''Faye Emerson's Wonderful Town'', also known as ''Wonderful Town, USA'', is a half-hour variety

television series A television show, TV program (), or simply a TV show, is the general reference to any content produced for viewing on a television set that is broadcast via over-the-air, satellite, and cable, or distributed digitally on streaming plat ...

that aired on CBS from June 16, 1951, to April 19, 1952, in which Faye Emerson visits various cities. Episodes of the program were also shown to American military personnel overseas via Kinescope.

Premise

''Wonderful Town'' is one of several 1950s series in which Emerson, called the "first lady of television," had a starring role. Emerson's third husband, bandleader Skitch Henderson, appeared with her on the series. Because the series was broadcast on location, it was particularly expensive to produce. Music, drama, and narrative in each episode were tailored to the city from which it originated. Guest stars were people associated with the city. In the premiere episode, Emerson visits

Boston Boston is the capital and most populous city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Massachusetts in the United States. The city serves as the cultural and Financial centre, financial center of New England, a region of the Northeas ...

Massachusetts Massachusetts ( ; ), officially the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It borders the Atlantic Ocean and the Gulf of Maine to its east, Connecticut and Rhode ...

. On July 7, 1951, she hosted

Barry Bingham, Sr. George Barry Bingham Sr. (February 10, 1906 – August 15, 1988) was the patriarch of a family that dominated local media in Louisville for several decades in the 20th century. Family and career George Barry Bingham Sr. was born on February 10 ...

, publisher of the '' Louisville Courier-Journal'', when the program visited Louisville,

Kentucky Kentucky (, ), officially the Commonwealth of Kentucky, is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders Illinois, Indiana, and Ohio to the north, West Virginia to the ...

. In the fifth episode based in

Minneapolis Minneapolis is a city in Hennepin County, Minnesota, United States, and its county seat. With a population of 429,954 as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the state's List of cities in Minnesota, most populous city. Locat ...

Minnesota Minnesota ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Upper Midwestern region of the United States. It is bordered by the Canadian provinces of Manitoba and Ontario to the north and east and by the U.S. states of Wisconsin to the east, Iowa to the so ...

, which aired on July 14, former

mayor In many countries, a mayor is the highest-ranking official in a Municipal corporation, municipal government such as that of a city or a town. Worldwide, there is a wide variance in local laws and customs regarding the powers and responsibilitie ...

and then U.S. Senator Hubert H. Humphrey and actor Richard Carlson were among the guests. On October 27, 1951, humorist and author Abe Burrows was the guest star in his native

The Bronx The Bronx ( ) is the northernmost of the five Boroughs of New York City, boroughs of New York City, coextensive with Bronx County, in the U.S. state of New York (state), New York. It shares a land border with Westchester County, New York, West ...

borough A borough is an administrative division in various English language, English-speaking countries. In principle, the term ''borough'' designates a self-governing walled town, although in practice, official use of the term varies widely. History ...

of New York City. On December 1, 1951, Emerson focuses on four college towns,

Los Angeles Los Angeles, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, most populous city in the U.S. state of California, and the commercial, Financial District, Los Angeles, financial, and Culture of Los Angeles, ...

UCLA The University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) is a public land-grant research university in Los Angeles, California, United States. Its academic roots were established in 1881 as a normal school then known as the southern branch of the C ...

Dallas Dallas () is a city in the U.S. state of Texas and the most populous city in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex, the List of Texas metropolitan areas, most populous metropolitan area in Texas and the Metropolitan statistical area, fourth-most ...

: Southern Methodist University, and in

New England New England is a region consisting of six states in the Northeastern United States: Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, and Vermont. It is bordered by the state of New York (state), New York to the west and by the ...

: Smith College and

Dartmouth College Dartmouth College ( ) is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in Hanover, New Hampshire, United States. Established in 1769 by Eleazar Wheelock, Dartmouth is one of the nine colonial colleges chartered before the America ...

. On December 8, 1951, Emerson visited the city where she was reared,

San Diego San Diego ( , ) is a city on the Pacific coast of Southern California, adjacent to the Mexico–United States border. With a population of over 1.4 million, it is the List of United States cities by population, eighth-most populous city in t ...

California California () is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States that lies on the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. It borders Oregon to the north, Nevada and Arizona to the east, and shares Mexico–United States border, an ...

, with

Mayor In many countries, a mayor is the highest-ranking official in a Municipal corporation, municipal government such as that of a city or a town. Worldwide, there is a wide variance in local laws and customs regarding the powers and responsibilitie ...

John D. Butler and Florence Chadwick, a swimmer of the

English Channel The English Channel, also known as the Channel, is an arm of the Atlantic Ocean that separates Southern England from northern France. It links to the southern part of the North Sea by the Strait of Dover at its northeastern end. It is the busi ...

, as the guests. On January 19, 1952, Emerson hosted columnist Earl Wilson in Columbus,

Ohio Ohio ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. It borders Lake Erie to the north, Pennsylvania to the east, West Virginia to the southeast, Kentucky to the southwest, Indiana to the ...

. On February 2, the host city is Washington, D.C., featuring U.S. Senator Margaret Chase Smith of

Maine Maine ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the United States, and the northeasternmost state in the Contiguous United States. It borders New Hampshire to the west, the Gulf of Maine to the southeast, and the Provinces and ...

. On March 1, 1952, the editor Virginius Dabney was the guest as the series visited Richmond,

Virginia Virginia, officially the Commonwealth of Virginia, is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern and Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States between the East Coast of the United States ...

. Other segments focus on

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...

Mexico City Mexico City is the capital city, capital and List of cities in Mexico, largest city of Mexico, as well as the List of North American cities by population, most populous city in North America. It is one of the most important cultural and finan ...

, and

Brooklyn Brooklyn is a Boroughs of New York City, borough of New York City located at the westernmost end of Long Island in the New York (state), State of New York. Formerly an independent city, the borough is coextensive with Kings County, one of twelv ...

. The last episode is set in Times Square. Emerson hosted one ''Wonderful Town'' program from

New Orleans New Orleans (commonly known as NOLA or The Big Easy among other nicknames) is a Consolidated city-county, consolidated city-parish located along the Mississippi River in the U.S. state of Louisiana. With a population of 383,997 at the 2020 ...

. The Don Large Chorus performed on ''Wonderful Town'', which aired on Saturdays at 9 p.m. Eastern Standard Time.

Other guest stars

* Pearl Bailey * Sally Benson * Dane Clark * Rosemary Clooney * Wally Cox * Jane Darwell * Dizzy Dean * Johnny Desmond * Dave Garroway * Lillian Gish * Benny Goodman * W.C. Handy * The Honey Dreamers * The Ink Spots * Buster Keaton * Patrick H. O'Malley, Jr. * Garry Moore * Hazel Scott * Cornelia Otis Skinner * Gladys Swarthout * Mel Torme * Ernest Truex * Nancy Walker * Margaret Whiting

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Faye Emerson's Wonderful Town 1951 American television series debuts 1952 American television series endings 1950s American variety television series Black-and-white American television shows American live television series American English-language television shows CBS original programming