''The Spike Jones Show'' was the name of several separate American

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 ...

and variety series that aired on

NBC 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 ...

and

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 ...

in the 1950s and 1960s. The series was presented by actor and musician

Spike Jones Lindley Armstrong "Spike" Jones (December 14, 1911 – May 1, 1965) was an American musician and bandleader specializing in spoof arrangements of popular songs and classical music. Ballads receiving the Jones treatment were punctuated with gun ...

, his wife, musician

Helen Grayco Helen Grayco (; September 20, 1924 – August 20, 2022) was an American singer and actress active from the 1930s to the 1960s. She was most famous for appearances with her husband Spike Jones on ''The Spike Jones Show'' in the 1950s and the 19 ...

and their band, The City Slickers. The series also featured Billy Barty, Freddy Morgan,

Paul Garner Paul Albert "Mousie" Garner (July 31, 1909 – August 8, 2004) was an American actor. Garner earned his nickname by assuming the role of a shy, simpering jokester. He was one of the last actors still doing shtick from vaudeville, and has ...

Bill Dana William Szathmary (October 5, 1924 June 15, 2017), known as Bill Dana, was an American comedian, actor, and screenwriter. He often appeared on television shows such as ''The Ed Sullivan Show'', frequently in the guise of a heavily accented Boli ...

, and

Lennie Weinrib Leonard Weinrib (April 29, 1935 – June 28, 2006) was an American actor, comedian and writer. He is best known for playing the title role in the children's television show '' H.R. Pufnstuf'', Grimace in McDonaldland commercials, the title role in ...

Show origins

After a short stint on the radio, in the late 1940s,

began to see that there might be potential in the fairly new medium of television. With this potential in mind, Jones along with Edward F. Cline filmed two half-hour pilots in the summer of 1950; ''Foreign Legion'' and ''Wild Bill Hiccup''. Neither were broadcast. Jones then decided to try live television bringing his wife

and his band, ''The City Slickers'' with him. For them, live television proved to be a success. The basis for ''The Spike Jones Show'' came about after an episode of ''

The Colgate Comedy Hour ''The Colgate Comedy Hour'' was an American comedy-musical variety series that aired live on the NBC network from 1950 to 1955. The show featured many notable comedians and entertainers of the era as guest stars. Many of the scripts of the series ...

'' on

. The episode, entitled "The Spike Jones Show", was originally broadcast on February 11, 1951. Three years after that telecast, NBC offered Jones, Grayco and his band their own slot on television.

Original version (Jan.–May 1954)

The first version of ''The Spike Jones Show'' premiered on January 2, 1954 on

. The series was the first weekly television series that was presented by

. The series also starred

and members of the City Slickers. It ran on Saturday evenings alongside ''

The Jackie Gleason Show ''The Jackie Gleason Show'' is the name of a series of American network television shows that starred Jackie Gleason, which ran from 1952 to 1970, in various forms. ''Cavalcade of Stars'' Gleason's first variety series, which aired on the DuMon ...

'' on

Second version (Apr.–Aug. 1957)

Nearly three years after ''The Spike Jones Show'' finished its run on NBC,

decided to offer Jones and his band their own time slot on Tuesday nights. The CBS reincarnation of ''The Spike Jones Show'' premiered on April 2, 1957. However, the series was meant for replacement purposes only and its last episode aired on August 27, 1957.

Final version (Jul.–Sept. 1961)

The final version of ''The Spike Jones Show'' premiered on July 31, 1961 on

. The series aired on Monday nights as a summer replacement only. Its last episode aired on September 25, 1961. This was the last incarnation of the series.

Episodes

Home media

A DVD entitled ''The Best of Spike Jones'' features scenes of the 1954 version of ''The Spike Jones Show''. The DVD was released on November 24, 2009.

References

External links

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Spike Jones Show 1954 American television series debuts 1961 American television series endings 1950s American comedy television series 1960s American comedy television series 1950s American variety television series 1960s American variety television series Black-and-white American television shows CBS original programming NBC original programming Television articles with incorrect naming style