Cher (TV series)

"The Cher Show" redirects here. For the Broadway musical, see The Cher Show (musical).
Cher
Logo of the show
GenreVariety
Directed byArt Fisher
George Schlatter
Presented byCher
Country of originUnited States
Original languageEnglish
No. of seasons2
No. of episodes26
Original release
NetworkCBS
ReleaseFebruary 16, 1975 (1975-02-16) –
January 4, 1976 (1976-01-04)

Cher is an American variety show that premiered on CBS in 1975, hosted by singer-actress Cher. The show had many famous musical guests. It followed a TV special featuring Elton John, Bette Midler, and Flip Wilson as guests. Cher premiered at 7:30 p.m. on Sunday, February 16, 1975, and finished the season ranked first among variety shows and twenty-second among all programs, with a 21.3 average household share,[1] also receiving the most fan mail of any CBS program at the time.[2] The first season aired Sundays at 7:30 and the second aired at 8:00.

Overview

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The show featured Cher interviewing various celebrity guests ranging from musicians to actors and pop culture figures. The series also featured sketches and comedic field reports. Cher would also perform her songs with a live band. David Geffen, with whom Cher had an affair while waiting for her divorce from Sonny Bono to be finalized,[3] served as producer.[4]

David Bowie and Cher in 1975
David Bowie performing with Cher on the variety show in November 1975

With Sonny, Cher had co-starred in The Sonny & Cher Comedy Hour for CBS from 1971 to 1974, before the two divorced amid major bitterness and acrimony. Each partner would get their own series: Cher got this series on CBS, while Sonny (who got to keep all of the staff and intellectual property from the Comedy Hour) got The Sonny Comedy Revue. Cher was allowed to keep the Comedy Hour's musical director, Jimmy Dale, and Comedy Hour director Art Fisher also directed several Cher episodes. The two were to face each other head-to-head in the ratings, but ABC cancelled the Revue before Cher premiered.

By the end of the season, Sonny and Cher had set aside their differences and agreed to reunite. She later stated that doing the show alone was overwhelming.[5] Cher was immediately replaced by a revived The Sonny & Cher Show, with a new production and writing team. With Sonny, the new show lasted 11⁄2 seasons, airing until 1977.

Home media and syndication

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Time-Life includes select episodes of Cher as part of its compilation DVD sets: ten episodes are included in The Best of Cher[6] and five on I Got You Babe: The Best of Sonny & Cher.[7]

The network getTV sporadically reruns the series.

References

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  1. ^ The Complete Directory to Prime Time Network and Cable TV Shows 1946–Present. Ballantine Books. 2003. p. 1463. ISBN 0-345-45542-8.
  2. ^ Witbeck, Charles (6 June 1975). "Bicentennial Minutes 'a network hit'". Boca Raton News. Retrieved 4 July 2016.
  3. ^ Higgins, Bill (November 2, 2012). "How David Geffen Romanced Cher and Built a Music Empire". The Hollywood Reporter. Archived from the original on January 21, 2016. Retrieved January 17, 2016.
  4. ^ Crampton, Luke; Rees, Dafydd (1999). Rock Stars Encyclopedia. Dorling Kindersley. ISBN 0-7894-4613-8.
  5. ^ Bego, Mark (2001). Cher: If You Believe. Taylor Trade Publications. pp. 97-105. ISBN 0-8154-1153-7.
  6. ^ "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2020-09-02. Retrieved 2020-09-07.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  7. ^ "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2020-08-13. Retrieved 2020-09-07.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
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