The 1981 Joyce DeWitt ABC Special

Only on Datalounge can we discuss a Joyce DeWitt tv special from 1981 that never aired and get lively conversation, in-depth analysis and active debate.

One reason I keep coming back to this place.

I would love to see this.

You get a few seconds of an all singing, all dancing Joyce in this 1980 ABC promotional abortion. Even Tom Hanks was subjected to this humiliation.

Holy cats. How in the HELL did they get all those stars not only in one room at the same time, but also to AGREE to dance to that shit in r3.

BTW, i saw Donna Dixon, but somehow must have missed Tom Hanks in that shit show.

I saw Three's Company, Love Boat, Bosom Buddies, Happy Days, Soap, It's a Living, Newhart, Benson, Real People represented. A veritable who's who of popular shows of the time.

What shows did i miss?

I literally cringe watching those old promos. I'm an actor, and I wonder if I had booked a show back then if I could have brought myself to participate in something like that. Do you think those actors had to participate, contractually? Unreal -- James Noble and people like that seem so uncomfortable.

r5 "literally cringe"

Seek help.

R5 Take James Noble’s name out your mouth

Hanks pops up on the right at around 1:25 mark with his curly hair & white suit.

It really does look like the musical version of Night of The Living Dead. A lot of dead stars in that clip.

Believe it or not, I'm walking on air.

Did Joyce sing in her special? Dance? Ice skate? Or was it a collection of skits and monologues! I must know! I must see!

r11 meh, you tried

Hanks and his Afro show up around 1:30.

r13 see r8

For R11 a singing & dancing JW in 1979 =

r15 JW?

Painful.

R16 Isn't it obvious? She's a Jehovah's Witness.

Now shut up & go to sleep.

Thank you, R15. You're much more lovely than the personality-free twat at R12!

Where it all began...

R17 You're about 4 minutes late hon.

R3, I vividly recall this promo.

But I love it.

“All that Jazz” was big with George Benson’s “On Broadway.”

I have a blind nostalgia for my childhood, and this takes me right back to age 10, watching this promo on my own RCA tv set in my bedroom.

Deceptively named, Joyce DeWitt was neither joyous nor witty.

If you are going to abbreviate my name it's J-Dew if you please. TIA

When I filmed the Three's Company pilot, I was getting ready to do SHAKESPEARE, you know.

There's really nothing I can't do!

Okay fine Joyce. But did Lucy ever bedazzle you're dressed?

Jesus H. It took them forever to stop trying to foist Susan Anton on us.

Susan Anton looked like an old lady before she ever became one. The idea of trying to make her into a sex symbol - yeek.

So NOT sexy.

I remember, too, and actually liked Joyce's "L'Eggs Pantyhose" commercials era. ;) That was when they reinvented her with all that 1980-ish new-wave punk haircut, heavy makeup and eyeliner, short disco terry-cloth dresses and cork high heel sandal looks. Cartoonish, yeah, but representative of its era.

r29 I always thought of post makeover Joyce DeWitt as a G rated version of Joan Jett.

Doing such promos had to be less embarrassing than Battle of the Network Stars.

No R4. Newhart wasn’t on yet. I’m guessing you saw Peter Scollari from Bosom Buddies.

No, I saw Tom Poston r32. Newhart is one show I know he was on.

Hal Linden could get it! I would've bent over and presented hole for him.

Tom Poston was on Mork & Mindy. In any way new heart was on CBS.

Will DL have flavored coffees and assorted bakery to enjoy while we watch the rescued tape?

Why is Joyce such a fucking bitch?

Her Wikipedia bio reads like a bitchy DL parody piece:

DeWitt co-produced and hosted the 2003 NBC-TV television film Behind the Camera: The Unauthorized Story of Three's Company. In the film, DeWitt is portrayed by Melanie Paxson.

In 2008, she appeared in the indie film Failing Better Now. In 2009, DeWitt starred in a stage production of Married Alive in Calgary, Alberta, Canada.

In June 2011, DeWitt succeeded Eve Plumb in the title role of the play Miss Abigail's Guide to Dating, Mating & Marriage at the Downstairs Cabaret Theatre in New York City's Times Square.

Joyce was engaged to Johnny Carson’s attorney.

The personal section of her Wiki is pretty scant. It only mentions Ray Buktencia.

Could she have earned enough to support herself comfortably with a TV role here and there and some dinner theater?

Joyce knows where the bodies are buried.

[quote] Joyce was engaged to Johnny Carson’s attorney.

Which one? Dewey, Cheatem, or Howe

It's BUKTENICA. Get it straight.

After the success of The Susan Richardson Special, ABC greenlighting Joyce made sense, but something must have happened to cancel the taping. CBS and NBC were always trying to poach ABC stars that Fred Silverman created. The ratings game - before everyone got cable - was what is all about. Did Ritter ever get a special?

The worst cultural gap is the canceled Lauren Tewes special. We all know what went down there though.

Can't believe Joyce gave up fine bbc to be with Ray Buktenica.

She could be wallowing in Trek money now instead of dinner theatre.

The JD troll is back at it with another Three's Company / Joyce thread to insult everyone's nerves. He'll post, reply to himself, bump this thread for weeks on end. ugh.

Who's the bearded guy at the 1:01 mark in the video?

I love it when Hal Linden lets his gay come out.

Joyce was living, breathing proof that a decent salon cut and professionally applied makeup could completely transform a plain woman into a “flamboyantly nondescript” one!

R48, I believe that was Henry Winkler

Really, R51? He was giving off sexy 70s porn star vibes.

r4 "Newhart" was on CBS (as mentioned above) and "Real People" was on NBC, so you didn't see either of them in an ABC promo.

Her last role was in Ask Me to Dance in which she played Nana and uttered the line, “you want to bring a knife to a gunfight?”

I can tell you why it never aired.

I always imagined her father to be Addison DeWitt.

My daughter is nobody’s fool. Least of all yours DL.

I don't think Joyce was with Levar Burton for very long.

Just long enough to get her holes blown out.

[quote]I wonder why it never aired.

She was getting too big for her britches in more ways than one.

r56 You're too short for that gesture.

And Joyce is too short to be my daughter.

At least there's a high school named after her.

Um, yes...Tom Poston WAS in that promo, idiot. Maybe watch it before you flap your gums. He appears at :43 onscreen.

I saw Cathy Lee Crosby and John Davidson as well, which is why I said "Real People," but I got RP confused with "That's Incredible!"

Excuuuuuuuuuuuse me!

Just to be mean.

Weren't all ABC stars required to appear on The Love Boat as well?

R42 - Joyce was with Henry Bushkin, Carson’s attorney and then biographer.

Did he represent her for her DUI?

No R67. She autographed a few headshots and the cops let her walk.

They must have been headshots of Suzanne.

Hey, R6, R5 here. Did I misuse "literally"? I did literally cringe when I watched the video. Please enlighten me--I might be using the word wrong. (I'm a dumb actor after all.)

And as far as literally getting help, I've been in therapy for 30 years. Yet I return to DL.

^LOL

All About Joyce

Tom Bosley and Al Molinaro look like gay lovahs!

I bet she rode that cock til it was raw!

You know he fine tuned his visor to see John and not her.

Joyce's racist parents put an end to her joyriding black cock.

Personally, I'd have told them peckerwoods to go fuck themselves.

MERDE!

Doo doo. 💩

They ended up turning her special into an album.

It's remarkable that people now forget just how huge a cultural phenomenon Joyce and Ray Buktenica's romance was. They were the couple that invented PR name merging: Joycetenika came out loooong before Brangelina or Bennifer. They had the world on a plate! I think ultimately it was the unrelenting glare of the paparazzi and constant public focus on every aspect of their relationship that did them in. Much like Brad and Angie, Joyce and Ray couldn't take the CONSTANT media glare and their every move being under the microscope. They wanted to adopt a child from Africa (Joyce didn't specify a country in Africa, she said, "just Africa") but the press splashing it all over the headlines put the kibosh on it. Who knows, maybe had Joyce and Ray been able to adopt their African dream child they could have made it work...

She could have just had a kid with Levar.

Over our dead bodies R81!

Can someone please tell Mama Joyce that Sudan is in Africa and that a dream never dies!!

Did she have a rendezvous with Levar?

Oh Joyce!

Say it ain't so!

Mindy's snagged your sloppy seconds!

r80 "Joycetenika". That part of your story sounds hard to believe.

It should have been "Joyray"

Looks like it's MindVar now, bitches!

Joyce should have learned from the best and gone for a "Joyce and the DeWitts" themed special.

Did Joyce write her parents' obits? They seem oddly indulgent.

Mom's:

Well shit...it is too long for DL to handle!

Read below

Father's obit...

Again, even longer than Mom's.

These obits read like biopic treatments; like Joyce was hoping to be the next Coal Miner's Daughter.

Ok what young actress could play Joyce in the movie of her life? I just want a scene where ABC tells her they have to shelve the 1981 special so they show Tony Randall presents Ice Capades instead. Joyce reminding them that she wasn't like Suzanne, and people write in ALL THE TIME to put her and Jack Tripper in a romance!

R93 What actresses look like Joan Jett?

Television Royalty! Television Royalty! Levar - get me the ax!

R5, I’m thinking they were contractually obligated. It is probably akin to the way many of today’s performers are contractually obligated to appear on/use social media.

Honestly, that was way worse than Battle of the Network Stars, where at least they would get to see other beautiful/young/hot beef- and cheesecake bouncing around in the prime of their lives. The amount of hooking up during the BOTNS must have been phenomenal. And I think Howard Cosell did his "announcing" in voiceover, so they didn't have to suffer through his annoying nasal drone.

In the promo, they had to wear stupid clothing, dance a dumb number to an inane tune and look like they were actually enjoying it. Cathy Lee Crosby did a great job looking like she was boogying down like she was on a night out at the disco.

is Cathy Lee Crosby the one jiggling her tits up close? My favorite part is with Laverne and Shirley where it couldn't be more obvious they were no where near each other when this was shot. I wonder if any of them were there at the same time. Given there are 0 wide shots I'm certain they weren't.

I spotted Susan Sullivan in the back row, from her time as the lead on It's A Living. No Maggie Gioberti twirling, that would come soon when IAL fired her, and she got the gig on Falcon Crest just months later. Sad thing is she showed great comedic talent/warmth as Lois and The Village Voice raved about her.

R85 Mindy has transformed into an old yenta.

Benson is so over represented in that clip. I hated that show.

I'm surprised George Benson hasn't sued ABC for stealing his music.

1:07 my friends and I (13 years old) despised that little cunt Jill Whelan (Vicki Stubing). R3 what was Burgess Meredith on that season?

R31 There was so much publicity around the movie Tattoo with Maud Adams and Bruce Dern that year. In that clip, Howard Cosell was referring to Bruce Dern telling the press that he and Maud really did fuck during their sex scenes.

R1 😆

For years, Katy Perry has said that with the right script she would definitely consider starring in the "Joyce!" biopic. When Michelle Williams won the Emmy for playing Gwen Verdon, Perry told friends, "Joyce could do everything Verdon could do, and without the unsightly panty lines." She has also suggested that the complex role of Ray Buktenica would be "Oscar bait" for Orlando Bloom.

R106, this is genius! This could be Katy (and Orlando's!) A Star is Born! Could you imagine the soundtrack album, tracks such as: "The Blonde in the T-Bird is Driving Over My Career," "Blue Terry Cloth Shorts Sans Panties" "I'm the One (who took a dump in Mary Cadorette's dressing room)"

Taylor Swift IS Jenilee Harrison!

R99, this is magnificent:

“ Sad thing is she showed great comedic talent/warmth as Lois and The Village Voice raved about her.”

The Dewitt obits- TLDR (too long, didn’t read).

DeWitt also showed up in the 1980 Cheryl Ladd variety special, Souvenirs.

R111 Whoa.

OMG you know Joyce had to be chomping at the bit to get her own special after supporting Susan Anton and Cheryl Ladd....how bad could it have been that ABC destroyed the masters?

Here are some of Joyce's proposed outfits =

Shelley Hack was rumored to be a guest =

The DL would've gone nuts over something like that =

Another rumor had none other than dancer/actress Miss Julie Newmar stepping it up with Joyce ala Susan A.=

She was still hot back in the early 80s =

This thread is giving me BUKTENICA FEVER!

Join the club, R126!

Joyce's Vegas residency, "Life is a Ball Again!", is scheduled to open on New Year's Eve and will more than fill the gap left by Celine Dion's illness. In terms of ticket prices and high demand, comparisons are being made with the Eras Tour.

Gasp

I love Hal Linden in the ABC promo. What a fox.

Who is the hairy bearded guy in the middle of the promo? Henry Winkler?

These network stars did these all the time, every year. I remember there was a “Still The One” promo one season. I know some posters think they were probably embarrassed to do these but at the time - this was stardom. You were either a movie star or a tv star and there were just three networks. A lot of the people in the promo had a hit series and the rest of them hoped to. Aside from being on the cover of TV Guide for a week, this was it.

I don’t think this is a particular good promo though - where’s John Ritter? (Oh, maybe he’s the hairy, bearded guy.) And within a few years cable tv would be massive.

Henry Winkler is definitely the bearded guy because he appears that way in the 1979 promo as well. When did he have time to grow that out every year?

We do alternate titles for Joyce's special:

RE-JOYCE! JOYCE TO THE WORLD!

But not THE JOYCE OF SEX, I wouldn't think.

The People's Joyce

The best thing about Battle of the Network Stars is that the men had to wear Speedos for the swimming segments, and they did so without embarrassment or being laughed at. Would never happen today.

Three's A Famine

I heard Joyce did a cover of Stevie Nicks's then hit, The Edge of Seventeen.

Cindy Williams and Penny Marshall cannot dance.

R137 I heard she wanted to do "Schools Out For Somers (Summer)" but they turned her down flat.