radio
Radio is the technology of signaling and communicating using radio waves. Radio waves are electromagnetic waves of frequency between 30 hertz (Hz) and 300 gigahertz (GHz). They are generated by an electronic device called a transmi ...
and
television
Television, sometimes shortened to TV, is a telecommunication medium for transmitting moving images and sound. The term can refer to a television set, or the medium of television transmission. Television is a mass medium for advertisin ...
program. The show was a continuation of ''
Major Bowes Amateur Hour
The ''Major Bowes Amateur Hour'' was an American radio talent show broadcast in the 1930s and 1940s, created and hosted by Edward Bowes (1874–1946). Selected performers from the program participated in touring vaudeville performances, under ...
'' which had been a
radio
Radio is the technology of signaling and communicating using radio waves. Radio waves are electromagnetic waves of frequency between 30 hertz (Hz) and 300 gigahertz (GHz). They are generated by an electronic device called a transmi ...
staple from 1934 to 1945. Major Edward Bowes, the originator of the program and its master of ceremonies, left the show in 1945 and died the following year. He was ultimately succeeded by Ted Mack, when the show was brought into television in 1948.
The show is a progenitor of later, similar programs such as ''
Star Search
''Star Search'' was an American television show that was produced by T.P.E./Rysher Entertainment from 1983 to 1995, hosted by Ed McMahon, and created by Al Masini. A relaunch was produced by 2929 Productions from 2003 to 2004. On both versio ...
'', ''
American Idol
''American Idol'' is an American singing competition television series created by Simon Fuller, produced by Fremantle North America and 19 Entertainment, and distributed by Fremantle North America. It aired on Fox from June 11, 2002, to Ap ...
The format was almost always the same. At the beginning of the show, the talent's order of appearance was determined by spinning a wheel. After it was announced how many episodes the current one marked (the final broadcast on CBS being the 1,651st), the wheel was spun. As the wheel spun, the words "Round and round she goes, and where she stops nobody knows" were always intoned. (From the late 1950s forward, the wheel was gone: it was symbolized by flute arpeggios as Ted Mack invoked the traditional phrase.)
Various acts, sometimes singers or other musicians, quite often
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 ...
fare such as jugglers,
tap dance
Tap dance is a form of dance characterized by using the sounds of tap shoes striking the floor as a form of percussion. Two major variations on tap dance exist: rhythm (jazz) tap and Broadway tap. Broadway tap focuses on dance; it is widely perf ...
rs, baton twirlers, and the like, would perform, with the audience being asked to vote for their favorites by postcard or telephone. The telephone number JUdson 6-7000 was on a banner at the bottom of the screen for viewers to call.
As the show gained markets outside New York, Mack would give the address ("Box 191 Radio City Station") where viewers could send their postcards; he did this after every act. The winners were invited to appear on the next week's show. Three-time winners were eligible for the annual championship, with the grand-prize winner receiving a $2000 scholarship.
Ted Mack ensured that the show was very fast-paced. Despite the program's title, it was generally only a half-hour show, the only exception to this rule being from March 1956 to June 1957 on ABC, when it was expanded to an hour.
Some contestants became minor celebrities at the time, but few ever became really big show-business stars, like the six Ebe Sisters, whose fame was short-lived. The two greatest successes of the show's television era were
Gladys Knight
Gladys Maria Knight (born May 28, 1944), known as the "Empress of Soul", is an American singer, actress and businesswoman. A seven-time Grammy Award-winner, Knight recorded hits through the 1960s, 1970s, and 1980s with her family group Gladys K ...
, then only a child, and
Pat Boone
Patrick Charles Eugene Boone (born June 1, 1934) is an American singer and actor. He was a successful pop singer in the United States during the 1950s and early 1960s. He sold more than 45 million records, had 38 Top 40 hits, and appeared in mo ...
. Boone's appearances on the show probably caused the closest thing that it ever had to a scandal. After he had appeared, and won, for several weeks, it was revealed that he had appeared on the rival CBS Television show ''
Arthur Godfrey's Talent Scouts
''Arthur Godfrey's Talent Scouts'' (also known as ''Talent Scouts'') was an American radio and television variety show which ran on CBS from 1946 until 1958. Sponsored by Lipton Tea, it starred Arthur Godfrey, who was also hosting ''Arthur Godf ...
'', meaning that he was technically not an "amateur" singer. He was removed from the program, but by then his fame was assured. At twenty-three, Boone was hosting his own variety show on ABC, ''
The Pat Boone Chevy Showroom
''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 ...
'', which aired from 1957 to 1960.
Other future celebrities discovered on the show include
Ann-Margret
Ann-Margret Olsson (born April 28, 1941) is a Swedish–American actress, singer, and dancer. As an actress and singer, she is credited as Ann-Margret.
She is known for her roles in '' Pocketful of Miracles'' (1961), ''State Fair'' (1962), '' ...
(in 1958),
Jose Feliciano
Jose is the English transliteration of the Hebrew and Aramaic name ''Yose'', which is etymologically linked to ''Yosef'' or Joseph. The name was popular during the Mishnaic and Talmudic periods.
*Jose ben Abin
*Jose ben Akabya
*Jose the Galilean ...
(in 1962),
Irene Cara
Irene Cara Escalera (March 18, 1959 – November 25, 2022) was an American singer, songwriter and actress of Black, Puerto Rican and Cuban descent. Cara rose to prominence for her role as Coco Hernandez in the 1980 musical film '' Fame'', and f ...
(in 1967) and
Tanya Tucker
Tanya Denise Tucker (born October 10, 1958) is an American country music singer and songwriter who had her first hit, "Delta Dawn", in 1972 at the age of 13. Over the succeeding decades, Tucker became one of the few child performers to mature int ...
(in 1969).
Louis Farrakhan
Louis Farrakhan (; born Louis Eugene Walcott, May 11, 1933) is an American religious leader, Black supremacy, black supremacist, Racism, anti-white and Antisemitism, antisemitic Conspiracy theory, conspiracy theorist, and former singer who hea ...
appeared in 1949 playing a violin, under his birth name Louis Wolcott. Future
child actor
The term child actor or child actress is generally applied to a child acting on stage or in movies or television. An adult who began their acting career as a child may also be called a child actor, or a "former child actor". Closely associated t ...
Roger Mobley
Roger is a given name, usually masculine, and a surname. The given name is derived from the Old French personal names ' and '. These names are of Germanic origin, derived from the elements ', ''χrōþi'' ("fame", "renown", "honour") and ', ' ( ...
appeared with an older brother and older sister in a musical trio. Future comedian
Robert Klein
Robert Klein (born February 8, 1942) is an American stand-up comedian, singer, and actor. He is known for his appearances on stage and screen. He has released four standup comedy specials: ''A Child of the 50s'' (1973), ''Mind Over Matter'' (197 ...
appeared as part of a doo-wop singing group, "The Teen Tones." The greatest fame attained by anyone appearing on the show was that achieved by Frank Sinatra, who appeared on the show during its radio days with "The Hoboken Four".
During
World War II
World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...
, some in the American armed forces believed that someone involved with the program was a
Nazi
Nazism ( ; german: Nazismus), the common name in English for National Socialism (german: Nationalsozialismus, ), is the far-right totalitarian political ideology and practices associated with Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party (NSDAP) in ...
sympathizer because after many episodes aired, an American naval vessel would supposedly be sunk. The claim was that coded information was passed out in the course of the broadcast. Some accused Bowes himself, but none of these accusations could ever be proved. Bowes was one of President
Franklin D. Roosevelt
Franklin Delano Roosevelt (; ; January 30, 1882April 12, 1945), often referred to by his initials FDR, was an American politician and attorney who served as the 32nd president of the United States from 1933 until his death in 1945. As the ...
's closest friends and was personally responsible for having the swimming pool constructed at the
White House
The White House is the official residence and workplace of the president of the United States. It is located at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW in Washington, D.C., and has been the residence of every U.S. president since John Adams in ...
when FDR was in office. As the years went by, the audience for this program aged as well. The Sunday-afternoon version of the series, which aired on CBS in the 1960s, was invariably sponsored by
Geritol
Geritol is a United States trademarked name for various dietary supplements, past and present. Geritol is a brand name for several vitamin complexes plus iron or multimineral products in both liquid form and tablets, containing from 9.5 to 18&nb ...
and other
patent medicine
A patent medicine, sometimes called a proprietary medicine, is an over-the-counter (nonprescription) medicine or medicinal preparation that is typically protected and advertised by a trademark and trade name (and sometimes a patent) and claimed ...
Aqua Velva
Aqua Velva is an American brand of grooming products targeted at men. Its best known product is the Ice Blue aftershave introduced in 1917 by the JB Williams Company.
History
Aqua Velva was first trademarked in 1917 by the JB Williams Company ...
after shave lotion ("There's something about an Aqua Velva man!") and Lectric Shave pre-shave lotion
.
New York City
New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the most densely populated major city in the Un ...
in 1934. Bowes' field assistant was Ted Mack, who scouted and auditioned talent for the program. Mack brought the show back in 1948 on ABC Radio, where it ran until 1952. When Mack assumed the host duties, his position in the field was taken by Albert Fisher.
The official archives of ''The Original Amateur Hour'' and the rights to the original programs and related material are now owned by Fisher. Fisher has donated the radio recordings and television films and tapes to 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 ...
, and has compiled a DVD collection of highlights from the series.
Television debut (1948–1954)
The television debut came on January 18, 1948 on the DuMont Television Network with Mack as the host. The regular staff for the television show included Lou Goldberg (aka Lewis Graham); Lloyd Marx, musical director; accompanist Dotty Marx, his wife; Jack Hoins, writer/producer; and Marguerite (Dwyer) Scheid, talent scout. The show regularly traveled to other cities across the United States and made at least two trips to Europe for the
USO
The United Service Organizations Inc. (USO) is an American nonprofit-charitable corporation that provides live entertainment, such as comedians, actors and musicians, social facilities, and other programs to members of the United States Armed F ...
. In the early 1950s, the show went to Washington, D.C., for a memorable benefit featuring contestants from Congress and the
Truman administration
Harry S. Truman's tenure as the 33rd president of the United States began on April 12, 1945, upon the death of Franklin D. Roosevelt, and ended on January 20, 1953. He had been vice president for only days. A Democrat from Missouri, he ran ...
.
The series is one of only six shows—the others were ''
The Arthur Murray Party
''The Arthur Murray Party'' is an American television variety show which ran from July 1950 until September 1960. The show was hosted by famous dancers Arthur and Kathryn Murray, and was basically one long advertisement for their chain of dance s ...
The Ernie Kovacs Show
''The Ernie Kovacs Show'' was an American comedy show hosted by comedian Ernie Kovacs, first shown in Philadelphia during the early 1950s, then nationally. The show appeared in many versions and formats, including daytime, prime-time, late-night ...
''; ''
Pantomime Quiz
''Pantomime Quiz'', initially titled ''Pantomime Quiz Time'' and later ''Stump the Stars'', was an American television game show produced and hosted by Mike Stokey. Running from 1947—1959, it has the distinction of being one of the few te ...
''; and ''
Tom Corbett, Space Cadet
Tom Corbett is the main character in a series of ''Tom Corbett—Space Cadet'' stories that were depicted in television, radio, books, comic books, comic strips, and other media in the 1950s.
The stories followed the adventures of Corbett, Ast ...
''—to appear on all four TV networks during the Golden Age of Television. The series was broadcast weekly, on early Sunday evenings, on DuMont until September 25, 1949, then moved to
NBC Television
The National Broadcasting Company (NBC) is an American English-language commercial broadcast television and radio network. The flagship property of the NBC Entertainment division of NBCUniversal, a division of Comcast, its headquarters are l ...
in October 1949 where it remained until September 1952. NBC then hosted it from April 1953 to September 1954.
''The Original Amateur Hour'' finished at #27 in the Nielsen ratings for the 1950–1951 season.
Move to other networks (1955–1970)
The show moved to
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 ...
(October 1955 to June 1957), then returned to NBC (July 1957 to October 1958). It then ran from May 1959 to October 1959 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 ...
, before returning to ABC for a last prime-time run from March 1960 to September 26, 1960. Even then the show wasn't finished—it ran for another decade as a late-Sunday-afternoon feature on CBS, beginning on October 2, 1960.
Many long-running CBS shows were canceled in 1970–71 because they attracted viewers of an advanced age. Mack's show was among the first to go, though not as a direct result of the other cancellations. Its Sunday afternoon timeslot was subsumed by the
NFL on CBS
The ''NFL on CBS'' is the branding used for broadcasts of National Football League (NFL) games that are produced by CBS Sports, the sports division of the CBS television network in the United States. The network has aired NFL game telecasts sin ...
at the start of the 1970 season as a result of the
AFL–NFL merger
The AFL–NFL merger was the merger of the two major professional American football leagues in the United States at the time: the National Football League (NFL) and the American Football League (AFL). It paved the way for the combined league, w ...
and its expanded game slate, with CBS beginning to carry football doubleheaders. The network announced the show's cancellation on November 2, as Geritol dropped its sponsorship of the series, one of the last vestiges of the Golden Age where single-series sponsors were more common.
The final show was broadcast on September 27, 1970.
Revival on The Family Channel (1992)
In 1992 Albert Fisher revived the program (as ''The New Original Amateur Hour'') on cable television network The Family Channel (now Freeform) hosted by weatherman
Willard Scott
Willard Herman Scott Jr. (March 7, 1934 – September 4, 2021) was an American weather presenter, radio and television personality, actor, narrator, clown, comedian, and author, whose broadcast career spanned 68 years, 65 years with the NBC br ...
. This revival lasted one season, in spite of its popularity and high ratings.
It featured the debut of highly successful and famous Backstreet Boys member Nick Carter. This was a catalyst for other child stars including Elizabeth Byler who starred In October Sky, Ernest Goes to Camp, Other Voices Other Rooms and Summer Pulley who went on to become a member of the Disney Channel's Mickey Mouse Club, a cast member of Nickelodeon's Clarissa Explains It All and star in the movie Parenthood with Steve Martin. The show also revived the practice of counting the number of the original episodes, with the first being show number 1,652 and the last, show number 1,664.
See also
*
List of programs broadcast by the DuMont Television Network
This is a list of programs broadcast by the DuMont Television Network, which operated in the United States from 1942 to 1956. All regularly scheduled programs which were aired on the DuMont network are listed below, regardless of whether they orig ...
*
List of surviving DuMont Television Network broadcasts
The DuMont Television Network was launched in 1946 and ceased broadcasting in 1956. Allen DuMont, who created the network, preserved most of what it produced in kinescope format. By 1958, however, much of the library had been destroyed to recove ...
Notes
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 ...
, 2004)
* Alex McNeil, ''Total Television'', Fourth edition (New York:
Penguin Books
Penguin Books is a British 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, 1964)