The Dean Martin Comedy World
Encyclopedia
The Dean Martin Comedy World was a variety
comedy
television series, seen on NBC
during the summer of 1974, as a summer replacement for The Dean Martin Show
. It was also that program's last summer replacement series. The show was hosted by Jackie Cooper
, Nipsey Russell
and Barbara Feldon.
Created by Dean Martin
and his producer Greg Garrison
, the premise of this series was that it traveled around the world to find new comedy acts and show them on the air. Clips from classic comedy films (like Charlie Chaplin
's Modern Times
) were also used, as were interviews with comedy legends like Jack Benny
(in one of his last interviews before his December death) and Don Rickles
. The hodge-podge, staccato-style of editing different comic bits didn't work out, and the show left the air by the end of the summer.
Notable among those who appeared was the debut television performance by Andy Kaufman
.
In addition, British comedy troupe Monty Python
had its first primetime appearance on United States television on this show, with clips from several sketches and Terry Gilliam
animations used. (It was Garrison's purchase of the rights to air Python clips that paid for the conversion of the BBC
series from PAL
to NTSC
, which allowed Monty Python's Flying Circus
to be sold to PBS
later that year.) These clips did have to pass muster with American network censors, and so in the "Dull Life of a City Stockbroker" sketch the topless news agent was cut out.
Variety show
A variety show, also known as variety arts or variety entertainment, is an entertainment made up of a variety of acts, especially musical performances and sketch comedy, and normally introduced by a compère or host. Other types of acts include magic, animal and circus acts, acrobatics, juggling...
comedy
Comedy
Comedy , as a popular meaning, is any humorous discourse or work generally intended to amuse by creating laughter, especially in television, film, and stand-up comedy. This must be carefully distinguished from its academic definition, namely the comic theatre, whose Western origins are found in...
television series, seen on NBC
NBC
The National Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network and former radio network headquartered in the GE Building in New York City's Rockefeller Center with additional major offices near Los Angeles and in Chicago...
during the summer of 1974, as a summer replacement for The Dean Martin Show
The Dean Martin Show
The Dean Martin Show is a TV variety-comedy series that ran from 1965 to 1974 for 264 episodes. It was broadcast by NBC and hosted by crooner Dean Martin...
. It was also that program's last summer replacement series. The show was hosted by Jackie Cooper
Jackie Cooper
Jackie Cooper was an American actor, television director, producer and executive. He was a child actor who managed to make the transition to an adult career. Cooper was the first child actor to receive an Academy Award nomination...
, Nipsey Russell
Nipsey Russell
Julius "Nipsey" Russell was an American comedian, best known today for his appearances as a guest panelist on game shows from the 1960s through the 1990s, especially Match Game, Password, Hollywood Squares, To Tell the Truth and Pyramid...
and Barbara Feldon.
Created by Dean Martin
Dean Martin
Dean Martin was an American singer, film actor, television star and comedian. Martin's hit singles included "Memories Are Made of This", "That's Amore", "Everybody Loves Somebody", "You're Nobody till Somebody Loves You", "Sway", "Volare" and "Ain't That a Kick in the Head?"...
and his producer Greg Garrison
Greg Garrison
Greg Garrison was a pioneer producer and director in television, directing nearly 4,000 shows in his career. He received more than a dozen Emmy Award nominations, although he never won....
, the premise of this series was that it traveled around the world to find new comedy acts and show them on the air. Clips from classic comedy films (like Charlie Chaplin
Charlie Chaplin
Sir Charles Spencer "Charlie" Chaplin, KBE was an English comic actor, film director and composer best known for his work during the silent film era. He became the most famous film star in the world before the end of World War I...
's Modern Times
Modern Times (film)
Modern Times is a 1936 comedy film by Charlie Chaplin that has his iconic Little Tramp character struggling to survive in the modern, industrialized world. The film is a comment on the desperate employment and fiscal conditions many people faced during the Great Depression, conditions created, in...
) were also used, as were interviews with comedy legends like Jack Benny
Jack Benny
Jack Benny was an American comedian, vaudevillian, and actor for radio, television, and film...
(in one of his last interviews before his December death) and Don Rickles
Don Rickles
Donald Jay "Don" Rickles is an American stand-up comedian and actor. A frequent guest on The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson, Rickles has acted in comedic and dramatic roles, but is best known as an insult comic....
. The hodge-podge, staccato-style of editing different comic bits didn't work out, and the show left the air by the end of the summer.
Notable among those who appeared was the debut television performance by Andy Kaufman
Andy Kaufman
Andrew Geoffrey "Andy" Kaufman was an American entertainer, actor and performance artist. While often referred to as a comedian, Kaufman did not consider himself one...
.
In addition, British comedy troupe Monty Python
Monty Python
Monty Python was a British surreal comedy group who created their influential Monty Python's Flying Circus, a British television comedy sketch show that first aired on the BBC on 5 October 1969. Forty-five episodes were made over four series...
had its first primetime appearance on United States television on this show, with clips from several sketches and Terry Gilliam
Terry Gilliam
Terrence Vance "Terry" Gilliam is an American-born British screenwriter, film director, animator, actor and member of the Monty Python comedy troupe. Gilliam is also known for directing several films, including Brazil , The Adventures of Baron Munchausen , The Fisher King , and 12 Monkeys...
animations used. (It was Garrison's purchase of the rights to air Python clips that paid for the conversion of the BBC
BBC
The British Broadcasting Corporation is a British public service broadcaster. Its headquarters is at Broadcasting House in the City of Westminster, London. It is the largest broadcaster in the world, with about 23,000 staff...
series from PAL
PAL
PAL, short for Phase Alternating Line, is an analogue television colour encoding system used in broadcast television systems in many countries. Other common analogue television systems are NTSC and SECAM. This page primarily discusses the PAL colour encoding system...
to NTSC
NTSC
NTSC, named for the National Television System Committee, is the analog television system that is used in most of North America, most of South America , Burma, South Korea, Taiwan, Japan, the Philippines, and some Pacific island nations and territories .Most countries using the NTSC standard, as...
, which allowed Monty Python's Flying Circus
Monty Python's Flying Circus
Monty Python’s Flying Circus is a BBC TV sketch comedy series. The shows were composed of surreality, risqué or innuendo-laden humour, sight gags and observational sketches without punchlines...
to be sold to PBS
Public Broadcasting Service
The Public Broadcasting Service is an American non-profit public broadcasting television network with 354 member TV stations in the United States which hold collective ownership. Its headquarters is in Arlington, Virginia....
later that year.) These clips did have to pass muster with American network censors, and so in the "Dull Life of a City Stockbroker" sketch the topless news agent was cut out.