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| | | | | | | Old Articles | | | Sunday, January 18 | | · | CHER: NEW CO-STAR IS JACKASS |
| Thursday, January 08 | | · | CHER GIVES STAMP OF APPROVAL TO BONO POSTAGE |
| Tuesday, December 09 | | · | CHER PLOTS TO COVER 60'S CLASSIC HIT SINGLES |
| Thursday, October 30 | | · | CONTRARY TO RUMORS, CHER IS DOING JUST FINE |
| Wednesday, August 27 | | · | CHER TO HILARY: WE WANT YOU BABE! |
| Wednesday, May 07 | | · | CHER PROMISES THE 'MOST SPECIAL SHOW WE'VE DONE' |
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| Thursday, February 14 | | · | CHER READY FOR 200 CAESERS VEGAS SHOWS |
| Monday, February 11 | | · | CHER PRESENTS AT 2008 GRAMMY AWARDS |
| Friday, February 08 | | · | CHER SHARES: LIFE, LOVE, TATTOOS, POLITICS, PAPARAZZI |
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SONNY & CHER COMEDY HOUR
People regarded me as a clothes hanger more than an entertainer. They thought I was what I looked like. They thought I had a very beaded gown mentality. Even though I was the one who created it, it was difficult to live with.
After appearances on The Merv Griffin Show and guest spots on numerous TV Specials, Fred Silverman, head of CBS programming was convinced Sonny and Cher had what it took to front their own variety show.
The Sonny & Cher Comedy Hour began in 1971 a five week run as a summer replacement series, and proved an instant hit with audiences - the couple were soon given their own prime time show.
The concept of the show was an extension of the couple's night club act featuring bright musical numbers and Sonny and Cher bickering with their trademark insults.
Cher was first introduced to designer Bob Mackie in 1968 after guest starring on the Carol Burnett Show. They formed an instant friendship and Cher always knew that if she had her own show, Mackie would be her designer of choice.
The pair formed a formiddable fashion partnership, with Mackie designing all of Cher's stunning gowns. Millions of people tuned in to see what outrageous costumes Cher would wear next. She was completely uninhibited and open to any suggestions Mackie had for her. In her autobiography, Cher said, "I never felt self-conscious. I would never say, "I can't wear that" I'd say, "Do anything you want to do." I was also lucky that Bob was a throwback to the old Hollywood days, when every star had a look that was unique. Maybe some people thought that I looked ridiculous, but that was OK by me."
The show featured regulars Terri Garr, Freeman King, Peter Cullen, Billy Van, Murray Langston (later the 'Unknown Comic'), Ted Zeigler, Steve Martin and Chastity Bono, who endeared herself to millions with her cute antics and comic timing.
As a result of their success on television, their recording careers also took off. Cher enjoyed big hits with Gypsys, Tramps & Thieves, All I Ever Need Is You, The Way of Love, A Cowboy's Work is Never Done, Half Breed and Dark Lady. This was a phenomonal period for Sonny and Cher and catapulted them into superstardom.
But all was not well. The pressures of working on a one hour weekly variety show, maintaining a recording career, fame and a family began to take it's toll on Cher. She soon came to resent Sonny's controlling influence and the constant work was leaving her exhausted. It was becoming increasingly difficult to play the happily married couple in front of millions of fans.
Cher later said, "If you watched The Sonny & Cher Comedy Hour you assumed I was this wisecracking girl who ran our lives off stage because Sonny seemed so meek and easy going. Hah! In real life he was this Sicilian dictator husband - I could say nothing! We were in the top 10, we had all this money, everybody told me how lucky and happy I was - when actually I weighed 93 pounds, was constantly sick, could not eat, could not sleep. I got suicidal. And I thought, 'Either I'm going to leave Sonny, or I am going to jump out of a window'."
By the time the last episode of the 1974 season, Cher had already sued for divorce. Cher also discovered that after years of hard work, she in fact didn't own a thing. All the couples assets were linked to Cher Enterprises over which Sonny had total control. Cher could no longer work with Sonny and approached Fred Silverman at CBS to try and resolve the situation.
CBS were devastated by the news. The Sonny & Cher Comedy Hour had finished 8th in it's final season with 38 per cent of the TV audience. Fred Silverman was unable to do anything, and reluctantly the show was cancelled - perhaps the first time in history a television show was axed while in the top 10.
Sonny began work on the Sonny Comedy Revue. Unfortunately the hole left by Cher's absence was too big to recover from. The concept of Sonny's new vehicle was exactly the same, with a different female guest star each week that was actually a disguised "Cher". The show was cancelled after six weeks.
Cher enjoyed more success with The Cher Show, but by the second season she had grown tired of battles with network producers and censors, and the pressures of fronting a one-woman show. The idea of Sonny guest starring in a few episodes of the Cher Show to boost ratings soon turned into a full blown re-union. At Cher's request, the couple re-united and with The Cher Show, and The Sonny Comedy Revue behind them, the pair began work on the Sonny and Cher Show.
In February of 1976, one month after The Cher Show left the air, The Sonny & Cher Show returned. Despite phenomonal results for their debut program, ranking 7th, the ratings soon tumbled.The show finished the season as the 23rd most popular program.
Said Cher, "I guess the whole affair was pretty amazing. I don't think anyone had ever done this. I went back to a man I had been divorced from, and I was pregnant by another man (Gregg Allman) who had been divorcing me. All of America watched it unfold on TV. In the history of this country, that's probably never happened."
During its second season, "The Sonny & Cher Show" continued to be beaten in the ratings by "The Six Million Dollar Man", so CBS moved "The Sonny & Cher Show" to Friday nights in January of 1977. The show was as funny if not funnier than the original, but audiences simply did not warm to the couple in the same way. As Cher said, "The people didn't like it. The loved Sonny and Cher when we were in love and happy."
In a true testament to the show's popularity, the Sonny and Cher Comedy Hour enjoyed a five episode run of 15 million viewers in August 1971. They held the record for the most watched summer prime-time series in modern television history for 29 years until recently, with Survivor gathering an average of 21 million viewers in July 2000. May the beat go on and on and on...
 All I Really Wanna Do
- CLICK HERE TO VISIT THE SONNY & CHER COMEDY HOUR PHOTO GALLERY
See our episode guides:
Sonny & Cher Comedy Hour
SEASON 1 | SEASON 2 | SEASON 3
Sonny & Cher Show
SEASON 1 | SEASON 2
Copyright © by Just Plain Cher - Cher Music, Photos, Movies, Pictures, Videos All Right Reserved. Published on: 2005-01-07 (26251 reads) [ Go Back ] |
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