Tony Orlando Takes FULL Responsibility For His Cosby Spinoff Not Getting Picked Up

[Brian Damage]

Once upon a time (specifically, the mid-1970s) Tony Orlando’s career was on fire; along with Dawn – backing vocalists Telma Hopkins and Joyce Vincent Wilson – he hit number one on the Billboard pop charts three times. For three years, the trio also hosted a popular TV variety show that attracted the biggest names in show business. Around that same time, Bill Cosby was focusing on stand-up comedy, and often worked as an opening act for Orlando’s Las Vegas shows. Flash forward to 1985, when The Cosby Show ruled the prime time airwaves, and Orlando couldn’t even get a job on the oldies concert tour circuit. The Cos graciously tried to help out his old pal with an episode of The Cosby Show titled “Mr. Quiet,” in which Orlando appeared as the head of the local community center. Later, Tony admitted that the reason this proposed pilot wasn’t picked up as a series was, simply, because his performance “stunk.”

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