Admiral Broadway Revue

Last updated
Admiral Broadway Revue
Admiral Broadway Revue.png
Genre Variety
Created by Max Liebman
Written by
Directed byMax Liebman
Starring
Country of originUnited States
No. of episodes19
Production
ProducerMax Liebman
Camera setup Multi-camera
Running time52 minutes[ citation needed ]
Original release
Network
ReleaseJanuary 28 (1949-01-28) –
June 3, 1949 (1949-06-03)

Admiral Broadway Revue [1] is an American live television variety show that ran from January 28 to June 3, 1949. The show was notable for being "television's first full scale Broadway type musical revue." [2]

Contents

Distribution

The program was broadcast live on Fridays from 8 to 9 p.m. ET simultaneously on both the NBC and DuMont networks. Live broadcasts were carried by 24 stations in 16 cities. Another 14 stations broadcast kinescope recordings of the live episodes. [2]

The dual-network distribution resulted from Admiral executives' desire to have the program on NBC and to have it seen in Chicago. During the show's time slot, DuMont had sole use of the coaxial cable linking New York City to Chicago. Therefore, the company used both networks. [3]

Overview

Episodes of Admiral Broadway Revue included music, comedy, well-known guest stars and "lavish production numbers". [4] Each episode's dances, sketches, and songs related to a common theme such as cross-country, night life, and Radio City. [5]

The show was telecast from the since-demolished International Theatre (also known as the Park Theatre) at 5 Columbus Circle in New York City. [6] The hour-long series was directed by Max Liebman, hosted by Sid Caesar, and also starred Imogene Coca. Liebman, Caesar, and Coca went on to work on NBC's Your Show of Shows , which debuted February 25, 1950. [1]

The series was sponsored by TV-set manufacturer Admiral, a competitor of NBC's parent company RCA and of DuMont, both of which manufactured TV sets. The cancellation of the series resulted from demand for Admiral's TV sets exceeding the company's manufacturing capacity. Admiral's executives chose to shift the money spent on the program into an increase in manufacturing capabilities. [7]

Its final episode aired June 3, 1949. [1]

Personnel

Admiral Broadway Revue provided the first pairing of Caesar and Coca. Marge and Gower Champion performed dance numbers on the shows. [7] : 67  Others appearing on the show included Roy Atwill, Mary McCarty, Bobby Van, and Loren Welch. [4] Charles Sanford conducted the orchestra, and Don Walker orchestrated the music. [8] Writers for the program included Lucille Kallen and Mel Tolkin. [7] : 67 

Episode and script status

Episodes of Admiral Broadway Revue were made available on videocassettes by Video Dimensions. [9] The Paley Center for Media holds 18 kinescope episodes of the series, and the UCLA Film and Television Archive has one episode.[ citation needed ]

In 2000, workers who opened an apparently overlooked closet in New York City Center found boxes of papers that belonged to Liebman, including "many scripts" from Admiral Broadway Revue. A contemporary newspaper report indicated that the papers would go to the Library of Congress, where researchers could use them. [10]

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">DuMont Television Network</span> American television network (1942–1956)

The DuMont Television Network was one of America's pioneer commercial television networks, rivaling NBC and CBS for the distinction of being first overall in the United States. It was owned by Allen B. DuMont Laboratories, a television equipment and television set manufacturer, and began operation on April 13, 1940.

Mary Kay and Johnny is an American situation comedy starring real-life married couple Mary Kay and Johnny Stearns. It was the first sitcom broadcast on a television network in the United States. Mary Kay and Johnny initially aired live on the DuMont Television Network before moving to CBS and then NBC.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sid Caesar</span> American comic actor and writer (1922–2014)

Isaac Sidney Caesar was an American actor, comedian and writer. With a career spanning 60 years, he was best known for two pioneering 1950s live television series: Your Show of Shows (1950–1954), which was a 90-minute weekly show watched by 60 million people, and its successor, Caesar's Hour (1954–1957), both of which influenced later generations of comedians. Your Show of Shows and its cast received seven Emmy nominations between the years 1953 and 1954 and tallied two wins. He also acted in films; he played Coach Calhoun in Grease (1978) and its sequel Grease 2 (1982) and appeared in the films It's a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World (1963), Silent Movie (1976), History of the World, Part I (1981), Cannonball Run II (1984), and Vegas Vacation (1997).

<i>Your Show of Shows</i> American variety television program 1950-1954

Your Show of Shows is a live 90-minute variety show that was broadcast weekly in the United States on NBC from February 25, 1950, through June 5, 1954, featuring Sid Caesar and Imogene Coca. Other featured performers were Carl Reiner, Howard Morris, Bill Hayes, baritone singer Jack Russell, Judy Johnson, the Hamilton Trio and the soprano Marguerite Piazza. José Ferrer made several guest appearances on the series.

<i>The Arthur Murray Party</i> American TV variety series (1950–1960)

The Arthur Murray Party is an American television variety show that ran from July 1950 until September 1960. The show was hosted by dancers Arthur and Kathryn Murray, the show featured various acts and celebrity guests and acted as advertisement for their chain of dance studios. Each week, the couple performed a mystery dance, and the viewer who correctly identified the dance would receive two free lessons at a local studio.

Author Meets the Critics is an American radio and television talk show. After beginning on radio, it was also broadcast on television by the National Broadcasting Company, American Broadcasting Company, and then the DuMont Television Network.

The 1948–49 network television schedule for the four major English language commercial broadcast networks in the United States. The schedule covers primetime hours from September 1948 through March 1949. The schedule is followed by a list per network of returning series, new series, and series cancelled after the 1947–48 season. This was the first season in which all four networks then in operation in the United States offered nightly prime time schedules Monday through Friday.

<i>Caesars Hour</i> American television sketch-comedy television program 1954-1957

Caesar's Hour is a live, hour-long American sketch-comedy television program that aired on NBC from 1954 until 1957. The program starred, among others, Sid Caesar, Nanette Fabray, Carl Reiner, Howard Morris, Janet Blair, and Milt Kamen, and featured a number of cameo roles by famous entertainers such as Joan Crawford and Peggy Lee.

The DuMont Evening News was an American news program which aired Monday through Friday at 7:15pm ET on the DuMont Television Network during the 1954–1955 season. Presented by Morgan Beatty, the 15-minute show was the network's third and final attempt at a nightly news broadcast.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Paramount Television Network</span> Former American television network

The Paramount Television Network, Inc. was a venture by American film corporation Paramount Pictures to organize a television network in the late 1940s. The company built television stations KTLA in Los Angeles and WBKB in Chicago; it also invested $400,000 in the DuMont Television Network, which operated stations WABD in New York City, WTTG in Washington, D.C., and WDTV in Pittsburgh. Escalating disputes between Paramount and DuMont concerning breaches of contract, company control, and network competition erupted regularly between 1940 and 1956, and culminated in the dismantling of the DuMont Network. Television historian Timothy White called the clash between the two companies "one of the most unfortunate and dramatic episodes in the early history of the television industry."

Boxing from St. Nicholas Arena was an American sports program originally broadcast on NBC from 1946 to 1948, and later on the now-defunct DuMont Television Network from 1954 to 1956.

<i>The Stranger</i> (1954 TV series) American TV crime drama series (1954–1955)

The Stranger was an American television crime drama broadcast on the DuMont Television Network from June 25, 1954, to February 11, 1955.

Mel Tolkin was a television comedy writer best known as head writer of the live sketch comedy series Your Show of Shows during the Golden Age of Television. There he presided over a staff that at times included Mel Brooks, Neil Simon, and Danny Simon. The writers' room inspired the film My Favorite Year (1982), produced by Brooks, and the Broadway play Laughter on the 23rd Floor (1993), written by Neil Simon.

Marge and Jeff is an early American sitcom broadcast Monday through Friday on the DuMont Television Network during the 1953-1954 television season.

Cosmopolitan Theatre is an American anthology series which aired on the DuMont Television Network from October 2, 1951 to December 25, 1951.

The Chevrolet Tele-Theatre is an American anthology series that aired live on NBC Mondays at 8 pm EST from September 27, 1948 to June 26, 1950. The program presented both news headlines and live dramatic performances of either original plays or works adapted for television from the stage. Sometimes the show was referred to as Chevrolet on Broadway or The Broadway Playhouse; particularly when the program was presenting an adapted stage work from New York City's theatre scene.

Max Liebman Presents, aka Max Liebman Spectaculars, is an American television musical variety series, presented monthly in a 90-minute format on NBC, beginning September 12, 1954, and ending on June 6, 1956. Throughout the show's run, episodes were broadcast on Saturdays beginning at 9 p.m. Eastern Time. In the second season, the same title was also used for a show with a different format on Sundays beginning at 7:30 p.m. ET.

Amanda is an American music television program starring Amanda Randolph that debuted on the DuMont Television Network on November 1, 1948. The ending date for the show is unclear, but it still appears in a TV schedule from October 1949.

References

  1. 1 2 3 Brooks, Tim; Marsh, Earle (2003). The Complete Directory to Prime Time Network and Cable TV Shows 1946–Present Eighth Edition . Ballantine Books. pp. 13–14. ISBN   0-345-45542-8.
  2. 1 2 "Admiral Television Show Starts Jan. 28". The News. New Jersey, Paterson. January 19, 1949. p. 31. Retrieved May 5, 2020– via Newspapers.com.
  3. ↑ Brighton, Dick Jr. (January 30, 1949). "Televiewing". The Sunday News. New Jersey, Ridgewood. p. 34. Retrieved May 6, 2020– via Newspapers.com.
  4. 1 2 Terrace, Vincent (2011). Encyclopedia of Television Shows, 1925 through 2010 (2nd ed.). Jefferson, N.C.: McFarland & Company, Inc., Publishers. p. 10. ISBN   978-0-7864-6477-7.
  5. ↑ "Admiral's TV Show Network Premiere Tomorrow Night". The Boston Globe. Massachusetts, Boston. January 27, 1949. p. 35. Retrieved May 5, 2020– via Newspapers.com.
  6. ↑ International Theatre in New York at CinemaTreasures.org
  7. 1 2 3 Adir, Karin (2001). The Great Clowns of American Television. McFarland. p. 70. ISBN   978-0-7864-1303-4 . Retrieved May 5, 2020.
  8. ↑ Suskin, Steven (2011). The Sound of Broadway Music: A Book of Orchestrators and Orchestrations. Oxford University Press. ISBN   978-0-19-979084-5 . Retrieved May 5, 2020.
  9. ↑ "Sid Caesar's filmography". The Philadelphia Inquirer. Pennsylvania, Philadelphia. August 2, 1990. p. 64. Retrieved May 5, 2020– via Newspapers.com.
  10. ↑ "And the jokes were SO old..." The Anniston Star. Alabama, Anniston. November 15, 2000. p. 16. Retrieved May 5, 2020– via Newspapers.com.

Further reading

This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.