Here's a special originally aired over the NBC Network, Alan King's Thanksgiving Special: What Have We Got To Be Thankful For? (or as the slate says and as the TV listings titled it - "What Do We Have To Be Thankful For?")

Who do you think of when you think of Thanksgiving? If you said cynical, acerbic, old-school comedian Alan King, you're right! Besides the cigar-smoking comic and actor, this special - a rundown of the events and trends of 1980, done in comedic style - also features special guest stars Angie Dickinson, McLean Stevenson (a native of Normal, IL), and Dick Van Patten; plus, in supporting roles, Elvia Allman, Gail Bryson, Eugene Daniel, Dena Dietrich, David Hayman and Paul Keith.

This is from a dub of the master tape, and thus has no commercials, promos, or local station breaks or ID's.

Includes:

CG slate indicating origin from Compact Video Systems, with show title and designated air date

In Segment 1, Alan starts out near a Thanksgiving banquet and explaining the premise of this show, the history behind the holiday, and what will be tackled in this special; this is followed by show opening titles (with voiceover by ??), and list of assembled guests

In Segment 2, Alan starts out on one of the higher floor rooms, with a monologue about crime and breakdown in common civility, segueing into a sketch (with Dick) about a man's attempts to "have a nice day"; next, Alan contrasts the great political leaders of old with the 1980 Presidential candidates and the campaign and subsequent election, the economy, Equal Rights Amendment and the ecology, and best wishes for President-elect Reagan on the above, followed by a sketch about the Abscam investigations with McLean as a politician caught in a sting operation

Segment 3 begins with another in the "Have a Nice Day" saga with Dick (outside a Bank of America where a vagrant is near the entrance), followed by a recap of the Middle East conflict and the players involved by Alan (with a map of the region and pictures of various leaders in the region as background) under the heading "Turkeys of the Year"

Bumper for going to local commercial break

Returning bumper

Segment 4 starts off with a look at the perils and pitfalls of Christmas shopping in department stores after Thanksgiving and what shoppers have to deal with, featuring Angie as a shopper ensnared in all the above (with more "Have a Nice Day" segments with Dick as segues)

In Segment 5, Alan discusses TV addicts (or as he puts it, "a nation of spectators"), the actors' strike, reality TV, made-for-TV movies and miniseries, and a look at the programs of the prior TV season and how they were shuffled and tossed; followed by the last "Have a Nice Day" segue where Dick's car is stolen

For the final segment, Alan gives a timely Thanksgiving prayer to assembled guests at the dinner table, followed by the ending credits (which show the music full-volume without voiceover promos for The Tonight Show as would have been heard on a broadcast airing of this):

Executive Producer - Alan King
Produced by Rupert Hitzig and Neal Marshall
Directed by Bill Davis
Written by Harry Crane, Howard Albrecht, Sol Weinstein, David Castro, Richard Marcus, Jeffrey Barron and Alan King
Associate Producer - Robert Braithwaite
Art Director - Charles Lisanby
Assistant Art Director - Dwight Jackson
Assistant to the Producer - Danette Herman
Production Assistant - Marlo McClurg
Costumes Coordinated by Richard Bostard
Unit Manager - Elaine Conway
Assistant to Executive Producer - Dolores Morris
Location Manager - Michael Dillon
Associate Director - Ellen Brown
Stage Managers - Melinda Casey, Barry Haworth
Music Director - Lenny Stack
Casting - David Schacker for BCI Casting
Technical Director - Bob Holmes
Lighting Director - Olin Younger
Audio - Bill Levitsky
Post Production Audio - Chris Haire
Video - Les Shaw
Videotape Editors - Jimmy B. Frazier, Ken Laski
Production Staff - Keefe Novoa, Susana Foster
Remote Facilities by Starfax, Inc.
Remote Lighting by Imero Fiorentino & Assoc.
Post Production Facilities by Compact Video Services, Inc.

King-Hitzig Productions
(C) King-Hitzig Productions 1980

This aired on local Chicago TV on Tuesday, November 25th 1980 during the 9:00pm to 10:00pm timeframe.

About The Museum of Classic Chicago Television:

The MCCTv (FuzzyMemoriesTV) is a 501(c)(3) non-profit whose primary mission is the preservation and display of off-air, early home videotape recordings (70s to early 80s, mostly) recorded off of TV (in Chicago or other cities now too); things which would likely be lost if not sought out and preserved digitally. Even though (mostly) short clips are displayed here, we preserve the entire broadcasts in our archives - the complete programs with breaks (or however much is present on the tape), for historical preservation. For information on how to help in our mission, to donate or lend tapes to be converted to DVD, please e-mail [email protected] Thank you for your help!