Our schedule never varied, week to week. It was like a “school schedule.” We always knew what “class” was next and when to report.
MONDAY
10:00–11:00 a.m. Script reading with principals and guests. Notes afterward.
11:00 a.m.–12:00 p.m. Music rehearsal with special material writers in music room.
12:00 p.m.–1:00 p.m. Lunch. (I would watch my favorite soap opera, All My Children—AMC.)
1:00 p.m.–3:00 p.m. Sketch rehearsals with director in small rehearsal hall.
(Dancers with choreographer in main rehearsal hall.)
(Finished for the day.)
TUESDAY
10:00 a.m.–12:00 p.m. Sketch rehearsals with director in the rehearsal hall.
12:00 p.m.-1:00 p.m. Lunch. (AMC)
1:00 p.m.–3:00 p.m. Principals and guests learn dance routines with choreographer and dancers in main rehearsal hall.
(Finished for the day.)
WEDNESDAY
10:00 a.m.–11:30 a.m. Costume fittings for Carol at Bob Mackie’s workplace.
Fittings for guests and dancers at other times.
12:00 p.m.–1:00 p.m. Lunch. (AMC)
1:00 p.m.–3:00 p.m. Sketch and dance rehearsals with principals, guests, and dancers.
3:00 p.m.–4:00 p.m. Run-through of entire show for writers, producers, and crew in main rehearsal hall.
4:15 p.m.–5:00 p.m. Notes with Carol, producers, and writers in producer’s office.
(Finished for the day.)
THURSDAY
2:00 p.m.–6:00 p.m. Blocking in Studio 33 with camera crew and scenery. No costumes.
6:00 p.m.–7:00 p.m. Dinner.
7:00 p.m.–8:00 p.m. Orchestra rehearsal with principals and guests (as needed).
(Finished for the day.)
FRIDAY (TAPE DAY)
11:00 a.m.–1:00 p.m. Complete run-through (stop and start) in studio with orchestra and costumes. No makeup.
12:00 p.m.–1:00 p.m. Lunch. (AMC)
1:00 p.m.–2:00 p.m. Notes. Any changes since the run-through are gone over with the principals.
2:00 p.m.–3:00 p.m. Hair and makeup.
(Audience arrives for the dress rehearsal, which will be taped.)
4:00 p.m.–5:30 p.m. Dress rehearsal. (My daughters would come when they were old enough, and after the show they often had their picture taken with our guest stars!)
6:00 p.m.–7:00 p.m. Notes. Any line changes or cuts made since the dress rehearsal are gone over with the principals, plus final touch-ups for principals and dancers.
(Audience arrives for the air show.)
7:30 p.m.–9:00 p.m. Air show, with Carol’s Q&A at the top of the show.
We were usually out early enough, so that after the show Joe and I would take our guest stars to dinner at Chasen’s restaurant.
This schedule often allowed me to take my kids to school most mornings, and even pick them up after school if I finished rehearsing early enough. With the exception of Thursdays and Fridays, we’d have dinner at home every night at 6:30.
We averaged one week off every four weeks. Two weeks off at Christmas. One week off at Easter. Summers off. It was THE perfect schedule.
Many people in our business can’t believe that we could tape our entire show, with all the sketches, musical numbers, scenery, and costume changes, plus special effects, in less than two hours. We did very few retakes because I wanted our show to have a spontaneous feel. I used to make bets with our crew that I could make a “skin-out” costume change (complete with different wigs and makeup) before they could change the scenery, because I didn’t want our studio audience to have to sit a long time between scenes. We needed their energy and enthusiasm! Their positive responses made us better. It was as close as we could get to live theater.
I have been a guest on a few sitcoms where they took as many as four hours to tape twenty-two minutes! AND in front of a captive and increasingly bored audience! Needless to say, that drove me nuts.
One time when I was a guest on a sitcom, I actually wanted to kill the director. This is why: The other actors and I were in the middle of a scene and the audience was howling with laughter. I mean we were definitely on a roll, when out of the blue, we hear from the director’s booth, “CUT!”—totally killing the momentum of the scene. We had no idea what had gone wrong. And then we found out. It seems a picture on the wall behind us was a bit crooked, and the stage manager was told to come out and straighten it!
Lord!