The first Battle of the Network Stars aired in November of 1976. The original incarnation aired for the 12 years, with the last episode airing in 1988. Howard Cosell was the announcer for all but one of the Battle's, often joined by a celebrity from the sports or entertainment world. The team captains for the first Battle included; Gabe Kaplan, (ABC) Telly Savalas, (CBS) and recurring participant Robert Conrad for NBC.
The teams included; ABC, Gabe Kaplan, (Captain) along with Darleen Carr, Lynda Carter, Farrah Fawcett-Majors, Richard Hatch, Robert Hegyes, Ron Howard, Hal Linden, Penny Marshall and John Schuck. CBS, Telly Savalas, (Captain) with Adrienne Barbeau, Gary Burghoff, Kevin Dobson, Pat Harrington, Jr., Bill Macy, Lee Meriwether, Mackenzie Phillips, Loretta Swit and Jimmie Walker. And NBC with Robert Conrad, (Captain) Melissa Sue Anderson, Karen Grassle, Tim Matheson, Ben Murphy, Barbara Parkins, Joanna Pettet, Kevin Tighe, Bobby Trop and Demond Wilson.
The only version of the first episode I ever saw was the version on YouTube, and really only watched the first half to see the pool events. The first couple of episodes included 10 celebrities per team, six men, and four women. Eventually the reduced the celebrities to 8, and had four men and four women. Some of the first events, which later were cut, included golf and tennis.
It's interesting seeing some of the celebrities who participated in the early shows. Some of televisions biggest stars of the time appeared on the show. As the years went on, it seemed the show had fewer and fewer 'big' named television stars, and like reality shows of today, it was the B and C celebrities who returned for multiple appearances. I've tried my best to connect each image with their respective season, but because some celebrities appeared multiple times, some may not be from the actual season. (there are many shots of Conrad in speedos!)
Some of the celebrities from this first incarnation were unfamiliar to me, and I had to look up several of the actors and shows. It's interesting to see future director Penny Marshal alongside Farrah Fawcett Majors. It's also great to see all of the male celebrities sporting speedos in the swimming and kayak events. Today, you'd never find so many television actors willing to wear a speedo on television, but during the 70's, it seemed much more common.
I'm a little disappointed we didn't get to see Ron Howard in the swimming event. Whenever I watched Happy Days reruns, I always thought Howard was cute. I could be wrong, but I'm not sure we ever saw him appear shirtless on the show, or on screen. Maybe when he was a child star, but I couldn't find much when he was older. We did however get to see most of the other male celebrities in their speedos, including Hal Linden who looked surprisingly hot!
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