| Once Upon a Tune | |
|---|---|
| Genre | Music/Variety |
| Written by | Sid Frank |
| Directed by | Barnaby Smith |
| Starring | Bea Arthur Reginald Beane Charlotte Rae Gordon Dilworth Phil Hanna Holly Harris |
| Composer | Coleman Dowell |
| Country of origin | United States |
| Original language | English |
| Production | |
| Producer | Bob Loewi |
| Running time | 30 minutes |
| Original release | |
| Network | DuMont |
| Release | March 6 – May 15, 1951 |
Once Upon a Tune is a weekly half-hour American musical anthology television series [1] that aired on the DuMont Television Network, premiering on March 6, 1951, and running to May 15, 1951. [2]
Once Upon a Tune began as a local program in New York before it was shown on the network. [1] The series presented original musical productions which were often satirical and tongue-in-cheek adaptations of either classic fairy tales or contemporary Broadway musicals. Bea Arthur made her TV debut on this series. [3] Regulars on the series were Reginald Beane, Phil Hanna, Holly Harris, Ed Holmes, and Bernice Parks. [1]
The Paley Center for Media holds kinescope copies of three episodes – one spoofing "Three Little Pigs", [3] one spoofing "Rapunzel", [4] and the third on a 57-minute kinescope film reel. (This latter reel also contains an episode of Mr. Dynamite, a TV series or pilot based on an earlier Hollywood movie of the same name based on a Dashiell Hammett story.) [5]
According to Edie Adams, an actress who worked at DuMont for several years, much of the network's programming archive was destroyed in the 1970s.[ citation needed ]
The producer was Bob Loewi, and the writer was Sid Frank. [2] The program was broadcast on Tuesdays from 10 to 11 p.m. Eastern Time. [1]