- - 5 Cringiest Sketches From 1970s Holiday Specials

Matt SolomonNovember 15, 2025 at 9:00 PM

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In the 1970s, you knew the holidays were upon you when celebrity Christmas specials started falling like snowflakes. The specials were rarely any good, but they were cheap to produce and somehow got ratings. Mostly, it was bland musicians like the Captain and Tenille signing yuletide classics, but to fill out the hour, you could count on the network to trot out under-contract comics to do lame seasonal sketches. Here are five of the cringiest excuses for comedy on 1970s holiday specials.

1 Paul Lynde is a department store Santa with Donny and Marie

Nothing says 1970s variety show like Paul Lynde appearing with Donny and Marie, and nothing is more cringe than Marie in a short-short widdle-girl skirt straddling Lynde’s lap. Zip to the 19:49 mark to see the Osmond siblings at their most obnoxious, whining and screaming when they don’t get their candy and toys. It’s enough to make you wish for Jimmy singing “I Saw Mommy Kissing Santa Claus.”

Sample joke: “Are you really Santa Claus?”

“No, I’m the Easter Bunny with a rash.”

2 Bea Arthur tends bar on the Star Wars Holiday Special

The Star Wars Holiday Special lives in infamy for a reason. The show fumbled its attempts to portray a heartfelt portrait of Chewbacca’s wife and kids, but when it tries to do comedy in the cantina, it’s even worse. Maude’s Bea Arthur is the bartender, and the Carol Burnett Show’s Harvey Korman is the lovelorn shlub trying to seduce her. Because he’s an alien, Korman pours his holiday drink directly into his skull. Because he’s a stalker, he keeps repeating lines like, “You’ll change your mind, I know you will!”

3 Redd Foxx is Santa’s helper

Comics don’t come more foul-mouthed than Foxx, which makes this Cher special’s Elmer the Elf sketch (zip ahead to the 32:30 mark) unintentionally hilarious. With a putty nose and candy-cane tights, Foxx looks supremely ill at ease showing off dated holiday gifts for 1970s celebrities. “Don't forget Archie Bunker,” says Foxx. “He hasn't been a good guy but I got a year subscription for him to Ebony magazine and a fun-filled vacation at the Harlem Hilton.”

4 Dean Martin owes dinner to Rodney Dangerfield

Dangerfield isn’t much of a sketch comic, which explains why he shows up at Dean’s nightclub to do stand-up for a few minutes. At the 16:00 mark, Rodney tries to collect on a free dinner from Dean and launches into more one-liners. “I skipped dinner at home. With my wife's cooking, it was a relief,” he says, pulling at his collar while covered in flopsweat. “With my wife's cooking, it's a pleasure to brush after every meal.”

5 Captain Kangaroo begs Sonny Bono for a holiday meal

Sometimes you can just feel writers trying to fill a hole in a show, and it’s even worse when the hole is twelve minutes long. (For comparison’s sake, the longest sketch on last week’s SNL was just over five.) At the 08:30 mark, you can practically feel Cher killing time in this “Sonny’s Pizza” bit, stretching out the thin premise until it threatens to snap in the cold. There’s barely a laugh as the sketch tromps along, morphing into a Christmas Carol parody with Captain Kangaroo as the Ghost of Pizza Present. You’ll have earned your Bah, Humbugs if you can stick it out until the bitter end.

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Original Article on Source

Source: “AOL Entertainment”