When I did that concert at the Astrodome, the Scottis were smart enough to film parts of it for use in an upcoming variety special on CBS. This was going to be a big deal. I was the youngest person in television history to get his own network special, and a lot was going into it. A couple of weeks after that concert, it was back over to Europe for another swing of promotional appearances through Spain, Italy, Germany, and then, finally, the UK. Most of it was a total blur, but while in London I shot an episode of The Osmonds, a family TV show, in which I got to perform “I Was Made for Dancing” (lip-synching at the Albert Memorial in Hyde Park with a bunch of female fans surrounding me) along with appearing in several sketches with the family. The Osmonds could not have been any further from me in terms of our social habits, but they were all nice and fairly cool, and we had a good time doing the show. It was also arranged for Marie Osmond to be one of the guest stars on my upcoming TV show, along with Brooke Shields, the comedian Flip Wilson, and a female duo musical act from Japan called Pink Lady. I had very little say in any of this; it was the Scotti brothers, along with the TV producer, Syd Vinnedge, who came up with all of these ideas.
While in London, I also appeared with Bob Hope during one of his shows at the Palladium, and we also shot a comedy sketch that would be used in my show. I got to meet so many legends during this time, and he was absolutely one of the nicest. He was very funny and very sharp, and I couldn’t believe that he was going to be part of my show.
I had done a lot of television around this time. When any of the networks were doing something like Battle of the Network Stars, Circus of the Stars—all of those athletic competitions or whatever—I was usually invited and I always showed up. It was very important to the Scotti brothers to have my face on television as much as it could be seen. It was a challenge getting me radio airplay because my music was not taken all that seriously, so this was a way of generating interest in me. It’s why I also took part in so many key-to-the-city ceremonies and other public events: to keep my face in the papers. That was the mission. I also was a regular on many of the popular talk shows then, including The Mike Douglas Show and The Dinah Shore Show. But my show was going to be different. All of the weight of the special was squarely on my back, and it felt like a lot of pressure. These were the kinds of moments when I felt particularly embarrassed because, again, I knew inside I wasn’t a singer. That was wearing me down. Even though I felt myself getting a little bit better with each record, I still knew I had a long way to go.
Recently, I was going through an old box at home and I found all of the original artwork for the show. I have to admit, it was a little unbelievable to see my picture front and center with all of the guests surrounding me. Certain aspects of my career exist in a dream state today rather than feeling as if they really happened. The network special is one of those things. It was going to be a lot of work and so, automatically, I toned down my drug intake and drinking so that I could be focused. As People magazine said, “Pretty babies abound as Brooke Shields and Marie Osmond join Garrett, the veteran 17-year-old actor-singer-heartthrob, in his first TV special. Bob Hope and Flip Wilson represent Leif’s elders.”
The beginning of the show, which was taped in Hollywood before a live audience, features clips of my early career, including a test scene from the film Mame with Lucille Ball—and also a clip from the infamous 1970 Dating Game episode that I still cringe over. Honestly, I had never seen those clips before the taping, and when they appeared on the monitor, I laughed along with the audience because they caught me so off guard. Watching myself hit those first three off-key notes of “My Best Girl” when I sang to Lucille Ball at age eight made me blush, and I think the audience enjoyed that.
The opening of the special, of course, features “I Was Made for Dancing,” and there were also cuts from the show I did with Bob Hope in London, along with concert clips from the Astrodome, including one showing me riding in on the white horse carrying the flag of Texas. The network built a beautiful set for the show that included lots of blue-carpeted levels and lush pillows. One issue, however, was that the audience was seated too close to the edges of the stage. A lot of my fans were in attendance, and during one of my songs, several of them grabbed my legs and knocked me down. The show came to a complete standstill, and security guards had to come in and pull me back to my dressing room while an announcer warned everybody, “Please let the show go on without attacking the star.”
Most of the show was not in front of a live audience, however. Marie Osmond had to have all of her segments completed in one day because she was due to fly back to Las Vegas to join the rest of her family for a big opening. I liked working with her. She and I did a reasonably funny sketch making fun of the song “I Was Made for Dancing” played in a bunch of different languages. The day after Marie left, it was time for my segments with Brooke Shields. She and I were going to reenact the balcony love scene from Romeo and Juliet during three historical periods. Even at just fourteen, Brooke was a good actress with decent comic timing. I think those segments came off well. Pink Lady, whom I had met in Japan, shot their segment in London; they were not in Los Angeles for any of the taping.
But Flip Wilson was. He was one of the funniest guys I’ve ever met. We did a couple of sketches together, and the one thing I learned was that if you’re going to play the straight man, you have to remain totally serious. Don’t go for anything funny, and stay out of the way. I especially liked when Flip was in character as Geraldine, the flamboyant woman with all of the outrageous expressions. I never imagined I would find myself on network television asking Geraldine for a date, but there I was. The special was well-received. It got decent ratings and solid reviews, and I think it showed people that I was more than just a teen idol. I mean, at least it helped remind them that I had originally started out as an actor and could still hold my own in things like comedy sketches. I think what I liked best about the special was that I could act, I could use my own voice, and I could be myself. As a singer, I had those things stripped away. But as an actor, I still felt in my comfort zone.