''The Garry Moore Show'' is the name for several separate

American American(s) may refer to: * American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America" ** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America ** American ancestry, pe ...

variety series 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 ...

on the CBS

television network A television network or television broadcaster is a telecommunications network for distribution of television program content, where a central operation provides programming to many television stations or pay television providers. Until the mid ...

in the 1950s and 1960s. Hosted by experienced

radio Radio is the technology of signaling and communicating using radio waves. Radio waves are electromagnetic waves of frequency between 30 hertz (Hz) and 300 gigahertz (GHz). They are generated by an electronic device called a tr ...

performer

Garry Moore Garry Moore (born Thomas Garrison Morfit; January 31, 1915 – November 28, 1993) was an American entertainer, comedic personality, game show host, and humorist best known for his work in television. He began a long career with the CBS network ...

, the series helped launch the careers of many comedic talents, such as Dorothy Loudon,

Don Adams Donald James Yarmy (April 13, 1923 – September 25, 2005), known professionally as Don Adams, was an American actor. In his five decades on television, he was best known as Maxwell Smart (Agent 86) in the television situation comedy '' G ...

George Gobel George Leslie Goebel (May 20, 1919 – February 24, 1991) was an American humorist, actor, and comedian. He was best known as the star of his own weekly comedy variety television series, ''The George Gobel Show'', broadcasting from 1954 to 195 ...

Carol Burnett Carol Creighton Burnett (born April 26, 1933) is an American actress, comedian, singer, and writer. Her groundbreaking comedy variety show ''The Carol Burnett Show'', which originally aired on CBS was one of the first of its kind to be hosted ...

Don Knotts Jesse Donald Knotts (July 21, 1924February 24, 2006) was an American actor and comedian. He is widely known for his role as Deputy Sheriff Barney Fife on '' The Andy Griffith Show'', a 1960s sitcom for which he earned five Emmy Awards. He als ...

, Lee Goodman,

James Kirkwood, Jr. James Kirkwood Jr. (August 22, 1924 – April 21, 1989) was an American playwright, author and actor. In 1976 he received the Tony Award, the Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Book of a Musical, and the Pulitzer Prize for Drama for the Broadway h ...

Lily Tomlin Mary Jean "Lily" Tomlin (born September 1, 1939) is an American actress, comedian, writer, singer, and producer. She started her career as a stand-up comedian as well as performing off-Broadway during the 1960s. Her breakout role was on the varie ...

, and Jonathan Winters. ''The Garry Moore Show'' garnered a number of

Emmy The Emmy Awards, or Emmys, are an extensive range of awards for artistic and technical merit for the American and international television industry. A number of annual Emmy Award ceremonies are held throughout the calendar year, each with the ...

nominations and wins.

Origins

The show originally started as a radio program; CBS eventually awarded Moore his own early-evening television show in its place. His radio partner since 1940, Durward Kirby, made the move to TV with him, and appeared throughout all three versions of the TV show.

Original version (1950–1958)

The first incarnation of the show began in June 1950 as a Monday-through-Friday, 30-minute evening series. It was also simulcast on radio. The show changed to a once-weekly, one-hour format by August. Another prime time edition, ''The Garry Moore Evening Show'', alternated with ''

The George Burns and Gracie Allen Show ''The George Burns and Gracie Allen Show'', sometimes called ''The Burns and Allen Show'', was a half-hour television situation comedy broadcast from 1950 to 1958 on CBS. It starred George Burns and Gracie Allen, one of the most enduring acts i ...

'' on Thursday nights from September through December 1951. In the fall of 1950, Moore moved to a daytime show on CBS, at first in the early afternoon and later in mid-morning. The series featured a relaxed and flexible combination of comedy skits,

monologues In theatre, a monologue (from el, μονόλογος, from μόνος ''mónos'', "alone, solitary" and λόγος ''lógos'', "speech") is a speech presented by a single character, most often to express their thoughts aloud, though sometimes a ...

, singing, and interaction with the

studio A studio is an artist or worker's workroom. This can be for the purpose of acting, architecture, painting, pottery (ceramics), sculpture, origami, woodworking, scrapbooking, photography, graphic design, filmmaking, animation, industrial design ...

audience. It was an important commercial success for CBS, and ran in this format until mid-1958. On October 6, 1952, the program was cut from an hour to 30 minutes, still beginning at 1:30 p.m. Eastern Time but ending at 2 p.m. rather than the previous 2:30 ending. It originated at

WCBS-TV WCBS-TV (channel 2) is a television station in New York City, serving as the flagship of the CBS network. It is owned and operated by the network's CBS News and Stations division alongside Riverhead, New York–licensed independent station W ...

in New York City.

Second version (1958–1964)

In 1958, Moore ended the previous show because of his demanding work schedule, but he returned in the fall with a weekly, hour-long evening series, with the same title and similar format.

Allen Funt Allen Albert Funt (September 16, 1914 – September 5, 1999) was an American television producer, director, writer and television personality best known as the creator and host of ''Candid Camera'' from the 1940s to 1980s, as either a regular ...

's ''

Candid Camera ''Candid Camera'' is a popular and long-running American hidden camera reality television series. Versions of the show appeared on television from 1948 until 2014. Originally created and produced by Allen Funt, it often featured practical joke ...

'' segments became a regular feature of this series, along with a lengthy recap segment called "That Wonderful Year". In 1959, Moore produced two LP records on the Warner Bros. label, ''That Wonderful Year, 1930'' and ''That Wonderful Year, 1940''. In its first season, this version of ''The Garry Moore Show'' faced competition 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 the drama series with a

Western Western may refer to: Places *Western, Nebraska, a village in the US *Western, New York, a town in the US *Western Creek, Tasmania, a locality in Australia *Western Junction, Tasmania, a locality in Australia *Western world, countries that id ...

setting, '' The Californians,'' and the ABC crime/police

reality show Reality television is a genre of television programming that documents purportedly unscripted real-life situations, often starring unfamiliar people rather than professional actors. Reality television emerged as a distinct genre in the early 19 ...

, '' Confession'', hosted by

Jack Wyatt Jack may refer to: Places * Jack, Alabama, US, an unincorporated community * Jack, Missouri, US, an unincorporated community * Jack County, Texas, a county in Texas, USA People and fictional characters * Jack (given name), a male given name ...

The show was taped every Friday evening at CBS Studio 50 (later renamed "The Ed Sullivan Theater") and was broadcast the following Tuesday night. The cast of the second version included

Marion Lorne Marion Lorne MacDougal or MacDougall (sources differ) (August 12, 1883 – May 9, 1968), known professionally as Marion Lorne, was an American actress of stage, film, and television. After a career in theatre in New York and London, Lorne ...

(who appeared as her other Broadway and acting commitments permitted throughout this run), and rising star

(1959–62), who honed her comedic skills for her own future successful

variety show 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 co ...

. In addition to the performances of the cast and guests, vocal performers included the George Becker Singers and the dancers under the choreography of Ernest Flatt, including lead dancer Don Crichton.

Bob Banner Robert James Banner Jr. (August 15, 1921 – June 15, 2011) was an American producer, writer and director. From 1967 to 1972 he co-produced '' The Carol Burnett Show''. Life and career Banner was a native of Ennis, Texas, and credited his ho ...

was the executive producer, Joe Hamilton (Burnett's future husband) was series producer, and

Irwin Kostal Irwin Kostal (October 1, 1911 – November 23, 1994) was an American musical arranger of films and an orchestrator of Broadway musicals. Biography Born in Chicago, Illinois, Kostal attended Harrison Technical High School, but opted not to ...

was the orchestra leader. David "Dave" Geisel was the director. In the summer of 1960, the series was replaced for nine weeks by the Patrick O'Neal medical/police drama '' Diagnosis: Unknown''. ''The Garry Moore Show'' was removed from the CBS line-up in 1964, at Moore's request, to allow him to take a long-needed vacation which lasted more than two years.Moore, Garry. ''I've Got A Secret'', September 5, 1966.

Final version (1966–1967)

Moore returned with yet another version of the show in the fall of 1966; this time it was in color. Due to very tough competition from ''

Bonanza ''Bonanza'' is an American Western television series that ran on NBC from September 13, 1959, to January 16, 1973. Lasting 14 seasons and 432 episodes, ''Bonanza'' is NBC's longest-running western, the second-longest-running western series on ...

'' on NBC, the show was cancelled after only four months. It was replaced on the CBS schedule by ''

The Smothers Brothers Comedy Hour ''The Smothers Brothers Comedy Hour'' was an American comedy and variety show television series hosted by the Smothers Brothers and initially airing on CBS from 1967 to 1969. The series was a major success, especially considering it was sc ...

''.

Episodes on DVD

As of 2012, at least four episodes of the second version of the show are available on DVD. - ''The Garry Moore Show Presents: A Carol Burnett Christmas'' (2012) features the Christmas episodes from 1959, 1960, and 1961. Guests included

Mahalia Jackson Mahalia Jackson ( ; born Mahala Jackson; October 26, 1911 – January 27, 1972) was an American gospel singer, widely considered one of the most influential vocalists of the 20th century. With a career spanning 40 years, Jackson was integral to t ...

and

Henry Morgan Sir Henry Morgan ( cy, Harri Morgan; – 25 August 1688) was a privateer, plantation owner, and, later, Lieutenant Governor of Jamaica. From his base in Port Royal, Jamaica, he raided settlements and shipping on the Spanish Main, becoming we ...

(1959), Jonathan Winters and Louise O'Brien (1960), and

Julie Andrews Dame Julie Andrews (born Julia Elizabeth Wells; 1 October 1935) is an English actress, singer, and author. She has garnered numerous accolades throughout her career spanning over seven decades, including an Academy Award, a British Academy F ...

and

Gwen Verdon Gwyneth Evelyn "Gwen" Verdon (January 13, 1925October 18, 2000) was an American actress and dancer. She won four Tony Awards for her musical comedy performances, and served as an uncredited choreographer's assistant and specialty dance coach for t ...

(1961). The 1961 show includes Julie's earliest televised recording of " My Favorite Things", three years before filming ''

The Sound of Music ''The Sound of Music'' is a musical with music by Richard Rodgers, lyrics by Oscar Hammerstein II, and a book by Howard Lindsay and Russel Crouse. It is based on the 1949 memoir of Maria von Trapp, ''The Story of the Trapp Family Singers''. S ...

''. - ''

The Carol Burnett Show ''The Carol Burnett Show'' is an American variety/sketch comedy television show that originally ran on CBS from September 11, 1967, to March 29, 1978, for 279 episodes, and again with nine episodes in fall 1991. It starred Carol Burnett, Har ...

: Carol's Favorites'' (2012) includes as a bonus feature the March 6, 1962, episode where Burnett, playing

Supergirl Supergirl is the name of several fictional superheroines appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. The original, current, and most well known Supergirl is Kara Zor-El, the cousin of superhero Superman. The character made her fir ...

, delivers her first televised "

Tarzan Tarzan (John Clayton II, Viscount Greystoke) is a fictional character, an archetypal feral child raised in the African jungle by the Mangani great apes; he later experiences civilization, only to reject it and return to the wild as a heroic adv ...

yell". The episode guests included

Alan King Alan King (born Irwin Alan Kniberg; December 26, 1927 – May 9, 2004) was an American actor and comedian known for his biting wit and often angry humorous rants. King became well known as a Jewish comedian and satirist. He was also a serious a ...

and

Barbara McNair Barbara Jean McNair (March 4, 1934 – February 4, 2007) was an American singer and theater, television, and film actress. McNair's career spanned over five decades in television, film, and stage. McNair's professional career began in music dur ...

, and a peek at the end credits shows how a lot of the production and writing staff on whom she relied during her own show came from those with whom she worked ''The Garry Moore Show''.

References

External links

Museum of Broadcast Communications page for Garry Moore
*

{{DEFAULTSORT:Garry Moore Show, The 1950s American sketch comedy television series 1960s American sketch comedy television series 1950s American variety television series 1960s American variety television series 1950 American television series debuts 1967 American television series endings CBS original programming Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Variety Series winners Black-and-white American television shows English-language television shows