After a number of hit records, most notably Tie a Yellow Ribbon Round the Ole Oak Tree (1973), the singing group Tony Orlando and Dawn (Telma Hopkins and Joyce Vincent Wilson) was given a summer variety hour on CBS in the time slot that had been vacated by Sonny and Cher.
The emphasis was on music, with guest stars joining the trio in song and comedy skits. Guests over the 56 episodes included The Bay City Rollers, Alice Cooper, Jerry Lewis, Roy Rogers, Engelbert Humperdinck, Bernadette Peters, Barbara Eden, Jim Nabors, Milton Berle, Neil Sedaka, Frankie Avalon, Telly Savalas, Dr Hook, Joe Namath, William Conrad, Tammy Wynette, Abe Vigoda, Shari Lewis and Jimmie Walker.
A summer hit, it returned in December and had a very successful first year, but started to slip in the second. When it moved to Tuesday nights in the fall of 1976, there were a number of changes, including the title, which became The Tony Orlando and Dawn Rainbow Hour.
Comedian George Carlin was added as a regular with a weekly comedy monologue, and a group of comics was also added to participate in sketches.
Emphasis was shifted from music to comedy, but the series failed to last past the end of the year.
Tony Orlando
Telma Hopkins
Joyce Vincent Wilson
Alice Nunn
Lonnie Schorr
Adam Wade
George Carlin
Nancy Steen
Bob Holt
Susan Lanier
Jimmy Martinez
Edie McClurg
Jerry Jackson Singers
Bob Rozario Orchestra
