 | |
| Country of origin | United States |
|---|---|
| Language(s) | English |
| Starring | Arthur Godfrey |
| Original release | July 2, 1946 – October 1, 1956 |
| Sponsored by | Lipton Tea |
Arthur Godfrey's Talent Scouts (also known as Talent Scouts) was an American radio and television variety show which ran on CBS from 1946 until 1958. Sponsored by Lipton Tea, it starred Arthur Godfrey, who was also hosting Arthur Godfrey and His Friends at the same time.
The concept for the show was that Godfrey had several "talent scouts" who brought their discoveries onto the program to showcase their talents. The winner of each show was determined by a meter that judged the audience's applause. The radio series began July 2, 1946, and was heard on CBS Tuesday evenings at 9pm. The winner on October 1, 1946, was pianist José Melis, who later became a familiar late night television personality as the orchestra leader on Jack Paar's Tonight show.
In the summer of 1947, Arthur Godfrey's Talent Scouts moved to Fridays at 9:30 p.m. After August 1947 it aired on Mondays at 8:30 p.m. The radio show continued until October 1, 1956. With Archie Bleyer leading the orchestra, the show's announcer was George Bryan. The show's opening (to the tune of "Four and Twenty Blackbirds") featured Peggy Marshall and the Holidays singing:
At that point, the music would segue into trombonist Lou McGarity and the orchestra playing Godfrey's familiar theme song, "Seems Like Old Times", sometimes with Godfrey singing or humming along.
Contestants on the show included Pat Boone, The Chordettes, The McGuire Sisters and Carmel Quinn, all of whom went on to perform on Arthur Godfrey and His Friends. Other contestants included Tony Bennett, The Blackwood Brothers, Lenny Bruce, Laurie Carroll, [1] Roy Clark, Rosemary Clooney, Ken Berry, Florian ZaBach, Wally Cox, Vic Damone, The Diamonds, Eddie Fisher, Connie Francis, Don Knotts, Steve Lawrence, Al Martino, Barbara McNair, Marian McPartland, Johnny Nash, Leslie Uggams, Lorraine Donahue (who later appeared on The Voice of Firestone ), Joe Negri, Roger Williams (pianist), and Jonathan Winters. Swedish singer Kjerstin Dellert won a contest in 1948 with Someone to Watch Over Me , beginning her career as a vocalist there. [2] Patsy Cline first gained national attention with a winning performance of Walkin' After Midnight on the January 21, 1957, broadcast. Among those who auditioned but were not chosen to appear on the broadcast were Buddy Holly, The Four Freshmen, and Elvis Presley.[ citation needed ]
| Arthur Godfrey's Talent Scouts | |
|---|---|
| Also known as | Talent Scouts |
| Genre | Variety |
| Directed by |
|
| Starring | Arthur Godfrey |
| Country of origin | United States |
| Original language | English |
| No. of seasons | 10 |
| Production | |
| Camera setup | Multi-camera |
| Running time | 24–25 minutes |
| Production company | CBS Productions |
| Original release | |
| Network | CBS |
| Release | December 6, 1948 – January 1, 1958 |
On television, Arthur Godfrey's Talent Scouts premiered December 6, 1948. According to the Nielsen ratings, it was the highest rated television show for the 1951–1952 season. It remained a highly popular show through the decade. The show took a great drop in ratings after orchestra bandleader Archie Bleyer left in the 1954–1955 season, but rebounded as the scouts continued to discover more talent. However, by the fall of 1957, television audiences began to prefer westerns and adventure shows to quiz programs and Godfrey's ratings dropped out of the top 30 Nielsen Chart. [3] The show aired its final episode on January 1, 1958.
On December 24, 1956, the show became the first entertainment program to be videotaped for broadcast, as the then-new technology was used for a time-delayed rebroadcast in the Pacific Time Zone. An Ampex quadruplex videotape machine recorded the initial live broadcast to the Eastern part of the country, which was replayed three hours later. [4] As with his radio programs, CBS allowed Godfrey to periodically host the show remotely from his Virginia farm while the rest of the cast and guests performed in New York. [5]
Arthur Godfrey's Talent Scouts aired Monday at 8:30-9:00 PM on CBS its entire run.
The year 1957 in television involved some significant events. Below is a list of television-related events during 1957.
The year 1955 in television involved some significant events. Below is a list of television-related events during 1955.
The year 1953 in television involved some significant events. Below is a list of television-related events during 1953.
The Chordettes were an American female vocal quartet, specializing in traditional pop music. They are best known for their 1950s hit singles "Mr. Sandman" and "Lollipop", both of which sold over a million copies.
Arthur Morton Godfrey was an American radio and television broadcaster and entertainer. At the peak of his success, in the early to mid-1950s, Godfrey was heard on radio and seen on television up to six days a week, at times for as many as nine separate broadcasts for CBS. His programs included Arthur Godfrey Time, Arthur Godfrey's Talent Scouts, Arthur Godfrey and His Friends, The Arthur Godfrey Digest and King Arthur Godfrey and His Round Table.
Albert Gordon MacRae was an American actor, singer, and television and radio host. He appeared in the film versions of two Rodgers and Hammerstein musicals, Oklahoma! (1955) and Carousel (1956), and played the leading man opposite Doris Day in On Moonlight Bay (1951) and sequel By The Light of the Silvery Moon (1953).
Arthur Godfrey and His Friends is an American television variety show hosted by Arthur Godfrey. The hour-long series aired on CBS Television from January 12, 1949, to June 1957, then again as a half-hour show from September 1958 to April 1959.
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.
Archibald Martin Bleyer was an American song arranger, bandleader, and record company executive.
The Original Amateur Hour is an American radio and television program. The show was a continuation of Major Bowes Amateur Hour, which had been a radio staple from 1934 to 1945. Major Edward Bowes, the originator of the program and its master of ceremonies, left the show in 1945 and died the following year. He was ultimately succeeded by Ted Mack, when the show was brought into television in 1948.
Julius La Rosa was an American traditional popular music singer, who worked in both radio and television beginning in the 1950s.
Mama is a weekly CBS Television comedy-drama series that ran from July 1, 1949 until March 17, 1957. The series was based on the 1943 novel Mama's Bank Account by Kathryn Forbes, which was also adapted for the John Van Druten play (1944) and the subsequent film I Remember Mama (1948). It told the ongoing story of a loving Norwegian family living in San Francisco in the 1910s as seen through the eyes of the elder daughter, Katrin Hansen. At the start of each episode, Katrin would be shown looking through the pages of the family album, with the opening narration:
This old album makes me remember so many things in the past. San Francisco and the house on Steiner Street where I was born. It brings back memories of my cousins, aunts and uncles; all the boys and girls I grew up with. And I remember my family as we were then. My big brother Nels, my little sister Dagmar, and of course, Papa. But most of all, when I look back to those days so long ago, most of all, I remember ... Mama.
Studio One is an American anthology drama television series that was adapted from a radio series. It was created in 1947 by Canadian director Fletcher Markle, who came to CBS from the CBC. It premiered on November 7, 1948, and ended on September 29, 1958, with a total of 467 episodes over the course of 10 seasons.
Kjerstin Dellert was a Swedish opera singer and theater manager.
Ford Theatre, spelled Ford Theater for the original radio version and known, in full, as The Ford Television Theatre for the TV version, is a radio and television anthology series broadcast in the United States in the 1940s and 1950s. At various times the television series appeared on all three major television networks, while the radio version was broadcast on two separate networks and on two separate coasts. Ford Theatre was named for its sponsor, the Ford Motor Company, which had an earlier success with its concert music series, The Ford Sunday Evening Hour (1934–42).
Man Against Crime starring Ralph Bellamy, one of the first television programs about private eyes, ran on CBS, the DuMont Television Network and NBC from October 7, 1949, to June 27, 1954, and was briefly revived, starring Frank Lovejoy, during 1956. The show was created by Lawrence Klee and was broadcast live until 1952. The series was one of the few television programs ever to have been simulcast on more than one network: the program aired on both NBC and DuMont during the 1953–54 television season.
Stop the Music is a prime time radio game show that aired on ABC Radio on Sundays, from March 21, 1948 to August 10, 1952. Stop the Music crossed over to ABC television on Thursdays, beginning on May 5, 1949 through April 24, 1952, and again for a half-hour from September 7, 1954, to June 14, 1956.
The Mariners were an American pop and gospel vocal group of the mid 20th century, particularly noted for their work with Arthur Godfrey.
Lu Ann Simms was an American singer well known in the 1950s. A performer since the age of three, she became an overnight star in 1952 after winning first place on the singing contest Arthur Godfrey's Talent Scouts; she subsequently joined the Arthur Godfrey cast and appeared on his radio and television programs Arthur Godfrey Time, Arthur Godfrey and His Friends,The Arthur Godfrey Digest and King Arthur Godfrey and His Round Table.
Dunning, John. On the Air: The Encyclopedia of Old-Time Radio. New York: Oxford University Press, 1998. ISBN 0-19-507678-8