The Cher Show

Cher opens the show with a striking performance of “By Myself,” draped in a black, ruffled cape that she dramatically discards to reveal a shoulderless gown with floral detailing and a pink accent. Her monologue touches on her off-camera clumsiness before she joins Cloris Leachman and Jack Albertson for a tap-dancing number, “Do a Take.” In a comedic skit, Cloris delivers a Shakespearean-style soliloquy while Cher humorously translates it into 1970s slang. The “Life with Laverne” segment features a fun TV crossover as Laverne takes her car to Ed Brown from Chico and the Man (played by Albertson). Cher’s musical medley of “I’ve Got the Music In Me” and “Listen to the Music” is energetic, though she struggles to match the grit of the originals, while her backup singers provide strong harmonies. Cloris and Jack star in a spoof of a Geritol commercial and deliver an Emmy-winning skit in which Cloris plays an eccentric woman hosting a dinner for ex-lovers who never appear, with Jack as her loyal butler. Cher humorously discusses dating a Gemini in the “Saturday Night” segment before delivering a dramatic and playful rendition of “Am I Blue” in a violet gown and bobbed wig. Jack Albertson takes a solo moment to sing “The Man in My Little Girl’s Life” before Cher closes the show, capping off an episode that won both guest stars Emmys and featured some of Cher’s strongest performances of the season.