Classic Television - Special

The Mad, Mad, Mad Comedians

Original channel

ABC

Original air date

April 7, 1970

Starrring

Jack Benny 

The Smothers Brothers 

George Burns 

Phyllis Diller

Paul Frees 

Joan Gardner

Tom Bosley

George Jessel 

Jack E. Leonard 

Groucho Marx

Flip Wilson 

Henny Youngman 

The Mad, Mad, Mad Comedians (1970) is an animated half-hour ABC television special produced by Rankin/Bass Animation, best known for their stop-motion Christmas special Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer. The show aired on April 7, 1970 before the airing of that year's Oscars. It was a tribute to early vaudeville, and featured animated reworkings of various famous comedians' acts.

Most of the comedians provided their own voices for their animated counterparts, except for W. C. Fields and Chico Marx, both deceased, Zeppo Marx who had left show business in 1933, and Harpo Marx also deceased, but no voice was needed since his stage persona did not speak. Voice actor Paul Frees narrated the show and filled in for those actors who weren't able to do their own voices.

The show included such segments as a Marx Brothers skit, which was a reworking of a scene from their Broadway play I'll Say She Is (1924). The skit included their famous Napoleon parody, with Napoleon played by Groucho. The sketch featured animated representations. Romeo Muller is credited as having written special material for the show in addition to the original scripts that came from the various comedians' sketches.

Although not really remembered now by the general public, at the time it gave Rankin/Bass their highest TV ratings ever, notably even higher than the high-rated Rudolph. In recent years, Behr Entertainment was in talks to produce a similar show that would feature cartoon renditions of Jack Benny, George Burns, Abbott & Costello, and Bob Hope. 13 half-hour episodes were proposed.