Earlier this week, Nathan Lane guested on David Letterman, and among many pop-culture references, he made a few jokes about Shields and Yarnell. Last night on Jimmy Fallon, the excellent announcer Steve Higgins made a joke about Shields and Yarnell.
Why the sudden late-night pop-up references to a mime duo famous from the 1970s? Don’t know. (I’d wager that Higgins just happened to watch Letterman when Lane was on.) Who are Shields and Yarnell? Do know: They were a husband-and-wife team, Robert Shields and Lorene Yarnell. They appeared on tons of variety shows, from The Tonight Show to The Muppet Show. They had their own show on CBS in 1977-78. Here’s an example of their work:
No one has done a better robot than Shields, whom Marcel Marceau once called the greatest mime in America. (Insert your own mime joke here.)
OK, Jay Leno: time for you to make a Shields and Yarnell reference.
I loved the Shields & Yarnell show. Don’t forget that Lorene was Dot Matrix in Spaceballs.
I loved the Shields & Yarnell show. Don’t forget that Lorene was Dot Matrix in Spaceballs.
Of course I remember Sheilds and Yarnell, and their way-awesome-to-an-8-year-old show.
My question is, whatever happened to Mumenschantz?
I was all of about 6 at the time, but loved them on Sonny and Cher.
Julie: Oddly enough, I saw Yarnell in performance maybe 15 years ago sans Shields but with members of Mumenschantz or (I don’t recall exactly) a troupe that had some relation to it.
Shields and Yarnell were Amazing!!!! So talented! True creators and innavators.