The Pearl Bailey Show
# The Pearl Bailey Show

The Pearl Bailey Show is an American variety show that aired on ABC Saturdays 8:30–9:30 P.M. from January 1971 to May 1971. A Cooper-Finkel Company production in association with the Pearl Bailey Production Corporation, the show starred veteran entertainer Pearl Bailey.

## Overview

Pearl Bailey had a decades long successful career as a singer and stage and film actress by the time she was given her her own variety show in 1971. Bailey's husband, drummer Louis Bellson, was the conductor of the Orchestra for the show. The Robert Sidney Dancers and the Allan Davies Singers were regulars, performing a variety of musical entertainment.

The Pearl Bailey Show featured an array of guest performances by prominent entertainers, including Lucille Ball, Bing Crosby, Louis Armstrong, B.B. King, The Supremes, Tony Bennett, Ike & Tina Turner, and Liberace. "She got everybody she wanted. Nobody would turn her down," recalled the show's producer Bob Finkel. Despite the array of guests, the show was cancelled in less than four months, Finkel suggests due to Bailey "harassing" the executives at ABC with "suggestions and complaints."

## Episodes

| Episode No. | Airdate | Guests |
| - | - | - |
| 1 | January 23, 1971 | Louis Armstrong Bing Crosby Andy Williams |
| 2 | January 30, 1971 | Lucille Ball George Kirby Sergio Mendes & Brasil '66 |
| 3 | February 6, 1971 | Liza Minnelli Steve Lawrence Cab Calloway |
| 4 | February 13, 1971 | Ethel Waters Robert Goulet Hines, Hines and Dad |
| 5 | February 20, 1971 (reaired on May 8, 1971) | Phil Harris Kate Smith George Kirby |
| 6 | February 27, 1971 | Perry Como B.B. King Little Steps |
| 7 | March 6, 1971 | Jimmy Durante Tony Bennett The Supremes |
| 8 | March 13, 1971 | Wayne Newton Joan Rivers Moms Mabley |
| 9 | March 20, 1971 | Debbie Reynolds Erroll Garner Perle Mesta Sarah Vaughan |
| 10 | March 27, 1971 | Douglas Fairbanks Jr. The Ike & Tina Turner Revue David Merrick George Kirby |
| 11 | April 3, 1971 | Danny Thomas Lola Falana Carmen McRae Orie Sasaki |
| 12 | April 10, 1971 | Peggy Lee Moms Mabley Erroll Garner The Pastor Brothers Ray Brown |
| 13 | April 17, 1971 | Gregory Peck Mike Douglas Carol Lawrence Phyllis Diller |
| 14 | April 24, 1971 | Ella Fitzgerald Donna McKechnie |
| 15 | May 1, 1971 | Liberace Leontyne Price |
| — | May 8, 1971 | Rerun of episode #5 |
