''Stairway to Stardom'' is an early American music television program which aired 1950 to 1951 on New Jersey station WATV. It was among the first with an African-American host, though it was not a network program. Bill Cook, a radio disc jockey, was the host. According to an article titled "Bill Cook Sparks New Video Show" in a 1950 edition of newspaper ''

The Pittsburgh Courier The ''Pittsburgh Courier'' was an African-American weekly newspaper published in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, from 1907 until October 22, 1966. By the 1930s, the ''Courier'' was one of the leading black newspapers in the United States. It was acqu ...

'', Bill Cook had stated that talent on the program would be "selected on the basis of ability and without regard to race, color or religion". The show is believed

lost Lost may refer to getting lost, or to: Geography *Lost, Aberdeenshire, a hamlet in Scotland * Lake Okeechobee Scenic Trail, or LOST, a hiking and cycling trail in Florida, US History *Abbreviation of lost work, any work which is known to have bee ...

. Other early American television shows with African-American hosts included two

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 ...

programs, ''

Elder Michaux ''Elder Michaux'' is a religious TV show that aired on the DuMont Television Network, hosted by evangelist Lightfoot Solomon Michaux. Broadcast history The show was 30 minutes long, originated as a local program on DuMont station WTTG in Washing ...

'' (1948–1949, then continued as local program afterwards) and ''

The Hazel Scott Show ''The Hazel Scott Show'' was an early American television program broadcast on the now defunct DuMont Television Network. The series, hosted by Hazel Scott, ran during the summer of 1950, and was one of the first U.S. network television series to ...

'' (1950), a very short-lived CBS program ''

Uptown Jubilee ''Uptown Jubilee'' was a short-lived American all-black variety show on CBS Television from September 13 to October 20, 1949. The show aired live on Tuesday nights from 8pm to 9pm ET during September, and on Thursdays from 8:30pm to 9pm ET during ...

'' (1949), and the

WABD WABD (97.5 FM) is an American radio station licensed to serve the community of Mobile, Alabama. The station, established in 1973 as WABB-FM, is owned and operated by Cumulus Media. Its studios are on Dauphin Street in Midtown Mobile, and its ...

local program titled ''

Amanda Amanda is a Latin feminine gerundive (i.e. verbal adjective) name meaning, literally, “she who must (or is fit to) be loved”. Other translations, with similar meaning, could be "deserving to be loved," "worthy of love," or "loved very much b ...

'' (1948–1949). Cook was also host of a radio program called ''Musical Caravan''.

References

External links

* {{IMDb title, 3481260 1950 American television series debuts 1951 American television series endings American live television series 1950s American variety television series Black-and-white American television shows English-language television shows Local television programming in the United States