The Beatrice Arthur Special
Written byHal Goldman
Saul Ilson
Jeffrey Barron
Directed byJeff Margolis
Howard Morris
Presented byBeatrice Arthur
StarringBeatrice Arthur
Rock Hudson
Melba Moore
Wayland Flowers & Madame
Music byBob Rozario
Country of originUnited States
Original languageEnglish
Production
ProducerSaul Ilson
EditorAndy Zall
Running time60 minutes
Production companySaul Ilson Productions
Original release
NetworkCBS
ReleaseJanuary 19, 1980 (1980-01-19)

The Beatrice Arthur Special is a 1980 American comedy-variety television special hosted by and starring Beatrice Arthur in her first and only prime time special. It was originally broadcast as a "CBS Special Presentation" on January 19, 1980 at 10:00 pm ET/PT.[1]

Overview

Arthur, along with guest stars Rock Hudson, Melba Moore, Wayland Flowers and his puppet character Madame, perform a series of skits and musical numbers, many of which have a distinct Broadway sensibility (two numbers from I Love My Wife, a musical that Arthur's ex-husband Gene Saks had directed, were among the selections). The special was recorded using a single-camera setup without a studio audience, with a laugh track added in post-production.[2]

The Paley Center for Media copy includes Moore singing "Miss Thing" as well; that song is not on bootleg copies of the over-the-air broadcast.

Reception

The special was nominated for an Emmy for Outstanding Costume Design at the 32nd Primetime Emmy Awards, but lost to NBC's This Year's Blonde.[3]

A retrospective review by Phil Hall at Film Threat's "The Bootleg Files" cited Moore's performances as the highlight of the special, also noting that Flowers's segments provided some of the few moments of "genuine fun" in the show. Hall conceded he was not a fan of Arthur's voice or style and felt that Moore seemed out of place with Arthur, the openly gay Flowers and the closeted Hudson. In all, Hall concluded that the awkward mix of mostly unfunny comedy (citing the Martin sketch as a lowlight) with dramedy, poor choreography, and miscasting of camp icons like Hudson in straight roles made the special so bad, it's good.[2]

References

  1. John J. O’Connor (January 18, 1980). "TV Weekend Laughter Is Magic for Beatrice Arthur". The New York Times. Retrieved 2009-04-26.
  2. 1 2 Phil Hall (March 26, 2004). "The Bootleg Files: The Beatrice Arthur Special". Film Threat. Retrieved 2009-04-26.
  3. "32nd Primetime Emmy Awards - Nominee, Outstanding Costume Design for a Limited Series or Special - 1980". Academy of Television Arts and Sciences. Retrieved 3 March 2023.
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