Thursday, September 7, 2017

Forgotten TV: Half The George Kirby Comedy Hour (1972)

After The Kopykats had been cancelled, George Kirby, who had shot a pilot for a solo series before ABC came a'callin', signed a deal with Westinghouse's Group W division to front a half-hour series.

What some of you might not know was that Kirby was not only a talented comedian and impressionist, but had started his career as an R & B singer. Half The George Kirby Comedy Hour served as an outlet for Kirby to showcase his gifts as both a comic and a song & dance man.

Unfortunately, the series lasted just 1 year. I remember seeing this filling in for some CBS series that the affiliate opted to black out on a Saturday night. Why that was, I don't know, given the lineup CBS had on Saturdays in 1972, but that's when I saw the Kirby show.

Just as unfortunately, we lost Kirby to Parkinson's disease in 1995.

In this clip, George teams with Della Reese for a medley covering "Never Can Say Goodbye", which was a hit for Isaac Hayes and the Jackson 5ive, and "Let's Stay Together" (Al Green).



Kind of like an urban Dean Martin, don't you think?

Rating: B.

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