Rich Little's Christmas Carol, broadcast in Canada as A Christmas Carol, is a TV special that premiered on CBC Television in December 1978, and in the United States on Home Box Office (HBO) on December 16, 1979. The special won an International Emmy Award[1] and a Rose d'Or award. It was produced by the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation in 1978. It starred Rich Little in a one-man performance with impersonations of his characters playing the parts in Charles Dickens' famous 1843 holiday story, A Christmas Carol.[2] Little played the following celebrities:
- W. C. Fields as Ebenezer Scrooge
- Paul Lynde as Bob Cratchit
- Johnny Carson as Fred
- Laurel and Hardy as the two solicitors
- Richard Nixon as Jacob Marley
- Humphrey Bogart as the Ghost of Christmas Past
- Groucho Marx as Fezziwig
- James Stewart as Dick Wilkins
- Peter Falk as Columbo/the Ghost of Christmas Present
- Jean Stapleton as Edith Bunker/Mrs. Cratchit
- Truman Capote as Tiny Tim
- Peter Sellers as Inspector Clouseau/the Ghost of Christmas Yet to Come
- James Mason, George Burns and John Wayne as the three businessmen
- Jack Benny as a boy
The show was shot on videotape and included a laugh track.
In 1963, Little released the LP "Scrooge and the Stars", which may have been the inspiration for this version of A Christmas Carol. On the LP, Little portrayed Scrooge as Jack Benny.
See also
References
- ^ "Rich Little show takes TV award". Ottawa Citizen. Retrieved 2014-12-29.
- ^ December 1979 HBO Program Guide (The China Syndrome on cover), page 12
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