''Broadway Open House'' is network television's first late-night comedy-variety series.Terrace, Vincent (2011). ''Encyclopedia of Television Shows, 1925 through 2010''. McFarland & Company, Inc. . P. 138. It was telecast live on NBC from May 29, 1950, to August 24, 1951, airing weeknights from 11pm to midnight. One of the pioneering TV creations of NBC president Pat Weaver, it demonstrated the potential for late-night programming and led to the later development of ''

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 (1992–2 ...

''.McNeil, Alex. ''Total Television: a Comprehensive Guide to Programming from 1948 to the Present''. Penguin, 1985.

Hosts

The show was originally planned to be hosted by comic Don "Creesh" Hornsby (so named because he yelled "Creesh" often). Hornsby had been brought into the variety show business by

Bob Hope Leslie Townes "Bob" Hope (May 29, 1903 – July 27, 2003) was an American comedian, actor, entertainer and producer with a career that spanned nearly 80 years and achievements in vaudeville, network radio, television, and USO Tours. He appeared ...

, whose topical humor would serve as the basis for most of the

late-night talk show A late-night talk show is a genre of talk show, originating in the American Media, United States. It is generally structured around humorous monologues about the day's news, guest interviews, comedy sketches and music performances. It is charact ...

s that would follow. One week before he was to begin hosting, the 26-year-old Hornsby suddenly contracted

polio Poliomyelitis ( ), commonly shortened to polio, is an infectious disease caused by the poliovirus. Approximately 75% of cases are asymptomatic; mild symptoms which can occur include sore throat and fever; in a proportion of cases more severe ...

, from which he died on the day he was to host his first show, May 22, 1950. Hornsby's sudden demise forced NBC to postpone the show and rush to find new hosts on short notice. For the first few weeks, there were different hosts including Dean Martin & Jerry Lewis,

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 ...

and Robert Alda, among others, with

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 ...

hosting Mondays and Wednesdays. ''Broadway Open House'' was performed before a live studio audience, in the manner of a stage show. Pat Weaver, an NBC executive at the time, noticed the positive feedback that Jerry Lester (then hosting '' Cavalcade of Stars'' for Dumont) and his manic personality had received on a recent appearance on NBC and offered Lester the hosting position almost immediately. Lester initially hosted the Tuesday, Thursday and Friday episodes of ''Broadway Open House'' until Amsterdam exited the show, leaving Lester the sole host. Lester performed sketches with his crew of sidekicks (including some of the earliest TV appearances of brassy Barbara Nichols), running through standard nightclub comedy routines and introducing the show's vocal group, the Mello Larks. Lester's signature bit was to twist his eyeglasses at a 45-degree angle on his face. The show had occasional guests, including Lenny Bruce, who appeared May 1950 and

Charlie Parker Charles Parker Jr. (August 29, 1920 – March 12, 1955), nicknamed "Bird" or "Yardbird", was an American jazz Saxophone, saxophonist, bandleader, and composer. Parker was a highly influential soloist and leading figure in the development of beb ...

who appeared October 31, 1950 (an audio recording exists of his appearance on the show), and there were also audience participation bits, such as having women from the audience join the female cast members in modeling fur coats. Lester's fondness for

bean bag A bean bag (also beanbag) is a sealed bag containing dried beans, PVC pellets, expanded polystyrene, or expanded polypropylene. The bags are commonly used for throwing games, but they have various other applications. Games * Beanbag was a ...

s became a

running gag A running gag, or running joke, is a literary device that takes the form of an amusing joke or a comical reference and appears repeatedly throughout a work of literature or other form of storytelling. Though they are similar, catchphrases are no ...

on the series. The sponsors included Anchor Hocking glassware and Blatz Beer.

Cast and crew

Other ''Broadway Open House'' cast members were tap dancer Ray Malone, accordionist Milton DeLugg, announcer Wayne Howell and vocalists Jane Harvey, Andy Roberts and David Street. The show's opening theme music was "The Beanbag Song" by DeLugg, Lester and Willie Stein. A second theme was the song "It's Almost Like Being in Love." DeLugg often played a song he wrote with Stein, " Orange Colored Sky", which became a hit for both Lester and for

Nat King Cole Nathaniel Adams Coles (March 17, 1919 – February 15, 1965), known professionally as Nat King Cole, alternatively billed as Nat "King" Cole, was an American singer, jazz pianist, and actor. Cole's career as a jazz and Traditional pop, pop ...

. Vic McLeod, Paul Munro, Ray Buffum and Jac Hein were among the producers. Hein, Munro and Joseph C. Cavalier directed. Stan Burns, Allan Sherman, Art Henley, Alan Sands, and Cal Howard were the writers. The program was developed by Sylvester "Pat" Weaver, a programming vice-president at NBC who had started his career as a production assistant on Fred Allen's radio show '' Town Hall Tonight'' in the 1930s. After the 15-month run of ''Broadway Open House'', Weaver further developed his ideas on a local show over NBC's New York station starring Steve Allen, which eventually took to the network in 1954 as ''The Tonight Show''. There are those who dispute Weaver's credit for ''The Tonight Show'', including hosts Steve Allen and

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 ob ...

. Years later, Paar said "He didn't invent programs, but wrote great memos."

Dagmar arrives

Network variety shows were broadcast weekly, with the production staff having one week to create each new episode. ''Broadway Open House'' was under much more pressure, and it was a continuing challenge to come up with fresh material on a nightly basis. Starlet Jennie Lewis was given no script and told, "You just sit there and act dumb. Your name is Dagmar." With her new name, she sat on a stool with a sign around her neck saying "Girl Singer," did breathing exercises, and soon performed as a reader of poems and plays, while Lester made occasional jokes about her "hidden talents." Her appearances created a sensation, leading to much press coverage and a salary increase from $75 to $1,250. Lester was now in the peculiar position of being the second banana on his own show, and he asked NBC to put him on another program. Lester left ''Broadway Open House'' in May 1951, and Dagmar carried on as host. On July 16, 1951, she was featured on the front cover of ''

Life Life, also known as biota, refers to matter that has biological processes, such as Cell signaling, signaling and self-sustaining processes. It is defined descriptively by the capacity for homeostasis, Structure#Biological, organisation, met ...

'', and the show came to an end one month later. Lester was retained as a rotating host for a new early prime-time variety show the next season, ''Chesterfield Sound-Off Time'', along with Fred Allen and

. NBC filled the late-night time slot for the next year with ''Mary Kay's Nightcap'', a non-comic show in which Mary Kay Stearns previewed the next day's programming. For a short time, Dagmar was given a weekly late-night show entitled ''Dagmar's Canteen''. The show's even later time slot (12:15 a.m. Sunday morning) and the lack of a comic partner for Dagmar to foil were factors in the show being short-lived. Dagmar's run on ''Broadway Open House'' and her appearances on other shows ('' Colgate Comedy Hour'', '' The Milton Berle Show'', '' Masquerade Party'') made her the first major female star of television. She continued making guest appearances during the late 1950s with Jack Paar on ''

''. Steve Allen remembered Hornsby, ''Broadway Open House'' and Fred Allen in a 1997 interview.

Reception

''Broadway Open House'' was an early influence on the comedy stylings of

George Carlin George Denis Patrick Carlin (May 12, 1937 – June 22, 2008) was an American stand-up comedian, social critic, actor and author. Regarded as one of the greatest and most influential comedians of all time, he was dubbed "the dean of countercultur ...

who spoke of the show in an interview with the Television Academy recorded December 17, 2007. Carlin prefaced the description of the show with other variety shows of the time, including ''

The Ed Sullivan Show ''The Ed Sullivan Show'' is an American television variety show that ran on CBS from June 20, 1948, to March 28, 1971, and was hosted by New York City, New York entertainment columnist Ed Sullivan. It was replaced in September 1971 by the ''CB ...

'' and ''

The Jackie Gleason Show ''The Jackie Gleason Show'' is 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 DuMont Televisio ...

''.

Episode status

No episodes from Amsterdam's hosting run exist. A limited number of episodes from Lester's run have survived and are archived at the Paley Center for Media.

References

External links

*{{IMDb title, id=0296315, title=Broadway Open House
Broadway Open House: “Just Call Me ‘Bean Bag’!” The first late-night show ever was insane. Why have we never heard of it?
''Slate'', May 10, 2105 1950 American television series debuts 1951 American television series endings 1950s American late-night television series 1950s American variety television series American live television series Black-and-white American television shows NBC late-night programming