''The Ad-Libbers'' is a CBS comedy sketch game show that began on August 3, 1951, and ended on September 1, 1951, as a summer replacement for ''

Mama Mama(s) or Mamma or Momma may refer to: Roles *Mother, a female parent * Mama-san, in Japan and East Asia, a woman in a position of authority *Maternal uncle, in some parts of South Asia Places * Mama, Russia, an urban-type settlement in the Mam ...

''.

Format

Home viewers were invited to send in story ideas. The host would read the story outline to the performers, who would then attempt to

ad-lib In music and other performing arts, the phrase (; or 'as you desire'), often shortened to "ad lib" (as an adjective or adverb) or "ad-lib" (as a verb or noun), refers to various forms of improvisation. The roughly synonymous phrase ('in acc ...

dialogue to fit the story.

Cast

The show was hosted by

Peter Donald Peter Donald (June 6, 1918 – April 20, 1979) was a British-born actor who worked in American radio and television. He has been called "one of radio's great dialecticians."Cox, Jim (2007). ''Radio Speakers: Narrators, News Junkies, Sports Jockey ...

. Regulars included

Jack Lemmon John Uhler Lemmon III (February 8, 1925 – June 27, 2001) was an American actor. Considered proficient in both dramatic and comic roles, he was known for his anxious, middle-class everyman screen persona in comedy-drama films. He received num ...

, Charles Mendick, Patricia Housley,

Joe Silver Joe Silver (September 28, 1922 – February 27, 1989) was an American stage, television, film and radio actor. His distinctive deep voice was once described as "the lowest voice in show business; so low that when he speaks, he unties your sho ...

Earl Hammond Erwin Saul Hamburger (June 17, 1921 – May 19, 2002), known professionally as Earl Hammond, was an American actor who appeared in several films and television series. He was best known for voicing Mumm-Ra and Jaga in ''ThunderCats'' and Mon*Sta ...

and Cynthia Stone.

Background

The series was based on a similar program titled ''What Happens Now?'' The program aired on local New York station

WOR-TV WWOR-TV (channel 9) is a television station licensed to Secaucus, New Jersey, United States, serving the New York metropolitan area as the flagship of the MyNetworkTV programming service. It is owned and operated by Fox Television Stations alo ...

in 1949 and was hosted by

Nelson Olmsted Nelson Olmsted (January 28, 1914, Minneapolis, Minnesota – April 8, 1992, Torrance, California) was an actor in films and recordings, and on radio and television, from the 1950s to the 1970s. Sometimes billed as Nelson Olmstead, he was best k ...

. Regulars on the 1949 program included

Ross Martin Ross Martin (born Martin Rosenblatt, March 22, 1920 – July 3, 1981) was an American radio, voice, stage, film, and television actor. Martin was best known for portraying Artemus Gordon on the CBS Western series '' The Wild Wild West'', which ...

, Carol Ohmart and

Larry Blyden Ivan Lawrence Blieden (June 23, 1925 – June 6, 1975), known professionally as Larry Blyden, was an American actor, stage producer and director, and game show host. He made his Broadway stage debut in 1948 and went on to appear in numerous ...

.Terrace, Vincent (1976). ''The Complete Encyclopedia of Television Programs 1947-1976'' (Vol. 1). South Brunswick and New York: A.S. Barnes and Company. .

Production

Ted and Hal Persons produced the show, and Hal Persons directed it. Maxwell House was the sponsor. It was broadcast on Fridays from 8 to 8:30 p.m. Eastern Time.

Critical response

A 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 ...

'' said that the program "comes off as fitfully interesting but hardly strong enough to stand the rigors of strong audience competition." It said that because the actors were not trained in performing spontaneously the demands of the show's format were unrealistic.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Ad-libbers, The 1950s American comedy game shows 1951 American television series debuts 1951 American television series endings Black-and-white American television shows CBS game shows American English-language television shows Improvisation