The Kraft Summer Music Hall is a 1966

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 ...

music Music is generally defined as the art of arranging sound to create some combination of form, harmony, melody, rhythm or otherwise expressive content. Exact definitions of music vary considerably around the world, though it is an aspect ...

comedy Comedy is a genre of fiction that consists of discourses or works intended to be humorous or amusing by inducing laughter, especially in theatre, film, stand-up comedy, television, radio, books, or any other entertainment medium. The term o ...

series broadcast in

America The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

. It was written by

George Carlin George Denis Patrick Carlin (May 12, 1937 – June 22, 2008) was an American comedian, actor, author, and social critic. Regarded as one of the most important and influential stand-up comedians of all time, he was dubbed "the dean of countercul ...

, starring John Davidson as the host. The hour-long show was produced by

Bob Banner Robert James Banner Jr. (August 15, 1921 – June 15, 2011) was an American producer, writer and director. From 1967 to 1972 he co-produced ''The Carol Burnett Show''. Life and career Banner was a native of Ennis, Texas, and credited his hom ...

. It was the summer replacement for '' The Andy Williams Show'' and ''Perry Como's Kraft Music Hall''. The show aired from June 6 to August 29, 1966. The Four King Cousins, known then as The Five King Cousins, and the Lively Set provided music in each episode. Two former members of the

New Christy Minstrels The New Christy Minstrels are an American large-ensemble folk music group founded by Randy Sparks in 1961. The group has recorded more than 20 albums and scored several hits, including " Green, Green", "Saturday Night", "Today", "Denver", and " ...

, Jackie Miller and Gayle Caldwell, were regular singers on the show. Carlin and Richard Pryor were regular comedians on the series. Davidson described the show as "sort of a 'Talent Scouts' for the university set". In the last segment of each episode, Davidson entered the audience to speak to audience members and then to sing a song from the years when they were dating each other. One newspaper reviewer described the gambit as "a most embarrassing and tattered sequence" that detracted from an otherwise enjoyable show. The final episode included guest stars Chad & Jeremy and Flip Wilson (who had also appeared in an earlier episode).

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Kraft Summer Music Hall 1966 American television series debuts 1966 American television series endings