This is a song and dance number from the final night of the week-long CBS 1978 special "CBS: On The Air", a celebration of the network's 50th anniversary in TV and radio. This clip aired on Saturday, April 1, 1978.
The segment is introduced by CBS veteran Art Carney ("The Honeymooners") and then-current CBS star Sherman Hemsley ("The Jeffersons"). The song is about how popular shows on the network took on lives of their own when shows began to get spun off from it's success
The first verse of the song "Spinoff Blues" is sung by Danny Thomas, who had been the star of his own series, the 1953-64 sitcom "Make Room For Daddy" (aka "The Danny Thomas Show"), His verse is about how his show was a hit when he had a guest star on his show named Andy Griffith. Griffith, from that guest spot, would go on the helm the successful 1960-68 sitcom "The Andy Griffith Show". When Andy Griffith decided to leave his show in 1968, Ken Berry joined the sequel series called "Mayberry R.F.D."(1968-71) At the end of his verse, Danny sings about Andy's most famous spinoff success, "Gomer Pyle, U.S.M.C." (1965-70).
The second verse is then sang by Carroll O'Connor, the star of CBS' most successful sitcom at the time, the 1971-79 landmark series "All In The Family". His verse is about how successful his show was, being at the No. 1 spot ratings wise for 6 years, until CBS decided to capitalize on it (re; spinoff). He notes that Bea Arthur's 1971 appearance as Maude Findlay spun her off into her own hit sitcom "Maude (1972-78). "Maude" star Esther Rolle would spin off into her own hit sitcom "Good Times" (1974-79). Isabel Sanford, Sherman Hemsley and Mike Evans, best known as Archie Bunker's neighbors George, Louise and Lionel Jefferson, "moved on up" to their own hit sitcom "The Jeffersons" (1975-85)
The third verse is sang by Mary Tyler Moore, who at the time a year earlier, had just finished her run on her own hit sitcom "The Mary Tyler Moore Show" (1970-77). Her verse is about how successful her show was and that no one would leave the cast, that is, until CBS again tried capitalizing on its success. The first defection came in 1974 when Valerie Harper, who played Mary Richards' best friend Rhoda Morgenstern, was tapped to head her own sitcom "Rhoda" (1974-78). Next was Cloris Leachman, who played Mary and Rhoda's landlady Phyllis Lindstrom, into her own spinoff "Phyllis" (1975-77). And finally, Edward Asner moved into his own dramatic spinoff after the end of MTM called "Lou Grant" (1977-82)
Danny, Carroll and Mary then wind up the song with supporting backup from their spinoff castmates Andy Griffith, Jim Nabors, Ken Berry, Bea Arthur, Esther Rolle, Isabel Sanford, Sherman Hemsley, Edward Asner and Valerie Harper.
Негізгі бет CBS: ON THE AIR - 1978 Clip (The Spin-Off Blues)
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