Highlights: President Eisenhower shops for farm supplies, Truman says the United States slips because of blunders and vacillations in this administration.                          

           June 20, 1948 - May 30, 1971

ED SULLIVAN SHOW, THE, (TOAST OF THE TOWN)
Television's longest running variety series. Originally, titled, TOAST OF THE TOWN, the name of the series changed on September 18, 1955 to THE ED SULLIVAN SHOW. Most remembered for introducing many stand-up comedians, and musical acts, including The Rolling Stones, Elvis Presley, The Beatles. 

 Most of the 1,087 broadcasts, encompassing 10,000 performers, have been archived. The major exceptions are the first half year of shows circa 1948 of which a few kinescope excerpts survive.
 
The ED SULLIVAN SHOW was a spectacular show-case that for twenty-three years entertained the American family. In its prime, more than thirty million viewers, young and old, tuned in at the same time to view popular culture.   

Ed's guest is Fred Astaire.                          

September 30th, 1954-April 17th, 1958 (CBS)

Shower Of Stars was a once-a-month replacement series for CBS's popular Thursday night entry, "Climax," with host William Lundigan. A wide variety of shows took place including a variety of spectaculars and dramatic shows. The show was first hosted by William Lundigan who was later replaced by Jack Benny.

This episode stars Tallulah Bankhead, Ed Wynn, Jack Benny, and Bert Lahr.                         

September 10th, 1955-September 1st, 1975.

Television's longest-running western starring James Arness as Marshall Matt Dillon.        

October 12th, 1953-May 22nd, 1956

A variety show presented monthly on NBC.

Opening Monologue only.                                     

Baseball personalities on this television special ushering in the start of the 1957 baseball season include Johnny Antonelli of the New York Giants, Don Larsen, Bob Friend, Billy Pierce, Ted Williams, Stan Musial, Joe DiMaggio, Mel Allen, and Ed Gardner. Mel Allen recreates Don Larsen's perfect game. Gene Kelly is the host. 
Highlights:
Gene talks to Don Larsen about his no windup pitching approach.
Also, Gene in conversation with Billy Pierce, Johnny Antonelli, and Bib Friend. Kelly introduces Ed Gardner...comedy routine about Baseball's greatest pitchers.  

In a brief segment,  Mel Allen states his dream outfield. Gene Kelly talks with Stan Musial, who states that his favorite ball player was Mel Ott, Ted Williams, chairman of the Jimmy Fund  states that his favorite baseball player was Joe DiMaggio, and DiMaggio's favorite ball player was Frank Lefty Odeul. Gene Kelly mentions that his favorite Baseball Player of all time was Babe Ruth. 

NOTE: An almost complete air check of this program is archived in the ATA collection.                                                 

Baseball personalities on this television special ushering in the start of the 1957 baseball season include Johnny Antonelli of the New York Giants, Don Larsen, Bob Friend, Billy Pierce, Ted Williams, Stan Musial, Joe DiMaggio, Mel Allen, Ernie Banks, George Kell, Harvey Kuenn, Ted Kluszewski, Ed Matthews, 
Don Newcombe, Pee Wee Reese, Robin Roberts, Herb Score, Harry (Suitcase) Simpson, Eddie Yost, and Happy Felton and his Knothole Gang. Mel Allen recreates Don Larsen's perfect game. Show Business guests include: comedians Ed "Archie" Gardner, Paul Winchell, Jerry Mahoney, Frank Fontaine, singers Tony Bennett, Pat Marshall, and Bill Hayes, Singer-comedienne Janis Paige, actors Robert Alda and Robert Strauss. Also participating are baseball commissioner Ford Frick, sportscaster Mel Allen, and baseball Hall Of Fame members Joe DiMaggio, Pie Traynor, Lefty Grove, and Gabby Hartnett. Gene Kelly is the host. 

Highlights:
Gene talks to Don Larsen about his no windup pitching approach.
Also, Gene in conversation with Billy Pierce, Johnny Antonelli, and Bob Friend. Kelly introduces Ed Gardner...comedy routine about Baseball's greatest pitchers.  

In a brief segment,  Mel Allen states his dream outfield. Gene Kelly talks with Stan Musial, who states that his favorite ball player was Mel Ott, Ted Williams, chairman of the Jimmy Fund  states that his favorite baseball player was Joe DiMaggio, and DiMaggio's favorite ball player was Frank Lefty Odeul. Gene Kelly mentions that his favorite Baseball Player of all time was Babe Ruth. 

Other Highlights: 

"This Is The Year" Ensemble
1956 Most Valuable Players: Mickey Mantle, Don Newcombe
Sketch: "Rookie Of The Year" Robert Alda
Song: Janis Paige
World Series Film: Gene Kelly
Interview: Don Larsen, Gene Kelly
" Know-How" Kelly, Paige, Tony Bennett, Paul Winchell, Jerry Mahoney, Robert Alda
Knothole Gang- Happy Felton
Dugout Sketch- Paul Winchell, Jerry Mahoney
Song- Tony Bennett 
Pitchers Interview- Gene Kelly
"Two-top Gruskin" Ed Gardner, Robert Alda
Baseball Medley- Ensemble
Song- Pat Marshall
Dream Outfield- DiMaggio, Williams, Musial
Waite Hoyt's Tribute To Babe Ruth- Gene Kelly
Old-Timer's Film- Mel Allen
Rock-'n'Roll Number- Bill Hayes
Comedy Interview- Robert.Alda
Commissioner's Message: Ford Frick
Hall Of Fame Sequence- Gene Kelly
Finale- Ensemble 
                                                                                                                                                                                                                  

           June 20, 1948 - May 30, 1971

ED SULLIVAN SHOW, THE, (TOAST OF THE TOWN)
Television's longest running variety series. Originally, titled, TOAST OF THE TOWN, the name of the series changed on September 18, 1955 to THE ED SULLIVAN SHOW. Most remembered for introducing many stand-up comedians, and musical acts, including The Rolling Stones, Elvis Presley, The Beatles. 

 Most of the 1,087 broadcasts, encompassing 10,000 performers, have been archived. The major exceptions are the first half year of shows circa 1948 of which a few kinescope excerpts survive.
 
The ED SULLIVAN SHOW was a spectacular show-case that for twenty-three years entertained the American family. In its prime, more than thirty million viewers, young and old, tuned in at the same time to view popular culture.   

Guests: Author/singer Kay Thompson, and the comedy team of Smith and Dale.                                                       

June 7th, 1955-November 9th, 1958

The $64,000 Question was the first of television's big-money shows in prime time. It was hosted by Hal March. 

This episode features ten-year-old schoolboy Robert Strom who wins $192,000 in a science category.

The host is Hal March.                                                                             

Highlights: The United States investigates teamster union boss David Beck on misappropriation of union funds, Arkansas Senator John McClellan questions a former teamster officer on violent union activity in Scranton, Pa,              

November 27th, 1951-July 18th, 1957 (NBC)
October 20th, 1957- June 25th, 1962 (NBC)

From 1951 until 1957 Dinah Shore hosted a fifteen- minute musical show which was seen only once or twice a week before the NBC evening news. During the 1956-1957 TV Season, in addition to her 15-minute show, Dinah starred in a number of specials that were sponsored by Chevrolet broadcast on Sunday evenings.
The second series of television Specials was telecast as a one-hour variety show on Sunday Evenings, from 1957-1962.   

Dinah's guest is Dean Martin.                                                                

After the departure of the Tonight Show's first host, Steve Allen, Jack Lescoulie served as host from January 28th to June 21st, 1957. NBC renamed the show "Tonight! America After Dark."

Host Jack Lescoulie interviews old-time vaudevillian Fifi D'Orsay who sings a song.                                                               

A special WCBS radio broadcast of the 1957 Tony Awards with host Bud Collyer. There was a television blackout of this special due to a union issue. 

Winners were "My Fair Lady" for the best musical play, Rex Harrison, for best musical actor in "My Fair Lady," Frederick March for the best dramatic actor, and Judy Holliday for best actress in "The Bells Are Ringing." 

NOTE:   Due to a union dispute, there was no television broadcast, which had been scheduled for WCBS-TV Channel 2.                                                                                        

June 24, 1956-December 27, 1961.
The multi-talented Steve Allen- musician, composer, singer, comedian,author- was the star of this live weekly variety series that bore a strong resemblance to his informal, late-night Tonight! Show. Although the program had elements of music and serious aspects, comedy was far and away its major component. Steve had with him one of the most versatile and talented collections of improvisational comics ever assembled. Among the features that were used at one time or another on a semi-regular basis were: "Letters to the Editor," "The Allen Report to the Nation," "Mad-Libs," "Crazy Shots," "Where Are They Now," "The Question Man," "The Allen Bureau of Standards," and "The Allen All Stars." The most frequently used feature, and by far the most memorable was the "Man on the Street Interview." It was here that the comics on the show developed their best-remembered characters: Louis Nye as suave, smug Gordon Hathaway, Tom Poston as the man who can't remember his own name, Skitch Henderson as Sidney Ferguson, Don Knotts as the extremely nervous and fidgety Mr. Morrison, Pat Harrington as Italian golf pro Guido Panzini, and Bill Dana as shy Jose Jimenez.    

Steve Allen's guests are Mickey Rooney and Joey Forman and The Muppets.                                                                             

NBC October 2nd, 1954-March 10th, 1959
CBS October 11th, 1959-June 5th, 1960, 

George Gobel hosted three different variety series. The first was a half-hour program October 1954 thru June 1957. The second also for NBC was an hour broadcast alternating with the Eddie Fisher Show, both starring and guesting  on each others program each week (September 1957 thru March 1959).

Third series for Gobel had him appear on CBS TV from October 1959 thru June 1960 back with a half-hour format. 

During his NBC run George Gobel would do an "Alice" skit, parodying his own real life domestic life with wife, Alice.

Jeff Donnell (1957-1958) and later Phyllis Avery (1958-1959) played the role of Alice.

Usually there would be a guest star and a skit or two following a down home spun stand-up monolgue at the beginning of the program by "lonesone" George Gobel.

Guest: Gene Autry's sidekick Pat Buttram performs a Western skit with George Gobel. 



                                                  

June 24, 1956-December 27, 1961.
The multi-talented Steve Allen- musician, composer, singer, comedian,author- was the star of this live weekly variety series that bore a strong resemblance to his informal, late-night Tonight! Show. Although the program had elements of music and serious aspects, comedy was far and away its major component. Steve had with him one of the most versatile and talented collections of improvisational comics ever assembled. Among the features that were used at one time or another on a semi-regular basis were: "Letters to the Editor," "The Allen Report to the Nation," "Mad-Libs," "Crazy Shots," "Where Are They Now," "The Question Man," "The Allen Bureau of Standards," and "The Allen All Stars." The most frequently used feature, and by far the most memorable was the "Man on the Street Interview." It was here that the comics on the show developed their best-remembered characters: Louis Nye as suave, smug Gordon Hathaway, Tom Poston as the man who can't remember his own name, Skitch Henderson as Sidney Ferguson, Don Knotts as the extremely nervous and fidgety Mr. Morrison, Pat Harrington as Italian golf pro Guido Panzini, and Bill Dana as shy Jose Jimenez.    

Steve Allen's guests are the Will Mastin Trio with Sammy Davis Jr.                                                                                         

September 20, 1952-June 22, 1957; October 3, 1958-January 2 1959; February 3 1961-March 24, 1961; September 1962-September 12, 1970


After the 1954-1955 season (one hour live broadcasts), Jackie Gleason produced a series of 39 filmed half-hour episodes of "The Honeymooners" which was syndicated (1955-1956). For the following 1956-1957 season, the Jackie Gleason Show returned to a live one-hour variety format with a Honeymooners sketch included in many of its broadcasts. After this season, The Honeymooners sketches would not be revived until the 1966-1967 season of The Jackie Gleason Show.  

There is a "PEOPLE TO PEOPLE" skit with Jackie Gleason playing Reggie Van Gleason.                                                                

June 7th, 1955-November 9th, 1958

The $64,000 Question was the first of television's big-money shows in prime time. It was hosted by Hal March. 

In this episode, 10-year-old Robert Strom "science expert" quits the show and collects winnings of $192,000.

                                                   

Broadcast from July 14, 1952, to September 23, 1960, on NBC, CBS & ABC Networks. Host for this run was Bud Collyer (1952), Douglas Edwards (1953), Peter Donald (1954-1956), Eddie Bracken (1957), Robert Q. Lewis (1958), and Bert Parks (1958-1960). 
After a fourteen-year absence, "Masquerade Party" reappeared briefly as a syndicated series in 1974 & 1975 with host Richard Dawson and announcer Jay Stewart. 

NOTE: At the beginning of this broadcast the announcer states this short lived standard opening used to indicate an NBC COLOR TV transmission.  
"This program is brought to you in COMPATIBLE COLOR  on NBC."
Shortly after, the word "COMPATIBLE" was changed to "LIVING."

Only one episode is known to exist from the 1974-1975 syndicated series which is archived at UCLA FILM & TV ARCHIVE. These Richard Dawson shows were broadcast initially from September 9, 1974, to September 1975. During 1976 syndicated re-runs were telecast. 

Even the original 1952-1960 programs are mostly "lost." 
The library of Congress has only one episode. 
UCLA Film & Radio Archive has only two episodes.
Paley Center for Media has five episodes.

In this episode, the masquerader is Yankee pitcher Whitey Ford.

Eddie Bracken is the host.                                                                                                                                             

June 24, 1956-December 27, 1961.
The multi-talented Steve Allen- musician, composer, singer, comedian,author- was the star of this live weekly variety series that bore a strong resemblance to his informal, late-night Tonight! Show. Although the program had elements of music and serious aspects, comedy was far and away its major component. Steve had with him one of the most versatile and talented collections of improvisational comics ever assembled. Among the features that were used at one time or another on a semi-regular basis were: "Letters to the Editor," "The Allen Report to the Nation," "Mad-Libs," "Crazy Shots," "Where Are They Now," "The Question Man," "The Allen Bureau of Standards," and "The Allen All Stars." The most frequently used feature, and by far the most memorable was the "Man on the Street Interview." It was here that the comics on the show developed their best-remembered characters: Louis Nye as suave, smug Gordon Hathaway, Tom Poston as the man who can't remember his own name, Skitch Henderson as Sidney Ferguson, Don Knotts as the extremely nervous and fidgety Mr. Morrison, Pat Harrington as Italian golf pro Guido Panzini, and Bill Dana as shy Jose Jimenez.    

Guest: Don Adams. A baseball routine about umpires is performed.                                                                                                               

Kate Smith Stars in a live one-hour, one-time only Variety Show, celebrating her 25th anniversary as an entertainer.

Among her guests are Boris Karloff, Edgar Bergen, Charlie McCarthy, and Ed Wynn.                                                             

April 28th, 1957- April 19th, 1958 (with Mike Wallace) continuing till September 14th, 1958-ABC

A half-hour interview series with host Mike Wallace.
On this debut show, Mike interviews actress Gloria Swanson.

Series Premiere.  

NOTE:
   Status of The Mike Wallace Interview
A total of 72 episodes of The Mike Wallace Interview were broadcast by ABC between 1957 and 1958. The series premiered on April 28th, 1957 and was sponsored by Phillip Morris through the April 19th, 1958 episode. The Fund for the Republic then sponsored a 13-week set of interviews entitled “Liberty and Freedom” (one of which was never broadcast) followed by an additional six episodes. The final broadcast took place on September 14th, 1958.

My article about The Mike Wallace Interview can be found here.

The Harry Ransom Center at the University of Texas at Austin has 66 of the 72 episodes of The Mike Wallace Interview. Five are only available as audio recordings while the rest are kinescopes that have been digitized and made available for viewing online. The Ransom Center also has a transcript of the Ben Hecht interview (broadcast February 25th, 1958) but no audio or video. One of the episodes the Ransom Center does not have a copy of is the controversial Mickey Cohen broadcast from May 19th, 1957.

According to Steve Winston, Associate Curator of Film at the Ransom Center, “There are reports that the BBC still has some excerpts though we have not been able to locate the specific department that might hold them. Other than that, the interview appears to be lost.” Audio of the Cohen episode is part of Archival Television Audio, Inc. collection.

Also missing from the Ransom Center’s collection are the two retractions read by ABC’s Oliver Treyz on May 26th and December 14th. According to Winston, “We have no idea why the footage was not included in the kinescope. We don’t know if they were removed later, or if they were never recorded in the first place.” Archival Television Audio, Inc. has the May 26th retraction read by Treyz.

The UCLA Film & Television Archive has two episodes of the series: the Cyrus Eaton interview that is audio only at the Ransom Center and the Ben Hecht interview that the Ransom Center only has a transcript for. Both the Museum of Broadcasting and The Paley Center for Media have several episodes that are also part of the Ransom Center’s collection.

(According to a December 1957 article in The Los Angeles Times, a filmed “stand-by interview” with Evelyn Rudie was always ready to be used in the event a guest didn’t show up. It is not included in the episode count and its current whereabouts are unknown.)
                                            

WEDNESDAY NIGHT FIGHTS brought to you by PABTS BLUE RIBBON BEER presents Middleweight boxing champion Gene Fullmer who defends his crown against Sugar Ray Robinson. Robinson knocks out Fullmer in round 5. The commentator is Steve Ellis 
After the fight, there's a short interview with Robinson and Joe Louis.
                         

Highlights: Senator Joseph McCarthy dies of liver ailment, David Beck is indicted for income tax evasion, Secretary Dulles says the communist expansion in the Middle East will be restricted, Eisenhower calls the Egyptian ambassador home.           

September 27th, 1954-May 25th, 1957

A sixty-minute comedy show starring Sid Caesar. Most of Sid's old gang of regulars from "Your Show Of Shows" returned. They included Nanette Fabray, Janet Blair, Carl Reiner, Howard Morris, and Pat Carroll.

The Show opening with Sid Caesar and Carl Reiner. 

                                                                                                        

October 7th, 1950-June 7th, 1958 (NBC)
October 10th, 1958-April 24th, 1959 (CBS) 
August 2nd, 1974-August 30th, 1974- (CBS)

A musical show where the top songs of the week were performed by the series regulars. Among the show's regulars included Dorothy Collins, Russell Arms, Snooky Lanson, Eileen Wilson, Sue Bennett, and June Valli. Gisele McKenzie joined the group in 1953, replacing June Valli. During the show's final season on NBC in 1957, four new regulars were brought in; Tommy Leonetti, Jill Corey, Virginia Gibson and Alan Copeland who sang with the musical group The Modernaires on bandleader Bob Crosby's daytime show, "Bob Crosby and The Bobcats" on CBS. In 1958 when the show went over to CBS, Dorothy Collins was brought back and co-starred with Johnny Desmond for one season, but the show failed to regain the popularity it once had on NBC. The show left the air in April 1959. The 1974 CBS revival also failed to gain popularity.

Dorothy Collins sings the top tune of the week, "Round and Round."                                                                                       

September 12, 1955-June 12, 1963. In the fall of 1955 Perry Como returned to NBC where he hosted a weekly hour show. From 1955 to 1959 it was seen Saturday evenings and was titled "The Perry Como Show." From 1959 to 1963 it was seen Wednesday evenings and was titled "The Kraft Music Hall." Regulars included Frank Gallop and the Ray Charles Singers. After his final weekly June 12, 1963 broadcast Perry Como appeared in scores of specials, beginning October 3, 1963, airing on NBC, CBS & ABC, and concluding on December 6, 1986. 

The closing moments of the Perry Como Show.                                                    

September 20, 1952-June 22, 1957; October 3, 1958-January 2 1959; February 3 1961-March 24, 1961; September 1962-September 12, 1970

After the 1954-1955 season (one hour live broadcasts), Jackie Gleason produced a series of 39 filmed half-hour episodes of "The Honeymooners" which was syndicated (1955-1956). For the following 1956-1957 season, the Jackie Gleason Show returned to a live one-hour variety format with a Honeymooners sketch included in many of its broadcasts. After this season, The Honeymooners sketches would not be revived until the 1966-1967 season of The Jackie Gleason Show.        

A Reggie Van Gleason skit in which he appears on the television show "This Was Your Life."                                                          

April 28th, 1957-September 14th, 1958-ABC

A half-hour interview series with host Mike Wallace.

The Guest is Eldon Edwards, the "Imperial Wizard" of the Klu Klux Klan.

                                                

October 12th, 1953-May 22nd, 1956

A variety show presented monthly on NBC.

Bob's guests are pro golfer Dr. Cary Middlecoff and comedian George Jessel. 

                                   

           June 20, 1948 - May 30, 1971

ED SULLIVAN SHOW, THE, (TOAST OF THE TOWN)
Television's longest running variety series. Originally, titled, TOAST OF THE TOWN, the name of the series changed on September 18, 1955 to THE ED SULLIVAN SHOW. Most remembered for introducing many stand-up comedians, and musical acts, including The Rolling Stones, Elvis Presley, The Beatles. 

 Most of the 1,087 broadcasts, encompassing 10,000 performers, have been archived. The major exceptions are the first half-year of shows circa 1948 of which a few kinescope excerpts survive.
 
The ED SULLIVAN SHOW was a spectacular show-case that for twenty-three years entertained the American family. In its prime, more than thirty million viewers, young and old, tuned in at the same time to view popular culture.   

Sammy Davis Jr does an impression of Ed Sullivan, Walter Pidgeon enacts a scene from his current Broadway play and 10-year-old Robert Strom who recently won $192,000 on the $64,000 Question quiz show. 

                                                

July 20th, 1950-September 7th, 1950 (ABC)
October 15th, 1950-March 11th, 1951 (Dumont Network)
April 2nd, 1951-June 25th, 1951 (ABC)
September 19th-May 11th, 1952 (ABC)
July 11th 1952-August 29th, 1952 (CBS)
October 12th, 1952-April 26th, 1953 (Dumont Network)
June 28th, 1953-October 4th, 1953 (CBS)
October 12th, 1953-April 12th, 1954 (NBC)
June 15th, 1954-September 14th, 1954 (NBC)
June 28th, 1955-September 13th, 1955 (NBC)
April 5th, 1956-September 27th, 1956 (CBS)
April 9th, 1957-September 16th, 1957 (NBC)
September 29th, 1958-September 6th, 1960 (NBC)

The Arthur Murray Party was one of a handful of shows broadcast on all four major commercial television networks during the 1950s. Ballroom dancing was the theme of the show each week. Mostly a summer replacement series, it featured guests who performed comedy sketches and songs. Each show featured ballroom dancing contests. Arthur Murray's wife, Kathryn Murray was the show's host.   

In this episode, the guests are Rock and Roll DJ Alan Freed and singer Guy Mitchell who sings "Rock-A-Billy-Rock."                                                         

December 16th, 1951- September 6th, 1959 (NBC)
January 12th, 1967-September 10th, 1970  (NBC)

One of the most famous crime shows in television history. It Starred Jack Webb as Sgt. Joe Friday with Ben Alexander as Friday's sidekick and George Fennerman who replaced Hal Gibney the announcer. In 1967, the show was revived with Webb once again playing the role of Joe Friday and Harry Morgan portraying Friday's partner, Bill Gannon. The revival was titled Dragnet '67. 

The open and first 11 minutes are heard. Sponsored by Chesterfield Cigarettes.                                                  

February 2nd, 1950-September 3rd, 1967 (CBS)
1968-1975- Syndicated

Television's longest-running primetime game show. The panelists would try and guess the occupation of the contestant. Cards would be flipped worth $5.00 each. If the panel could not guess the contestant's line of walk after $50.00 was reached, the contestant would be declared the winner. The final contestant would always be a mystery guest who was known to the public, with the panel wearing blindfolds. Some of the panelists over the years included Bennett Cerf, Arlene Francis, Dorothy Kilgallen, Steve Allen, and Fred Allen. John Daly was the show's host for its entire seventeen-year network run. The show's final episode aired on Sunday, September 3rd, 1967 with host John Daly appearing as the mystery guest. The show returned in syndication with the same format in 1968 with Wally Bruner as the host. He was replaced by Larry Blyden in 1972. Blyden remained the host until 1975 when the show ceased production. Blyden died in 1975 after suffering injuries from a car accident.

Adolph Menjou and Greer Garson join Dorothy Kilgallen and Bennett Cerf as guest panelists. The mystery guest is Walter Brennan. 

Host: John Daly. 

                                                                                                   

September 12, 1955-June 12, 1963. In the fall of 1955 Perry Como returned to NBC where he hosted a weekly hour show. From 1955 to 1959 it was seen Saturday evenings and was titled "The Perry Como Show." From 1959 to 1963 it was seen Wednesday evenings and was titled "The Kraft Music Hall." Regulars included Frank Gallop and the Ray Charles Singers. After his final weekly June 12, 1963 broadcast Perry Como appeared in scores of specials, beginning October 3, 1963, airing on NBC, CBS & ABC, and concluding on December 6, 1986. 

Liberace is the guest.   

NOTE:
An early example of the new 8 second NBC OPENING COLOR announcement:
" The following program is  brought to you in LIVING  color on  NBC."
 Formerly, the opening announcement stated the word COMPATIBLE color...                                                                       

Mickey Rooney stars in this musical biography of George
M. Cohan which utilizes Cohan's songs to present a portrait of the actor/producer/manager/song writer/playwright/song-and-dance man from his early days in vaudeville to the last decade of his life when the once-great figure of the Broadway theater lost his touch as a creator of popular musicals but had great success as an actor. Some of the songs included in this production had never been heard before because Cohan had never gotten around to writing the music. 
SONGS include:"Yankee Doodle Boy," "Mary's a Grand Old Name," "Harrigan," "Give My Regards to Broadway," "You're a Grand Old Flag." 
This lost musical was produced & directed by famed Motion Picture Director (to become), Sidney Lumet.
                          

               October 18, 1954-May 27, 1957.
 Live ninety minute productions aired every fourth week. The range of material was vast, from dramas to musicals.

Mickey Rooney plays song and dance man, George M. Cohan one of the great figures of Broadway. He was for years successful in every aspect of the theater - actor, producer, manager, playwright, song writer, and song and dance man. The focus of this musical biography reflects Cohan's last decade or two of his life when he lost his touch as a creator of popular musicals.

The play emphasizes Cohan's days as a vaudevillian with the Four Cohans (George, his father, mother and sister Josie) and the musical comedies he wrote and starred in. 

Garry Moore narrates.

Songs include:
 "Give My Regards To Broadway," "Harrigan," "Shoes That Hurt," "The Lively Bootblack," "They're All My Friends," "I'm Going to Telegraph My Baby," "I'm Awfully Strong for You," "Why Did Nellie Leave Her Home?" "Grand Old Flag," "Yankee Doodle Dandy," "Mary Is a Grand Old Name," "So Long Mary," "The ABC Song," "Life Is Like a Musical Comedy," "Over There," "An Old Guy Like Me," "You Remind Me of My Mother," "Indians and Trees," and finale by entire cast: "Give My Regards To Broadway."

Directed by Sidney Lumet who recently directed his first motion picture, " Twelve Angry Men."

Considered a "LOST" broadcast by The Paley Center For Media.


                                       

Alan Freed's guests are Edith Adams, Andy Williams, and Lillian Briggs. 

This SPECIAL ABC TV broadcast is the second of his two half-hour Rock'N' Roll Reviews. The first SPECIAL was broadcast one week earlier on ABC TV (May 4, 1957). 
Freed conducts the orchestra.

All Excerpts of songs performed:
-Jimmy Bowen and the Rhythm Orchids: "I'm Stickin' With You." 
-Lillian Briggs: "I Want You To Be My Baby."
-Edith Adams: "He Don't Want To Be Kissed."
-Charlie Gracie: "Fabulous."
-Edith Adams sings a medley of the best  of Rock 'N' Roll with the Alan Freed Orchestra, including, 
"I'm Hoping That You Come Back To Me,"
"I'm All Shook Up,"
"Party Doll."

NOTE: This television audio air check from ATA was donated to The Library of Congress, who requested having a copy, on December 29, 2009. 

Host: Alan Freed                                                                                          

Five-minute American syndicated radio news bulletin which included a television version seen on NBC-TV and later CBS television. 

Host: Ken Banghart.

October 4th, 1956- May 18th, 1960 (CBS) 

CBS anthology series considered to be the most ambitious of all the early day TV anthology series with top talent performing. During it's first three seasons, Playhouse '90 presented ninety-minute dramas. It was broadcast as a series of specials during the 1959-60 season. Reruns were aired in 1961.
More than 100 plays were presented, many of them live, featuring top ranked directors and excellent scripts.   

This episode features "The Helen Morgan Story." 

Helen Morgan is a Broadway legend. Her story told by her mother from her early start in speakeasies to star of top-rated shows and owning her own club. Her fatal descent into alcoholism is also covered. Polly Bergen stars as Helen Morgan.                                      

November 27th, 1951-July 18th, 1957 (NBC)
October 20th, 1957- June 25th, 1962 (NBC)

From 1951 until 1957 Dinah Shore hosted a fifteen musical show which was seen only once or twice a week before the NBC evening news. During the 1956-1957 TV Season, in addition to her 15-minute show, Dinah starred in a number of specials that were sponsored by Chevrolet broadcast on Sunday evenings.
The second series of television Specials was telecast as a one-hour variety show on Sunday Evenings, from 1957-1962. They were mostly produced and aired three times a week. Guests stars would broadcast the fourth week.  

Dinah's guests are Art Carney and Boris Karloff.                                                  

September 12, 1955-June 12, 1963. In the fall of 1955 Perry Como returned to NBC where he hosted a weekly hour show. From 1955 to 1959 it was seen Saturday evenings and was titled "The Perry Como Show." From 1959 to 1963 it was seen Wednesday evenings and was titled "The Kraft Music Hall." Regulars included Frank Gallop and the Ray Charles Singers. After his final weekly June 12, 1963 broadcast Perry Como appeared in scores of specials, beginning October 3, 1963, airing on NBC, CBS & ABC, and concluding on December 6, 1986. 

Perry's guest is comedian Joey Bishop.                                                                

September 27th, 1954-May 25th, 1957. 

Sixty-minute variety/comedy hour starring Sid Caesar. It followed "Your Show Of Shows" which left the air in 1954. 


Sid Caesar is joined by Carl Reiner. This was the next-to-last show of the series. 

Skit: "Break Your Brains" with Sid Caesar, Carl Reiner, Janet Blair, Howard Morris, and Pat Carroll.                                        

April 28th, 1957-September 14th, 1958 (ABC)

A half-hour interview series with host Mike Wallace.

Mike Wallace interviews gangster Mickey Cohen. Cohen discusses the rackets and calls the Los Angeles police chief William H. Parker "a sadistic degenerate."  
 
NOTE: The vast majority of the 72 episodes of ABC’s The Mike Wallace Interview are collected (and have been digitized) at the Harry Ransom Center at the University of Texas. Several of those episodes exist solely on audio. However, one of the most controversial episodes–in which Wallace interviewed Mickey Cohen–is not part of the Ransom collection. Nor can it be found at any of the other big four television archives.

It can, however, be found at Archival Television Audio, Inc. ATA has the complete Mickey Cohen episode (originally broadcast May 19th, 1957). It also has the retraction read by ABC’s Oliver Treyz the following week, October 26, 1957; Ransom has this episode (with Senator Wayne Morse) but the retraction by Treyz is not included nor is a brief retraction by Wallace himself. 
                                                                                                           

           June 20, 1948 - May 30, 1971

ED SULLIVAN SHOW, THE, (TOAST OF THE TOWN)
Television's longest running variety series. Originally, titled, TOAST OF THE TOWN, the name of the series changed on September 18, 1955 to THE ED SULLIVAN SHOW. Most remembered for introducing many stand-up comedians, and musical acts, including The Rolling Stones, Elvis Presley, The Beatles. 

 Most of the 1,087 broadcasts, encompassing 10,000 performers, have been archived. The major exceptions are the first half year of shows circa 1948 of which a few kinescope excerpts survive.
 
The ED SULLIVAN SHOW was a spectacular show-case that for twenty-three years entertained the American family. In its prime, more than thirty million viewers, young and old, tuned in at the same time to view popular culture.   

Host Ed Sullivan is joined by guests Lou Holtz and actor Clyde Beatty.                        

April 28th, 1957-September 14th, 1958 (ABC)

A half-hour interview series with host Mike Wallace.

Mike Wallace interviews gangster Mickey Cohen. Cohen discusses the rackets and calls the Los Angeles police chief William H. Parker "a sadistic degenerate."  
 
Also included, the opening of the "lost" Mike Wallace Interview, broadcast, the following week, May 26, 1958:
Host Mike Wallace issues an apology and retracts the statements made by Mickey Cohen, the week before, that adversely reflected the character of Los Angeles police chief William H.Parker and others.

Vice President of ABC TV Oliver Treyz appears and retracts all statements Mickey Cohen made adversely reflecting the character of the Los Angeles  Police Chief William H. Parker,  and others.

NOTE: The vast majority of the 72 episodes of ABC’s The Mike Wallace Interview are collected (and have been digitized) at the Harry Ransom Center at the University of Texas. Several of those episodes exist solely on audio. However, one of the most controversial episodes–in which Wallace interviewed Mickey Cohen–is not part of the Ransom collection. Nor can it be found at any of the other big four television archives.

It can, however, be found at Archival Television Audio, Inc. ATA has the complete Mickey Cohen episode (originally broadcast May 19th, 1957). It also has the retraction read by ABC’s Oliver Treyz the following week, October 26, 1957; Ransom has this episode (with Senator Wayne Morse) but the retraction by Treyz is not included nor is a brief retraction by Wallace himself. 
                                                                                                                        

October 21st, 1956-June 13th, 1957 (NBC)

Hour-long musical comedy series scheduled approximately every other week. Series star Ray Bolger played himself and Elaine Stritch co-starred as the operator of the Greenwich Village Inn. 
Originally seen on Sunday afternoons,it later shifted to various time slots during the week.   


This episode is "The Old Soft Shoe."                                          

October 1, 1952-September 10, 1961 (NBC TV).
1970 & 1983 (SYNDICATED).
NBC 30th Anniversary Show televised February 26, 1981, co- hosted by Ralph Edwards and David Frost.

THIS IS YOUR LIFE was hosted by Ralph Edwards. It was a sentimental human interest show which he began on radio in 1948. Each week a special guest was lured to the studio by a ruse and then surprised as Edward's announced, "This is your Life!" Long lost friends and relatives materialized during the ensuing half hour to relive long-forgotten incidents going back to early childhood. The programs were broadcast LIVE and reverted to Video Tape at the start of the 1959-1960 season, at which time most of the telecasts were pre-recorded. 
Bob Warren announcer.
 The surprised guest received a 16mm film of the program and a Bell & Howell projector. 


The guest is Dr. Lee DeForest (1873-1961), the inventor and  self-described "Father of Radio," and a pioneer in the development of sound-on-film recording used for motion pictures.  Included guests whom surprise Dr. DeForest are his wife, Marie, Eugenia, Allen B. DuMont, and Eugenia Ferrar who was the first person in history to sing over a wireless radio broadcast in 1907. 

  Dr. Lee De Forest highlights of the program include: an introduction by Allen B. DuMont, who talks about the inspiring life of De Forest; a review of the inventor's life; visits from his sister Mary and a childhood friend, who reminisce about De Forest's formative years; De Forest recalls working his way through Yale, an experiment that got him into trouble at the university, and his first achievement in radio transmission; a visit from the friend who helped him to experiment with the wireless, a visit from friends who recall the risks De Forest took in Cuba while attempting to set up the wireless for the Navy and the invention of the three element radio tube; and a visit from his wife Marie, and three daughters. 
One Comet Cleanser commercial is included.

Ralph Edwards is the host. Announcer is Bob Warren.