What Happened When Sonny Went Solo?
The Sonny Comedy Revue

When Sonny & Cher split in 1974 it meant the end of their top ten TV variety hour.

Cher quickly signed with CBS, Sonny had to migrate to ABC to get a deal. He brought with him the Comedy Hour’s producers, writers, cast of players, sets, and familiar skits like ‘The Prisoner’ with Cher’s role as the cheating wife now played by a very funny Teri Garr. It was the only thing the series got right.

This clip is from from the second episode of The Sonny Comedy Revue, airing on September 29, 1974.

Sonny Comedy Revue: 'The Prisoner' with Terri Garr

Sonny would begin the hour solo for a minute or so before introducing that week’s sexy guest star like Raquel Welch, Sally Struthers, Karen Valentine, or Loretta Swit who would put him down, just like Cher did. It mostly fell flat.

SONNY: "You know, a lot of people look attractive on television, then when you see them in person, they're really nothing. You look terrific in person. You look super. You look great. You look great."

LORETTA SWIT: "Thank you, Sonny. I can say the same for you."

SONNY: "Oh yeah?"

LORETTA SWIT: "Yeah. You really look attractive on television."

When asked the difference between doing her show and Sonny's, Swit quipped, "Well, on one I'm doing MASH and in the other I'm doing mush."

The Jackson 5 were musical guests on the third outing including a number with Randy and Janet Jackson.

No video footage from the series exists other than the short fall preview but there are audio clips, made with a cassette recorder held up to the TV. Decide for yourself.

Sonny Comedy Revue with guest star Charo.

Sonny Comedy Revue with guest star Joey Heatherton

Sonny Comedy Revue with McLean Stevenson

For the last episode on December 29, 1974 there were no guest stars to save money. I remember the final sketch being that stale French Foreign Legion bit (also seen on the first episode with Ken Berry) stretched out to an interminable length.

Here’s an example from The Sonny & Cher Comedy Hour with guest George Foreman. It was actually pretty funny the first couple of times, not so much after.

Sonny & Cher Comedy Hour
Sonny Comedy Revue
the Cher show
Sonny & Cher Show

The Sonny Comedy Revue

Sonny & Cher Comedy Hour
Sonny Comedy Revue
the Cher show
Sonny & Cher Show

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