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Pat Weaver
Sylvester Laflin "Pat" Weaver Jr. (December 21, 1908 – March 15, 2002) was an American broadcasting executive who was president of NBC between 1953 and 1955. He has been credited with reshaping the format and philosophy of commercial broadcasting as radio gave way to television as America's dominant home entertainment medium. Actress Sigourney Weaver is his daughter. Early life and education Born in Los Angeles, Sylvester Laflin Weaver Jr. was the son of Eleanor Isabel (née Dixon) and Sylvester Laflin Weaver. His brother was comedian Doodles Weaver. Weaver was of English descent and Scottish descent (possibly Clan MacFarlane), as well as of Ulster-Scots, Dutch and early New England ancestry (going back to the early days of the Massachusetts Bay Colony). He was related to Matthew Laflin, an American manufacturer of gunpowder, businessman, philanthropist, and an early pioneer of Chicago. Both were descendants of Charles Laflin, a gunpowder manufacturer, who came to Americ ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Sigourney Weaver
Susan Alexandra ( ; born October 8, 1949), better known by her stage name Sigourney Weaver, is an American actress. Prolific in film since the late 1970s, she is known for her pioneering portrayals of action heroines in Blockbuster (entertainment), blockbusters and for her various roles in independent films. She is the recipient of List of awards and nominations received by Sigourney Weaver, numerous accolades, including a British Academy Film Awards, British Academy Film Award, two Golden Globe Awards, and a Grammy Awards, Grammy Award, in addition to nominations for three Academy Awards, four Primetime Emmy Awards, and a Tony Awards, Tony Award. Born in New York City, Weaver is the daughter of American television executive Pat Weaver and English actress Elizabeth Inglis. She made her screen debut with a minor role in the romantic comedy film ''Annie Hall'' (1977), before landing her breakthrough role as Ellen Ripley in the science fiction horror film ''Alien (film), Alien'' (1 ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
American Tobacco
The American Tobacco Company was a tobacco company founded in 1890 by J. B. Duke through a merger between a number of U.S. tobacco manufacturers including Allen and Ginter, Goodwin & Company, and Kinney Brothers. The company was one of the original 12 members of the Dow Jones Industrial Average in 1896. The American Tobacco Company dominated the industry by acquiring the Lucky Strike Company and over 200 other rival firms. Federal Antitrust action begun in 1907 broke the company into several major companies in 1911. The American Tobacco Company restructured itself in 1969, forming a holding company called American Brands, Inc., which operated American Tobacco as a subsidiary. American Brands acquired a variety of non-tobacco businesses during the 1970s and 1980s and sold its tobacco operations to Brown & Williamson in 1994. American Brands subsequently renamed itself "Fortune Brands". History Origins James Buchanan Duke's entrance into the cigarette industry came about ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson
''The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson'' is an American television talk show broadcast by NBC. The show was the third installment of ''The Tonight Show''. Hosted by Johnny Carson, it aired from October 1, 1962 to May 22, 1992, replacing ''Tonight Starring Jack Paar'' and was replaced by ''The Tonight Show with Jay Leno''. Ed McMahon served as Carson's Sidekick#In television, sidekick and the show's announcer. For its first decade, Johnny Carson's ''The Tonight Show'' was based at the RCA Building at 30 Rockefeller Plaza, New York City, with some episodes recorded at The Burbank Studios, NBC Studios in Burbank, California; on May 1, 1972, the show moved to Burbank as its main venue with extended returns to New York for several weeks over the next 12 months. After May 1973, however, the show remained in Burbank exclusively until Carson's retirement. The show's house band, the The Tonight Show Band, NBC Orchestra, was led by Skitch Henderson, until 1966 when Milton Delugg too ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Jack Paar
Jack Harold Paar (May 1, 1918 – January 27, 2004) was an American talk show host, writer, radio and television comedian, and film actor. He was the second host of ''The Tonight Show'' from 1957 to 1962. ''Time (magazine), Time'' magazine's obituary of Paar reported wryly, "His fans would remember him as the fellow who split talk show history into two eras: Before Paar and Below Paar." Early life and education Jack Harold Paar was born on May 1, 1918, in Canton, Ohio, Canton, Ohio, the son of Lillian M. (née Hein) and Howard Paar. He moved with his family to Jackson, Michigan, about south of Lansing, Michigan, Lansing. As a child, he developed a Stuttering, stutter, which he learned to manage. He contracted tuberculosis when he was 14 and left school at 16. Career Early career After dropping out of Jackson High School (Michigan), Jackson High School, Paar worked as a broadcaster for WIBM, a local radio station. He went on to work as a humorous disc jockey at other Midwest st ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Steve Allen
Stephen Valentine Patrick William Allen (December 26, 1921 – October 30, 2000) was an American television and radio personality, comedian, musician, composer, writer, and actor. In 1954, he achieved national fame as the co-creator and first host of ''The Tonight Show'', which was the first late-night television talk show. Though he got his start in radio, Allen is best known for his extensive network television career. He gained national attention as a guest host on ''Arthur Godfrey's Talent Scouts.'' After he hosted ''The Tonight Show'', he went on to host numerous game and variety shows, including his own ''The Steve Allen Show'', ''I've Got a Secret'', and ''The New Steve Allen Show''. He was a regular panel member on CBS's ''What's My Line?'' and, from 1977 until 1981, he wrote, produced, and hosted the award-winning public broadcasting show ''Meeting of Minds'', a series of historical dramas presented in a talk format. Allen was a pianist and a prolific composer. ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
The Tonight Show
''The Tonight Show'' is an American late-night talk show that has been broadcast on NBC since 1954. The program has been hosted by six comedians: Steve Allen (1954–1957), Jack Paar (1957–1962), Johnny Carson (1962–1992), Jay Leno (1992–2009 and 2010–2014), Conan O'Brien (2009–2010), and Jimmy Fallon (2014–present). Besides the main hosts, a number of regular "guest hosts" have been used, notably Ernie Kovacs, who hosted two nights per week during 1956–1957, and a number of guests used by Carson, who curtailed his own hosting duties back to three nights per week by the 1980s. Among Carson's regular guest hosts were Joey Bishop, McLean Stevenson, David Letterman, David Brenner and Joan Rivers, with his final regular guest host being his eventual successor Jay Leno. The practice of hiring guest hosts has been mostly discontinued by Leno and his successors, who prefer airing reruns to showcasing potential rivals. ''The Tonight Show'' is the List of longest-running t ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Dave Garroway
David Cunningham Garroway (July 13, 1913 – July 21, 1982) was an American Celebrity, television personality. He was the founding host and anchor of NBC's ''Today (American TV program), Today'' from 1952 to 1961. His easygoing and relaxing style belied a lifelong battle with depression (mood), depression. Garroway has been honored for his contributions to radio and television with List of stars on the Hollywood Walk of Fame#G, a star for each on the Hollywood Walk of Fame and the St. Louis Walk of Fame, the city where he spent part of his teenaged years and early adulthood. Early life Born in Schenectady, New York, Garroway was of Scottish descent. By the time he was 14, he had moved with his family 13 times, finally settling in St. Louis, Missouri, where he attended University City High School (St. Louis), University City High School and Washington University in St. Louis, from which he earned a degree in abnormal psychology. Before going into broadcasting, Garroway worked as a ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Wide Wide World
''Wide Wide World'' is a 1955–1958 90-minute documentary series telecast live on NBC on Sunday afternoons at 4pm Eastern. Conceived by network head Pat Weaver and hosted by Dave Garroway, ''Wide Wide World'' was introduced on the '' Producers' Showcase'' series on June 27, 1955. The premiere episode, featuring entertainment from the US, Canada and Mexico, was the first international North American telecast in the history of the medium. It returned in the fall as a regular Sunday series, telecast from October 16, 1955 to June 8, 1958. The program was sponsored by General Motors and Barry Wood was the executive producer. Nelson Case was the announcer. In March 1956, ''Time'' magazine reported that it was the highest-rated daytime show on television."Birth of a Baby" ''Tim ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Arlene Francis
Arlene Francis (born Arline Francis Kazanjian; October 20, 1907 – May 31, 2001) was an American game show panelist, actress, radio and television talk show host. She is best known for her long-running role as a panelist on the television game show '' What's My Line?'', on which she regularly appeared for 25 years, from 1950 to 1975, on both the network and syndicated versions of the show. Early life Francis was born on October 20, 1907, in Boston, Massachusetts, the daughter of Leah (née Davis) and Aram Kazanjian. Her Armenian father was studying art in Paris at the age of 16 when he learned that both his parents had died in one of the massacres perpetrated by the Ottoman Empire, Ottoman government in Turkey between 1894 and 1896, known as the Hamidian Massacres. He emigrated to the United States and became a portrait photographer, opening his own studio in Boston in the early 20th century. Later in life, Kazanjian painted canvases of dogwoods, "rabbits in flight", and other ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Home (1954 TV Series)
''Home'' was an American daytime television program hosted by Arlene Francis. Intended for an audience of women, it debuted in 1954 as one of NBC's three major non-primetime shows. While the other two shows—''Today'' and ''Tonight''—are still being produced 60 years later, Home was cancelled in 1957. Format Each hour-long show is presented in a series of short segments which discuss topics in a depth typical of a magazine article. A segment may be either entertaining or informational. Topics typically relate to homemaking but may also include civic, cultural, and social issues and interviews with newsmakers. Twelve minutes of each broadcast are devoted to the promotion of consumer goods from the show's sponsors; these commercials often take place within the informational segments of the show itself. Instead of imitating the look of an actual house as cooking shows did, ''Homes producers made it obvious that it was taking place in a modern television studio. The $200,000 revolv ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Tonight Starring Steve Allen
''Tonight Starring Steve Allen'' is an American television talk show broadcast by NBC. The show is the first installment of ''The Tonight Show''. Hosted by Steve Allen, it aired from September 27, 1954 to January 25, 1957, and was replaced by '' Tonight Starring Jack Paar.'' Allen's run as host of the show lasted for two and a half seasons, beginning in fall 1954 and ending with Allen's departure in January 1957. During its run it originated from the Hudson Theatre in New York City. History Originally a local program airing from 11:20 p.m. to 12 midnight on WNBT New York as ''The Steve Allen Show'', the program was moved to the full NBC network in the Fall of 1954. The first network episode of ''Tonight'' aired on September 27, 1954, and ran for 105 minutes instead of the 60-minute duration of modern talk shows (however, the first fifteen minutes were shown on very few stations). The announcer of the show was Gene Rayburn (who would eventually become a top-game show e ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Today (NBC Program)
''Today'' (also called ''The Today Show'') is an American morning television show that airs weekdays from 7:00 a.m. to 11:00 a.m. on NBC. The program debuted on January 14, 1952. It was the first of its genre on American television and in the world, and after years of broadcasting it is fifth on the list of longest-running American television series. Originally a two-hour program airing weekdays from 7:00 a.m. to 9:00 a.m., it expanded to Sundays in 1987 and Saturdays in 1992. The weekday broadcast expanded to three hours in 2000, and to four hours in 2007 (though over time, the third and fourth hours became distinct entities). ''Today''s dominance was virtually unchallenged by the other networks until the late 1980s, when it was overtaken by ABC's ''Good Morning America''. ''Today'' retook the Nielsen ratings lead the week of December 11, 1995, and held onto that position for 852 consecutive weeks until the week of April 9, 2012, when ''Good Morning Am ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
