September 27, 1954 - January 25, 1957
The first host of THE TONIGHT SHOW, which was then titled TONIGHT!, Steve Allen began his broadcast career as a disc jockey. On July 27, 1953 Steve Allen began hosting a local show over WRCA-TV which ran from 11:20 P.M. to Midnight , Mondays through Fridays, sponsored by Knickerbocker Beer, developed by station executive Ted Cott to lure a potential sponsor, Rupert Breweries, away from a late-night show on New York's Channel 7 (TALK OF THE TOWN), hosted by Louis Nye, who would later be featured on Steve Allen's Sunday Night Variety Show.  

After a successful fourteen-month local run, THE STEVE ALLEN SHOW became a network show. Beginning September 27, 1954, the show retitled TONIGHT!, and expanded to 105 minutes from 40 minutes. 

This rare early December 9, 1954 TV Audio Air Check recorded only nine weeks after the debut of TONIGHT! STARRING STEVE ALLEN, profiles composer Johnny Mercer at his natural best. 

In this informal broadcast Steve Allen, Steve Lawrence and Eydie Gorme give tribute to Johnny Mercer. Over 20 songs are sung written by Mercer including "Lazy Bones,"  co-written with Hoagy Carmichael, a;nd "I'm An Old Cow Hand."

Eydie Gorme sings "P.S. I Love You." Steve sings "Love is the Face in the Misty Light."

In a separate segment Steve Allen introduces. from Rockefeller Center in New York City, the melodic strains of the one hundred voice Rockefeller Center Choristers. It is the 16th year that they have sung Christmas music  beneath the Rockefeller Christmas tree which was erected today. 

Steve asks Mercer how he got started, and to state how he first met Hoagy Carmichael. 

With Skitch Henderson at the piano. Steve and Johnny sing "You Have To Accent The Positive." Steve Lawrence sings, "Angel Eyes."
Johnny Mercer sings "Watcher  Gonna Swing Tonight, " "Rain or Come Shine," "Old Black Magic," "You Must  Have Been a Beautiful Baby," and "One For My Baby." Eydie sings, "When the Angels Sing."

In a separate skit Steve Allen and Johnny Mercer play Interrogator and defendant...Mercer questioned as to what is the one necessary  integrity that a composer has to have to be a song writer...searching for imaginary lyrics reflecting LOVE through its lyrics. 

Back at the piano, Steve and Johnny sing "Too Marvelous For Words," "Pardon My Southern Accent," Skylark."  "Dream,"  "Fools Rush in," " Goody Goody," "Blues in the Night," with the NBC orchestra. 

Johnny Mercer sings himself off with lyrics thanking Steve Allen for the tribute and inviting him to be a guest on his show tonight. 

NOTE: Sound of this Television Audio Air Check is PRISTINE. A rare return to an early TONIGHT! STARRING STEVE ALLEN broadcast when Late Night Television was so informal and relaxed with open ended time dedicated to a person or topic.  
THE ONLY EXTANT BROADCAST RECORD IN THE COUNTRY.                                              

July 29, 1957- March 30,1962. 

Joined in progress. Jack Paar talks with guest Johnny Mercer who reveals his own personal greatest songs...discusses royalties, etc. He states that Bing Crosby is his favorite singer. Mercer sings a medley of songs including, "I'm An Old Cow Hand," "Atkinson Topeka & the Santa Fe," & "Accent the Positive."  Marian Marlowe sings "Autumn Leaves." Jack talks with Virginia Graham who recounts a long story. 

Interesting and revealing discussion between Paar and guest Jockey Billy Pearson who tells of the time he and John Huston 
were together and Huston wanted to ride Pearson's Ferrari and thought the tachometer was telling him what his speed was as they drove all around France. 

Charles Schwartz, dog trainer, discusses with Jack the different breeds of dogs. 

*Most of this series does not survive in any broadcast form. Kinescopes were discarded, burned, decomposed...whereabouts unknown. 2" Quadruplex Video Tape was expensive ($300 for a one hour reel), weighting 26 pounds, requiring great storage space. Video Tape could easily be erased and was used for new program recordings...retained briefly for a re-run and then erased or discarded. Legend has it that even Jack Paar himself hired a junk man to come to his home garage and paid to have JACK PAAR TONIGHT SHOW recordings discarded (reels of kinescopes and video tapes) that were now cluttering up his space. 

During this era in television history archiving television programming was not a primary concern or vision, and considered an arcane pursuit. 

ARCHIVAL TELEVISION AUDIO, INC. retains over 70 complete and excerpt JACK PAAR TONIGHT SHOW air checks (34 hours), including the complete Jack Paar's first anniversary telecast which was broadcast live from Havana Cuba (June 28, 1958). These originally recorded off the air pristine sound direct line 1/4" reel to reel audio tracks, recorded at the time of the original broadcasts, represent the only broadcast record of a "lost" visual telecast. ATA is the largest single repository (one collection), in the United Sates of Jack Paar Tonight Shows recordings. The combined archives of The Library of Congress, Paley Center for Media, and UCLA Film & Television retain a composite total of 13 hours of representative JACK PAAR TONIGHT SHOW broadcasts excerpts...none complete. 



 For four years and eight months Jack Paar reigned supreme as host of the TONIGHT SHOW with a crew of regulars, but only two stayed with him for the entire run; announcer Hugh Downs and band leader Jose Melis, a former army buddy. Familiar faces who appeared many times with Jack included Dody Goodman, Betty Johnson, Elsa Maxwell, Alexander King, Genevieve, Jack Douglas; and wife Reiko, Zsa Zsa Gabor, Hans Conreid, Peggy Cass, Cliff (Charley Weaver) Arquette, and Jonathan Winters.

 Hugh Downs substituted for Jack Paar 79 times, more than any other substitute host. There were 20 different substitute hosts for Paar over the period of the series run. Joey Bishop substituted for Paar 31 times. Arlene Francis, 30 times, Jonathan Winters, 26 times, Orson Bean, 21 times and Johnny Carson 15 times. All together there were 243 broadcasts which had substitute hosts filling in for Paar during Jack Paar's TONIGHT SHOW tenure. The title of the late night broadcast changed to THE JACK PAAR SHOW which took effect on February 3, 1958. The first video-taped broadcast aired on January 5, 1959. "Best of Paar " Re-runs began on July 10,1959. Beginning July 20, 1959 Jack Paar began taking off Monday nights & guest hosts would substitute for him (approximately on alternate Mondays). The first color broadcast aired on September 19, 1960.
Theme music, "Everything is Coming Up Roses" was first used beginning in the Fall of 1959. 

Location broadcast telecasts of the program telecast away from the Hudson Theater in New York City occurred 14 times during this series run. 

Jan. 13-17, 1958                     Miami Beach, Florida
July 28, 1958                        Havana,Cuba           
Nov. 3-21, 1958                      Hollywood, California
March 2-20, 1959                     Hollywood, California
Nov. 10-12, 1959                  Nassau, Bahamas (Video Tape)
Nov. 30- Dec. 10, 1959               Hollywood, California
March 28-April 1, 1960            London, England (Video Tape)
Nov.9-11, 1960                    Hawaii (Video Tape) - b&w
Nov.14-24, 1960                     Hollywood, California
March 21-24, 1961                 London, England (Video Tape)
Sept. 12-14, 1961                 West Berlin (Video Tape)
Nov. 14-17, 1961                  Hollywood, California (Tape)
Nov. 21-24, 1961                  Hollywood, California (Tape)
March 13-16, 1962                 London, England (Video Tape)




                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                        

Bob Hope is the master of ceremonies for the 13th time at the 34th Annual Academy Awards ceremonies. The event was held at the Santa Monica Civic Auditorium in Santa Monica, California. 
George Charkiris wins the best-supporting actor award for his role in "West Side Story", Maximillian Schell wins the best actor award for "Judgement At Nurenberg", and Robert Wise wins the best director award for "West Side Story." Stanley Kramer was given the Irving G. Thalberg Memorial Award, and Rita Moreno wins the best actress award for her role in "West Side Story."                                                              

Frank Sinatra is the host for the 35th Annual Academy Awards presentation, telecast live from the Santa Monica Civic Auditorium in Santa Monica, California. 

Ed Begley wins best-supporting actor award, Patty Duke wins for the best-supporting actress, Henry Mancini, and Johnny Mercer win for best song ("Days Of Wine and Roses") David Lean wins for best director ("Lawrence of Arabia") Gregory Peck wins the best actor ("To Kill a Mocking Bird") Anne Bancroft wins best actress award ("The Miracle Worker") "Lawrence Of Arabia wins best picture award for 1962. Sam Spiegel wins producer award for "Lawrence Of Arabia." 

Host: Frank Sinatra 


Duplicate of # 7502.                                                                                                               

The seventh annual Grammy awards are presented from the Beverly Hilton Hotel, in Beverly Hills, California            

September 13, 1967-May 12, 1971. This was the "Nashville Sound" broadcast. The 1967 version of "The Kraft Music Hall" was an hour show, which lasted four seasons. It was hosted by a guest celebrity each week.  

Duplicate Of #3566.  Hostess: Dinah Shore. 
Music City USA- The Nashville Sound is the theme.         

September 13, 1967-May 12, 1971. This was the "Nashville Sound" broadcast. The 1967 version of "The Kraft Music Hall" was an hour show, which lasted four seasons. It was hosted by a guest celebrity each week.  

Duplicate Of #3566.  Hostess: Dinah Shore. 
Music City USA- The Nashville Sound is the theme.                                   

  Scott Ellsworth's guest is composer Johnny Mercer.
Some variations in sound quality. Audio good. 

 This was the final broadcast during the two year run of SCOTT'S PLACE, when station KFI decided to change format and switch to a more contemporary music programming format.

March 30, 1970 - April 1, 1972
KFI 640 Los Angeles AM Radio.

162 individual  broadcast Audio Air Checks survive. 
A goldmine of originally recorded live interviews with the greats from the Jazz and Big Band era, with integrated recorded samples of their work played throughout the broadcast.  


Scott Ellsworth was the creator and on-air host of the popular radio program,                                                                                                                                                                          

Scott Ellsworth's guest is Johnny Mercer, American lyricist, songwriter, and singer.

Some variations in sound quality, transferred from a rare sole existing Electronic Transcription Disc exhibiting "noise/clicks" effect. 

However, the audio on this air check is clean and very discernable for enjoyable listening. Most importantly this rare broadcast interview of Johnny Mercer by Scott Ellsworth, who conducts a brilliant interview,  is the most definitive Johnny Mercer retrospective ever done (television or radio). 

Integrated within the interview Mercer reminisces about his humble beginnings, his entry into motion pictures, work in radio (states how nervous he would be), television and  the theater...his collaborations, rejection of night club performing, and his philosophy about the business.. 

 Integrated within the broadcast are ten recordings which Mercer discusses with anecdotes. They include, 
"Lord, I Give You My Children," "The Bathtub Ran Over Again," "One For My Baby," sung by Joe Williams,  "On Behalf Of The Visiting Firemen," "Save The Bones For Henry Jones," duet with Nat King Cole, "The Bachelor's Dinner Song," "Atchison, Topeka And The Santa Fe," sung by Judy Garland, "That Old Black Magic," sung by Mel Torme, "Out Of This World," sung by Mark Murphy, and "Jamboree Jones" sung by Paul Weston and Jo Stafford.

Johnny Mercer talks about the early DJ's he knew who would paly his songs, his 18 academy award nominations (4 wins), and discusses how he co-founded Capitol Records with music industry businessman Buddy DeSylva and Glenn E. Wallichs.  Mercer gives his opinion about today's contemporary song writers and performers, many whom he admires. 

A goldmine of Johnny Mercer nostalgia  within this rare program.

This was the final broadcast for Scott Ellsworth during the two year run of SCOTT'S PLACE, when station KFI decided to change format and switch to a more contemporary music programming format. Even Ellsworth didn't know that the following day he would be fired. Ironic that on this show Mercer agrees to come back at the end of the month to do another session with Scott. 

March 30, 1970 - April 1, 1972
KFI 640 Los Angeles AM Radio.

162 individual  broadcast Audio Air Checks survive. 
A goldmine of originally recorded live interviews with the greats from the Jazz and Big Band era, with integrated recorded samples of their work played throughout the broadcast.  


Scott Ellsworth was the creator and on-air host of the popular radio program,                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                     

October 1, 1962-March 29, 1963 (NBC); 1965-1969 (Syndicated); August 18, 1969-February 11, 1972 (CBS); 1972-1986 (Syndicated)

Salute to Tony Bennett.