''Ford Star Revue'' is an American television variety series that was broadcast on NBC as the summer replacement for ''

Kay Kyser's Kollege of Musical Knowledge ''Kay Kyser's Kollege of Musical Knowledge'' is an American old-time radio musical quiz program starring Kay Kyser. It was broadcast on Mutual, NBC, and ABC beginning on February 1, 1938, and ending on July 29, 1949. Background In the latter h ...

'' from July 6, 1950, to September 28, 1950. It returned on January 4, 1951, and ended on March 29, 1951.

Personnel

Jack Haley John Joseph Haley Jr. (August 10, 1898 – June 6, 1979) was an American actor, comedian, dancer, radio host, singer, drummer and vaudevillian. He was best known for his portrayal of the Tin Man and his farmhand counterpart Hickory in the 193 ...

was the show's host, and Mindy Carson was featured as a singer. Other regulars on the show were the Havel Brothers. Dr. Roy K. Marshall, and the Ted Adolphus Dancers. The Carl Hoff Orchestra provided music. When a kidney ailment hit Haley during the dress rehearsal for the February 15, 1951, episode, leaving him unable to perform, Carson took over the MC aspects of Haley's role.

Bob Haymes Robert William Haymes (March 29, 1923 – January 27, 1989), also known by the stage names Robert Stanton and Bob Stanton, was an American singer, songwriter, actor and radio and television presenter. He is best remembered for co-writing the song ...

, who was watching the rehearsal, performed the songs that had been scheduled for Haley, and

Jack Albertson Harold "Jack" Albertson (June 16, 1907 – November 25, 1981) was an American actor, comedian, dancer and singer who also performed in vaudeville. Albertson was a Tony, Oscar, and Emmy winning actor, which ranks him among a rare stature of 24 ...

was recruited to substitute in Haley's comedy segments. Guest performers on the series included

Jack La Rue Jack La Rue (born Gaspare Biondolillo; May 3, 1902 – January 11, 1984) was an American film and stage actor. Early life and family Gaspare Biondolillo was the son of Sicilian immigrants Luigi Biondolillo (1874–1951) and Giuseppa Biondoli ...

Lauritz Melchior Lauritz Melchior (20 March 1890 – 18 March 1973) was a Danish-American opera singer. He was the preeminent Wagnerian heldentenor of the 1920s through the 1940s and has come to be considered the quintessence of his voice type. Late in his car ...

Jackie Gleason Herbert John Gleason (born Herbert Walton Gleason Jr.; February 26, 1916June 24, 1987), known as Jackie Gleason, was an American comedian, actor, writer, and composer also known as "The Great One". He developed a style and characters from growin ...

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 ...

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 ...

Ed Wynn Isaiah Edwin Leopold (November 9, 1886 – June 19, 1966), better known as Ed Wynn, was an American actor and comedian. He began his career in vaudeville in 1903 and was known for his ''Perfect Fool'' comedy character, his pioneering radio show ...

, Colette Marchand, and the dance team of

Honi Coles Charles "Honi" Coles (April 2, 1911 – November 12, 1992) was an American actor and tap dancer, who was inducted posthumously into the American Tap Dance Hall of Fame in 2003. He had a distinctive personal style that required technical precisio ...

and

Cholly Atkins Charles "Cholly" Atkins (born Charles Sylvan Atkinson; September 13, 1913 – April 19, 2003) was an American dancer and vaudeville performer, who later became noted as the house choreographer for the various artists on the label Motown. Biogr ...

Production

''Ford Star Revue'' was broadcast from 9 to 10 p.m. Eastern Time on Thursdays. Its writers included

Norman Lear Norman Milton Lear (July 27, 1922December 5, 2023) was an American screenwriter and producer who produced, wrote, created, or developed over 100 shows. Lear created and produced numerous popular 1970s sitcoms, including ''All in the Family'' (1 ...

(his initial writing for TV) and Ed Simmons. The 1951 version of ''Ford Star Revue'' was replaced by ''

Ford Festival ''Ford Festival'', also known as ''The James Melton Show'', is an hour-long television show, sponsored by Ford Motor Company, hosted by James Melton, and broadcast on NBC television, NBC Television beginning on April 5, 1951. The final show was a ...

''.

Critical response

After the show had been on the air for a month in 1950, a review in the trade publication ''

Variety Variety may refer to: Arts and entertainment Entertainment formats * Variety (radio) * Variety show, in theater and television Films * ''Variety'' (1925 film), a German silent film directed by Ewald Andre Dupont * ''Variety'' (1935 film), ...

'' said that ''Ford Star Revue'' "has seldom hit top stride since its inception". It noted that Ford had failed to make the program a "potent selling medium through lack of program competition." Bob Foster wrote in the ''

San Mateo Times The ''San Mateo County Times'' was a daily newspaper published by the Media News Group. The paper is distributed throughout San Mateo County, Monday through Saturday. Before being sold in 1996, it had been published for over 100 years as the '' ...

'' that the second 1951 episode of the show was better than the first. He complimented the performances of guest stars and those of Haley and Carson in the second week. The review concluded, "Although there is definitely a lot of room for improvement, we feel that Haley will come through and in a very few weeks will rate well ..." Ben Gross wrote in the New York ''Daily News'' that the show's initial 1951 episode "had a considerable number of attractive facets", but it suffered from poor writing. He cited one comedy sketch in which, before it ended, "the lines had bogged down in the mire of mediocrity," and added that despite "a few flashes of real fun", the overall result was "a mild tedium". Gross questioned why Melchior sang a semi-classical song rather than one of the operatic arias for which he was famous and concluded that until Haley "gets the proper material, he will be only so-so in television." Writing in the ''

Brooklyn Eagle The ''Brooklyn Eagle'' (originally joint name ''The Brooklyn Eagle'' and ''Kings County Democrat'', later ''The Brooklyn Daily Eagle'' before shortening title further to ''Brooklyn Eagle'') was an afternoon daily newspaper published in the city ...

'', Bob Lanigan called the show's next-to-last episode "one of the best full-hour shows ever seen on this series." He complimented the performances of Haley and the "strong supporting cast". Noting that the upcoming episode would be the show's last, Lanigan wrote, "Too bad. He

aley Aley () is a major city in Lebanon. It is the capital of the Aley District and fourth largest city in Lebanon. The city is located on Mount Lebanon, 15km uphill from Beirut on the freeway to Damascus. Aley has the nickname "Bride of the Summ ...

just was hitting his TV stride."

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Ford Star Revue 1950 American television series debuts 1951 American television series endings 1950s American variety television series Musical television series NBC original programming