Cavalcade of Stars


The Academy of Television Arts & Sciences Foundation Presents

02:26

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About

From Wikipedia:

Jackie Gleason's first variety series was aired on the DuMont Network under the title Cavalcade of Stars. After previous host Jerry Lester quit the show in June 1950 (soon to become the star of NBC's first late-night series, Broadway Open House), Gleason — who had made his mark on the first television incarnation of The Life of Riley sitcom — stepped into Cavalcade on July 15, 1950, and became an immediate sensation. The show was broadcast live, in front of a theater audience, and offered the same kind of vaudevillian entertainment common to early-TV revues. Jackie's guests included New York-based performers of stage and screen, including Bert Wheeler, Smith and Dale, and Vivian Blaine. Production values were decent but not spectacular, owing to DuMont's humble facilities and a thrifty sponsor (Quality Drugs, representing most of the nation's neighborhood drug stores).

In 1952, CBS president William S. Paley offered Gleason a much higher salary, with which DuMont could not compete. The series was retitled The Jackie Gleason Show and premiered on CBS on September 20, 1952.[1]

While much of DuMont's programming archive was later destroyed after they ceased broadcasting[2], a surprising number of Cavalcade of Stars episodes survive, including several episodes at the UCLA Film and Television Archive. At least 14 of the Jackie Gleason episodes survive at the Paley Center for Media, though the exact number of surviving episodes is unclear (see online catalog).

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Who talked about this show

Ted Bergmann

View Interview
Ted Bergmann on the early DuMont show Cavalcade of Stars
02:47
Ted Bergmann on commercial placement on Cavalcade of Stars
00:44
Ted Bergmann on Jack Carter leaving Cavalcade of Stars and replacing him with Jackie Gleason
06:51
Ted Bergmann on memories of Art Carney from Cavalcade of Stars
00:42
Ted Bergmann on stars who appeared on Cavalcade of Stars
01:27
Ted Bergmann on the relationship between MCA and Cavalcade of Stars
00:58
Ted Bergmann on why Cavalcade of Stars   went off the air
00:55

Hal Gurnee

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Hal Gurnee on working on Jackie Gleason's Cavalcade of Stars
02:27

Joyce Randolph

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Joyce Randolph on being cast as "Trixie" for a "Honeymooners" sketch on Cavalcade of Stars
01:20
Joyce Randolph on working on Calvalcade of Stars
12:07
Joyce Randolph on the cast of The Honeymooners
04:21

June Taylor

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June Taylor on the June Taylor Dancers going on Cavalcade of Stars
03:35
June Taylor on Jackie Gleason hosting Cavalcade of Stars, and on Gleason's strengths as a comedian
08:06
June Taylor on how the June Taylor Dancers were integrated into Cavalcade of Stars
03:10
June Taylor on the June Taylor Dancers appearing on Cavalcade of Stars
02:05
June Taylor on Jackie Gleason doing the first "Honeymooners" sketches on Cavalcade of Stars, and on the director of the show Frank Bunetta
01:11
June Taylor on adapting the choreography for the cameras on Cavalcade of Stars and working with director Frank Bunetta
02:59

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