The Kraft Summer Music Hall

Last updated

The Kraft Summer Music Hall is a 1966 television music comedy series broadcast in America. It was written by George Carlin, starring John Davidson as the host. [1] The hour-long show was produced by Bob Banner. It was the summer replacement for The Andy Williams Show and Perry Como's Kraft Music Hall. [2] The show aired from June 6 to August 29, 1966. [3] [4]

The Four King Cousins, known then as The Five King Cousins, and the Lively Set provided music in each episode. Two former members of the New Christy Minstrels, Jackie Miller and Gayle Caldwell, were regular singers on the show. [3] Carlin and Richard Pryor were regular comedians on the series. [5] Davidson described the show as "sort of a 'Talent Scouts' for the university set". [3]

In the last segment of each episode, Davidson entered the audience to speak to audience members and then to sing a song from the years when they were dating each other. One newspaper reviewer described the gambit as "a most embarrassing and tattered sequence" that detracted from an otherwise enjoyable show. [6]

The final episode included guest stars Chad & Jeremy and Flip Wilson (who had also appeared in an earlier episode). [4]

Related Research Articles

<i>Hee Haw</i> American television variety show (1969–93 and 1996–97)

Hee Haw is an American television variety show featuring country music and humor with the fictional rural "Kornfield Kounty" as the backdrop. It aired from 1969 to 1993, and on TNN from 1996 to 1997. Reruns of the series were broadcast on RFD-TV from September 2008 to April 2020, and aired on Circle.

<i>Hollywood Squares</i> American television game show

Hollywood Squares is an American game show in which two contestants compete in a game of tic-tac-toe to win cash and prizes. The show originally aired as a pilot on NBC in 1965, and debuted on that network as a regular series in October 1966. The board for the game is a 3 × 3 vertical stack of open-faced cubes, each occupied by a celebrity seated at a desk facing the contestants. The stars are asked questions by the host and the contestants judge the truth of their answers to gain squares in the right pattern to win the game.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">George Carlin</span> American stand-up comedian (1937–2008)

George Denis Patrick Carlin was an American stand-up comedian, social critic, actor and author. Regarded as one of the most important and influential comedians of all time, he was dubbed "the dean of counterculture comedians". He was known for his dark comedy and reflections on politics, the English language, psychology, religion and taboo subjects.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Dick Clark</span> American radio and television personality (1929–2012)

Richard Wagstaff Clark was an American television and radio personality and television producer who hosted American Bandstand from 1956 to 1989. He also hosted five incarnations of the Pyramid game show from 1973 to 1988 and Dick Clark's New Year's Rockin' Eve, which broadcast New Year's Eve celebrations in New York City's Times Square.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Connie Stevens</span> American actress and singer (born 1938)

Connie Stevens is an American actress and singer. Born in Brooklyn to musician parents, Stevens was raised there until the age of 12, when she was sent to live with family friends in rural Missouri. In 1953, when she was 15 years old, Stevens relocated with her father to Los Angeles.

This Hour Has Seven Days was a CBC Television public affairs program that ran from 1964 to 1966, offering viewers in-depth analysis of the major social and political stories of the previous week.

<i>The Sonny & Cher Comedy Hour</i> American variety show

The Sonny & Cher Comedy Hour is an American variety show starring American pop singers Sonny Bono and Cher, who were married to each other at the time. The show ran on CBS in the United States, and premiered in August 1971. The show was cancelled in May 1974, due to the couple's divorce, but the duo reunited in 1976 for the similarly formatted The Sonny and Cher Show, which ran for two seasons, ending August 29, 1977.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Hoyt Axton</span> American singer-songwriter and actor (1938–1999)

Hoyt Wayne Axton was an American singer-songwriter, guitarist and actor. He became prominent in the early 1960s, establishing himself on the West Coast as a folk singer with an earthy style and powerful voice. Among his best-known songs are "Joy to the World", "The Pusher", "No No Song", "Greenback Dollar", "Della and the Dealer" and "Never Been to Spain".

<i>Then Came Bronson</i> American television series

Then Came Bronson is an American adventure/drama television series starring Michael Parks that aired on NBC. It was created by Denne Bart Petitclerc, and produced by MGM Television. Then Came Bronson began with a television film pilot that aired on NBC on March 24, 1969; the pilot was also released in Europe as a theatrical feature film. This was followed by a single season of 26 episodes airing between September 17, 1969, and April 1, 1970.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">John Davidson (entertainer)</span> American entertainer

John Hamilton Davidson is an American actor, singer, and game show host known for hosting That's Incredible!,Time Machine, and Hollywood Squares in the 1980s, and a revival of The $100,000 Pyramid in 1991.

<i>The Midnight Special</i> (TV series) American late-night musical variety television series

The Midnight Special is an American late-night musical variety series originally broadcast on NBC from 1972 to 1981, created and produced by Burt Sugarman. It premiered as a TV special on August 19, 1972, and then began its run as a regular series from February 3, 1973, to March 27, 1981. The 90-minute program aired on Saturday mornings at 1 a.m. ET/PT after the Friday night edition of The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson.

<i>The Jimmy Dean Show</i> 1963 American TV series or program

The Jimmy Dean Show is the name of several similar music and variety series on American local and network television between 1963 and 1975. Each starred country music singer Jimmy Dean as host.

The Go!! Show was an Australian popular music television series which was produced before a live audience and aired on Network Ten ATV-0, Melbourne, from August 1964 to August 1967, running one hour three nights a night.

Kraft Music Hall is an umbrella title for several television series aired by NBC in the United States from the 1950s to the 1970s in the musical variety genre, sponsored by Kraft Foods, the producers of a well-known line of cheeses and related dairy products. Their commercials were usually announced by "The Voice of Kraft", Ed Herlihy.

<i>Kraft Music Hall</i> Radio variety program

The Kraft Music Hall was a popular old-time radio variety program, featuring top show business entertainers, which aired first on NBC radio from 1933 to 1949.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Dave King (actor)</span> English comedian, actor, and vocalist (1929–2002)

Dave King was an English comedian, actor and vocalist of popular songs. He is remembered for screen roles such as the corrupt policeman 'Parky' in the British gangster film The Long Good Friday (1980) and Clifford Duckworth in the soap opera Coronation Street.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cathie Taylor</span> American singer (born 1944)

Cathie Taylor is a Canadian-born singer of country music and later Gospel music who won two Academy of Country Music Awards and was a regular vocalist on several television series.

Juliette is a Canadian music variety television series which aired on CBC Television from 1956 to 1966.

The Four King Cousins are an American female harmonizing pop singing group.

The Bob Burns Show was an American old-time radio comedy program that starred comedian Bob Burns. The program derived from a character Burns performed for five years on Bing Crosby's Kraft Music Hall entitled "The Arkansas Traveler".

References

  1. "Trials of a Comic". Independent Star-News (Pasadena, California). July 10, 1966. p. 96.
  2. "John Davidson to Have Summer Show". Biddeford-Saco Journal (Maine). January 1, 1966. p. 4.
  3. 1 2 3 Witbeck, Charles (June 5, 1966). "Youth Variety Bill Fills Summer Slot". The Winona Daily News (Minnesota). p. 31.
  4. 1 2 "Summer Music Hall Ends in Bright Style". St. Joseph News-Press (Missouri). August 27, 1966. p. 8.
  5. Donnelly, William (July 8, 1966). "John Davidson Has Style for Summer". The Tidings (Los Angeles, California). p. 12.
  6. Du Brow, Dick (Jun 7, 1966). "Network Nearly Improved Fine Singer Out of Business". The Oshkosh Northwestern (Wisconsin). p. 11.