(Okay, I wasn't sure if this was already posted so I did a search of the forums and couldn't find this item previously posted. I did want you all to know that I tried looking first.)

I love finding older, classic pie scenes. Scenes that I actually saw, scenes I heard about and scenes I had no idea existed.

This forum thread is an example of why I love coming to the forums:
https://umd.net/forums/old-clip-from-the-edie-adams-show

I think I found visual evidence of a pie scene that has taunted us for years: the famous Annette Funicello scene from The Master Joke Theater featured on The Captain and Tennille Show.

We all know it existed (though there was some debate on even that) but the show it was featured on has never been released on video.

I found this picture while just being quarantired and thought that it might set some memories at ease.

I believe this picture captures an "after" shot of Annette pieing herself.

Again I hope I didn't re-post this. It was very new to me when I found it.

Take care and stay safe and healthy everyone!

Oh, man!! It looks better than I imagined. It looks like she really NAILED herself with that pie! It more than makes up for that lousy "glancing blow" pie she took in "Beach Party." (Geez, they didn't have RETAKES in that era???)

Someone's GOT to find this. The show aired just as home VCRs were taking off in the U.S., so it's not out of the question. Can't understand why that episode wasn't included in the commercial release.

I was one of the doubters until I saw this pic about 10 years ago, mainly because I think I caught every show and never saw it. Others reported seeing it on a promo for the show but said it never aired.

Fantastic discovery. Thank you for sharing.

Rumor has it that the scene never actually aired...the episode was preempted for some reason (or something along those lines) and the only evidence of he scene was from show trailers and an apparent photo in TV Guide.

Appreciate the post very much.

I've been told by a few folks that promo shots of her scene showed up before the episode, but the episode itself never aired.
And then, of course, when the C&T "box set" came out, they managed to include all the episodes with male comedians, but not the Annette one, which would've been a real find for collectors. (AKA the people who would actually BUY said box set.) There's also a Charo episode they didn't include either, but apparently the Charo hit is weak.

Best bet is for all the C&T episodes to eventually start streaming somewhere, as it's doubtful they're gonna do a second box set to grab the episodes they missed the first time out.

My thoughts
The reason for no retakes is simply its a pie fight so its very hard....you have to get clothing cleaned and hair redone....a lot more work tha with just a blown line....its why during pie fights they tend not to have much dialogue
As to why it wasnt included well it sadly could just be that like many clips of that era it was lost or in such poor condition they would not use it (There is also the possibility some segment had legal issues too)

I guess the show had such a short run that they never got to summer reruns or aired missed (due to pre-emption) episodes.

Still, with box sets, usually including an episode(s) that never aired is a selling point, so you'd think they would have included it. (Unless the tapes were wiped for some reason.)

If by "trailers" you mean network promos, well that gives a tiny but of hope that there was even a quickie "blink and you miss it" clip sandwiched in some 30-second promo for the show before it was pre-empted. But I guess it's not one we'll ever see. Bummer.

Sorry, by "trailers" I just meant an ad in TV Guide or something.
Pretty sure I saw this same Annette pie still in a newspaper ad that a customer emailed to me some years back.

If there were actual TV ads with the pieing, I'm unaware. But those might be a good source if they ever surface.

It's possible, but all depends on the nature of the pre-emption. Most unplanned pre-emptions tend to be very last-minute things: a big breaking news story, the sudden death of a celebrity, etc. A promo for a specific episode would have been put together at least a week before the scheduled airdate and could have aired as early as the date of previous episode. ("Next week, on 'The Captain and Tennile...'") So, promos could well have aired in the days leading up to the episode, but then it gets zapped at the last minute.

Another possibility is an episode pre-empted due to a technical issue with the master tape, or some problem with the content, such as real-life events suddenly rendering a joke or reference in the show in poor taste. One example: on the day President Reagan was shot, the M*A*S*H episode scheduled for 9 pm Eastern Time that evening was a first-run episode in which Charles narrowly escapes death (a sniper's bullet passes through the brim of his hat). Yeah...not hard to see why CBS pulled that one at the last minute, right? But the episode did air several months later, in the midst of summer reruns.

So, one would expect they would have aired the episode with Annette's pie at some later date.....IF the show was still even on the air at the time. Apparently, that was probably not the case.

When Lucille Ball attempted a late-career comeback in the form of ABC's ill-fated "Life with Lucy," 13 episodes were filmed, but only three or four aired before the series was cancelled. Nonetheless, even before the Internet and YouTube came along, VHS copies of the "lost" (really, just "missing") episodes began circulating among collectors. In this case, it's almost certain that the source for these tapes was a show or network insider. But, of course, we're talking about a series that was the "last gasp" of a famous and much loved comic actress' career, so there was a level of notoriety about those shows that made the risk to the "leaker" worth the effort.

Spent WAY too much time early this A.M. scouring the Net for whatever crumbs of information I could find on this. While there are some minor conflicts between sources, the preponderance of evidence shows that whatever happened to this episode occurred in late November or early December 1976.

General info.....Most sources agree that there were a total of 20 episodes produced. A normal season for a variety series such as this at this point in history would have been around 24-26 episodes, so the lower total may well indicate the effects of early cancellation.

The DVD box set included 11 full episodes and some miscellaneous clips.

Most importantly, it appears that of the 20 completed episodes, only 19 were broadcast. The critical point comes during late 1976. Episode #10 was broadcast on November 29. There is then a three-week gap until the next broadcast episode on December 20. On the surface, this is not unusual, as during the Thanksgiving/Christmas holiday season regular programming is often pre-empted for holiday-themed specials. (These would have been scheduled pre-emptions, though, and would not normally have resulted in a "lost" episode.)

However, it appears that when the show returned in late December, the episode broadcast was NOT #11, but #12.

And here's the kicker.....at least two sources show Ms. Funicello's guest appearance as being in episode #11, which apparently never aired.

So, whether #11 was scheduled for one of those December dates and was pre-empted by some breaking news or whatever, or was withheld/withdrawn for other reasons, it seems pretty certain that it is the "lost" Annette episode. Whether it still exists in some form, somewhere is unknown.

FWIW, here are two pics of what Ms. Funicello would have looked like under all that pie in 1976 (when she was 34 y/o). One with Frankie Avalon (from a "reunion" special they did) and one at the White House with President Ford, both taken in July 1976.

Wow. I am glad I made the post.

Thanks for all the comments and details. I am a bit of a history-nerd, so I love finding out the "back-story" to a great scene.

Thank you Cement for all your digging. Maybe, some day we will have that scene.

We have worked hard enough for it, we deserve it

I dunno.....pretty slim chances. I suppose that whatever company put out the DVDs and has the rights to the show has a master of the episode. The fact that they only put out 11 of the 20 probably just means that they were going to see how the first half sold before they released the others. The fact that the Annette episode wasn't released doesn't necessarily mean that there is a problem with it; it may have just missed the cut for the first batch and they had every intention of including it in the second if the bottom line warranted it.

What about those "on demand" DVD services that sold bare-bones copies (no artwork, comment tracks, bonus clips, etc) of lesser-known shows that didn't merit a full release? Are they still even a thing, and if so, do any of them have the C&T Show among their offerings?

BTW, Toni Tennille is still with us, and will be celebrating her 80th birthday this Friday (the 8th)!

The plot thickens.....I found the syndicated (non-TV Guide) TV listing for November 29, 1976. It appeared in multiple newspapers nationwide and reads as follows:

THE CAPTAIN AND TENNILLE - David Brenner, Annette Funicello, David Soul and Jack Albertson are guests tonight. The highlight is Daryl Dragon's first solo performance in the series. He shows all his musical talents in offering "T.S.O.P." Brenner does one of his standup routines and Jack joins Tennille in this week's version of Masterjoke Theater.

Wait...what?

Everything I saw this morning indicated that David Soul was on episode #10, airing that night, and Annette Funicello appeared in the never aired #11. We know from the photos we've seen that both Soul and Funicello did the pie bit - was there ever more than one Masterjoke bit in a single episode?

Not only that, but the listing does not even connect Soul or Funicello with Masterjoke Theater; rather it states that Jack Albertson and Tennille do "this week's version of Masterjoke Theater."

Does the David Soul pie appear on the DVD set? Has anyone seen or heard of Albertson taking a pie on the show?

Damn...I hate it when you think it's sorted out, and then the next thing you find shoots your theory full of holes. Maybe the source of the listing just screwed up, perhaps conflating more than one episode and generally getting things bolloxed up?

I appeal to the WAM Gods: OK, you won't let us see Steve Allen pieing the Playboy bunnies - can't we just have this clip as a consolation prize?

I watched a YouTube video featuring pie hits from
Master Joke Theater. Each episode had a different
host all calling themselves Alistair Banister. The
pie hits come at the end after the line "I'm Alistair Banister good night." Or something like that.

So it's most likely that Annette Funicello was that shows "Alistair Banister" and those people where in the sketch featured in Master Joke Theater.