''Let There Be Stars'' was a variety

television series A television show – or simply TV show – is any content produced for viewing on a television set which can be broadcast via over-the-air, satellite television, satellite, or cable television, cable, excluding breaking news, television adverti ...

broadcast 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 ...

in 1949, the first program to originate in Hollywood for a major TV network. It debuted on October 16, 1949, and ended on November 27, 1949. It was a high-budget show for its time, and used new production techniques such as "Teleparencies", transparencies which could be displayed in the background, faded in or out or dissolved, and changed on the fly. The idea of the program was to highlight up-and-coming actors and actresses who had been found by a

talent scout In professional sports, scouts are experienced talent evaluators who travel extensively for the purposes of watching athletes play their chosen sports and determining whether their set of skills and talents represent what is needed by the scout ...

working to cast new performers in

Broadway Broadway may refer to: Theatre * Broadway Theatre (disambiguation) * Broadway theatre, theatrical productions in professional theatres near Broadway, Manhattan, New York City, U.S. ** Broadway (Manhattan), the street **Broadway Theatre (53rd Stree ...

shows. ''

Variety Variety may refer to: Arts and entertainment Entertainment formats * Variety (radio) * Variety show, in theater and television Films * ''Variety'' (1925 film), a German silent film directed by Ewald Andre Dupont * ''Variety'' (1935 film), ...

'' magazine praised the premiere episode in a review, but the program's success did not last. The first seven episodes are stored at the

Paley Center for Media The Paley Center for Media, formerly the Museum of Television & Radio (MT&R) and the Museum of Broadcasting, founded in 1975 by William S. Paley, is an American cultural institution in New York City, New York with a branch office in Los Angeles, ...

. The archive also has a "rough rehearsal

kinescope Kinescope , shortened to kine , also known as telerecording in Britain, is a recording of a television program on motion picture film, directly through a lens focused on the screen of a video monitor. The process was pioneered during the 1940 ...

" of one of the episodes.

Peter Marshall Peter Marshall may refer to: Entertainment * Peter Marshall (entertainer) (born 1926), American game show host of ''The Hollywood Squares'', 1966–1981 * Peter Marshall (author, born 1939) (1939–1972), British novelist whose works include ''Th ...

was the host.

Production

''Let There Be Stars'' originated at an east Hollywood studio that ABC bought from Warner Bros., making it "the first major network show produced out of Hollywood". The show's September 21, 1949, premiere on the west coast was recorded via kinescope to be shown in New York on October 16. Production and distribution proved to be difficult. Leighton Brill and William Triz were the producers. The director was Richard J. Goggin, and the writer was Nat Linden.

References

External links

*{{IMDb title, tt0438716 1949 American television series debuts 1949 American television series endings 1940s American television series Let There Be Stars

Production

See also

References

External links