WMAQ Channel 5 - All-Star Salute to Mother's Day [Excerpt] (Part 3, 1981)

Here's our Part 3 of a portion of the All-Star Salute to Mother's Day, hosted by Ed McMahon and Jayne Kennedy, that aired on WMAQ Channel 5. This part features (in order of appearance) Don Rickles' mother Etta, Shecky Greene, Mary Elizabeth McDonough with her own mother and those of Beverly Adams Sassoon, John Cassavetes, Bob Denver, the late David Janssen (who died the year before this special), Blake Edwards, Gena Rowlands, Toni Tennille, Lesley Ann Warren, and Cindy Williams, as well as Cindy herself and her sister Carol.

Ed starts off this part by introducing a taped message by Etta Rickles to Shecky Greene who then comes onto the stage to do a Mother's Day-themed stand-up routine, starting off on how "my mother's the reason I'm here on this stage tonight" and going off on chicken that tastes greasy, talking with an accent, equal rights, giving birth, a brief rendition of "Oh My Pa-Pa" compared to the plethora of "mother" songs, a visit to a Swedish nightclub, a rendition of "Mother Machree" as an example of Irish mother songs, and ends with a full-blown performance of Al Jolson's "My Mammy."

Next, Ed introduces Mary McDonough (as he calls her) of The Waltons, at the fantasy suite of Caesar's Palace in Las Vegas where her own mother and 10 others who are members of a group called "Motion Picture Mothers" (which raise funds for charity) are assembled. This group also includes the mothers of Beverly Adams Sassoon (Mrs. Tillie Adams), John Cassavetes (Mrs. Katherine Cassavetes), Bob Denver (Mrs. Mary Ann Denver), David Janssen (Mrs. Berniece Janssen), Mary's own (Betty McDonough), Blake Edwards (Mrs. Lillian McEdwards - Mary left off the ending "s"), Gena Rowlands (Mrs. Mary Allen Rowlands), Toni Tennille (Mrs. Cathryn Tennille), Lesley Ann Warren (Mrs. Carol Warren), and (introducing herself) the mother of Cindy Williams (Frances Williams); this leads to a taped segment where Cindy, with her sister Carol and her mother at a table, then recounts a photo taken of the three of them on the set of Laverne & Shirley, and speak of old times. The segment ends with a zoom-in to a note on a small piece of paper, "There's Nothing in the World So Sweet As Love." (NOTE: The on-screen lower-thirds were set in the same 3M Datavision sans-serif font familiar to many viewers of WSNS Channel 44 in the late 1970's through the early '80's; this typeface was also prominent on the game show Wheel of Fortune in its early years, well into the 1980's.)

Commercial bumper with sign displaying show title in front of Caesar's Palace, with voiceover (by Jayne Kennedy) teasing appearance by Donald O'Connor

Promo for NBC Wednesday night lineup of Real People, Diff'rent Strokes and The Facts of Life (voiceover by Casey Kasem)

Brief commercial for Area Buick Report with spotlight on Buick Skylark - "Your Buick Dealer Is Talkin' Your Language"

Commercial: Coldwell Banker - "America's Largest Full-Service Real Estate Company" - (C) Coldwell Banker 1981

NewsCenter5 update with Mike Jackson - sponsored by Chicago Sun-Times (opening voiceover by ??) - previewing following items:

- Two Cook County jail guards blamed for escape of two inmates

- Mixed feelings in Pontiac about "innocent" verdict of ten prisoners accused of killing three guards in 1978

- A look at some future Chicago Cubs, with visit to their farm camp in Iowa

- Upcoming radar and satellite forecast for rush hour

Commercial: Chicago Sun-Times' new Wednesday fashion section - "The Brighter Way to Chicago" (voiceover by ??) - (C) Chicago Sun-Times, 1981

This aired on local Chicago TV on Sunday, May 10th 1981 likely during the 9pm-10pm timeframe.

Add To

You must login to add videos to your playlists.