Max Liebman Presents

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Max Liebman Presents
Also known asMax Liebman Spectaculars
Country of originUnited States
Original languageEnglish
No. of episodes28
Original release
Network NBC
ReleaseSeptember 12, 1954 (1954-09-12) –
June 9, 1956 (1956-06-09)

Max Liebman Presents, aka Max Liebman Spectaculars,[ citation needed ] 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. [1]

Contents

Overview

Saturday episodes consisted mainly of musical comedies, [1] the first of which was Satins and Spurs . [2] They included Babes in Toyland , Best Foot Forward , Lady in the Dark , and The Merry Widow . Featured performers included John Conte, Robert Cummings, Dennis Day, Dave Garroway, Edward Everett Horton, Ann Jeffreys, Jack E. Leonard, and Marilyn Maxwell. [1]

Episodes on Sundays were musical revues. Bambi Linn and Rod Alexander formed a dance team that appeared regularly, and Charles Sanford's orchestra often provided music. Among the guest stars were Judy Holliday, Steve Allen, Frank Sinatra, [1] Marcel Marceau, Tony Randall, Ann Sothern and Maurice Chevalier.

Pat Weaver, who was president of NBC then, considered "a string of high-profile ninety-minute spectaculars" as a way "to court the light viewer" of television. [2] However, productions that cost $500,000 (Lady in the Dark) and $300,000 (Satins and Spurs) "were trounced in the ratings by much cheaper programming". [2]

Production

Max Liebman produced and directed the program. [2] Authors included Billy Friedberg, Will Glickman, Al Schwartz, Fred Saidy, Neil Simon, [3] and Elmer Rice. Max Liebman produced and directed. Choreographer James Starbuck was nominated for the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Choreography for his work on the program in 1956. [4]

Sponsors included Oldsmobile [5] Hazel Bishop, Sunbeam, and Reynolds Metals. [6]

Capitol Records released a 10-inch long-playing original-cast album that contained eight songs from the show's Satins and Spurs episode. [7]

Selected episodes of Max Liebman Presents
DateTitleActors
November 7, 1954FanfareSteve Allen, Judy Holliday, Dick Shawn, Frank Sinatra, Jacques Tati [8]
January 2, 1955Good TimesJudy Holliday, Steve Allen, Dick Shawn, the Ritz Brothers [9]
January 15, 1955Naughty Marietta Patrice Munsel, Alfred Drake [10]
October 1, 1955Heidi Wally Cox, Jeannie Carson, [11] Elsa Lanchester, Natalie Wood [1]
January 21, 1956Paris in the Springtime Dan Dailey, Gale Sherwood, Helen Gallagher, Jack Whiting, Carleton Carpenter [12]
April 14, 1956The Adventures of Marco PoloAlfred Drake, Doretta Morrow [13]

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References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 Brooks, Tim; Marsh, Earle F. (June 24, 2009). The Complete Directory to Prime Time Network and Cable TV Shows, 1946-Present. Random House Publishing Group. p. 871. ISBN   978-0-307-48320-1 . Retrieved April 14, 2023.
  2. 1 2 3 4 Kessler, Kelly (April 1, 2020). Broadway in the Box: Television's Lasting Love Affair with the Musical. Oxford University Press. pp. 39–40. ISBN   978-0-19-067404-5 . Retrieved April 14, 2023.
  3. ↑ "Other Network Changes & Additions". Ross Reports on Television including The Television Index. January 31, 1955. p. 1. Retrieved April 14, 2023.
  4. ↑ Kaplan, Mike (1981). Variety International Showbusiness Reference. Garland Publishing. p. 781. ISBN   9780824093419.
  5. ↑ "NBC's Auto Presentation Puts Finger on 1/2-Hr. TV". Billboard. June 11, 1955. p. 2. Retrieved March 3, 2021.
  6. ↑ "TV Network Premieres". Variety. September 8, 1954. p. 24. Retrieved April 14, 2023.
  7. ↑ "Cap Rides 300G NBC-TV Color Show With 'Satins and Spurs' Cast Album". Variety. September 8, 1954. p. 50. Retrieved April 14, 2023.
  8. ↑ Terrace, Vincent (June 6, 2013). Television Specials: 5,336 Entertainment Programs, 1936-2012, 2d ed. McFarland. p. 150. ISBN   978-1-4766-1240-9 . Retrieved April 14, 2023.
  9. ↑ Rich, Allen (January 1, 1955). "Listening Post and TV Review". Valley Times. California, North Hollywood. p. 18. Retrieved March 4, 2021– via Newspapers.com.
  10. ↑ "'Yellow Jack' and 'Naughty Marietta' Are TV Features". The Kansas City Star. Missouri, Kansas City. January 9, 1955. p. 89. Retrieved March 4, 2021– via Newspapers.com.
  11. ↑ "TV Schedules Are Loaded This Week". The Courier-Journal. Kentucky, Louisville. September 25, 1955. p. 97. Retrieved March 4, 2021– via Newspapers.com.
  12. ↑ Altman, Allan (2015) [1956]. Paris in the Springtime (DVD liner notes). DVD 4582. Pleasantville, NY: Video Artists International, Inc. back cover.
  13. ↑ "Max Liebman Show, Baseball Will Highlight TV Offerings This Week". The Franklin Evening Star. Indiana, Franklin. April 7, 1956. p. 5. Retrieved March 4, 2021– via Newspapers.com.


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