''Air Time ‘57'' (or simply ''Air Time'') is a live musical variety series that aired briefly on
ABC
ABC are the first three letters of the Latin script known as the alphabet.
ABC or abc may also refer to:
Arts, entertainment, and media Broadcasting
* American Broadcasting Company, a commercial U.S. TV broadcaster
** Disney–ABC Television ...
. It was hosted by singer and radio star
Vaughn Monroe
Vaughn Wilton Monroe (October 7, 1911 – May 21, 1973) was an American baritone singer, trumpeter, big band leader, actor, and businessman, who was most popular in the 1940s and 1950s. He has two stars on the Hollywood Walk of Fame, one for rec ...
. Scheduled opposite shows that were more solidly established, the program lasted little more than three months.
Background
Monroe had previously hosted two other network television shows: the one-season ''The Vaughn Monroe Show'' in 1950 (also known as ''Camel Caravan'' and based on the radio show of the same name) and ''The Vaughn Monroe Show'' in 1954 and 1955 (a 15-minute summer replacement series for ''
The Dinah Shore Show
''The Dinah Shore Show'' is an American variety show which was broadcast by NBC from November 1951 to July 1957, sponsored by General Motors' Chevrolet division. For most of the program's run, it aired from 7:30 to 7:45 Eastern Time on Tuesday an ...
''). ''Air Time'' was an attempt to continue to capitalize on Monroe’s successful singing career.
The show was presented by the U.S. Air Force Reserve (now the
Air Force Reserve Command
The Air Force Reserve Command (AFRC) is a major command (MAJCOM) of the United States Air Force, with its headquarters at Robins Air Force Base, Georgia. It is the federal Air Reserve Component (ARC) of the U.S. Air Force, consisting of commiss ...
).
Cast
Jazz trumpeter
Bobby Hackett
Robert Leo Hackett (January 31, 1915 – June 7, 1976) was an American jazz musician who played trumpet, cornet, and guitar with the bands of Glenn Miller and Benny Goodman in the late 1930s and early 1940s. Hackett was a featured soloist o ...
and the
Elliot Lawrence
Elliott Lawrence Broza (February 14, 1925 – July 2, 2021), known professionally as Elliott Lawrence, was an American jazz pianist and bandleader.
Son of the broadcaster Stan Lee Broza, Lawrence led his first dance band at age 20, but he pl ...
Orchestra were regulars on the show. One or more guest stars also appeared each week.
Playhouse 90
''Playhouse 90'' was an American television anthology series, anthology drama series that aired on CBS from 1956 to 1960 for a total of 133 episodes. The show was produced at CBS Television City in Los Angeles, California. Since live anthology dr ...
on CBS and
Lux Video Theatre
''Lux Video Theatre'' is an American television anthology series that was produced from 1950 until 1957. The series presented both comedy and drama in original teleplays, as well as abridged adaptations of films and plays.
Overview
The ''Lux Vid ...
on NBC.Hyatt, Wesley (2003). ''Short-Lived Television Series, 1948-1978''. Jefferson, North Carolina: McFarland & Company, Inc.