The Show Took a Toll on Them
The show took a toll on its stars, Donny and Marie. At the time, Donny was 18, and Marie was 15 years old. The young siblings were working 20-hour days, learning new songs, practicing dance routines, and memorizing numerous scripts. The pressure was becoming too much to bear. The pressure was real: they were the youngest television entertainers in history to host their own variety show. A year later, The Keane Brothers broke this record.
Source: Donny.com
The brother and sister duo were offered their weekly show by ABC-TV President Fred Silverman when he saw them co-host a week on The Mike Douglas Show. It followed their show of popular remakes of oldies, like “I’m Leaving It All Up to You,” “Morning Side of the Mountain,” and “Make the World Go Away.”