''The Durante-Moore Show'' was an

old-time radio The Golden Age of Radio, also known as the old-time radio (OTR) era, was an era of radio in the United States where it was the dominant electronic home entertainment medium. It began with the birth of commercial radio broadcasting in the early ...

show that ran on

NBC The National Broadcasting Company (NBC) is an Television in the United States, American English-language Commercial broadcasting, commercial television network, broadcast television and radio network. The flagship property of the NBC Enterta ...

with episodes running from March 25, 1943–October 28, 1943 and 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 Entertainmen ...

with episodes running from October 8, 1943–June 27, 1947. The series starred

burlesque A burlesque is a literary, dramatic or musical work intended to cause laughter by caricaturing the manner or spirit of serious works, or by ludicrous treatment of their subjects.

and

vaudeville Vaudeville (; ) is a theatrical genre of variety entertainment born in France at the end of the 19th century. A vaudeville was originally a comedy without psychological or moral intentions, based on a comical situation: a dramatic composition ...

veteran entertainer

Jimmy Durante James Francis Durante ( , ; February 10, 1893 – January 29, 1980) was an American comedian, actor, singer, vaudevillian, and pianist. His distinctive gravelly speech, Lower East Side accent, comic language-butchery, jazz-influenced song ...

and radio personality

Garry Moore Garry Moore (born Thomas Garrison Morfit; January 31, 1915 – November 28, 1993) was an American entertainer, comedic personality, game show host, and humorist best known for his work in television. He began a long career with the CBS network ...

. The series was sponsored by

Camel cigarettes Camel is an American brand of cigarettes, currently owned and manufactured by the R. J. Reynolds Tobacco Company in the United States and by Japan Tobacco outside the U.S. Most current Camel cigarettes contain a blend of Turkish tobacco and Virg ...

and the Rexall Drug Corporation. The show also coined the famous

catchphrase A catchphrase (alternatively spelled catch phrase) is a phrase or expression recognized by its repeated utterance. Such phrases often originate in popular culture and in the arts, and typically spread through word of mouth and a variety of mass ...

"''Dat's my boy dat said dat!''" which was said by Durante, often speaking of something that Moore said. That catchphrase would later inspire the legendary cartoon ''

Augie Doggie and Doggie Daddy Augie Doggie and Doggie Daddy are Hanna-Barbera cartoon characters who debuted on ''The Quick Draw McGraw Show'' and appeared in their own segment. The segments centered on the misadventures of a dachshund father-and-son team. Doggie Daddy (vo ...

''.

Background

The origins of ''The Durante-Moore Show'' can probably be traced back to several radio stints that

had in the 1930s. On September 10, 1933, Durante appeared on NBC radio's ''

The Chase and Sanborn Hour ''The Chase and Sanborn Hour'' is the umbrella title for a series of American comedy and variety radio shows sponsored by Standard Brands' Chase & Sanborn Coffee Company, Chase and Sanborn Coffee, usually airing Sundays on NBC Radio Network, NBC ...

'' which, at that time starred

Eddie Cantor Eddie Cantor (born Isidore Itzkowitz; January 31, 1892 – October 10, 1964) was an American comedian, actor, dancer, singer, songwriter, film producer, screenwriter and author. Familiar to Broadway, radio, movie, and early television audiences, ...

. He continued to make recurring appearances on the program until November 12 of that year. When Cantor left the show, Durante took over as the host from April 22 to September 30, 1934. Durante then became a regular on NBC's ''

Camel Caravan A camel train or caravan is a series of camels carrying passengers and goods on a regular or semi-regular service between points. Despite rarely travelling faster than human walking speed, for centuries camels' ability to withstand harsh condi ...

''. It was in 1943 when ''Caravan'' producer Phil Cohan decided to pair Durante with a young

. Moore was an announcer on the radio at the time. After that episode aired, Cohan decided to create a radio series for the two. The series was to be a summer replacement series for ''

The Abbott and Costello Show ''The'' () is a grammatical article in English, denoting persons or things already mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in English. ''The'' is the m ...

''.

Lou Costello Louis Francis Cristillo (March 6, 1906 – March 3, 1959), professionally known as Lou Costello, was an American comedian, actor and producer. He was best known for his double act with straight man Bud Abbott and their routine "Who's on First?" ...

, however, suffered a heart attack which put ''The Abbott and Costello Show'' on a short hiatus and, looking for a quick replacement, NBC put Durante and Moore on the air. On March 25, 1943, ''The Durante-Moore Show'' premiered on NBC under the name ''The Camel Comedy Caravan''. The series was sponsored originally by

. This sponsorship concluded after Camel refused to renew the series after the end of its third season. The March 30, 1945 broadcast was the last show sponsored by Camel. The show continued on April 6, 1945 with

Rexall Rexall was a chain of American drugstores, and the name of their store-branded products. The stores, having roots in the federation of United Drug Stores starting in 1903, licensed the Rexall brand name to as many as 12,000 drug stores across th ...

as its sponsor. The series had moved to

in October 1943.

Moore's departure

In the spring of 1947, Moore departed from the show. The reason why Moore left was to pursue a career in comedy. Another reason to Moore's departure was because

CBS Television 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 Entertainmen ...

offered Moore his own daytime variety show ''

The Garry Moore Show ''The Garry Moore Show'' is the name for several separate American variety series on the CBS television network in the 1950s and 1960s. Hosted by experienced radio performer Garry Moore, the series helped launch the careers of many comedic talent ...

'' which started in 1949.

''The Jimmy Durante Show''

''The Jimmy Durante Show'' was an American

show. It aired on

with episodes running from October 1, 1947–June 30, 1950. It was a continuation of the

radio series ''The Durante-Moore Show'' after

left when he was offered his own show on CBS Television. In mid-1947, Moore decided to leave the series after he was offered his own show on CBS Television. The last episode Moore appeared in and the last episode of the series under the name ''The Durante-Moore Show'' aired on June 27, 1947. The series then went under a short

hiatus Hiatus may refer to: *Hiatus (anatomy), a natural fissure in a structure *Hiatus (stratigraphy), a discontinuity in the age of strata in stratigraphy *''Hiatus'', a genus of picture-winged flies with sole member species ''Hiatus fulvipes'' *Globa ...

and then, on October 1, 1947, the series went back on the air this time on NBC under a new name ''The Jimmy Durante Show''. The series originally starred

with recurring guest stars

Peggy Lee Norma Deloris Egstrom (May 26, 1920 – January 21, 2002), known professionally as Peggy Lee, was an American jazz and popular music singer, songwriter, composer, and actress, over a career spanning seven decades. From her beginning as a vocalis ...

and

Florence Halop Florence Halop (January 23, 1923 – July 15, 1986) was an American actress. Best known for her roles as surly patient Mrs. Hufnagel on the drama '' St. Elsewhere'' and the raspy-voiced bailiff Florence Kleiner on the sitcom ''Night Court''. H ...

. In its last season, actor and personality

Alan Young Alan Young (born Angus Young; November 19, 1919 – May 19, 2016) was a British, Canadian and American actor, comedian, radio host and television host, whom ''TV Guide'' called "the Charlie Chaplin of television". His notable roles includ ...

was brought in as Durante's

straight man The straight man is a stock character in a comedy performance, especially a double act, sketch comedy, or farce. When a comedy partner behaves eccentrically, the straight man is expected to maintain composure. The direct contribution to the ...

. Ratings for the show were good. At the end of the 1947-48 season, ''The Jimmy Durante Show'' was tied for the number 7 show on the air along with ''

Philco Radio Time ''Philco Radio Time'' was an old-time radio radio series starring entertainer Bing Crosby. The series ran over ABC Radio with episodes airing from October 16, 1946–June 1, 1949. The series also was syndicated for a period of time over the ...

'' 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 ...

and ''

Dr. Christian ''Dr. Christian'' is a radio series with Jean Hersholt in the title role. It aired on CBS Radio from November 7, 1937 to January 6, 1954. In 1956, the series was adapted for television where it aired in syndication until 1957. Hersholt had portr ...

'' on CBS. The show managed to stay in the top ten throughout its entire run. The series ended in June 1950 after Durante made a move to television with a starring role on NBC's ''

Four Star Revue ''Four Star Revue'' (also known as ''All Star Revue'' and ''All Star Summer Revue'') was an American variety/comedy program that aired on NBC from October 4, 1950, to December 26, 1953. The series originally starred four celebrities, Ed Wynn, Dan ...

''.

Broadcast history

NOTE: The most frequent time slot for the series in bold text.

''The Durante-Moore Show''

* Thursday at 10:00-10:30 pm on NBC: March 28, 1943–October 28, 1943 * Friday at 10:00-10:30 pm on CBS: October 8, 1943–June 1946 * Friday at 9:30-10:00 pm on CBS: September 1946–June 27, 1947

''The Jimmy Durante Show''

* Wednesday at 10:30-11:00 pm on NBC: October 1, 1947–June 23, 1948 * Friday at 8:30-9:00 pm on NBC: October 8, 1948–1949 * Friday at 9:30-10:00 pm on NBC: September 1949–June 30, 1950

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Durante-Moore American comedy radio programs 1943 radio programme debuts 1947 radio programme endings NBC radio programs CBS Radio programs