The Earth Day Special

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The Earth Day Special
Written by	Armyan Bernstein Richard Baskin Various Writers
Directed by	Dwight Hemion James Burrows Gerry Cohen Ted Haimes Jim Henson Terry Hughes Terry Lennon Jay Sandrich Dick Schneider Dave Wilson
Starring	Bette Midler Danny DeVito Rhea Perlman
Voices of	Jeff Bergman
Opening theme	"Somewhere," performed by Barbra Streisand
Composer	Patrick Williams
Country of origin	United States
Original language	English
Production
Executive producers	Armyan Bernstein Richard Baskin Paul Junger Witt Lorne Michaels
Production locations	Warner Bros. Studios, Burbank, California, U.S.
Running time	120 minutes
Production company	Warner Bros. Television
Release
Original network	ABC
Picture format	NTSC
Audio format	Mono
Original release	April 22, 1990 (1990-04-22)

The Earth Day Special is a television special revolving around Earth Day that aired on ABC on April 22, 1990. Sponsored by Time Warner, the two-hour special featured an ensemble cast addressing concerns about pollution, deforestation, and other environmental ills.

Several cutaways are made to famous fictional characters watching events unfold, and discussing what can be done to save the planet.

This special was one of Jim Henson's final performances as Kermit the Frog prior to his death later that year, as well as one of Jeff Bergman's first as Bugs Bunny following the death of Mel Blanc the year prior.

Plot[]

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The episodic narrative, consisting of several individual skits threaded together, focused on an ailing Mother Earth (Bette Midler), who falls from the sky and faints, and is rushed to the hospital where she is attended to by Doogie Howser (Neil Patrick Harris^[1]) and two other doctors (James Brolin and Dana Delany). This special is watched by a married couple named Vic (Danny DeVito) and Paula (Rhea Perlman), and features a host of contemporary celebrities and characters, including Bugs Bunny, The Muppets, Marty McFly, Emmett "Doc" Brown, and E.T.

Cast[]

• Bette Midler - Mother Earth
• Danny DeVito - Vic
• Rhea Perlman - Paula
• Kirstie Alley - Rebecca Howe
• Christina Applegate - Kelly Bundy
• Bea Arthur - Dorothy Zbornak
• Dan Aykroyd - Vic's Buddy
• Amanda Bearse - Marcy Rhoades
• Candice Bergen - Murphy Brown
• Mary Kay Bergman - Allison
• Mayim Bialik - Kid
• Tempestt Bledsoe - Vanessa Huxtable
• Lisa Bonet - Denise Huxtable Kendall
• Jonathan Brandis - Doug
• James Brolin - Doctor
• Chevy Chase - Vic's Buddy
• Bill Cosby - Cliff Huxtable
• Kevin Costner - Bartender
• Rodney Dangerfield - Bachelor #3 (Dr. Vinny Boombatz)
• Ted Danson - Sam Malone
• Geena Davis - Kim
• Dana Delaney - Doctor
• Rick Ducommun - Hospital Security Guard
• David Faustino - Bud Bundy
• Jane Fonda - Helen
• Nika Futterman - Giulia
• Morgan Freeman - Walter Samson
• Dan Gauthier - Bachelor #2
• Estelle Getty - Sophia Petrillo
• Kelsey Grammer - Dr. Frasier Crane
• Edan Gross - Kid
• Woody Harrelson - Woody Boyd
• Neil Patrick Harris - Dr. Doogie Howser
• Dustin Hoffman - Everylawyer
• Dom Irrera - Fan
• Michael Keaton - Charles McIntyre
• Keshia Knight Pulliam - Rudy Huxtable
• Jack Lemmon - Coach Stewart
• Christopher Lloyd - Dr. Emmett Brown^[2]
• Rue McClanahan - Blanche Devereaux
• Rick Moranis - Vic's Buddy
• Ed O'Neill - Al Bundy
• Edward James Olmos - Hospital Director
• Harold Ramis - Elon Spengler (brother of Egon Spengler)^[3]
• Phylicia Rashad - Clair Huxtable
• John Ratzenberger - Cliff Clavin
• Raven-Symoné - Olivia Kendall
• Pat Riley - Bachelor #1
• Katey Sagal - Peggy Bundy
• Martin Short - Nathan Thurm
• Meryl Streep - Concerned Citizen
• Malcolm-Jamal Warner - Theo Huxtable
• George Wendt - Norm Peterson
• Betty White - Rose Nylund
• Robin Williams - Everyman
• Robert Wuhl - Fan

Appearing as themselves[]

• Downtown Julie Brown
• Heavy D
• Michael Douglas
• Isaac Hayes
• Ice-T
• Magic Johnson
• Quincy Jones
• Kid 'n Play
• Jim Lange
• Queen Latifah
• Tone Lōc
• Melanie Mayron
• Dennis Miller
• Fresh Prince
• Dr. Carl Sagan
• Barbra Streisand
• Donna Summer
• Alex Trebek

Muppet performers[]

• Jim Henson - Kermit the Frog
• Kevin Clash - Alligator
• Dave Goelz - Elderly Frog
• Jerry Nelson - Robin the Frog
• David Rudman - Iguana

Voices[]

• Jeff Bergman - Bugs Bunny, Porky Pig, Tweety
• Don Pardo - Weekend Update Announcer

References[]

External links[]

• The Earth Day Special at IMDb