''The Ed Wynn Show'' was an American

variety show Variety show, also known as variety arts or variety entertainment, is entertainment made up of a variety of acts including musical performances, sketch comedy, magic, acrobatics, juggling, and ventriloquism. It is normally introduced by a comp ...

originally broadcast from September 22, 1949 to July 4, 1950, on the

CBS Television Network CBS Broadcasting Inc., commonly shortened to CBS, the abbreviation of its former legal name Columbia Broadcasting System, is an American commercial broadcast television and radio network serving as the flagship property of the CBS Entertainme ...

. Comedian and former vaudevillian

Ed Wynn Isaiah Edwin Leopold (November 9, 1886 – June 19, 1966), better known as Ed Wynn, was an American actor and comedian. He was noted for his ''Perfect Fool'' comedy character, his pioneering radio show of the 1930s, and his later career as a d ...

was the star of the program's 39 episodes, which were the first shows broadcast live from Hollywood, and transmitted via

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 194 ...

to New York. The show included the commercial television debuts of Groucho Marx,

Dinah Shore Dinah Shore (born Frances Rose Shore; February 29, 1916 – February 24, 1994) was an American singer, actress, and television personality, and the top-charting female vocalist of the 1940s. She rose to prominence as a recording artist during ...

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Leon Errol Leon Errol (born Leonce Errol Sims, July 3, 1881 – October 12, 1951) was an Australian-American comedian and actor in the United States, popular in the first half of the 20th century for his appearances in vaudeville, on Broadway, and in film ...

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and

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Production

''The Ed Wynn Show'' premiered on September 22, 1949 on

CBS CBS Broadcasting Inc., commonly shortened to CBS, the abbreviation of its former legal name Columbia Broadcasting System, is an American commercial broadcast television and radio network serving as the flagship property of the CBS Entertainm ...

. The series starred

(1886–1966), a well-established comedian of stage, vaudeville, film and radio. The series consisted of vaudeville-like skits and music performed by the days' popular artists.

Speidel Speidel is a manufacturer of watchbands and related items based in East Providence, Rhode Island, United States. It was originally founded in Germany by Friedrich Speidel in 1867 as a manufacturer of gold and silver chains. The Speidel Chain C ...

wrist watches was the show's original sponsor. Speidel was soon replaced as sponsor by

Camel A camel (from: la, camelus and grc-gre, κάμηλος (''kamēlos'') from Hebrew or Phoenician: גָמָל ''gāmāl''.) is an even-toed ungulate in the genus ''Camelus'' that bears distinctive fatty deposits known as "humps" on its back. C ...

cigarettes. Under the sponsorship of Camel, the series was known as ''The Camel Comedy Caravan''. ''The Ed Wynn Show'' achieved several "firsts" during its short run. It was the first television series to originate from Hollywood. The series was broadcast live from

KTTV KTTV (channel 11) is a television station in Los Angeles, California, United States, serving as the West Coast flagship of the Fox network. It is owned and operated by the network's Fox Television Stations division alongside MyNetworkTV outle ...

in Los Angeles and using the kinescope film process, the films were sent to New York and transmitted on the CBS Eastern and Midwestern stations a week later. ''The Ed Wynn Show'' was also one of the first television series to use the kinescope process in an effort to preserve episodes for later distribution. Sometimes after the live broadcast was finished, some re-takes were kinescoped and edited into the film to improve the east coast version. The series was known for its list of prominent guest stars every week. Some notable guest stars included

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, The Charlivels,

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, Groucho Marx,

and

made their television debuts on ''The Ed Wynn Show''. The series ran one season, ending on July 4, 1950. With the death of

on November 16, 2022, there are no more surviving people that appeared on the show.

Broadcast history

Los Angeles

KTTV, Channel 11 * 9/22/1949 - 12/15/1949 Thursdays 9:00-9:30 pm * 12/24/1949 - 2/18/1950 Saturdays 8:00-8:30 pm * 2/25/1950 - 4/22/1950 Saturdays 9:00-9:30 pm * 4/27/1950 - 6/15/1950 Thursdays 7:00-7:30 pm (Except 6/8/1950 Thursday 9:00-9:30 pm)

New York

WCBS-TV, Channel 2 * 10/6/1949 - 12/29/1949 Thursdays 9:00-9:30 pm * 1/7/1950 - 3/25/1950 Saturdays 9:00-9:30 pm * 4/4/1950 - 7/4/1950 Tuesdays 9:00-9:30 pm

Awards and nominations

Although the series was not very popular with television audiences, ''The Ed Wynn Show'' did receive a

George Foster Peabody Award The George Foster Peabody Awards (or simply Peabody Awards or the Peabodys) program, named for the American businessman and philanthropist George Peabody, honor the most powerful, enlightening, and invigorating stories in television, radio, and ...

for Outstanding Entertainment for the year 1949 and a

Primetime Emmy Award The Primetime Emmy Awards, or Primetime Emmys, are part of the extensive range of Emmy Awards for artistic and technical merit for the American television industry. Bestowed by the Academy of Television Arts & Sciences (ATAS), the Primetime ...

for Best Live Show for the year 1950.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Ed Wynn Show 1949 American television series debuts 1950 American television series endings 1940s American variety television series 1950s American variety television series 1940s American comedy television series 1950s American comedy television series Black-and-white American television shows CBS original programming American live television series Television shows filmed in Los Angeles