The Sonny and Cher Comedy Hour (TV Series) Episode #4.13 (1973) User Reviews

Does William Conrad sing?

[Gblakelii · 7/10 · 27 November 2017]

Christmas specials and or variety shows are most often a showcase for the singing and dancing abilities of the main performers and guest stars. When you have a Sonny and Cher Christmas special, your first question becomes, who are the guest stars? Of all the possible guest stars that they could work with in 1973, who would be on the bottom of the list? Most likely William Conrad. He's a great radio and TV star, but not your 1st, 2nd, 3rd, etc. choice for a variety show. Well maybe Sonny and Cher will have some outstanding musical numbers together? No. Well then, why watch this? Out of curiosity? Yes! Sonny and Cher basically only sing (sitting down) one song together, and it's a shortened version of Jingle Bells. Very average. Their daughter gets involved in too much of the show. Cute goes only so far! The regular cast of the Sonny and Cher Comedy Hour is very capable, though. They help tremendously! But the real surprise is how well William(Cannon, Jake and the Fatman) Conrad does! In pantomime as a hobo he embodies the spirit of Oliver Hardy! In several sketches he shows how versatile he is! But, does he sing? Yes, and the song- The First Noel. With his distinctive baritone voice, Mr. Conrad's rendition turns out quite pleasing. It was worth the wait! But the real highlight, particularly for 1973 was his reading of Yes Virginia, there is a Santa Clause. It wasn't until the next year when the story was animated on ABC TV, that it really took off! There's also a musical sketch that's kind of goofy, but in a cult status kind of way. It's about a bear that needs Winter to come in a hurry. It starts out with Sonny reading a story from a very well done pop-up book. And speaking of well done, the set designs are excellent through-out. The show substitutes Christmas songs for fireworks near the end. If only they could have deleted one sketch and added 2 best effort songs by Sonny & Cher this special could have gotten a 10!

A very fun Christmas episode

[wpack100 · 10/10 · 1 December 2018]

Overall a wonderful episode. A strong Christmas feel from the 1970s, campy humor, a family spirit, and great Christmas songs. The show ends with Conrad quoting from "Yes Virginia, there is a Santa Claus ..." to the Bono family.