''The Vincent Lopez Show'', also known as ''Vincent Lopez Speaking'', is a 1949-1957 American musical television program hosted by

Vincent Lopez Vincent Lopez (December 30, 1895 – September 20, 1975) was an American bandleader, actor, and pianist. Early life and career Vincent Lopez was born of Portuguese immigrant parents in Brooklyn, New York City, United States, Distinguished Am ...

and broadcast 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 ...

, and later on

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 ...

. The latter title is a take-off on Lopez's introduction on his longtime radio show: "Lopez speaking!"

Broadcast history

The series ran from 1949 to 1950 on DuMont and from February to March 1957 on CBS. Lopez also hosted a 30-minute DuMont series ''

Dinner Date ''Dinner Date'' is a British dating game show, which first aired on ITV from 9 August 2010 to 28 December 2012, with subsequent new series airing on sister channel ITVBe since 8 October 2014. The programme makes up a significant proportion of ...

'', which aired live from the Grill Room at the Hotel Taft in New York City, Saturdays at 8pm ET from January to July 1950. From March to May 1949, the show aired from 6:45 to 7pm ET every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday on most DuMont affiliates.McNeil, Alex (1980). ''Total Television'' (4th ed.). New York: Penguin Books. . From May to July 1949, the series aired Monday through Friday in the same time slot. From July 1949 to June 1950, the series aired Monday through Friday from 7:30 to 7:45pm ET. Music programs aired in a 15-minute time-slot were common at the time. According to the book ''What Women Watched: Daytime Television in the 1950s'' (University of Texas Press, 2005) by Marsha Cassidy, ''Vincent Lopez Speaking'' also aired from 3:15 to 3:30pm ET on DuMont. According to the book, the DuMont daytime schedule beginning in January 1949 was: *10-10:30am '' Johnny Olson's Rumpus Room'' *10:30-11am ''Welcome, Neighbors'' *11am-12noon ''The Stan Shaw Show'' *12noon-12:15pm '' Amanda'' *12:15-12:30pm ''Man in the Street'' *12:30-12:45pm ''

Camera Headlines ''Camera Headlines'' was an early American television series that aired from January 1948 to 1949 on the DuMont Television Network. Broadcast history DuMont's previous national news program, ''The Walter Compton News'', had premiered on DuMont sta ...

'' *12:45-1pm ''Fashions in Song'' *1-1:30pm ''

Okay, Mother ''Okay, Mother'' is an American daytime television, daytime Variety show, variety/game show which originally aired on WNYW, WABD in New York City in 1948. Broadcast history The series, hosted by Dennis James, began on WABD, then aired on the DuMo ...

'' *2:30-3pm '' Inside Photoplay'' (''The Wendy Barrie Show'') *3-3:15pm ''

The Needle Shop ''The Needle Shop'' was an early American television program which aired on the DuMont Television Network in a 15-minute timeslot at 2:30pm ET weekdays. The program aired on New York City television station WABD from 1948 to 1949. Broadcast hist ...

'' *3:15-3:30pm ''Vincent Lopez Speaking'' (''The Vincent Lopez Show'')

CBS Television version

Six years later, Lopez hosted a similar program on

. The DuMont version featured notable performers including Ray Barr, Lee Russell, Barry Valentino, and Ann Warren, all series regulars. ''Dinner Date'' also featured guest stars such as

Cab Calloway Cabell Calloway III (December 25, 1907 – November 18, 1994) was an American singer, songwriter, bandleader, conductor and dancer. He was associated with the Cotton Club in Harlem, where he was a regular performer and became a popular vocalist ...

Arthur Tracy Arthur Tracy (25 June 1899 – 5 October 1997) was an American vocalist and actor, billed as The Street Singer. His performances in theatre, films and radio, along with his recordings, brought him international fame in the 1930s. Late evening r ...

, and

Woody Herman Woodrow Charles Herman (May 16, 1913 – October 29, 1987) was an American jazz clarinetist, saxophonist, singer, and big band leader. Leading groups called "The Herd", Herman came to prominence in the late 1930s and was active until his dea ...

.* Brooks, Tim & Marsh, Earle (1964). ''The Complete Directory to Prime Time Network TV Shows'' (3rd ed.). New York: Ballantine. .

Episode status

A single kinescope of a 1950 episode survives at 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 ...

References

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)

External links