hate them, there are 33,000 urban foxes roaming Britain's suburbia. For the residents of the Copse in Sutton-in-Ashfield, Nottinghamshire - as for so many other suburbanites - the urban fox provides evenings of enchantment. A cul-de-sac of neighbours compete to offer the tastiest snacks for their bushy-tailed visitors, with one couple even setting up their own CCTV system to provide happy evenings of Fox TV.
6.5America's sweetheart Doris Day offers songs and sketches with some of her famous friends in this smash hit television special from 1975. John Denver and Day sing a few entertaining duets, and funnyman Tim Conway joins in on a couple of skits. Then, Rich Little impersonates some of Day's legendary co-stars, including Cary Grant, Jimmy Stewart and Jack Lemmon. Songs include selections from Love Me or Leave Me, Teacher's Pet, Calamity Jane and more.
7.6In this variety special, Olivia shares the evening with Andy Gibb, Elton John, Ted Knight, Gene Kelly and Toni Tennille. The special included songs from Grease and the Totally Hot album as well as some other artists' covers : the Eagles, Bob Seger, Elton John and Buddy Holly. Olivia also performed a parody of the jazz/blues classic Makin' Whoopee with Gene Kelly, changing the lyrics to Makin' Movies and dealing with Olivia's dream of producing a musical. The show was aired internationally and did very well in the ratings, as did her two previous US television specials on the same network. It is to be noted that Tina Turner's appearance on Olivia's special helped her sign a contract with then Olivia's manager Roger Davies, who ultimately helped her to go back into the spotlight.
0.0Raising money and awareness for Color of Change and José Andrés' World Central Kitchen supporting Black Lives Matter and COVID-19 relief efforts.
7.5Performing at the Celebrity Star Theater in Phoenix on July 23, 1978, Carlin mesmerizes his audience in the second of his 12 HBO specials. The show was originally planned as part of a concert/sketch movie, The Illustrated George Carlin, that never came to fruition.The routines include: Death, Kids & Parents, Newscast #2, Time and Al Sleet, the Hippy-Dippy Weatherman. -- From Amazon.com
7.7Norm MacDonald, the iconic anchor of SNL's "Weekend Update" and star of the cult classic Dirty Work, is back with a vengeance.