After he died, I was reading a long obituary for him where they revealed that Anderson didn't necessarily like being a sitcom star. He was seeing other magicians getting TV specials and being awarded stardom just by being funny magicians--the main ones being the great Penn & Teller. Night Court allowed Anderson so showcase his comedy along with his magic but Dave's World, a family sitcom loosely based on the life of humorous newspaper columnist Dave Barry, did not. Anderson wanted to show off his magic, which is why he got into showbiz in the first place.
Shortly after Dave's World ended, Anderson and his new wife moved to New Orleans where he opened a magic shop and then a theater. The venture would be short-lived as Hurricane Katrina devastated the city and they moved to Asheville, North Carolina in 2006.
In 1987, around the height of Night Court's popularity, NBC gave Harry Anderson a special called Harry Anderson's Sideshow where Anderson could showcase his magic, comedy, and other strange attractions. The special premiered October 30, 1987 and pre-empted the series Private Eye which would be canceled in January after 13 episodes. I was unable to find ratings information for Sideshow but I would place it's viewership slightly above Private Eye but far below Night Court (at this point, in the top ten of TV shows).
The show opens with Anderson singing a song written by the famed Sherman brothers, "Canvas, Sawdust, and Dreams". The show immediately starts off by cutting Diedre Hall's head off in a guillotine. I hate when that happens.
The next show is the Amazing Acrobats of China. They can throw large vases and tables around with their feet. Anderson interviews Tommy Trio, a man with three legs portrayed by John Astin. Tommy absolutely does not want to talk about his three legs. Next is Charley Charles who does some stunts on a bicycle. He even rides a tiny bicycle, but his pants don't get caught in the chain and get pulled off.
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| Don't have to burn that seat. |
Peter Scolari dances as diminutive Duke. It's kind of weird, maybe a little offensive, but Peter Scolari seems like he's having a good time. Anderson has turned Diedre Hall into Jan In the Pan while he works to reattach her head to her body. There's another performance from an Amazing Acrobat of China (this guy balances glass on his face and then climbs a ladder!) and then Marsha Warfield (Anderson's Night Court costar) comes out as Dynamo the Human Bomb. I love the banter between them "Harry, when you called and asked me to do this and I expressed very little interest, you said I could do what I want." She relents and does the trick when Harry hints he could get her kicked off of Night Court. Harry then blows up the box Warfield got in, but not until after she sneaks out while Harry has his back turned. I think it would've funny if Anderson, realizing he just killed his costar, would've said "We're gonna need a fourth bailiff" as kind of a joke to Selma Diamond and Florence Halop both passing away on Night Court before hiring Warfield. Maybe that would've been too mean or something.
Emma Samms plays Cloris, a beautiful girl flower. It's weird. But then we move to the death-defying feats of Pan-Tar and Maureen. He shoots arrows. He only does a couple tricks but they are pretty impressive. As the show concludes, Anderson thanks his guests and Diedre Hall has decided to embrace being a disembodied head and is thrilled to announce that she is joining the sideshow circuit with pitchman Tommy Trio!
At the end, we watch the acts clean up while we get a reprise of "Canvas, Sawdust, and Dreams" sung by Mel Torme. Credits roll (I'm assuming Anderson's daughter, Eva, playing the girl at the beginning of the special) and we end on Hick (voiced by Jay Johnson of Soap fame who also executive produced this special) making a joke about the special being too short for having paid 8 bits.
The end.
