''Dinner Date'', also known as ''Dinner Date with Vincent Lopez'',
is a musical
variety show that was broadcast on the
DuMont Television Network
The DuMont Television Network (also known as the DuMont Network, DuMont Television, simply DuMont/Du Mont, or (incorrectly) Dumont ) was one of America's pioneer commercial television networks, rivaling NBC and CBS for the distinction of being ...
on Saturdays from 8 to 8:30 pm ET
from January 28, 1950, to July 22, 1950
or July 29, 1950.
The show, "a relaxed program of music and song",
hosted by bandleader
Vincent Lopez, was broadcast from the Grill Room at the
Hotel Taft
The Taft Hotel building is a 22-story pre-war Spanish Renaissance structure that occupies the eastern side of Seventh Avenue between 50th and 51st Streets, just north of Times Square, in the Midtown Manhattan neighborhood of New York City. In ...
in New York City, where Lopez and his orchestra performed from 1942 to 1962. Besides Lopez's longtime vocalists Lee Russell and Ann Warren, the show featured guest stars such as
Cab Calloway
Cabell Calloway III (December 25, 1907 – November 18, 1994) was an American singer, songwriter, bandleader, conductor and dancer. He was associated with the Cotton Club in Harlem, where he was a regular performer and became a popular vocalist ...
,
Arthur Tracy, and
Woody Herman.
Episodes often featured content related to letters sent in by viewers or to names of some of the viewers.
The shows were unscripted, but Lopez planned "to the second" what he, the orchestra, and other performers would do.
Unlike some contemporary variety programs, performers appeared only once in each episode.
Warren Russell and George Putnam were the announcers.
''Dinner Dates competition included ''Saturday Night Revue'', ''TV Teen Club'', and Ken Murray's show.
Critical reception
A review in the trade publication ''
Variety'' said the program "looks like one of the first successful entertainment programs to be aired from a remote location."
It commended Warren and Russell for their singing and director Harry Coyle for his handling of the "usual difficult conditions imposed by working outside a TV studio."
Episode status
None of the episodes are known to survive.
See also
*
List of programs broadcast by the DuMont Television Network
*
List of surviving DuMont Television Network broadcasts
*''
The Vincent Lopez Show'' (1949–1950, 1957), a TV series also hosted by Lopez
Bibliography
*David Weinstein, ''The Forgotten Network: DuMont and the Birth of American Television'' (Philadelphia:
Temple University Press, 2004)
*Alex McNeil, ''Total Television'', Fourth edition (New York:
Penguin Books, 1980)
*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 book publisher located in the United States, founded in 1952 by Ian Ballantine with his wife, Betty Ballantine. It was acquired by Random House in 1973, which in turn was acquired by Bertelsmann in 1998 and remains ...
, 1964)
References
External links
* {{IMDb title, tt0324778
DuMont historical website
DuMont Television Network original programming
1950 American television series debuts
1950 American television series endings
1950s American variety television series
Black-and-white American television shows
Lost television shows