''Out to Lunch'' is a prime-time

television special A television special (often TV special, or rarely television spectacular) is a standalone television show which may also temporarily interrupt episodic programming normally scheduled for a given time slot. Some specials provide a full range of ent ...

that was broadcast on December 10, 1974, on

ABC ABC are the first three letters of the Latin script known as the alphabet. ABC or abc may also refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Broadcasting * American Broadcasting Company, a commercial U.S. TV broadcaster ** Disney–ABC Television ...

, from 9 to 10pm ET. It mixed the ''

Sesame Street ''Sesame Street'' is an American educational children's television series that combines live-action, sketch comedy, animation and puppetry. It is produced by Sesame Workshop (known as the Children's Television Workshop until June 2000) a ...

'' Muppets and the cast of ''

The Electric Company ''The Electric Company'' is an American educational children's television series produced by the Children's Television Workshop (CTW, now known as Sesame Workshop). It was co-created by Paul Dooley, Joan Ganz Cooney, and Lloyd Morrisett. The ...

'' along with guest stars

Elliott Gould Elliott Gould (; né Goldstein; born August 29, 1938) is an American actor. He began acting in Hollywood films during the 1960s. Elliott's breakthrough role was in the ''Bob & Carol & Ted & Alice'' (1969), for which he received a nomination f ...

Barbara Eden Barbara Eden (born Barbara Jean Morehead; August 23, 1931) is an American actress, singer, and producer best known for her starring role as Jeannie in the sitcom '' I Dream of Jeannie'' (1965-1970). Other notable roles include Roslyn Pierce opp ...

and

Carol Burnett Carol Creighton Burnett (born April 26, 1933) is an American actress, comedian, singer, and writer. Her groundbreaking comedy variety show ''The Carol Burnett Show'', which originally aired on CBS was one of the first of its kind to be hosted ...

. This is the first and one of the few ''Sesame Street''-related productions directly produced by

The Jim Henson Company The Jim Henson Company (formerly known as Muppets, Inc., Henson Associates, Inc., and Jim Henson Productions, Inc.; commonly referred to as Henson) is an American entertainment company located in Los Angeles, California. The company is known for ...

, then-named Henson Associates (the others being the 1989 television special ''

Sesame Street… 20 Years & Still Counting ''Sesame Street... 20 Years & Still Counting'' is a 1989 television special celebrating the 20th Anniversary of ''Sesame Street''. Hosted by Bill Cosby, the special aired on Friday, April 7, 1989, on NBC. This special was originally produced by ...

'' and the 1999 feature film ''

The Adventures of Elmo in Grouchland ''The Adventures of Elmo in Grouchland'' is a 1999 American musical adventure comedy film directed by Gary Halvorson in his feature film debut. This was the second film to be based on the children's television series ''Sesame Street'', after '' ...

''). A member of the ''Electric Company'' cast,

Rita Moreno Rita Moreno (born Rosa Dolores Alverío Marcano; December 11, 1931) is a Puerto Rican actress, dancer, and singer. Noted for her work across different areas of the entertainment industry, she has appeared in numerous film, television, and thea ...

, received an

Emmy The Emmy Awards, or Emmys, are an extensive range of awards for artistic and technical merit for the American and international television industry. A number of annual Emmy Award ceremonies are held throughout the calendar year, each with the ...

nomination in 1975 for her participation in the show in the category of ''Outstanding Continuing or Single Performance by a Supporting Actress in Variety or Music''.

Plot

In the program,

ABC News ABC News is the news division of the American broadcast network ABC. Its flagship program is the daily evening newscast ''ABC World News Tonight, ABC World News Tonight with David Muir''; other programs include Breakfast television, morning ...

anchor

Bill Beutel William Charles Beutel (December 12, 1930 – March 18, 2006) was an American television reporter, journalist, and anchor. He was best known for working over four decades with the American Broadcasting Company, spending much of that time anchoring ...

and his stage manager wrapped up a newscast and left the studio to take a lunch break. After they leave, the Muppets and the cast of ''The Electric Company'' take over the studio to fill an hour of programming on ABC while the studio staff is on break.

Cast

* Luis Ávalos - Casino owner *

- Himself * Jim Boyd - Stage manager and gambler *

- Herself *

Morgan Freeman Morgan Freeman (born June 1, 1937) is an American actor, director, and narrator. He is known for his distinctive deep voice and various roles in a wide variety of film genres. Throughout his career spanning over five decades, he has received ...

- Croupier *

Judy Graubart Esther Judith Graubart (born October 5, 1943, in Fort Worth, Texas) is an American actress and comedian. She is best known for being a regular cast member of ''The Electric Company (1971 TV series), The Electric Company'', the pioneering childre ...

- Herself *

- Divorced husband *

Skip Hinnant Joseph Howard "Skip" Hinnant (born September 12, 1940) is an American actor, singer, voice actor and comedian. Career Skip Hinnant's first major role was as Cathy's boyfriend, Ted, on ''The Patty Duke Show'' from 1963 to 1965. In 1967, he pla ...

- Himself and spectator *

- Herself, divorced wife, and spectator *

Gary Owens Gary Owens (born Gary Bernard Altman; May 10, 1934 – February 12, 2015) was an American radio announcer, personality, disc jockey and voice actor. His polished baritone speaking voice generally offered deadpan recitations of total nonsense, wh ...

- Announcer *

Hattie Winston Hattie Mae Winston (born March 3, 1945) is an American film, television and Broadway actress and voice artist. She is known for her roles as Margaret Wyborn on ''Becker'', Lucy Carmichael in ''Rugrats'', ''The Rugrats Movie'', and the spin off se ...

- Herself

Muppet performers

Jim Henson James Maury Henson (September 24, 1936 – May 16, 1990) was an American puppeteer, animator, cartoonist, actor, inventor, and filmmaker who achieved worldwide notice as the creator of The Muppets and '' Fraggle Rock'' (1983–1987) and ...

- Kermit the Frog, Ernie, and Guy Smiley * Richard Hunt - Various *

Jerry Nelson Jerry L. Nelson (July 10, 1934 – August 23, 2012) was an American puppeteer, best known for his work with The Muppets. Renowned for his wide range of characters and singing abilities, he performed Muppet characters on ''Sesame Street'', ' ...

- Herry Monster, Count von Count, Mr. Snuffleupagus, and Anything Muppet Dog *

Frank Oz Frank Oz (born Frank Richard Oznowicz; May 25, 1944) is an American actor, puppeteer, and filmmaker. He began his career as a puppeteer, performing the Muppet characters of Miss Piggy, Fozzie Bear, Animal, and Sam Eagle in ''The Muppet Show ...

- Bert, Cookie Monster, and Grover *

Caroll Spinney Caroll Edwin Spinney (December 26, 1933 – December 8, 2019) was an American puppeteer, cartoonist, author, artist and speaker, most famous for playing Big Bird and Oscar the Grouch on ''Sesame Street'' from its inception in 1969 until 2018. E ...

- Oscar the Grouch and Big Bird

External links

''Out To Lunch''
at Muppet Wiki * Sesame Street features The Electric Company (TV series) 1970s American television specials ABC News American Broadcasting Company television specials 1974 television specials Television series about television {{US-child-tv-prog-stub