The Russ Abbot Show

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The Russ Abbot Show
Also known asFreddie Starr's Variety Madhouse (1979)
Russ Abbot's Madhouse (1980-1985)
Starring Freddie Starr (1979)
Russ Abbot (1980 onwards)
Opening theme"Livin' It Up" performed by Russ Abbot (1982-1985)
"Songs of Joy" performed by Russ Abbot (1986–1991)
"Songs of Joy" (instrumental) (1990, 1994–1996)
Ending theme"Livin' It Up" performed by Russ Abbot (1982-1985)
"Songs of Joy" performed by Russ Abbot (1986–1991)
"Songs of Joy" (instrumental) (1990, 1994–1996)
Country of originUnited Kingdom
Original languageEnglish
Production
Running time30 mins
Production companies LWT (1979–1985)
BBC (1986–1991)
Granada Television (1994–1996)
Original release
Network ITV
Release27 October 1979 (1979-10-27) –
5 October 1985 (1985-10-05)
Network BBC1
Release26 May 1986 (1986-05-26) –
29 November 1991 (1991-11-29) [1]
NetworkITV
Release5 September 1994 (1994-09-05) –
26 December 1996 (1996-12-26) [2]

The Russ Abbot Show is a British television sketch comedy series which in 1980 onwards stars Russ Abbot and ran for 17 years on television before moving over to Radio 2 for a further five years. [3]

Contents

History

The series originated as The Freddie Starr Variety Madhouse; with Russ Abbot, Mike Newman, Toni Palmer, Norman Collier and Bella Emberg. After one series in 1979, Freddie Starr left and the show was repackaged as Russ Abbot's Madhouse premiering on 12 April 1980, [4] with Liz Smith, Dustin Gee, Nicky Croydon and Billy Hartman joining the cast.

From the 1981 series there was a major cast upheaval, [5] with many of the cast being replaced, with the new lineup being Dustin Gee, Bella Emberg, Susie Blake, Sherrie Hewson, Jeffrey Holland, Patti Gold, and Michael Barrymore. Les Dennis joined in Series 3 and Michael Barrymore left in Series 4.

In 1986 the series was transferred over to the BBC, where it was renamed The Russ Abbot Show, and featured Dennis, Emberg, Hewson, Holland, Suzi Aitchison, Tom Bright, Maggie Moone, Paul Shearer, and Lisa Maxwell. In 1991 allegedly the BBC was heard to announce at the Montreux Television Festival that Abbot no longer represented what the audience wanted to see on their screens [6] and the series transferred to ITV.

After the final television series in 1996, the series moved to BBC Radio 2 for 50 episodes from November 1997 to February 2002. [7]

Format

The series showcased Abbot's talents as an all round entertainer and included characters such as Basildon Bond, a James Bond parody; 'Cooperman', a cross between Tommy Cooper and Superman; and C.U. Jimmy, a virtually unintelligible, red-headed, kilt-wearing Scotsman. The programme attracted millions of viewers weekly. The show was popular amongst younger viewers, prompting two annuals to be published in 1982 and 1983. The annuals featured comic strips based on popular characters Abbot had created in the various series of the show. It was also notable for its "Tears of laughter" theme song, which played at the start and end of the show. The stop-motion animated titles were produced by 3 Peach Animation.[ citation needed ]

Freddie Starr's Variety Madhouse

Russ Abbot's Madhouse

Specials

The Russ Abbot Show

Eight series were made of The Russ Abbot Show, between 1986 and 1996.

BBC series

ITV series

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References

  1. ↑ "Russ Abbot Show". BBC Comedy. Retrieved 15 May 2014.
  2. ↑ "BBC – Comedy Guide – The Russ Abbot Show". Archived from the original on 5 December 2004. Retrieved 10 August 2013.
  3. ↑ "BBC – Comedy Guide – The Russ Abbot Show". Archived from the original on 16 November 2004. Retrieved 10 August 2013.
  4. ↑ https://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=2mus-XyGPC0C&dat=19800412&printsec=frontpage&hl=en Glasgow Evening times 12 April 1980 P8
  5. ↑ "Biography". russabbot.co.uk.
  6. ↑ "Writing on Russ". russabbot.co.uk.
  7. ↑ "The Russ Abbot Show (BBC Radio 2)". russabbot.co.uk.
  8. ↑ "BBC Programme Index". 26 December 1990.
  9. ↑ "BBC Programme Index". 6 September 1991.
  10. ↑ "BBC Programme Index". 29 November 1991.
  11. ↑ "The Russ Abbot Show (TV Series 1994–1995)". IMDb .
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