The Big Show

The Big Show is an American comedy-variety-musical television series produced and broadcast by NBC for several months in 1980.

The series aimed to revitalize the moribund variety television genre, which had been in a downward spiral since the cancellations of The Ed Sullivan Show and The Carol Burnett Show a few years earlier. The Big Show took its title seriously, using a huge stage set and filling a 90-minute time-slot, with at least one two-hour installment broadcast.

Although the first broadcast received high ratings, poor reviews and low ratings of succeeding episodes resulted in the program being cancelled after only a few months. The series nonetheless was nominated for six Emmy Awards, winning for Outstanding Costume Design.

Regular performers included Joe Baker, Graham Chapman, Mimi Kennedy, Shabba-Doo and Pamela Myers. Guest hosts included Steve Allen, Nell Carter, David Copperfield, Geoffrey Holder, Gary Coleman, and Sid Caesar. Skaters who performed in the show included Peggy Fleming, Dorothy Hamill, John Curry, and Toller Cranston.

Main Cast of The Big Show

Charlie Hill as Self

Charlie Hill

as Self (11 episodes)
Adolfo Quinones as Self

Adolfo Quinones

as Self (11 episodes)
Edie McClurg as Self

Edie McClurg

as Self (11 episodes)

Edie McClurg (born July 23, 1951) is an American actress, voice actress, stand-up comedian, and opera singer. She has...

Mimi Kennedy as Self

Mimi Kennedy

as Self (11 episodes)

Mary Claire "Mimi" Kennedy (born September 25, 1948) is an American actress, author, and activist. Best known for her...

Pamela Myers as Self

Pamela Myers

as Self (11 episodes)

Secondary Cast of The Big Show

David Copperfield as Self

David Copperfield

as Self (2 episodes)

David Seth Kotkin, known professionally as David Copperfield, is an American magician, described by Forbes as the mos...

Graham Chapman as Self

Graham Chapman

as Self (1 episode)
Lola Falana as Self

Lola Falana

as Self (1 episode)
Debby Boone as Self

Debby Boone

as Self (2 episodes)
Loretta Swit as Self

Loretta Swit

as Self (1 episode)
Buck Owens as Self

Buck Owens

as Self (1 episode)
Dottie West as Self

Dottie West

as Self (1 episode)
Plácido Domingo as Self

Plácido Domingo

as Self (1 episode)

Although born in Madrid, Spain, Placido Domingo spent a major portion of his life living in Mexico City where he grad...

Peggy Fleming as Self

Peggy Fleming

as Self (3 episodes)
Loni Anderson as Self

Loni Anderson

as Self (1 episode)
Bert Parks as Self

Bert Parks

as Self (1 episode)
Joe Namath as Self

Joe Namath

as Self (1 episode)

​From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. Joseph William "Joe" Namath  (born May 31, 1943), nicknamed "Broadway Joe" o...

Tony Randall as Self

Tony Randall

as Self (1 episode)
Juliet Prowse as Self

Juliet Prowse

as Self (1 episode)
Nell Carter as Self

Nell Carter

as Self (3 episodes)
Mel Tillis as Self

Mel Tillis

as Self (2 episodes)
Tanya Tucker as Self

Tanya Tucker

as Self (1 episode)
Dorothy Hamill as Self

Dorothy Hamill

as Self (2 episodes)
Sylvie Vartan as Self

Sylvie Vartan

as Self (1 episode)
Sarah Purcell as Self

Sarah Purcell

as Self (2 episodes)
Imogene Coca as Self

Imogene Coca

as Self (1 episode)
Alexander Godunov as Self

Alexander Godunov

as Self (1 episode)
John Byner as Self

John Byner

as Self (1 episode)
Jamie Farr as Self

Jamie Farr

as Self (1 episode)

Jamie Farr (born July 1, 1934) is an American television, film, and theater actor. He is best known for having played...

Robert Shields as Self

Robert Shields

as Self (1 episode)
Ronnie Corbett as Self

Ronnie Corbett

as Self (2 episodes)
Randy Jones as Self

Randy Jones

as Self (1 episode)
Barbi Benton as Self

Barbi Benton

as Self (1 episode)
Donald O'Connor as Self

Donald O'Connor

as Self (1 episode)
Steve Martin as Self

Steve Martin

as Self (1 episode)

Stephen Glenn "Steve" Martin (born August 14, 1945) is an American actor, comedian, writer, playwright, producer, mus...

Hervé Villechaize as Self

Hervé Villechaize

as Self (1 episode)
Count Basie as Self

Count Basie

as Self (1 episode)
Diahann Carroll as Self

Diahann Carroll

as Self (1 episode)

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia Diahann Carroll (born Carol Diahann Johnson; July 17, 1935 – October 4, 2019) ...

Dionne Warwick as Self

Dionne Warwick

as Self (1 episode)

Marie Dionne Warwick (born December 12, 1940) is an American singer, actress, and television host. Warwick ranks amo...

Betty White as Self

Betty White

as Self (1 episode)

Betty Marion White Ludden (January 17, 1922 - December 31, 2021) was an American actress and comedian, with the longe...

Ken Berry as Self

Ken Berry

as Self (1 episode)
Sid Caesar as Self

Sid Caesar

as Self (2 episodes)
Georgia Engel as Self

Georgia Engel

as Self (1 episode)

Georgia Bright Engel was an American film, television, and stage actress who is best known for her roles as Georgette...

Ronnie Barker as Self

Ronnie Barker

as Self (2 episodes)
Sherman Hemsley as Self

Sherman Hemsley

as Self (1 episode)

Sherman Alexander Hemsley (February 1, 1938 – July 24, 2012) was an American actor, best known for his roles as Georg...

Sherrill Milnes as Self

Sherrill Milnes

as Self (1 episode)

Robin Cousins

as Self (1 episode)

The Unknown Comic

as Self (1 episode)

Skip Stephenson

as Self (1 episode)

Meadowlark Lemon

as Self (1 episode)

Gallagher

as Self (2 episodes)

Alwin Nikolais

as Self (1 episode)

Toller Cranston

as Self (2 episodes)

Kenneth Shelley

as Self (1 episode)

Cynthia Gregory

as Self (1 episode)