Searching for odds and ends to incorporate into the US History class I’m teaching to 6th graders, I stumbled upon this variety show. Sponsored by Budweiser, hosted by John Wayne, this all-star special features both left and right leaning actors and singers, all celebrating America at the height of the Vietnam era of cynicism and descent. Bing Crosby as Mark Twain, Lorne Green as George Washington… it was very strange casting, indeed. And very preachy. And very of its time. John Wayne’s sermon at the end of the show is way over the top, but there were some poignant moments. Lucille Ball was touching. Dean Martin as Eli Whitney was amusing. Jack Benny got swiftly and brilliantly upstaged by George Burns.
Kudos to whomever posted a decent quality upload of this on the Tube of You: https://youtu.be/3L3XxI6MK8Y -- Kevin M. (RPCV) -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "TVorNotTV" group. To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to [email protected]. To view this discussion on the web visit https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/tvornottv/CAKgmY4B73YddmO7LfW%2BJWi9jM2Z%3D6AbyHS1uenStJbzVVCqWHg%40mail.gmail.com.
