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BELL SYSTEM FAMILY THEATRE, THE - A Crosby Christmas

Air Date/Released Wednesday, December 16, 1970
Station/Studio ABC
Host/Star Bing Crosby
Featuring Joe Besser (Solo)

As a recurring host of THE HOLLYWOOD PALACE (1964 - 1970), Bing Crosby continued the tradition of his family's annual Christmas show. PALACE ended its run earlier in the year, so the tradition continued with this Holiday special sponsored by Bell Telephone.

In a musical sketch called "Feast of Fools," Jack Wild is a servant boy who helps a princess (Mary Crosby) save a Christmas feast from the machinations of two bumbling, evil Lords (Joe Besser & Joe E. Ross). Other performances include Melba Moore with "Time Is Getting Short" and "What Child Is This;" the Doodletown Pipers as postal workers singing "Movin' the Mail;" Jack Wild and "The Lowest of the Low," "Topsy Turvy" and "O Little Town of Bethlehem;" Moore, Wild, Bing and his wife Kathryn join in a medley of Christmas songs; the Crosby children and the Doodletown Pipers team for "Jingle Bells;" Kathryn and her children sing "Away in a Manger;" Bing Crosby with "Do You Hear What I Hear," "O Holy Night," songs celebrating children at Christmas, and his signature "White Christmas." In a sketch, Moore is a Salvation Army worker and Bing a shill for the poor arguing over a street corner. The entire cast, including Besser, perform "Joy to the World."


Cast: Bing Crosby (Host), Kathryn Crosby, Mary Crosby, Nathaniel Crosby, Harry Crosby, Melba Moore, Jack Wild, The Doodletown Pipers, Joe Besser, Joe E. Ross

Crew: Marty Pasetta (Director), Buz Kohan, Bill Angelos, Rod Warren (Writers), Bob Finkel (Executive Producer), Bill Angelos, Buz Kohan, Norman Morrell (Producers), Nick Perito, Dick DeBenedictis (Music), Bob Sidney (Choreographer)
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