TV and Movies

[sunshine 919]

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@Oznell wrote:

 Andy Williams and Perry Como were great on TV.  Perry Como singing "Ave Maria"!  Both men had a warmth that played so well on the small screen.  Interesting that at this time it tends to be the "cool" personas who do well on TV, or the visibly highly neurotic!

Speaking of neurotic, I've seen snippets of Judy Garland's TV show on youtube and much of it was fantastic, depite the difficulty they seem to have had putting it on the air.  And if you google something like "Judy Garland's Christmas Special" it's great fun to watch.  It has teenage Liza and younger children Lorna and Joey, all of whom perform with their mother.  Judy was just an incredible, electric, mesmerizing talent.

I think you can also google whole chunks of Frank Sinatra specials too.  What a great era of television!

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I totally agree, it was great.

[sunshine45]

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@Shelbelle wrote:

Here on Comcast we lost our GET TV last Jan, they switched us to Antenna TV, but they sure did have all the old Xmas specials on all last season.

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i know......i had JUST found GETTV last year around the holidays and watched andy williams, bing crosby, merv griffin, the king family, sonny and cher, judy garland christmas specials. i watched them multiple times.

THEN, after the first of the year, they removed it. i was really disappointed.

i am hoping it comes back somehow.

wish we could watch online.

i dont have an antennae or i would watch it on one of my tvs on 14.2 or 24.4.

[AKgirl2]

To me, today's Chritmas specials just don't have that special feeling that the past greats brought to the screen...Andy Williams, Perry Como, Osmonds and many more I'm forgetting.

[Annabellethecat66]

@qualitygal Yes!  I agree with you.  There is something 'comforting' to think about his shows.  It was a nice time and there was such a good feeling of comfort and simplicity when we watched his show.  Maybe to say a more simple time.  When I sat with my family and heard him singing (and his guests) those songs I'd sung and heard so many times, I felt like I was finally ready for Christmas.

[MathisFan]

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@Shelbelle wrote:

Here on Comcast we lost our GET TV last Jan, they switched us to Antenna TV, but they sure did have all the old Xmas specials on all last season.

Time Warner did the same thing here last January.  I was really enjoying GetTV. Hate they replaced it.

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[Anniecamp]

What I miss about the old Christmas shows is that they sang all the old Christmas carols.  The ones that had what Christmas was all about.  Even stars like Cher sang "O Holy Night", etc.

[soonersis]

My parents used to watch The Lawrence Welk Show which I DID NOT like.  But I loved Andy Williams and Perry Como, especially their Christmas specials!

[Katcat1]

I actually miss the variety shows at Christmas with families.  I wish some of the new singers would do a show.  I would like to see Harry Conick, Jr., Gosh Groben, Michael Bauble (I hope is son is doing better), just to name a few.  There is nothing like the good old days and I mean that whole heartedly. 

[deedledeedeedle]

Laura Ingraham was talking about this on her radio show this a.m.  Back in the day there was one single airing of:

Its A Wonderful Life

The Little Match Girl (kleenex mandatory)

Charlie Brown's Christmas

Frosty the Snowman

Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer

How the Grinch Stole Christmas

My parents would make us a pallet in front of the TV and we watched these as a family EVERY YEAR. Such precious memories. sigh

As far as variety holiday shows, it seemed like every popular crooner had a Christmas Special. Of course my favorite ones were Andy Williams especially featuring the Osmond kids and Bing Crosby with David Bowie's Christmas Special. 

dee