''Star Time'' is an American variety series which aired 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 ...

from September 5, 1950, to February 27, 1951, and starred singer-actress

Frances Langford Julia Frances Newbern-Langford (April 4, 1913 – July 11, 2005) was an American singer and actress who was popular during the Golden Age of Radio and made film and television appearances for over two decades. She was known as the "GI Nighting ...

. It was broadcast from 10 to 11 p.m. on Tuesdays.

Broadcast history

The hour-long comedy-variety show spotlighted several regulars and guest performers. One feature of each telecast was a lengthy skit, written and directed by

Philip Rapp Philip Rapp (March 26, 1907 – January 23, 1996) was a film and television director and screenwriter. He wrote for Eddie Cantor and, for a brief period, wrote film scripts for Danny Kaye. Rapp is perhaps best known as the creator of Baby Snook ...

, with Langford and Lew Parker performing as

The Bickersons ''The Bickersons'' was a radio comedy sketch series that began September 8, 1946, on NBC, moving the following year to CBS where it continued until August 28, 1951. The show's married protagonists, portrayed by Don Ameche (later by Lew Parker) a ...

, a quarrelsome married couple that migrated from radio as a distinctively-unhappy sitcom man and wife. With Langford as a first-class singer, music was an integral component of the series. The premier telecast spotlighted

The Harmonicats Jerry Murad's Harmonicats were an American harmonica-based group. Background The band was founded in 1947. Originally they were named The Harmonica Madcaps and the group consisted of Jerry Murad ( chromatic lead harmonica), Bob Hadamik (bass har ...

, a trio of versatile harmonica players who had achieved great prominence in the 1940s. But the program soon settled on a regular slot called Club Goodman in which the Benny Goodman Sextet—with Goodman,

Teddy Wilson Theodore Shaw Wilson (November 24, 1912 – July 31, 1986) was an American jazz pianist. Described by critic Scott Yanow as "the definitive swing pianist", Wilson had a sophisticated, elegant style. His work was featured on the records of ma ...

, and

Terry Gibbs Terry Gibbs (born Julius Gubenko; October 13, 1924) is an American jazz vibraphonist and band leader. He has performed or recorded with Tommy Dorsey, Chubby Jackson,Theroux, Gary"Gibbs, Terry".''Grove Music Online''. Oxford University Press. Re ...

, among others—played jazz arrangements of popular songs. With Wilson's weekly appearances, ''Star Time'' became one of the first sponsored national TV series to offer an

African-American African Americans (also referred to as Black Americans and Afro-Americans) are an Race and ethnicity in the United States, ethnic group consisting of Americans with partial or total ancestry from sub-Saharan Africa. The term "African American ...

performer as a cast regular. ''Star Time'' was an adaptation of the earlier radio series ''

Drene Time ''Drene Time'' (aka ''The Drene Show'') was a 30-minute radio variety show starring Don Ameche and singer-actress Frances Langford as co-hosts, airing on NBC's Sunday night schedule (10-10:30pm Eastern) in 1946–47. The series was sponsored by P ...

'', which had aired from 1946 to 1947. ''Star Time'' originated from WABD, with Food Stores Corporation as its sponsor.

Episode status

The

UCLA Film and Television Archive The UCLA Film & Television Archive is a visual arts organization focused on the preservation, study, and appreciation of film and television, based at the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA). Also a nonprofit exhibition venue, the archiv ...

has four complete episodes, along with excerpts from a fifth episode. The J. Fred and Leslie W. MacDonald Collection of the

Library of Congress The Library of Congress (LOC) is the research library that officially serves the United States Congress and is the ''de facto'' national library of the United States. It is the oldest federal cultural institution in the country. The library is ...

contains five half-hour segments of ''Star Time'', including the first half-hour of the premiere telecast which featured

; plus an opening half-hour of another show; and three closing half-hour segments highlighting the Benny Goodman Sextet as well as The Bickersons skits.

Bibliography

*David Weinstein, ''The Forgotten Network: DuMont and the Birth of American Television'' (Philadelphia:

Temple University Press Temple University Press is a university press founded in 1969 that is part of Temple University (Philadelphia, Pennsylvania). It is one of thirteen publishers to participate in the Knowledge Unlatched pilot, a global library consortium approach t ...

, 2004) *Alex McNeil, ''Total Television'', Fourth edition (New York:

Penguin Books Penguin Books is a British publishing, publishing house. It was co-founded in 1935 by Allen Lane with his brothers Richard and John, as a line of the publishers The Bodley Head, only becoming a separate company the following year.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, 0042147, title=Star Time
DuMont historical website
1950 American television series debuts 1951 American television series endings 1950s American variety television series Black-and-white American television shows DuMont Television Network original programming English-language television shows

Broadcast history

Episode status

See also

Bibliography

References

External links