Season: 2 (The Sonny & Cher Show)
Episode: 20
Guest(s): Redd Foxx, Tom Jones, Shields & Yarnell
CBS Air Date: November 21 1976
Also aired: GetTV
This the Thanksgiving Episode.
Opening Song: “All I Ever Need Is You” (Video)
Cover of Ray Charles (1972)
They sang this song 2 times previously, on the Comedy Hour episodes #7 and #54. Cher wears a halter-pantsuit that has been covered up by some black fringe. My notes say Sonny wears a green suit. Sonny does both his hand-on-his-hip and the fixing of Cher (somehow, I think that’s his love language). Cher makes fun of his hand gestures.
Breakout: At the bar we find out Alvin has gotten a “quickie divorce” from Myrna and Alvin declares his love for Laverne. He says as soon as Laverne gets her divorce from Harry they can marry each other. Laverne says she and Harry were never legally married. (Does Olivia know this?)
Opening Banter: They talk about Thanksgiving and Sonny asks after “what’s his name,” an interesting bit of Sonny’s somewhat complex, half-joking and now-nationally-televised disregard for Gregg Allman. There’s a short joke. They talk about Sonny’s family tree (Uncle Vito, cousin Antonio) and there’s a deportation joke, a CIA joke and an Indian joke. I have a note that the set seems too tall, that it dominates them. I don’t know what I meant by that. It seems fine now. It’s possibly because I watched all the episodes previously out of order and the old set was so small in comparison.
Vente Nove: Cher interviews the director about his new film “La Dolce Turkey,” which is his first film about America. Cher, Ted Zeigler and Redd Foxx are turkeys hiding in a motel on Thanksgiving so they won’t get cooked. This skit was cut from GetTV. Too bad; it sounds funny.
Guest Spot: Tom Jones lip syncs “Say You’ll Stay Until Tomorrow”
Duet with Guest (Video)
Cher and Tom Jones sing “Resurrection Shuffle” (cover of Ashton, Gardner and Dyke, 1971). Cher sang this song on episode #20 of her solo show. Cher wears her triangular afro wig and a sequined gold top similar to the one she had the roller-skating malfunction with. She has black pants with a swinging, gold belt. There’s some jiggle TV. Tom Jones and Cher do some repartee and he calls her “a very confusing woman.” It’s always fun to see these two cover-song titans perform together.
Skit: Cher returns as Barbara Nauseous doing a story about the fact that there is a doctor shortage going on so bionic doctors (Shields & Yarnell) have been employed. The bionic doctors give a Marine (Sonny) a physical. Redd Foxx plays the Marine Sargent.
Cher Solo: “Long Distance Love Affair” (Video)
From Cher’s 1976 solo album I’d Rather Believe In You
Cher is rocking the song in a curly wig and a cut-out black gown, an early precursor to the hole-fit. It amazes me there were any televised performances from this album; it seemed so neglected. Interesting to note: as a kid I misheard the first line of the song to be “Mama raised me to love on men and that’s just what I’m tryin’ to do” instead of “love one man” and I remember thinking, “Huh, that’s progressive of Mama.” The dress seems a little big on her. The big red light is reminiscent of the old torch numbers on the Comedy Hour. Some super-fine earrings. Early beginnings of her later-day MTV rock moves.
Skit: Chastity is the center of another framing-device like the Vamp skit, this time singing “The Happily Ever After” song. Chastity does not look comfortable doing it. There’s a fan magazine joke.
+ Tom Jones and Cher are a prince and princess couple of parents and Sonny is their frog son. Ted Zeigler plays the beautiful princess who kisses Sonny but mistakenly turns him into a rabbit instead of a man. Cher says at least they’ll have lots of grandchildren (being rabbits and all).
+ Tom Jones and Sonny are two of The Seven Dwarfs appearing in Las Vegas singing Tom Jones songs but changing the lyrics to fit dwarf-life.
+ Redd Foxx plays Geppetto and Sonny plays a Fonzie-like Pinocchio. They have a father-to-son chat. Chastity plays Jiminy Cricket. When people show clips of Chastity on these shows, this Jiminy Cricket performance is a popular selection.
IGUB: Sonny & Cher sing “I Got You Babe” with Chastity (dressed in green to match Sonny) interrupted by a trip back to the bar with Alvie and Laverne, who call the Sonny & Cher show just watched a turkey. There’s a Seventh-fleet joke and Laverne brags about her pumpkin-filled Twinkies. (Full disclosure: my mother put a Twinkie or Chocodile, which was a chocolate covered Twinkie,in my plastic, Scooby-Doo lunch box every week. Those were a big deal in childhood cuisine.) Sonny & Cher come back and say goodnight.
Thanks to Jay for the official run-down on this episode.
Highlights: Another Vente Nove. Cher testing out some cool new moves in her solo spot.
