This curiosity was born in the seventies. It was when TV stars were connected with their home network. ABC, CBS, and NBC would all send stars to compete with each other. I will admit it was fun to watch. You would see Telly Savalas, Lynda Carter, Kristy McNichol (remember her?) compete with each other with no other than Howard Cossell announcing.
Regular events included swimming, kayaking, volleyball, golf, tennis, bowling (on custom-made outdoor lanes), cycling, 3-on-3 football, the baseball dunk, running, and the obstacle course. As a pre-teen boy, I still remember Kristy McNichol was great on the obstacle course.
TV now is so fragmented that it would not work. They did try to bring it back in 2017 but it wasn’t the same and fewer viewers viewed with every episode. The networks didn’t want to share their actors with rivals. All of the contestants were from the Disney owned networks or older casts from long ago shows.
The original show ran from 1976 to 1988… Some of the Contestants are below the video.
Some of the Contestants
Howard Cosell
Gabe Kaplan
Darleen Carr
Lynda Carter
Farrah Fawcett
Richard Hatch
Robert Hegyes
Ron Howard
Hal Linden
Penny Marshall
John Schuck
Telly Savalas
Adrienne Barbeau
Gary Burghoff
Kevin Dobson
Pat Harrington Jr.
Bill Macy
Lee Meriwether
Mackenzie Phillips
Loretta Swit
Jimmie Walker
Robert Conrad
Melissa Sue Anderson
Karen Grassle
Tim Matheson
Ben Murphy
Barbara Parkins
Joanna Pettet
Kevin Tighe
Demond Wilson
Mark Spitz
Peter Lawford
Lona Barrett
Caitlyn Jenner
Bob Rosburg
Reggie Jackson
Nadia Comaneci
Joyce Brothers
Robert Stack
Roosevelt Grier
Howard W. Koch
PowerPop... An Eclectic Collection of Pop Culture 