''Hal Lashwood's Alabama Jubilee'' was an Australian television variety series hosted by

Hal Lashwood Harold Francis Lashwood (13 August 1915 – 26 March 1992), professionally known as Hal Lashwood, was an Australian vaudeville performer, dancer, radio and theatre entertainer, television personality, quiz host, unionist and councillor. A we ...

which aired from 1958 to 1961 on

ABC Television ABC Television most commonly refers to: *ABC Television Network of the American Broadcasting Company, United States, or *ABC Television (Australian TV network), a division of the Australian Broadcasting Corporation, Australia ABC Television or ABC ...

. It was essentially a minstrel show, with some of the performers appearing in

blackface Blackface is a form of theatrical makeup used predominantly by non-Black people to portray a caricature of a Black person. In the United States, the practice became common during the 19th century and contributed to the spread of racial stereo ...

makeup. In 1960, it was retitled ''Hal Lashwood's Minstrels''.

''Hal Lashwood's Alabama Jubilee''

''Hal Lashwood's Alabama Jubilee'' began in Sydney on 6 March 1958. It aired in Sydney on Thursdays and Melbourne on Fridays. It was devised and prepared by Lashwood and produced by Harry Pringle. It aired fortnightly, alternating with '' Cafe Continental'', a variety series featuring acts of diverse ethnic backgrounds. It sometimes aired after episodes of ''Amos'n'Andy''. Notable episodes include: * 6 March 1958 (3 May in Melbourne) - Premiere episode - with Reg Quartley as Tambo * 5 June 1958 – live from

Sydney Stadium The Sydney Stadium was a sporting and entertainment venue in Sydney, New South Wales, which formerly stood on the corner of New South Head Road and Neild Avenue, Rushcutters Bay. Built in 1908, it was demolished in 1970 to make way for the ...

* 31 July 1958 - guest starring entertainer Amy Rochelle * 4 December 1958 - guest starring Heather Pitt * 12 March 1959 (3 June 1959 in Melbourne) - the show's one-year anniversary, with a guest appearance by Australian baritone Ron Williams who "will sing a number of negro spirituals" * 9 April 1959 - guest starring jazz singer

Bettie Fisher Bettie Fisher ( – 12 May 1976) was an Australian Aboriginal musician and theatre manager of the Jerrinja people. Early life and education Fisher was born at the Roseby Park Mission, now renamed the Jerrinja, in Orient Point, around 1939. O ...

* 21 May 1959 - guest starring baritone Neil Williams * 2 July 1959 (1 January 1960 in Melbourne) Other guests included Roy Giles, Noel Melvin, Babs MacKinnon, James Wilson and Nellie Small. The show was replaced by ''Rooftop Rendezvous''. Lashwood went into another variety show, ''Shower of Stars''.

Cast

*Hal Lashwood *Syd Heylen *Jimmy Hanlon *Peggy Mortimer *Neil Williams *Jack Kersh

''Hal Lashwood's Minstrels''

The show came back as ''Hal Lashwood's Minstrels'' which started in July 1960 and went until August 1961. It was replaced by ''The Magic of Music''. Notable episodes include: * 28 July 1960 - Premiere episode * 12 November 1960 - guest starring Heather Pitt and Jack Allan * 24 December 1960 - the Paul Robeson episode - Robeson starred in a segment where he gave a Christmas message to six children of different races and sang various Christmas songs. * 7 January 1961 - guest starring

Wilma Reading Wilma Reading is a singer from Cairns, Queensland, Australia. Reading began her singing career in 1959 after singing for friends at a Brisbane jazz club. Reading performed on '' The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson'', had a residency at N ...

* 19 January 1961 - guest starring the Three Escorts * 27 April 1961 - guest starring

Eddie Calvert Albert Edward "Eddie" Calvert (15 March 1922 – 7 August 1978) was an English trumpeter, who enjoyed his greatest success in the 1950s. Between 1953 and 1958, Calvert achieved seven instrumental hits on the UK Singles Chart, including two ch ...

* 8 June 1961 - guest starring Dave Wheeler, Jack Allen and Helen Loraine * 6 July 1961 - guest starring

Noeleen Batley Noeleen Batley (born 25 December 1944) was an Australian pop star in the 1960s and early 1970s. She was known as "Australia's Little Miss Sweetheart". Early life Batley was born in Sydney on Christmas Day, 1944, and began singing at the age of ...

Other guest stars included Al Kenny, Stan Penrose, Jimmy Haines, C. Ray Smith and Patti Markham. In 1961 an album called ''Hal Lashwood's Minstrels'' was released.

Cast

*Hal Lashwood as Mr Interlocutor *Sydney Heylen as Bones *Reg Quartley as Tambo *Jack Kerh as Mr Dixie *Peggy Mortimer as Miss Carolina *Nell Williams as Mr Melodry *Jack Allen – and the Swanee River Boys (Django Kahn, Neville Thomas and Ron Webber)

Reception

Writing in ''The Bulletin'' in 1963 Max Harris referred to the ABC commissioning variety shows:

Even a modest weekly entry into the variety field is a dubious investment. Shows of the calibre of Cafe Continental, The Lorrne Desmond Show, and the dismal Hal Lashwood Minstrels, demonstrate the hopelessness of the A.B.C.'s half-baked amateur essays at glossy effects. Against the failure of such shows to attract viewers, the A.B.C. was shattered by the enormous national success of “The Outcasts.” Public reaction itself confirmed the A.B.C.’s impulse to re-think programming at a loftier level.

References

External links

*{{imdb title
Hal Lashwood's Minstrels
at

National Film and Sound Archive The National Film and Sound Archive of Australia (NFSA), known as ScreenSound Australia from 1999 to 2004, is Australia's audiovisual archive, responsible for developing, preserving, maintaining, promoting and providing access to a national co ...

Hal Lashwood's Alabama Jubilee
at

1958 Australian television series debuts Australian variety television shows 1961 Australian television series endings Australian Broadcasting Corporation original programming Black-and-white Australian television shows Australian live television series Blackface minstrel shows and films