The Decline of the Variety Show on American Television

Sonny & Cher

It was on this date that The Sonny & Cher Comedy Hour debuted on CBS. In many ways, along with The Flip Wilson Show, it was a last hurrah for variety shows. The format had been popular on American television from their inception in the late 1940s and throughout the 1950s and 1960s, but while the 1970s the majority of variety shows saw only moderate success. Some only lasted a few months or a few weeks.

Variety shows were an old form entertainment even as they made their way to television in the late Forties. They had their origins in the music halls of United Kingdom and vaudeville in the United States during the Victorian Era. Both the music halls of the United Kingdom and vaudeville in the United States often featured a variety of acts on one evening's bill. For instance, a singer might be followed by a magician who might be followed by acrobats and who in turn might be followed by a comedian. The British music halls faded after 1918, while American vaudeville largely vanished from view after 1930.

Of course, the variety format was hardly dead, as it found its way to radio. Many of the early variety shows on radio were hosted by individuals who had honed their craft on the vaudeville circuit. Jack Benny, George Burns and Gracie Allen, Fanny Brice, Edgard Bergen and Charlie McCarthy, and yet others had all started on vaudeville. Of course, radio would eventually produce its own variety show stars who had little or no connection to vaudeville, including Goodman Ace and Arthur Godfrey, among others.

Given their popularity on television, it was inevitable that variety shows would find their way to television. The first regularly scheduled variety show, Hour Glass, debuted on May 9, 1946 on NBC.Hour Glass would not last long, but it paved the way for more successful variety shows. Toast of the Town, hosted by newspaper columnist Ed Sullivan debuted on June 20, 1948 and ran until 1971. It was renamed The Ed Sullivan Show, by which it was informally known, in 1955. The Ed Sullivan Show was a variety show in the truest sense. For example, its most famous episode, aired on February 9, 1964, not only introduced the United States to The Beatles, but featured such diverse acts as the cast of Oliver, comedian and impressionist Frank Gorshin, singer Tessie O'Shea, the comedy team of McCall and Brill, and the acrobats Welly and the Four Fays. Toast of the Town was not the only successful variety show to emerge in the late Forties. Texaco Star Theatre, hosted by Milton Berle, Arthur Godfrey and His Friends The Arthur Murray Party, The Jackie Gleason Show, The Garry Moore Show, and others emerged in the late 1940s and saw a good deal of success.

The variety show would continue to see a good deal of success in the 1950s, with many of the shows that debuted in the late 1940s continuing through the decade. The 1950s also saw the debut of such successful variety shows as The Red Skelton Show, The Dinah Shore Show, The George Gobel Show, and others. An argument can be made the 1960s may have been the height of the variety show on television in the United States. The decade saw the debut of such hits as a new version of The Jackie Gleason Show, a new primetime version of The Garry Moore Show, The Andy Williams Show, The Hollywood Palace, The Dean Martin Show, The Carol Burnett Show,  The Smothers Brothers Comedy Hour, Hee-Haw, and The Glen Campbell Goodtime Hour.  From the Fifties into the Sixties, variety shows did evolve. More and more as time passed, variety shows began to only feature music and comedy sketches, doing away with such variety acts as acrobats and magicians.

At the start of the Seventies, it must not have seem possible that there would be a time when variety shows weren't airing on American television. While The Ed Sullivan Show and The Red Skelton Show were cancelled due to the Rural Purge (Red Skelton would move to NBC for one last season), there were still plenty of other variety shows on the air, including The Carol Burnett Show and The Dean Martin Show. For many, the success of The Sonny & Cher Comedy Hour may have signalled that the variety show was here to stay. As it turned out, it was not the case.

While The Sonny & Cher Comedy Hour would be a hit, there would be fewer hit variety shows on American television than in previous decades. The Flip Wilson Show and The Muppet Show, proved to be hits, whle Donny & Marie, and Barbara Mandrell and the Mandrell Sisters saw some success. The Mac Davis Show and Tony Orlando & Dawn both lasted about two seasons. Regardless, there were many more shows that lasted only a season. Some didn't even last that. Even having a big name host might not save a variety show from low ratings in the Seventies. Helen Reddy had topped the charts in the early to mid-Seventies, but The Helen Reddy Show only lasted eight episodes. Van Dyke and Company, starring the legendary Dick Van Dyke, only lasted for three months. Others had even briefer runs. The Hanna-Barbera Happy Hour only lasted for five episodes. 

By the early 1980s, the writing was on the wall for variety shows. During the 1981-1982 season, only two variety shows aired. The Billy Crystal Comedy Hour only lasted for five episodes. Barbara Mandell and the Mandrell Sisters was still on the air and lasted the entire season, but it ended its run because of strain on Barbara Mandrell's vocal cords. The 1982-1983 season saw no variety shows on American network television, the first such season since 1948. While variety shows have aired on the American networks since, none have seen any real success.

It is difficult to say why variety shows fell out of vogue, but it seems likely that there were multiple reasons. Among the biggest reasons may have been changing music tastes in the American public. e sort of traditional American pop, sung by artists from Bing Crosby to Andy Williams, began to decline in popularity with the rise of rock 'n' roll in the Fifties. American music would diversify even more as the Sixties became the Seventies. Quite simply, it became increasingly difficult to find a musical performer who would appeal to a wide swathe of the American public the same way that erry Como, Bing Crosby, or Andy Williams had. As to rock and R&B  performers, they might make appearances on variety shows, but the vast majority apparently showed no interest in hosting one. The 1976 summer replacement series The Jacksons was an exception.

Another reason for the fall of the variety show may have been that American television itself began to diversify. It is perhaps no coincidence that the decline of the variety show took place at roughly the same time as the rise of cable television. From the beginning of network broadcasts in the mid to late Forties into the Eighties, many hen many communities in the United States had access to as few as two to three TV channels.  The Seventies and Eighties saw enormous growth for cable television and hence cable channels. Many households went from having access to only a few channels to many channels. This meant the networks had more competition than they ever had before. Through the Eighties, Nineties, and Naughts, the broadcast networks would gradually lose their audience to the numerous cable channels that had emerged. It's possible one of the victims of this phenomenon is that variety shows lost what remaining audience they had.

Yet another possible reason for the decline of variety shows could be considered entirely subjective. Quite simply, many of them were just plain bad. Pink Lady and Jeff is often counted among the worst shows of all time, but it was not alone receiving terrible reviews where variety shows are concerned. The Brady Bunch Variety Hour wasn't nearly as bas as Pink Lady and Jeff, but it didn't receive very good reviews either. The Hanna-Barbera Happy Hour, hosted by two life-size puppets, received absolutely wretched reviews. While Jim Stafford had a string of novelty hits in the early to mid-Seventies, The Jim Stafford Show was largely panned. By the time many of these shows aired, the variety show was already going down. It seems possible that they may have actually hastened its demise.

The variety show would have an impact on sketch comedy shows, such as Saturday Night Live, In Living Color, and Culture Clash, as well as late night talk shows, but the format is pretty much extinct on American television. That is a shame, as the variety shows of old gave audiences, well, variety. One could tune into The Ed Sullivan Show and see musicians, comedians, and even acrobats and magicians. Unlike episodic and serial television shows, one could come into the middle of a variety show without worry of having missed something. Variety shows are now  a thing of the past, and it is sad that they became so.

TCM: Films on Film

Longtime Turner Classic Movies viewers may recall that the channel showed documentaries on weekends under the title Films on Film. On September 4, 2026, Films on Film is returning to TCM, although with a slightly different format.  Films on Film will feature a documentary followed by movies dealing with the subject of the documentary. It will be hosted by Ben Mankiewicz and airs at 8:00 PM Eastern/7:00 PM Central on Fridays. 

Films on Film debuts on September 4 with the documentary Charles Grodin: Rebel with a Cause (2025), followed by several of his movies. The following weeks will see documentaries on composer Ennio Morricone, Latino Heritage Month, Anti-Nazi Comedies, Lon Chaney, director John Boorman, Alfred Hitchcock's Blondes, Expressionism in Hollywood, and Vincent Price. You can find a full schedule through October 30, 2026 at the TCM website.

The 60th Anniversary of the Movie Batman (1966)

It was sixty years ago today that the feature film Batman (1966), based on the TV show of the same name and starring Adam West and Burt Ward, premiered at the Paramount Theatre in Austin, Texas. At the time, it was not unusual for television shows to be adapted as movies with most of their original cast intact. Dragnet, The Lineup, Our Miss Brooks, and The Munsters had all seen big screen adaptations. What separated Batman from these movies was that it was the smash hit of the 1965-1966 season. It would have perhaps been more surprising if Batman had not made it to the big screen.

The origins of the movie Batman ;(1966)go back to before the television series debuted. Originally, producer William Dozier wanted to make a feature film to promote the television show. In the end, the movie would be put on hold. Foremost among the reasons for this is that 20th Century Fox would have to shoulder the entire burden for the budget of the feature film, while ABC would help with the costs of the television show. 20th Century Fox wanted to know for certain that they had a hit on their hands before they even considered a Batman movie.

Yet another reason may have been the fact that ABC moved up the debut of the TV series Batman. It was originally set to debut in the fall of 1966. This changed when it became obvious that the start of the fall 1965 season was catastrophic as far as the ratings were concerned. . In the 1964/1965 season ABC closely followed CBS and NBC in the ratings. In the early months of the 1965/1966 season, ABC was a distant third. ABC then did a drastic revamp of their schedule at mid-season, promoting it as "the Second Season." To do this, ABC needed shows. This meant that Batman would have to debut a whole nine months earlier, in either late December or early January. It simply would not have been possible to produce and release a movie in that time.

Batman proved not only to be a smash hit, but an outright fad during the winter and spring of 1966. Batman merchandise filled store shelves across the nation. It probably surprised no one when 20th Century Fox decided to go forward with a Batman movie. Of course, much of the reason 20th Century Fox decided to go forward with the movie was to promote the series overseas. s. While already airing in the United States, Canada, and the United Kingdom, Batman had yet to air in Europe, Japan, or Asia, places where people might not be familiar with the original characters from the comic books. 20th Century Fox then saw the film as a tool with which they could introduce the characters to foreign markets.

The movie Batman (1966) saw four of Batman's archenemies united in a plot involving the kidnapping of dehydrated members of the United World's Security Council. sar Romero, Burgess Meredith, and Frank Gorshin reprised their roles as The Joker, The Penguin, and The Riddler respectively. Julie Newmar had other commitments that prevented her from doing the movie, so Lee Meriwether took over the role of Catwoman.

Like the TV series, the movie Batman featured big name actors beyond the villains. In fact, it would be Reginald Denny's last film. He played Commodore Schmidlapp. Milton Fromme appeared as Vice Admiral Fangschliester. The voice of the President of the United States went uncredited, although it was provided by another big name. Van Williams, set to appear as the Green Hornet in the fall, provided the voice.

The Batman movie was made for a budget of $1, 377, 800, much larger than that of the TV series. Because of the shooting schedule of the show, it had to be filmed in between the end of shooting for the first season and the start of filming for the second season. It introduced the Batcycle, the Batboat, and the Batcopter. An often overlooked fact is that it was the first Batman feature film ever made. It also marked the feature film debut of The Joker, The Penguin, Catwoman, and The Riddler.

Contrary to popular belief, 20th Century Fox did a good deal of promotion for the film in the United States. The studio also took every precaution to insure that viewers knew this was not a compilation of episodes from the series (as was the case with The Man From U.N.C.L.E. movies), but an all original movie. Ads for the film boasted that it was "All New, Made Especially for the Giant Motion Picture Screen!" Unfortunately, the film opened to mixed reviews. And despite the promotion the movie received, it only did moderately well at the box office. For another film, this might be seen as a success, but this was a film based on the hit television series of 1966. That the Batman movie only did moderate business at the box office was perhaps a sign that Batmania was winding down.

The movie Batman (1966) aired on the very network that had cancelled the original series, ABC, on The ABC Sunday Night Movie on July 5, 1971. It aired again on The ABC Sunday Night Movie on September 5, 1971. The movie would enter syndication so that it would show up on local television stations throughout the Seventies and into the Eighties.

The Batman (1966) feature film would prove to have a lasting impact. The Bat Shark Repellent that appears in the movie has become something of a running joke ever since, Curiously, it was not invented for the movie, but first appeared in Batman no. 117 (August, 1958). It has since been referenced in the video game Batman: Arkham City, The Lego Batman Movie (2017), the animated series Harley Quinn, and the animated series Batman: The Brave and the Bold. Another memorable scene, in which Batman tries to get rid of a bomb with the line "Some days you just can't get rid of a bomb," has become something of an internet meme.

In the end, while the movie Batman movie saw only modest success upon its release, it has become a lasting part of Batman's history and popular culture. Other movies based on TV shows from Dragnet (1954) to Munster, Go Home! (1966), may only be remembered by TV historians and fans, but the movie Batman (1966) remains popular to his day, even having aired on Turner Classic Movies and having been shown at the TCM Classic Film Festival.

Godspeed Antoinette Bower

Antoinette Bower, who guest stared on such shows as The Twilight Zone, The Wild Wild West, and Star Trek, died on April 30, 2026, at the age of 93.

Antoinette Bower as born on September 30, 1932, in Baden, Germany. Her mother was German, while her father was English. She was educated in England. Her family later moved to Canada. Following World War II, she was a field language supervisor and welfare counsellor with the United Nations' International Refugee Organization. In 1953, she moved to Canada where her family was, and took a job with the CBC. She interviewed people, wrote scripts, and worked in public affairs. She took up acting, and made her television debut in a CBC adaptation of Edgar Allan Poe's 'The Telltale Heart" in 1958. In the late Fifties, she guest starred on the shows The Unforeseen, Hudson Bay, and Heritage.

In the Sixties, Antoinette Bower was very busy, making multiple guest appearances on television shows. She guest starred on such shows as Hong Kong; The Tab Hunter Show; The Aquanauts; Adventures in Paradise; Have Gun--Will Travel; Wagon Train; Alfred Hitchcock Presents; Thriller; Hawaiian Eye; Kraft Mystery Theatre; Perry Mason; Combat!; The Twilight Zone; The Travels of Jaimie McPheeters; The Great Adventure; The Man From U.N.C.L.E.; Kraft Suspense Theatre; Burke's Law; Convoy; The Wild Wild West; Ben Casey; 12 O' Clock High; The Wackiest Ship in the Army; I Spy; A Man Called Shenandoah; Bob Hope Presents the Chrysler Theatre; Jericho; Iron Horse; T.H.E. Cat; The Fugitive; The Invaders; Star Trek; Mission: Impossible; Ironside; Tarzan; The Felony Squad; Cowboy in Africa; The Big Valley; Bonanza; Insight; Mannix; Hawaii Five-O; Get Smart; Lancer; The Name of the Game; Hogan's Heroes; and The Young Lawyers. She made her movie debut in Mutiny on the Bounty in 1962.

In the Seventies, she guest starred on the shows Mission: Impossible; Ironside; The Whiteoaks of Jaina; Search; Hawkins; The F.B.I.; The Starlost; The Collaborators; Wide World of Mystery; Columbo; Archer; Cannon; The Six Million Dollar Man; and Kojak. She appeared in the movies The Mephisto Waltz (1971), Superbeast (1972), Die, Sister, Die! (1978), and Prom Night (1980).

Starting in 1989, Antoinette Bower was a regular on the Canadian series Neon Rider. She guest starred on the show Hart to Hart; Bring 'Em Back Alive; The Thorn Birds; and Murder, She Wrote. She appeared in the movies Blood Song (1982), Time Walker (1982), The Evil That Men Do (1984), and Club Paradise (1986). She continued to appear on Neon Rider until 1992, when she retired from acting.

It was little wonder that Antoinette Bower was in such demand for guest appearances, as she could play a wide variety of roles. In The Twilight Zone episode "Probe 7, Over and Out," she plays a humanoid alien stranded on a planet whom an astronaut, also stranded on the planet, encounters. On the Star Trek episode "Catspaw," she played Sylvia, a sadistic alien who could do everything from change shape to control minds. On Lancer, she played a con woman named Angeline Ferris involved in a plot to kill Jelly (Paul Brinegar) for insurance money. Over the years, Antoinette Bower played everything from a murderous nurse on Alfred Hitchcock Presents to an animal trainer (and femme fatale) on The Wild Wild West to the wife of a photographer on Columbo. Antoinete Bower was a versatile actress and she always gave good performances.

"Anti-Summersong" by The Decemberists

As many of you know, I hate summer. About the only things good about it are flowers, butterflies, and hummingbirds. Other than that, it is a hot, miserable, muggy time of year when there's way too much daylight and far too many allergens. Of course, it doesn't help that many of the people who meant the most to me died in the summer. Anyway, this summer has been worse than most. So many of my favourite actors and musicians have died this summer that I swear the vast of majority of my posts since June have been eulogies. And then this summer there have been far too many days with heat indices of over 100. Anyway, for those of you who also hate summer, here's a song for you. "Anti-Summersong" by The Decemberists. 

Godspeed Louis Lasser

Louise Lasser, best known as the star of the show Mary Hartman, Mary Hartman, died on July 6, 2026, at the age of 87.

Louise Lasser was born on April 11, 1939, in New York City. Her father, S. Jay Lasser was a tax expert who wrote the book Everybody's Income Tax Guide. Louise Lasser studied political science at Brandeis University in Waltham, Massachusetts. While there she took part in the school's musicals. She left college after three years and went back to New York City. She then began studying acting under Sanford Meisner and stared performing in Greenwich Village bars and coffee shops, as well as taking part in improvisational revues.

Louise Lasser understudied Barbara Streisand on Broadway in I Can Get It for You Wholesale. In the production, she was also the replacement for Rosaline (originally played by Marion Fels) and later Miss Marmelstein (originally played by Barbara Streisand). In the Sixties, she appeared on Broadway in Henry, Sweet Henry and The Chinese and Dr. Fish. In 1962, she appeared in an unaired pilot The Laughmakers starring Alan Alda. She made her television debut in an episode of the daily soap opera The Doctors in 1965. She made her movie debut in 1965 in What's New Pussycat. She appeared in the movie Take the Money and Run (1969). She was the voice of tiger lily in What's Up, Tiger Lily?, a comic redub by Woody Allen of the 1965 Japanese spy movie International Secret Police: Key of Keys.

It was in 1976 that Louise Lasser began her run as the title character on the soap opera parody Mary Hartman, Mary Hartman. In the Seventies, she guest starred on the shows Love, American Style; The Bob Newhart Show; The Mary Tyler Moore Show; Love Story; McCloud; and Medical Center. She appeared in several TV movies, including Class of '55 and Coffee, Tea or Me?. She appeared in the movies Bananas (1971), Such Good Friends (1971), Everything You Want to Know About Sex*But Were Afraid to Ask (1972), Slither (1973), Stardust Memories (1980), and In God We Tru$t (1980). In 1974, she appeared on Broadway in Thieves.

In the Eighties, Louise Lasser was a regular on the sitcom It's a Living in its second season. She guest starred on the shows Taxi; Laverne & Shirley; and St. Elsewhere. She appeared in the movies Crimewave (1985), The Perils of P.K. (1986), Blood Rage (1987), Surrender (1987), Sing (1989), Rude Awakening (1989), Modern Love (1990), and Frakenhooker (1990).

In the Nineties, she appeared in the movies The Night We Never Met (1993), Layin' Low (1996), Sudden Manhattan (1996), Happiness (1998), Mystery Men (1999), Requiem for a Dream (1990), and Fast Food Fast Women (1990). She guest starred on the show Empty Nest.

In the Naughts, Louise Lasser guest starred on the show CSI: Crime Scene Investigation. She appeared in the movies Queenie in Love (2001), Wolves of Wall Street (2002), and Lady Killers (2003). In the Teens, she guest starred on three episodes of Girls.  Her last films were Driving Me Crazy: Proof of Concept (2012) and Funny Pages (2022). 

Louise Lasser was a very talented actress.She was perfect as Mary Hartman, the stereotypical housewife who was obsessed with keeping her floors clean and TV dinners. She was also brilliant as Nancy, the aloof social activist in the movie Bananas. Over the years, she played a number of roles, both large and small, in movies. In Happiness, she played the mother of three sisters who finds herself going through a divorce. In Mystery Men, she played Violet, the doting other of The Blue Raja (Hank Azaria). Over the years, she appeared in a wide variety of roles, and gave a good performance every time. 

TCM Summer Under the Stars 2026

TCM Summer Under the Stars returns to Turner Classic Movies next month. Like many TCM fans, I always look forward to it, my only caveat being that Noir Alley is off for a whole month. Regardles, this year has some of my favourite stars and there are also several days devoted to stars who are entirely new to Summer Under the Stars. These include Diane Keaton, George Hamilton, Marie Windsor, Bonita Granville, and Brock Peters. TCM's hosts also got to pick stars to whom days would be devoted to. Eddie Muller picked Joan Bennett, Jacqueline Stewart picked Hattie McDaniel. Alicia Malone picked Barbara Stanwyck. And Dave Karger picked Dana Andrews.

One problem I do have with this year's Summer Under the Stars is some odd scheduling in my mind. While I love The Blob (1958), I would have probably scheduled one of the movies more representative of Steve McQueen's work, like The Magnificent Seven (1960) or The Great Esxape (1963), in prime time. With regards to Jack Lemmon's movies, I would have scheduled The Great Race (1965) later in the day. It's one of my all-time favourite movies, but I don't want to get up at 5:00 AM to watch it! And I honestly don't know what Turner Classic Movies was thinking with regards to the schedule for Robert Redford. They aren't showing Barefoot in the Park (1967) or Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid (1969), yet we get Out of Africa (1985) in prime time. It may have won several Academy Awards, but is both one of my least favourite Robert Redford moives and my least favourite Sydney Pollack movies. Anyway, I will stop complaining. I guess we should be thankful we have Summer Under the Stars at all.

As is my custom here at A Shroud of Thoughts, I have picked out my favourite movies airing this Summer Under the Stars. Here is a when they air. As usual, all times are Central.

August 1, Doris Day:
10:30 AM Calamity Jane (1953)
2:45 PM Teacher's Pet (1958)
5:00 PM Please Don't Eat the Daisies (1960)
7:00 PM Love Came Back (1962)

August 2, Humphrey Bogart:
7:00 AM Dark Victory (1939)
11L00 AM Casablanca (1942)
1:00 PM Beat the Devil (1954)
3:00 PM We're No Angels (1955)
5:00 PM The Big Sleep (1946)
1:00 AM Dark Passage (1947)

August 4, Glenn Ford:
3:00 PM The Courtship of Eddie's Father (1963)
7:00 PM The Big Heat (1954)
10:45 PM The Blackboard Jungle (1955)

August 5, Joan Bennett:
12:30 PM The Woman on the Beach (1954)
3:15 PM The Woman in the Window (1944)
5:00 PM Scarlet Street (1945)
7:00 PM Man Hunt (1941)
9:00 PM Father of the Bride (1950)
11:00 PM Suspira (1977)
1:00 AM House of Dark Shadows (1970)

August 6, Diane Keaton:
11:00 AM Baby Boom (1987)
7:00 PM Shoot the Moon (1982)
9:15 PM Annie Hall (1977)
12:45 AM Sleeper (1973)

August 7, Basil Rathbone:
10:30 AM A Tale of Two Cities (1935)
12:45 PM Captain Blood (1935)
4:30 PM The Woman in Green (1945)
5:45 PM Dressed to Kill (1946)
7:00 PM The Adventures of Robin Hood (1938)
11:00 PM Tower of London (1939)

August 8, Steve McQueen:
7:15 AM The Getaway (1972)
11:45 PM The Magnificent Seven (1960)
2:00 PM The Great Escape (1963)
5:00 PM The Thomas Crown Affair (1968)
7:00 PM The Blob (1958)
8:30 PM Bullitt (1968)
10:30 PM Papillon (1973)

August 9, Gene Tierney:
11:00 PM The Ghost & Mrs. Muir (1947)
1:00 PM Dragonwyck (1946)
5:00 PM Heaven Can Wait (1943)
7:00 PM Leave Her to Heaven (1945)
9:00 PM Night and the City (1950)
11:00 PM The Razor's Edge (1946)

August 10, George Hamilton:
1:00 PM Two Weeks in Another Town (1962)
3:00 PM Doctor, You've Got to Be Kidding (1967)
9:00 PM  Where the Boys Are (1960)

August 11, Barbara Stanwyck:
9:30 AM The Mad Mrs. Manton (1938)
7:00 PM The Lady Eve (1941)
9:00 PM Ball of Fire (1941)
11:00 PM Sorry, Wrong Number (1948)
12:45 AM The Strange Love of Martha Ivers (1946)

August 12, Groucho Marx:
2:00 PM A Day at the Races (1937)
4:00 PM A Night at the Opera (1935)
5:45 PM Horse Feathers (1932)
7:00 PM Duck Soup (1933)
8:30 PM Animal Crackers (1930)
10:30 PM Monkey Busines (1931)

August 13, Susan Hayward:
5:00 AM Tulsa (1949)
7:00 PM Valley of the Dolls (1967)
11:30 PM I'l Cry Tomorrow (1955)
3:30 AM Deadline at Dawn (1946)

August 14, Jack Lemmon:
5:00 AM The Great Race (1965)
7:45 AM Mister Roberts (1955)
10:00 AM Irma La Douce (1963)
12:30 PM How to Murder Your Wife (1965)
2:30 PM The Fortune Cookie (1966)
4:45 PM The Apartment (1960)
10:45 PM Some Like It Hot (1959)

August 15, Natalie Wood:
2:45 PM Splendor in the Grass (1961)
5:00 PM Rebel Without a Cause (1955)
7:00 PM West Side Story (1960)
11:45 PM Penelope (1966)
1:30 AM Cash McCall (1960)

August 16, Cary Grant:
7:00 AM Mr. Lucky (1943)
11:00 AM My Favorite Wife (1940)
12:45 PM His Girl Friday (1940)
4:30 PM North by Northwest (1959)
7:00 PM Gunga Din (1939)

August 17, Rosalind Russell:
10:00 AM Night Must Fall (1937)
12:00 PM Design for Scandal (1941)
5:15 PM The Velvet Touch (1948)
7:00 PM Auntie Mame (1958)
9:30 PM Gypsy (1962)
12:00 AM The Trouble with Angels (1966)

August 18, Robert Redford:
9:00 AM The Canidate (1972)
12:45 PM The Great Waldo Pepper (1975)
5:00 PM The Way We Were (1973)
10:00 PM The Sting (1973)

August 20, Marlon Brando:
12:00 PM Mutiny on the Bounty (1962)
5:30 PM The Wild One (1953)
7:00 PM A Streetcar Named Desire (1951)

August 21, Marie Windsor:
5:00 AM Song of the Thin Man (1947)
2:15 PM Abbott & Costello Meet the Mummy (1955)
7:00 PM The Narrow Margin (1952)
8:30 PM Force of Evil (1948)
10:00 PM The Killing (1956)
1:!5 AM The Outfit (1973)
3:15 AM Hearts of the West (1975)

August 22, John Wayne:
9:30 AM 3 Godfathers (1948)
7:00 PM The High and Mighty (1954)
1:45 AM Stagecoach (1939)

August 23, Katharine Hepburn:
9:15 AM Stage Door (1937)
11:00 AM Woman of the Year (1942)
3:00 PM Bringing Up Baby (1938)
5:00 PM The Philadelphia Story (1940)
1:00 AM Rooster Cogburn (1975)

August 24, Dana Andrews:
7:00 AM A Walk in the Sun (1945)
11:00 AM While the City Sleeps (1956)
5:00 PM Brainstorm (1965)
7:00 PM Laura (1944)
10:15 PM The Loved One (1965)
12:30 PM The Best Years of Our Lives (1946)

August 25, Bonita Granville:
8:00 AM Merrily We Live (1938)
11:00 AM Angels Wash Their Faces (1939)
7:00 PM These Three (1936)
10:00 PM Nancy Drew...Detective (1938)
11:15 PM Nancy Drew...Reporter (1939)
12:30 AM Nancy Drew...Trouble Shooter (1939)
1:45 AM Nancy Drew and the Hidden Staircase (1939)

August 26, James Stewart:
8:45 AM You Can't Take It With You (1938)
11:00 AM The Shop Around the Corner (1940)
3:00 PM Carbine Williams (1952)
5:00 PM Bell, Book and Candle (1958)
7:00 PM Vertigo (1958)
9:15 PM Rear Window (1954)
11:15 PM Rope (1952)

August 27, Bette Davis:
8:00 AM Of Human Bondage (1934)
3:00 PM Now, Voyager (1942)
7:00 PM All About Eve (1950)
9:30 PM The Catered Affair (1956)
11:30 PM The Little Foxes (1941)

August 28, Brock Peters:
5:00 AM Carmen Jones (1954)
8:45 AM Sergeant Dundee (1965)
1:15 PM Soylent Green (1973)
7:00 PM To Kill a Mockingbird (1962)
11:00 PM The Pawnbroker (1964)

August 29, Rita Hayworth:
7:00 AM The Strawberry Blonde (1941)
9:00 AM Miss Sadie Thompson (1953)
3:00 PM Pal Joey (1957)
7:00 PM Gilda (1944)
9:00 PM Cover Girl (1944)

August 30, Joel McCrea:
11:00 AM Sullivan's Travels (1941)
1:00 PM The Palm Beach Story (1942)
2:45 PM Foreign Correspondent (1940)
5:00 PM The More the Merrier (1943)
7:00 PM Ride the High Country (1962)
3:45 PM The Most Dangerous Game (1932)

August 31, Ava Gardner:
6:30 AM Lone Star (1952)
2:30 PM Seven Days in May (1962)
4:45 PM The Life and Times of Judge Roy Bean (1972)
9:15 PM Night of the Iguana (1964)
11:30 PM The Barefoot Contessa (1954)