HOLLYWOOD- Hollywood lives, for the most part, in an aura of self-delusion. Predictions abound that every movie will be "great" and every TV series a "hit".
Once in a while they're right. Last year, CBS brass who saw The Sonny and Cher Show before it went on the air as a summer replacement said it was bound to be smash and would be back on the air in January as a regular series.
This summer, it's NBC predicting that The Bobby Darin Amusement Company which is replacing Dean Martin for seven weeks, is going to return in mid-season. It's still too early to tell ( the series premired last Thursday ), but everyone connected with the show says he has a "feeling" about it. Except Bobby Darin, he refuses to think that far ahead.
" I know that everybody in the cast and crew is rooting for it to be a hit but I honestly don't spend time thinking about whether it will a success or not. I've never had a series before , but basically I'm not a competitive individual."
You don't believe it? You should because Bobby Darin looks you right in the eye when he's talking and shoots straight from the shoulder.
We were lunching at a rustic health food resturant called The Magic Apple in beautiful downtown Burbank, just minutes form NBC, where we'd spent some time watching Bobby rehearse his final show with guests Tommy and Dickie Smothers and Joannie Sommers. It was just about a year ago that we had visited Sonny and Cher rehearsing their last show of last summer, and again we were impressed by the same feeling of family and camaraderie among the cast and crew on Bobby's set. And Bobby confirmed it.
"We've been working practically non-stop with only a day off here and there for over a month now. It's been a real team effort, and there are no factions of any kind. It's been very hectic, but I've enjoyed it very much."
The Bobby Darin Amusement Company is being billed as a comedy show with music, and Bobby only sings three songs on each show, one of them a duet with a female vocalist. The rest of the show is a variety of production numbers and comedy sketches. ( There are several regulars on the show, and guest stars include Dusty Springfield, George Burns, Dionne Warwicke, Carl Reiner and coming up on Thursday are Debbie Reynolds and Charles Nelson Reilly.)
Television producers had approached Bobby in the past about doing a TV series. But he always said no until Saul Ilson and Ernest Chambers (who were responsible for the Carol Channing , Pearl Bailey, Bill Cosby, and Frank Sinatra specials ) came along.
"It's the first time that anyone spoke to me about doing a TV show utilizing all the different things I like to do."
" I would not be satisfied with a series featuring just songs and small talk with my guests," he explained. "Saul and Ernie hit all the right nerve centers in talking to me, and by the end of my meeting with them I was already committed. And they have given me even more freedom than they had promised. I've created seven different characters which I use and which the writing staff has brought to life. It has been a marvelous experience."
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