Titled “The Night of 100 Stars,” it opened with a massive gathering of CBS stars, between 115 and 125 of them. In addition to Walter Cronkite and Mary Tyler Moore, Telly Savalas and Jean Stapleton acted as hosts. After an obligatory look at CBS radio broadcasts beginning in 1927, the focus turned to TV shows that aired on Sundays. Included were You Are There, Lassie, The Smothers Brothers Comedy Hour and 60 Minutes.
Monday’s segment, “Have a Laugh on Us,” saw George Burns, Lucille Ball, Arthur Godfrey and Bea Arthur joining Mary Tyler Moore to introduce clips from I Love Lucy, The Goldbergs, East Side/West Side, December Bride and Arthur Godfrey’s Talent Scouts.
Tuesday was “Chills and Thrills with a Laugh Chaser,” with Alan Alda, Garry Moore and Phil Silvers featuring You’ll Never Get Rich (aka Sgt. Bilko), the famous edition of Edward R. Murrow’s See It Now critique of Senator McCarthy, along with The Many Loves of Dobie Gillis and M*A*S*H.
On “Dreams Come True” Wednesday, Charlie Brown and the Peanuts gang joined Dick Van Dyke for a song-and-dance number. Also co-hosting were Buddy Ebsen, Cicely Tyson and Danny Kaye. Shows featured ranged from The Danny Kaye Show to The Millionaire, from The U.S. Steel Hour to Medical Center.
Thursday was “Join the Family,” hosted by Richard Thomas and other cast members from The Waltons. Witness, Playhouse 90, and Hawaii Five-O were jut a few of the programs featured.
Friday was “We’re Getting Personal,” with hosts Lauren Bacall, Eve Arden, Bert Convy, Richard Crenna, Bonnie Franklin, Jim Nabors, Linda Lavin and Mary Tyler Moore. In addition to shows like I Remember Mama and The Twilight Zone, Lauren Bacall hosted a segment on Edward R. Murrow’s Person to Person, including an interview with her husband Humphrey Bogart, Marlon Brando, and Senator John F. Kennedy and Jackie Kennedy.
The special wrapped up on Saturday, April 1st, 1978, with a final two-and-a-half-hour segment airing from 8:30-11PM, titled “A Rootin’, Tootin’, Hootin’ & Hollerin’ Salute to Cowboys and Clowns,” with hosts Carol Burnett, Carroll O’Connor, Art Carney, Isabel Sanford, Tony Randall, Sherman Hemsley alongside Mary Tyler Moore and Walter Cronkite. Westerns, comedies and dramas were the focus, including Gunsmoke, The Jackie Gleason Show, The Defenders, The Frank Sinatra Show and Mission: Impossible. The Saturday segment, and the special as a whole, closed with a final song-and-dance number about spin-offs featuring Mary Tyler Moore, Carroll O’Connor and Danny Thomas followed by an address from CBS chairman William S. Paley.