"Make Me Laugh" Bobby Van Version - Air Dates Question

[calliaume]

Help me out here.  I've read in at least two or three different places (Wikipedia for one, and some less reliable spots [irony alert!]) that this show aired in the 1979-1980 season.  I remember it running from about January - August 1979, and not coming back for the fall (of course, that could have been WPIX or whatever New York station was running the show at the time).

I think Maxine Fabe also lists it in her book as having aired in 1978-1979 - not that her book is much more accurate than Wikipedia.

The reason I'm curious is at least one source says Van continued to host the show after he was diagnosed with the brain tumor that would eventually kill him.  Again, I don't see how this is possible.

Anyone with solid information one way or the other?

[BrandonFG]

Looks like winter 1979 may be correct. FuzzyMemoriesTV, which offers a very extensive collection of Chicagoland TV clips, says this clip is from March '79.



I could've sworn the EOTVGS had it as airing in the 1979-80 season as well, but FuzzyMemories seems to have a very meticulous record of airdates, so I'd take their word for it.

[calliaume]

I found the Bert Convy episode, which plugs his new movie Racquet, which per IMDB came out in June 1979.  The one episode online with commercials appears to be from the USA rerun era.  EOTVGS II says it aired in first run between January 1979 and February 1980, so I'll go with that.

Two tidbits:

- Too bad it's not on YouTube, but I do remember Elaine Joyce appearing on Make Me Laugh - and lasting less than five seconds into the first comic's act.

- It looks like most of the comics from the show were from The Comedy Store, or at least were Los Angeles-based.  The spring of 1979 was a strange and awkward time for those comics - since there was a strike against The Comedy Store, who chose not to actually pay the comics.  Long story, read William Knoedelseder's I'm Dying Up Here for the details.

[Ian Wallis]

We had it in our area starting early 1979 as well.

[RMF]

I found this from the New York Times that claims a premiere (at least on WPIX) on January 23rd, 1979:

http://query.nytimes.com/gst/abstract.html?res=990CE5D71039E732A25750C1A9679C946890D6CF

There are other newspaper listings that similarly suggest that it aired throughout the 1979-1980 television season, but there's no way to tell how much of this was first-run.

[PYLdude]

I found this from the New York Times that claims a premiere (at least on WPIX) on January 23rd, 1979:

http://query.nytimes.com/gst/abstract.html?res=990CE5D71039E732A25750C1A9679C946890D6CF

There are other newspaper listings that similarly suggest that it aired throughout the 1979-1980 television season, but there's no way to tell how much of this was first-run.

I'm guessing, by reading the blurb I'm allowed to, that Make Me Laugh was part of what would've been the Paramount  Television Service?

[RMF]

I found this from the New York Times that claims a premiere (at least on WPIX) on January 23rd, 1979:

http://query.nytimes.com/gst/abstract.html?res=990CE5D71039E732A25750C1A9679C946890D6CF

There are other newspaper listings that similarly suggest that it aired throughout the 1979-1980 television season, but there's no way to tell how much of this was first-run.

I'm guessing, by reading the blurb I'm allowed to, that Make Me Laugh was part of what would've been the Paramount  Television Service?

According to Hal Erickson (not a popular name to quote here, I admit), yes, through the Program Development Group.

Here's the article in a readable form

[PYLdude]

I found this from the New York Times that claims a premiere (at least on WPIX) on January 23rd, 1979:

http://query.nytimes.com/gst/abstract.html?res=990CE5D71039E732A25750C1A9679C946890D6CF

There are other newspaper listings that similarly suggest that it aired throughout the 1979-1980 television season, but there's no way to tell how much of this was first-run.

I'm guessing, by reading the blurb I'm allowed to, that Make Me Laugh was part of what would've been the Paramount  Television Service?

According to Hal Erickson (not a popular name to quote here, I admit), yes, through the Program Development Group.

Here's the article in a readable form

Quite the ambitious project this was going to be. Adam West in a revival of Peyton Place...I don't know...

Plus I like reading old comic pages.

[BillCullen1]

Van had already hosted Showoffs and The Fun Factory prior to MML. Shame that he left us too soon.

[rwalker]

Weren't the episodes "bicycled" like the syndicated Match Game?