Honeymooners Spin-Off?

[Woolworth28]

According to Art Carney's biography, in the early 70's CBS was going to give Ed Norton his own show, but because of Art's lack of intrest it feel through and the pilot did't go thru very well. Do anybody know if a copy of this pilot still exsit?

[Bill S.]

Originally Posted by Woolworth28

According to Art Carney's biography, in the early 70's CBS was going to give Ed Norton his own show, but because of Art's lack of intrest it feel through and the pilot did't go thru very well. Do anybody know if a copy of this pilot still exsit?

For some reason I remember that being the late 50's/early 60's, but I might be thinking of something else. Either way, if a pilot still exists, it probably won't turn up anytime soon.

[The Great One]

Originally Posted by Woolworth28

According to Art Carney's biography, in the early 70's CBS was going to give Ed Norton his own show, but because of Art's lack of intrest it feel through and the pilot did't go thru very well. Do anybody know if a copy of this pilot still exsit?

Very interesting! This is the first time I'm hearing about this.

[*ClassicPinUp*]

Was this the time he was so drunk he was slurring his speech & couldn't remember his lines...so they put the script on a clip board, he dropped the clip board & started reading off any random lines? If that's the one I highly doubt there is since it was only one time & I'm sure any film was destroyed since it was such a horrible event. To be honest I hope it was destroyed.

[T-Greg]

Could that have been the still lost "Wonderful World of Ed Norton"..or "Wacky World of Ed Norton"? I don't recall the exact name.

[W.B.]

Well, this proposed spin-off pilot would've been made near the end of the 1969-70 season, if Michael Starr's bio of Carney (which mentioned that period) is accurate in this regard; this also would've been just before CBS made the decision to cancel The Jackie Gleason Show. But whatever, as you said, the results of that proposed spin-off pilot were indeed disastrous. At least it had been made, though, unlike another pilot for a Joe the Bartender series where the script stunk such to the high heavens that they didn't even do any taping (per William Henry III's The Great One).

[The Great One]

Does anyone think that there's a chance to obtain the pilot on video from "vintage tv on dvd" sources?

[*ClassicPinUp*]

Originally Posted by The Great One

Does anyone think that there's a chance to obtain the pilot on video from "vintage tv on dvd" sources?

I highly doubt it. I know I read some where *it may have been Art's Bio I'll have to re-check* that out of respect for Art everything was destroyed. As it should have been.

[Bill S.]

Originally Posted by W.B.

Well, this proposed spin-off pilot would've been made near the end of the 1969-70 season, if Michael Starr's bio of Carney (which mentioned that period) is accurate in this regard

Yeah, you're right. The late 50's spin-off I was thinking of was NBC's The Art Carney Show from 1959. I'm not sure how many episodes were made, but I know it didn't last long. Also, if I remember correctly, Dick Van Dyke was a guest star on one episode.

[T-Greg]

Originally Posted by Bill S.

Yeah, you're right. The late 50's spin-off I was thinking of was NBC's The Art Carney Show from 1959. I'm not sure how many episodes were made, but I know it didn't last long. Also, if I remember correctly, Dick Van Dyke was a guest star on one episode.

Bill. You're thinking of 'The Art Carney Show: Very Important People", which aired in 1959. It was a special, not a series. I have it. Here's the description. It's really funny.

The Art Carney Show: Very Important People (12/4/59) Here' s a SUPER RARE
TV special that's been lost and very rarely written about! Originally aired on NBC-TV on December 4, 1959 it's titled "The Art Carney Show: Very Important People" and was produced by David Susskind! Art Carney hosts this hilarious TV special with the following guests: Dick Van Dyke, Gloria Vanderbilt, Duke Hazlett, Tom Bosley, David Doyle, Shirley Ballard, Diane Deering, Bill Pierson, John Straub and Grover Dale. There are many very funny skits on this special including Carney as a retiring CEO of a company trying to decide who'll be the next in line, Art as a young unknown candidate for the upcoming 1960 presidential elections (possibly a jab at JFK!), a great send-up on "What's My Line?" called "What's You're Business" where Carney is the MC, a goof on the "Frank Sinatra Show" where "Dino" is too drunk to come out, then finally a take-off on one of those "high brow" society shows of the time where big name celebrities just "drop-in". Well in this takeoff everything goes wrong! Including miscues, horrible camera work (good shots of early NBC cameras here), dopey commercials (face spray, etc) and a disastrous finale where the dancing couple (supposed to be Arthur Murray) falls down a flight of stairs!

[The Great One]

Originally Posted by AndAwayWeGo

I highly doubt it. I know I read some where *it may have been Art's Bio I'll have to re-check* that out of respect for Art everything was destroyed. As it should have been.

Great. Thanks for the reply!

[Bill S.]

Originally Posted by T-Greg

Bill. You're thinking of 'The Art Carney Show: Very Important People", which aired in 1959. It was a special, not a series. I have it. Here's the description. It's really funny.

The Art Carney Show: Very Important People (12/4/59) Here' s a SUPER RARE
TV special that's been lost and very rarely written about! Originally aired on NBC-TV on December 4, 1959 it's titled "The Art Carney Show: Very Important People" and was produced by David Susskind! Art Carney hosts this hilarious TV special with the following guests: Dick Van Dyke, Gloria Vanderbilt, Duke Hazlett, Tom Bosley, David Doyle, Shirley Ballard, Diane Deering, Bill Pierson, John Straub and Grover Dale. There are many very funny skits on this special including Carney as a retiring CEO of a company trying to decide who'll be the next in line, Art as a young unknown candidate for the upcoming 1960 presidential elections (possibly a jab at JFK!), a great send-up on "What's My Line?" called "What's You're Business" where Carney is the MC, a goof on the "Frank Sinatra Show" where "Dino" is too drunk to come out, then finally a take-off on one of those "high brow" society shows of the time where big name celebrities just "drop-in". Well in this takeoff everything goes wrong! Including miscues, horrible camera work (good shots of early NBC cameras here), dopey commercials (face spray, etc) and a disastrous finale where the dancing couple (supposed to be Arthur Murray) falls down a flight of stairs!

Yup, that must be what I was thinking of. Thanks for clearing that up.

[*ClassicPinUp*]

If anyone's interested they are selling Art Carney's show on EBay. I bought one & I believe I saw 2 others for sale (FREE shipping ) Here's a quick description & link.

WESTINGHOUSE STUDIO ONE - CONFESSIONS OF A NERVOUS MAN (November 30, 1953), the CBS weekly drama series, here sports a comedy penned by the toast of Broadway, George Axelrod, mockumenting what it's like for a playwright to suffer through the endless evening hours between an opening night performance and the morning reviews, just as he had when THE SEVEN YEAR ITCH opened. Art's acting is at a high level here and makes for the most memorable element of this revealing, insightful and thoughtfully funny teleplay

THE ART CARNEY SHOW - VERY IMPORTANT PEOPLE (December 4,1959) is an episode with a comic series of skits lampooning the lives of the powerful and popular. Art plays an octogenarian tycoon, a presidential candidate, a game show host in a send-up of CBS' "What's My Line" and a celebrity show host in a send-up of CBS' "The Big Party". A time capsule as satisfying as it is intriguing for a fan of media history. Produced by David Susskind.


http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll...m=270095795105