WMAQ Channel 5 - 5 Cheers Chicago's New Year (Part 1, 1980/1981)

Here's 5 Cheers Chicago's New Year, an end-of-one-year-and-beginning-of-another celebration on WMAQ Channel 5, hosted by Warner Saunders, Carol Marin, Jerry Taft and Barry Bernson. Also featuring drummer Isaac "Red" Holt, Miomir's Serbian Club owner Miomir Radovanovich, executive chef Alfred(?), kitchen chef Donna(?), Abbey Pub owner Peter Furlong(?), weekend weatherman Terry Burhans, and numerous partygoers. Includes:

Tail end of Today promo with guest Marvin Hamlisch (voiceover by Howard Reig)

Station ID slide with New Year's greetings in numerous languages (voiceover by ??)

5 Cheers Chicago's New Year slide, with voiceover (by ??) advising that the Tomorrow airing will be delayed by one hour for this special

Opening of 5 Cheers Chicago's New Year, with announcer (?) shown at top left speaking into 1920s NBC microphone, announcing the itinerary of hosts

The festivities start with Warner and Jerry at Miomir's Serbian Club at 2255 W. Lawrence Avenue, where they are drinking a toast with an older man with an Uncle Sam hat; Jerry explains their drink is Serbian tea

Next, Carol at the Abbey Pub at 3609 N. Narragansett (on the West Side), where revelers are dancing a jig to Irish music; after giving "Happy New Year" wishes in Gaelic, she explains that John Kublahan(?) and Sean O'Donnell(?) are behind her and will be playing Irish tunes well into the night, and she previews other music including played on the bagpipes

Back to Warner and Jerry, who are talking with the Miomir's Club owner, Miomir Radovanovich, after which we hear traditional Serbian music being played and sung; they wonder where Barry Bernson is

Next, we see Barry who's at the Fireside Lounge at 8740 South Ashland (on the South Side), where Red Holt Unlimited [led by a former Ramsey Lewis Trio drummer] is keeping court for the dancers there with a slower version of the 1969 Young-Holt Unlimited hit "Soulful Strut"); Barry explains that over the course of this show he'll be speaking with Red's mother who's at the restaurant.

We then go back to the Miomir's Club where Warner says to say hello to Red, then he and Jerry interview a lady named Sophia who Jerry thinks looks like Sophia Loren (but seems to look more like Maria Bartiromo); as she's speaking, club owner Miomir comes forth and leads the dancers; after that, Jerry joins Sophia in a dance, and then the old man comes and does a Russian dance; Jerry then explains that doing the weather is easier, but Warner compliments him for "doing pretty well" under his circumstances. Jerry then signals for a commercial break, as the following text is superimposed on the screen (as George Harrison's 1974 holiday tune "Ding Dong; Ding Dong" from his Dark Horse album is played):

JIM RUDDLE: I predict Jerry Taft's hair will go straight.

followed by 5 Cheers Chicago's New Year super bumper

Commercial bumper for Swap-O-Rama Indoor Flea market at the International Amphitheatre at 44th and Halsted for January 4th from 9am to 5pm - Admission $1.00 - Free parking (voiceover by ??)

Slide of children's choir, with "Happy New Year from Channel 5" voiceover (by ??)

Commercial bumper for Museum of Science and Industry's "Christmas Around the World" (different from this bumper, and with no voiceover)

PSA for American Lung Association's 1980 Christmas Seals cards, letters and gift packs, with animated representations of some of the illustrations - "A Matter of Life and Breath"

This aired on local Chicago TV on Wednesday, December 31st 1980 / Thursday, January 1st 1981 during the 11:30pm to 12:30am timeframe.

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