4 July 1977 - 30 September 1977; 10 April 1978 - 18 August 1978 , SYNDICATED (Later known as AMERICA 2 NITE)

A satire of talk shows, Fernwood 2-Night was developed by Norman Lear to fill the summer gap between Mary Hartman, Mary Hartman and Forever Fernwood.

Set at the studios of Channel 2 in Fernwood, Ohio, it starred Martin Mull as host Barth Gimble, Fred Willard as his half-witted sidekick, Jerry Hubard, and Frank DeVol as Happy Kyne, leader of the show's four-man band, the Mirthmakers.

Host Gimble was the twin brother of Garth Gimble, a wife-beater who had impaled himself on an aluminum Christmas tree on Mary Hartman, Mary Hartman.

Second banana Hubard was the brother-in-law of the station owner, while bandleader Kyne supplemented his income by running a chain of fast-food outlets known as Bun 'n' Run.

In real life, Frank DeVol was a talented musician and composer of many TV theme songs, including the song in Family Affair.

Most of the guests on Fernwood 2-Night were purely fictional (such as Fernwood's high school principal, who demonstrated the proper technique for spanking the bottom of a shapely sixteen-year-old), but a few celebrities, such as singer Tom Waits and journalist Harry Shearer, played themselves.

America 2Night was introduced in the spring of 1978 and was similar in format to its predecessor, except that it was broadcast from Alta Coma, California, "the unfinished furniture capital of the world.'

Many of America 2Night's guests appeared as themselves; Charlton Heston, for example, was a guest on the premiere. Bill Kirchenbauer frequently appeared as hugely untalented lounge singer Tony Roletti on both Fernwood and America 2Night. Robin Williams and Paul Reubens (who later became famous as Pee-wee Herman) also made appearences on America 2Night, Williams as the operator of an escort service and Reubens as a dancing Indian.





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