''Battle of the Ages'' is an American

television program A television show, TV program (), or simply a TV show, is the general reference to any content produced for viewing on a television set that is broadcast via Terrestrial television, over-the-air, Satellite television, satellite, and cable te ...

originally broadcast on the

DuMont Television Network The DuMont Television Network (also the DuMont Network, DuMont Television, DuMont/Du Mont, or (incorrectly) Dumont ) was one of America's pioneer commercial television networks, rivaling NBC and CBS for the distinction of being first overall in ...

and later

CBS CBS Broadcasting Inc., commonly shortened to CBS (an abbreviation of its original name, Columbia Broadcasting System), is an American commercial broadcast television and radio network serving as the flagship property of the CBS Entertainme ...

DuMont version

It was a

prime time Prime time, or peak time, is the block of broadcast programming taking place during the middle of the evening for television shows. It is mostly targeted towards adults (and sometimes families). It is used by the major television networks to ...

game show A game show (or gameshow) is a genre of broadcast viewing entertainment where contestants compete in a game for rewards. The shows are typically directed by a game show host, host, who explains the rules of the program as well as commentating a ...

/talent contest which pitted children against adult celebrities. Whichever team won would have their winnings donated to either the Professional Children's School (the kids) or the

Actors' Fund of America The Entertainment Community Fund, formerly The Actors Fund, is a 501(c)(3) charitable organization that supports performers and behind-the-scenes workers in performing arts and Show business, entertainment, helping more than 17,000 people directl ...

(the adults). The DuMont version ran from January 1 to July 17, 1952, and was hosted by

John Reed King John Reed King (October 25, 1914 – July 8, 1979) was an American radio and television game show host who hosted numerous game shows during the 1930s, 1940s, and 1950s. Career King was one of the announcers for '' The American School of the Ai ...

.McNeil, Alex (1980). ''Total Television'' (4th ed.). New York: Penguin Books. Competitors included

The Charioteers The Charioteers were an American gospel and pop vocal group from 1930 to 1957. History The Charioteers were put together in 1930 by Professor Howard Daniel at Wilberforce University, in Wilberforce, Ohio. They originally called themselves ...

and

Henny Youngman Henry "Henny" Youngman (March 16, 1906 – February 24, 1998) was an English-born American comedian and musician famous for his mastery of the "one-line joke, one-liner", his best known being "Take my wife... please". In a time when many ...

CBS version

The series was then aired by CBS on Saturdays at 10:30pm ET beginning on September 6, 1952. The age division for team members was 35, and it was hosted by

Morey Amsterdam Moritz Amsterdam (December 14, 1908 – October 28, 1996) was an American actor, comedian, writer and producer. Between 1948 and 1950, he hosted his own TV sitcom ''The Morey Amsterdam Show''. He played Buddy Sorrell on CBS's ''The Dick V ...

. Members of the two teams participated in "song, dance, comedy and instrumental competition", with the winning team determined by applause of the audience. It ended on November 29, 1952. This version originated live at

WCBS-TV WCBS-TV (channel 2), branded CBS New York, 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–lic ...

with Serutan as the sponsor. Norman S. Livingston was the producer, Andrew McCullough was the director, and

Milton DeLugg Milton Delugg (December 2, 1918 – April 6, 2015) was an American musician, composer and arranger. Early years Milton Delugg was born in Los Angeles, California. He said, "There aren't any Deluggs. It's not a real name." He believed the family' ...

directed the music. Competitors included

Maxine Sullivan Maxine Sullivan (May 13, 1911 – April 7, 1987), born Marietta Williams in Homestead, Pennsylvania, United States, was an American jazz vocalist and performer. As a vocalist, Sullivan was active for half a century, from the mid-1930s to just b ...

and

W. C. Handy William Christopher Handy (November 16, 1873 – March 28, 1958) was an American composer and musician who referred to himself as the Father of the Blues. He was one of the most influential songwriters in the United States. One of many musician ...

References

Bibliography

*David Weinstein, ''The Forgotten Network: DuMont and the Birth of American Television'' (Philadelphia:

Temple University Press Temple University Press is a university press founded in 1969 that is part of Temple University (Philadelphia, Pennsylvania). It is one of thirteen publishers to participate in the Knowledge Unlatched pilot, a global library consortium approach ...

, 2004)

External links

*{{IMDb title, id=0044237, title=Battle of the Ages
DuMont historical website
Black-and-white American television shows DuMont Television Network original programming American English-language television shows CBS original programming 1950s American game shows 1952 American television series debuts 1952 American television series endings

DuMont version

CBS version

See also

References

Bibliography

External links