The Colgate Comedy Hour
The Colgate Comedy Hour | |
---|---|
Colgate-Palmolive-Peet | |
Original release | |
Network | NBC |
Release | September 10, 1950 December 25, 1955 | –
The Colgate Comedy Hour is an American comedy-musical variety series that aired live on the NBC network from 1950 to 1955. The show featured many notable comedians and entertainers of the era as guest stars. Many of the scripts of the series are archived at the UCLA Library in their Special Collections.
Synopsis
The program evolved from NBC's first TV variety showcase,
The new format was heavily backed by its sponsor,
During the 1950–51 season, AT&T put into regular service a coast-to-coast coaxial/microwave interconnection service which allowed live telecasts from across the nation. Three production units were quickly set up, one in New York City, one in Chicago, and one in Los Angeles.[4] Martin & Lewis[5] and Abbott & Costello anchored the West Coast, broadcasting from the El Capitan Theater in Hollywood (today known as Avalon Hollywood; other shows that originated here include The Hollywood Palace), while Eddie Cantor anchored from New York City. This gave NBC a substantial edge over Ed Sullivan, since top-grade talent from motion pictures could also do network TV on the West Coast Colgate Comedy Hour, while Sullivan had to work with whoever happened to be in New York City at the time that a particular episode aired.
During the 1952–53 season, Cantor suffered a heart attack immediately after a Colgate Comedy Hour broadcast in September. Although he quickly recovered and returned in January 1953, he was reluctant to move on with the show. By the fourth season, the sponsor was providing $6,000,000, but the performers were finding difficulty in offering fresh material. Ratings hence began to decline. Cantor had become too ill to continue in the hosting role, and the travel was too stressful and painful for him.[6] His final Colgate appearance was in May 1954. Vic Schoen was hired as the musical director in 1954.
In 1954, Tony Martinez, later cast as the farmhand on The Real McCoys, made his television debut on The Colgate Comedy Hour.
In June 1955, the show changed its name to the Colgate Variety Hour to reflect a move away from pure comedy. A number of the earlier hosts had left by the end of the 1953–54 season (with the exception of Martin & Lewis) as the show shifted toward mini-musicals, starring hosts including Ethel Merman and Frank Sinatra, who paired together in truncated version of Cole Porter's "Anything Goes". The show was also performing on the road, unlike other seasons where the shows were transmitted from New York City or Los Angeles at 8 p.m. Gordon MacRae often served as host during this period. On December 11, 1955, Sam Levene guest starred in a Salute to George Abbott. Recurring guest stars included Pat Sheehan,[7] Joy Langstaff,[8] Doris Gildart, and Connie Russell.
However, ratings continued to slide while
In the 1954–1955 season, Donald O'Connor left the show and starred in his own musical
Notable guest stars who went on to find success in entertainment included Vera Miles, costar of Alfred Hitchcock's thriller Psycho, Bob Fosse, later a noted choreographer and director who won multiple Tonys and an Academy Award for his work, and a child-age Christopher Walken, who became an Oscar-winning actor and screen star, appeared alongside Jerry Lewis in a sketch (albeit under his given name, Ronald).
Color
The episode broadcast on November 22, 1953, hosted by Donald O'Connor, was the first color television broadcast in the NTSC color system (used in the U.S. until the change to digital in June 2009). There were few other color broadcasts in the 1953–1954 season, and all of them were transmitted by NBC. The series was also used earlier in the season to demonstrate the final form of RCA's "Compatible" color system to members of the Federal Communications Commission (FCC). Two sets were in the room: an experimental color model and a standard black-and-white unit. Eddie Cantor hosted the program with guests including Frank Sinatra, Eddie Fisher, and Brian Donlevy.
Ratings
- Season 1: #4
- Season 2: #5
- Season 3: #7
- Season 4: #10
- Season 5: #27
Episodes
Season | Episodes | Season Premiere | Season Finale |
---|---|---|---|
1 | 42 | September 10, 1950 | June 24, 1951 |
2 | 42 | September 2, 1951 | June 15, 1952 |
3 | 39 | September 21, 1952 | June 14, 1953 |
4 | 49 | October 4, 1953 | September 5, 1954 |
5 | 39 | September 19, 1954 | September 4, 1955 |
6 | 12 | September 18, 1955[10] | December 25, 1955 |
In popular culture
The Colgate Comedy hour is referenced in the Netflix Sketch Comedy Show I Think You Should Leave with Tim Robinson (Season 1 Episode 3).
References
- ^ Autobiography: Jerry Lewis in Person, coauthored with Herb Gluck. (New York: Atheneum, 1982), p. 182
- ^ "International Theatre in New York, NY - Cinema Treasures". cinematreasures.org. Archived from the original on 17 August 2009. Retrieved 25 April 2018.
- ^ (TV Guide n.y.c. 9/8/50)
- ^ "Classic TV Info – The Colgate Comedy Hour – Season 1". www.classictvinfo.com. Archived from the original on 4 March 2016. Retrieved 25 April 2018.
- ^ "Writing for Early Live Television – Norman Lear – television, film, political and social activist, philanthropist". normanlear.com. Archived from the original on 20 May 2017. Retrieved 25 April 2018.
- ^ "The Museum of Broadcast Communications – Encyclopedia of Television". www.museum.tv. Archived from the original on 9 October 2009. Retrieved 25 April 2018.
- ISBN 978-0578682822.
- ^ Clemens, Samuel. "Joy Langstaff: A Brief Q&A", Glamour Girls of the Silver Screen. June 30, 2022
- ^ "RTV Adds Real McCoys, Joey Bishop, & More; 2nd Annual Critics' Choice Television Awards Winners – SitcomsOnline.com News Blog". blog.sitcomsonline.com. Archived from the original on 14 May 2013. Retrieved 25 April 2018.
- ^ "GEORGE SANDERS TO BE VIDEO HOST / Cast as Narrator of Filmed Series, 'The Ringmaster.' Built on Circus Stories", The New York Times (September 1, 1955, p.46) Retrieved February 12, 2019
External links
- The Colgate Comedy Hour at IMDb
- A film clip the 8 August 1954 episode with Sammy Davis Jr. is available for viewing at the Internet Archive
- A film clip the 7 January 1951 episode (incomplete) with Abbott and Costello is available for viewing at the Internet Archive
- A film clip the 19 September 1954 broadcast from Hollywood Bowl with Eddie Fisher, Louis Armstrong and Peggy Lee is available for viewing at the Internet Archive
- The Colgate Comedy Hour at the Museum of Broadcast Communications
- Episode guide at Classic TV Info