Life's Most Embarrassing Moments

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{{Infobox television

| image = Life's_Most_Embarrassing_Moments_title_screen_1983.png

| caption = Title screen of first special

| genre =

| creator =

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| writer =

| director = Woody Fraser (first special)
Jerry Kupcinet (subsequent specials)

| creative_director =

| presenter = John Ritter (first special)
Steve Allen (subsequent specials)

| starring =

| judges =

| voices =

| narrated =

| theme_music_composer =

| opentheme =

| endtheme =

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| country = United States

| language = English

| num_seasons =

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| executive_producer =

| producer = Alan Landsburg, Woody Fraser

| editor =

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| company = Alan Landsburg Productions

| channel = ABC

| first_aired = {{Start date|1983}}

| last_aired = {{End date|1986}}

| related =

}}

Life's Most Embarrassing Moments is a series of television comedy specials primarily featuring "blooper" outtakes, and appeared on the ABC network in the United States from 1983 to 1986.

Created by Alan Landsburg ProductionsShales, Tom (18 November 1983). [https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/lifestyle/style/1983/11/13/camelot-recaptured/c2fb0450-fe5f-4961-82ac-215d68594f83/ Camelot Recaptured], The Washington Post the first special aired on April 27, 1983, hosted by John Ritter, and was the most-watched prime time television show of the week. Steve Allen hosted approximately nine subsequent installments, which started in September 1983, with the last special airing in May 1986.Terrace, Vincent. [https://books.google.com/books?id=Of0QAAAAQBAJ&pg=PA231 Television Specials: 5,336 Entertainment Programs, 1936–2012, 2d ed.], p. 1500 (2013) The content of the show was primarily outtakes of celebrity mishaps. A number of the specials were also rerun as a "weekly series" in August to early September 1985.Brooks, Tim & Earle F. Marsh. [https://books.google.com/books?id=w8KztFy6QYwC&pg=PA793 The Complete Directory to Prime Time Network and Cable TV Shows, 1946-Present], p. 793 (2007) Each installment was numbered, e.g., Life's Most Embarrassing Moments III.

The first special was highly watched, but reviewer Tom Shales at The Washington Post was not impressed. Noting the show was plainly a response to NBC's Bloopers specials, Shales called it a "grossly irritating hour" where after every clip "the director cut to the studio audience for a hefty round of artificially augmented applause."Shales, Tom (19 May 1983). [https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/lifestyle/1983/05/19/abcs-sampling-of-bargain-basement-hype/e7fafaf4-8d37-4b7c-b73f-4052b2bccbda/ ABC's Sampling of Bargain-Basement Hype], The Washington Post The comparison to Bloopers was noted by many, and that show's creator Dick Clark Productions sued Alan Landsburg Productions over it in federal court.(21 August 1983). [https://www.newspapers.com/newspage/64601124/ Personal and Confidential is lousy TV], San Bernardino County Sun' ("Messrs. Landsburg and Fraser. These two schlockmeisters saw "Real People" and came up with "That's Incredible!"; they're being sued for plagiarism. They saw "TV's Censored Bloopers" and developed "Life's Most Embarrassing Moments," for which they're also being sued.") The case was eventually dismissed, and the dismissal was affirmed on appeal.[https://www.newspapers.com/newspage/191084660/ Who's the Star: Its Danza], Greenville News ("Dick Clark's plagiarism lawsuit against Alan Landsburg Productions has been dismissed in a federal court.")(October 1986). [elr.carolon.net/BI/V08N05.PDF Recent Cases], Entertainment Law Reporter'' pp. 38-39 (Vol. 8, No. 5) The trial court concluded that copyright protections do not protect the format of a show: "The format of the two shows look similar, but so do the formats of virtually every television news show. The 'look' of a show is not the proper subject of copyright protection."Dick Clark Co. v. Alan Landsburg Prods. Inc. (C.D. Cal. June 13, 1985)

In 1988-89, a syndicated version of the show was created with Roy Firestone as the host.