From the same Ed Sullivan Show saluting Richard Rodgers, we have another (short) number from The King and I, performed by Shirley Jones and Herschel Bernardi. Again, Mr. Bernardi looks for all the world like a man born of royal blood in Thailand…
Jeff Cook, a reader of this site, wrote that he was puzzled by the casting choice here. When this show was done — 11/22/70 — Ms. Jones was starring in The Partridge Family, which had recently debuted on ABC and Herschel Bernardi was starring in Arnie, which had recently debuted on CBS. Why take those performers away from their new shows?
Good question and I'll bet the answer was Richard Rodgers. He was notorious for being very fussy how his songs were performed. I once heard Merv Griffin talk about a time on his old show when they decided to do a salute to the composer and they rounded up some very famous entertainers to come on and sing his tunes. Rodgers rejected most of them, insisting on lesser-known performers who sang his songs "right."
I don't know that Rodgers had any history with Bernardi. That may have been CBS wanting to give some exposure to their new star. But Rodgers loved Shirley Jones and always cited her as a singer who did his songs the way he wanted them done. I'm thinking he demanded her and she may have done it to remind the world that she could sing the kind of songs she wasn't singing on her new series.