''Arthur Godfrey and His Friends'' is an American television

variety show Variety show, also known as variety arts or variety entertainment, is entertainment made up of a variety of acts including musical theatre, musical performances, sketch comedy, magic (illusion), magic, acrobatics, juggling, and ventriloquism. It is ...

hosted by

Arthur Godfrey Arthur Morton Godfrey (August 31, 1903 – March 16, 1983) was an American radio and television broadcaster and entertainer who was sometimes introduced by his nickname The Old Redhead. At the peak of his success, in the early-to-mid 1950s, Godf ...

. The hour-long series aired on

CBS Television CBS Broadcasting Inc., commonly shortened to CBS, the abbreviation of its former legal name Columbia Broadcasting System, is an American commercial broadcast television and radio network serving as the flagship property of the CBS Entertainmen ...

from January 1949 to June 1957 (as ''The Arthur Godfrey Show'' after September 1956), then again as a half-hour show from September 1958 to April 1959. Many of Godfrey's musical acts were culled from ''

Arthur Godfrey's Talent Scouts ''Arthur Godfrey's Talent Scouts'' (also known as ''Talent Scouts'') was an American radio and television variety show which ran on CBS from 1946 until 1958. Sponsored by Lipton Tea, it starred Arthur Godfrey, who was also hosting ''Arthur Godf ...

'', which was airing on CBS at the same time. Among the more popular of his singers were Frank Parker,

Marion Marlowe Marion Marlowe (born Marion Townsend; March 7, 1929 – March 24, 2012)
- accessed March 27, 2012 was an American si ...

, Janette Davis,

Julius La Rosa Julius La Rosa (January 2, 1930 – May 12, 2016) was an American traditional popular music singer, who worked in both radio and television beginning in the 1950s. Early years La Rosa was born of Italian-immigrant parents in the Brooklyn borough ...

, Haleloke, The Mariners,

The McGuire Sisters The McGuire Sisters were a singing trio in American popular music. The group was composed of three sisters: * Ruby Christine McGuire (July 30, 1926 – December 28, 2018) * Dorothy "Dottie" McGuire (February 13, 1928 – September 7, 2012) * Ph ...

Carmel Quinn Carmel Quinn (31 July 1925 – 6 March 2021) was an Irish-American entertainer who appeared on Broadway, television and radio after immigrating to the United States in 1954. Biography Quinn was born in July 1925 and educated in Dublin. Her fath ...

Pat Boone Patrick Charles Eugene Boone (born June 1, 1934) is an American singer and actor. He was a successful pop singer in the United States during the 1950s and early 1960s. He sold more than 45 million records, had 38 Top 40 hits, and appeared in mo ...

Miyoshi Umeki was a Japanese-American singer and actress.Bernstein, Adam ''The Washington Post''. 5 September 2007. Umeki was a Tony Award- and Golden Globe-nominated actress and the first East Asian-American woman to win an Academy Award for acting. Life Bo ...

Lu Ann Simms Lu Ann Simms (born Lucille Anne Ciminelli; July 11, 1932 – September 21, 2003)Original data: Social Security Applications and Claims, 1936-2007. was an American singer well-known in the 1950s. A performer since the age of three, she became an ...

, and

The Chordettes The Chordettes were an American female vocal quartet, specializing in traditional pop music. They are best known for their 1950s hit songs " Mr. Sandman" and "Lollipop". Career The group organized in Sheboygan, Wisconsin, in 1946. The origin ...

. The show was live, and Godfrey often did away with the script and improvised. In addition, unlike his morning show ''Arthur Godfrey Time,'' the evening show often presented celebrity guests. He refused to participate in commercials for products he did not believe in. The series was a hit in the

Nielsen ratings Nielsen Media Research (NMR) is an American firm that measures media audiences, including television, radio, theatre, films (via the AMC Theatres MAP program), and newspapers. Headquartered in New York City, it is best known for the Nielsen rat ...

in the early to mid 1950s, often finishing just behind ''Arthur Godfrey's Talent Scouts''. It ranked #18 in the 1950–1951 season, #6 in 1951–1952, #3 in 1952–1953, #6 in 1953-1954 and #22 in 1954–1955. ''Arthur Godfrey and His Friends'' also earned a nomination for an

Emmy Award The Emmy Awards, or Emmys, are an extensive range of awards for artistic and technical merit for the American and international television industry. A number of annual Emmy Award ceremonies are held throughout the calendar year, each with the ...

in 1953 for Best Variety Program.

References

External links

* 1949 American television series debuts 1959 American television series endings 1940s American variety television series 1950s American variety television series Black-and-white American television shows CBS original programming English-language television shows {{US-tv-prog-stub