Lou Clayton and
Eddie Jackson Eddie Jackson is the name of:
*Eddie Jackson (chef) (born 1980), American NFL safety and Food Network host
* Eddie Jackson (safety) (born 1993), American football player for the Chicago Bears
* Edward Jackson (footballer) (1925–1996), Australian ...
in 1923. He was also known for his recording of the
Ben Ryan-composed
Inka Dinka Doo in 1933 which, after its debut in the 1934 movie ''
Palooka'', was Durante's "theme song" for the rest of his life. Durante also had a relatively good career in radio. He had a recurring role on
Eddie Cantor
Eddie Cantor (born Isidore Itzkowitz; January 31, 1892 – October 10, 1964) was an American comedian, actor, dancer, singer, songwriter, film producer, screenwriter and author. Familiar to Broadway, radio, movie, and early television audiences ...
's NBC radio program ''
The Chase and Sanborn Hour
''The Chase and Sanborn Hour'' is the umbrella title for a series of American comedy and variety radio shows sponsored by Standard Brands' Chase and Sanborn Coffee, usually airing Sundays on NBC from 8 p.m. to 9 p.m. during the years 1929 to 19 ...
'' in late-1933. From there he went on to ''
The Jumbo Fire Chief Program'' for a year from 1935-36. He then teamed up with comedian
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 networ ...
to do ''
The Durante-Moore Show'' from 1943–1947. After Moore left, the program became known as ''The Jimmy Durante Show'' and ran for three more years until being cancelled in 1950.
John Elmer "Jack" Carson was a
Canadian
Canadians (french: Canadiens) are people identified with the country of Canada. This connection may be residential, legal, historical or cultural. For most Canadians, many (or all) of these connections exist and are collectively the source of ...
-born American-based film actor. Carson had done several memorable films during the 1930s and 1940s before his role on ''Four Star Revue''. He also had a stint with his own radio show in the early 1940s.
Season One
''Four Star Revue'' premiered 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 ...
on Wednesday, October 4, 1950. After several episodes had aired, a few problems with the show had come to light. The first problem was location. The second problem was the amount of money put into each episode of the show. The third problem was trying to keep a sole sponsor.
In 1950, it wasn't yet possible to broadcast coast-to-coast, so ''Four Star Revue'', like most live shows, originated from New York (with viewers in other time zones watching a delayed
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 1940 ...
). At the start of the season, Ed Wynn was the only host to use the
Center Theatre (formerly a venue for ice shows but recently converted to a TV studio) at Rockefeller Center in Manhattan. The others at first declined to follow suit because of the theater's huge, 3700-seat capacity, fearing that the audience wouldn't have a good view of the stage and might not laugh at the appropriate moments. But when NBC installed a television monitor there in January 1951, the problem was solved and Durante, Thomas, and Carson relocated.
Television set manufacturer
Motorola
Motorola, Inc. () was an American multinational telecommunications company based in Schaumburg, Illinois, United States. After having lost $4.3 billion from 2007 to 2009, the company split into two independent public companies, Motorola ...
opened the season as sole sponsor of the show, but cut back after 13 episodes. In January, they began sharing sponsorship with
Pet Evaporated Milk and
Norge refrigerators, each paying a third of the cost. ''Four Star Revue'' cost $50,000 a week to produce, compared to only $17,500 for its CBS competition, ''
Arthur Godfrey and His Friends
''Arthur Godfrey and His Friends'' is an American television variety show hosted by Arthur Godfrey. The hour-long series aired on CBS Television from January 1949 to June 1957 (as ''The Arthur Godfrey Show'' after September 1956), then again as ...
''. But according to the Videodex ratings service, Revue reached an average of 2,339,000 homes, while ''Godfreys homes totaled 3,519,000. That worked out to a cost of $6.89 per viewer for Revue, compared to $1.46 for ''Godfrey''.
[
The season 1 finale aired on July 18, 1951.
]
Season Two
The second series premiered on a new night, Saturday, and under a new title. Owing to the decision to increase the number of guest hosts, when the show's second season premiered on September 8, 1951, it was renamed ''All Star Revue''.
Several factors influenced NBC's decision in 1951 to expand the number of ''Four Star Revue'' hosts. First, some of the stars were having trouble producing the expected ratings. Second, with more and more money flowing into television, the competition from other networks was becoming fierce. Third, NBC had found with ''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 ...
'' that scheduling conflicts, illnesses, and the simple fact that some of its stars simply weren't well suited to the revue format meant that it was important to have a backup plan. To hedge its bets, the network brought in additional hosts, who could be called upon to fill in for or replace the regulars if needed. Holding on to its original four stars, ''Revue'', in its second season, added the likes of Olsen and Johnson and Martha Raye
Martha Raye (born Margy Reed; August 27, 1916 – October 19, 1994), nicknamed The Big Mouth, was an American comic actress and singer who performed in movies, and later on television. She also acted in plays, including Broadway.
She was honored ...
in four episodes each, Spike Jones
Lindley Armstrong "Spike" Jones (December 14, 1911 – May 1, 1965) was an American musician and bandleader specializing in spoof arrangements of popular songs and classical music. Ballads receiving the Jones treatment were punctuated with gun ...
and Helen Grayco in two, and Victor Borge
Børge Rosenbaum (3 January 1909 – 23 December 2000), known professionally as Victor Borge ( ), was a Danish-American comedian, conductor, and pianist who achieved great popularity in radio and television in the North America and Europe. His ...
, Bob Hope
Leslie Townes "Bob" Hope (May 29, 1903 – July 27, 2003) was a British-American comedian, vaudevillian, actor, singer and dancer. With a career that spanned nearly 80 years, Hope appeared in Bob Hope filmography, more than 70 short and ...
, the Ritz Brothers, and Paul Winchell and Jerry Mahoney, each doing one apiece. With a larger stable of hosts, the old ''Four Star'' name was no longer accurate, so the show was rechristened ''All Star Revue''.
The decision to move ''Revue'' from Wednesday nights to Saturday nights had to do with the fact that CBS's ''Arthur Godfrey and His Friends'' crushed ''Revue'' in the ratings. ''All Star Revue'' replaced the cancelled '' Jack Carter Show'', in the hope that it would prove a better lead-in to the popular '' Your Show of Shows''. The move had some success; with only Ken Murray and Paul Whiteman
Paul Samuel Whiteman (March 28, 1890 – December 29, 1967) was an American bandleader, composer, orchestral director, and violinist.
As the leader of one of the most popular dance bands in the United States during the 1920s and early 1930s, W ...
as competition, ''Revue'' finished the season with a 36.3 rating (tied with '' Dragnet'' for 20th place).[
The time slot change would seem to be minor compared to the major cast change that occurred after the February 16, 1952, telecast. Jack Carson, one of the original four stars, left the show temporarily to star in a 1952 Broadway revival of the George and ]Ira Gershwin
Ira Gershwin (born Israel Gershovitz; December 6, 1896 – August 17, 1983) was an American lyricist who collaborated with his younger brother, composer George Gershwin, to create some of the most memorable songs in the English language of the ...
musical '' Of Thee I Sing''. But that February 16 telecast would turn out to be Carson's last appearance on the show.[
Despite the improved ratings, holding on to sponsors didn't get any easier. With an increase in cost to $60,000 per episode, Motorola and Norge dropped out. NBC managed to hold on to Pet Milk and persuaded ]Kellogg's
The Kellogg Company, doing business as Kellogg's, is an American multinational food manufacturing company headquartered in Battle Creek, Michigan, United States. Kellogg's produces cereal and convenience foods, including crackers and toas ...
and Snow Crop orange juice to sign on. But the latter cut out after the May 31st telecast and was replaced the following week by Hazel Bishop Cosmetics.[
While starting the season at the Center Theatre in New York City, construction of the transcontinental cable line allowed the show to move to the west coast in November. It was a boon to hosts like Ed Wynn, Jimmy Durante, and Danny Thomas, who were based in Hollywood, but Jack Carson and Carson's replacement ]Martha Raye
Martha Raye (born Margy Reed; August 27, 1916 – October 19, 1994), nicknamed The Big Mouth, was an American comic actress and singer who performed in movies, and later on television. She also acted in plays, including Broadway.
She was honored ...
continued to originate their shows from New York.[
The second season finale aired on June 21, 1952.
]
''All Star Summer Revue''
In 1952, instead of taking a break for the summer, ''All Star Revue'' continued. But this summer series had little relationship to the regular season show. Originating from New York's Center Theatre, there were no regular hosts, though Dave Garroway
David Cunningham Garroway (July 13, 1913 – July 21, 1982) was an American television personality. He was the founding host and anchor of NBC's '' Today'' from 1952 to 1961. His easygoing and relaxing style belied a lifelong battle with depre ...
and Jan Murray repeated, as did a few of the guests.
The budget was considerably lower, which explains why there were fewer big-name guests. Sponsors were Pet Evaporated Milk, Kellogg's Cereals ( Shredded Wheat and All-Bran), and the United States Army Reserve
The United States Army Reserve (USAR) is a reserve force of the United States Army. Together, the Army Reserve and the Army National Guard constitute the Army element of the reserve components of the United States Armed Forces.
Since July 2020, ...
.
The ''Summer Revue'' ran from June 28 to August 30, 1952.
Season Three
Season 3 of ''All Star Revue'' premiered on September 6, 1952. Unfortunately, Thomas and Wynn did not make it past season 2. Olsen and Johnson were not successful among viewers either. At the time of the third-season premiere, Durante was the only one of the original four stars still on the program. Martha Raye also managed to survive the second season. To fill the open slots, NBC decided on hiring a number of showbiz veterans, including Maurice Chevalier
Maurice Auguste Chevalier (; 12 September 1888 – 1 January 1972) was a French singer, actor and entertainer. He is perhaps best known for his signature songs, including " Livin' In The Sunlight", "Valentine", " Louise", "Mimi", and "Thank Heav ...
and Harold Lloyd
Harold Clayton Lloyd, Sr. (April 20, 1893 – March 8, 1971) was an American actor, comedian, and stunt performer who appeared in many silent comedy films.Obituary '' Variety'', March 10, 1971, page 55.
One of the most influential film c ...
, before eventually settling on actors George Jessel and Tallulah Bankhead
Tallulah Brockman Bankhead (January 31, 1902 – December 12, 1968) was an American actress. Primarily an actress of the stage, Bankhead also appeared in several prominent films including an award-winning performance in Alfred Hitchcock's ''Lif ...
as regular hosts. Other hosts that season were Dennis Day
Dennis Day (born Owen Patrick Eugene McNulty; May 21, 1916 – June 22, 1988) was an American actor, comedian, and singer. He was of Irish descent.
Early life
Day was born and raised in the Throggs Neck section of the Bronx, New York City, the ...
, Rosalind Russell
Catherine Rosalind Russell (June 4, 1907November 28, 1976) was an American actress, comedienne, screenwriter, and singer,Obituary '' Variety'', December 1, 1976, p. 79. known for her role as fast-talking newspaper reporter Hildy Johnson in the H ...
, the Ritz Brothers, Walter O'Keefe, Perry Como
Pierino Ronald "Perry" Como (; May 18, 1912 – May 12, 2001) was an Italian-American singer, actor and television personality. During a career spanning more than half a century, he recorded exclusively for RCA Victor for 44 years, after signi ...
, and Ben Blue
Ben Blue (born Benjamin Bernstein; September 12, 1901 – March 7, 1975) was a Canadian-American actor and comedian who had a career that spanned nearly 50 years.
Early life
He was born Benjamin Bernstein in Montreal, Quebec on Septem ...
. There was also a special ice skating show starring Sonja Henie
Sonja Henie (8 April 1912 – 12 October 1969) was a Norwegian figure skater and film star. She was a three-time Olympic champion (1928, 1932, 1936) in women's singles, a ten-time World champion (1927–1936) and a six-time European champion ...
with guest Harpo Marx
Arthur "Harpo" Marx (born Adolph Marx; November 23, 1888 – September 28, 1964) was an American comedian, actor, mime artist, and harpist, and the second-oldest of the Marx Brothers. In contrast to the mainly verbal comedy of his brothers Gro ...
.
Because of sponsor skittishness, there almost wasn't a third season. When Snow Crop pulled out at the end of the previous year, NBC considered cancelling the show. But Kellogg's and Pet Milk remained, and eventually, the network managed to lure Del Monte to sign on as well. Nonetheless, sponsorship was still unstable. Both Kellogg's and Del Monte dropped out at the end of 1952, leaving only Pet. Beacon Wax came on board briefly for the first show in January before being quickly replaced by Johnson & Johnson
Johnson & Johnson (J&J) is an American multinational corporation founded in 1886 that develops medical devices, pharmaceuticals, and consumer packaged goods. Its common stock is a component of the Dow Jones Industrial Average and the company i ...
(makers of Band-Aid plastic strips). With only two sponsors remaining (Pet and J&J), NBC was forced to pay for one-third of the expenses—which didn't bode well for the show's future.
Ratings were also very poor, as they had been for most of the show's run. The show could not compete in the ratings with CBS's new series ''The Jackie Gleason Show
''The Jackie Gleason Show'' is the name of a series of American network television shows that starred Jackie Gleason, which ran from 1952 to 1970, in various forms.
''Cavalcade of Stars''
Gleason's first variety series, which aired on the DuMon ...
'' (the show ran for two years prior to premiering on CBS on DuMont under the name ''Cavalcade of Stars'').
Bankhead and Jessel were not asked to return for the fourth season, nor was Durante.
The third-season finale aired on April 18, 1953.
Season Four
At the end of the 1952-1953 season, it looked as though ''All Star Revue'' had finished its run. But when NBC's Saturday night comedy extravaganza '' Your Show of Shows'' decided to switch to a three-out-of-four weeks format, the network needed something to plug into the fourth week. ''All Star Revue'' got the nod and found itself back in business.
Because ''Show of Shows'' was ninety minutes long, an extra half-hour had to be tacked onto ''Revue'' to fill out the time slot. The plan was to retain the rotating hosts arrangement, with Hoagy Carmichael
Hoagland Howard Carmichael (November 22, 1899 – December 27, 1981) was an American musician, composer, songwriter, actor and lawyer. Carmichael was one of the most successful Tin Pan Alley songwriters of the 1930s, and was among the firs ...
, Henie, Ethel Merman
Ethel Merman (born Ethel Agnes Zimmermann, January 16, 1908 – February 15, 1984) was an American actress and singer, known for her distinctive, powerful voice, and for leading roles in musical theatre.Obituary '' Variety'', February 22, 1984. ...
, and Noël Coward
Sir Noël Peirce Coward (16 December 189926 March 1973) was an English playwright, composer, director, actor, and singer, known for his wit, flamboyance, and what ''Time (magazine), Time'' magazine called "a sense of personal style, a combina ...
mentioned at various times as possible hosts. Martha Raye also returned for season four. But when Raye led off the season and scored big in the ratings, NBC decided to keep her coming back. The critics liked her as well, with writer-director Nat Hiken singled out as one of the major factors in the comedian's success.
By the start of 1954, after all but one of the episodes had been hosted by Raye, it was decided to change the name to ''The Martha Raye Show
Martha Raye (born Margy Reed; August 27, 1916 – October 19, 1994), nicknamed The Big Mouth, was an American comic actress and singer who performed in movies, and later on television. She also acted in plays, including Broadway.
She was honored ...
''. This time, ''All Star Revue'' was gone for good.
The last episode of the series under the ''Revue'' title aired on December 26, 1953. ''The Martha Raye Show'' aired until 1956. Jimmy Durante also received a spin-off of the series, entitled '' The Jimmy Durante Show'', which ran until 1956.
Crew
Directing staff
* Joseph Stanley
* Sid Smith
* Nat Hiken
* Grey Lockwood
* Ernest D. Glucksman
* James V. Kern
* Charles Isaacs
* Garry Simpson
* Tim Whelan
* Jim Jordan
* Sid Kuller
* Mortimer Offner
* Dick Berger
* Dee Englebach
* Buzz Kulik
Seymour "Buzz" Kulik (July 23, 1922 – January 13, 1999) was an American film director and producer. He directed 72 films and television shows, including the landmark CBS television network anthology series '' Playhouse 90'' and several ep ...
Production staff
Producers
* Joe Santley
* Karl Hoffenberg
* Ernest D. Glucksman
* Leo Morgan
* Bill Harmon
* Norman Zeno
* Al Capstaff
* Dean Elliott
* Dee Englebach
* James V. Kern
* Mortimer Offner
Associate producers
* Karl Hoffenberg
* Phil Cohen
Executive producers
* Samuel Fuller
Samuel Michael Fuller (August 12, 1912 – October 30, 1997) was an American film director, screenwriter, novelist, journalist, and World War II veteran known for directing low-budget genre movies with controversial themes, often made ou ...
* Peter Barnum
* Harold Kemp
Other
* Joe Bigelow (production supervisor/production manager)
* Peter Barnum (production supervisor for NBC)
* Harold Kemp (production supervisor for NBC)
* William Harmon (associate production supervisor/production manager)
Writing staff
* Ben Blue
Ben Blue (born Benjamin Bernstein; September 12, 1901 – March 7, 1975) was a Canadian-American actor and comedian who had a career that spanned nearly 50 years.
Early life
He was born Benjamin Bernstein in Montreal, Quebec on Septem ...
* Matt Brooks
* Sam Carlton
* Dick Chevillat
* Eddie Davis
* Stanley Davis
* Sid Dorfman
* Jack Elinson
* Dee Englebach
* Hal Fimberg
* Marvin Fisher
* George Foster
* Billy Friedberg
* Larry Gelbart
Larry Simon Gelbart (February 25, 1928 – September 11, 2009) was an American television writer, playwright, screenwriter, director and author, most famous as a creator and producer of the television series ''M*A*S*H'', and as co-writer of the B ...
* Ernest D. Glucksman
* Hal Goodman
* Mort Green
* Paul Henning
Paul William Henning (September 16, 1911 – March 25, 2005) was an American TV producer and screenwriter. Most famous for creating the television sitcom ''The Beverly Hillbillies'', he was also crucial in developing the "rural" comedies ''Pett ...
* Nat Hiken
* Charles Isaacs
* George Jessel
* Larry Klein
* Sid Kuller
* Charles Lee
* Virginia Lee
* Mannie Manheim
* Larry Markes
* Elon Packard
* Bob Schiller
* Jerry Seelen
* Danny Shapiro
* Ray Singer
* Ben Starr
* Norman Sullivan
* Snag Werris
Broadcast history
NOTE: The most frequent time slot for the series in bold text.
* Wednesday at 8:00-9:00 pm on NBC: October 4, 1950–July 18, 1951
* Saturday at 8:00-9:00 pm on NBC: September 18, 1951–April 18, 1953
* Saturday at 9:00-10:30 pm on NBC: October 3, 1953–December 26, 1953
[
]
All Star Summer Revue
* Saturday at 8:00-9:00 pm on NBC
Ratings
Theme music
''Four Star Revue'' used several different themes during its run especially for the first two seasons of the series. This was mainly done in part to distinguish between the four celebrities; Wynn, Thomas, Durante, and Carson, and any one episode that a celebrity would host.
Theme one (for Danny Thomas
Danny Thomas (born Amos Muzyad Yaqoob Kairouz; January 6, 1912 – February 6, 1991) was an American actor, singer, nightclub comedian, producer, and philanthropist. He created and starred in one of the most successful and long-running si ...
): "Danny Thomas Theme"
::Composer: Jack Mason
Theme two (for Jimmy Durante
James Francis Durante ( , ; February 10, 1893 – January 29, 1980) was an American comedian, actor, singer, vaudevillian, and pianist. His distinctive gravelly speech, Lower East Side accent, comic language-butchery, jazz-influenced songs ...
): "You Gotta Start Off Each Day with a Song"
::Composer: Jimmy Durante
Theme three (for other comedians): "All-Star Original Music"
::Composer: Jack Mason
Theme four (for Olsen and Johnson, et al.): "All-Star Opening Theme"
::Composer: Milton DeLugg
Awards and nominations
References
{{Reflist
1950s American variety television series
1950 American television series debuts
1953 American television series endings
Black-and-white American television shows
NBC original programming
Television shows filmed in New York (state)
Television shows filmed in California