''Garroway at Large'' was an experimental American musical variety show program with the host

Dave Garroway David Cunningham Garroway (July 13, 1913 – July 21, 1982) was an American Celebrity, television personality. He was the founding host and anchor of NBC's ''Today (American TV program), Today'' from 1952 to 1961. His easygoing and relaxing style ...

in the

Golden Age of Television The first Golden Age of Television is an era of television in the United States marked by its large number of live productions. The period is generally recognized as beginning in 1947 with the first episode of the drama anthology '' Kraft Televi ...

. It was telecast at 10pm on Saturday (and later on Sundays and Fridays) on

NBC The National Broadcasting Company (NBC) is an American commercial broadcast television and radio network serving as the flagship property of the NBC Entertainment division of NBCUniversal, a subsidiary of Comcast. It is one of NBCUniversal's ...

from April 1949 to 1954. ''Garroway at Large'' aired with a full symphony orchestra conducted by Joseph Gallicchio. There were two female singers, Betty Chapel and

Connie Russell Connie Russell (May 9, 1923 – December 18, 1990) was an American singer and movie actress. Born in New York City, she appeared in seven films from the 1930s through the 1950s. She was far better known as a singer than as an actress, as h ...

and a male singer, Jack Haskell. In addition, the Hamilton Trio, a contemporary dance group, appeared each week, along with comedian Cliff Norton. The show had only one local Chicago broadcast on April 8, 1949 before becoming an NBC Network program. The series is notable for introducing an innovative presentation and staging to television. When television began in

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

, the shows adopted the familiar theatrical

proscenium A proscenium (, ) is the virtual vertical plane of space in a theatre, usually surrounded on the top and sides by a physical proscenium arch (whether or not truly "arched") and on the bottom by the stage floor itself, which serves as the frame ...

concept, separating the stage from the audience area. After

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

, several programs originated from

Chicago Chicago is the List of municipalities in Illinois, most populous city in the U.S. state of Illinois and in the Midwestern United States. With a population of 2,746,388, as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the List of Unite ...

, where Garroway was a

disc jockey A disc jockey, more commonly abbreviated as DJ, is a person who plays recorded music for an audience. Types of DJs include Radio personality, radio DJs (who host programs on music radio stations), club DJs (who work at nightclubs or music fes ...

on radio station WMAQ. When Garroway was assigned to host on television, he abandoned the usual conventions for a more casual approach in which the reality of the studio was acknowledged. Followed by a single camera, he walked around the entire large studio space and simple abstract sets as he talked to guests and the TV viewer directly. This live staging technique, known as the "Chicago Style", was developed further on Garroway's next show, ''

Today Today (archaically to-day) may refer to: * The current day and calendar date ** Today is between and , subject to the local time zone * Now, the time that is perceived directly, present * The current, present era Arts, entertainment and m ...

''.

Production

On February 19, 1950, Congoleum-Nairn became a sponsor of the show, which originated from WNBQ-TV in Chicago.

References

* Teruaki Georges Sumioka, ''The Grammar of Pop TV Program'' (2006)

External links

*{{IMDb title, 0313078
''Garroway at Large'' Archive of American Television''Prop Man at Large'', a photo feature about ''Garroway at Large'' from ''Life'' magazine's October 10, 1949, issue
1949 American television series debuts 1954 American television series endings 1940s American variety television series 1950s American variety television series American live television series Black-and-white American television shows NBC original programming