Razz Revue TV Special 1977

Before cable access channels, before Wayne's World, before MTV, and before the term Political Correctness came into vogue, there was the Razz Revue TV Special.

For the most part, the version of the Razz TV Special contained on this site is the same as the 1977 original. However, for the sake of historical integrity, it must be noted that the program has been slightly edited from the original.

The most significant edit was the removal of most of the studio interview with Dan and Bob. This was done because the show's producer, in his abysmal ignorance, chose an inexperienced and unsuitable interviewer (his worst production decision in a 25 year career), who conducted a notably weak interview, and not even Dan and Bob could save the day. Just a few interview bits are retained to provide some "flavor" and context.

Cutting down the interview vastly improved the program's pacing and tempo. But since it is important to preserve the historical record, the entire uncut interview is presented in a separate clip.

In addition to trimming the interview, the two one minute commercial breaks in the program have been eliminated, and replaced with the show's own promo (which obviously would not ordinarily air during the show itself), and with a previously unseen promo for a fictitious Razz TV special, "The Making of a Comedian — 1977."

The "Comedian" spot contains a cryptic message that requires a little background. The message says "Due to circumstances beyond our control, the bovine businessman will not be seen. A thousand pardons." This refers to a minor incident that occurred during the show's production.

One of the show's segments was a parody of a Tex Earnhardt car commercial (the Tex Heartburn spot, in case it's not apparent). Tex was a prominent local car dealer who produced flamboyant TV spots which featured him astride a giant bull and exclaiming "This ain't no bull." He was a well known fixture of 1970's local advertising in Phoenix, and a very big advertiser on KPHO-TV, the station airing the Razz special.

When station execs caught wind of the parody, they pulled the plug on it, fearing that Tex might be offended and take his ad dollars somewhere else. This left a hole in the show that needed to be filled, so the "Comedian" spot was hastily created to fill the void. The cryptic message referred to the Tex Heartburn spot (the "bovine businessman"), and was directed at a newspaper entertainment page writer who had been tipped off about the show and was expecting to see a Tex Earnhardt parody.

As luck would have it, Rita Davenport, the host of KPHO's morning ladies' program heard about the controversy, and, being a close friend of Tex, volunteered to intervene. She brought a videotape of the parody for Tex to view. He watched it, loved it, and gave it his blessing. The KPHO execs allowed the spot to air, which meant there was no need for the "Comedian" promo. Until now, the spot has never been seen. It took the invention of the Internet to bring this cultural artifact to light.

The promo was cobbled together from a rough cut of "The Making of a Comedian — 1977," a film that depicts Wonderful Russ undergoing the rigors of his comedic training. The segment had been shot and partially edited, but no script or soundtrack was ever completed. Eventually it was cut from the show for time (the show ran long even without the segment).

Rounding out this collection of counterculture guerrilla TV are few film outtakes that weren't discovered until 2005.

So sit back, chill out, and prepare yourself to enter the Razz Time Capsule via The Razz Revue TV Special.