|
Series
# |
Season
# |
Airdate |
Host
& Guests |
| 043 |
2-01 |
9/8/1951 |
Host: Ezio
Pinza
Guests: Jane Froman, Herb Shriner, Valerie Bettis, Ben Blue, Jack Carson,
Jimmy Durante, Olsen and Johnson, Ed Wynn, Allen Roth and his Orchestra
Note:
Ezio, newly signed by NBC to an exclusive five-year radio-TV contract, was starring
in South Pacific on Broadway. (15 days later, he hosted The
Colgate Comedy Hour.) Here, he sings "Some Enchanted Evening"
from that show and follows it with "Non Pił Andrai" from The Marriage
of Figaro, "You Belong To Me," and "I'll See You In My Dreams."
Jane sings "With a Song In My Heart" and "Blue Moon." Ben
Blue, Variety opined, "came through with the program's top comedy
moments." Jimmy Durante and Jack Carson both appear on film, the former from
Canada and the latter from London. Danny Thomas was announced but didn't appear.
|
|
044 |
2-02 |
9/15/1951 |
Hosts:
Olsen and Johnson
Guests: Two-Ton Tessie O'Shea, Marty May, J. C. Olsen, June
Johnson, The Dunhills, John Melina, Milton DeLugg and his Orchestra
Note:
Variety felt the comedy team wasn't up to par in its All Star Revue
debut. "O&J's first video attempt in several years didn't hold up...They
have proved that there is entertainment in their offerings, but they didn't show
the choice items." |
| 045 |
2-03 |
9/22/1951 |
Host:
Ed Wynn
Guests: Joan Blondell, Anne Jeffreys, dancer Valerie Bettis with D'Arcy
and Thompson, chimpanzees Tippy and Cobina, trampoline artists The Bruce Brothers,
Merle Kendrick and his Orchestra
Announcer: Andre Baruch
Note: Ed and
Joan do a hospital sketch. Anne sings "Come On-A My House" and "Hello
Young Lovers." |
| 046 |
2-04 |
9/29/1951 |
Host:
Jack Carson
Guests: Lola Albright, The Honey Brothers, Betty and Jane Kean,
Marion Colby, Jack Norton, Jerry Bergen, Tommy Wells, The Esther Junger Dancers,
Dean Elliott and his Orchestra
Note: While in the previous season, Jack had
used a storyline to tie all the acts together, Variety noted that here
he was tending more toward a traditional variety format. |
| 047 |
2-05 |
10/6/1951 |
Host:
Jimmy Durante
Guests: Helen Traubel, Bob Crozier, Phil Leeds, Eddie Jackson,
Jack Roth, Jules Buffano, Roy Bargy and his Orchestra
Note: Jimmy and Helen
do a medley of "Our Voices Were Meant for Each Other," material from
Rigoletto and Carmen, "Put On Your Old Grey Bonnet," and
"Waiting for the Robert E. Lee." In the Club Durant sequence, Jimmy
and Eddie do "She's Nobody's Sweetheart Now." This episode was one of
All Star Revue's more successful outings, scoring a Trendex rating of 39.0
and ranking sixth for the week. |
| 048 |
2-06 |
10/13/1951 |
Host:
Danny Thomas
Guests: Milton Berle, Kay Starr, Bunny Lewbel, Barry Gray, The
Hurricanes, Lolo, Lou Bring and his Orchestra
Note: Danny does his celebrated
"Ode to a Wailing Syrian" routine that Variety called "a
terrific winner." Kay sings "The One I Love" and "Don't Tell
Him What Happened To Me" and duets with Danny on "Take Me Back to Tulsa." |
| 049 |
2-07 |
10/20/1951 |
Host:
Martha Raye
Guests: Ezio Pinza, Chandra Kaly and his Dancers, violinist Maria
Neglia, Allen Roth and his Orchestra
Note: In her TV hosting debut, Martha
scores big, doing comedy (a blind date with Ezio) and music (singing "Mr.
Paganini" and "That Old Black Magic"). "With Miss Raye's raucous
buffoonery contrasting neatly with Pinza's suave charm," wrote Variety,
"the two socked across a full hour's entertainment, making this one particular
program, at least, a hot contender for the rating honors which the series has
missed so far." |
| 050 |
2-08 |
10/27/1951 |
Host:
Victor Borge
Guests: Lauritz Melchior, Vera Zorina, June Hutton, Phil Leeds
Note: Victor spoofs both Ed Sullivan ("Ed Silverman") and European TV
shows. Lauritz sings "The Prize Song" ("Morgenlich leuchtend") from
Wagner's Die Meistersinger. Variety called Borge "an excellent
satirist both musically and otherwise." This was Jack Carson's slot, but
he was busy doing a fill-in on the The
Colgate Comedy Hour on October 21. |
| 051 |
2-09 |
11/3/1951 |
Host:
Jimmy Durante
Guests: Margaret Truman, Al Norman, Eddie Jackson, Jack Roth,
Jules Buffano
Note: Owing to the principal guest's celebrity, this show received
a better-than-average level of attention in the press. Acknowledging that Durante
had "a way with the women," Variety noted, "They seem to
bloom under his guidance and there's something about the Schnoz that makes otherwise
reasonable women become expert comediennes." As the President's daughter,
Margaret Truman had to come across as dignified but relaxed, and with Jimmy's
help, managed to achieve both. On the Durante spoof "Margaret, the Well Dressed
Gal," she does a "mild strutaway" that the trade paper called "boffola." |
|
052 |
2-10 |
11/10/1951 |
Hosts:
Ed Wynn
Guests: Dorothy Lamour, Buster Keaton, The Nicholas Brothers, The
De Mattiazzis, Lou Bring and his Orchestra; cameo by Bob Hope
Note: Dorothy
sings "Moon of Manakoora" and "I Can't Give You Anything But Love."
She and Ed do a Samson and Delilah parody, at the end of which Bob Hope walks
on to remark, "Pardon me. I thought this was The Road to Morocco."
According to Variety, this was Dorothy Lamour's TV debut. Leo Solomon takes
over as Wynn's director, and Harold Kemp joins the show as executive producer
(sharing the title with Pete Barnum). This was Ed Wynn's first All Star Revue
show to originate from the west coast. |
| 053 |
2-11 |
11/17/1951 |
Host:
Danny Thomas
Guests: Kay Starr, Bunny Lewbel, Buddy Ebsen, Pat Patrick |
| 054 |
2-12 |
11/24/1951 |
Host:
Jack Carson
Guests: Lola Albright, Ricardo Cortez, James Dunn, The Honey Brothers,
Jack Norton
Note: For this episode, instead of originating from the Center
Theatre at Rockefeller Center in New York City, Carson conducted an experiment
by moving his show to Studio 8-H at NBC's Radio City facility. The goal was to
be able to move fluidly from set to set, which was more difficult in a theater
setting. The theme of the show is a jewelry store heist, with the characters moving
through a series of locations chasing after the thief. |
| 055 |
2-13 |
12/1/1951 |
Host:
Jimmy Durante
Guests: Ethel Barrymore, Eddie Jackson, Jules Buffano, Jack
Roth, Frank Nelson, Candy Candido, Glen Turnbull, Tony Hughes, John Topa, Roy
Bargy and his Orchestra
Note: According to The New York Times, this
was Ethel Barrymore's TV debut. Like Helen Traubel and Margaret Truman before
her, Ethel is a delightful foil for Jimmy's antics. "It was her unpredicted
banter with the Schnoz," declared Variety, "in which she displayed
a master's know-how of timing her comedy lines, plus her piano'ing while he sang
'There's a Place in the Theatre for You,' which really wowed. Whatever it is that
brings out the best in these guestars, Durante's got it and certainly knows what
to do with it." As The New York Times noted, "Everyone in the
audience must have wanted to do just what Jimmy did; put his arms around one of
the theatre's great ladies." This was Jimmy's first show from the west coast. |
| 056 |
2-14 |
12/8/1951 |
Host:
Ed Wynn
Guests: Danny Thomas, Billie Burke, Lew Parker, Virginia Grey, The
Modernaires, The Marimba Merrymakers, The George Prentice Marionettes
Note:
Billie plays a shopper in a department store during the Christmas rush, and The
Modernaires sing "Juke Box Saturday Night." Danny performs a dialect
bit with a telephone. Lew Parker and Virginia Grey do a sketch in character as
The Bickersons, a popular feature on both radio and TV. |
| 057 |
2-15 |
12/15/1951 |
Host:
Olsen and Johnson
Guest: Helen Donaldson |
| 058 |
2-16 |
12/22/1951 |
Host:
Danny Thomas
Guests: Kay Starr, Bunny Lewbel, Ed Wynn, Walter Slezak |
| 059 |
2-17 |
12/29/1951 |
Host:
Jimmy Durante
Guests: Helen Traubel, Jack Roth, Jules Buffano |
| 060 |
2-18 |
1/5/1952 |
Host:
Martha Raye
Guests: Robert Cummings, Nathaniel Frye
Note: In a dream sequence,
Martha imagines that she's Cinderella to Bob's Prince. Variety enthusastically
endorsed this effort, noting that Martha "was able to carry the major portion
of comedy in an authoritative manner and worked the medium as though it belonged
to her." She was even compared to Milton Berle and Jerry Lewis. |
|
061 |
2-19 |
1/12/1952 |
Host:
Spike Jones
Guests: Billy Eckstine, Hugh Herbert |
| 062 |
2-20 |
1/19/1952 |
Host:
Jack Carson
Guests: Patti Page |
| 063 |
2-21 |
1/26/1952 |
Host:
Jimmy Durante
Guests: Mickey Rooney, Candy Candido, Eddie Jackson, Jack Roth,
Jules Buffano; cameo by Bob Hope
Note: Variety felt this outing was
below par. "The usual Durantesque flavor was missing, but it's evident to
viewers that a fair Durante divertissement is worthy entertainment." |
|
064 |
2-22 |
2/2/1952 |
Hosts: Olsen and Johnson
Guests:
Disc jockey Rosalie Allen; cameo by Milton Berle
Note: Olsen and Johnson do
sketches about Louis XVI and Marie Antoinette, westerns, and Shakespeare plays.
According to Variety, "This duo's low comedy antics could probably
be compressed into an okay 15-minute stanza, but stretched over 60 minutes, it
becomes more than a bit tedious." |
| 065 |
2-23 |
2/9/1952 |
Host:
Danny Thomas
Guests: William Bendix, Fran Warren, Jean Holloway |
|
066 |
2-24 |
2/16/1952 |
Host: Jack Carson
Guests: Ann
Sothern, Lola Albright, The Honey Brothers, Jack Norton
Note: This was Jack
Carson's last All Star Revue. Several months later, on August 1, 1952 to
be exact, he married his co-star Lola Albright. |
| 067 |
2-25 |
2/23/1952 |
Host:
Jimmy Durante
Guests: Gloria Swanson, Dr. Samuel Hoffman, Candy Candido, Eddie
Jackson, Jack Roth, Jules Buffano
Note: Gloria provides commentary on her
silent movies and does a love scene with Jimmy. "La Swanson helped tremendously
by falling into the spirit of the stanza," said Variety. |
| 068 |
2-26 |
3/1/1952 |
Hosts: Olsen and Johnson
Guests:
Marty May, June Johnson, J. C. Olsen, Billy Kay, The Ben Yost Trio, dancers Patrice
Helene and Jan Howard, child dancer Errol Smith, Chickie Johnson, Francois Grimard,
Maurice Millard, Billy Young, Jim Brown, Ileen Cook, Nina Varela, Sgt. Don Doughty,
Milton DeLugg and his Orchestra
Note: Olsen and Johnson play private detectives
Martin and Kane (a takeoff on the detective show Martin Kane, Private Eye)
and June Johnson (Chic's daughter) is seen as a verbose cab driver. Variety
was disappointed in the effort believing that, "Olsen and Johnson missed
the boat principally due to poor material." Art Linkletter appears in a filmed
Kellogg's commercial. This show originated from New York. |
|
069 |
2-27 |
3/8/1952 |
Host:
Ed Wynn
Guests: Jimmy Durante, Edward Arnold, The Dassies, The Boliano Ivanko
Group, Jimmy Dobson, Tim Graham, Jeanne Maybery, John Holland, Helyn Eby-Rock,
Lou Bring and his Orchestra; cameo by Durante regular Candy Candido
Note:
Jimmy sings his own songs "The Durante Flip" and "One in a Million."
Edward Arnold presents Ed's grandsons Ned and Tracy with a plaque for Ed from
Actors Equity commemorating the comedian's 50 years in show business. As Ed retires
to his bed, Jimmy and the cast surprise him with a 50th anniversary cake. |
| 070 |
2-28 |
3/15/1952 |
Host:
Danny Thomas
Guests: Jack Haley, Betty Garrett, Bunny Lewbel |
| 071 |
2-29 |
3/22/1952 |
Host:
Jimmy Durante
Guest: Margaret Truman, Eddie Jackson, Jack Roth, Jules Buffano
Note: Margaret Truman returns, following a successful previous appearance with
Jimmy. In a quiz show spoof (with Jimmy as the quizmaster), a blindfolded Margaret
is instructed to add some marks to a blackboard. When the blindfold is removed,
it's revealed that the blackboard spells out "I Like Ike." "I'll
never be able to go home now," Margaret ad libs. In another bit, Margaret
takes part in a "Truman, Jackson & Durante" act. |
| 072 |
2-30 |
3/29/1952 |
Host:
Martha Raye
Guests: Sarah Churchill, acrobats Los Gatos
Note: Perhaps
to counter the idea of the President's daughter appearing with Jimmy Durante,
Martha has the daughter of British Prime Minister Winston Churchill as her guest.
In one sketch, the upper class Sarah studies Martha's mannerisms in order to learn
how to play the role of Adelaide in Guys and Dolls. "Miss Churchill
fell into the groove handily," noted Variety. |
| 073 |
2-31 |
4/5/1952 |
Host:
Ed Wynn
Guests: Dinah Shore; acrobats The Mandarins; dancers Bud and Cece
Robinson; Anthony, Allyn and Hodges; Veola Vonn; Bob Hopkins; Tim Graham; Lou
Bring and his Orchestra; cameo by Pat O'Brien
Note: Ed demonstrates the various
Easter hats he's designed and visits Dinah on the set of a roaring twenties movie
she's shooting. When Ed switches on a giant fake TV set and nothing happens, he
ad libs, "Something's wrong. But this is an hour show; we've got time."
Dinah sings "Life Is a Beautiful Thing" and "I May Be Wrong,"
and in a reprise of her TV debut on Ed's
show in 1949, she croons "Tea For Two" perched atop the old pianocycle.
Anthony, Allyn and Hodges do a spoof of ballroom dancing. In honor of his 50th
anniversary in show business, Ed is presented with an award from the Lamb's Club
by Pat O'Brien. As noted by Variety, "He's been entertaining in virtually
every media from live to film to electronic and has been an important personality
no matter where he worked." |
| 074 |
2-32 |
4/12/1952 |
Host:
Danny Thomas
Guests: James and Pamela Mason, Betty Garrett, Bunny Lewbel,
Benny Baker
Note: A sketch about married couples, featuring the Masons as
one couple and Danny and Betty as the other "wound up in a shambles of confusion
and failure to excite laughs," declared Variety. |
| 075 |
2-33 |
4/19/1952 |
Host:
Jimmy Durante
Guests: Bette Davis, Eddie Jackson
Note: It seemed like
a natural pairing. But in her television debut, Bette Davis proves herself, in
the words of Jack Gould of The New York Times, "not too serious a
rival to Lucille Ball...Miss Davis seemed excessively reluctant to enter into
the spirit of the Durante highjinks and played her role too ceremoniously. The
flair for high comedy was there, but Miss Davis seemed to be holding back. Such
halfway measures do not work out well with Mr. D." |
| 076 |
2-34 |
4/26/1952 |
Host:
Bob Hope
Guests: Fred MacMurray, The Bell Sisters, Gale Robbins, Alfred Apaka,
Les Brown and his Band of Reknown
Note: As part of the act, Fred, in his television
debut, is nervous at first, but Bob helps him feel at home. The pairing of Hope
and MacMurray turns out to be good for a few hearty laughs. Gale sings "Whose
Little Boy Are You?" while Alfred warbles "Beyond the Reef." The
Bell Sisters do their hit "Wheel of Fortune," and Bob joins them for
a comic uptempo rendition of "June Night." Dancer Matty King was supposed
to perform, but the show ran over and his number was cut. This episode, played
to a military audience, originated from the Presidio in San Francisco. |
|
077 |
2-35 |
5/3/1952 |
Host:
Ed Wynn
Guests: Lucille Ball, Desi Arnaz, Ben Wrigley, The Duncan Sisters,
The Whippoorwills, Lou Bring and his Orchestra
Note: Reprising a "silent
movie" sketch she performed previously on Ed's
CBS show, Lucy plays a Mata Hari-type spy trying to use her feminine wiles
to wring a state secret from Ed. Variety called it "socko" and
"a topdrawer item." The Duncan Sisters sing "Side By Side,"
"Double Dee Do," and "Smiles." The Whippoorwills do "Ballin'
the Jack." |
| 078 |
2-36 |
5/10/1952 |
Host: Danny Thomas
Guests: June
Havoc, Eleanor Powell, Bunny Lewbel, Dave Barry, Bob Hopkins, Paul Dubov, Jimmy
Ames, Phil Arnold, Ben Yost Colleens; cameo by Eddie Cantor
Note:
In one sketch, Danny plays a husband whose wife, June, is a little too enamored
of movie stars. In another, June plays the first woman president in 1973, with
Eleanor as her vice president. Danny sings "America, I Love You," "Take
It Easy, Be Casual, Relax" and (to Bunny) "Daddy's Little Girl." |
| 079 |
2-37 |
5/17/1952 |
Hosts:
The Ritz Brothers
Guests: Evelyn Knight, Jack Webb
Note: The Ritz Brothers,
in their television debut, substitute for Jimmy Durante, who was in London for
an engagement at the Palladium. Critics liked the Dragnet spoof - performed
entirely in pantomime with narration by Jack Webb himself. The New York Times's
Jack Gould felt the three Ritzes - Harry, Al, and Jimmy - "rather handily
walked off with late season honors in video comedy." |
| 080 |
2-38 |
5/24/1952 |
Host:
Martha Raye
Guest: Arthur Treacher
Note: Martha inherits a fortune - along
with a butler in the person of Arthur Treacher. Variety was disappointed
in this opus: "Even Miss Raye's exuberance couldn't save the hour from almost
total bankruptcy." |
| 081 |
2-39 |
5/31/1952 |
Host: Spike Jones
Guests: Liberace,
George Liberace, Helen Grayco, Jim Backus, Lenny Kent, George Rock, Freddie Morgan,
Billy Reed, Sir Frederick Gas, Peter James, The Hustrei Sisters, Dick Morgan,
Ruth Foster, The Sheppard Brothers
Note: Spike and the City Slickers give
their usual zany treatment to "Chloe," "Holiday For Strings,"
"All I Want For Christmas Is My Two Front Teeth," and "Poet and
Peasant Overture." Helen sings "Kiss of Fire," and Liberace performs
"Ritual Fire Dance" and "September Song." |
| 082 |
2-40 |
6/7/1952 |
Host:
Danny Thomas
Guests: Betty Garrett |
| 083 |
2-41 |
6/14/1952 |
Hosts:
Paul Winchell and Jerry Mahoney
Guests: Hedy Lamarr, Hot Lips Page, The DeMarco
Sisters
Note: Dummy Jerry dances and plays drums with Hot Lips. Variety
liked this show, calling it "one of the best of the series." |
| 084 |
2-42 |
6/21/1952 |
Host:
Ed Wynn
Guests: Frankie Laine, Ben Blue, Phil Foster, Betty Reilly |
| |
|
|
Replaced
for the summer by All Star Summer Revue |
|
