Andy Williams, a TV Star When Variety Shows Were Just Hanging On

By BILL CARTER

In this YouTube clip, Andy Williams is with Antônio Carlos Jobim to sing “The Girl From Ipanema.”

Andy Williams, who died Wednesday at the age of 84, was mostly known for his mellow crooning style but he was, for much of the 1960's, well traveled in the declining genre called the variety show.

“The Andy Williams Show,” appeared in various forms, and for various networks - Mr. Williams had shows on each of the three broadcast networks during his career. He started with summer series first on ABC in 1958, and then on CBS in 1959, but he was best known for his initial five-year run on NBC.

None of the shows was ever a significant hit, which probably accounted for its many different locations on the television schedule. The NBC show alone played on Thursday night, Tuesday night, Monday night and Sunday night. And it never cracked the top 30 rated shows on television. Despite that, he won three Emmy Awards over the years for outstanding variety series.

The program, which also introduced the Osmond Brothers to big-time show business, came in an era when many variety shows built around mainstream singers, like Perry Como and Dinah Shore, were fading from television. Mr. Williams's second NBC entry made an effort to be more contemporary, with a psychedelic set and music guests that rocked a bit more than the Osmonds (the Bee Gees and Creedence Clearwater Revival were booked, though Liberace and, yes, the Osmonds, also appeared). By that time, the variety genre had shifted mainly to comedy stars like Carol Burnett.

Later, Mr. Williams mainly stuck to popular Christmas specials, which also helped him sell a lot of albums.

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Bill Carter writes about the television industry. Follow @wjcarter on Twitter.