First viewed : 23 November 1980
I might have seen bits of earlier ones but this is the first one I can remember clearly. It marked the Queen Mother's 80th birthday.
The big draw in 1980 was an appearance by man-of-the-moment Larry Hagman. Although he could sing well enough to appear in musicals earlier in his career he chose to do a number as J.R, in Rex Harrison style. The song was "My Favourite Things" from "The Sound of Music" ( first performed by his mother Mary Martin on Broadway ) . Larry changed the lyrics to fit his persona so it became "My Favourite Sins" but neglected to learn them properly and they deserted him on the night. Larry did his best to keep smiling and laugh it off but the performance was acutely embarrassing. After completely screwing up in his solo spot he then had to introduce his mother as an unbilled special guest and she blew him away with a performance that belied her 66 years. But we still loved him.Apart from Hagman the other performances I remember are
- an interminable "comic" turn from pianist Victor Borge. When I complained at how long it was dragging on for my mother snapped "Well other people like it" or words to that effect.
- a solo Rowan Atkinson doing his father of the bride turn
- the inescapable Sheena Easton doing the crushingly boring "When He Shines"
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