The Spike Jones Show | |
---|---|
Created by | Spike Jones |
Starring | Spike Jones Helen Grayco Billy Barty (1954–57) Bill Dana (1960–61) Lennie Weinrib (1960–61) |
Country of origin | United States |
Production | |
Running time | 60 minutes |
Original release | |
Network | NBC (1954) CBS (1957-61) |
Release | January 2, 1954 – September 25, 1961 |
Related | |
Club Oasis Swinging Spiketaculars |
The Spike Jones Show was the name of several separate American comedy and variety series that aired on NBC and CBS in the 1950s and 1960s. The series was presented by actor and musician Spike Jones, his wife, musician Helen Grayco and their band, The City Slickers. [1] The series also featured Billy Barty, Freddy Morgan, Paul Garner, Bill Dana, and Lennie Weinrib.
After a short stint on the radio, in the late 1940s, Spike Jones began to see that there might be potential in the fairly new medium of television. With this potential in mind, Jones along with Edward F. Cline filmed two half-hour pilots in the summer of 1950; Foreign Legion and Wild Bill Hiccup. Neither were broadcast. Jones then decided to try live television bringing his wife Helen Grayco and his band, The City Slickers with him. For them, live television proved to be a success. The basis for The Spike Jones Show came about after an episode of The Colgate Comedy Hour on NBC. The episode, entitled "The Spike Jones Show", was originally broadcast on February 11, 1951. [2] Three years after that telecast, NBC offered Jones, Grayco and his band their own slot on television.
The first version of The Spike Jones Show premiered on January 2, 1954 on NBC. The series was the first weekly television series that was presented by Spike Jones. The series also starred Helen Grayco and members of the City Slickers. It ran on Saturday evenings alongside The Jackie Gleason Show on CBS. [3]
Nearly three years after The Spike Jones Show finished its run on NBC, CBS decided to offer Jones and his band their own time slot on Tuesday nights. The CBS reincarnation of The Spike Jones Show premiered on April 2, 1957. However, the series was meant for replacement purposes only and its last episode aired on August 27, 1957. [4]
On NBC, Club Oasis, which had a different host for each episode, became Club Oasis with Spike Jones during the summer of 1958 when Spike Jones became the permanent host. [5] [6] [7]
The final version of The Spike Jones Show premiered on July 31, 1961 on CBS. The series aired on Monday nights as a summer replacement only. Its last episode aired on September 25, 1961. This was the last incarnation of the series.
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A DVD entitled The Best of Spike Jones features scenes of the 1954 version of The Spike Jones Show. The DVD was released on November 24, 2009. [8]
Winstead Sheffield "Doodles" Weaver was an American character actor, comedian, and musician.
The year 1973 in television involved some significant events. Below is a list of television-related events in that year.
The year 1954 in television involved some significant events. Below is a list of television-related events in 1954.
Lindley Armstrong "Spike" Jones was an American musician, bandleader and conductor specializing in spoof arrangements of popular songs and classical music. Ballads receiving the Jones treatment were punctuated with gunshots, whistles, cowbells, hiccups, burps, and outlandish and comedic vocals. Jones and his band recorded under the title Spike Jones and His City Slickers from the early 1940s to the mid-1950s, and they toured the United States and Canada as "The Musical Depreciation Revue".
Variety show, also known as variety arts or variety entertainment, is entertainment made up of a variety of acts including musical performances, sketch comedy, magic, acrobatics, juggling, and ventriloquism. It is normally introduced by a compère or host. The variety format made its way from the Victorian era stage in Britain and America to radio and then television. Variety shows were a staple of English language television from the late 1940s into the 1980s.
The following is the 1959–60 network television schedule for the three major English language commercial broadcast networks in the United States. The schedule covers primetime hours from September 1959 through March 1960. The schedule is followed by a list per network of returning series, new series, and series cancelled after the 1958–59 season.
The following is the 1961–62 network television schedule for the three major English language commercial broadcast networks in the United States. The schedule covers primetime hours from September 1961 through April 1962. The schedule is followed by a list per network of returning series, new series, and series cancelled after the 1960–61 season.
The following is the 1958–59 network television schedule for the four major English language commercial broadcast networks in the United States. The schedule covers primetime hours from September 1958 through March 1959. The schedule is followed by a list per network of returning series, new series, and series cancelled after the 1957–58 season.
The following is the 1957–58 network television schedule for the four major English language commercial broadcast networks in the United States. The schedule covers primetime hours from September 1957 through March 1958. The schedule is followed by a list per network of returning series, new series, and series cancelled after the 1956–57 season.
The 1955–56 network television schedule for the four major English language commercial broadcast networks in the United States. The schedule covers primetime hours from September 1955 through March 1956. The schedule is followed by a list per network of returning series, new series, and series cancelled after the 1954–55 season.
The Colgate Comedy Hour is an American comedy-musical variety series that aired live on the NBC network from 1950 to 1955. The show featured many notable comedians and entertainers of the era as guest stars. Many of the scripts of the series are archived at the UCLA Library in their Special Collections.
The following is the 1956–57 network television schedule for the three major English language commercial broadcast networks in the United States. The schedule covers primetime hours from September 1956 through March 1957. The schedule is followed by a list per network of returning series, new series, and series cancelled after the 1955–56 season.
The following is the 1950–51 network television schedule for the four major English language commercial broadcast networks in the United States. The schedule covers primetime hours from September 1950 through March 1951. The schedule is followed by a list per network of returning series, new series, and series cancelled after the 1949–50 season. This season became the first in which primetime was entirely covered by the networks. It was also the inaugural season of the Nielsen rating system. Late in the season, the coast-to-coast link was in service.
Schlitz Playhouse of Stars is an anthology series that was telecast from 1951 until 1959 on CBS. Offering both comedies and drama, the series was sponsored by the Joseph Schlitz Brewing Company. The title was shortened to Schlitz Playhouse beginning with the fall 1957 season.
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).
Helen Grayco was an American singer and actress active from the 1930s to the 1960s. She was most famous for appearances with her husband Spike Jones on The Spike Jones Show in the 1950s and the 1960s. She is also the mother of producer and Emmy recipient, Spike Jones, Jr. and Leslie Ann Jones, a Grammy award-winning recording engineer.
Four Star Revue is an American variety/comedy program that aired on NBC from October 4, 1950, to December 26, 1953.
Swinging Spiketaculars is an American comedy program. The series aired on CBS with episodes airing August 1, 1960 – September 19, 1960. The series starred Spike Jones, Helen Grayco and his band The City Slickers. Bill Dana and Joyce Jameson were also part of the regular cast.
The Jerry Lewis Show is the name of several separate but similar American variety, talk and comedy programs starring comedian Jerry Lewis that aired non-consecutively between 1963 and 1984. The original version of the series aired on ABC from September 21, 1963 – December 21, 1963. A second series of the same name aired on NBC from September 12, 1967 – May 27, 1969. A final version also of the same name aired in first-run syndication for one week in June 1984.
Lindley Armstrong "Spike" Jones Jr. is an American television producer and director of award shows and live television events. He is a public speaker and frequent moderator and panel participant for entertainment industry events, and the founder of SJ2 Entertainment. He is the son of satirical musician and bandleader, Spike Jones, and singer and actress, Helen Grayco, and has three sisters, including Grammy-winning recording engineer, Leslie Ann Jones.