A star-studded salute to the great lyricist Oscar Hammerstein II (1895-1960). Higlights: Dinah Shore performs, "A Cockeyed Optimist"; Helen Hayes recites the lyrics to "All the Things You Are"; Miyoshi Umeki sings "I Am Going to Like it Here"; Leslie Uggams sings "Why Do I Love You?"; Burt Lancaster performs "Carefully Taught"; John Raitt sings "If I Loved You". Johnny Mercer, Janet Blair, John Raitt and Leslie Uggams do a medley with including "I Whistle a Happy Tune", "The Folks Who Live on the Hill", "Shall We Dance?", "I Won't Dance", "Stouthearted Men", "Getting to Know You" and "Do Re Mi". Celeste Holm sings, "I Can't Say No"' Harve Presnell sings "The Surrey with the Fringe on Top". Jean Fenn and Harve Presnell perform "The Desert Song", "Rose Marie" and "Wanting You". Janet Blair sings "It Might As Well Be Spring". Desi Arnaz Jr., Milton Berle, Larry Hagman, Yaphet Kotto, Ryan O'Neal, Robert Stack and Ray Walston join in for "There is Nothin' like a Dame". Ricardo Montalban performs "A Puzzlement". And John Raitt and Jean Fenn end the program, she with "Climb Every Mountain", and he with the last verse of "Ol' Man River".
