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  • music Archives – ThrowbackMachine.com

    Grand Ole Opry

    grand ole opry

    The Grand Ole Opry started as the WSM Barn Dance in the new fifth-floor radio studio of the National Life & Accident Insurance Company in downtown Nashville on November 28th, 1925.  On October 18th, 1925, management began a program featuring “Dr. Humphrey Bate and his string quartet of old-time musicians.”  On November 2nd, WSM hired […]

    Ozark Jubilee

    Ozark Jubilee

    Ozark Jubilee is the first U.S. network television program to feature country music’s top stars, and featured performers located in Springfield, Missouri which has long emulated Nashville, Tennessee as a center of American country music. The weekly live stage show premiered on ABC-TV on January 22nd, 1955, was renamed Country Music Jubilee on July 6th, […]

    Stage Show

    Stage Show

    Stage Show was a popular music variety series on American television originally hosted on alternate weeks by big band leaders and brothers Tommy and Jimmy Dorsey. Produced by Jackie Gleason, the CBS-TV show included the first national television appearances by Elvis Presley.  Introduced by Cleveland, Ohio disc jockey Bill Randle, Presley first appeared on January 28th, 1956, performing “Shake, Rattle and Roll”, “Flip, Flop and Fly” […]

    Midwestern Hayride

    Midwestern Hayride

    Midwestern Hayride, sometimes known as Midwest Hayride, was an American country music show originating in the 1930s from WLW-AM and later from WLWT-TV in Cincinnati, Ohio. During the 1950s it was carried nationally by NBC and then ABC television. The program featured live country music (performed mainly by local musicians but on lesser occasions by national stars) and what was then called “hayseed” comedy, much of which […]

    Your Hit Parade

    Your Hit Parade

    Your Hit Parade is an American radio and television music program that was broadcast from 1935 to 1955 on radio, and seen from 1950 to 1959 on television.  It was sponsored by American Tobacco’s Lucky Strike cigarettes. André Baruch continued as the announcer when the program arrived on NBC television in summer 1950 (Del Sharbutt […]

    The Perry Como Show

    The Perry Como Show

    Perry Como made the move to television when NBC initially televised the Chesterfield Supper Club radio program on December 24th, 1948. A very special guest on that first television show was Como’s eight-year-old son, Ronnie, as part of a boys’ choir singing “Silent Night” with his father.  The show was the usual Friday night Chesterfield Supper Club with an important […]

  • Throwback Machine

  • destination: Prime Time TV – ThrowbackMachine.com

    destination: Prime Time TV

    We’re glad you found us!  Sit back and start clicking your way around Prime Time TV from the 1950s, 60s and 70s!  Have fun and enjoy the show…

    Throwback Machine

  • 1957 Archives – Page 3 of 4 – ThrowbackMachine.com

    This is Your Life

    This Is Your Life

    This Is Your Life was an American documentary series broadcast on NBC radio 1948 to 1952, and on NBC television 1952 to 1961.  It was originally hosted by its producer Ralph Edwards. In the show, the host surprises a guest, and proceeds to take them through their life in front of an audience, including special […]

    Dupont Calvalcade Theater

    dupontcalvalcadetheater

    Cavalcade of America is an anthology drama series that was sponsored by the DuPont Company, although it occasionally presented a musical, such as an adaptation of Show Boat, and condensed biographies of popular composers. It was initially broadcast on radio from 1935 to 1953, and later on television from 1952 to 1957. Originally on CBS, […]

    Two For the Money

    Two for the Money

    Two for the Money is an American game show television program which ran from 1952 to 1957.  The show ran for one season on NBC, and four seasons on CBS. It was a Mark Goodson-Bill Todman production, and was initially sponsored by Old Gold cigarettes.  Humorist Herb Shriner was the host for most of the […]

    Masquerade Party

    Masquerade Party

    Masquerade Party is an American television game show.  During its original run from 1952–1960, the show appeared at various times on all three major networks except DuMont (ABC, NBC, and CBS).  A syndicated revival was produced for one season in 1974-75. A panel of celebrities met with another celebrity that was in heavy make-up and/or costume; this disguise would always […]

    I’ve Got a Secret

    Ivegotasecret

    I’ve Got a Secret is a panel game show produced by Mark Goodson and Bill Todman for CBS television.  Created by comedy writers Allan Sherman and Howard Merrill, it was a derivative of Goodson-Todman’s own panel show What’s My Line?.  Instead of celebrity panelists trying to determine a contestant’s occupation, the panel tries to determine a contestant’s “secret”: something that is unusual, amazing, embarrassing, or humorous about that person. The […]

    Life Worth Living

    Life Worth Living

    Life is Worth Living is an inspirational American television series which ran on the DuMont Television Network from February 12th, 1952 to April 26th, 1955, then on ABC until 1957, featuring the Venerable Archbishop Fulton J. Sheen. (Similar series, also featuring Sheen, followed in 1958–61 and 1961–68.) Hosted by Bishop (later Archbishop) Fulton J. Sheen, the series consisted mainly of Sheen speaking to the camera and […]

    Dragnet

    Dragnet

         “Ladies and Gentlemen:   The story you are about to hear is true.  The names have been changed to protect the innocent.” Dragnet is an American radio, television and motion picture series, enacting the cases of a dedicated Los Angeles police detective, Sergeant Joe Friday, and his partners.  The show takes its name from the […]

    I Love Lucy

    ILoveLucyTitleScreen

    I Love Lucy is a landmark American television sitcom starring Lucille Ball, Desi Arnaz, Vivian Vance, and William Frawley. The black-and-white series originally ran from October 15th, 1951, to May 6th, 1957, on CBS. After the series ended in 1957, however, a modified version continued for three more seasons with 13 one-hour specials, running from 1957 to 1960, known first as The Lucille Ball-Desi […]

    Goodyear Television Playhouse

    Goodyear Television Playhouse

    The Goodyear Television Playhouse is an American anthology series that was telecast live on NBC from 1951 to 1957 during the “Golden Age of Television.”  Sponsored by Goodyear, Goodyear alternated sponsorship with Philco, and the Philco Television Playhouse was seen on alternate weeks. In 1955, the title was shortened to The Goodyear Playhouse and it […]

    Schlitz Playhouse of Stars

    Schlitz Playhouse of Stars

    Schlitz Playhouse of Stars is an anthology series that was telecast from 1951 until 1959 on CBS.  Offering both comedies and drama, the series was sponsored by the Joseph Schlitz Brewing Company. The title was shortened to Schlitz Playhouse, beginning with the fall 1957 season. Initially, the show was broadcast live, but starting in the […]

    The Red Skelton Show

    The Red Skelton Show

    The Red Skelton Show is an American variety show that was a television staple for two decades, from 1951 to 1971.  The host of the show, Richard Bernard “Red” Skelton, who had previously been a radio star, had appeared in several motion pictures as well.  Although his television series is largely associated with CBS, where it appeared for more than fifteen years, it actually began and […]

    You Asked For It

    You Asked For It

    You Asked for It was a popular human interest show created and hosted by Art Baker.  Initially titled The Art Baker Show, the program originally aired on American television between 1950 and 1959. On the show, viewers were asked to send in postcards describing something that they wanted to see on television, such as the […]

    You Bet Your Life

    You Bet Your Life

    You Bet Your Life is an American quiz show that aired on both radio and television.  The original and best-known version was hosted by Groucho Marx of the Marx Brothers, with announcer and assistant George Fenneman. The show debuted on ABC Radio in October 1947, then moved to CBS Radio in September 1949 before making the transition to NBC-TV in October 1950.  Because of its simple format, it was […]

    Lux Video Theatre

    LUX Video Theatre

    Lux Video Theatre is an American anthology series that was produced from 1950 until 1959.  The series presented both comedy and drama in original teleplays, as well as abridged adaptations of films and plays. The Lux Video Theatre was a spin-off from the successful Lux Radio Theater series broadcast on the NBC Blue Network (1934-1935) and CBS (1935–55).  Lux Video Theatre began as a live 30-minute Monday evening […]

    Truth or Consequences

    Truth or Consequences

    Truth or Consequences is an American television game show originally hosted on NBC radio by Ralph Edwards (1940–1957) and later on television by Edwards (1950–1954), Jack Bailey (1954–1955), and Bob Barker (1956–1975).  The television show ran on CBS, NBC and also in syndication.  The premise of the show was to mix the original quiz element […]

    Your Hit Parade

    Your Hit Parade

    Your Hit Parade is an American radio and television music program that was broadcast from 1935 to 1955 on radio, and seen from 1950 to 1959 on television.  It was sponsored by American Tobacco’s Lucky Strike cigarettes. André Baruch continued as the announcer when the program arrived on NBC television in summer 1950 (Del Sharbutt […]

    Armstrong Circle Theatre

    ArmstrongCircle

    Armstrong Circle Theatre is an American anthology drama television series which ran from 1950 to 1957 on NBC, and then until 1963 on CBS.  It alternated weekly with The U.S. Steel Hour. The series featured original dramas by noted writers, although sometimes comedies were shown.  Its guidelines specifically called for the avoidance of violence.  Originally a half-hour production, in 1955 the show expanded […]

    Beat the Clock

    Beat the Clock

    Beat the Clock is a Goodson-Todman game show that aired on American television in several versions since 1950. The original show, hosted by Bud Collyer, ran on CBS from 1950 to 1958 and ABC from 1958 to 1961.  The show was revived in syndication as The New Beat the Clock from 1969 to 1974, with Jack Narz as host until 1972, when he was replaced by the show’s […]

    What’s My Line

    What's My Line

    What’s My Line? is a panel game show which originally ran in the United States on the CBS Television Network from 1950 to 1967, with several international versions and subsequent U.S. revivals.  The game tasks celebrity panelists with questioning contestants in order to determine their occupations.  It is the longest-running U.S. primetime network television game-show.  […]

    Robert Montgomery Presents

    Robert Montgomery Presents

    Robert Montgomery Presents is an American dramatic television series which was produced by NBC from January 30th, 1950 until June 24th, 1957.  The live show had several sponsors during its seven-year run, and the title was altered to feature the sponsor, usually Lucky Strike cigarettes, for example, Robert Montgomery Presents Your Lucky Strike Theater, ….The Johnson’s Wax Program, and so on. Initially offering hour-long […]

  • The Ugliest Girl in Town – ThrowbackMachine.com

    The Ugliest Girl in Town

    The Ugliest Girl in Town is a short-lived American sitcom produced by Screen Gems for ABC.  It ran from September 26th, 1968 to January 30th, 1969.

    Timothy Blair is a Hollywood talent agent.  He falls in love with Julie Renfield, a British actress who is visiting the United States to do a movie.  After that movie is finished, she returns to England.  To assist his brother Gene complete a photography assignment, Timothy dresses as a hippie and poses for a photo shoot.  The photos are sent to a modeling agent in England who assumes that they are of a woman.  He offers “her” a job.
    Knowing that this would be the only chance to go to Great Britain and be with Julie, Tim accepts and dubs himself “Timmie”. Tim has two weeks of vacation to spend as much time with Julie as he can, but when as he is about to leave with his brother, Gene loses £11,000 gambling.  Unless he pays him back, Tim has to continue being Timmie for a while longer.
  • Shower of Stars – ThrowbackMachine.com

    Shower of Stars

    Shower of Stars (also known as Chrysler Shower of Stars) is an American variety television series broadcast live in the United States from 1954 to 1958 by CBS.  The series was broadcast in color which was a departure from the usual programming broadcast by CBS.

    Shower of Stars is typically composed of musical comedy revues with an occasional straight play.  It was shown on approximately a monthly basis during its run (1954-1958), and was designed to contrast with the heavy dramatic content of the program with which it shared its time slot, Climax!  Both programs were sponsored by Chrysler Corporation, and both were hosted by William Lundigan.

    Famous entertainers of the era who appeared multiple times on Shower of Stars included Jack Benny, Bob Crosby, Betty Grable, Van Johnson, Shirley MacLaine, Fredric March, Frankie Laine, Ethel Merman, Basil Rathbone, Red Skelton, Mario Lanza and Ed Wynn.  March and Rathbone were starred as Ebenezer Scrooge and Jacob Marley, respectively, in a 1954 musical adaptation of Charles Dickens’s A Christmas Carol, with songs by Bernard Herrmann and Maxwell Anderson.  This was the first musical version of the story to be televised, and the first in color.  Rathbone would go on to play Scrooge himself, in another TV musical adaptation of the story, the 1956 version of The Stingiest Man in Town.  The most frequently-appearing artist, however, was Jack Benny, who appeared in one role or another in a majority of the program’s broadcasts.
  • Climax – ThrowbackMachine.com

    Climax

    Climax!, later known as Climax Mystery Theater is an American anthology series that aired on CBS from 1954 to 1958.

    The series was hosted by William Lundigan and later co-hosted by Mary Costa.  It was one of the few CBS programs of that era to be broadcast in color (using the massive TK-40A color cameras pioneered and manufactured by RCA, and used primarily by CBS’ arch-rival network, NBC).  Many of the episodes were performed and broadcast live, and although the series was transmitted in color, only black-and-white kinescope copies of some episodes survive to the present day.

    In 1954, an episode of Climax! featured Ian Fleming’s secret agent James Bond in a television adaptation of Casino Royale.  It starred Barry Nelson as American secret agent “Jimmy Bond” and Peter Lorre as the villain Le Chiffre.  This was the first screen adaptation of a James Bond novel, made before Eon Productions acquired the Bond film rights.
  • For The People – ThrowbackMachine.com

    For The People

    For the People is an American Legal drama that aired Sundays from January 31st until May 9th, 1965 on CBS.

    This one season, thirteen episode drama had William Shatner playing an assistant district attorney in New York City.  The show’s cancellation left Shatner free to accept the role of Captain James T. Kirk on Star Trek.