Before They Were Stars Before They Were Stars Before They Were Stars was a 30-minute American television show which aired on ABC in 1996 and was hosted by Scott Baio, with John Cramer as announcer and narrator. The program originated as a series of specials which aired during 1994 and 1995; Joey Lawrence hosted the first two installments, with Karen Duffy taking the reins for the next two, and eventual series host Baio doing so for the fifth and final edition. All of the specials were an hour long, except the third, which was a half-hour. The term "Before They Were Stars" has since
Christmas by medium film tax benefits). Before 1962, when "Mr. Magoo's Christmas Carol" premiered, true Christmas specials made for TV were either adaptations of stories such as "A Christmas Carol" (with live actors), or the Nativity Story, or episodes of variety shows highlighting Christmas music. They were often hosted by such celebrities as Perry Como, Jane Wyatt, or Florence Henderson. (A notable exception was "The Spirit of Christmas" in 1950, which, although featuring an appearance by Alexander Scourby, who also narrated, starred the Mabel Beaton Marionettes.) This all changed once variety shows began dying out in the late 1980s and Rankin-Bass began producing