The Sonny & Cher Comedy Hour

When The Sonny and Cher Comedy Hour debuted on CBS the first day of August in 1971 as a five-week summer replacement series, it was an immediate ratings hit. The bright musical arrangements interspersed with humorous on-stage bickering from the husband and wife team scored big in the lounges they were performing in, and this translated well into television. Based on the success of the summer show, The Sonny and Cher Comedy Hour was back on the air in December of 1971, replacing The Chicago Teddy Bears Friday nights at 8:00. A string of hit records and concert tours brought in big bucks. By the fall of 1972, in its Wednesday night at 8:00 time slot, the show became a consistent top-ten winner. The program featured regulars Terri Garr, Freeman King, Peter Cullen, Billy Van, Murray Langston (later the 'Unknown Comic'), Ted Zeigler, and Chastity Bono, the couple's toddler. The series was fam