Stairway to Stardom (1950 TV program)

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Stairway to Stardom is an early American music television program which aired 1950 to 1951 on New Jersey station WATV. It was among the first with an African-American host, though it was not a network program. Bill Cook, a radio disc jockey, was the host. According to an article titled "Bill Cook Sparks New Video Show" in a 1950 edition of newspaper The Pittsburgh Courier , Bill Cook had stated that talent on the program would be "selected on the basis of ability and without regard to race, color or religion". [1] The show is believed lost.

Other early American television shows with African-American hosts included two DuMont Television Network programs, Elder Michaux (1948–1949, then continued as local program afterwards) and The Hazel Scott Show (1950), a very short-lived CBS program Uptown Jubilee (1949), and the WABD local program titled Amanda (1948–1949).

Cook was also host of a radio program called Musical Caravan. [2]

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References

  1. "Bill Cook Sparks New Video Show" (PDF). The Pittsburgh Courier . Retrieved 20 May 2020.
  2. Fritz, Jose (28 August 2013). "Bebop Hits The Radio". Arcane Radio Trivia. Retrieved 20 May 2020.