''Star Time'' is an American variety series that aired on the

DuMont Television Network The DuMont Television Network (also the DuMont Network, DuMont Television, DuMont/Du Mont, or (incorrectly) Dumont ) was one of America's pioneer commercial television networks, rivaling NBC and CBS for the distinction of being first overall in ...

from September 5, 1950, to February 27, 1951, and starred singer-actress

Frances Langford Julia Frances Newbern-Langford (April 4, 1913 – July 11, 2005) was an American singer and actress who was popular during the Golden Age of Radio and made film and television appearances for over two decades. She was known as the "GI Nightinga ...

. It was broadcast from 10 to 11 p.m. on Tuesdays.

Broadcast history

The hour-long comedy-variety show spotlighted several regulars and guest performers. One feature of each telecast was a lengthy skit, written and directed by

Philip Rapp Philip Rapp (March 26, 1907 – January 23, 1996) was a film and television director and screenwriter. He wrote for Eddie Cantor and, for a brief period, wrote film scripts for Danny Kaye. Rapp was the creator of Baby Snooks and The Bickersons. ...

, with Langford and Lew Parker performing as

The Bickersons ''The Bickersons'' was a series of radio and television comedy sketches which began in 1946 on NBC radio. The show's married protagonists, portrayed by Don Ameche (later by Lew Parker) and Frances Langford, spent nearly all their time toget ...

, a quarrelsome married couple that migrated from radio as a distinctively-unhappy sitcom man and wife. With Langford as a singer, music was an integral component of the series's early episodes. The premier telecast spotlighted

The Harmonicats Jerry Murad's Harmonicats were an American harmonica-based group. Background The earliest iteration of The Harmonicats was known as the Harmonica Madcaps, later renamed The Quintones by Jimmy Mulcay, who promoted and produced the group until 1 ...

, a trio of versatile harmonica players who had achieved great prominence in the 1940s. But the program soon settled on a regular slot called Club Goodman featuring the Benny Goodman Sextet—with Goodman and

Teddy Wilson Theodore Shaw Wilson (November 24, 1912 – July 31, 1986) was an American jazz pianist. Described by critic Scott Yanow as "the definitive Swing music, swing pianist", Wilson's piano style was gentle, elegant, and virtuosic. His style was high ...

among others. With Wilson's weekly appearances, ''Star Time'' became one of the first sponsored national TV series to offer an

African-American African Americans, also known as Black Americans and formerly also called Afro-Americans, are an American racial and ethnic group that consists of Americans who have total or partial ancestry from any of the Black racial groups of Africa. ...

performer as a cast regular. ''Star Time'' was an adaptation of the earlier radio series ''

Drene Time ''Drene Time'' (aka ''The Drene Show'') was a 30-minute radio variety show starring Don Ameche and singer-actress Frances Langford as co-hosts, airing on NBC's Sunday night schedule (10:00-10:30pm Eastern) in 1946–47. The series was sponsored ...

'', which had aired from 1946 to 1947. In November 1950 Charlie Cantor, John Conte, and

Reginald Gardiner William Reginald Gardiner (27 February 1903 – 7 July 1980) was an English actor on the stage, in films and on television. Early years Gardiner was born in Wimbledon, England, and he was a graduate of the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art.Katz, ...

joined the cast of ''Star Time'' while Goodman, the four-singer chorus, and three dancers. were dropped. The change gave the program more emphasis on comedy and less on music. Others who were featured on the show included

Ted Steele Edward J. "Ted" Steele is an Australian molecular immunologist with interests in virology and evolution. He is an honorary research associate at the C. Y. O'Connor, C.Y.O'Connor ERADE Village Foundation in Piara Waters, WA, Australia. Scientif ...

and Buddy Rogers. The premiere episode featured Phil Regan and

Ben Blue Ben Blue (born Benjamin Bernstein; 9 December 1901 – 7 March 1975) was a Canadian-American actor and comedian whose varied career on stage, in movies, and in television appearances, spanned nearly 50 years. Early life Benjamin Bernste ...

as guest stars.

Dick Haymes Richard Benjamin Haymes (September 13, 1918 – March 28, 1980) was an Argentine singer, songwriter and actor. He was one of the most popular male vocalists of the 1940s and early 1950s. He was the older brother of Bob Haymes, an actor, televi ...

was the guest star on the second episode, and David Burns had that role on the third. The veteran vaudeville comedy team of Al Shaw and Sam Lee furnished comedy bits between specialties.

Episode status

The

UCLA Film and Television Archive The UCLA Film & Television Archive is a visual arts organization focused on the film preservation, preservation, film studies, study, and appreciation of film and television, based at the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA). As a nonpro ...

has four complete episodes, along with excerpts from a fifth episode. The J. Fred and Leslie W. MacDonald Collection of the

Library of Congress The Library of Congress (LOC) is a research library in Washington, D.C., serving as the library and research service for the United States Congress and the ''de facto'' national library of the United States. It also administers Copyright law o ...

contains five half-hour segments of ''Star Time'', including the first half-hour of the premiere telecast which featured

; plus an opening half-hour of another show; and three closing half-hour segments highlighting the Benny Goodman Sextet as well as The Bickersons skits.

Production

''Star Time'' originated from the Ambassador Playhouse via WABD, with Food Stores Corporation as its sponsor. DuMont had recently bought the theater and renovated it for use in TV productions.

George Forrest George Forrest may refer to: *G. Topham Forrest (George Topham Forrest, 1872–1945), principal architect for the London County Council *George Forrest (author) (1915–1999), American author and musician *George Forrest (botanist) (1873–1932), S ...

and Robert Wright produced and directed the show. Writers included Phil Rapp.

Critical response

A review of the premiere episode in ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...

'' said, "''Star Time'' has a little of everything, but not too much of it enjoyed any particular style or freshness." Critic

Jack Gould John Ludlow Gould (February 5, 1914 – May 24, 1993) was an American journalist and critic, who wrote commentary about television. Early life and education Gould was born in New York City into a socially prominent family and attended the Loomis ...

commented that original songs on the show "were on the trite side both lyrically and melodically" He complimented Langford's performance and noted that Goodman and Parker should have had more to do on the show. The review concluded by saying, "Mark down ''Star Time'' as a show with promise which remains to be realized." Joe Czida's review in the trade publication ''

Billboard A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertis ...

'' began by saying that ''The Bickersons'' segment should be a program of its own, noting that it is "so far superior to the rest of the package," citing Rapp's writing as being "basically responsible for the bit's wow qualities." The review said that the rest of the show "is a good, average variety hour", less lavish than those on CBS and NBC because of DuMont's more economical budgeting. Czida complimented the production as a whole and praised the singing of Langford and the dancing of Lee.

Bibliography

*David Weinstein, ''The Forgotten Network: DuMont and the Birth of American Television'' (Philadelphia:

Temple University Press Temple University Press is a university press founded in 1969 that is part of Temple University (Philadelphia, Pennsylvania). It is one of thirteen publishers to participate in the Knowledge Unlatched pilot, a global library consortium approach ...

, 2004) *Tim Brooks and Earle Marsh, ''The Complete Directory to Prime Time Network TV Shows'', Third edition (New York:

Ballantine Books Ballantine Books is a major American book publisher that is a subsidiary of German media conglomerate Bertelsmann. Ballantine was founded in 1952 by Ian Ballantine with his wife, Betty Ballantine. Ballantine was acquired by Random House in ...

, 1964)

References

External links

* {{IMDb title, 0042147, title=Star Time
DuMont historical website
1950 American television series debuts 1951 American television series endings 1950s American variety television series Black-and-white American television shows DuMont Television Network original programming American English-language television shows