While Sha Na Na had 4 productive seasons in syndication, the format wasn't always what we saw on TV.
The pilot, which was shown to advertisers by distributor Lexington Broadcast Services, cast the band as hoodlums just out on parole, according to Ginger (Pamela Myers), who appears in several bumper segments in this installment.
Luckily, they ditched the hoodlum plotline, and went with the band as the retro cover band we all know and love. In the pilot, actress-singer Rita Moreno, fresh from The Electric Company, is the featured guest.
The experience of having appeared on variety shows with Andy Williams and Flip Wilson, among others, prepped Sha Na Na for this gig. Guitarist-vocalist "Dirty" Dan McBride left the show and the band after season 3. Bass vocalist and occasional pianst Jon "Bowzer" Bauman left in 1983, two years after the series ended, to make a career change as a game show host, and later, a VJ for VH1 and a brief career in cartoons.
Rating: B. Repertory player Phil Roth, seen with the fumigator, left after the 1st season.
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