America Goes Bananaz
America Goes Bananaz | |
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Also known as | Columbus Goes Bananaz |
Genre | Variety show |
Created by | Burt Dubrow |
Developed by |
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Presented by |
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Country of origin | United States |
Original language | English |
Production | |
Producer | Burt Dubrow |
Production locations | |
Camera setup | Warner-Amex Satellite Entertainment |
Original release | |
Network |
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Release | December 1, 1977 1980 | –
America Goes Bananaz is a teenager-oriented
Early episodes of the show were broadcast live from the
Format
The format of America Goes Bananaz was modeled after the structure of
History
According to an interview with Philadelphia Daily News, original host Michael Young first learned of Columbus Goes Bananaz while in his lawyer's office in 1977. He had reportedly just discovered that he was being sued for a play he had co-produced with Herschel Bernardi.[12] Over the telephone, Young's agent informed him that Warner-Amex was holding auditions for a talk show host. Due to his lack of offers at the time, Young decided to try out for the job.[13] Among others auditioning to be the show's host was Tony Dow, whose well-known role as Wally Cleaver on Leave It to Beaver initially made Young believe that Dow would be chosen.[14] According to Young, Dow ultimately stated that Young deserved the role.[14]
Michael Young was selected and hosted the show for two years, until he moved to ABC's Kids Are People Too in 1979.[15] After Young's departure, actor Randy Hamilton was picked to take over as host.[16] Episodes with Hamilton were taped from January until September 1979.[17] In an event Randy Hamilton termed "an unusual coincidence", Hamilton was chosen as the new host of Kids Are People Too in 1981, after Michael Young quit. Hamilton was selected based on clips of his time as the Bananaz host, provided to ABC by producer Burt Dubrow.[16]
At the time of the program's debut, the preschool-oriented
Lew Anderson, portrayer of Clarabell the Clown on Howdy Doody from 1954 to 1960, appeared in character as Clarabell on a 1978 episode. He broke a 25-year tradition by removing his face paint for teenagers in the audience who had watched Howdy Doody reruns as children. After the episode aired, Anderson stated that he "wouldn't have done it" if the audience had been young children as opposed to teenagers.[19]
Awards and nominations
In 1980,
Year | Presenter | Award/Category | Nominee | Status | Ref. |
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1980 | NCTA Awards | Excellence in Entertainment | Warner-Amex Satellite Entertainment
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Won | [20] |
ACE Awards | Best Entertainment Program | Warner-Amex Satellite Entertainment Burt Dubrow |
Won | [21] |
References
- ISBN 0816118515.
- ^ a b "Karate Goes Bananaz". Black Belt. Vol. 17, no. 6. Active Interest Media. June 1979.
- ^ Alford, Bernard (1978). "Columbus Goes Bananaz: The QUBE Experiment in Ohio". The Great Lakes Review. Vol. 5. Northeastern Illinois University.
- ^ "Warner Cable's Qube: Exploring the outer reaches of two-way TV" (PDF). Broadcasting & Cable. Vol. 47. NewBay Media. July 31, 1978.
- ^ a b c Young, Michael; Dubrow, Burt (2010). "Interview with Michael Young and Burt Dubrow about QUBE, pt. 3" (Interview).
- ^ a b "A Look Back at Andy Kaufman". Open Culture. January 29, 2013.
- ^ Young, Michael; Dubrow, Burt (2010). "Interview with Michael Young and Burt Dubrow about QUBE, pt. 2" (Interview).
- ^ "Next week on TV". The Pantagraph. Bloomington, Illinois: Lee Enterprises. September 13, 1980.
- ^ Black, Jonathan (July 24, 1978). "Brave New World of Television: Columbus discovers QUBE". New Times. Village Voice Media.
- ^ a b Healon, James V. (May 19, 1979). Sheaffer, Liz (ed.). "Nickelodeon offers alternative TV fare". Medina County Gazette. Medina County, Ohio.
- ^ "Cable TV: The Lure of Diversity". Time. Vol. 113. Time Inc. May 7, 1979.
- Philadelphia Media Network.
- ^ Bins, Chuck (March 1, 1980). "'Kids Are People, Too' host keeps show interesting". Oshkosh Northwestern. Oshkosh, Wisconsin.
- ^ a b Young, Michael; Dubrow, Burt (2010). "Interview with Michael Young and Burt Dubrow about QUBE, pt. 1" (Interview).
- ^ United Press International (December 17, 1978). "New host named for children's show". Star Tribune. Minneapolis, Minnesota: Star Tribune Media Company LLC.
- ^ Gannett Company.
- Gannett Company.
- Gannett Company.
- ^ United Press International (April 5, 1978). "Clarabell removes his makeup". Defiance Crescent-News. Defiance, Ohio.
- ^ a b "NCTA Awards". Broadcasting & Cable. Vol. 49. NewBay Media. July 14, 1980.
- ^ a b "Nickelodeon wins awards from the toughest critics". Communications-Engineering Digest. Vol. 6. Society of Cable Telecommunications Engineers. August 1980.