A Star Odyssey on CBS’ 75th Anniversary

Much of the CBS “eye” is in the sky this weekend.

Many of the network’s past and present stars are winging their way to New York for “CBS at 75,” a three-hour special to be broadcast at 8 p.m. Sunday.

The program, staged by veteran Oscar show producer Gilbert Cates, will evoke a nightclub feeling at the Hammerstein Ballroom, with celebrities seated around tables instead of in rows of seats. A television on each table will give stars close-up views of classic clips and, in turn, viewers will get close-ups of the stars’ reactions.

Tom Selleck, Angela Lansbury, Mary Tyler Moore, Carol Burnett, Andy Griffith, Alan Alda, Larry Hagman, Walter Cronkite, Candice Bergen, Charlie Sheen and Amy Brenneman are among the many stars slated to salute CBS, which debuted in 1928 as a network of 16 radio stations.

Selleck’s strongest tie to CBS remains his Emmy-winning part as the Hawaii-based detective in “Magnum, P.I.,” but he became part of the network’s family earlier. In the mid-1970s, he spent a year as Jed Andrews on the venerable daytime serial “The Young and the Restless.” However, he reflected, “it’ll be nice to see ‘Magnum’ put in the proper perspective. I think people forget it was nominated for the Emmy for outstanding drama series a couple of times.

“It’s still one of my biggest thrills that when the show was over I was asked to go to Washington, D.C., and put Magnum’s Hawaiian shirt and Detroit Tigers cap and team ring into the Smithsonian. It was a recognition of something we really fought for early on, and not without risk.

“ ‘Magnum’ was the first show to acknowledge Vietnam War veterans in a positive light, so it has a place in history. It couldn’t have been any better for me, but so many other people were associated with the show, it deserves to be paid tribute.”

On “CBS at 75,” Selleck will introduce a segment on the network’s westerns, and he is taking time out from another CBS project -- a miniseries of Scott Turow’s book “Reversible Errors” -- to fly in from Nova Scotia for the 75th anniversary gala.

“The first thing I ever had to do, once CBS bought ‘Magnum,’ was to appear at an affiliate event where they paraded all the network’s stars,” he said. “I knew I was going to go out there and no one would know who I was. I recently did ‘Good Morning America’ and asked Diane Sawyer if she remembered where we first met. It was at that CBS event. We were next to each other alphabetically.” Sawyer was at CBS News then.

With her series “Judging Amy” now in its fifth year, Amy Brenneman is a CBS relative of later vintage. Proud that the network bought the show, which was inspired by her mother, a superior court judge, she enjoys uniting with CBS stars on occasions that usually are limited to Emmy and Golden Globe awards.

“Back in March,” Brenneman recalled, CBS Chairman Les Moonves was given a broadcasting honor, “and I was flown there with Ray Romano and Jeff Probst. We met up with Billy Petersen [‘CSI: Crime Scene Investigation’], who I made a movie with, and it really was a nice vibe. It’s fun to get to dress up and be glamorous, but there’s also a real camaraderie.”

Jay Bobbin writes for Tribune Media Services.

“CBS at 75” will air at 8 p.m. Sunday on CBS.