''Circus Time'' is a variety program presented in the United States by

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

ABC ABC are the first three letters of the Latin script. ABC or abc may also refer to: Arts, entertainment and media Broadcasting * Aliw Broadcasting Corporation, Philippine broadcast company * American Broadcasting Company, a commercial American ...

on Thursday evenings from October 4, 1956 to June 27, 1957. ''Circus Time'' was not an actual

circus A circus is a company of performers who put on diverse entertainment shows that may include clowns, acrobats, trained animals, trapeze acts, musicians, dancers, hoopers, tightrope walkers, jugglers, magicians, ventriloquists, and unicy ...

broadcast but rather a circus-themed program, in which both traditional circus acts and more traditional mainstream forms of entertainment were presented. The host, or "ringmaster" in the show's parlance, was

ventriloquist Ventriloquism or ventriloquy is an act of stagecraft in which a person (a ventriloquist) speaks in such a way that it seems like their voice is coming from a different location, usually through a puppet known as a "dummy". The act of ventrilo ...

Paul Winchell Paul Winchell (''Birth name, né'' Wilchinsky; December 21, 1922 – June 24, 2005) was an American ventriloquist, comedian, actor, humanitarian, and inventor whose career flourished in the 1950s and 1960s. From 1950 to 1954, he hosted ''The Pa ...

, who was "assisted" by his dummies Jerry Mahoney and Knucklehead Smiff. Mainstream musical guests appearing on the program at times included;

The Diamonds The Diamonds are a Canadian vocal quartet that rose to prominence in the 1950s and early 1960s with 16 ''Billboard'' hit records. The original members were Dave Somerville (lead), Ted Kowalski (tenor), Phil Levitt (baritone), and Bill Reed (ba ...

Mickey and Sylvia Mickey & Sylvia was an American R&B duo composed of Mickey Baker and Sylvia Vanterpool, who later became Sylvia Robinson. They are best known for their number-one R&B single "Love Is Strange" in 1957. Baker and Vanterpool began recording toge ...

,the Dell Vikings and Charlie Gracie. Martin Stone Associates produced the program. Hartz Mountain Products and Bauer & Black were sponsors.

References

* Brooks, Tim and Marsh, Earle, ''

The Complete Directory to Prime Time Network and Cable TV Shows ''The'' is a grammatical article in English, denoting nouns that are already or about to be mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in English. ''The ...

'' 1956 American television series debuts 1957 American television series endings 1950s American variety television series American Broadcasting Company original programming American circuses Circus television shows {{US-nonfiction-tv-prog-stub