''The Donald O'Connor Show'' (also known as ''Here Comes Donald'') is an American musical

situation comedy A sitcom, a portmanteau of situation comedy, or situational comedy, is a genre of comedy centered on a fixed set of characters who mostly carry over from episode to episode. Sitcoms can be contrasted with sketch comedy, where a troupe may use new ...

television series A television show – or simply TV show – is any content produced for viewing on a television set which can be broadcast via over-the-air, satellite, or cable, excluding breaking news, advertisements, or trailers that are typically placed be ...

starring singer/dancer

Donald O'Connor Donald David Dixon Ronald O'Connor (August 28, 1925 – September 27, 2003) was an American dancer, singer and actor. He came to fame in a series of films in which he co-starred with Gloria Jean, Peggy Ryan, and Francis the Talking Mule. His b ...

. It appeared on

NBC The National Broadcasting Company (NBC) is an American English-language commercial broadcast television and radio network. The flagship property of the NBC Entertainment division of NBCUniversal, a division of Comcast, its headquarters are l ...

from October 9, 1954, to September 10, 1955, alternating on the Saturday evening schedule with '' The Jimmy Durante Show''; both were sponsored by

Texaco Texaco, Inc. ("The Texas Company") is an American oil brand owned and operated by Chevron Corporation. Its flagship product is its fuel "Texaco with Techron". It also owned the Havoline motor oil brand. Texaco was an independent company unt ...

Synopsis

O'Connor, the son of circus performers and formerly an alternating host on ''

The Colgate Comedy Hour ''The Colgate Comedy Hour'' was 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 ...

'', and his co-director and co-star Sidney Miller portray young struggling songwriters trying to find buyers for their musical compositions. This scenario allows the two to break out in song and dance throughout the program. In the segment which aired on December 4, 1954, three daughters of a theater owner have a dream about O'Connor the dancer: he is viewed as a marshal in the

American West The Western United States (also called the American West, the Far West, and the West) is the region comprising the westernmost states of the United States. As American settlement in the U.S. expanded westward, the meaning of the term ''the Wes ...

, as a knight in the

Middle Ages In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the late 5th to the late 15th centuries, similar to the post-classical period of global history. It began with the fall of the Western Roman Empire ...

, or as a famous composer such as

Beethoven Ludwig van Beethoven (baptised 17 December 177026 March 1827) was a German composer and pianist. Beethoven remains one of the most admired composers in the history of Western music; his works rank amongst the most performed of the classic ...

, Chopin, or

Arthur Sullivan Sir Arthur Seymour Sullivan (13 May 1842 – 22 November 1900) was an English composer. He is best known for 14 comic opera, operatic Gilbert and Sullivan, collaborations with the dramatist W. S. Gilbert, including ''H.M.S. Pinaf ...

. Joyce Cunning, also known also as Joyce Smight, co-starred in the series in the role of Doreen, the songwriters' secretary. Other regulars were Regina Gleason,

Joyce Holden Joyce Holden (born Jo Ann Heckert, September 1, 1930 – January 21, 2022) was an American film and television actress. Early years Holden was born in Kansas City, Missouri on September 1, 1930. The daughter of Mr. and Mrs. D.P. Heckert, she w ...

, Jan Orvan,

Olan Soule Olan Evart Soule (February 28, 1909 – February 1, 1994) was an American actor, who had professional credits in nearly 7,000 radio shows and commercials, appearances in 200 television series and television films, and in over 60 films. Soul ...

, and the

Al Goodman Alfred Goodman (August 12, 1890 – January 10, 1972) was a conductor, songwriter, stage composer, musical director, arranger, and pianist. Early years Goodman was born in Nikopol, Ukraine, (another source says that he was born in Odessa, Russ ...

Orchestra. Most musical programs at the time were shown live or on

Kinescope Kinescope , shortened to kine , also known as telerecording in Britain, is a recording of a television program on motion picture film, directly through a lens focused on the screen of a video monitor. The process was pioneered during the 194 ...

. However, ''The Donald O'Connor Show'' was shot on film. Guest stars included the dancer

Sharon Baird Sharon Baird is an American actress, voice actress, singer, dancer and puppeteer who is best known for having been a Mouseketeer. Early life Baird was born August 16, 1943 Seattle, Washington to Eldon Baird, an aerospace worker, and Nikki Ma ...

, singer

Mitzi Gaynor Mitzi Gaynor (born Francesca Marlene de Czanyi von Gerber; September 4, 1931) is an American actress, singer, and dancer. Her notable films include '' We're Not Married!'' (1952), '' There's No Business Like Show Business'' (1954), '' The Birds ...

, singer and musical composer

Johnny Mercer John Herndon Mercer (November 18, 1909 – June 25, 1976) was an American lyricist, songwriter, and singer, as well as a record label executive who co-founded Capitol Records with music industry businessmen Buddy DeSylva and Glenn E. Wallic ...

, eight-year-old Tim Rooney (son of

Mickey Rooney Mickey Rooney (born Joseph Yule Jr.; other pseudonym Mickey Maguire; September 23, 1920 – April 6, 2014) was an American actor. In a career spanning nine decades, he appeared in more than 300 films and was among the last surviving stars of the ...

), then eleven-year-old

Harry Shearer Harry Julius Shearer (born December 23, 1943) is an American actor, comedian, writer, musician, radio host, director and producer. Born in Los Angeles, California, Shearer began his career as a child actor. From 1969 to 1976, Shearer was a member ...

Boris Karloff William Henry Pratt (23 November 1887 – 2 February 1969), better known by his stage name Boris Karloff (), was an English actor. His portrayal of Frankenstein's monster in the horror film ''Frankenstein'' (1931) (his 82nd film) established ...

, Reginald Denny, and

Douglas Fowley Douglas Fowley (born Daniel Vincent Fowley, May 30, 1911 – May 21, 1998) was an American movie and television actor in more than 240 films and dozens of television programs, He is probably best remembered for his role as the frustrated m ...

. The

Robert Mitchell Boys Choir Robert Mitchell (October 12, 1912 – July 4, 2009) was an American organist and choir director whose career spanned 85 years, from 1924 to 2009. He was one of the last original silent film accompanists, having accompanied films fro ...

appeared with O'Connor and Miller on the

Christmas night Christmas Eve is the evening or entire day before Christmas Day, the festival commemorating the birth of Jesus. Christmas Day is observed around the world, and Christmas Eve is widely observed as a full or partial holiday in anticipation ...

1954 episode. O'Connor had all episodes stored in case he wanted to have them syndicated, but his production company, O'Connor Television, may have lost the rights to NBC, who refused syndication; O'Connor Television lost profits resulting in termination and "lost" episodes. In 1964, nine years after the original ''The Donald O'Connor Show'' had folded,

Lucille Ball Lucille Désirée Ball (August 6, 1911 – April 26, 1989) was an American actress, comedienne and producer. She was nominated for 13 Primetime Emmy Awards, winning five times, and was the recipient of several other accolades, such as the Gold ...

tried in vain to revive the idea of another ''The Donald O'Connor Show'' script to ABC after it was rejected by NBC and CBS. That year her own ''

The Lucy Show ''The Lucy Show'' is an American sitcom that aired on CBS from 1962 to 1968. It was Lucille Ball's follow-up to '' I Love Lucy''. A significant change in cast and premise for the fourth season (1965–1966) divides the program into two distin ...

'' was the only

Desilu Desilu Productions () was an American television production company founded and co-owned by husband and wife Desi Arnaz and Lucille Ball. The company is best known for shows such as ''I Love Lucy'', ''The Lucy Show'', ''Mannix'', ''The Untouchabl ...

Production on the networks. O'Connor instead returned to television in the mid-1960s to host ''

The Bell Telephone Hour ''The Bell Telephone Hour'' (also known as ''The Telephone Hour'') is a concert series that began April 29, 1940, on NBC Radio, and was heard on NBC until June 30, 1958. Sponsored by Bell Telephone as the name implies, it showcased the best in ...

''; one of his episodes focuses on

Cole Porter Cole Albert Porter (June 9, 1891 – October 15, 1964) was an American composer and songwriter. Many of his songs became standards noted for their witty, urbane lyrics, and many of his scores found success on Broadway and in film. Born to ...

. In the 1968-1969 season, O'Connor hosted a syndicated

talk show A talk show (or chat show in British English) is a television programming or radio programming genre structured around the act of spontaneous conversation.Bernard M. Timberg, Robert J. Erler'' (2010Television Talk: A History of the TV Talk Sh ...

, also called ''The Donald O'Connor Show''. The show was picked up by NBC. This second series had Joyce Jameson as the announcer and the accompaniment of the Alan Copland Orchestra. Numerous well-known guest stars, such as

Joan Baez Joan Chandos Baez (; born January 9, 1941) is an American singer, songwriter, musician, and activist. Her contemporary folk music often includes songs of protest and social justice. Baez has performed publicly for over 60 years, releasing more ...

Sterling Holloway Sterling Price Holloway Jr. (January 4, 1905 – November 22, 1992) was an American actor and voice actor who appeared in over 100 films and 40 television shows. He did voice acting for The Walt Disney Company, playing Mr. Stork in '' Dumbo'', A ...

, Meredith MacRae,

Barrie Chase Barrie Chase (born October 20, 1933) is an American actress and dancer. Early life Born in Kings Point, New York, Chase began formal dance lessons at age three, studying with the New York City Opera's ballet mistress. She studied ballet, first ...

, Irwin Corey, Peter Breck, Mike Minor, Dana Wynter, and musicians

Ike Ike or IKE may refer to: People * Ike (given name), a list of people with the name or nickname * Dwight D. Eisenhower (1890–1969), Supreme Commander of the Allied forces in Europe during World War II and President of the United States Surname * ...

and

Tina Turner Tina Turner (born Anna Mae Bullock; November 26, 1939) is an American-born Swiss retired singer and actress. Widely referred to as the " Queen of Rock 'n' Roll", she rose to prominence as the lead singer of the Ike & Tina Turner Revue before ...

. The programs aired unspecified episodes between November 18,

1968 The year was highlighted by protests and other unrests that occurred worldwide. Events January–February * January 5 – " Prague Spring": Alexander Dubček is chosen as leader of the Communist Party of Czechoslovakia. * J ...

, and August 4,

1969 This year is notable for Apollo 11's first landing on the moon. Events January * January 4 – The Government of Spain hands over Ifni to Morocco. * January 5 **Ariana Afghan Airlines Flight 701 crashes into a house on its approach to ...

, though it may have begun some weeks earlier than indicated. O'Connor was reprimanded by NBC; the show was cancelled on account of O'Connor managing to offend many of his guests, including Joan Baez, by bluntly asking "How did you like it up river?" regarding her prison sentence for war protests. He additionally offended Irwin Corey after Corey brought up his left-wing political views,"I wonder if you'll get blacklisted again. I don't think you've learned your lesson yet. We live in a republic, Mr. Corey." The cancellation had no effect on O'Connor who said, "the show was great practice and now I'm ready to get that job in politics that I've always wanted." The talk show ended with only five episodes made in the span of the two years. SME (Sony Music Entertainment) is said to have bought the show rights from NBC though SME has been accused of false copyright claims since the 1930s. Warner Bros. have made attempts to abscond with musical compositions written by O'Connor heard on ''Here Comes Donald'' and ''The Donald O'Connor Show'', also including "I Wanna Wonder" from ''I Love Melvin'' and the orchestral music from the "Make 'Em Laugh" sequence in ''Singing in the Rain''. Orchard Enterprises, a wholly owned subsidiary of SME distributed, without authorization from its parent organization, to YouTube seven ''Here Comes Donald'' songs on November 20, 2014. These can be found on the still-active fan-run Donald O'Connor-Topic YouTube channel. SME now has in place copyright claims on many movies and TV shows with the name Donald O'Connor in the title, continuing to effectively ban the full versions on YouTube.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Donald O'Connor Show, The 1954 American television series debuts 1955 American television series endings 1950s American sitcoms 1950s American variety television series NBC original programming Black-and-white American television shows English-language television shows Television shows set in Los Angeles