MGM Parade is the title of a documentary television series produced by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer and broadcast by the ABC network during the 1955-56 season on Wednesdays at 8:30pm (E.S.T.), under the alternate sponsorship of American Tobacco (Pall Mall), and General Foods (Instant Maxwell House). Hosted by George Murphy (September 14th, 1955 – March 7th, 1956), Walter Pidgeon (March 14th – May 2nd, 1956) and other MGM stars, the series […]
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The Jack Benny Program, starring Jack Benny, is a radio-TV comedy series that ran for more than three decades and is generally regarded as a high-water mark in 20th-century American comedy.
Jack Benny made his TV debut in the 1949 season. There is a kinescope of his later November 1949 TV appearance on the intermittent Jack Benny Program special appearances of the time. Benny ran shorter runs in his early seasons on TV into the early 1950s, as he was still firmly dedicated to radio. The regular and continuing Jack Benny Program was telecast on CBS from October 28th, 1950, to September 15th, 1964, and on NBC from September 25th, 1964, to September 10th, 1965. 343 episodes were produced. His TV sponsors included American Tobacco’s Lucky Strike (1950–59), Lever Brothers’ Lux(1959–60), State Farm Insurance (1960–65), Lipton Tea (1960–62), General Foods’ Jell-O (1962–64), and Miles Laboratories (1964–65).
The television show was a seamless continuation of Benny’s radio program, employing many of the same players, the same approach to situation comedy and some of the same scripts. The suffix “Program” instead of “Show” was also a carryover from radio, where “program” rather than “show” was used frequently for presentations in the non-visual medium. Occasionally, in several live episodes, the title card read, “The Jack Benny Show.” During one live episode, both titles were used.
The Jack Benny Program appeared infrequently during its first two years on CBS TV. Benny moved into television slowly: in his first season (1950–1951), he only performed on four shows, but by the 1951-1952 season, he was ready to do one show approximately every six weeks. In the third season (1952–1953), the show was broadcast every four weeks. During the 1953-1954 season, The Jack Benny Program aired every three weeks. From 1954-1960, the program aired every other week, rotating with such shows as Private Secretary and Bachelor Father. Beginning in the 1960-1961 season, The Jack Benny Program began airing every week. It is also worth noting that the show moved from CBS to NBC prior to the 1964-65 season. During the 1953-54 season, a handful of episodes were filmed during the summer and the others were live, a schedule which allowed Benny to continue doing his radio show. In the 1953-1954 season, Dennis Day had his own short-lived comedy and variety show on NBC, The Dennis Day Show.
The Jack Benny Program was shot in Hollywood at Desilu Studios with an audience brought in to watch the finished film for live responses. Benny’s opening and closing monologues were always filmed in front of a live audience. However, from the late 1950s until the last season on NBC, a laugh and applause track was also used for “sweetening” the audience reactions.
In Jim Bishop’s book A Day in the Life of President Kennedy, John F. Kennedy said that he was too busy to watch most television but that he made the time to watch The Jack Benny Program each week.
My Favorite Husband is the name of an American radio program and network television series. The original radio show, co-starring Lucille Ball, was the initial basis for what evolved into the groundbreaking TV sitcom I Love Lucy. The series was based on the novels Mr. and Mrs. Cugat, the Record of a Happy Marriage (1940) and Outside Eden (1945) written by Isabel Scott Rorick, which had previously been adapted into the Paramount Pictures feature film Are Husbands Necessary? (1942), co-starring Ray Milland and Betty Field.
CBS brought My Favorite Husband to television in 1953, starring Joan Caulfield and Barry Nelson as Liz and George Cooper. The couple now resembled their earliest radio version, with George Cooper a well-to-do bank executive and plots dealing with the couple’s society life. The television version ran two-and-a-half seasons, from October 1953 through December 1955, and was produced live at CBS Television City for most of its run, until switching to film for a truncated third season (ironically, filmed at Desilu) and recasting Liz Cooper with Vanessa Brown.
The $64,000 Question is an American game show broadcast from 1955–1958, which became embroiled in the scandals involving TV quiz shows of the day. The $64,000 Challenge (1956–1958) was its popular spin-off show.
The $64,000 Question premiered June 7th, 1955 on CBS-TV, sponsored by cosmetics maker Revlon and originating from the start live from CBS-TV Studio 52 in New York (later the disco-theater Studio 54). The first contestant on the show was Thelma Farrell Bennett, a housewife from Trenton, New Jersey who failed to make it to the first plateau but won a 1955 Cadillac convertible.
Room 222 is an American comedy-drama television series produced by 20th Century Fox Television. The series aired on ABC for 112 episodes from September 17th, 1969 until January 11th, 1974.
The series focused on an American history class at the fictional Walt Whitman High School in Los Angeles, California, although it also depicted other events at the school. Located in Room 222, the class was taught by Pete Dixon (Lloyd Haynes), an idealistic African-American schoolteacher. Other characters featured in the show were the school’s compassionate guidance counselor, Liz McIntyre (Denise Nicholas), who was also Pete’s girlfriend; the dryly humorous school principal, Seymour Kaufman (Michael Constantine); and the petite and enthusiastic Alice Johnson (Karen Valentine), a student teacher. Also shown was Patsy Garrett as Mr. Kaufman’s secretary, Miss Hogarth. In addition, many recurring students were featured from episode to episode.
Pete Dixon delivered gentle lessons to his students in tolerance and understanding. Students admired his wisdom, insight and easygoing manner. The themes of the episodes were sometimes topical, reflecting the current political climate (the late 1960s and early to mid-1970s such as the Vietnam War, women’s rights, race relations and Watergate). However, most plots were timeless and featured themes still common to modern-day teenagers. For example, the 1971 episode titled “What Is A Man?” deals with a student who is the victim of anti-gay harassment and the 1974 episode entitled “I Didn’t Raise My Girl to Be a Soldier?” deals with parent-teenager issues.
The show featured many actors who went on to become major stars, such as Bruno Kirby, Bernie Kopell, Cindy Williams, Teri Garr, Jamie Farr, Rob Reiner, Anthony Geary, Richard Dreyfuss, Chuck Norris, Kurt Russell, and Mark Hamill. In addition, former child stars David Bailey, Ricky Kelman, Flip Mark, and Michael Shea each made appearances on the series late in their respective careers.
The program was filmed at 20th Century Fox studios. Exterior shots of Los Angeles High School, which was damaged by an earthquake during the series’ run, were shown behind the opening credits and for some outdoor scenes in the early seasons. Later exterior scenes were filmed at Los Angeles University High School.
Room 222’s initial episodes garnered weak ratings, and ABC was poised to cancel the program after one season. However, the show earned several nominations at the 1970 Emmy Awards, and ABC relented. In the spring of 1970, Room 222 won Emmy Awards for Best New Series; Best Supporting Actor (Michael Constantine); and Best Supporting Actress (Karen Valentine). The following year, Constantine and Valentine were again nominated in the supporting acting awards category. After the shaky first season, Room 222 nevertheless managed to receive respectable ratings during its next three years. Ratings peaked during the 1971-1972 season, during which it held a #28 viewership ranking. By the start of the 1973-1974 season, ratings had fallen drastically, and ABC canceled the show at mid-season. After the series ended, the program entered syndication and was rerun on several television stations throughout the United States.
The theme song was written by film composer Jerry Goldsmith, written in a 7/4 time signature. His theme and two episode scores were later issued by Film Score Monthly on an album with his score for the film Ace Eli and Rodger of the Skies.
This dude rocked the ‘fro on this show.
The Ghost & Mrs. Muir is an American situation comedy based on the 1947 film of the same name, which was based on the 1945 novel by R. A. Dick. Itpremiered in September 1968 on NBC. After NBC canceled the series, it aired on ABC for one season before being canceled a final time.
The series stars Hope Lange as Carolyn Muir, a young widow who rents Gull Cottage, near the fictional fishing village of Schooner Bay, Maine along with her two children, housekeeper and their dog. The cottage is haunted by the ghost of its former owner: Daniel Gregg, a 19th-century sea captain, played by Edward Mulhare.
While the earlier film was set in early 1900s England, the sitcom employed a contemporary American setting.
Land of the Giants is an hour-long American science fiction television program lasting two seasons beginning on September 22nd, 1968, and ending on March 22nd, 1970. The show was created and produced by Irwin Allen. Land of the Giants was the fourth of Allen’s science fiction TV series. The show was aired on ABC and […]
It’s about time, it’s about space, about two men in the strangest place. It’s About Time is an American fantasy/science-fiction comedy TV series that aired on CBS for one season of 26 episodes in 1966–1967. The series was created by Sherwood Schwartz, and used sets, props and incidental music from Schwartz’s other television series in […]
The Time Tunnel is a 1966–1967 U.S. color science fiction TV series, written around a theme of time travel adventure. The show was creator-producer Irwin Allen’s third science fiction television series, released by 20th Century Fox and broadcast on ABC. The show ran for one season of 30 episodes. Project Tic-Toc is a top secret […]
Lost in Space is an American science fiction television series created and produced by Irwin Allen, filmed by 20th Century Fox Television, and broadcast on CBS. The show ran for three seasons, with 83 episodes airing between September 15th, 1965, and March 6th, 1968. Though the original television series concept centered on the Robinson family, […]
My Living Doll is an American science fiction sitcom that aired for 26 episodes on CBS from September 27th, 1964 to March 17th, 1965. This series was produced by Jack Chertok and was filmed at Desilu studios by Jack Chertok Television, Inc., in association with the CBS Television Network. The series was unusual in that […]
Jonny Quest debuted on ABC at 7:30PM EDT on Friday, September 18th, 1964. This prime time animated TV series is an American science fiction adventure television series about a boy who accompanies his scientist father on extraordinary adventures. It was produced by Hanna-Barbera Productions for Screen Gems, and created and designed by comic book artist […]
Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea is a 1960s American science fiction television series based on the 1961 film of the same name. Both were created by Irwin Allen. Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea was the first of Irwin Allen’s four science fiction television series, as well as the longest running. It […]
