''Stage Show'' is a popular music

variety series Variety show, also known as variety arts or variety entertainment, is entertainment made up of a variety of acts including musical performances, sketch comedy, magic, acrobatics, juggling, and ventriloquism. It is normally introduced by a compè ...

broadcast in the United States on the

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 ...

Television Network and originally hosted on alternate weeks by big band leaders and brothers Tommy and

Jimmy Dorsey James Francis Dorsey (February 29, 1904 – June 12, 1957) was an American jazz clarinetist, saxophonist, composer and big band leader. He recorded and composed the jazz and pop standards " I'm Glad There Is You (In This World of Ordinary Peopl ...

. Produced by

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 ...

, it included the first national television appearances by rock music icon

Elvis Presley Elvis Aaron Presley (January 8, 1935 – August 16, 1977) was an American singer and actor. Referred to as the "King of Rock and Roll", he is regarded as Cultural impact of Elvis Presley, one of the most significant cultural figures of the ...

. The series began as a one-hour show on July 3, 1954, as a summer replacement for ''

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 ...

''. In late 1955 it debuted from 8–8:30 p.m. ET, on Saturdays in the time slot prior to ''

The Honeymooners ''The Honeymooners'' is an American television sitcom that originally aired from 1955 to 1956, created by and starring Jackie Gleason, and based on a recurring comedy sketch of the same name that had been part of Gleason's variety show. It f ...

'', his own series. In 1956, Jack Carter, a frequent guest, became the permanent host. The

June Taylor Dancers Marjorie June Taylor (December 14, 1917 – May 16, 2004) was an American choreographer, best known as the founder of the June Taylor Dancers, who were featured on Jackie Gleason's various television variety programs. Early life Taylor was bo ...

made regular appearances.

Bobby Darin Bobby Darin (born Walden Robert Cassotto; May 14, 1936 – December 20, 1973) was an American singer, songwriter, and actor who performed Pop music, pop, Swing music, swing, Folk music, folk, rock and roll, and country music. Darin started ...

made his national TV debut on the program in early 1956, singing "

Rock Island Line "Rock Island Line" ( Roud 15211) was originally sung as a spiritual by slaves on the plantations of the Mississippi River Valley, and was first transcribed as a folk song in 1929. The first recording was made by John Lomax, who was traveling amo ...

". Placed against the popular '' The Perry Como Show'' 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 ...

, ''Stage Shows ratings declined. The final telecast, September 18, 1956, came only two months before the death of Tommy Dorsey. Brother Jimmy died in June of the following year. Famed jazz saxophonist

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 ...

died in 1955 while watching the show on television.

Elvis Presley appearances

Elvis Presley made his network television debut on ''Stage Show''. He was introduced by Cleveland, Ohio disc jockey

Bill Randle Bill Randle (March 14, 1923 – July 9, 2004) was an American disc jockey, lawyer and university professor. Biography Randle was born William McKinley Randle Jr. in Detroit, Michigan. In Detroit, he hosted a popular show on WJLB-AM radio (now ...

on the January 28, 1956, broadcast performing "

Shake, Rattle and Roll "Shake, Rattle and Roll" is a song written in 1954 by Jesse Stone (usually credited as "''Charles Calhoun''", his songwriting name) and first recorded that year by Big Joe Turner, whose version ranked No. 127 on the ''Rolling Stone'' magazine li ...

", "

Flip, Flop and Fly "Flip, Flop and Fly" is a song recorded by Big Joe Turner in 1955. Called a "prototypical rocker", it was recorded by several early rock and roll performers. In 1973, a version by the Downchild Blues Band reached the record singles chart in Canad ...

" and " I Got a Woman". He made five more appearances during the next eight weeks: *February 4: " Baby Let's Play House" and " Tutti Frutti" *February 11: "

Blue Suede Shoes "Blue Suede Shoes" is a rock and roll standard (music), standard written and first recorded by American singer, songwriter and guitarist Carl Perkins in 1955. It is considered one of the first rockabilly records, incorporating elements of blues ...

" and "

Heartbreak Hotel "Heartbreak Hotel" is a song recorded by American singer Elvis Presley. It was released as a single on January 27, 1956, Presley's first on his new record label RCA Victor. It was written by Mae Boren Axton and Tommy Durden, with credit being g ...

" *February 18: "Tutti Frutti" and "I Was The One" *March 17: "Blue Suede Shoes" and "Heartbreak Hotel" *March 24: " Money Honey" and "Heartbreak Hotel" These shows were preserved on

kinescope Kinescope , shortened to kine , also known as telerecording in Britain, is a recording of a television program on motion picture film directly through a lens focused on the screen of a video monitor. The process was pioneered during the 1940s ...

films. Complete songs and segments have been released within various Elvis Presley documentaries and

home video Home video is recorded media sold or Video rental shop, rented for home viewing. The term originates from the VHS and Betamax era, when the predominant medium was videotapes, but has carried over to optical disc formats such as DVD and Blu-ray. ...

compilations.

References

* . * . {{DEFAULTSORT:Stage Show (Tv Series) CBS original programming 1954 American television series debuts 1956 American television series endings 1950s American variety television series 1960s American variety television series Black-and-white American television shows