Battle of the Network Stars
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Battle of the Network Stars was the name of a number of U.S. television specials featuring competitions among teams of popular television performers representing the three major broadcast networks: ABC, CBS, and NBC.
The ABC specials were first broadcast in November 1976, with subsequent episodes airing approximately every six months until May 1985. It returned to the air for a final show in December 1988. It consisted of a two-hour sequences of physical challenges, which were real and sometimes even aggressively competitive. Sports broadcasting legend Howard Cosell hosted or co-hosted almost all of the specials, and commented on the action with a semi-serious version of the style for he was famous.
Each team had a captain; they and their fellow teammates were interviewed during the contest, engaging in discussions about the competition which were sometimes earnest, sometimes campy.
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November 1976
- Host: Howard Cosell
- ABC team: Gabriel Kaplan (captain), Darleen Carr, Lynda Carter, Farrah Fawcett, Richard Hatch, Robert Hegyes, Ron Howard, Hal Linden, Penny Marshall, John Schuck
- CBS team: Telly Savalas (captain), Adrienne Barbeau, Gary Burghoff, Kevin Dobson, Pat Harrington, Jr., Bill Macy, Lee Meriwether, Mackenzie Phillips, Loretta Swit, Jimmie Walker
- NBC team: Robert Conrad (captain), Melissa Sue Anderson, Karen Grassle, Tim Matheson, Ben Murphy, Barbara Parkins, Joanna Pettet, Kevin Tighe, Bobby Troupe, Demond Wilson
February 1977
- Host: Howard Cosell
- ABC team: Gabriel Kaplan (captain), LeVar Burton, Darleen Carr, Richard Hatch, Lawrence-Hilton Jacobs, Ron Howard, Hal Linden, Kristy McNichol, Penny Marshall, Jaclyn Smith
- CBS team: Telly Savalas (captain), Sonny Bono, Kevin Dobson, Mike Farrell, David Groh, Linda Lavin, Lee Meriwether, Rob Reiner, Loretta Swit, Marcia Wallace
- NBC team: Robert Conrad (captain), Elizabeth Allen, Lynda Day George, Carl Franklin, Karen Grassle, Dan Haggerty, Art Hindle, Kurt Russell, Jane Seymour, W.K. Stratton
November 1977
- Hosts: Howard Cosell and Telly Savalas
- ABC team: Gabriel Kaplan (captain), Fred Berry, Billy Crystal, Chris DeRose, Victor French, Cheryl Ladd, Kristy McNichol, Penny Marshall, Suzanne Somers, Parker Stevenson
- CBS team: Jimmie Walker (captain), Adrienne Barbeau, Valerie Bertinelli, Kevin Dobson, Jamie Farr, Caren Kaye, James MacArthur, James Vincent McNichol, Loretta Swit, Lyle Waggoner
- NBC team: Dan Haggerty (captain), Robert Conrad, Elinor Donahue, Patrick Duffy, Peter Isacksen, Lance Kerwin, Donna Mills, Belinda Montgomery, Michelle Phillips, Larry Wilcox
May 1979
- Hosts: Howard Cosell and Billy Crystal
- ABC team: Dick Van Patten (captain), Willie Aames, Diana Canova, Joanna Cassidy, Max Gail, Kristy McNichol, Shelley Smith
- CBS team: Ed Asner (captain), Valerie Bertinelli, Gregory Harrison, Kathryn Leigh Scott, Judy Norton, Jan Smithers, Allen Williams
- NBC team: Robert Conrad (captain), Greg Evigan, Gil Gerard, Melissa Gilbert, Erin Gray, Randi Oakes, Sarah Purcell, Patrick Wayne