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Apollo sings out
'Vive La France!'

The Apollo Theater in Harlem was the launching pad for some of the world's most important black entertainers. Closed for many years, it was reopened recently, and has become the pulse beat of the resurgence of the uptown community. Now, another first for Harlem. On Sunday, the Apollo will be taken over by more than 1,500 French citizens who will get the results of the French national elections via satellite TV. Parisian saloonkeeper Regine, who caters to high society in her posh pubs around the world, will cater to the French. Mayor Koch, Sens. Pat Moynihan and Al D'Amato, and a host of congressmen and show biz folks will be interviewed for French TV. Bianca

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Percy Sutton

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Regine

Jagger and Mariel Hemingway will also give their views on the elections for the first such live international telecast. The activities start at 11:30 a.m. and, because so many of our French friends will come by limo, the city will close 125th and 126th Sts. between Seventh and Eighth Aves. Before the election count starts, Apollo entrepreneur Percy Sutton, the ex-Manhattan beep, will treat French viewers to a live show by American jazz greats. After all that jazz, Regine will treat her countrymen to a series of acts from Broadway. You could say Broadway's moving uptown or, says Sutton: "Fifteen hundred Frenchmen can't be wrong!"

"MOTOWN RETURNS TO THE APOLLO"
An Historic Television Event
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Tonight when the "A" train winds its way to Eighth Avenue and 125th Street, history will ride as a passenger.

When the ripples of excitement momentarily subside as we wait for "Motown Returns to the Apollo" to begin, history will settle into a seat alongside an expectant crowd. Tonight, NBC will broadcast into more homes to reach out and touch more lives than all the audiences of the last fifty years combined - 60 million viewers will share this magic night.

As this show began to take shape in the minds and hearts of its producers, it became their mission to capture for all time the legend that had been the Apollo Theatre and its amazing performers.

Tonight, we will recreate a past dimly remembered and light a beacon for tomorrow. For many of tonight's viewing millions the chronicles of the Apollo are as distant as any Greek myth. For others, it is the stuff of legends. But all are aware that the Apollo represented a standard of black excellence that became the yardstick for performers of all colors.

Perhaps the entertainers who came to the Apollo gave little thought to history in the larger sense. For most it was a purely personal experience. Depending on the night, the time and the mood of the crowd, it was either a joy or a terrifying moment.

For amateurs, the crowd's judgement was a crucible. In it, unrealistic hopes were burned away and the truly talented emerged in burnished glory - the hope of tomorrow shining in their eyes. Those gathered around tv sets tonight will have the rare opportunity to join the audience in the theater watching a new generation of amateurs.

In this monumental television event, we'll see a glimpse of Harlem in the '20s and '30s, when red-hot mamas and jazz babies dressed their best and the rivers of champagne flowed to the beat.

Tonight there'll be blues and big bands. We'll see some teasin' from some tall, tan lovelies as we recreate the astonishing range of musical styles of the women who won Harlem's hearts and went on the win the world.

The '50s saw the birth of rock and roll; tonight we'll rock the Apollo. Twenty-odd years ago, a fledgling Detroit record label sent its superstars-in-waiting to the Apollo. Once again, the Motown Revue will roll onto the stage.

In this show, we'll see megastar duets for the first and only time; tap shoes will be donned and intricate rhythms never executed before will be heard; doo-wopping harmonies will echo and hearts will sing.
For some of tonight's performers, this show will mark a milestone - an emotional return to a a time and place where they spent some of their precious youth. It was here they were handed the imaginary baton from those great entertainers who came before them. For the younger performers, it will be as a career touchstone - and perhaps a little intimidating. After all, it was here that black royalty earned their crowns. Tonight we will create a new dynasty and the baton will be passed along once again.

That the past is prologue to the future has never been truer. The richness of the Apollo's past - and tonight's great show - is a gift to the future and a mandate to carry the torch yet another fifty years and more. Tonight is an historic event and you are a part of it all.

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Bill Cosby

When Bill Cosby played the Apollo in the late '60s, most of those in the audience knew him as secret agent Alexander Scott from "I Spy." As Master of Ceremonies for "Motown Returns to the Apollo," they know him today as winner of four Emmys and five Grammys, and as star of the No. 1-rated television show in America - "The Cosby Show."

Reflecting the show's popularity with 30 million viewers who tune in to the weekly series, it walked away with four People's Choice Awards last March - for best comedy series, best new comedy series, best female performer in a comedy series and best male performer in a comedy series.

Mr. Cosby's relentless attention to detail and demand for quality, that is woven into his style of humor, has demonstrated his conviction that television today can be wholesome, entertaining, and educational, while appealing to a wide audience. He has the talent for touching people's lives, whether it be in television, films, commercials or education.