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Circus of the Stars

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Circus of the Stars
GenreVariety show
Narrated byJohnny Gilbert
Country of originUnited States
Original languageEnglish
No. of episodes19
Production
Camera setupMulti-camera
Running time45–48 minutes
Original release
NetworkCBS
ReleaseJanuary 10, 1977 (1977-01-10) –
December 16, 1994 (1994-12-16)

Circus of the Stars is a series of television specials based on celebrities performing circus acts. Filmed at the main Universal Pictures studio lot, CBS broadcast 19 specials from 1977 to 1994.[1] The series featured many leading film and television stars over nearly two decades.

The concept had its origins outside the United States, notably Stars in der Manege (1959–2008) in Germany.[2]

Other versions and variations

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The concept of celebrities turning their hand to circus acts has proved attractive to program makers around the world. The German show Stars in der Manege began in 1959 and continued annually as a charity fundraising special until 2008. It was made each winter in the Circus Krone Building in Munich, and broadcast on or around Boxing Day.[3]

Production company Endemol has developed a reality television format called Celebrity Circus, which takes stars from fields such as entertainment and sport, and shows them being trained in circus acts over a period of weeks. A version aired in Australia in 2005, and a Portuguese version in 2006. A British version was mooted and announcements were made that NBC had picked up the format for the American market in 2008. Variety reported that ABC might be looking to relaunch Circus of the Stars, while CBS and Fox were purportedly interested in circus concepts, as well.[4]

List of celebrities

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The following list illustrates the range and status of celebrities who appeared across the run of the series.

†Mark-Paul Gosselaar was cast and did weeks of rehearsals but got injured before the show could be filmed.

Linda Evans was to appear in show 6 in 1981, but was injured by a 200 lb. female leopard during rehearsal. Evans was knocked down and bitten, and opted not to appear on the show after the incident. A previous incident involving a big cat occurred during taping of the first show, where Gary Collins was knocked down by a tiger, but was not injured.

Broadcast details

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  • Circus of the Stars: January 10, 1977
  • Circus of the Stars #2: December 5, 1977
  • Circus of the Stars #3: December 8, 1978
  • Circus of the Stars #4: December 16, 1979
  • Circus of the Stars #5: December 14, 1980
  • Circus of the Stars #6: December 13, 1981
  • Circus of the Stars #7: December 5, 1982
  • Circus of the Stars #8: December 18, 1983
  • Circus of the Stars #9: December 2, 1984
  • Circus of the Stars #10: December 8, 1985
  • Circus of the Stars #11: December 9, 1986
  • Circus of the Stars #12: December 15, 1987
  • Circus of the Stars #13: November 25, 1988
  • Circus of the Stars #14: November 22, 1989
  • Circus of the Stars #15: November 21, 1990
  • Circus of the Stars #16: November 29, 1991
  • Circus of the Stars and Sideshow: November 27, 1992
  • Circus of the Stars Gives Kids the World: November 26, 1993
  • Circus of the Stars Goes to Disneyland: December 16, 1994

References

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  1. ↑ "IMDb Title Search "Circus of the Stars"". Internet Movie Database. Retrieved March 27, 2007.
  2. ↑ ""Stars in der Manege:" Schluss der Vorstellung". Fokus Magazin online. Retrieved June 12, 2016.
  3. ↑ "Vier Jahrzehnte Zirkuszauber (trans: Four Decades of Circus Shows)". BR-online. Retrieved June 1, 2008. [dead link]
  4. ↑ "NBC Runs Off to the 'Circus'". Zap2it. Archived from the original on June 17, 2008. Retrieved February 7, 2008.
  5. ↑ Appeared together with her mother Lee Meriwether
  6. ↑ Credited as Melissa Anderson
  7. ↑ a.k.a. Rebecca Arthur / Rebekah Arthur
  8. ↑ "Kristy McNichol on TV". J Wilson. Retrieved November 21, 2007.
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