Vincent Terrace - Television Series of the 1950s: Essential Facts and Quirky Details

Television Series of the 1950s

Television Series of the 1950s

Essential Facts and Quirky Details

Vincent Terrace

Rowman & Littlefield

Lanham Boulder New York London

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Copyright 2016 by Rowman & Littlefield

All rights reserved . No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any electronic or mechanical means, including information storage and retrieval systems, without written permission from the publisher, except by a reviewer who may quote passages in a review.

British Library Cataloguing in Publication Information Available

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Names: Terrace, Vincent, 1948

Title: Television series of the 1950s : essential facts and quirky details / Vincent Terrace.

Description: Lanham : Rowman & Littlefield, [2016] | Includes index.

Identifiers: LCCN 2015038755| ISBN 9781442261037 (hardback : alk. paper) | ISBN 9781442261044 (ebook)

Subjects: LCSH: Television programsUnited StatesPlots, themes, etc. | Television programsUnited StatesDictionaries.

The paper used in this publication meets the minimum requirements of American National Standard for Information SciencesPermanence of Paper for Printed Library Materials, ANSI/NISO Z39.48-1992.

Printed in the United States of America

Acknowledgments

The author would like to thank James Robert Parish for his assistance on this project.

Introduction

Once upon a timeback in August 1931Columbia Broadcasting System (CBS)s experimental television station W2XAB presented the first known American variety TV series, Half-Hour on Broadway . Shortly after, in the same month, the first identified U.S. dramatic TV series, The Television Ghost , premiered, followed by the initial domestic television comedy series Ned Wayburns Musical Comedy Show. Virtually nothing is known about these early shows, as they aired live and the programs no longer exist. (There was also little or no documentation [reviews, ads] regarding these early experiments.) Imagine what nostalgic information these pioneering CBS programs contained, andif they were still viewable todaywhat trivia treasures they may have possessed.

This book is like a time machine back to an era, the 1950s, when commercial television was still in its infancy. It was also a period when TV programs telecast in that era still exist today. Through the viewing of such actual episodes, that lost trivia information has been uncovered and is presented in this volume in as much detail as possible based on what offerings have survived.

This is not a book of opinions or essays about specific television programs; it is a narrative of the facts associated with each of the programs that are included here. Readers will discover a wealth of fascinating information that, for the most part, cannot be found anywhere else. In some cases, the factual data detailed herein is the only such documentation that exists currently on these bygone shows.

While all the basic information available about each television series has been included (e.g., story line and cast), the bulk of each entry focuses on the trivia aspects associated with each of the programs examined. This includes such data as street addresses, names of pets, telephone numbers, character facts, program facts, and other items you may have once known but have long since forgotten.

Whether the titles in this book ring a bell of recognition or are totally unknown to you, readers will find a new perspective regarding old-time TV with this first in a series of volumes that will also explore other decades of American television fare: the 1960s, 1970s, 1980s, 1990s, and 2000s.

Each of the alphabetically arranged entries was compiled by acquiring and watching its available episodes. In some cases, only a handful of segments exist today or were obtainable for viewing, and thus not all entries are equal in presentation of information. However, each entry is as complete as possible based on accessible material.

Did you know, for example, that Amos McCoy ( The Real McCoys ) could not read or write but had a taste for dirt when it came to planting crops? (knew what should be planted where) or that on The Many Loves of Dobie Gillis , the G in the offbeat character named Maynard G. Krebs stood for Walter? How about Ralph and Alice Kramdens apartment electric bill (on The Honeymooners ) being only 39 cents a month? Or that Ralph would buy Alice a TV set only when they invented 3-D TV? And on I Love Lucy , were you aware that Ricky originally performed at Manhattans Tropicana Club? (later the Club Babalu). And on Richard Diamond, Private Detective , Sam, Diamonds answering service provider, operated the Hi Fi Answering Service? These are but a few of the many thousands of fun and intriguing trivia facts contained in this volume.

All told, its a totally different perspective on a past era of American TV, one that will bring back fond memories or enlighten those too young to remember what U.S. TV was really like in its infancy.

A

The Abbott and Costello Show

(Syndicated, 19521954)

Cast: Bud Abbott, Lou Costello, Hillary Brooke, Sidney Fields (Themselves), Gordon Jones (Mike the Cop), Joe Besser (Stinky), Joe Kirk (Mr. Botchagalupe).

Basis: Out-of-work actors (Bud Abbott and Lou Costello) seek a means of employment (with Bud finding work for Lou) until they can make a show business comeback.

Bud Abbott and Lou Costello

Address: The Fields Rooming House at 214 Brookline Avenue in Hollywood.

Rent: $7 a week.

Telephone Number: Alexander 4444 (also given as Alexander 2222).

Jobs (Bud): Professional loafer (one who makes bread, not one who sleeps all day, like Lou believes).

Jobs (Lou and Bud): Whatever could make them money (including: salesman for the Susquehanna Hat Company on Flugel Street, door-to-door vacuum cleaner salesmen, waiters at Brodies Seafood Restaurant, roller skate salesmen (Abbott and Costello Cheap Skates), wallpaper hangers, pest exterminators, pet store owners, and drugstore soda jerks.

Favorite Way of Making Money: Pawning what they have at Harrys Hock Shop.

Lous Catchphrase: Heyyyyy Abbott! (which he yells when he needs Buds help).

Character: Former vaudeville, radio, and feature film comedians who are now out of work (a specific reason is not given why they are suddenly out of show business, and they apparently have little chance of revitalizing their careers). Lou, born in Paterson, New Jersey, claims he has to support his sister and three nieces.

Weve got to raise money could be considered Buds catchphrase as he continually seeks to find Lou a job to raise the money they need to pay their rent. Bud and Lou appeared on the TV game show Hold That Cuckoo , wherein Lou performed a stunt before the cuckoo sounded and won the grand prizea box of bubble gum. If Bud and Lou encounter a situation where a friend (or stranger) is in trouble, Bud always remarks, Costello will get you out of this. They also attempted to become police officers but flunked out of rookie school.

Although Lou is an adult with child-like tendencies, he loves to play games with his pal Stinky Davis, a 30-year-old kid who dressed as a child and liked to play games with Lou like cops and robbers, football, and hopscotch. Lou also fancies himself as a private detective and is a graduate of the Junior G-Man Correspondence School; he also carries a cap pistol with him at all times.

Hillary Brooke

Character: A beautiful woman who lives across the hall from Bud and Lou. While Hillary is generally seen as Lous girlfriend, she handles a number of other roles that ignore her relationship with Bud and Lou (actually whatever a scene calls forfrom secretary to hospital nurse). Hillary is the owner of the B-Bop-Bop Ranch in Texas (where Bud and Lou attempted to become ranch hands) and a haunted castle at Goblins Knob (which she inherited from her Uncle Montague and where Lou, Bud, and Hillary attempted to find the castles hidden treasure). Her regular series job appears to be a secretary-receptionist. When Hillary calls on Lou, she brings him cream puffs.