<P> One unusual taping occurred in 1971 . Cash began the program assuming it was a regular episode . Moments after Cash greeted the audience, June Carter Cash came on stage and said she had a special guest . Ralph Edwards then joined the two on stage; as the audience erupted in a standing ovation, Cash realized that it was actually a taping for an installment of This is Your Life honoring him . </P> <P> The show was canceled in 1971 in response to the Prime Time Access Rule, which eliminated a half - hour of network prime time programming from all of the major networks' nightly schedules . Cash's show was one of many that had strong rural followings that were canceled across the networks in what came to be known as the "rural purge ." </P> <P> In 1976, CBS ran a revival of the show, Johnny Cash and Friends, as a replacement series for four weeks from August 29 to September 20, 1976 . The new show was taped at the newly constructed Grand Ole Opry House in Nashville . Aside from musical performances, this series also featured a greater emphasis on comedy, with Steve Martin and Jim Varney appearing as regulars, and with June Carter Cash performing several comedy routines as "Aunt Polly" (reviving a character she had performed early in her career). </P> <P> Following Johnny Cash and Friends, an annual Johnny Cash Christmas Special series was launched, starting in 1976, with specials airing almost every year until 1985 . </P>

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